The Transformation of the World

Greetings everyone! Welcome to the Feast of Tabernacles Day 2.

What's going to happen? When Christ returns This world is going to be all in a disaster mode worldwide, and that's what we're going to have to straighten out. Let's see how that's going to be. We know with the resurrection we'll be resurrected and meet Christ on the Sea of Glass, get all of our instructions for what we need to do, come on down.

We know by the Day of Atonement Satan is bound and put into the abyss and locked up for a thousand years.

Rev. 20—Let's understand what we're going to do when we come down from the Sea of Glass. Rev. is one of the most important books in the whole Bible, and nearly every sentence there has great meaning, and it tells us what we're going to do under Christ in a general outline form, because we'll need to get all of those details and all the instructions for it, personally, while we're on the Sea of Glass.

Revelation 20:4: "And I saw thrones; and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given to them…"

That's why we have righteous judgment in the booklet that we sent to you before the Feast of Tabernacles: Judge Righteous Judgment

"…and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus…" (v 4).

That tells us what's ahead for the Church when it reaches the time of the Great Tribulation.

"…and for the Word of God…" (v 4).

• we have to stand for the Word of God
• we've got to stand for the Truth
• we have to stand for what is right

"…those who did not worship the beast…" (v 4) because that is direct open Satan worship!

"…or his image, and did not receive the mark in their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (v 4)—the Millennium!

The last part of v 5: "…This is the first resurrection." As we know, there will be another resurrection. Now, just project ahead a little bit to Day 8.

Ezek. 37 cannot be understood without this one sentence in Rev. 20:5: "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed."

That one sentence opens up the understanding of Ezek. 37 as we will see on the Last Great Day; but the world doesn't know that, they have no idea. See, all the religions of the world have the same reward of the dead. They go to heaven, or they go to some place like hell, or they're reincarnated to various animals depending upon the degree of their supposed to various animals depending upon the degree of their supposed righteousness.

God does not have any souls going to heaven. He is going to do the resurrection, as we have covered.

"…This is the first resurrection. Blessed and Holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection" (vs 5-6). Now, what does that mean?

Let's come back here to 1-John 3 so that we really understand what it is that God is going to give us. It tells us that as the sons and daughters of God something's going to happen at the resurrection, which can only occur at that time. Now, keep this in mind, because all of this is based upon the love of God, and:

• it's the love of God that's going to bring the first resurrection
• it's the love of God that's going to help all of mankind with all of those in the first resurrection to bring
  • peace and security
  • plenty of everything
  • especially the knowledge of God

Notice what we look forward to:

1-John 3:1: "Behold! What glorious love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God!…."

That's quite a thing, isn't it? Think about that!

• that's why we have the begettal of the Holy Spirit
• that's why we have the growing and overcoming that we do
• every day
• every week
• every year

"…For this very reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him" (v 1). A lot of people think they know God, but:

• How do we know that we know God?
• By just claiming it? No!

We know God because we love Him, and He loves us and has given us His Spirit! (John 14)

Verse 2: "Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; but we know… [this we know] …that when He is manifested, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him exactly as He is."

Now that's going to be a startling event, isn't it? Lots of time, because we're limited into physical realm and the things that we do, it's hard for us to grasp it. So, it's good that we go over these verses so we know and understand exactly:

• what God is doing with us
• what He is going to give us
• how we are going to run the world under Christ

Verse 3: "And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure."

That's by the washing of the water by the Word and changing, growing and overcoming.

Revelation 20:6: "Blessed and Holy… [that's what we covered in 1-John 3] …is the one who has part in the first resurrection… But they shall be…."

Here's our destination. Here is what God wants us to do. This is why when we have the time that we have today:

• that we pray
• that we study
• that we learn
• that we grow
• that we overcome

All of those things are building the spiritual character necessary so that when we are resurrected as spirit beings, we will be able to rule:

• with righteousness
• with justice
• with knowledge
• with understanding
• with the Word of God

"…But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (v 6)—that's all through the Millennium! So, keep that in mind.

Let's see how it's going to be. We're going to come down off that Sea of Glass, the beast and the false prophet will be cast into the Lake of Fire, Satan will be bound in the abyss, and here's what's going to happen:

Zechariah 14:4: "And His feet shall stand in that day… [that's the beginning of the Millennium] … upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall split in two, from the east and to the west, and make a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 'And you shall flee to the valley of My mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.' And the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with You. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. And it will be one day, which shall be known to the LORD, neither day nor night; but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters…" (vs 4-8).

• that's a type of flowing of the Holy Spirit, spiritually
• that's a type of living waters to cleanse the oceans, the rivers and the lakes

Because everything's going to be upside down and backwards!

"…that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them shall go toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. In summer and in winter it shall be" (v 8).

So, it will continually flow. This is the type of what we will see when the completion of The Last Great Day is done.

Matt. 25—let's see what it is that we're going to do. This is given to us in a parable, but here in Matt. 25 He makes it very clear. So, let's see what that is. It also tells us part of our job.

It says in Rev.20 that we will be kings and priests. There are going to be higher kings and lower kings, which will probably be more like governors, and then there will be those under them.

Matthew 25:14: "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man leaving the country, who called his own servants and delivered to them his property."

Here's a parable telling us what we're going to be doing during the Millennium.

Verse 15: "Now, to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one;he gave to each one according to his own ability, and immediately left the country."

That is Christ ascended to heaven. He sent His Spirit, and that's what these talents represent. The talents represent the Spirit of God:

• so we can grow
• so we can overcome
• so we can develop the character of God

That's likened to producing fruit! There's physical fruit, when you have a physical product or physical results, and there are spiritual fruits and spiritual results. This is spiritual result:

Verse 16: "Then the one who had received five talents went and traded with them, and made an additional five talents."

Think about this! This tells us that he lived his life the correct way according to the Word of God.

• he grew in grace and knowledge
• he overcame the pulls of the flesh
• he overcame Satan the devil
• he increased double

This shows us why we have to be faithful and always growing and overcoming right here!

Verse 17: "In the same way also, the one who had received two talents also gained two others!"

Here's a warning for everyone; v 18: "But the one who had received the single talent went and dug in the earth, and hid his lord's money."

You can't have 'once saved, always saved, and I'm going to go out and do anything that I want.' So, this last one here is much like the Protestants have:

Once saved, always saved, and we live under grace and it really doesn't matter what we do.

That's completely wrong!

Verse 19: "Now, after a long time, the lord of those servants came to take account with them."

This is the resurrection and doesn't it say 'everyone is going to come before the Throne of Christ to give an account of what he/she did? Here's another version of it right here. So, He wanted to know what he did:

Verse 20: "Then the one who had received five talents came to him and brought an additional five talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered five talents to me; see, I have gained five other talents besides them.'" Amazing! That tells us what we need to do!

Now notice the one who received two and what Jesus said to him:

Verse  21: "And his lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'"

That's when we understand what we're going to be doing in the Millennium and having spirit minds, spirit bodies, and everything to do it the way that God wants. 

Verse 22: "And the one who had received two talents also came to him and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; see, I have gained two other talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant!'" (vs 22-23),

That shows us that every one of us need to grow to the maximum possibility of grace and knowledge and growing and overcoming by applying ourselves. He will empower us with His Spirit. He will lead and guide us with that. But we need to take the Word of God and apply it to our lives:

• How do we live?
• What do we do?
• What do we say?

All of that coupled with prayer and study every day!

Then you know what happened with the one who had one talent? He didn't make it!

Isa, 2—let's see what's going to happen when we're there, when the Kingdom of God is set up. This is going to be quite an amazing thing. I don't think yet, even after preaching many, many sermons for many years on this, that we fully grasp the full meaning of what it's going to be like when the Millennium is here:

• how that's going to be
• how we need to rebuild the world

It's going to be the people who will do the rebuilding. We will be:

• the teachers
• the priests
• the kings
• the administrators

and they will do the work!

Isaiah 2:1: "The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem."

Understand that one of the things that you find in the world today is, 'men wrote the Bible.' Yes, they did!

• Do you know how many men wrote the whole Bible? Only 40!
• Do you think God is powerful enough to direct what they would say and what they would write? Of course!

Now, those who give that argument, you turn it back on their heads and say: Where did you get your information?

They'll tell you where they got it. Well, you answer them, 'a man wrote it.' Did God speak to him or not? No! But:

• God spoke to all of His Prophets
• God personally spoke to Moses
• God spoke to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob

Jesus Christ, when He came in the flesh, manifested as God in the flesh, taught the 12 apostles as those special ones to start the Church. He taught many people! So, all of those arguments never work out.

Here's what's going to happen, and here's what the world needs. And remember that the great one-world system that is developing right now—and they're working on it big time—that's what all the struggles in the world are all about right now!

• Who's going to run it?
• How's it going to be done?
• Who is going to be in it?
• What are the things to qualify for?

I've got a whole thick thing on some of the outline plans that many different organizations along with the United Nations has in developing this coming one-world government, and it is coming! Now then, when we come to the earth, that will be wiped away, everything about it.

Verse 2: "And it shall come to pass, in the last days the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains..."

That means that the Government of God through Christ and the saints is going to be the top of everything that there is, and everything will flow from there to the rest of the world down to the smallest particle of the earth. 

"…and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it" (v 2).

When you do your study and you're going through different things, remember all nations. Remember the phrase all people. Remember the phrase all priests. Everything like that.

Verse 3: "And many people shall go and say…"

There will be those right at the first who will be so glad when the Kingdom of God is on the earth that they'll come up to Jerusalem and say:

"…'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us of His ways…'" (v 3).

That has never been taught in all the governments of the world. Parts of some of the things that they do were in type of what God would have, like 'law and order,' but not like God would have it. So, they're going to go and be taught.

"…and we will walk in His paths'…." (v 3). That is how you live your life day-to-day, and all the nations will learn it, and we'll be there to teach them, and we'll be there to help them.

"…For out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem" (v 3).

The truth is that every nation is going to learn the Ten Commandments of God, and that will be the basis of everything that is going to be done in the Kingdom of God! Every detail that comes out from that will be expanded upon that.

Verse 4: "And He shall judge among the nations…"

There are going to be some who are not going to want to do it. You know, maybe like China or Russia, who knows; maybe like some of them in Africa, South America, the Muslim countries.

"…He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people…" (v4).

That rebuke is going to lead them to do what they need to do. So. they're going to give up

• all their warring
• all of their fighting
• all of their weapons
• all of their ammunition.

"…and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Now that's quite a thing! Think about that! Think of everything today—every video game, every card game, everything that is done today—is against God!

They learn the competition, and later they learn the fighting, and nation against nation! There has always been war that leads to destruction, and we're going to end it.

Think of what a marvelous blessing that that is for us, and not only will we help end it, we will have the power spiritually to make it happen. 

I read something very interesting as to why the Jews never accepted Jesus as the Messiah. That is, outside of those of the first century who were converted at that time. It was because they read all of the prophecies of what the Messiah would do when He came. They just read the Old Testament.

When they read the things like we just read there in Isa. 2, and what we're going to read now, what He's going to do to improve the world and everything like that, they said that 'Jesus couldn't have been the Messiah because He didn't do any of these things.'

However, they never read the New Testament where Jesus told His disciples when they wanted to know when the Kingdom would be re-established to Israel again. He says, 'It's not for you to know.' And then He ascended to heaven and He said, 'If I go I will come again.'

So, they have no idea of the second coming of Christ. They reject the whole New Testament, so they don't know anything about Rev. 20. That's why they will fall for a physical Messiah!

Isa. 11—here it talks about Jesus setting up the Government of God and what it's going to be like and what the world will be like at that time. Completely different than now! This is going to be an amazing thing that we're going to be a part of. The greatest thing that's going to happen in the history of the world on the face of the earth and God has called all the saints to that.

Isaiah 11:1: "And there shall come forth a shoot out from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him…" (vs 1-2).

This is talking about physically when He was here and of course spiritually when He comes again in both cases. But in this case we're talking about what the world is going to be like.

"…the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. And His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. And He shall not judge according to the sight of His eyes, nor after the hearing of His ears. But with righteousness He shall judge the poor…" (vs 2-4)—and judge the nations.

He's going to delegate that to us wherever we are, whatever our responsibility will be during the Millennium.

"…and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked" (v 4).

There's not going to be any wickedness that's going to take over anymore!

Verse 5: "And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins." It's going to change the whole nature of everything!

Now look at this, and this has always been hard for me to understand:

Verse 6: "Also the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the cub lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

• What about that?
• What do children like more than anything else? Live pets!
• What's going to happen to all the plastic toys? I don't know, but I don't think they will be compared to a live pet!

Verse 7: "And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox."

I don't know how that's going to be. I've often thought of this, I've seen this cartoon of the lion who smiles and he's got human teeth. I thought: Does God have to change the teeth of the lions and the leopards and all of those big cats and so forth so that they can eat grass?

Think of the change, the change of nature from eating nothing but flesh to eating nothing but grass. Amazing!

Verse 8: "And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the viper's den."

I can't imagine that because I personally have a revulsion to snakes! When we would go to the zoo, Jonathan and David would always get me to come over and look at the snakes through the glass. And I remember one in particular, it was an amazing thing. It was a Palestinian viper. I didn't realize how big they were. They're about five feet long. They're big around, and they've got a large head. Amazing!

I thought to myself, if you get bitten by that, you're a dead dodo!

Verse 9: "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My Holy mountain…"

That's the great change that we are going to bring about under Christ for the whole world. Notice this. We have the Holy Bible which is all the knowledge of God that we have, the greatest book in the world. But notice this, and I don't know how it's going to be:

"…for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (v 9).

Now think about that for a minute, the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean goes clear down 35,000 feet. If that were taken above ground, that would even cover Mount Everest by 6,000 feet; well over a mile.

So when it says, "…for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be the Root of Jesse standing as a banner for the people; to Him the nations shall seek; and His rest… [the Feast of Tabernacles pictures that] …shall be glorious" (vs 9-10).

Then it talks about what Christ is going to do in bringing back the children of Israel out of their captivity. This tells us an awful lot.

(break@34:04)

Jer. 31—here's what's going to happen with Israel, and we're going to be a part of it! One of the first tasks that we will have is that we will go down and we will bring peace to the people.

• we will heal the sick
• we will heal the wounded
• we will help them get out of all the rubble and destruction that's all around

Then all the children of Israel will be gathered from wherever they are in different places, and they will be brought back to their land over there in what is called the Holy Land. Remember, the land that God gave to Abraham was from the Nile River to the Euphrates River, and all of that area in there. So, that's where they will come back to at first.

I am sure that as there are more children and an expansion of the population, that they will again go out to the areas that we know as modern-day Israel today.

Jeremiah 31:1: "'At that time,' says the LORD, 'I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.'"

Here we are the sons and daughters of God in the resurrection, and we're going to be carrying this out for the people.

Verse 2: "Thus says the LORD, 'The people who were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I will go to give him rest.'"

That is, bring them in to the Kingdom of God's jurisdiction!

Verse 3: The LORD has appeared to me from afar, saying, 'Yea, I have loved you with an everlasting love…'"

God always loved Jacob! That's an interesting thing, isn't it? This is quite a thing! Let's see what it's like today. What it is that we have done over and over again to God in going against God. Let's see what God says about Israel.

• though He was their Savior
• though He was their God

they rejected Him

• though they received the promise that God gave to Abraham

not because of their righteousness

• but because of His promise to Abraham

God has put up with their sins and their idolatries and all of these things in their lives, in their religion, and in their countries.

Isaiah 43:21: "This people that I formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise. Yet, you have not called upon Me, O Jacob…" (vs 21-22).

The left God and didn't even realize that God would deal with them in a special way IF they would come to Him!

"…This people that I formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise. Yet, you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; much less have you troubled yourself about Me, O Israel. You have not brought Me the lamb of your burnt offerings; nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with a grain offering, nor wearied you with incense. You have bought Me no sweet cane with money…" (vs 21-24).

They mouthed, 'O God is so good,' but they went and did their own things like we have today.

"…nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices; but you have made Me serve with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities" (v 24)—in spite of all that God did for the physical descendants of Israel down through history!

However, they really didn't understand this; v 25: "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and will not remember your sins." IF they would come and repent, He would put them away!

Verse 26: "Put Me in remembrance; let us plead together; declare yourself, that you may be justified." That's what God wants!

Jeremiah 31:3: "The LORD has appeared to me from afar, saying, 'Yea, I have loved you with an everlasting love…"—in spite of all of that!

Now that's quite a thing to understand! That's why, as we will see for the eighth day, there is the second resurrection.

"…therefore, with loving kindness I have drawn you. Again, I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin of Israel…. [what a marvelous thing that's going to be] …You shall again put on your drums, and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day that the watchmen on Mount Ephraim shall cry, 'Arise and let us go up to Zion to the LORD our God!'For thus says the LORD, 'Sing with gladness for Jacob…'" (vs 3-7).

So, we're going to find what a joyful time that this is going to be in the Millennium, all during the thousand years.

"…and shout among the chief of the nations. Cry out, give praise and say, 'O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel'" (v 7).

That's going to be at the starting of the Millennium. Quite a wonderful thing! So, here's what's going to happen:

Verse 8: "Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the corners of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together; a great company shall return there." Here is how they're going to come:

• they're going to be repenting
• they're going to be weeping
• they're going to be joyful

and at the same time

• relieved of all of the things that they have experienced

Verse 9: "They shall come with weeping, and with prayers I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way; they shall not stumble in it, for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn."

God is going to gather them again with an ever-lasting love!

As you read this, especially the Prophets, God prophesies what He's going to do because of their sins. Then there comes a time that He's going to deal with them so that they will be able to overcome their sins.

You might want to read the Book of Lamentations, which Jeremiah wrote. It's one of the heaviest books to read for the destruction and everything that's going on and for the weeping that Jeremiah went through in his personal experience that he brings out there. So with that, in Lamentations:

• you have the sufferings of Israel
• you have the sufferings of Jesus
• you have the sufferings of Jeremiah himself

Then in the third chapter of Lamentations, there is hope that God will bring them out of it! So, that's quite a book. Very seldom do people read it.

Verse 20: "Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? For as often as I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still…"

Even in the correction that God brings against Israel He still remembers His promise to Abraham!

"'…Therefore, My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him,' says the LORD. 'Set up way marks, make sign posts for yourself. Set your heart toward the highway, even the way that you went. Return again, O virgin of Israel, return to these your cities" (vs 20-21).

Now, that's quite a thing! There it says again, all of these things that God is going to do to end all the suffering and misery that's in the world.

Verse 31: "'Behold, the days come,' says the LORD, 'that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel…'"

That will be the Covenant of the Millennium for all people, beginning with Israel. So it will be similar to the covenant that we have today as the New Covenant that we recognize with Jesus Christ. That covenant is going to be, He'll put them in their land, He will bless them in their land, and they will have their hearts and minds changed so that they're not as rebellious and carnal and given to sin that they were before that time. And that covenant will be a Covenant for Eternal Life, as we have seen.

"'…a New Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which covenant of Mine they broke, although I was a husband to them,' says the LORD; 'but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days,' says the LORD" (vs 31-33).

Here it is, right here, the very same thing that we have now today. This is what God wants, right here:

"…'I will put My Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people'" (v 33).

We're going to be there to administer, and then that's going to go out to all the nations. What a wonderful thing that is going to be. The thing in the Millennium is going to be so absolutely overwhelmingly good. It's going to be almost unfathomable at this point, as we look at it now, that somewhere down the road, they're going to be those who will reject it. We will see a little later that that's going to happen.

Verse 34: "'And they shall no more teach each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, "Know the LORD"; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,' says the LORD." Notice what happens when that occurs:

 "…For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more" (v 34). That's quite a pledge!

How sure is this? This is given right at the time that they are being carried off into captivity into Babylon, and God is talking about a time way far into the future! God wants to know that, yes, He will do this in His own time. Here's the guarantee.

Verse 35: "Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea when its waves roar; (the LORD of hosts is His name), 'If those ordinances… [of the sun, the moon, the stars, the waves, everything like that] …those ordinances depart from Me,' says the LORD, 'the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever'" (vs 35-36).

Now that's a promise! God has pledged Himself by His very creation!

Doesn't this sound an awful like Matt. 5? 'Think not that I've come to destroy or abolish the Law. I've come to fulfill; until heaven and earth pass, not one jot or tittle shall pass from the Law.' Yes, same thing in our heart and in our mind!

Verse 37: "Thus says the LORD, 'If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be searched out, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,' says the LORD."

But He is not going to cast them off; He's going to bring them back.

Now look at all of these promises of the Millennium, and look at what the civilization is going to be like. This is exactly what people really want in the world, but they can never find it. Whenever they reach a certain degree of doing good, then evil comes in. Why? Because:

• Satan is still here
• the demons are still here

they are the ones who come along

• to entice
• to sin
• to destroy
• to make war

So He says:

Verse 38: "'Behold, the days come,' says the LORD, 'that the city shall be built to the LORD from the Tower of Hananeel to the Corner Gate. And the measuring line shall yet go before it to the hill Gareb, and shall go around to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook of Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be Holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up nor thrown down any more forever'" (vs 38-40).

All where that great destruction and war took place, God says he's going to clean it up, and it will be there. So that's quite a thing!

So, you can understand how the Jews, because of not doing what God wants, and rejecting Jesus Christ, and not reading or understanding the New Testament, can read about all these prophecies here in the Old Testament, and look at them and say, 'Jesus didn't do these when He came. So. since He didn't do them, He can't be the Messiah. They can't think ahead the way that they should because they don't have the Spirit of God.

Isaiah 60:3: "And the Gentiles shall come to your Light, and kings to the brightness of Your rising…. [the whole world is going to have salvation] …'Lift up your eyes all around, and see. All of them gather themselves together; they come to you. Your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant…'" (vs 3-5).

In other words, their minds will be open. The hardness of their heart will be taken away, and they will be joyful with the joy that we cannot experience today. Only then it will happen!

Verse 5: "Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall throb and swell for joy; because the abundance of the sea shall turn to you, the wealth of the Gentiles will come to you."

Now, that's quite a thing! If you think that we have good times when there's money, when there's prosperity, we don't even know how great it's going to be during the Millennium. We're going to see something very interesting here in Isa. 60 as we go on and see what it says. This is quite a thing when we understand it! We're going to have:

• the right economy
• the right things
• the seven-year cycle
• the land rest the seventh year
• in the sixth year we're going to have double or triple the crops that come up

• everyone's going to be able to have the time to come to God
• everyone's going to have their mind renewed with the Spirit of God

This is going to be absolutely marvelous!

Verse 7: "All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you. They shall come up with acceptance on My altar, and I will glorify the house of My glory."

Verse 10: "And the sons of strangers shall build up your walls, and their kings shall serve you… [that's us; we'll be serving them] … for in My wrath I struck you, but in My grace I had mercy upon you. Therefore, your gates will always be open; they will not be shut day nor night, that men may bring unto you the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings in procession" (vs 10-11).

Now, that blends in to us. They'll bring it, and it's going to be something! We are going to be the ones who will receive a lot of these things, because we will be given that as our inheritance during the Millennium.

Verse 12—this is about us as leading in the Millennium: "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you will perish…."

There's not going to be very much of that, because they'll be brought to repentance.

Verse 13: "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious. Also, the sons of your afflicters shall come bowing down to you; and all your despisers will bow down at the soles of your feet…." (vs 13-14).

This is saying He's going to bring all of the enemies and bring them repentance. That's quite a thing! Here's what it's going to be; Look at how this applies to the Millennium:

Verse 15: "Instead of being forsaken and hated, so that no one passes through, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations."

• that applies to the physical nation of Israel
• that applies to all the glorified sons and daughters of God who are administering the Kingdom of God

Verse 16: "You will also suck the milk of nations, and suck the breast of kings; and you shall know that I the LORD am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob." That's how it's all going to be:

• all worshiping God
• all serving God
• all doing what He wants

Notice what kind of wealth that there will be during the Millennium. It's going to be staggering, indeed! Listen to this:

Verse 17[transcriber's correction]: "For bronze I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver; and for wood I will bring bronze, and for stones, iron. I will also make your overseers to be peace, and your rulers to be righteousness."

That's us, right there serving them! Look at the wealth that is there. That's quite a thing!

• compare that with the mark of the beast
• compare that with paper money
• compare that with inflation and deficit spending

Completely removed! Unheard of today. Look at what it is today with:

• all the violence
• all the wars
• all the hatred
• all of the protests
• all of the killing
• all of the drug deaths

and everything like that!

Verse 18: "Violence will no more be heard in your land…. [think of that] …neither wasting nor ruin within your borders; but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise."

That's an amazing thing! A complete transformation of how the world is and how it's run and the blessings that will come to them.

Isa. 61—Let's see how this applies to us. This is going to be quite a thing:

Isaiah 61:1: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me…" This is talking about Christ!

This is talking about His first coming, (Luke 4) where He declares that He is the Messiah. But it goes on in Isaiah to complete it, which He didn't bring out there in Luke 4, because that was not the beginning of the Millennium, but that was the beginning of spiritual salvation! So, He took part of these verses to announce that He was the Messiah. We find that in Luke 4:18[transcriber's correction]

Isaiah 61:1: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me because the LORD has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted…"

We can apply this also to the Millennium, as well, on a more vast scale than what was done with His first coming.

"…to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to preach the acceptable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn" (vs 1-2). That vengeance is to get rid of the evil!

Here's what's going to happen through the Millennium and it will come right down to us. We'll see this. This chapter in Isa. 61 is really quite a thing.

Verse 3: "To appoint to those who mourn in Zion, giving to them beauty for ashes… [change their whole circumstance] …the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness…"

Think about—if you can get it in your mind—all of those who came out of the death camps in WWII and apply this to the Millennium, the beginning of the Millennium, all of those who were suffering, coming out and what a joy it's going to be!

"…so that they might be called Trees of Righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified" (v 3).

Here's the big project we're going to have, and all the people of the world are going to be involved in it.

Verse 4: "And they will build the old wastes, they will raise up the desolations of former times. And they shall repair the waste cities…"

Now think about what that's going to be like. Read Rev. 16 where all the cities of the earth fell. Think about all those big skyscrapers that we have in all of the cities, and the earthquakes are going to be so great that they're all going to collapse. think about the work that's involved in remaking those cities, in rebuilding the waste places.

"…And they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the stranger will be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be called the priests of the LORD… [blending right into what we're going to do; ties in with Rev. 20, that we shall be kings and priests] … it will be said of you, 'The ministers of our God'; you will eat the riches of the Gentiles, and you will boast in their glory" (vs 4-6).

In other words, we will boast God for what He is doing for all of this. Now think of this great restoration and rebuilding at the beginning of the Millennium. That is going to be a marvelous thing indeed, and it shows right here that we will be in charge of doing it.

You can't understand these verses without the things that we have covered in Rev. 20, Matt. 25 and the other places in the New Testament, as well.

Verse 7: "For your shame you will have double; instead of dishonor they will rejoice in their portion; therefore, in their own land they will possess double; everlasting joy will be theirs."

That applies to us, and it applies to them as we teach them, and they grow and overcome and enjoy the blessings of God.

Verse 8: "For I the LORD love justice…."—that's what we're going to bring:

• righteous judgment
• justice
• peace
• love
• understanding
• knowledge of God

Think of this as we have covered: The knowledge of God is going to cover the earth as the seas cover the earth!

I can't imagine what that is going to be like, but just think about it. God has called us to have that part in doing it, and here it's describing what we're going to be doing right here in Isa. 61. That's an amazing thing, indeed!

Verse 9: "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles…"

There's going to be a lot of children born, and that's going to be a great and marvelous thing that's going to take place. think about how it is:

• no more crooks
• no more drug dealers
• no more thieves
• no more murderers

• peace
• joy
• understanding
• love
• greatness
• closeness
• rejoicing

Verse 9: "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people; all who see them will acknowledge them, that they are the seed the LORD has blessed."

Both physical Israel as you look at the physical people, and all the sons and daughters of God who are in the first resurrection. An amazing thing!

Verse 10: "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD… [that's Christ saying to the Father; that's us saying to the LORD] …my soul will be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the robes of salvation…"

Doesn't it say when at the wedding feast that all the saints will be clothed in white linen? Those are the robes of salvation, are they not? Yes they are. That's quite a thing!

"…He covered me with the robe of righteousness like a bridegroom adorns himself with ornaments, and like a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (v 10).

That's what's coming to us! Think about that! This is why it's so important that we

• keep the Feast of Tabernacles
• know and understand these things
• do them the way that God wants done

This is what it all pictures for the Feast of Tabernacles. We'll have more to say about this as we go through the Feast and it's going to be a wonderful thing, indeed! We're going to see that the Bible is literally full of the things pertaining to the Feast of Tabernacles and how that's going to be carried out.

That's why it is called the Great Harvest! And think of how many people will enter into the spiritual Kingdom of God, as we have covered.

Verse 11: "For as the earth brings forth its bud, and as the garden causes that which is sown to grow; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to grow before all the nations."

That's what we're looking forward with the Feast of Tabernacles.

So brethren, continue to have a good Feast; fellowship with the brethren, get to know each other. So, you come back tomorrow for day three and we'll continue on with the Feast of Tabernacles and see how marvelous that this is going to be.

The greatest thing in the whole history of mankind from the beginning of Adam and Eve clear down to the end when Christ returns!

Scriptural References:

• Revelation 20:4-6
• 1 John 3:1-3
• Revelation 20:6
• Zechariah 14:4-8
• Matthew 25:14-23
• Isaiah 2:1-4
• Isaiah 11:1-10
• Jeremiah 31:1-3
• Isaiah 43:21-26
• Jeremiah 31:3-9, 20-21, 31-40
• Isaiah 60:3-5, 7, 10-18
• Isaiah 61:1-11

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Ezekiel 37
• John 14
• Lamentations
• Matthew 5
• Luke 4:18
• Revelation 16

Also referenced: Booklet: Judge Righteous Judgment {truthofGod.org}

FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 8/28/24

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