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FEAST OF TABERNACLES - DAY 7

Fred Coulter - September 27, 2002

And greetings, brethren. This is day seven of the Feast of Tabernacles, 2002. So today ends the Feast of Tabernacles, but there’s one more day because God has more in His plan than just the millennium and the things pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles.

And of course, from the very first of the preaching of the apostles, they preached the coming kingdom of God and the reign of Jesus Christ. And we’ve seen how it’s going to be, and we know that this is something that not only did the apostles preach, but it’s also as Peter says in “all the prophets.”

Now let’s come to Acts 3:19, because we’re going to find out what the millennium end is going to be. Because it’s going to be quite a little different at the end than perhaps maybe some people have thought. Now verse 19, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:19-21). And so that’s really quite a message, isn’t it? Daniel preached it. Jeremiah preached it. All of the minor prophets in one form or another, preached the kingdom of God, and the time that it will be. As we’ve seen, it’s going to be a time of peace and prosperity, and building and conversion of people, knowledge of the truth of God, as it covers the whole earth. And so we are going to have a tremendous and absolutely fantastic society. And we are going to be a part, as we have seen, in bringing that.

Let’s just review one section here in Micah 4. It’s very interesting. These words are almost identical to those in Isaiah 2, which I think is very interesting and perhaps very profound, which is this: is that God can cause the same message, the same words to be prophesied through one prophet or another. Because you see, the word of God was never at any time done by the will of man. But it was of holy men, moved of the Holy Spirit of God, and they spoke the words that God gave to them, and they wrote the words that God inspired them to write. Now let’s pick it up here, Micah 4:1. Now you might want to compare this with Isaiah 2, and you will see how identical it is, until we get down to one of the verses toward the last of the section here.

“But in the last days it shall come to pass, 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. 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; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Micah 4:1-2). And so this is going to happen all during the millennium. And there aren’t going to be any nations that are going to raise themselves up and become adversaries, and become enemies and have war. No, because the Prince of Peace is going to be reigning and ruling, and all the saints will be right there with Him making sure that everything is done for a whole thousand years.

Verse 3, “And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” And I think if you just start removing all of the modern things that we have today, which cause people to be led away from God, even the good things such as we have here that we’re able to use with the technology to record these videos ahead of time so you can have them for the feast. Even that is polluted and perverted because of sin and the use of it. So people are going to have to learn the right use of everything. And they are going to have to choose the right way, walk in God’s way, learn of God’s way, and salvation will be offered to them. As a matter of fact, during that time the tree of life, or the way of God is going to be available to all human beings. And that is going to be a fantastic thing indeed.

Now notice verse 4. Now here’s where it’s different from Isaiah 2. Now, we find this, beginning in verse 4 of Micah 3. “But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.” So here we have a way that is absolutely fantastic, isn’t it? Everyone is going to have enough space, enough food. They’re going to be protected by God. They’re going to learn of God’s way. And just think, for a thousand years this is going to go on, and it’s going to be absolutely astounding.

Now verse 5 is a very interesting verse. “For all people will walk every one in the name of his god [now, that’s a little “g”], and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.” Now, let’s understand something here. When we are born into the family of God, we will be the sons and daughters of God. And if we are then, we shall be equal with God, not in power, not in ability, not in majesty, but in life. So is this saying that they’re going to walk in the name of the god who’s in charge of them, not necessarily worshipping him, but just as it’s not wrong to worship Christ, would it necessarily be wrong then to worship the sons of God? Well, there are some people who say yes, it would, because all worship should go to God. Well, you see, at this time then we are going to be what? We are going to be one with Christ, and one with God the Father. So it’s a possibility. So we won’t cast that away. But we know for sure that they aren’t going to be walking in the name of pagan gods because there won’t be any pagan gods at that time.

And he says, “In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever” (vs. 6-7). So this shows that it’s going to bring salvation to all people. It’s going to open up the opportunity for them to have eternal life as well.

Now let’s come to Isaiah 55. You know, it’s tremendous brethren, all the things as we covered here yesterday, how much there is in the book of Isaiah concerning the kingdom of God, and the millennium, the reign of Christ, the bringing of salvation, universal salvation to all people. Now let’s pick it up here, Isaiah 55:10. Now this is a type of the millennium. It’s also a type of God’s planting, of growing of God’s Spirit. “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55:10-11). And so all during the millennium this is going to be happening because the law is going to go out of Zion, the word of God is going to go out from Zion. All people are going to learn of God’s way. And it’s going to bring forth just like the physical plants, and the physical things around will prosper and be blessed, so all human beings will be too. And they will have the knowledge of God, and they will have the knowledge of salvation, and they will have the understanding of the reason for the purpose of their existence, which people today just do not understand.

Verse 12, “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” In other words, everything in the whole environment is going to be blessed, and have the blessing of God, and in harmony with God’s ways. “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off” (vs. 12-13). Now notice how all of this continues right on into all eternity. And that’s what we find when we come tomorrow, that God’s plan is opened up for all eternity at that time. Now He hasn’t written very much about that for us to understand. It’s all we can do to grasp and understand what He’s given to us at this time.

Now let’s come to Isaiah 19, and let’s see something that is prophesied here which has never happened, showing the kind of peace, showing the kind of harmony, showing the kind of love that there will be between people, between nations as it comes from God. Let’s pick it up here, Isaiah 19:23. Now let’s understand that God says it’s going to accomplish what He desires. And here’s part of it. “In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.” That means they’re going to serve God. “In that day shall Israel be the third [not in rank, but the third one] with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance” (Isa. 19:23-25).

Now when you read about Egypt in the prophecies of the Old Testament, and even in the New Testament, it likens Jerusalem unto Sodom and Egypt. Egypt is the epitome of the worst of the nations. And remember what God did in bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt from their bondage. And He told the children of Israel, “Don’t go back into Egypt, don’t go back to their gods, don’t let the king go down to Egypt and purchase horses and chariots, and marry the daughter of the Egyptians”, and all of that. Now look, here they are all blessed, all working together in peace and in harmony and in cooperation. Now you see, all the efforts of the whole world today cannot do that in the Middle East. It just seems to be an intractable situation that is insoluble. You see, it’s going to take Christ to solve it. It’s going to take the power of God to force them to do the things that they need to do. So that’s really quite something.

Since we’re here in Isaiah, let’s look at a few more scriptures. Let’s come to Isaiah 25:6. And again, what I want you to understand, and for us to have in mind is that these things are going to continue for a thousand years. “And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees [and it won’t be grape juice], of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” And remember the first miracle that Jesus did was change water into wine. And remember that the governor of the wedding feast said, “Why did you keep the best to last?” So it’s going to be something. “And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations” (Isa. 25:6-8). So God is going to lift that spiritual blindness. God is going to take it away. And as we saw in Ezekiel 36, He’s going to give people, instead of a heart of stone, He’s going to give them a heart of flesh. Meaning that they will be sensitive, hear God’s way, repent, be converted, and so forth.

And then it goes on showing, again, this ties right in with 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 20. “He will swallow up death in victory;…” Now not only is that going to apply to the millennium, but that is going to apply to the great white throne judgment, or the Last Great Day. “…And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.” So that’s really quite a thing when we really understand how these things come along here, isn’t it? Verse 9, “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (vs. 8-9). And of course, that’s applying to us because we have waited for God. And we rejoice in His salvation. And really, at that time, much more so than any time at all in our lives, see, because today the righteous shall suffer persecution. And it’s through much tribulation that we enter into the kingdom of God, now. But then it will be different.

Let’s come to Isaiah 54:9, and again let’s see this because of all the things that God is going to do. And so it’s going to be a marvelous time brethren. Can you imagine a whole society where there is no crime, no robbery, no rape, no murder, no stealing? Can you imagine a society where everyone loves each other? Husbands and wives love each other. The children love their father and mother. The children love their neighbor children, and everyone is filled with the Spirit of God and salvation and joy. Now that’s going to be an unheard of thing. There will be no jails. There will be no hospitals. It’s going to be a society that is going to be astounding. And then, as we will see, at the end of life, there’s the opportunity for salvation instead of dying an ignominious death, or instead of suffering all the pains and things that we do today in old age. It’s going to be an entirely different society.

Ok, Isaiah 54:9, “For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee [that is, to Israel-physical people of Israel]. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children [of Israel] shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children” (Isa. 54:9-13). Now that’s a fantastic thing. You know, just think about all the things that have happened to children today. All the suffering of war. All the suffering of famine. All of the crimes committed against children. It’s just absolutely a terrible and awful thing, that’s to say nothing of abortion that they don’t even have a chance to start their lives.

Now verse 14, “In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by Me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD” (vs. 14-17). So this shows one of the reasons why we qualify to be priests and kings, right here, because in our lives we have the enemies against us. But in the millennium there won’t be any enemies at all. None whatsoever.

Now we’re going to have an educational system that is going to really be absolutely marvelous. Let’s come to Isaiah 30. And we won’t have to worry about taxes and vouchers. [laughter] You know, the only tax will be the tithes of God, and those will go back to serve the people and take care of the schools and training and everything like that. And there’s going to be handcrafts, and there’s going to be building, and making and inventing, and designing of things that will pale into insignificance what we have in this life now.

Now let’s pick it up here in Isaiah 30:19. “For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee. And though the LORD give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction,…”, so there will be some trials. You know, we all learn by some trials. But they won’t be the kind of trials that we have today. “…Yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,…” Now this doesn’t mean that we’re going to be like the spy in the sky, walking behind everyone, you see. They’re going to hear the word. Now what is this going to be? This is going to be because they have been taught by their teachers, and this actually means that they will have a consciousness of this. So when they start going to the right hand or the left hand, they will remember, “…This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isa. 30:19-21). So that’s going to be quite a thing, isn’t it? Because see, just like today with us, God leads us with His Spirit. God teaches us with His Spirit. God gives us conscience when we start doing things that are wrong, and we say to ourselves, “Uh-oh, this is not right.” So this is what it means. It doesn’t mean a tyrannical type of teachers peering over the top of your head, just kind of walking around, like this, watching over people to make sure that they do it, because you see, if that’s the case then there is no opportunity at all for them to learn by their mistakes because you see, there are still going to be mistakes. There are still going be sins to be repented of. But in that time, what we would say would be minor sins, will be major sins, because all of the other factors are going to be removed. So even that which is small will loom large, because then they will understand what sin really is.

Now let’s continue on. Let’s go to Psalm 132, and this talks about what we are going to do. This talks about our job in helping and serving. Psalm 132:9. It’s going to be quite a thing, isn’t it? Yes, I tell you. Let’s go back to verse 8 because verse 8 tells us a little bit more about this. You see, I don’t know about you brethren, but I’m blessed because I get to give these sermons twice. So it helps me, it inspires me even more to understand more of God’s way.

Now here, verse 8, “Arise, O LORD, into Thy rest [that is, into the millennium], Thou, and the ark of Thy strength. Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness;…” (Psa. 132:8-9). Now those are the garments of the saints, aren’t they. The white linen garments are the righteousness of the saints. And so being priests and kings, we’re going to be clothed with righteousness. You know, isn’t it going to be a wonderful thing to have the nature of God? Isn’t it going to be marvelous indeed that we won’t have to fight human nature? And isn’t it going to be an absolutely fantastic thing, that because of what we’ve experienced in this life, as kings and priests during the millennium we are also going to help people to be able to overcome their human nature, because they’ll still have it. They’ll still have to overcome it. But it won’t be to the degree that we have because God says He’s going to take away the stony heart, see. So it’s going to be quite a thing. Really.

Now let’s go on. Let’s look in the book of Proverbs at a couple of scriptures about the righteousness of God. And these are the things that are going to be taught. And I just imagine that we’re going to have books, we’re going to have teaching things, we’re going to… Can you imagine what a tremendous intellect that the people are going to have where they have pure food, pure water, pure instruction, a pure society? It’s going to be something indeed, isn’t it? Here, Proverbs 14:34. “Righteousness exalteth a nation:…” Now if it does a nation, think what it’s going to do to the whole world, see. And it says on the other part of this, “…but sin is a reproach to any people.” Now the margin has it there, “to nations”. So they’re all going to learn. Righteousness vs. sin.

Proverbs 16:12, and we will see then here another principle that is applied all during the millennium. And remember Christ is going to sit on the throne of David forever. Now let’s read it right here. “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.” And of course, righteousness is going to be the girdle of His loins, as we have read, right? Yes. Verse 13, “Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.” And that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to love God the Father and Jesus Christ. We’re going to teach the right things. We’re going to have learned the lesson of Satan the devil. We are going to have learned the lesson of human nature. And all of these things we can teach and impart to these people. Absolutely marvelous.

Let’s look at a couple more here in the book of Isaiah, and then we’ll begin to understand more about the millennium. Let’s come here, Isaiah 32:15. “Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high,…” Now that’s what’s going to happen all during the millennium. The Spirit of God, instead of Satan being the prince of the power of the air, it’s going to be Jesus Christ and the sons of God. And it’s going to be the Spirit of God that is going to prevail everywhere and in everything, you see. “…And the wilderness be a fruitful field,…” So here again we see that all the environment is going to be restored. And of course, we don’t know what a true, good, pure well balanced, blessed environment really is, and how productive that it can be. And continuing now, “…and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace;…” And of course Christ is the Prince of Peace, isn’t He? He is the King of Salem, which is the King of Peace. “…And the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isa. 32:15-17). Now you see, we can look out and we can see these things. We can understand them through a glass darkly, can’t we? But what is it going to be like to live there and experience it? And we are going to have the blessing and joy of seeing what it’s going to be like for physical human beings to live under God’s rule and reign all during the millennium. What a fantastic thing that that is going to be indeed. Marvelous, just… But we’re going to see a little later on, some people are not going to be satisfied with that, you see. Ok, we’ll learn that in just a little bit here.

Verse 18, “And My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; when it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass” (vs. 18-19). Again, showing how everything is going to be done.

Now let’s just come across the page to Isaiah 33:5. “The LORD is exalted; for He dwelleth on high: He hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure” (Isa. 33:5-6). So there again, we see this over, and over, and over again.

However, there’s going to be a problem that will develop. Toward the end of the millennium we are going to have by far, the greatest problem of Laodiceanism that has ever been in the history of mankind. And the reason is, everyone will be born into this kind of society. Right at the beginning of the millennium they’ll be able to see the comparisons all the way down, because they have come through all the time, of trouble, and war, and death, and upheaval, and everything like that. When we get toward the end of the millennium now, here there have been 900 years of peace, and stability, and growth, and salvation, and people being converted - most of them. You know, there will be very, very few who will commit the unpardonable sin during that time. And if they do, they will be cast into the lake of fire at that time, which will be their first death. But people will get complacent, because that is the nature of human beings. And they, you know, just like today, we have no conception of what it was like to live when there were just no automobiles, no electricity, no television, none of the modern conveniences that we have. And that’s why when you look out and you see the society today, because of that, people are spoiled rotten. And the only way that you can handle things of blessing and prosperity for a long time, is if you have the Spirit of God.

Now when we come down to the last generation of the millennium, we’re going to have people, and of course that will not want to receive salvation, because it’s going to be a choice. God is not going to make anyone receive salvation if he doesn’t want to. And just like today, there will be people who will not want salvation. They will want to have freedom and express themselves.

Now then, what is God going to do in cases like this? How is God going to handle it? Well, let’s come back here to the book of Genesis, and let’s see how God did it with Adam and Eve. And I think we can find that that’s how God is probably going to do it, because we have here in Genesis 3, and Genesis 4, we have how God handled sin when, in the face of righteousness and truth, they refused. So God is going to do something. And we’re going to see that in that last generation God is not going to punish them with their first death, whether it be an execution, or whether it be the lake of fire, or whatever it may be. God is going to do it differently so that there is going to be a lesson for all of mankind, a lesson for the family of God forever, and a lesson for Satan the devil.

Now, what did God do when Adam and Eve sinned. Let’s first of all start out where we began. Peter said there’s going to be the restoration of all things. Adam and Eve began in the Garden of Eden. And we know from the other scriptures that the whole world is going to be more or less like the Garden of Eden. Maybe not exactly entirely the whole world, but nearly the whole world, if you put it that way. And so, when Adam and Eve were there, walking with God, talking with God, knowing His way, and they determined that they wanted to go their own way and eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What did God do with them? Well, the wages of sin is death. That is true. But it doesn’t mean that the wages of sin is death instantaneously. So the first thing God did was put them out of the Garden of Eden, correct? So they were cut off from God. Removed from His presence. Removed from His blessings. And they were on their own. They were not allowed to continue in the Garden of Eden, and then of course we know that God put the two cherubim there to guard the way so they couldn’t come back in. So when they sinned, then that removal represents an exile. They were put out of the land. They were removed out of the land of the Garden of Eden to the East.

Now, at the entrance of the Garden of Eden was probably where there was an altar, and the two cherubim were guarding it. And that’s where Adam and Eve would come, probably on the Sabbath day, offer offerings, talk with God, receive instruction. But they couldn’t go back into the Garden of Eden. And their choice was such that even though there may have been repentance of it, they could not recover to go back into the Garden of Eden. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Adam and Eve at this time were cut off from salvation. So we can’t draw the parallel completely from the Garden of Eden.

But now let’s look at what happened with Cain and Abel. Now again we find that there was sin. And this is what we find in Genesis 4:5. “But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” So you see, if they did what God wanted, He would accept them even with the law of sin and death in them, even with the things that they would do, they could come to the presence of God at the garden, but they couldn’t live with God. So then God continues telling Cain, “…and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his [it’s] desire, and thou shalt rule over him [it].” Now then we know what happened. Cain talked with his brother, Abel, verse 8. And, “…when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him” (Gen. 4:5-8). Now here, God did not administer the death penalty to Cain. And just like the coward that all criminals are when he got caught… Let’s look at the penalty that God gave him, because this becomes quite an important thing here.

So verse 9, “And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me” (vs. 9-14). Well no, God did not allow Cain to be slain.

But the thing that is important here is this: when there was sin, God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. When there was sin in the area outside of the Garden of Eden, then God drove Cain further away and into what is call the land of Nod, or the land of wandering. Now we don’t know exactly where that was geographically on the earth, but he was sent out there to be on his own. And he developed his own society, and so forth, and we know the results of that, as we read the rest of the first chapters of the book of Genesis. So we can conclude that when God desires not to execute the death penalty on people because of sin, He sends them away in to exile. And in exile then they are cut off completely from God. And of course, Cain had no repentance. So this would be with those who are not repentant, who have rejected salvation, who will not obey God, desire to go their own way in spite of everything that they have heard.

Part 2

Now let’s see a prophecy that there will be some people that, regardless of what you do to try and teach them, they will not receive the truth. Astounding as that may be. Let’s come here to Isaiah 26:10. And this is a principle of human nature that can be applied now, that can be applied during the millennium, and especially toward the end of the millennium because we’re going to see that God is going to do a separation of the righteous and the wicked and He is going to exile the wicked. Now how long that is going to be, we don’t know. There are even some people who think that even during the millennium there may be a place of exile where people can be sent out. And if they repent they can be brought back, and if they don’t repent then they die there. Because, you see, all of those who are the encourageable wicked must die twice, as we will see.

Now let’s come to Isaiah 26:10. Now listen to this. “Let favour [that is, grace] be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.” So there are going to be some people that it’s going to be almost impossible to deal with them, and so they must be separated from the righteous.

Now let’s come to the book of Revelation, chapter 20, and let’s see that. And we’re going to, as we learned on the Day of Atonement, Satan is put away, because you see you can never, never get rid of sin as long as Satan is there. And human beings will still have the law of sin and death within them all during the millennium. Everyone is going to be given an opportunity for salvation. God isn’t going to force anyone, because you see, eternal life is based on choice. Eternal life is based on love, and obedience, and righteousness, and the Spirit of God.

Now let’s read verse 2. The angel came, Revelation 20:2, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,…” Why not just remove Satan all at once? Why bind him a thousand years. Notice… now here in verse 3 we find a very difficult to understand section of scripture here in Revelation 20. Verse 3, “…And cast him into the bottomless pit [which is the abyss, or the spiritual prison], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Rev. 20:2-3). Now why must he be loosed a little season? And how long is a little season? Well, we don’t know how long a little season is. We can guess and speculate based on other scriptures that perhaps it might be 3 ½ years. Very possible.

Now why must he be loosed? What is the object of that? Where is he going to go? Now let’s come down here to verse 7 and we see where it’s fulfilled. “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea” (vs. 7-8). Well now, it’s very likely, if we put the scriptures together properly, that in that last generation of the millennium, those who refuse salvation will be sent into exile into the geographical area of Gog and Magog. Not just the people of Gog and Magog, because we dealt with that at the beginning of the millennium. Now the people of Gog and Magog, all during the millennium, will have an opportunity for salvation. But here we have a geographical area of Gog and Magog.

Now it says, “…to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog,…” Now that means there’s going to be a lot of people there. How many are going to reject salvation? Well, who knows? We don’t know. And the number, that is, the sand of the sea…it tells us that it’s going to be quite a number but how many billions of people will there be on the earth at that time, toward the end of the millennium. I mean, you just consider. I’m sure there are going to be far more people on the earth than there are today.

And so here will be this area, just like it was the land of Nod for Cain. When he sinned a sin which is worthy of death, instead of executing him, he was sent further into exile. And so this is what we have here. These people are sent into exile. And notice what happens, immediately what happens. It’s quite a thing, isn’t it? They are deceived by Satan the devil. First of all, they’ve already deceived themselves out of salvation, haven’t they? They’ve already said, “No God, let me go my way. I don’t want salvation. I want to know what it’s like to get out and experience life on my own.” So God says, “Alright. We’ll send you there.” So they go to Gog and Magog, and they build their own society, and they do things their own way, because this is a good number of people. It doesn’t tell us how many, but it’s a good number of people. Well up into the millions. And they set up their own way, set up their own society. They live. We don’t know if they have children or not. We don’t know whether that is the case. But anyway, they’re going to be living there in exile. And Satan is going to be loosed on them, and the first thing he does is deceive them into what?

Now, number one, since salvation is a choice God will not allow people to be deceived out of salvation without an opportunity for choice. Now we’ll see that’s a very clear principle that God always operates. If people are deceived by Satan the devil before they’ve had an opportunity for salvation, that is a different story. Now we’ll talk a little bit more about that tomorrow, about those people who have been down through history. But now, we are dealing with people who with conscious volition and willful choice have made the decision they don’t want salvation. Now what is the wages of sin? The wages of sin is death. What is God’s final punishment on all sinners? The second death. Since that is so, that means that they have to die twice, which means they have to live twice.

Now here at the end of the millennium you have all these people who have lived once, they have rejected salvation, now they must die their first death. And God is going to bring that first death upon all of them, all at once, and He is going to use Satan the devil to lead them in it, and to deceive them into thinking that they can come and do the same kind of rebellion that Satan did, to go against God and still get what God promises by force of arms.

Now let’s read it here. “…To gather them together to battle [verse 8]: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” So they died. God’s judgment against them, that’s their first death. Now we don’t know at this point, and it’s very likely that there are people who accepted salvation in that last generation, who may live on over into the beginning of the Great White Throne Judgment period. It’s very possible. Because, as we have seen, it’s also very possible that all during the millennium, when a person reaches the end of their life, and it may perhaps be the equivalent of one hundred years, that there is no reason for them to die. They can be changed from flesh to spirit just exactly in the same way that there are those who, when Christ returns, are still alive and they’re not going to die, but they will be changed from flesh to spirit. Only the sinner will die. And the sinner will die accursed, and will know whenever there is the death of someone that way, that they will be waiting the second death. So here we have all of these people out in Gog and Magog. So God uses Satan the devil to go out there, to deceive them, to gather them together for the battle. And they are all consumed by the fire of God that comes out of heaven, and that is their first death. Their second death is yet to come. When all the incorrigible wicked, at the end of the Last Great Day, one hundred year throne judgment period, will receive the wages of sin, which is the second death.

Now then, something else takes place before the Great White Throne Judgment begins. Verse 10, “And the devil that deceiveth them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are [and it should read, “were cast”, because that was at the beginning of the millennium that they were cast in there], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

Now then, Satan the devil and the demons are those who are going to be tormented day and night forever, and ever. Now what do we really have right here in verse 10? We have the final judgment on Satan the devil. Because before the fulfillment of the Last Great Day, the Great White Throne Judgment period, Satan has to be removed entirely. Notice, he’s not put back into the abyss. He’s not put into prison. He is not shut up for a short time. He is removed completely and totally. So the very last thing that is going to be done to conclude the 1000-year period will be the judgment of Satan and his demons. Now let’s read about that. Revelation 12, let’s go back there. You see, because God is going to bring the final judgment against Satan the devil and the demons, and they are going to be tormented day and night forever in the lake of fire. Now human beings are not going to be tormented day and night, because they’re not spirit beings. They’ll be burned up if they go in the lake of fire.

Now here’s Satan’s rebellion. We know about it from the Day of Atonement, don’t we, that he wanted to be like God. And here’s a prophecy of it here in Revelation 12:3. “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:…” So here’s the rebellion of Satan the devil. He now is going to pay for it at the end of the millennium and the last part, the last act that God is going to do is judge Satan the devil and the demons and cast them into the lake of fire for their rebellion.

Now, let’s come here to Job 4 and let’s see that there are angels who have sinned, that God charges with folly. They are the demons that fell with Lucifer. They are the ones who are going to be cast into the lake of fire. Job 4:18. And then we are going to see after this a very interesting thing. Now, Job 4:18, “Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly.” There were a third of the angels that fell.

Now then, we’re going to read that we are going to do the judging. Christ and the saints are going to do the judging concerning Satan the devil. Now let’s come to 1 Corinthians 6. Now we’ve read this scripture many times, haven’t we? But we have never really understood, or never really put it together when it’s going to be that this is going to be done. Ok? 1 Corinthians 6, and let’s read it here. It has to do with judgment. And it has to do with judging the world, and it has to do with judging angels. Now all during the millennium we’re going to be judging the world, aren’t we? And we’re going to judge the angels at the end of the millennium. Now that’s why Paul says here to the brethren in Corinth when they had their problems that they weren’t solving them the way that they should, he says, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” And we’re going to judge the world all during the millennium. “…And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters.” (1 Cor. 6:1-2). That’s why we have to learn to judge righteous judgment today, see.

Now notice verse 3, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels?” Now that’s something, isn’t it? So we’ll be there with Christ, and we will help Him to judge Satan and the demons before they’re cast into the lake of fire. Now that’s something. Maybe you never really thought of it that way. But you see, in order for the fulfillment of the Last Great Day to take place, Satan and his demons must be removed forever. So Paul says if we’re going to judge angels, “..how much more things that pertain to this life?”

Now let’s continue on here just a few more verses. “If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge…” (vs. 4). And what it means here, what they did, they were setting those to judge who were the least esteemed rather than those who should do the judging. So you see judgment is going to be a very important and profound thing that we’re going to do. And we’re going to help judge the demons.

Let’s come back here to Daniel 7 and let’s see, judgment is going to be given to us. Daniel 7:26, “But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion,…” That will be Satan’s dominion, obviously, completely gone. Not only of the beast power, which this is the prophecy of, but who’s the power behind the beast? Satan the devil. “…To consume and to destroy it unto the end.” And that’s what it’s going to be. It will come to an end. “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Dan. 12:26-27). And so this is going to be a tremendous thing.

Now then, let’s come back here to Revelation 20 and let’s go ahead and see, before we finish, that in order to pave the way for the fulfillment of the Last Great Day, that Satan the devil has to be removed. And all of those who, in the second resurrection, in order to receive salvation, they will have already lived one life under Satan the devil. Now they don’t need to live two lives under Satan the devil. You need to understand that. That would be most cruel indeed. So then after that is done, and we’ll finish here with verse 11, “And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” Now comes the second resurrection. And so, you all come back tomorrow and we’ll go through the meaning of the Last Great Day, and why it is called the Last Great Day.