Millennial Scriptures in the Psalms

Sometime ago, before the Feast, I was on a radio program with Gianni Hayes and she had a man on there who was known as a Preterist, which means he believes all prophecy has been fulfilled. Yet, strange enough they still believe in Jesus because everyone goes to heaven. I listened to him for a whole hour and, I tell you, he twisted and turned the Scriptures so bad that by time I got on for the second hour my brain was nearly numb.

Gianni asked me, she says, 'Well, what do you think?' Originally she had asked me to come on for two hours and debate him. I said, 'No, I don't want to debate. I'll listen to the first hour and then I'll answer.' So, I said, 'Let's look at a couple of Scriptures that pertains right to the Feast of Tabernacles and the setting up of the Kingdom of God.' Dan. 2 becomes very important in the flow of things and how it happens at the end:

Daniel 2:40: "And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and beats down all things, and as the iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. …." (vs 40-41).

The ten toes are undoubtedly ten regions in the world at the end-time. This is how it's eventually going to be enforced. It will look like a movement of the people from beneath, as Rev. 13 shows, but what comes out of it is the same old satanic system.

"…But there shall be in it the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken" (vs 41-42).

Now, if you look at it on a world view and think of a re-organized U.N., which they are going to do, I'm absolutely convinced this describes it perfectly. There are strong nations. There are weak nations. It is held together and then sort of comes apart a little bit and then comes back together. But just like iron and clay it cannot cleave to each other; they have their problems.

Verse 43: "And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix themselves with the seed of men…."

So, we have a great interracial marriage thing that's taking place today, more than ever before, on a worldwide basis.

"…But they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay" (v 43).

Now v 44 is the Scripture that I read, and I said: 'Has this happened?' So, for those who believe in preterism—that everything's already done, the resurrection has occurred, all prophecies are fulfilled—then here's what we should see or have experienced and witnessed. You can't find this any place in the history of mankind.

Verse 44: "And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed…."

• Are we under the Kingdom of God today?
• Has Jesus come and fulfilled all the prophets and set up the Kingdom beginning in about 100A.D.?
• No way!

"…And the Kingdom shall not be left to other people… [Do the saints rule? No!] …but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (v 44).

Now, we don't have any eternal kingdoms set up on the earth. That's why we keep the Feast of Tabernacles, because this is a portrayal of it. As defined, the thousand-year period (Rev. 20).

Verse 45: "Because you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king [Nebuchadnezzar] what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."

Now, let's understand: "…come to pass hereafter…" does not tell us how long in the future this will be. But we know for sure, absolutely, unequivocally, this part of this prophecy has not been fulfilled.

Now, let's look at another one very similar to it. It talks about giving the Kingdom to the saints. It talks about the end-time Beast Power, which rules the whole world. So, you have to combine this with Rev. 13, Rev. 17 and other places in the Old Testament and New Testament. This relates right back to Dan. 2. We started out with the fourth kingdom, so here it says:

Daniel 7:23: "Thus he said, 'The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth… [this is a worldwide, world-ruling kingdom] …which shall be different from all the other kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth…"

We're talking about world-government—and obviously, that has not yet happened, and therefore, the return of Christ and the Kingdom of God has not happened either. If you just believe the Bible for what it says, and understand it without twisting the Scriptures to make it fit a preconceived notion, so you can have a pet little theory and do away with the Word of God. If you believe what the Bible says, this obviously hasn't happened.

"…and shall devour the whole earth and shall trample it and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. And another shall arise after them. And he shall be different from the first, and he shall subdue three kings" (vs 23-24).

Well, it's not time to go through the obvious particulars of this, but we haven't yet seen that happen in the end-time.

Verse 25: "'And he shall speak words against the Most High…"—tie in with 2-Thess. 2 and Rev. 13.

Yet, this man said this has already all happened. Well, pray tell, get a history book, show us, show us so we may believe. If not, maybe you ought to change your mind and think about what God has said.

"…and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change the set times and the laws…." (v 25). That has happened back in the history of the Church and it's going to happen again at the end!

"…And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time" (v 25). There we go, the 3-1/2 years that we've covered, at the end.

Verse 26: "But the judgment shall sit… [means Christ will return] …and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and to be destroyed unto the end… [of that Kingdom] …And the Kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven… [this tells us why we're here] …shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High… [Dan. 2 says that it's not going to be given to other people] …Whose Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And all kingdoms shall serve and obey Him'" (vs 26-27).

Obviously, this has not happened. We can also tie-in a couple of others from Isa. 2 that all nations are going to come up to Jerusalem to learn of God's ways. Those who don't God is going to deal with them until they do! So, it hasn't happened, yet.

Now let's understand something concerning the Bible that is really, really important. Last year at the Feast of Tabernacles, we went through the whole book of Isaiah to do an overview of the Kingdom of God in the book of Isaiah. This year we're going to do something else that is similar. We're going to go through many parts of the book of Psalms. We are going to see:

• about the Kingdom of God
• how Christ is going to return
• how He is going to destroy the enemy
• how He's going to set up an everlasting kingdom

In the book of Psalms we're going to see a little different application because these then become personal things that we will experience as differentiated seeing the whole picture of it and where do we fit in and what can we expect.

We'll begin with Psalm 1; this is going to tell us a lot. As we go through, I'm going to refer to several things without necessarily turning to the Scriptures, but we know that Jesus said: 'I am the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last.'

Also in the book of Revelation 1 & 21, where Jesus says this. That tells us that we need to look to the beginning of the Bible as well as the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation and the rest of God's Word is to fit into that framework, based upon the Sabbath and the Holy Days. {note book God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days.}

We've also seen that there are patterns that took place from the beginning where that the cherubim and the overshadowing of the Ark of the Covenant within the tabernacle and the temple goes clear back to the east entrance of the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were kicked out. We also find some things similar at the end. We also have the Tree of Life at the beginning, and we have the Tree of Life at the ending.

In Psa. 1 we find how then we are going to please God and, with conversion and change of heart, enter into the Kingdom of God. But here it describes our personal relationship with God and our differentiation from being part of the world—because Jesus said 'Though we live in the world we are not part of the world,' just as when Jesus was on the earth, He was not part of the world.

Psalm 1:1: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful."

We are called to be different from the world, not part of it. Let's understand something else that's very important: Though the Gospel has got to be preached in all the world, for a witness to all nations, it is not an attempt by God to save the world. He has to call those who repent and are baptized and receive the Spirit of God. They worship God 'in Spirit and in Truth,' which is far different from trying to save the whole world. This is what happens to us when we are converted and worship God is 'Spirit and Truth' and keep the laws and commandments of God in spirit.

Verse 2 "But his delight is in the Law of the LORD; and in His Law does he meditate day and night." Why? Because they're inscribed into his mind and into his heart!

Verse 3: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water…" So, we have the Tree of Life in Genesis; we have the Tree of Life in Revelation: the first and the last. If we yield to God and grow and change and overcome and bring forth fruit, we are going to be like trees planted by the streams of water, which in the case of the Holy Spirit is the living water; which brings forth salvation unto eternal life.

"…that brings forth its fruit in its season…" (v 3). We're all to bring forth fruit! We find in the parable in Matt. 13, that some bring 30-fold, some 60-fold, some 100-fold; because it falls into fertile ground and is watered by the Holy Spirit.

"…and its leaf shall not wither, and all that he does shall prosper" (v 3)—spiritually!

We can also prosper physically. Unfortunately, living in the end-time when everyone has been prospered, especially in America, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Northwestern Europe, they have all of these goods and so it's no surprise that we have a Laodicean church on hand, because they think that their prosperity is a reflection of their conversion. But the use of the Spirit of God and yielding to God is a reflection of your conversion, not your physical assets.

Verse 4: "The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away…. [good expression of what's going to happen to them] …Therefore, the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish" (vs 4-6). This is talking about our individual relationship with God!

Psa. 2 is a worldview from God's point of view looking down on the earth. Every time we think: How much time do we have left? Know this for sure: Just as every day comes and goes, so every day we are closer to the Kingdom of God.

But let's also understand that because we have lived in a time of peace and security and goods and things like this—though we've had wars: WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and so forth—does not necessarily mean that the end is about to take place in an imminent way, because many things have to happen. But here is a good description of how the world today in coming to its one-world government and its one-world rulership, and looking at things, this gives us a good understanding of it.

Psalm 2:1: "Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain?"

Satan loves do-gooders. One of the great do-gooder things that is going to happen, is that it's going to be wonderful if we have world government—and we divide it down into ten[transcriber's correction] regions. We many not be too far from MexiAmeriCana in North American. The South American nations have already got some sort of the near final beginning of a South American Union. So,. you tie that together with all of the different regional unions that are taking place and we're going to end up with ten.

Verse 2: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Christ…"

It's going to be antichrist, and it's going to be manifested in the great world-leader (2 Thess. 2). What they want to do is get rid of God, get rid of religion, get rid of morality, change the laws, change the times, and that's exactly what they are doing.

All of this summer, we have had vast forest fires in California. And our wonderful governor 'Heir' Arnold Swartzneggar has no idea that because the California Supreme Court sanctified marriage of homosexuals, don't you suppose that this is a warning from God because He's not happy with us? That He is angry with us? God is not going to come down here in person and do it Himself, and say, 'Arnold, attention, seig hiel, look what I'm going to do?' No!

He takes the weather. He sends a whole lot of lightning—and almost all of northern California, much to the dismay of all of the 'greenie-greenies,' is burning up! The trees that they love to hug! Well, now they can get in their better because a lot of the brush is burned out, so send in all the tree-huggers out there to hug these poor, wounded, burned trees. If you want to read the daily news from God's point of view, read Deut. 28 from beginning to end, all the way through. There will be the pattern, in the Bible, of the daily news against Israel and the world. Here's what they say:

Verse 3: "Let us break Their bands asunder and cast away Their cords from us." We don't want anything to do with God. We don't want anything to do with the Bible.

That's why they're going to picture us as nuts and kooks. Well, let me tell you another thing that is true: Within the Church of God there are enough nuts and kooks who run cults that it brings a bad name upon the Church of God. You know that when the government acts against all the cults—which they will do to bring everything under control—they will also be swept into the net. What we need to do is:

• have the mind of Christ
• the soundness of Scripture
• the character and love of God

because we're not a cult! Some of the Churches of God are!

Verse 5: "Then He shall speak to them in His wrath… [Rev. 16, the wrath of God] …and in His fury He terrifies them."

Then He says, this is the setting up of the Kingdom of God. Notice how all of this follows in sequence and helps give us some guidelines concerning other prophecies:

Verse 6: "Yea, I have set My King upon Zion, My Holy mountain. I will declare the decree of the LORD. He has said to Me, 'You are My Son; this day I have begotten You'" (vs 6-7). That goes back to the very begettal of Jesus with the virgin Mary!

Verse 8: "Ask of Me, and I shall give the nations for Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Your possession…. [giving rulership and kingship to Jesus] …You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel" (vs 8-19)—which is a really powerful song in The Messiah by George Handel. Here's the message, all you rulers down here on earth listen up:

Verse 10: "Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be admonished O judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling" (vs 10-11).

That's what they're going to have to do when Christ returns. There are going to be some kings come up to Jerusalem and say, 'Ohhhh, I repent. Here I am.'

Verse 12: "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in the way, for His wrath can flame up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him."

We will notice this through the Psalms, all the way through the Psalms: our personal relationship with God; the refuge that He gives us.

Now let's see some very interesting things concerning Christ and concerning the saints as it relates to the Church and as it relates to the first coming of Christ and the setting up of the Kingdom of God, and also the restoration of Israel. Psa. 118 shows us:

• our relationship with God
• the salvation of Israel
• Christ Who is going to be King, sit on the throne and rule the world
• how we're going to get from here to there

Psalm 118:1: "O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good because His steadfast love endures forever. Let Israel now say that His steadfast love endures forever" (vs 1-2).

When are they going to say that? After the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude are saved and they enter into the Kingdom of God! Then physical Israel is brought back to its inheritance of the land.

Verse 3: "Let the house of Aaron now say that His steadfast love endures forever. Let those who fear the LORD now say that His steadfast love endures forever" (vs 1-4). That's us!

In this life, as Jesus said, He told His disciples, 'Be of good courage.' He said, 'in the world you're going to have tribulation, but be of good courage, I've overcome the world.'

This is why we have difficulties, we have trials, we have stress, we have things that we go through; and all of these things come about because of just living in the world, so that we can begin to trust God more and more and more as every one of these things transpires. Or we come to a trial or difficulty. Always remember that God has said, through the Apostle Paul, that 'all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.'

• when you have a trial
• when you have difficulty
• when you have a problem

that comes along, what you need to do is yield yourself to God, which is right here:

Verse 5: "I called upon the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place."

We also have to realize that in praying to God and crying out to Him: God will answer that prayer in His time, according to His will, according to His goodness, not on our time schedule and what we think needs to be. If God doesn't answer us immediately, we say, 'Well, I wonder why God didn't answer?' Keep beseeching. Keep asking God. He will answer and, over a course of time, you're going to find God will answer all your prayers, though the difficulties and strife you have gone through, or went through, didn't appear that it would come out that way.

Remember that it ain't over till it's over! Now especially in baseball. There was a game by a team who was behind 5 to 0 in the ninth inning and they had hardly any hits and the pitching staff was really doing well, so they came up in the ninth inning and they scored six runs without an out to win the game. All through eight and a half innings, up to that point, it looked for sure that this is wipe out by the other team. That's a good example. It isn't over till it's over! God will hear and answer you and "set you in a large place."

Verse 6: "The LORD is on my side… [if we're on God's side, He's on our side] …I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is for me as my Helper; therefore, I will look in triumph upon those who hate me" (vs 6-7). The enemy is going to be defeated!

Verse 8 is the middle verse in the whole Bible and notice what it says. This is how we get from here to there in the Kingdom of God, when Christ returns.

Verse 8: "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to trust in princes" (vs 8-9).

We can understand v 8 on a personal basis. But here's the one too many people really don't understand. The sum of this in today's language is that you cannot solve spiritual problems by political means! The 'princes' are the political power whether they are elected or appointed or whatever. Almost any government: show me how the bureaucracy has brought salvation and did the right things. So much for trusting in politics.

Now, this is from Christ's point of view, as well as David's, v 10: "All the nations surround me, but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them…. [doesn't matter what the circumstances are] …They surround me; yea, they surround me, but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. They surround me like bees; they are extinguished like the fire of thorns, for in the name of the LORD I will cut them off" (vs 10-12).

This also has to do with part of our fighting when we come back with Christ, because remember, Jesus said to Pilate, 'If My Kingdom were of this world then would My servants fight.'

Verse 13: "You have thrust hard at me… [that is, the enemy] …so that I might fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous…" (vs 13-15).

We want to dwell in the tabernacle of the Lord and in New Jerusalem. Rev. 20 & 21 talks about that.

Verse 16: "The right hand of the LORD is exalted; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly."

Whatever trial you may have, whatever difficulty that you're in, take this Psalm—because this is a Psalm on how to grow and overcome and trust in God—so that you can be in the Kingdom of God.

Verse 17: "I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the LORD." That's our ultimate goal in being priests and kings in the Kingdom of God!

Verse 18: "The LORD has sorely chastened me; but He has not given me over to death…. [here's a promise]: …Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD" (vs18-19).

This has reference to Christ, which we will see in Psa. 24 in just a little bit. And this has reference to us entering into the Kingdom of God. Also, it talks about the gates of righteousness and where are the 12 gates? The gates are like one pearl in New Jerusalem So, this gives entrance into New Jerusalem.

Verse 20: "This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. I will praise You, for You have answered me and have become my salvation" (vs 20-21).

It refers to Christ! This ties right in with Psa. 2, where they're rejecting Christ; where they're trying to 'cut the bands asunder' and get away from Christ.

Verse 22: "The Stone, which the builders rejected… [Jesus quoted this, and so did Peter] …has become the Head Stone of the corner."

In Jesus' first coming, and in His ministry, all of the things that we have covered here you can see apply. Jesus was totally yielded to God the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit. He didn't join the political realm. He didn't join the priesthood that was there. He didn't bring the Kingdom of God, as they expected it at that time, in a political way to get rid of the Romans, because God has a bigger plan. God has bigger thoughts. The Jews, in looking at Jesus, rejected Him.

Verse 23: "This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day, which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (vs 23-24). The day of salvation for all of us, when we walk through that gate in the resurrection and up on the Sea of Glass!

I tell you, once you really put the Scriptures together and understand how they flow together, the Scriptures are overwhelming in their meaning and depth of understanding, that ties the whole Bible together. {note Bible Commentary: The Unity of Scripture} The unity of Scripture shows that God is the same yesterday, today and forever as Jesus said He was, and that the Lord changes not. Anything that appears to be a change is an improvement from the physical to the spiritual. so it's actually better.

Verse 25: "Save now, I beseech You, O LORD; O LORD, I beseech You, cause us to prosper now. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD… [that was said of Christ] …we have blessed You out of the house of the LORD. The LORD is God and He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festival sacrifice with cords even unto the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever" (vs 25-29).

Fantastic Psalm! All of this applies to various aspects of the Kingdom of God:

• on a personal level
• with Jesus Christ
• with the nations of the world
• the setting up of the Kingdom of God

I think you're going to find this quite interesting as we go through and if we put them together… Every Feast of Tabernacles I like to bring something different, something unique, rather than just preach exactly the same thing over and over again. The reason is because there's so much in the Bible for us to learn. Isn't it tremendous that every Feast of Tabernacles we can find something new to learn about God's way? All of this, all of this reflects the eternal mind of Christ in inspiring the Bible for us!

Here's Christ setting up the Kingdom of God; Psalm 9:5: "You have rebuked the nations… [all the way through Rev. 8, 9, 10 & 16] …You have destroyed the wicked…"

The ones that end up in the Lake of Fire, personally cast in by a special angel of God, is the beast and the false prophet. Perfect example of what Jesus said: 'Of what value is it if a man gain the whole world, but lose his life?' They're going to rule and control the world before Jesus returns. They're going to lose their lives.

"…You have blotted out their name forever and ever. Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, You have uprooted the cities, the memory of them has perished. But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness; He shall govern the people with justice" (vs 5-8).

That's how the Kingdom of God is going to be established. It's going to come with a force and power of God in a tremendous way.

Verse 15: "The nations have sunk down in the grave that they made; their own foot is caught in the net which they hid. The LORD has made Himself known. He has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Selah" (vs 15-16).

Remember that. Take some of these as promises that you can use to help you through your difficult times. Know that Christ is going to come and set up His kingdom.

Psa. 15—this one related to living in the Tabernacle of God. So, when I read this, just remember Psa. 21, 'Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men.'

• Who's going to get there?
• How are you going to enter into it?

Here are some personal qualifications:

Psalm 15:1: "LORD, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle?…."

• Who's going to make it into the Kingdom of God?
• Don't we ask that all the time of ourselves?

Part of it is here:

"…Who shall dwell upon Your Holy hill?" (v 1). It's talking about those who are going to serve Christ, in this particular case!

Verse 2: "He who walks uprightly…" How do you walk uprightly?

• in Spirit and Truth
• with the Spirit of God
• Christ in you
• the mind of Christ
• that you have the Spirit of the Father as a begotten child of God

"…and works righteousness, and speaks the Truth in his heart" (v 2)

You don't say one thing in a flattering, nice way to people and then in your mind curse them. You speak the truth from the heart.

Verse 3: "He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor…" (v 3). Love your neighbor as yourself!

"…nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor" (v 3). Does not scheme against his neighbor; all a part of the love of God.!

Verse 4: "In whose eyes a vile person is despised…"—for their ungodly behavior!

"…but he honors those who fear the LORD…" (v 4). Love the brethren as Christ has loved us!

"…he who swears to his own hurt and does not change it" (v 4)—which means, as Jesus said in Matt. 6, 'Don't swear by yourself because you can't make one hair white or black, and you can't add a cubit to your height' BUT He said, 'Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.' There it is right there!

Verse 5: "He who has not put out his money at usury…" (v 5)—which is excessive interest! Sounds like credit card companies, 19-20% plus penalties!

"…nor has he taken a bribe against the innocent…." (v 5). All corporate ministers listen up. Is your salary a bribe? Think about that!

"…He who does these things shall never be moved" (v 5). That's a guarantee that we are going to have entrance into the Kingdom of God!

The gate of righteousness is going to open and we are going to enter in. We are going to rule and reign with Christ. This is a tremendous thing when we understand it and see that throughout the book of Psalms. We're not going to cover every Psalm; I'll leave that to you for your personal study. But as you do, with some of these things as a springboard and guideline, you're going to see how much there is about the Kingdom of God in the book of Psalms.

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Psa. 23—here's a Psalm that even the world has memorized. Certain parts of it they may understand, but let's look at from the point of view of the Kingdom of God. How does it relate to the Kingdom of God? Our being in it? Our part in it? Christ is the One Who is the King and so forth.

Psalm 23:1: "The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want…. [you will not lack anything spiritually] …He makes me to lie down in green pastures…" (vs 1-2).

We have seen in Ezek. 34 good pasture comes from God and from God's Word as led by Christ. This is what it's talking about.

"…He leads me beside the still waters" (v 2). The waters that are comforting, the waters that are soothing! We started out that we're like a tree planted by the streams of water. Here it is, rest, peace, still waters!

Verse 3: "He restores my soul… [a type of the resurrection] …He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

The thing is, all the growing and grace and knowledge and understanding and all of these things, brethren, are so important because they are the creation of God that He is working within you! That's what God wants. That's why we pointed out, is just like the potter and the clay. He wants it so he can mold it, he can shape it, and he can make it to whatever beautiful design that he desires. When it's done, baked in an oven so that it is permanent. Many analogies that we can draw here.

Even though we have trials, v 4: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…"

Every one of us are going to come there. That doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have many trials leading to death. There're going to be times when you may even think death is better than life. But that doesn't necessarily "…the valley of the shadow…" of our death as we continue to go down in time. God harvests all the saints one-by-one who are, what we will call 'senior citizens'—and I'm part of that group now, too.

Whatever time I have left I want to do it in serving God—just like you do. We're all going to have a "…valley of the shadow of death…" that we're going to go through. However, remember this:

"…I will fear no evil, for You are with me…" (v 4). Remember, God the Father and Jesus Christ dwell in us, which is another type, as we have seen, of the Kingdom of God, God dwelling in us.

"…Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (v 4). We can lean on God for strength and a staff to guide us as a shepherd does.

Here's the irony of the whole thing; here's what God is doing. Apply this to Christ and His life. Apply this to your life and your relationship with God. Sooner or later you will see this happen:

Verse 5: "You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies…." There isn't a thing they can do about it! That table is:

• eating of the Word of God
• living of the Word of God
• being fed spiritually

as it is here in 'green pastures'!

"…You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over" (v 5). There's the ultimate goal!

We see all the things in life squeezed together in this one short, little Psalm, that even the world has memorized but doesn't know its meaning.

Verse 6: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people!

We read about the gates of righteousness in Psa. 118. Now here it expands it a little further. Also, it shows the greatness and the glory of God.

Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness of it, the world, and those who dwell in it."

Every one of us have life and breath and live, whether called or uncalled, and God provides in His love for all. He owns it all.

Verse 2: "For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." Then it blends right in to the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles!

Verse 3: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in His Holy place?"

Let's talk about the Temple of the Lord. Last year I did a whole sermon on what will the temple be like during the Millennium—The Millennial Temple #s 1 & 2 {truthofGod.org}

Isaiah 4:2: "In that day shall the Branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious… [Christ is that Branch that comes out of the root of David] …and the fruit of the earth excellent and comely for those who are the survivors of Israel." That's physical Israel! It can also apply to us who will then be spiritual Israel.

Verse 3: "And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called Holy, even everyone who is written unto life in Jerusalem." That's being recorded in the Book of Life!

Verse 4: "When the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from its midst by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning."

When Christ returns He's going to completely cleanse the whole area where the temple is going to be during the Millennium.

Verse 5: "And the LORD will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night…"

It's going to be a great expansion of what the children of Israel saw when God led them in the wilderness with the cloud by day and the fire by night. This shows that God is dwelling there. It's not going to be some building that's going to be built. He is making it spiritually understood here.

"…for over all the glory shall be a canopy…. [under that will be the true Temple of Christ] …And there shall be a tabernacle for shade by day from the heat, and for refuge, and for shelter from storm and rain" (vs 5-6).

In other words, the whole government of God is going to go out under the auspices of where Christ is dwelling in Mt. Zion, in His temple, and the government will go to the whole world. Isn't that something?

Psalm 24:3: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD?…. [Who's going to be there? Psa. 15!] …Or who shall stand in His Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…" (vs 3-4).

That only comes from the washing of the water by the Word in our heart and mind. Then being changed from flesh to spirit at the resurrection.

"…who has not lifted up his soul to vanity and has not sworn deceitfully…. [Christ never did that, and we are not to do that] …He shall receive the blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob. Selah" (vs 4-6).

That's what we are going to do spiritually, because Rev. 22 says that those who are saved are going to see the Father face-to-face. Now, we'll cover that on the Last Great Day.

But think of all of these things when you read the Psalms. This is why you learn so much from the Bible when you read and study the Bible over and over again. Then you come back and you go through it again and you bring all the other Scriptures and thoughts of the Bible that pertain to it. It gives you great, great understanding! I think we're going to be surprised how much the book of the Psalms details much of the personal things that will happen to us and Christ during the Millennium when the Kingdom of God is here.

Verse 7 goes back to the resurrection of Christ and His ascension into heaven. Here are the gates of righteousness that the Lord will enter into, as we covered in Psa. 118.

Verse 7: "Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, O you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in." We're going to be kings and priests! The gate is going to be opened for us, too!

Verse 8: "Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle…. [He's going to conquer the whole world] …Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah" (vs 7-10). We're going to:

• share in His glory
• share in the rule
• share in the wealth

It's going to be absolutely fantastic! All of these things are in the Psalms to help us understand the Kingdom of God and our part in it.

We're not going to go through every Psalm because every Psalm does not depict things concerning the Kingdom of God in the way that we're doing here. We're going through and picking out selected ones, but there are many, many, all the way through the book of Psalms. So, I want you to do your reading and studying of the book of Psalms, and from this point of view.

Psalm 29:1: "To the LORD, O you sons of the mighty, give to the LORD glory and strength."

We know how we worship God now: basically in prayer and a direct relationship to God the Father and Jesus Christ! How are we going to worship God when we are spirit beings? This gives us a little clue:

Verse 2: "Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due to His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of Holiness."

So, there's going to be a very powerful, absolutely wonderful worship of God that we will have called "…the beauty of Holiness." We're going to be spirit beings and beautified and glorified. We are going to see Jesus Christ face-to-face. We're going to see God the Father face-to-face. And worship Them in "…the beauty of holiness." A kind of worship that is almost incredible for us to try and describe, even though it's written here, because it's going to be so fantastic, and we will be spirit beings!

Verse 3: "The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is above many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; yea, the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon" (vs 3-5

This is showing how He is going to establish the government on earth. It's going to be mighty, mighty convincing to the people. Yes! And we're going to have part of it. He's going to give us a command and say, 'Do this, do that, do the other thing.'

Verse 7: "The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD causes the does to give birth and strips the forests bare; and in His temple everyone says 'Glory!'" (vs 7-9)—to God!

This is how He's going to establish the Kingdom of God! Pretty mighty and powerful!

Psa, 45—we're going to see the qualifications—the qualification for Jesus Christ Himself; and also the qualification for us.

Psalm 45:1: "My heart is overflowing with a goodly matter… [just bursting out with joy and love and truth and all of the good things] …I speak of my works to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer…. [you're going to know what to say] …You are more excellent than the children of men… [referring to Christ] …grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever" (vs 1-2). This will also apply to us!

Verse 3: "Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty. And ride victoriously in Your majesty in behalf of truth and meekness and righteousness; and let Your right hand teach You awesome things" (vs 3-4).

This is how we're going to administer the Kingdom of God:

• in truth
• in meekness
• and righteousness

Teach this to the people!

Verse 6. "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever… [this is said of Christ (Heb. 1)] …a scepter of justice is the scepter of Your Kingdom."

That's what's going to make the government perfect during the Millennium. But you have to translate this further into the Kingdom of God and New Jerusalem forever and ever, which will be even more perfect, because all who are there will be spirit beings. It's going to be absolutely nothing like we comprehend things today. The way we're going to understand that is: let's make it into the Kingdom of God and become spirit beings and we can understand what's going on.

Verse 7: "You love righteousness and hate wickedness… [or iniquity—that's the right kind of hate.] …therefore God, Your God… [Oh ho, it's talking about two Gods here in the Old Testament, isn't it? Yes, indeed!] …has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows."

Heb. 1 applies that personally to Jesus Christ. This is telling us that there's God the Father and Jesus Christ. Hello, all of you trinity believers: Where is God the Spirit? The Bible doesn't teach that at all!

Verse 8: "All Your garments smell of myrrh, and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, stringed instruments have made You glad. Kings' daughters are among Your honorable women; on Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir" (vs 8-9).

I wonder who that is going to be? Do you suppose that might be Mary, the one who gave birth to Jesus in the flesh? Don't know! We'll just leave it at that.

Psa. 46:4—notice how this ties in with the other Scriptures that we've already covered. "There is a river whose streams shall make the City of God rejoice… [New Jerusalem] …the Holy dwelling place of the Most High."

What comes out of the throne of God, underneath it? Pure water, clear as crystal! Signifying the power of God's Holy Spirit, constantly moving; constantly accomplishing what He desires. It goes down in a river, and on each side of the river are the Trees of Life, which bring their fruit in their season. Amazing!

Verse 5: "God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God shall help her at the approach of the morning…. [here's what happens with the evil ones]: …The nations raged, the kingdoms were shaken; He uttered His voice, the earth melted…. [the return of Christ] …The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD who makes desolations upon the earth, Who makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth…" (vs 5-9).

Remember, Rev. 19: only Christ can bring war in righteousness and judgment! Only He can stop all wars and fightings. If we remember our history correctly:

• Wasn't WWI the war 'to end all wars'?
• How did we get WWII
• How did we get the Korean War
• How did we get the Vietnam War, etc., etc.?

Because no man can end wars!

It's in the evil nature of man to continuously plot and scheme wars and destruction and devastation, because Satan is still the 'god of this world.' Until the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, that's going to happen until Christ returns, and He alone is going to end wars.

"…He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots in the fire. 'Be still, and know that I am God! I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah" (vs 9-11).

Quite a Psalm! Notice how that fits right in to the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Kingdom of God. Return of Christ, setting up of the Kingdom.

Psa. 48—again, another view of the temple and Christ dwelling on earth. We can project this forward to the 'new heavens and earth' and the 'New Jerusalem.' There are many different things that we can add to give us understanding of these Scriptures.

Psalm 48:1: "Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised in the city of our God, in His Holy mountain."

Where we are going to worship Him in the 'beauty of Holiness.' A fantastic worship that we will not experience until we're a spirit[transcriber's correction] being.

Verse 2: "Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of all the earth is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King."

As we can piece this together, coming to Jerusalem during the Millennium and all the sons of God will come there; human beings will be on the outskirts of it. They will only come so far up to Jerusalem, and only come to the base of Mt. Sion, just like it was when God came down to Mt. Sinai and gave the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel. They couldn't go up on the mountain except the one that God chose: Moses, and then later He let the 70 elders of Israel, Nadab, Abihu and Joshua come up to a certain point. But they couldn't come up to see God, only Moses could.

Likewise here, it's going to be the same thing. Only the spirit beings are going to be there and go up directly to see God. Everybody else is going to be down here and will see us who will represent God to them.

"…the joy of all the earth is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God in her palace has shown Himself to be a fortress, for lo, the kings assembled themselves; they advanced together" (vs 2-4).

Who are going to be the kings and priests? We are! We're going to be assembled. I imagine we're going to have regular meetings there at Jerusalem. Now think about that!

Verse 8: "As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God. God will establish it forever. Selah." How is He going to do this?

• with His love
• with His Truth
• with His righteousness
• with His meekness

Verse 9: "We have thought of Your loving kindness, O God, in the midst of Your temple."

Just think what it's going to be like when we come into the Temple of God and worship God in spirit and in truth and in the beauty of Holiness; and contemplate His loving kindness, His greatness, and His goodness. That's going to be something. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to that.

Verse 10: "As is Your name, O God, so is Your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of righteousness." There we have a Millennial setting!

Let's take a look at the first couple of verses of Psa. 49[transcriber's correction], and we're going to see what's going to be happening during the Millennium.

Psalm 49:1: "Hear this, all you people; give ear… [pay attention] …all inhabitants of the world: both low and high, rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom, and the thoughts of my heart shall be of understanding" (vs 1-3).

This is what we're going to do for the whole world. We're going to bring them the knowledge of salvation! That's why the Feast of Tabernacles portrays the great harvest at the end of the year, of everything, all kinds of fruits, all kinds of grains, all kinds of everything that comes out of the ground. All of that pictures the harvest of what God is going to do and how we're going to take care of and teach it.

Psalm 50:1: "The mighty God, God, the LORD, has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down…. [that's how it's going to happen] …Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty… [again, the Temple of God.] …God has shined forth. Our God shall come, and He shall not keep silent; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him" (vs 1-3).

Again, it's talking about the return of Christ in order to establish what we read in vs 1 & 2

Verse 4: "He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, so that He may judge His people."

Now the resurrection! The Kingdom of God cannot happen until the first resurrection takes place.

Verse 5: "'Gather My saints unto Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.'…. [which is our baptismal covenant death] …And the heavens shall declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge. Selah" (vs 5-6).

That's tremendous! That shows how there's going to be rulership, through Christ, God and us on the earth.

Psalm 65:1: "Praise waits for You, O God, in Zion…" How? Worshipping Him in the 'beauty of Holiness!'

"…and to You shall the vow be performed. O You Who hears prayer, unto You shall all flesh come" (vs 1-2).

Now, think about this from the perspective of all people on earth during the Millennium. All their prayers will be heard and answered. They will pray to God and we'll be the ones who will answer. We'll be the ones who will teach them. We will be the ones to show them in the way that they should walk, according to Isa. 30.

Verse 4 talks about the blessings that we are going to receive because of this relationship to God: "Blessed is the one whom You choose and cause to come near You, that he may dwell in Your courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, even Your Holy temple."

This is going to be a time of absolute incredible things to happen almost on a daily basis.

Verse 5: "By awesome works in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation; You are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of those of the distant sea. The mountains are established by Your strength; You are clothed with power" (vs 5-6).

This is quite a great and tremendous thing, showing the power of God continuously all during the Millennium. Now when we come to the last day of the Feast, the seventh day of the Feast, then we will see how human nature reacts to this. And because these things happen on a daily basis, they become commonplace.

Psalm 66:1: "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth." Think about this: What's going to happen every Sabbath Day? Where the day begins there are going to be assemblies. I don't know if we're going to have what would be called Friday night services and then services on the day portion of the Sabbath. But the whole day is going to be devoted to God!

I think every Friday night it's going to be devoted to the family. That's going to be a time of family worship and a family meal. Then the people are going to get up Sabbath morning and go to wherever they're going to meet. I think there will be literally churches on almost every other corner, because everyone is going to come together to worship God. Everyone is going to come together to be taught of God. So, don't worry about will there be enough room for me, or will I have a job. You're going to have plenty, plenty, plenty to do. We are going to help in the worship of God. So here it is:

Psalm 66:1: "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth."

So, just think what it's going to be like. In every one of these churches, every Sabbath Day, they are going to be singing hymns to God.

Now put yourself kind of in a space capsule and think of it this way: You're looking down on the earth, and as the earth turns, these things begin. And then you go around the whole earth for the beginning of the Sabbath, and then you come around again and the whole day to complete the Sabbath day. All people everywhere in the world—from east to west, north to south—are going to be worshipping God.

Verse 2: "Sing forth the honor of His name; make His praise glorious. Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies submit themselves in obedience to You" (vs 2-3).

We're always going to look back. We're always going to understand what it was before the Kingdom of God was set up. We are going to know the true evil that dwells in the hearts of men. As we will also see, before the Millennium begins or as it is beginning, God is going to change the nature of man from a hostile carnality to a heart of flesh. Not take away all carnality, but have it modified so it's not going to be as hard to qualify for salvation. Because after all, they're going to have an advantage that no one else has ever had. That is to live a life without any influence from Satan the devil or just grossly over-evil people.

Every human being on earth, because God has put in the heart of man eternity, to think of things beyond themselves. To have a yearning for what is right, even though they do evil. Everyone wants to have a perfect life, a perfect home, a perfect husband, a perfect wife, perfect children, perfect government, perfect world. They will have it! They will also have the Spirit of God!

Verse 4: "All the earth shall worship You and shall sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your name.' Selah."

What is going to be the greatest work that's going to be done? The character building in everyone to qualify for salvation!That is going to be something! It is going to be a time when a person lives under the Kingdom of God:

• has been righteous
• has worshipped God
• has served Him
• has kept His commandments

And comes to the point in their lives of being 100-years-old and then are we going to have on that Sabbath:

• Are we going to have a transformation service?
• Where the individuals who have qualified are changed from flesh to spirit?
• Wouldn't that be exciting?
• Isn't that going to give everyone inspiration and hope and understanding as to why they are here?
• What God is doing? Absolutely!

You think about that! Think about this in relationship to what we're reading here.

Verse 5: "Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men."

Verse 7: "He rules by His power forever; His eyes keep watch upon the nations; let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah…. [the rebellious won't be around during that time] …O bless our God, O peoples, and make the sound of His praise to be heard, He Who keeps us in life and does not allow our feet to slide, for You have tested us, O God…. [there are going to be times of proving] …You have refined us as silver is refined. You have brought us into the net…" (vs 7-11).

Not every one of the verses blend right in together in a complete story flow, because the Old Testament is 'precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little.' That's how we understand it.

So, we'll pick this up tomorrow and we will finish the book of Psalms and how it portrays the Kingdom of God, our part in it, God's part in it, and the way the people of the world will be living.

Scriptural References:

• Daniel 2:40-45
• Daniel 7:23-27
• Psalm 1:1-6
• Psalm 2:1-3, 5-12
• Psalm 118:1-29
• Psalm 9:5-8, 15-16
• Psalm 15:1-5
• Psalm 23:1-6
• Psalm 24:1-3
• Isaiah 4:2-6
• Psalm 24:3-10
• Psalm 29:1-9
• Psalm 45:1-4, 6-9
• Psalm 46:4-11
• Psalm 48:1-4, 8-10
• Psalm 49:1-3
• Psalm 50:1-6
• Psalm 65:1-2, 4-6
• Psalm 66:1-5, 7-11

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Revelation 13; 20; 17
• 2 Thessalonians 2
• Isaiah 2
• Revelation 1; 21
• Matthew 13; 6
• Revelation 16
• Deuteronomy 28
• Revelation 8; 9; 10
• Psalm 21
• Matthew 24
• Ezekiel 34
• Revelation 22; 19
• Hebrews 1
• Isaiah 30

Also referenced:

• Book: God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by the Sabbath and Holy Days by Fred R. Coulter
• Commentary: The Unity of Scripture (The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version)
• Sermons: The Millennial Temple #s 1 & 2  truthofGod.org

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8-3-08
Reformatted/Corrected: 11/2019