Psalms and the Millennium #1

Greetings, brethren! Welcome to day number three of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Let's understand something which we all know, which is this. And it becomes more important:

• the more we study the Bible
• the more we understand it
• the more we put it together
• the more we see how everything works in a wonderful pattern that God has made

how that this book tells us:

• everything about God that we need to know in this life
• what God is doing from beginning to end
• how we are to live our lives:
• whether we're a child
• whether we're a teenager
• whether we're a man or woman
• what you should do:
• as a leader
• a minister
• as someone who's going to run a city

All of that is in here! It's amazing what it's telling us, and yet people won't follow it!

So, what we're going to do today, we are going to see the broad umbrella of what God does, and how, in the book of Psalms. We're going to spend a lot of time in the book of Psalms looking at what God has put there that tells us about

• the Millennium
• what God is doing
• what we need to do
• how we need to do it

First, we'll look at a couple things in Dan. 2, because Daniel ends at the same place in every prophetic chapters: 2, 7, 9, 11, 12. They all end with what's going to happen and is happening in our day!

Let's read it: Daniel 2:40: "And the fourth kingdom…"

That's the 4th kingdom that has the ten heads of Dan. 7, the ten kings in a row coming clear down to our time. God is telling us back here in the 500sB.C. what He's going to do at the end when Christ returns. That all the rise and fall of the empires and the kings, God knows.

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

We have the image starting with a head, and that is King Nebuchadnezzar, and that's gold, and then down to silver, and then down to brass, and then down to the legs of iron, and then down to iron and toes.

Verse 41: "And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided…."

That's what it is today. It will come together at a very short time to fulfill the prophecies.

"…But there shall be in it the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix themselves with the seed of men…. [that's what we have today: intermarriage and all kinds of races everywhere] …But they shall not cling to one another… (vs 41-43).

When that happens, these nations, even though they come together, as we will see a little later on, they will not stay together, but it will fall apart, and Christ is going to take over,

"…But they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay. And in the days of these kings…" (vs 43-44).

That's the beast of Rev. 13, seven heads and ten horns, the ten kings. When we come to Dan. 7, that's the kings of the succession of the Roman Empire from the time of Christ all the way down to our day. Then it says this, and this is why it relates to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Verse 44: "And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. And the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."

Let's come to Dan 7 to see what's going to happen with that, and how that will be, and who is going to run it. Now then, here we have again the 4th beast:

Daniel 7:23: "Thus he said, 'The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth… [coming down in succession of ten empires] …which shall be different from all the other kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth, and shall trample it and break it in pieces.'"

That's what we see happening right now. They have plans to make a global world government, and they have been working on it for a long time. They have many things that they've been doing with it, likewise with the Catholic Church and the religions of the world. They have been working on bringing all religions together under the aegis of the pope.

Now, it's going to be troubled, but it will come together, because God is going to make it come together.

Verse 24[transcriber's correction]: "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. And another shall arise after them. And he shall be different from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."

We have a Chart—Appendix Y in The Holy Bible in It's Original Order, a Faithful Version—which shows that sequence of all of those kings.

Notice that v 25[transcriber's correction] ties right in with Rev. 13: "And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change the set times and the laws…."

That's exactly, exactly what the Roman Catholic Church has done. They have changed the set times and Laws of God! They are a completely pagan religion with a Christian name. That you need to know!

"…And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time" (v 25).

Now, that ties in with Rev. 12. But here's what's going to happen at the resurrection, and we're going to see part of what we must be doing now, as pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles, is to prepare for:

Verse 26 [transcriber's correction]: "But the judgment shall sit, and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and to be destroyed unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven…" (vs 26-27)—God's Government under Jesus Christ, as we read in:

• Rev. 20 as kings and priests
• Matthew 25
• Luke 19

reigning over cities and teachers and administrators!

Verse 27: "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 kingdoms shall serve and obey Him." That is the rule of Christ on the earth!

Let's come to the book of Psalms, because this is really interesting indeed when we understand it, It's amazing what is in here. It is truly amazing, because it starts right out with the first Psalm of, as a human being, what do I do? The very first Psalm tells us; it tells us there's:

• right and wrong
• good and evil
• God and truth
• lies and wickedness

all contained in this 1st Psalm!

A very short Psalm, but let's look at it. Let's see how we are to lead our lives so we can be, as it says in Dan. 7, to have the Kingdom given into the hands of the saints under the jurisdiction of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 1:1: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners… [to be yourself anchored in a sinful way of living in your life] … nor sit in the seat of the scornful"—like all of the educated elite of the world!

Verse 2: "But his delight is in the Law of the LORD; and in His Law does he meditate day and night."

Now, the Law of God for us is the whole Bible, Old Testament and New Testament. what did Jesus say when He was tempted of Satan the devil? The first words out of His mouth when He was tempted by Satan to change the stones into bread: man/ woman shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God!

That's how we're going to qualify as saints to take over the world. We have learned the Truth of God's way! And with His Spirit, I want you to make a special study on Psalm 119. That's the longest Psalm in the whole Bible; 176 verses all about:

• the Law of God
• the Truth of God
• the Commandments of God
• the Love of God
• the afflictions we go through
• how we need to stay close to God

If you're a 'dyed in the wool Protestant,' you better read that!

Let's talk about the Law of God here and see what it says in Psa. 19. We'll come back to Psa. 1 in just a minute.

Psalm 19:7: "The Law of the LORD…" has been abolished! That's what the Protestants read. But what does it say?

Verse 7: "The Law of the LORD is perfect…" If you have something perfect:

• Would you throw it away?
• Would you abolish it?
• What would you do?

Satan would try and destroy it. But:

• What would you do?

"…restoring the soul..." (v 7)—how to live!

How many people have problems and troubles and mental anxieties and all of this. That's because they don't believe in God, or they don't believe in God the Father and Jesus Christ the way that they should.

"…the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple" (v 7).

Testimonies of God are all found in the book of Proverbs, all other places through the Bible and in the Psalm. It's an amazing thing!

I don't think we really grasp and understand even all those years that we've been in the Church, and studied the Bible and gone through it, that we understand how amazing it really is.

Verse 8: "The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandments of the LORD are pure, enlightening the eyes"—giving you the understanding that you need:

• to have to run your life
• to have contact with God through prayer and study

A lot of people today, they're wondering, are there ancient aliens? I saw a thing by William Shatner wondering about ancient aliens. Where are they? Well, if I could talk to him, I would tell him:

I'm in contact with what you call an ancient alien every single day. I talk with Him, and He answers me.

How's that possible? They can't understand it because that comes through repentance and baptism, receiving the Holy Spirit and having the Word of God and praying to God every day!

Now, He's an alien to the world, but He's a Father, and Christ His only begotten Son, our Savior, are not aliens! We become part of the begotten Family of God, waiting for the resurrection. Now, that's an amazing thing!

"…enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether" (vs 8-9).

That's why we need to have true and righteous judgment! That's why before the Feast of Tabernacles we sent out the booklet, Judge Righteous Judgment.

Verse 10: "More to be desired than gold… [look at what people will do to find gold] …yea, much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward" (vs 10-11).

Now, take that one verse. This verse tells us how we prepare for the Kingdom of God! That's right in Psa. 1, as well.

Verse12: "Who can understand his errors?…." Good question!

Do you know why you do the faults you do, or sin the sins that you do? It's because of the very nature that we have that originated with the sin of Adam and Eve!

So, how do you understand it? Psychologists and psychiatrists and all of this, they can't tell you what to do! They just tell you, to express yourself, whatever that is. So, every perversion under the sun becomes normal. That's not God's way!

Verse 12: "Who can understand his errors? Oh, cleanse me from my secret faults."

I want you to think upon that, because when we become pure of heart and pure of mind, that is a spiritual action that comes from God over a period of time:

• to cleanse our minds
• to cleanse our thoughts
• to help us have the right thoughts
• to help us love God
• to help us love Christ
• to help us love His commandments
• to walk in the ways of the Lord (Psa. 1).

Too many people out there are 'religious.' They have a religion. God has a way of life! Now, think on that! Then it says:

"…Oh, cleanse me from my secret faults" (v 12). How do you do that?

• you face them
• you admit them
• you know they are wrong
• you confess them to God and repent

and you ask Him to wipe it out of your mind!

Now, some things are in there so deep and so ingrained that it takes quite a while and repeated prayer and repeated requests to overcome that burning issue that is burned into your mind.

Verse 13: "And keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins…"

David had one very bad presumptuous sin with Bathsheba! Look at all the trouble that caused! That's another story.

"…do not let them rule over me; then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer" (vs 13-14).

That says a lot. This is a description of spiritual conversion as we find in the New Testament!

Note John 14, 15, and 16. That will give you the start of it. Now, let's come back to Psa. 1. When you do all of the things contained there in Psa. 19, look at this, here's what it will be:

Psalm 1:3: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not wither, and all that he does shall prosper."

That's what everyone wants in their lives. There it is. In its season! It's not going to be instantaneous, POP! BAM! and all of a sudden now all your troubles are gone. No!

• you've got to learn to overcome them
• you've got to learn to apply the Spirit of God

That's what the water is all about, 'by the washing of the water by the Word.' That's what it in Eph. 6. Now notice the comparison; here's the world:

Verse 4: "The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff, which the wind drives away. Therefore, the wicked shall not stand in the judgment… [No, they will be consumed] …nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous" (vs 4-5).

They won't be able to stand hearing what God requires of them, and they won't be willing to repent. All you have to do is read Rom. 1.

Verse 6: "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous… [that's us] …but the way of the wicked shall perish."

How? Rev. 20, in the Lake of Fire, the second death. Perish in this life, first death; then the second death.

Psa. 2 applies to today, but it has gone all the way down through history.

Psalm 2:1: "Why do the nations rage…?"

Now, as we go through this, what we're doing in the Psalms, you're going to see a lot about all nations, all people, and that's talking about the Millennium. That's amazing to understand.

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

That's what they are doing right now, forming the world government.

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

That's what they're plotting and scheming. I've got a big thick outline of what they are planning to do:

• through the United Nations
• through many councils
• through many different organizations
• through as many governments as possible
• through the religions of this world

To bring in the one-world system! It's growing and  growing. So, they say this:

Verse 3: "Let us break Their bands asunder and cast away Their cords from us."

That is cut off everything from God! 'We will do it because we are superior.' You saw that during the Olympics.

Verse 4: "He Who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD scoffs at them." Because they don't know a thing:

• IF you don't know God
• IF you don't know the Truth
• IF you don't know the true Jesus Christ
• IF you don't know how to get there

You don't know anything, yet, as you ought to! But you can learn it! That's why we're here. That's why we're here for the Feast of Tabernacles, to learn:

• What are we going to do?
• How are we going to do it?

The best thing to start with is getting our mind and our heart right with God and with His Word so that we, in this time, are being trained to rule the world. That's why God is laughing at all of this that's going on.

• they think they're so great
• they think they're so powerful
• they think that when they get this world government and world religion that everything's going to be wonderful

Well, they'll have three and a half years of a counterfeit peace, and then everything's going to explode and fall apart. Here's what God will do:

Verse 5: "Then He shall speak to them in His wrath… [it's already listed there in Revelation] …and in His fury He terrifies them. 'Yea, I have set My King upon Zion, My Holy mountain'" (vs 5-6).

That's the return of Christ (Zech. 14), with all the saints! I mean, this is amazing. We're only into the second Psalm a little bit, and I've got a whole slew of Psalms that we're going to go through, if we can get through them; we probably won't be able to. But the whole thing is showing that God has had His Plan there all the time and what to do and how He's going to do it. The book of Revelation gives us the outline of the details that how it's going to happen at the end.

Verse 7[transcriber's correction]: "I will declare the decree of the LORD. He has said to Me, 'You are My Son; this day I have begotten You.'"

You go back and you see how Christ came into the world. You go back and see in Philip. 2 where it says, 'let this mind be in you.' That's what I want to cover in going through all of these Psalms, the mind of Christ! The mind of God! That's what it is. That's what our minds are made for after we receive the Holy Spirit of God. There we have it.

What did He do? He divested Himself of being as God, because He was God, to become a speck of life and be born of the virgin Mary! That's another whole story about the life of Christ growing up and so forth.

Verse 8: "Ask of Me, and I shall give the nations for Your inheritance…"—the whole world; He's going to be King of the whole world! Now, we'll see that! We have been called to help run that Kingdom!

• Can there be anything greater for us to do?
• Can there be any greater thing for us to think about than that?
• Can there be any greater thing than knowing that in the first resurrection we will be changed we will be changed from flesh to spirit?

Amazing!

• think about your calling
• think about all of these things
• think about this right here just in the 2nd Psalm

We haven't gotten very far, yet. 

Verse 8: "Ask of Me, and I shall give the nations for Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Your possession."

Now at first—as we saw yesterday in Isa. 2—He's going to have to go after certain nations so that they 'beat their weapons into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.'

Verse 9: "You shall break them with a rod of iron…"

Remember what it says if they don't come up to the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. 14) He'll stop the rain. And where they don't have rain, like in Egypt, He can dry up the Nile. God has power over everything that there is on this earth!

"'…You [Christ] shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.' Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be admonished O judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling…. [come to God the way that He wants] …Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in the way, for His wrath can flame up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him" (vs 9-12).

That's quite a Psalm. While we're talking about kings (Deut.17) here's a great lesson for us.

• What do you do as a leader?
• What do you do as a king?

Jesus said we're not to be like the kings of the earth who lord it over the people. Nor are we to be like the great ones: the religious leaders who exercise authority over the people!

• here's what we are to do
• here is how we are to serve
• Jesus was the exact epitome of this in the most perfect sense

He said, 'I don't speak my own words, I don't do my own thing, I do exactly what the Father has commanded Me.'

Deuteronomy 17:14. "When you come to the land, which the LORD your God gives you, and shall possess it and shall live in it and shall say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me.'"

That's exactly what they did. They came to Samuel and said, 'Samuel, your sons don't follow you the way that you do.' Now that's an interesting statement, isn't it? So they said, we want a king.

Samuel thought: they're rejecting me. And God said, 'No, they're not rejecting you, they're rejecting Me!'

Verse 15: "You shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God shall choose. You shall set a king over you from among your brethren. You may not set a stranger over you who is not your brother. Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, so as to multiply horses because the LORD has said to you, 'You shall not return that way again" (vs 15-16),

Now notice we'll see you a little later because we'll talk about Solomon somewhere later in the Feast.

Verse 17: "Nor shall he multiply wives to himself, so that his heart does not turn away. Nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold to himself."

All of these things: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and all of the things that people like to have. And a king can sit there and snap his finger and it has to be done. That isn't what God wants!

That's why we go through what we go through, so we can learn this lesson of what God wants. It starts with the Word of God!

Verse 18: "And it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book." Make his own copy of the Law!

Brethren, what do all of us have in our hand today? The complete Word of God!

• this is what we are to study
• this is what we are to learn
• this teaches us
• the Love of God
• the Truth of God
• our love to Him

We learn to love Him with all our heart, mind
soul and being so that when we are set over cities or set over countries or whatever our responsibilities are given in the Millennium, that we'll do it the way that God wants!

We will be trained right now with God's Word and God's Spirit to be able to do it. Then that will be finalized with the resurrection.

"…he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book from that which is in the custody of the priests the Levites" (vs 18).

In other words, he was to go down to the tabernacle and go into a special room and write out his own copy of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Notice what it will be:

Verse 19: "And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life… [For what purpose? To know and understand God's way!] …so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this Law and these statutes, to do them:

• to think right
• to do right

• to plan right
• to serve the people

That's what God wants! We're going to be kings and priests, so we need to take this and apply it to our prayers and studies in all the Bible.

Notice why; v 20 is the key: "So that his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren, and that he does not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel." You take this and go read:

• 1st & 2nd Samuel
• 1st & 2nd Kings
• 1st & 2nd Chronicles
• the Prophets

• look at what the kings did
• look at how they acted
• look at what happened to Israel because of their sins

There are many others that we could add into it, but we'll take this one:

Psalm 9:2: "I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High."

Yes, just like the king was instructed to do in Deut. 17, and that we will do that.

Verse 3: "When my enemies have turned back, they shall fall and perish before You." That's what's going to happen when we take over the world!

Verse 4: "For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat upon the throne giving righteous judgment."

Why? Because you know the Word of God: Judge righteous judgment!

Verse 5: "You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked…"

That's what we're going to do as the Millennium begins! How are the wicked going to be destroyed ultimately? In the Lake of Fire!

"…You have blotted out their name forever and ever. Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, You have uprooted the cities, the memory of them has perished" (vs 5-6).

Everything's going to be redone and rebuilt God's way during the Millennium. The memory of what they were before the return of Christ will disappear.

Verse 7: "But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His Throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness; He shall govern the people with justice" (vs 7-8).

That's how it's going to be. Notice this can be applied to the king in the kingdom as we find in 1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st & 2nd Kings and 1st & 2nd Chronicles. That's true! But this applies to us in the Millennium and what we're going to do, and what God is going to do.

Verse 9: "The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You" (vs 9-10).

That's what is going to be all during the Millennium. We're going to be working with people and teaching them the way of God!

Verse 15: "The nations have sunk down in the grave… [they're going to be all gone, all renewed] …that they made; their own foot is caught in the net which they hid. The LORD has made Himself known. He has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Selah" (vs 15-16).

And that's exactly what it's going to be with this coming one-world government and coming one-world religion. They're all snared in it.

Psa. 15 is quite a Psalm because it tells us who is going to be there. It's very interesting when you compare it with:

Psalm 14:1: "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God!'…." Then He shows what's going to happen to all the atheists.

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

Now, we saw yesterday that there's going to be a great tabernacle that's going to be instead of a temple. To dwell in that tabernacle doesn't mean everyone's going to live there. That means who is going to dwell under the jurisdiction of your dominion, which comes from Your tabernacle?

"…Who shall dwell upon Your Holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the Truth in his heart" (vs 1-2).

Quite an amazing thing, isn't it? To have the Truth in your heart! The whole thing that we have to do today is:

• Stand for the Truth!
• Stand for the Truth!
• Stand for the Truth!

Because everything out there is going to be to compromise the Truth, to overlook it!

Verse 3: "He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor, in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the LORD; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change it; he who has not put out his money at usury, nor has he taken a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved" (vs 3-5).

In other words, this is how you stay true and faithful, combined with Deut. 17.

Psa. 23—let's see what this does. This is the one that everyone memorizes, but they really don't understand it. When I first read it, I couldn't understand the first verse. I remember hearing that when I was growing up as a kid.

Psalm 23:1: "The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want."

I thought to myself as a kid, why wouldn't people want God? But it doesn't mean that! It means that you shall be lacking nothing!

Verse 2: "He makes me to lie down in green pastures… [those are the good things of our life] …He leads me beside still waters."

He helps us get resolved from all of our troubles and problems and be able to settle down so our emotions are not churning and journeying and causing us sleepless nights and trouble like that.

Verse 3: "He restores my soul…" This is talking about a resurrection thing, and the resurrection of Christ. We have in Psa. 22 about the crucifixion of Christ:

• what He thought
• what He said
• what He suffered

Verse 3: "He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

Here's the thing, it doesn't matter what you go through for the sake of God. It's all going to come out good! Now we know in the future there's another mass martyrdom coming. So, Psa. 23 is very important for us to understand:

• What do we do?
• How do we think?
• What is our life?

Verse 4: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me…" God says, 'I am with you in your troubles.'

If you have the Holy Spirit of God and you have troubles and trials come along, which we all do, God is with us in those trials. That's why we pray and come to God, and He will lead us out of them.

"…for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies…." (vs 4-5).

• What is that table?
• What is that meal?

It's going to be the greatest meal of all for all of us: The wedding supper of the Lamb! Yes, and all those in the first resurrection will participate in that. I've often thought,

• I wonder what that's going to be?
• I wonder what spirit food is going to be like?
• I wonder what spirit wine will taste like?

It's going to be a joyous feast. We're all going to be shouting Hallelujah! (Rev. 19).

"…You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (vs 5-6).

Eternal life! New Jerusalem! Quite a thing! Look at how much is in the Psalms. That is absolutely amazing! Now let's look at Psa. 24. You can tie this together with:

• Psa. 22—crucifixion
• Psa. 23—resurrection
• Psa. 24—ascending to God

Now we'll see this because this is something. This is Christ ascending after His resurrection, because He was resurrected at the end of three days, and came out of the tomb at the end of three days and three nights.

He ascended to heaven to be accepted of the Father on the Wave Sheaf Offering Day. So that's the succession of it: Psa. 22-24.

Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness of it, the world, and those who dwell in it, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters" (vs 1-2).

Think about how much water there is on the earth and how important that is. Next time you take a drink of water and whenever you have water, think about:

• Where did it come from?
• How did you get it?
• Why do you need it?

You can't live without it!

Then look at all the lakes, rivers and oceans; there's more water under the surface of the earth than there is on the surface of the earth. So, when God talks about waters, He's talking about things so great!

Verse 3: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in His Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to vanity and has not sworn deceitfully" (vs 3-4).

All about Christ! Aren't these all the attributes of Christ? Yes!

Verse 5: "He shall receive the blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation."

• Didn't He cry out to God to save Him?
• Didn't He place Himself in the hands of God to keep His Word to resurrect Him? Yes, He did!

Verse 6: "This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob. Selah."

Now, here's quite a thing right here, verses 7-10. This is describing the entrance of Jesus Christ when He was resurrected and came before God the Father to be accepted as the Lamb of God and to be as King of the world.

Picture the Throne of God (Rev. 4-5), the 24 elders, the four living creatures, the myriads of the angels, and they're all rejoicing that Christ is coming! The Father is waiting to receive Him in open arms and embrace him because he had been separated from him for all the 30 years that he was in the flesh.

Verse 7: "Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, O you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in…. [that's Christ] …Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle" (vs 7-8).

• He overcame Satan the devil
• He overcame the demons
• He overcame all the evil men against him

That was the battle. What did Jesus say? Now, the prince of this world has been judged (John 15).

Verse 9: "Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in."

All of the angels, the 24 elders and the four living creatures say:

Verse 10: "Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah."

He will be King over all the earth. That's going to be quite a thing that we're going to live through when we take over the world.

We'll look at some more Psalms. Because this tells us how absolutely wonderful that the Bible is. It is layered with meaning and meaning and meaning! It takes a whole lifetime of this study to understand what we understand. Then when we understand all of that, we still don't understand all of it because we're limited. But think what God is going to do when we're resurrected as spirit beings and in His Family to take over the Kingdom and rule the world!

(break@51:38)

This is why we have the Feast of Tabernacles so we can come together, we can fellowship, we can learn more of God's way, we can have vision. The vision that God wants us to have because it says, without vision the people perish! That vision brings us:

• Truth
• love
• hope
• why we're here
• where we're going

I was thinking during the break, after studying the Bible for over 65 years and translating the New Testament, and having Michael Heiss translate the Old Testament, and able to produce the Bible, we're thankful for that. We never started out to do it that way. God just led us in the need of it. But in studying the Word of God, it's amazing what is here and how it is layered so much, so many things, so deep in its understanding, because it's inspired by the mind of God.

This is why in prayer and study every day and growing in grace and knowledge, God wants us to progress. God wants us to go over the things that are here as many times as we can in our lifetime. That's an amazing thing to grasp. Remember:

• God has called us
• God has given us His Spirit
• God loves us

and

• we need to love God
• we need to love each other

and we need to do all we can to prepare for the great and marvelous task of ruling the world under Christ! This is the whole purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Let's continue on now in our study in the book of Psalms, and let's see some other Psalms that relate to:

• how we do it
• what our attitude is
• everything that is required
• Who God is
• what He's doing
• what Christ is doing

All of that is together in one great and giant picture!

Psa. 28:6—after going against the enemy and overcoming: "Blessed is the LORD because He has heard the voice of my supplications."

Remember this: God will answer every single prayer. There will be:

• yes
• no
• yes with a qualification

For example, if someone prays for a new car, he doesn't ask for a Cadillac. If he does, God will send him a Volkswagen. The prayer was answered, but don't ask for so much because you don't need it. So

He will answer the prayer. There will be times that the prayers won't be answered for months or years. If it's years, you go along one day and all of a sudden BING! you think: God has answered that prayer.

That's the time to stop and thank God, because that's an amazing thing! Now that's happened to me many, many times.

Verse 7: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him…"

That's what's so important, it says there in Prov. 3: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding! God will bless you in that.

"…and I am helped. Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving strength of His anointed. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their Shepherd and carry them forever" (vs 7-9). Whole theme of the Feast of Tabernacles right there in that last verse.

Psalm 29:1—here's what we do: "To the LORD, O you sons of the mighty…"—that's us, sons and daughters of God (2-Thess. 6).

"…give to the LORD glory and strength" (v 1)—because He's the One Who does it!

When you're weak, you pray for strength from Him. When you're strong, don't get lifted up in vanity.

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

That will not happen in its fullness until we are spirit beings, and we're all gathered together there on the Sea of Glass and worship God the Father and Jesus Christ. What a thing that's going to be, indeed!

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

All of this about the voice of the God, of God. Now remember this:

• IF God says it, it is so
• IF it's not yet done, it will be

That's why He said, He's not the God of the dead, but of the living of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because of their faithfulness, they are as good as ready to be resurrected! So, their death is a sleep.

Psalm 45:1: "My heart overflows with a goodly matter…."

That's exactly what it is with our lives. Our lives are a "goodly (Godly) matter" that God has called us to:

• to live His way
• to love Him
• to serve Him
• to keep His commandments

That's an amazing thing!

"…I speak of my works to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are more excellent than the children of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore, God has blessed You forever" (vs 1-2).

This is a prayer about Christ, but also for us, because when we're resurrected, we'll be like Him!

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

That's how God is going to conquer the world. Bring peace to the world. A tremendous and mighty thing, indeed!

Psa. 48—this will be something that will be happening all during the Millennium.

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

This carries from the time of establishing the Kingdom of God on earth, on the Mount of Olives, and also carries into New Jerusalem when we are there.

Verse 2: "Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of all the earth…"

That tells me we don't even know what beauty and joy actually is right now, the way it's going to be during the Millennium.

"…is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God in her palace has shown Himself to be a fortress" (vs 2-3).

That's something! That's an all powerful God ruling on the earth! That's going to take care of a lot of problems!

Psa. 49:1—here's quite a Psalm. The whole Psalm is really one just fit for the Feast of Tabernacles:

Psalm 49:1: "Hear this, all you people; give ear, all inhabitants of the world: both low and high, rich and poor together" (vs 1-2). God wants our undivided attention, everyone!

Verse 3: "My mouth shall speak of wisdom, and the thoughts of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my dark saying upon the lyre" (vs 3-4)—or harp!

This is David responding to God and what God was giving him in understanding.

Verse 5: "Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my supplanters surrounds me?" You come in repentance whenever there's sin!

Verse 6: "Those who trust in their wealth and in their many riches boast themselves. No man can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; for the redemption of their soul is costly… [that's the price of Christ, and no payment is ever enough] …and no payment is ever enough. That he should live forever and never see corruption" (vs 6-9).

That's talking about what it's going to be like as the sons and daughters of God, living forever. That kind of redemption is awesome, indeed!

Psa. 50—this is quite a Psalm here, and we see this over again and again. David is king, and all the Psalms that he wrote, and:

• his love
• his passion
• his devotion
• his yieldedness to God

is quite a model for us to follow, as that is the inspiration of God of what it would be like when Christ was on the earth!

Psalm 50:1: "The mighty God, God the LORD, has spoken…" How many times it talks about:

• God speaks
• His voice
• He's spoken
• He has said
• He has declared

"…and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined forth" (vs 1-2).

Everything coming out of Jerusalem, going to the whole world, all the time!

Can you think about what that is going to be like? All peace and joy and love! Now, there will be sinners. There will be those who won't want it, because free choice is still there. But notice, it talks about the coming of Christ:

Verse 3: "Our God shall come, and He shall not keep silent; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him."

Think of that when we come off the Sea of Glass with Christ for that final battle against the beast and the false prophet and their armies. Now, that's going to be quite a battle. What is God's secret weapon?

God's secret weapon is found in Zech. 14. They're going to be there, mighty, ready to fight. What's going to happen? Christ is going to speak with the sword of his mouth and their flesh is going to fall off their skeletons.

How can anybody resist that? No, won't happen! That's why He calls for all the birds of heaven to come and clean up the mess.

Verse 4: "He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, so that He may judge His people: 'Gather My saints unto Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice'" (vs 4-5).

Now, that's quite a saying, what is the sacrifice that we give? We know the sacrifice of Christ to forgive our sins! But think of this: When we are baptized into that watery grave, God conjoins us to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Then our lives are to be a living sacrifice of walking in God's ways, which is contrary to the world.

That's what He's talking about: "…a covenant with Me by sacrifice."

Verse 6: "And the heavens shall declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah."

That's an amazing thing, indeed! But what does it say there in Dan. 7? And judgment is given to the people of God! That's what we're going to do.

Verse 7: "Hear, My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, even your God."

• Israel is going to hear!
• Israel will hear!
• Israel will respond!

Verse 15: "And call upon Me in the day of trouble; and I will deliver you, and you shall honor Me." Then He says to the wicked that He's going to cut them off.

To all Orthodox ministers of Christianity, this is a special message for you:

Verse 16: "But to the wicked God says…"

You don't consider yourself wicked because you're teaching Jesus, but you're teaching another Jesus! That won't be in the Kingdom of God. God says:

"…'What right have you to declare My statutes, and to take up My covenant in your mouth?…. [you have no right] …Yea, you hate to be taught, and you cast My words behind you" (vs 16-17). They say the Law is done away!

They won't be around there anymore. Nope! None of that!

Psalm 63—picture this, because David had a special place in his house, which was a tabernacle built to house the Ark of the Covenant. That's when he brought it up from Kirjath-Jearim. That stayed there in that special little tabernacle, and Asaph, the high priest, was the one who—with different Levites—offered sacrifices, and that's where David went to pray.

Psa. 63 is a very inspiring Psalm because David would be close to God when he would come there to pray. He could probably see through the veil the Ark of the Covenant. Think about that setting as we read:

Psalm 63:1: "O God, You are my God, earnestly I will seek You!…."

Look at the attitude that he had. What a shame it was that he got all involved with Bathsheba and that mess there, but God forgave him. But this was before that happened. It shows that even how close we get to God, unless we maintain that, we can get sidetracked into sin like David did! But here was before that happened.

"…My soul thirsts for You…." (v 1).

What does it say in Matt. 6? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled!

"…My flesh longs for You, as in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see Your power and Your glory as I have seen You in the sanctuary" (vs 1-2).

David could see that, a little bit of it. That must have been very inspiring.

Verse 3: "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips when I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches" (vs 3-6)—showing he had his mind on God all the time!

That will happen to all of us every once in a while, that we will have this kind of thing come upon us when we are in bed.

• God is dealing with us
• God is dealing with our mind
• God is dealing with our thoughts

He wants us to really keep that in mind! Sometimes that will help you draw closer to God than you ever have. So, this is an amazing, amazing Psalm right here.

Psa. 61—this is what we do when we have difficulties. But here's how we are to pray at all times:

Psalm 61:1: "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth I cry to You when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the Rock higher than me" (vs 1-2).

So, when you have a trouble that is so overwhelming, don't wonder why is this coming to you, go to God! Ask Him!

Verse 3: "For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower against the enemy"—showing He will bring you out of it!

What did David remember? This is what we need to remember!

Verse 4[transcriber's correction]: "I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever…"

Think about that! That's what we celebrate and keep with this Feast of Tabernacles.

"…I will take refuge in the hiding place of Your wings. Selah. For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. May You add to the days of the king's life; may his years be as many generations…. [looking forward to eternal life] …May he abide before God forever; prepare mercy and truth to preserve him. So I will sing praise to Your name forever, so that I may daily perform my vows" (vs 4-8).

Quite a thing! I mean, these Psalms are absolutely amazing for us! That we can see, know and understand what God is doing.

Psalm 65:1: "Praise waits for You, O God, in Zion; and to You shall the vow be performed. O You Who hears prayer, unto You shall all flesh come" (vs 1-2).

What is that going to be like? Just picture this: all people on the earth are going to be keeping the Sabbath. So, whenever the Sabbath is declared to begin, it will be continuous around the earth as the earth turns. People will be lifting up their hands in praise to God. People will be blessing God with thanksgiving for all of the goodness and all the blessings that he's given to the people of the world, and to all of us who are ruling and reigning with Christ.

• think about what that's going to be like.
• think about what kind of hymns that there will be
• think about what kind of voices that even the physical people will have to sing
• think about what kind of voices that we as the sons and daughters of God will have

to sing to God!

I mean, this is going to be an amazing thing! Every Sabbath is going to be amazing, indeed! To say nothing of the Holy Days and everything like that.

Verse 4: "Blessed is the one whom You choose and cause to come near You, that he may dwell in Your courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, even Your Holy Temple."

We're going to have that big tabernacle there, and then when New Jerusalem comes, God the Father is going to be there and Christ is going to be there, and there would be no need for a temple. We will live in New Jerusalem. So, let's expand our thinking out as much as we can when we go through these things.

Verse 5: "By awesome works in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation; You are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of those of the distant sea."

That goes back to what we read yesterday about the knowledge of God will be as the seas cover the earth! Amazing, amazing indeed!

Psa. 66—continuing on with this Sabbath theme during the Feast of Tabernacles!

Psalm 66:1: "Make a joyful noise to God... [we'll all be able to do that]: …all the earth."

As we go through these things, I want you to pick up on:

• all the earth
• all people
• all nations

and how many times that that is brought up in the Bible.

We don't think of it in the way that God wants us to think of it as we should; but IF we focus in on it, God will give us understanding, because this is for the whole world.

Verse 2: "Sing forth the honor of His name; make His praise glorious. Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power, Your enemies submit themselves in obedience to You. All the earth…'" (vs 2-4). What a difference that it is today!

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

Verse 7: He rules by His power forever; His eyes keep watch upon the nations… [He's even doing that today] …let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah. O bless our God, O peoples, and make the sound of His praise to be heard" (vs 7-8).

Psa. 67—This shows exactly what God wants. This thing of keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, knowing the meaning of it and how it fits into the Plan of God is such a fantastic and marvelous thing, indeed!

I don't think even though we can be all inspired with it at the Feast and we can love God and love each other, have a wonderful time and great fellowship. But that is just a teeny, teeny foretaste of what it's going to be like when we're in the Kingdom of God and ruling this world.

Psalm 67:1: "May God be gracious to us, and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us. Selah."

That's going to be for the whole world, but first it's going to come to his sons and his daughters. Then we bring it wherever our jurisdiction will be.

Verse 2: "So that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations." They're going to know:

• why they are here
• why they were born
• what the Plan of God is
• how they fit into it
• what they can do
• what we need to do to teach them

Verse 3: "Let the people praise You, O God; let all the people praise You. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy…" (v 3-4).

Now I can't imagine that today! Compare this tremendous Psalm with all the troubles that are going on in the world today. I almost hate to finish doing this recording and go home and watch the news, because it is going to be very pleasant. But let's rejoice in this:

Verse 4: "O let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise You, O God; let all the people praise You. The earth shall yield its increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him" (vs 4-7).

That's going to be a marvelous day! This is why we are here! So, let's continue on with the Feast of Tabernacles and come back for tomorrow, Day 4, and we'll continue with what we're doing here in understanding about the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles. Take this time :

• to draw close to God
• to draw close to each other
• to have fellowship with one another

so that we can be strengthened and go home at the end of the Feast with:

• great encouragement
• great joy
• great hope

Let's take every day at a time as a special day to get together! See you tomorrow!

Scriptural References:

• Daniel 2:40-44
• Daniel 7:23-27
• Psalm 1:1-2
• Psalm 19:7-14
• Psalm 1:3
• Psalm 2:1-12
• Deuteronomy 17:14-20
• Psalm 9:2-10, 15-16
• Psalm 14:1
• Psalm 15:1-5
• Psalm 23:1-6
• Psalm 24:1-10
• Psalm 28:6:9
• Psalm 29:1-5
• Psalm 45:1-4
• Psalm 49:1-9
• Psalm 50:1-7, 15-17
• Psalm 63:1-6
• Psalm 61:1-8
• Psalm 65:1-2, 4-5
• Psalm 66:1-4, 7-8
• Psalm 67:1-7

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Daniel 9; 11; 12
• Revelation 13; 12; 20
• Matthew 25
• Luke19
• Psalm 119
• John 14-16
• Ephesians 6
• Romans 1
• Revelation 20
• Zechariah 14
• Philippians 2
• Isaiah 2
• Psalm 22
• Revelation 19; 4; 5
• John 15
• Proverbs 3
• 2 Thessalonians 6
• Matthew 6

Also referenced:

Chart—Appendix Y in The Holy Bible in It's Original Order, a Faithful Version

Booklet: Judge Righteous Judgment

FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 9/1/24

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