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Feast of Tabernacles—Day 7
Fred R. Coulter—October 19, 2011
Greetings, brethren! Welcome to
the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles! Of course, we are told that we are
to observe the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days. There are great things that
we learn during the Feast of Tabernacles every single year. The Feast of
Tabernacles is one of the great hopes of mankind.
Let’s just review a little bit
and let’s bring us up to the end of the Millennium. We’ve talked a lot about
the Millennium, we’ve talked about the heart of David, we’ve talked about the
things that are going to take place. We’ve talked also about the work of Christ
and the bride, and now let’s study about the last of the Millennium.
There was a beginning of the Millennium.
Let’s see what happens at the
beginning of the Millennium, and then we’re going to look through the
Scriptures and understand what it is that takes place so we can realize how
it’s going to be all during the Millennium. We’ve looked at many, many
Scriptures, so we’re not going to go back over and repeat those again. But it’s
very essential for us to understand and realize how important that this
1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ and the saints is going to be for the whole
world. This, as we know, is going to be the great harvest of God. During
that time, billions will enter into the Kingdom of God.
- God’s
plan is so great!
- God’s
plan is so fantastic!
- God’s
plan is so marvelous!
- God’s
plan is as high as the heavens are above us!
- And
deeper than we can go into the earth!
God said, ‘My thoughts
are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways!’ God has to reveal these
things to us. God has to give us the understanding through His Word. As we have
seen, we have to ‘rightly divide the Word of God; line upon line, precept upon
precept, here a little and there a little’ and put it all together.
One of the things that is very
difficult for people to figure out is concerning Satan the devil. We’ll talk
about Satan the devil at the beginning and also at the end. Then we will look
at the Scriptures and see what is life going to be like, and more importantly,
what will be the condition of the people toward the end of the Millennium.
Somewhere along the line, just like there’s a beginning and there’s what takes
place until the end, there has to be an end. Seven is a number of completion:
- seven
days to the week
- all of
God’s Holy days within seven months
- seven
days of the Feast of Tabernacles
- seven
days of the feast of Unleavened Bread
- At the
beginning of this we have the Passover
- At the
end of it we have the Last Great Day
Each one of
them representing an eighth day
That shows us that with the plan of God,
when there comes an end, there’s always a new beginning.
Let’s come to
Revelation 20:1 and let’s read about what’s going to happen to Satan the devil.
“Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a
great chain in his hand. And he took hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
Then he cast him into the abyss…” (vs 1-3).
When Satan
goes into the abyss, all the demons go into the abyss. We saw in Rev. 8 how
that there are demons that are in the abyss right now, who for the very purpose
of the fifth trumpet plague are released. These demons unite with the
technology of men to bring awesome things upon the earth. Wherever Satan is,
when he’s locked up, all of his angels that followed him will also be locked
up. Imagine what it’s going to be like with the earth without any Satan the devil,
without any demons to come along, and also, as we saw yesterday, a change of
human nature. Quite a phenomenal thing that is going to be—right? Yes!
“…cast him
into the abyss and locked him up, and sealed the abyss over him,
so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the
thousand years were fulfilled… [We’re going to look at the fulfilling of
the thousand years. Then we will also look at what will happen, why God lets
him out.] (because it says): …and after that it is ordained that he be loosed for a short time” (v 3). We will see the reason for that.
Let’s see
what God wants us to know. Let’s understand what God has shown for us. Let’s
come back to Micah, the fourth chapter, and let’s review just a little bit,
understand concerning how the Millennium will be and how great it will be. This
is going to be a fantastic and great harvest. This is when most people will be
brought into the Kingdom of God. Let’s understand that there are three
harvests.
- the
first resurrection
- the
harvest during the Millennium when Jesus Christ and the saints will rule and
reign
- we will
be teachers
- we will
be priests
- we will
be administrators
The whole government of the
whole earth will be in the hands of Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints in
the first resurrection. The second harvest is going to be all during the
Millennium. They will have circumstances different than us.
Let’s
understand that the first resurrection, as we know, is likened to the
firstborn. We are called the Church of the Firstborn (Heb. 12). We also have
covered how that we have an inheritance with Jesus Christ. The Bible also tells
us that the firstborn will receive double. That mean that the reward for the
firstborn is going to be greater than the reward for those who come in
during the Millennium.
Then we will
see tomorrow that there is a third harvest of God, which happens on the
Last Great Day. Of course, their circumstances are going to be totally
different than those during the Millennium and those of us who qualify for the
first resurrection through God the Father.
Let’s pick it
up here in Micah 4:1: “But it shall be in the last days that the
mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto
it.” That’s going to be the capital city of the world.
Also, isn’t
it very interesting that in our day and age today, Jerusalem is the focal point
of the problems that are to be addressed, the wars that are coming, the
difficulties that we face. At that time, Jerusalem will truly be the city of
peace. Jesus Christ, the King of Peace, the King of the earth will rule from
Jerusalem. As we saw, there’s going to be this great tabernacle over Jerusalem,
with a cloud by day—a big canopy—and a fire by night. Even during
the Millennium, Jesus Christ is not going to live in a temple made by hands.
In some Feast
of Tabernacles I’ve gone through showing that the mistaken belief that the
instructions of the temple given to Ezekiel (chapters 40-48), people refer to
it as the Millennial temple. If you read it very, very carefully, you will find
that God gave to Ezekiel the vision and understanding of the temple that was in
Jerusalem and this came to him before it was destroyed.
Those plans
were given with the description to Ezekiel, because with the temple being
destroyed there were no plans to rebuild the temple. Yet, God said they would
rebuild the temple at the end of the 70-year Babylonian captivity. Those plans
that we find there in Ezek. 40-48 have to do with the second temple. The
tabernacle that is going to be for Christ over Jerusalem is described in Isa.
4.
Now, let’s
see what’s going to happen. The whole teaching, the whole government, because
it says in Isa. 9 that the government shall be ‘on His shoulders, and of the
increase of His government there shall be no end.’ It’s going to pick up and
accelerate during the Millennium.
Verse 2: “And
many nations shall come and say, ‘Come and let us go up to the mountain of the
LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob…. [Notice that it’s not temple—it’s house.] …And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His
paths’—for the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the Word of the LORD
from Jerusalem.” The judgment of all the nations is going to be at that time.
Let’s come back the book of
Ezekiel, chapter 36, and let’s just review this here for a minute. Let’s see
what is going to happen there. Let’s see what God is going to do to the
children of Israel, and the principle in the Bible is this: As it is to
Israel, so it is to all the nations of the world! All nations are going to
learn—we just read that in Micah 4. God is going to have to do the same
thing to all the people of the world so that they can then be given an
opportunity for salvation.
Notice that this is the time of
conversion, and also that human nature will not be as devoted to wickedness
that it is today, because Satan the devil will not be here. He is going to be
bound. He is going to be restrained.
Ezekiel
36:26: “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within
you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give
you a heart of flesh.” A changed spirit of man! No longer devoted to
evil. No longer tuned into Satan the devil who was the ‘prince of the power of
the air.’
Verse
27—here is conversion: “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you
to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances and do them.”
Remember, when God gave the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5 when Moses was re-iterating
the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel) God said, ‘Oh that there were
such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep My commandments always.’
Even right there in the presence of God, until they had their nature changed,
they didn’t have the heart.
Here they’re
going to be given a new heart, a new spirit, plus the Spirit of God! All three
together, plus with the kings and priests and all the teachers—because in
Isa. 30 it says that your teachers are not going to be ‘hidden from you’; you
will see your teacher—that means us, they will see us. Who do you suppose
is going to be teaching them on the Sabbath days? Who do you suppose is going
to be teaching them during the Feasts of God? We are! They will know!
This is going to be a fantastic thing, brethren! Remember, this is going to go
on a thousand years.
Verse 28:
“And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. And you shall be
My people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your
uncleannesses, and I will call for the grain, and will increase it, and will
lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruits of the tree and the
increase of the field, so that you shall never again receive the curse of
famine among the nations” (vs 28-30).
There’s still
going to be repentance. There’s going to be enough human nature that there’s
going to have to be repentance and change. Here’s how it’s going to start out,
but this is going to continue. The whole principle that we find in Acts
2—repent and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit—is
going to be operable all during the Millennium. There has to be repentance!
Verse 31:
“‘And you shall remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and
for your abominations. I do not do this for your sake,’ says the Lord
GOD, ‘be it known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of
Israel.’ Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘In the day that I cleanse you from all your
iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the waste places shall be rebuilt’” (vs 31-33). Just think about the whole building program for
a thousand years.
-
no
hurricanes
-
no
tornadoes
-
no
floods
-
no
drought
-
no mass
fires
Everything is going to be built. It is going to develop
into the most magnificent society that human beings could ever possibly know.
It is going to go far greater than the things that we think in this age right
now are fantastic and nearly God-like with the things that we have. It’s going
to be greater than that.
Verse 34:
“‘And the wasteland shall be tilled, instead of being desolate before all who
pass by. And they shall say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the
garden of Eden…. [this ties in with Acts 3 where Peter said that Christ went to
heaven and was going to be there until the ‘restoration of all things.’ Well,
when He comes back to the earth, the whole world is going to be like the Garden
of Eden.] …And the wasted, desolate and ruined cities now are fenced and
inhabited.’ And the nations that are left all around you shall know that I the
LORD build the ruined places and planted that which was desolate. I
the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it” (vs 34-36). We’re the ones who
are going to carry that out.
Ezekiel
37:15—this also tells us how all of Israel is going to be united again,
all 12 tribes. Obviously, as everybody increases, what’s going to have to
happen? The same thing that happened during this age! The children will
find no room. There’s a prophecy which says the ‘place is too straight, we’ve
got to go somewhere else.’ Where are they going to go? To the same places that God gave to the children of Israel before the
Millennium! This is going to be a
tremendous thing. However, it’s going to be all 12 tribes together.
Ezekiel
37:15: “And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘And you, son of man, take
a stick and write on it, “For Judah and for his companions, the children of
Israel.” And take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph, the stick of
Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, his companions.” And join them to one
another into one stick. And they shall become one in your hand’” (vs 15-17).
That’s the rulership of Christ.
Verse 18:
“‘And when the children of your people shall speak to you, saying, “Will you
not declare to us what do you mean by these?” Say to them, “Thus says the Lord
GOD, ‘Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of
Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions, and I will put them with
him, even with the stick of Judah, and will make them one stick, and
they shall be one in My hand.’” And the sticks on which you write shall
be in your hand before their eyes’” (vs 18-20). So, this was a prophetic
prophecy by what Ezekiel did to show the eventual outcome of what would happen.
Of course, this is going to continue through all the Millennium.
Verse 21:
“And say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will take the children of
Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them on
every side, and will bring them into their own land. And I will make them one
nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over
them all. And they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they be divided
into two kingdoms any more at all. Nor shall
they be defiled with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with
all of their transgressions. But I will save them out of all their dwelling
places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they shall be to
Me for a people, and I will be their God”’” (vs 21-23). See how fantastic that
is going to be!
This restoration of all things will continue right down, growing, growing, growing all the time until the end of the Millennium. Well see more
about this and what’s going to happen at the end of the Millennium and then we
will look at Satan’s fate.
This
obviously is under Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is going to inherit the throne of
His forefather David. But David is going to be resurrected, probably be right at
the right hand of Christ. We don’t know for sure, but that’s just kind of a
little speculation.
Verse 24: “And David My
servant shall be king over them. And there shall be one shepherd to all
of them. And they shall walk in My ordinances and obey My laws, and do them.
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, the
land in which your fathers have dwelt. And they shall dwell in it, even they
and their children, and their children’s children forever. And My servant David shall be their ruler forever” (vs 24-25).
Fantastic
covenant. This is the covenant of the Millennium for Israel and also for all
nations, because they’re all going to come to Jerusalem. They’re all going to
learn of God’s way. They’re all going to be given this experience of change of
nature and conversion.
Verse 26:
“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting
covenant with them. And I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My
sanctuary in their midst forever. And My tabernacle… [as we saw in Isa. 4]
…shall be with them. Yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the nations shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary
shall be in their midst forever” (vs 26-28).
That’s quite
a scene! That’s going to be great thing for us to understand. A great thing for
us to know and realize! Brethren, let’s just stop and ask:
-
Has
Satan the devil blinded this world today? Yes!
-
Is he the ‘prince of the power of the air’ today? Yes!
He’s also has
-
blinded
all of the ‘religious’ people
-
blinded
the contemporary Christianity of this world
I’ve got a report that shows
that in some Methodist churches they are now even reading parts of the Koran.
Who would have thought that would have happened? Think about that! Do they
know? Do these people understand? No, they don’t!
But,
brethren, we do! Think about the responsibility that that gives
us. If God gives us the knowledge of His will; if He reveals to us His plan
through His Word and through His Spirit; we have a great
responsibility—don’t we? Yes! This is why we are to
-
grow in
grace and knowledge
-
grow in
understanding
-
to see
and know and realize what’s coming to pass
-
where
we’re headed
-
where
we’re going
-
where
the world is headed
-
where
it’s going
All of these things come upon us
in the last days.
Let’s come to Isaiah 65 and let’s
see something here that gives quite a good understanding of what it’s going to
be like during the Millennium. We will see how this applies to the Millennium,
and then in type will apply to the resurrection during the fulfilling of the
Last Great Day.
Isaiah 65:13:
“Thus the Lord GOD says, ‘Behold, My
servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My servants will drink, but
you will be thirsty. Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be
ashamed.” That’s talking about those in the world today who reject God.
Verse 16: “‘He who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself by the God of Truth. And
he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of Truth; because the former
troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from My eyes, for behold, I
create new heavens and a new earth….’” (vs 16-17).
-
Were
the heavens all discombobulated at the return of Christ? Yes!
-
What is
the condition of the earth going to be? Destruction! Death!
The whole world is going to be in great turmoil. What’s
going to happen, there’s going to be the earth renewed, which here is called a
“…new heavens and a new earth. And the former things will not be remembered,
nor come to mind. But be glad and rejoice
forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a
rejoicing, and her people a joy’” (vs 17-18).
Remember, everybody is going to come to Jerusalem. Everybody is going to
learn of God’s way. When I mean ‘everybody,’ that’s all nations. They
will get the information, we will go back with them to their countries and
teach their countries God’s way. But since it’s God’s way, God is
the One Who is actually teaching them, just like us today. Whatever I teach out
of the Word of God—with God’s Spirit and you understand it—that is
God teaching you though I read the words. That’ doesn’t make me in place of
God, but that’s just how God operates to get things done.
“‘…And the
former things will not be remembered, nor come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for
behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will
rejoice in Jerusalem, and I will joy in My people; and the voice of weeping
will no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying’” (vs 17-19).
Can you think
of a society where there will be no violence, no crime, no fear—the whole
environment is going to be changed; the whole world will become like a Garden
of Eden—a magnificent thing—right? Yes! But still laid
before all people, because if they learn of the Law of God and His way what’s contained in His Law and what’s contained in His way and what is going
to be the message to everyone—this exact same thing that we find in Deut.
30—exact same thing. They are going to have to choose
-
to love
God
-
to keep
His commandments
-
to keep
His laws, statutes and judgments
-
to
yield to God
Most will, because their carnal
nature has been modified and changed back to what human nature was at the
beginning. But nevertheless, they still have to choose!
Verse 20:
“There will not be an infant who lives but a few days… [no more deaths of
infants] …nor an old man that has not filled his days…” So there isn’t going to
be anything to interrupt the lifespan. It’s going to start out a good birth,
good childhood, everything you need to grow up; everything you need to become a
full-fledged adult. The knowledge of God is going to cover the earth as the
‘seas cover the earth.’ Everybody is going to know about God. Everybody is
going to be taught about God. The whole society—every man and woman in
the whole world—will be given an opportunity for salvation.
This is why
the first resurrection is better than those during the Millennium. We’ve had
the obstacles of Satan the devil and human nature and the lawless, evil
societies in which we have to live. God is the One Who has rescued us from Satan the devil, and He is the One Who has sealed us with His Spirit. At the first resurrection that’s called a superior resurrection in the book of Hebrews, to eternal life!
Fantastic eternal life, brethren! They’re going to be given eternal life as
well. Since they are not the firstborn, then they are not going to receive
exactly the same inheritance that we do. But they will have a tremendous
inheritance and part in eternal life that God gives to them, as well.
“…for the child will
die a hundred years old… [We’re going to see that’s the approximate lifespan of
all human beings during the Millennium.] …but the sinner who is a
hundred years old shall be accursed” (vs 20). There will be still those who
sin. When the sinner is accursed and dies, we’re going to see that he’s put
into the grave. We are going to see that those who qualify, who are ready at
the end of the one hundred years, will be changed!
Verse 21:
“‘And they will build houses and live in them; and they will plant
vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build, and another live in them;
they will not plant, and another eat; for like the days of a tree are so
will be the days of My people, and My elect will long enjoy the work of
their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for
calamity. For they are the seed of the beloved of the LORD, and their
offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, before they call… [and we’ll be
the ones who will answer] …I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I
will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat
straw like the ox; and dust will be the food of the serpent. They will
not hurt nor destroy in all My Holy mountain,’ says the LORD” (vs 21-25). Quite
a description of how life is going to be at that time.
Now, let’s ask:
-
If a
person lives a hundred years and has loved God, served Him, kept the
commandments and is ready to receive eternal life, how is that going to happen?
-
Will it
be necessary for them to die, be put in the grave and then resurrected?
-
When
Christ returns, are there going to be people who are still alive when He
returns, and what’s going to happen to them?
Let’s come to
1-Thessalonians 4 and let’s see it, and let’s see if we can ‘rightly divide the
Word of God’ and properly reason with the Word of God so we can
understand what is going to happen to everyone who lives his or her life in a
way—during the Millennium and for a hundred years—we can say is ready for the Kingdom of God; they are ready for salvation.
We see this because it’s talking about the return of Jesus Christ,
1-Thessalonians 4:15: “For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall in no
wise precede those who have fallen asleep.” They’re not going to be changed
first. Those who are ‘dead in Christ’ are going to be raised first!
Remember, ‘flesh
and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.’ (1-Cor. 15). For the first resurrection, when the trumpet sounds, the
dead shall be raised and they shall be changed, and those who are alive and
remain will also be changed in the ‘twinkling of an eye’ so their
deaths—because it’s given to all men once to die—has to be a quick
death and instant transformation from flesh to spirit.
Verse 17: “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds for the meeting with the Lord in the air; and so shall we always be with the Lord.”
All of those
of us who are flesh are still subject to death, Hebrews 9:27: “And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to
die, and after this, the judgment.” That’s now; but it is still
appointed once for men to die, because ‘in Adam all die.’ Those who live a
hundred years during the Millennium and have lived a faithful life:
-
loving God
-
serving God
-
growing in grace and knowledge
-
overcoming
-
fulfilling their great potential
—which at that time will be fantastic, indeed; much
beyond what we have today—they still have to ‘die in Adam’; given to men
once to die. But instead of afterward being the judgment, just like now
‘judgment is now upon the house of God,’ judgment will be upon all people
during the Millennium. Are they righteous? or Are the wicked?
If they sin and die, what’s
going to happen to the sinner? Well, the sinner is going to be buried! It says ‘he’s accursed’; because the sinner that doesn’t repent is not going to
receive eternal life. They still have to pay the final penalty. But they are
put in the grave to await the second half of the second resurrection; to be
resurrected and cast alive into the Lake of Fire. That is the fate that God has
determined for all sinners—the second
death!
We’ll cover a little bit more about that tomorrow, but it’s important
for us to understand. Just as there were people alive when Christ returned and
they were changed instantly. Well, that was an instantaneous death and change
and transformation from flesh to spirit. If God did that at the beginning of
the Millennium when we are changed, if we live to the return of Christ, would
that not be what He would do during the Millennium? Why would He do it any
differently? Well, He wouldn’t do
it any differently! That’s how He
would do it.
(go to the next track)
Let’s analyze the last generation of the Millennium. All the way down
through the Millennium you have this: Everyone lives 100 years and they have
full opportunity for salvation. They have plenty of everything and an abundance
of all things. They are going to be wealthy, untold, when you come to the last
generation.
-
What is
their attitude going to be like?
-
How are
things going to be?
-
How
many will not desire?
—because of
those circumstance, because they have been so used to seeing people coming to
services and then on the day they’re going to be changed that they will be
instantly changed from flesh to spirit—
They will think
that, yes, this is going to happen. But
-
How
many people will still want to go their own way?’
-
What’s
it going to be like?
Let’s come
here to the book of Ecclesiastes, because this will still be the way that it’s
going to be there. We can also look at it another way: Even with the Church of
God—that’s with those who are ‘marginally’ converted or not converted at
all—what did they say to God? We’re rich and increased with goods and
have need of nothing!
Will there be
people at the end of the Millennium—because the whole operation of God
has been going on for 900 years—what’s going to happen to them? Remember,
it says ‘the sinner will die accursed.’ That means if you die accursed, you’re
going to be waiting for the second half of the second resurrection, to be cast
into the Lake of Fire—right? Yes, indeed! So, what’s going to
happen to those who choose—because everyone has to choose—to just
accept things the way that they are and not choose eternal life. Everything
will be there for them. What’s going to happen to them? How is God going to
handle that? Every generation comes along and it thinks ‘we’ve got a better
idea.’ Isn’t that what we have today? Yes, indeed!
Ecclesiastes
1:2—this is by Solomon, the son of David: “‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the
Preacher, ‘vanity of vanities! All is vanity.’” Then it talks about
everything that goes on. Think about the whole Millennium. No war! No trouble!
Always peace, everything right, abundance of everything, plenty of food, plenty
of fun, plenty of enjoyment, plenty of everything! Yet, you have the people who
don’t become converted.
One
generation comes, another generation goes! Let’s see what Solomon said here.
Are we going to have those who, at the end of the Millennium, will want to do
what Solomon did here? Remember, during the days of Solomon that was the
closest thing we could get to as far as the Millennium, as far as the physical
things.
-
peace
all around, no war
-
everybody
there to know and learn
-
the
temple of God with the presence of God
-
the
king that God chose to put on the throne and to build the temple
Verse 17: “And I gave my heart to know wisdom and to know
madness and folly; I perceived that this also is striving after wind. For
in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases
sorrow” (vs 17-18).
In
Ecclesiastes, chapter two, Solomon said he’s going to do this. Will people be
given the opportunity to do this? Well, let’s find out! Let’s ask: How
is God going to handle it? Can you let sin just grow in the community? Can you
let the unconverted—who desire not to go God’s way—remain with
those who are serving and loving God and preparing for eternal life? There will
be a lot of people who will want to do this:
Ecclesiastes
2:1: “I said in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out
what is good.’ and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, ‘It
is madness;’ and of mirth, ‘What does it accomplish?’” (vs 1-2). He wanted
to give himself over to discover, by experimentation, what he thought was good.
After he saw
all of that, v 11: “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done, and
on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all is vanity and a
striving after the wind; and there is no profit under the sun.” It
doesn’t matter what your physical circumstances are—how good or how great
they are—if you don’t have God, you have nothing! But that
last generation during the Millennium is going to have to learn it.
What does God
do to people who will say, ‘My choice is I don’t want salvation right now. My
choice is I want to learn for myself’? In other words, ‘I want to go sin.’ What
happens when people sin? What does God do?
Let’s go
right back to the beginning, because we’re dealing with the beginning and the
ending. What happened to Adam and Eve when they sinned? God put them out of
the Garden of Eden! They couldn’t live in the Garden of Eden. And, of
course, it’s going to be the restoration of all things—is it
not?—during the Millennium. Just like they couldn’t live in sin in the
Garden of Eden, will the people be able to live in God’s community and live in
sin and refuse to repent? What did God do to Adam and Eve? He put them out
of the Garden of Eden!
There’s
another word for that; it is called exile! ‘You go out on your own, you
don’t want to do it My way, you go your way.’ What happened when Cain killed
Abel? Was he not sentenced to a life of wandering, and he was further removed
from God than Adam and Eve? Yes, indeed!
So, if people
want to do like it’s listed here in the book of Ecclesiastes—and you can
read the whole book to see that ‘vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ That if
you have all the riches and all the wealth and you just sort of lounge around
and think about things and experiment with this and that and the other thing,
you begin to sin. How is God going to handle it when they sin? What is God
going to do?
Let’s look at
another example here, 2-Kings 17. Let’s see what God did to the children of
Israel when they refused to love God and serve Him. They were living in the
land of Israel. All the people are going to be living in their lands and in
their communities. What is God going to do to them? How is God going to handle
that?
Let’s come
back to Revelation 20 (first) and let’s look at something concerning the end of
the Millennium where Satan the devil is loosed. Why is he loosed? What does he
do? This is quite a thing! We know that at the beginning of the Millennium that
he is bound in the abyss, and it’s destined that he be released for a short
time at the end of the Millennium. What’s going to happen just prior to the
end? What’s going to happen to those people who say, ‘I want to choose my own
way and I want to find out for myself’? In other words, they reject God’s
salvation!
Let’s see if
we can put this together and understand it fully, Revelation 20:7: “Now when
the thousand years have been completed, Satan shall be loosed out of his
prison; and he shall go out to deceive the nations that are in the four
corners of the earth, Gog and Magog…” (vs 7-8).
Let’s stop
right here; let’s ask: When Cain was removed further away from God, where was
he sent? To the land of Nod, or the land of wandering! What did
he do when he got there? He developed his own civilization and society,
separate from God! He wasn’t willing to do God’s way.
We have
something very similar here. What about God and Magog? Let’s see if we can
think this through properly with the Scriptures. We know the prophecies of Gog
and Magog, Meshach, Tubal and so forth (Ezek. 38-39). We know that these are
the ones who come against the children of Israel right after the Millennium
begins.
Gog and Magog
become infamous for their rebellion to reject the rule of God. These are the
nations that God is going to have to rebuke afar off, until they get the point.
They become infamous, but let’s ask: During the Millennium are all people,
including Gog and Magog, given an opportunity for salvation? Yes, indeed! If this refers to the people of Gog and
Magog rather than their
geographical land, or part of
their geographical land, then God is a respecter of persons by not giving them
an opportunity for salvation—correct? Yet, God says He wants to give all that opportunity. So, we can conclude from this that Gog and Magog has
to be a geographical area that God sets aside from the nations of Gog and
Magog, from the people of Gog and Magog, as a place of exile.
“…of whom the number is as the sand of the sea, to gather them together for war” (v 8). As soon as
Satan is loosed there’s war!
Let’s back up
a little bit, we’ll come back here to Rev. 20 in just a little bit so we can
see the conclusion of the matter there. Let’s come to 2-Kings, the 17th chapter, and let’s see what God did to Israel because of their sins. He didn’t
exterminate them all, but what He did, He sent them into exile.
We can also
conclude, since God is the ‘same yesterday, today and forever’ that for those
who reject salvation, and they want to go their own way, they will be offered
the option of going to the area of Gog and Magog to live their lives, do the
things they want to do, and they will be set aside from the rest of the people
of the world who love God and keep His commandments.
2-Kings 17:7:
“Now it came to pass because the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD
their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt… [they sinned] (v
8): …and walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD cast out from
before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which the nations
had made. Now the children of Israel secretly did things that were not
right against the LORD their God. And they built high places in all their
cities for themselves from the Watch Tower to the fortified city. And they set
up images and groves for themselves in every high hill, and under every green
tree. And they burned incense in all the high places, like the nations whom the
LORD had removed from before them, and they practiced evil things to provoke
the LORD to anger” (vs 7-11).
God sent
prophets; told them to turn! Verse 12: “For they served the idols of which the
LORD had said to them, ‘You shall not do this thing.’ And the LORD testified
against Israel and against Judah, by all the prophets, by all the seers,
saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My
statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I
sent to you by My servants the prophets.’ Nevertheless… [here’s the
choice; people in the last generation of the Millennium will be given the
choice!] …they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like the neck of their
fathers who did not believe in the LORD their God. And they rejected His
statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings
that He testified against them. And they went after vanity, and became vain,
and went after the nations around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged
them not to do like them. And they left all the commandments of the LORD their
God and made molten images, two calves for themselves. And they made a grove,
and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the
fire….” (vs 12-17).
What did God do? Did He kill them all? No, He did not! He removed
them! He exiled them!
Verse 22: “For the
children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did. They did
not depart from them until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight as He had
said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their
own land to Assyria…” (vs 22-23)—a geographical area.
How did the
people in the last generation of Rev. 20 get to Gog and Magog? They got
there because they did not serve and love God! In order to remove them from
those who are growing in grace and knowledge and qualifying for salvation, it
has to be that God being the ‘same yesterday, today and forever’ gave them a
choice: What do you want to do? He probably said, ‘You either repent and live
here, or we have a place over here n Gog and Magog, an area where you can go
and live.’ They choose and go there.
Just like the
rebellious generation that we have today. They don’t want to do the things that
are right. They want to live their lawless lives. They want to reject the commandments
of God. They don’t want to obey anyone. What’s going to happen to them? Well,
they’re going to be taken off into captivity—correct? Removed from
the land—yes? Yes, indeed!
Why is Satan
removed? Revelation 20:7—he has one more mission to do, and this becomes
very important: “Now when the thousand years have been completed, Satan shall
be loosed out of his prison; and he shall go out to deceive the nations…” (vs
7-8). There will be people from all nations that will choose to go to the
geographical area of Gog and Magog and live their lives. All sinners have to
die once. So, what God is going to do, He’s going to send them all over there
and all the sinners will be there together. They will live their lives, and
however it’s going to be, choose to do what they want to do.
“…to deceive
the nations that are in the four corners of the earth… [that fourth
corner of the earth—wherever it is] …Gog and Magog… [What is the place of
exile that has been traditionally used in Russia? Siberia! Could that be
the same place? That’s where Gog and Magog are—right? (notice how
many are going to be there; an innumerable number of people): …of whom the
number is as the sand of the sea, to gather them together for war” (v
8).
He deceives
them! You can almost hear what Satan is going to tell them as soon as he gets
out of that prison, and the demons go with him. This will be a great spiritual
awakening—so they will view it—and Gog and Magog, to these people
who have rejected the salvation of God. He’s going to come and say, ‘You know,
that God down there in Jerusalem had me in prison for a thousand years, and I
finally got out. I want you to know that you were right in what you did. You
made the right choice and I am here and we are going to develop an army and we
are going to go against Jerusalem and we are going to defeat them in Jerusalem
and we will rule the world. And I,’ Satan will say, ‘will be God!’
-
Isn’t
that what Satan has always wanted to do?
-
What
are the people going to do?
They’re going to cheer! They’re
going to be whipped up by the demons! Just picture everything that happened in
these dictatorial societies when they get all whipped up and after their
leader. They’ll do anything! They’ll march to the death! They will kill! They
will steal! They will lie! All because their leader says to do so. Well, Satan
is going to be the leader of these nations that are deceived out there. He
deceives them into thinking that they can come and take Jerusalem and that they
can have eternal life their way, rather than God’s way!
What is the
purpose of this? God has determined for those who have committed the unpardonable
sin their fate—the second death in the Lake of Fire! We’ll
cover that tomorrow—correct? Yes! Isn’t that what God has
determined? Yes!
Well, all of
these people didn’t have time to live a hundred years, to die accursed and to
be buried. But, yet, the Millennium has ended and now there’s got to be the
Great White Throne Judgment come after that—correct? But you’ve got to
get rid of all of these sinners and all of these sinners have to die at once.
You can’t start the Great White Throne Judgment, to help rehabilitate those who
were never called, and to have them come into a society that is once again
filled with sinners.
That’s why
Satan is loosed! He is loosed to gather them to battle, to come against
Jerusalem and let’s notice what happens to them. Jerusalem is unarmed,
undefended, looks like an easy target. If you have a good war-plan you ought to
be able to swoop in there and you ought to be able to take over this and Satan
would go sit on the throne of God and say he’s God. Satan’s last attempt to be
God and God uses him to deceive the people that have rejected salvation to
bring them together in an army, to encircle Jerusalem and then let’s see what
happens to them.
Verse 9:
“Then I saw them go up upon the breadth of the earth and encircle the
camp of the saints, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of
heaven and consumed them.” They all died! Amazing—right?—yes,
indeed! What death is it for these people? Their first death! So,
now they will await the second phase of the second resurrection (as we will see
tomorrow) to be cast into the Lake of Fire!
Let’s finish
the rest of the story here. What happens to Satan the devil and the demons? Verse
10: “And the Devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet had been cast…”
Remember, the beast and the false prophet were fleshly human beings! They were
cast into the Lake of Fire at the beginning of the Millennium and were burned
up. That was their first death.
We know that
flesh and blood cannot exist in the heat and power of the Lake of Fire. They
are burned up and turned into ashes. They do not suffer in the flames. They’re
just burned up! It’s so hot that their breath is taken away from them the
instant that they hit the Lake of Fire, and at 4000o they are
incinerated instantly! That’s why God brought fire down from heaven against all
of those who came up to make war against Jerusalem—the sinners and rebels
of Gog and Magog. Not the people of Gog and Magog, but those of all nations
sent to Gog and Magog in exile. Here they come; they were burned up.
Verse 10:
“And the Devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet had been cast… [at the beginning
of the Millennium] …and they… [plural in the Greek. If it was just referring to
Satan alone, the plural subject ‘they’ would not be used. It was Satan and they must refer to the demons.] …Satan and the demons, shall
be tormented day and night into the ages of eternity.”
The torment
of Satan the devil and the fate of Satan the devil is that they are going to be
eventually in the blackness of darkness forever! I’ll give a separate sermon on
Satan’s fate and why he’s going to be there tormented forever and ever, so we
have a full-blown picture of what Satan and the demon’s fate really is.
After that
takes place, all of those who have qualified for salvation and are ready to
enter into the Kingdom of God will be transformed, brought into the Kingdom of
God. What if there are those who have not yet reached a hundred years, but are
faithful, loving and obedient? Could it be that they’re going to live over into
the beginning of the Great White Throne Judgment as physical beings, and then
transformed later as a model for all of those who come up in the second
resurrection, the first phase? Could be!
Now, we’re
dealing in areas we can’t say, ‘Thus sayeth the Lord.’ We can ask some questions.
Not dogma until we know more definitely how everything is going to be, then we
just leave it as a proposition and as a question, and that’s perhaps the way
that it will work out. We’re not told directly. But with the knowledge that we
have, we can put it together and add a little bit more to it than we have in
the past.
What comes
next? Verse 11: “Then I saw a great white throne and the one Who was sitting on
it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and no place was found
for them.”
That’s why we
have the Last Great Day. What about the rest of human beings that God did not
call? Well, you’ll have to come back tomorrow to find out what that is. Until
tomorrow, have a good rest of this day and the beginning of the Last Great Day
tomorrow.
Scriptural References:
-
Revelation
20:1-3
-
Micah
4:1-2
- Ezekiel
36:26-36
-
Ezekiel
37:15-28
-
Isaiah
65:13, 16-25
-
1
Thessalonians 4:15, 17
-
Hebrews
9:27
-
Ecclesiastes
1:2, 17-18
-
Ecclesiastes
2:1-2, 11
-
Revelation
20:7-8
-
2 Kings
17:7-17, 22-23
-
Revelation
20:7-11
Scriptures referenced, not quoted
- Revelation 8
- Hebrews 12
- Ezekiel
40-48
- Isaiah 4; 9
- Deuteronomy
5
- Isaiah 30
- Acts 2
- Deuteronomy
30
- 1
Corinthians 15
- Ezekiel
38-39
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