By COGwriter
Much of this article was triggered by sermon by the Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God titled, A Thousand Years of Peace, that he gave back on September 22, 1983.
As Christians, we have so much to be thankful for. We can look forward to a thousand years of real peace on earth.
Here is some of what the New Testament says about that:
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6, NKJV throughout, unless when otherwise specified)
And when we're here at the Feast of Tabernacles, we have a foretaste of that wonderful time in the Kingdom of God when the Kingdom of God is going to be ruling over all nations here on the face of this earth.
In our booklet, The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, which has been translated into over 700 languages and dialects, we've been telling people around the world that peace that is coming, the glorious, wonderful good news of the coming Kingdom of God. We, also, have been preaching this in person in various continents, as well as around the world through the internet as well as on radio.
That message is the real good news, that was the... gospel means 'good news'. That was the good news of what is going to come that Jesus Christ proclaimed.
This world now, for nearly 2000 years, has been hearing a gospel about Christ, but they have not preached His message.
Notice what Mark was inspired to write:
14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:14-15)
The gospel OF Christ was about the Kingdom of God, a time of world peace when we learn how to live! The only reason we don't have peace in the world is because people are not living the way of peace. We are only reaping what humanity has been sowing all of these years. But we're here for a wonderful foretaste of what is to come. Let's go to Revelation 11:
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15)
That will include the governments of China and Russia and Europe, etc. And the that will include the lands of the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as they will have been conquered before then.
All will end up being under the domination of Jesus Christ, not in war and enslavement, but in LOVE and in peace, and in goodwill and harmony.
"...The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and [of] his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and [for] ever." (Revelation 11:15, KJV)
And brethren, we are to reign with Him as Jesus will make Christians kings and priests:
9 ... For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:9-10)
As shown in Revelation 5:10, and we shall rule and reign on the earth, not in heaven.
Herbert Armstrong after referring to that verse said:
I wonder what people think heaven is going to be like? Or what is it like? Jesus said, no man has ascended up to heaven (John 3:13). And God has not promised heaven, rather He has said that the righteous will inherit the earth and dwell therein forever (Psalm 37). And that is where we are going to dwell, here on earth. And I want to tell you that this earth, if we learn how to live, and if we learn how to handle what God has placed on the earth, the material earth, it can be more glorious than people imagine heaven would be. Only they just don't know that.
The Wonderful World Tomorrow
Next, I'd like to read to you from the eleventh chapter of Isaiah. which points to the Millennium:
6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Verse 6 is pictured on the front cover of our booklet: The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
As full as the knowledge of God and of God's law, and way of life, the way to peace, as the ocean beds are full of water. And that's pretty full brethren. Now let's look at what God had the prophet Micah; write:
1 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord's house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
2 Many nations shall come and say,
"Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths."
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1-2)
The ways that lead to happiness, and joy, to PEACE, to ETERNAL LIFE.
You know, stop to think about this, this world is troubled right now — and especially this United States and its British-descended allies— with drugs, sexual immorality, and crime.
Related to this, HWA said:
And a certain drug works on the nervous system, and on the brain and makes people feel an illusion of some kind of grandeur all of a sudden. I can't tell you definitely what it is, I have never experienced it, and God help me from ever having to experience it.
But I want to tell you that what we will have when we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and when we are no longer mortal that; "...this mortal shall have put on immortality..." (I Corinthians 15:54) and we shall be very God ourselves. We will experience a joy and a happiness that no drug addict has ever experienced. And it will be lasting, and it won't ruin our lives, it will enhance our lives. It'll be truly mind expanding in the natural and the RIGHT way and God's way. There is something so much GREATER to look forward to than anything in this world, that people can't imagine it.
"...we will walk in his paths [and]: the law [that's God's Law of love] shall go forth [from] Zion [which is the Church], and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Micah 4:2)
That time is coming.
And brethren, the thing that I want you to understand is how wonderful it can be, and the fact that it is not going to be very long now. Now we have a hymn about that, 'It Won't Be Very Long Now' (on pages 144-145 of The Bible Hymnal).
Brethren, is actual Utopia impossible? Did you ever look up the word 'Utopia' in the dictionary? It says it is a fanciful, imaginary something that is impossible. A time of such wonderful peace, and joy, and happiness that it could never happen. Could it never happen? Is it impossible? This world thinks it is.
This world is living in abject ignorance as it has been blinded by not choosing the way of God, but instead the way Satan. It doesn't know these things. Not only are many living in poverty of material thingsthere is a poverty of the knowledge of God, poverty of understanding.
But why can't we have utopia now? This world's governments are the governments of Satan.
Let's notice something from Revelation:
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)
Satan is the former archangel Lucifer. He became prideful and then he became embittered. He became hostile against God and God's way of living, and he became Satan the Devil--Satan means adversary. And his angels became demons, and they are ruling this dark world right now and the world doesn't know it. It's the one called the Devil and Satan; "...who deceives the whole world..."Revelation 12:9).
Herbert Armstrong commented:
How could the whole world be deceived? Do you think that the heads of governments that I have been meeting around this world think they are deceived? No, but they are. If they knew they were deceived, they wouldn't be deceived, because deceived means someone who is — who thinks he is right, but is wrong, he's just deceived. And if he knew it he wouldn't be deceived. The world doesn't know it's deceived. But the whole world is deceived by Satan today and this is his earth, his government rather.
"...and his angels were cast out with him [now let's continue on]. And I heard a [loud] voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God..." (Revelation 12:9-10) Do you know what they're preaching in the gospel about Christ? What Christianity so-called, and falsely so-called, is preaching? That salvation is already come as soon as you come up front somewhere and just say, "I accept Christ." You know, this world is on the way of getting, receiving, taking. Jesus said; "...It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35), but the world wants to receive, to get, so they receive Christ.
You know brethren, when I was converted I gave myself to Christ. Certainly I accepted Him as my Savior, but I had to go further than that, I had to GIVE MYSELF to Him. And He has been using me since. Not as much, I have to confess, as He might have if I had been able to have given myself more fully and completely.
You know, we think we give ourselves to Christ, but we usually kind of hang back on a little bit of it, through human weaknesses, through habit, that's been bred into us by former action, and by the life that we've been living. And it takes time for us to overcome and to root out all of these things until we can live more like Jesus did. He is the only human being ever born human, who never sinned. All of us brethren, have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And another thing, all have sinned since they became converted, and since they did receive God's Holy Spirit and gave themselves over to Christ.
Satan's Great Wrath
Let's look more at Revelation 12:
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelation 12:10-11)
Now salvation for Christians in this age happens at the second coming of Christ. It is not when you receive Christ--though that starts the process.
This world has been deceived, in many ways, about salvation.
And the coming Great Tribulation already is on its way as we are, in a sense, in it's preliminary stages during the beginning of sorrows.
Now to the next verse:
12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." (Revelation 12:12)
Herbert Armstrong commented:
And the reason is what I quoted that you just heard. This gospel of the kingdom is being proclaimed around the world ... And Satan DOES KNOW that that means he has but a short time to sit on the throne of this earth, and he's going to be removed. And if we don't know it, I want to tell you that Satan does.
Presuming that there is a 6000/7000 year plan, Satan would have a reasonable idea of when the 6000 years will end.
Continuing in Revelation 12:
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. (Revelation 12:13)
Note that is a new persecution, the one which is also in Daniel 11:28-35:
28 While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.
29 "At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. 30 For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage.
"So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. 32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. 33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. 35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time. (Daniel 11:28-35)
So, yes, the Philadelphian Christians will be subject to this persecution--actually, they will be the main targets of it. Various other Christians will likely try to distance themselves from the Philadelphians at this point, though ultimately that will not help them.
Actually, both groups are also mentioned in Daniel 7:25:
25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time. (Daniel 7:25)
The Philadelphians are persecuted in the first half of that verse, then the rest of the Christians afterwards.
So, what happens to the Philadelphians?
Revelation 12:14:
14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (Revelation 12:14)
Now that's the second time the church is recorded as fleeing in this chapter of Revelation. The first time was in the Middle Ages where they had to flee afoot--which you can read about in Revelation 12:6. The second time is verses 14-16. These are two quite different fleeings.
That time of fleeing will be for three and a half years. Because previously, a day was a year being fulfilled in verse 6, but now at the end time, a day is just a single day and not a year being fulfilled. And that time is coming very soon upon us.
Continuing:
15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:15-17)
So, we see only part of the church is protected. And according to the promise from Jesus in Revelation 3:10, that would be the Philadelphian remnant.
Herbert Armstrong commented:
And there will be a transition from Satan's kingdom and Satan's government on earth, over to that of Jesus Christ.
Now how did Satan himself originate? And I say to you that this is not God's world, this is Satan's world. How did it become Satan's world? How did Satan himself originate? Did God create a Devil? Well, in, let me see, it's ... Peter,
Peter wrote:
For if God did not spare messengers having sinned, but having cast [them] down to Tartarus with chains of deepest gloom, delivered [them], having been reserved to judgment, and did not spare the old world, but kept the eighth person, Noah, a preacher of righteousness, having brought a flood on the world of the impious, and having turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, condemned with an overthrow, having set [them as] an example to those about to be impious, and He rescued righteous Lot, worn down by the conduct of the lawless in licentiousness, (2 Peter 2:2-7, Literal Standard Version)
Herbert Armstrong commented:
Peter ... speaks about the angels that sinned prior to the time of Adam, and they're reserved to their time of judgment. Then it talks about the time between Adam and Noah and then culminating in the Flood as a result of the sins of men on the earth. And then after that, the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah and the destruction of those cities as a result of sin.
But how then did this Satan originate? I want you to notice it back now in Isaiah, the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah. I think many of you have read this many times. I want to go back over it and read it once again.
Isaiah wrote:
12 "How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
'I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15)
HWA commented:
Now the word 'Lucifer' means 'shining star of the dawn', or 'one who brings light', a light bringer. Lucifer was a shining brilliant super-cherub, an archangel, much more powerful than ordinary angels. There are three classes of angles mentioned in the Bible; ordinary angels, and seraphs and cherubs, and Lucifer was a cherub. Only three are mentioned in the Bible.
He {Satan} was going to dominate over God. He was going to pull a coup. He was going to arm his angels, who now became demons, and they were going to invade heaven in a war, and they were going to knock God off the throne. And this Lucifer was going to take over the whole universe. He was jealous because he had been assigned a throne on this earth, and this earth is a tiny speck in the great universe that God has created. He was jealous and envious;
"...I will exalt my throne [so he had a throne] above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: [And that is the location of God's throne in the far, far north] I will ascend above the [heavens, above the] heights of the clouds; [so he was under the clouds, he was on the earth] I will be [it says here] like the most High." (Isaiah 14:13-14)
And I think a better translation might have been 'I will become the most High.' He was going to take over everything that God had.
Now I think that we should go a little further right here. Why was he put on a throne? And was there any government there? What is government? Well government is the administration of law. Now we need to know what is law. Government is the administration of law, and law is the very foundation of government. Now law is merely a way of life. It is a way of conduct, the way you conduct yourself and guide your own actions and your living.
Now how did he become Satan? What was the origin of Satan? And what is the origin of this thing we call sin? Well we see it here in the twenty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel. Now let me see, Ezekiel 28,. I think I got this mixed up a little bit here, I don't know how that happened. Where God said of this same Lucifer, who became Satan;
"Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth..." (Ezekiel 28:14)
Now back, and see, it's in the {24th} chapter, I believe, of Exodus,{2} you will read of how at the very throne of God in heaven there are two cherubs whose wings spread out over the throne of God. He had been one of those cherubs on the very throne of God with his wings covering over the throne of God. It is just like our students that are educated here at Ambassador College, and then some of them become ministers, and we send them out into the field to take care of the Church.
Well Lucifer had been educated at God's heaven, in God's college in heaven and he was sent out into the field, which is this earth, to govern and rule the earth with God's government. And our ministers are sent out to administer God's government in the Church and to preach Christ's gospel and to teach the people Christ's way of life in the same way.
Let's look more in Ezekiel:
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.16 "By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.17 "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; (Ezekiel 28:15-17)
Lucifer beauty was brilliant, and it was so bright, HWA though it probably would put human eyes out if you looked at it. And vanity seized him, it's the same vanity that seizes humans.
Now the Law of God is love, and love is outflowing towards God and toward neighbor.
Satan really just had love for himself. Though even that was a destructive "love."
Regarding love and selfishness, HWA commented:
Now the origin of sin was when Lucifer turned from that attitude of love to the self-attitude of vanity, and of greed, or of coveting. And that leads to competition, that leads to controversy, to strife, and it leads ultimately to anarchy. It leads to chaos, it leads to confusion. Now remember this, that Satan was put on the earth and he was ruling the earth, now not God's way, but Satan's way, which was self-glory, the way of coveting. ...
Now Satan came and approached Eve, ... Satan did not say to her, "Look, I want you to take up my way of life, and I want you to obey me. I want you to accept me instead of God." He didn't say that, he said, "No, go your own way. You do what looks right to you. Now just look at that tree, look at the forbidden fruit. Can't you see how beautiful it is? Can't you see that it is good to the taste? That it is pleasant to the eyes? It is desired to make you wise?"
Oh, that began to tempt her. It looked good and she went her own way and she took it, and she was deceived. She gave to her husband also with her and he did eat. ...
But they then enslaved themselves under Satan. They became Satan's possession. Their minds became perverted and twisted, right that moment, and all human minds have become that way ever since. Not by heredity or by birth, but because Satan's the prince of the power of the air. And just as my voice is going through the air, and up the satellites and down, and being heard over there in England. It's tonight for you people in England over there, but it is going through the air. So Satan can send attitudes, moods and feelings and attitudes through the air. And your mind is in tune with his wave length, and every human mind is, and they get it. And so he has deceived the whole world ever since.
He didn't say, "Obey my government." He said, "No, do the thing that looks right to you, instead of what God said. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, take that to yourself, decide for yourself what's good and what is evil." So that's what they did. Well that was a spiritual decision. So Adam chose self, the way that he would decide the way of good and evil by himself. And they are still going that way. Now the Bible says; "...his...you are to whom ye obey..." (Romans 6:16) They obeyed Satan instead of God and so they became Satan's, and people do belong to Satan ever since. You know, Jesus, in the eighth chapter of John in the New Testament, speaking to those Jews who believed on Him, they believed on Him,
Notice the following account from John:
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"
34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
37 "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."
39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."
Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father."
Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father — God."
42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."
Before Abraham Was, I AM
48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" (John 8:31-48)
HWA commented:
Even those who believed on him, were the children of Satan the Devil. And what do the Protestants teach today? Just believe on Christ and that's all there is to it. Alright, you look that up, I won't take time to go into it now, you look at it.
Believe what you see with your own eyes.
So they were kidnapped, in a sense, they became Satan's, and Satan kidnapped them away from God. Now Jesus had to pay a ransom to get them back to God. Can you see that? They were kidnapped, and Jesus had to pay a ransom with His own life, and that's what He did.
Now God closed off the Tree of Life, which came through the Holy Spirit, and it also meant the revealed knowledge of God. And it meant the love of God that would fulfill the law of God. It meant the knowledge of God to open their minds to the way and the Law of God. But it meant love that would fulfill that law of God, once they knew it. But God closed that off until the second Adam, Jesus Christ should come.
And why is He called the second Adam? Because this world was started by Adam, it's Satan's world and Satan started it through Adam, who obeyed Satan's way. And he didn't say, "I am going to accept Satan's government." No, no, he thought it was just going his own way. Now that way leads to confusion, and it ultimately leads to chaos,... it's Satan's world brethren. It is Satan's world and his civilization. And it's a civilization that is divided, with everyone doing is own thing.
But when Jesus comes Satan's rule and rulers will be replaced:
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15)
That kingdom will be based on love. Not selfishness.
God's way was, and is, love:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
5 the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:5, KJV)
We who reign with Jesus will also reign with love.
And, it is only those called in this age that will reign with Jesus for the entire millennium.
This is something that will not happen to those called later.
Jesus Christ loved the world, and the people that were putting a crown of thorns on His head, were spitting in His face, were cursing Him, who had beaten Him till He was very weak physically. But while dying He looked up to heaven and said:
34 "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34)
Jesus loved them, and He was dying for them, and He gave His life for those who hated Him. That is the love of God.
HWA commented:
Brethren, do you have that kind of love? You weren't born with it. You may have a little of it through the Holy Spirit. But remember that even when we start out and receive the Holy Spirit, we don't have it to the extent that Jesus did. He had it without measure. We get it in a certain small measure and we haven't got it fully, we're still filled with carnal love to a great extent, every one of us. That's why we overcome. As you overcome and get certain sin out, it's like getting a certain amount of air out of a bottle and putting some good pure water in. But the same amount of air has to go out and as you get some of God's righteousness in, a certain amount of Satan's sin has to go out of you. So it works both ways; you have to get rid of Satan's way and grow in God's way.
Now God's way is the way of giving, of serving and cooperating, of helping, of loving others, of obedience to God. And it's the way that leads to harmony and to peace. Satan's way now is every man for himself.
Part of why we experience the tests are trials we do in this age is to help us develop proper love.
Though it is often difficult, remember that the Apostle Paul wrote:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Now God has a purpose for we who are Christians.
Which is?
God is reproducing Himself so that the universe will eternally improve and that their will be more love in the universe. That is how God's government will work.
HWA commented:
Now why did Jesus come? He came to restore the Government of God. ... God is reproducing Himself and it is the God family that we enter into. That's why we can call Jesus brother. That's why He calls us brethren. It's all one, we're begotten into a family, the God family, and only begotten now, not yet born.
And that will become the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of God is the FAMILY of God, ruling as a Kingdom and a government, that's what it is. Now gospel means good news, and the good news of that Kingdom, and of that family and its way of life, is what Jesus came to preach and proclaim. Now the Kingdom is to restore the throne of God on the earth. ...
That's why, and as I go around the world preaching world peace, brethren, I preach the WAY of GOD. Everyone must go the way of God, of LOVE toward other people instead of contention and competition. ...
I have been begotten and I hope all of you have, brethren. I hope all of you have. But if one has an attitude of hostility there is no peace. It must be universal. Now we have to come out from the world and be separate. ...
Now in Matthew twenty-four you read that at the time of the end, this gospel of the KINGDOM shall be proclaimed in all the world. ...
Now in Revelation nineteen and verse seven, I want you to notice. Revelation nineteen and verse seven. Finally, it says; "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour [un]to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife [has] made herself ready." (Revelation 19:7)
We are that wife, brethren. We are that wife, ARE WE READY? It has to be a hundred percent. The Church is going to be ready, but that doesn't mean everybody in it will be, and the only ones that are going to rise and meet Christ in the air when He comes, ...
And now, finally, I want you to turn to the twentieth chapter of Revelation. And the first few verses refer to the angel from the bottomless pit laying hand on Satan the Devil and putting him in a prison for a thousand years, and there will be no Satan. Now there's a throne, and there's this world's government, and there it is. Jesus is coming to sit on two thrones brethren. He's going to sit on the throne of David, but that's only over the nations of Israel. But He's also going to sit on the throne of Satan that was put there for Lucifer, and Christ is going to sit on that throne. And that's the throne over the whole earth.
And we are going, if we overcome, to sit with Him on His throne.
Notice some scriptures:
26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations —
27 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron;(Revelation 2:26-27)
21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:21)
Not only will resurrected Christians rule in love, Satan will be gone during the millennium.
Notice:
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. (Revelation 20:1-3)
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)
The prophet Daniel was told to record this about the kingdom of God:
44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever (Daniel 2:44, NKJV throughout unless otherwise noted).
18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.' (Daniel 7:18).
From Daniel, we learn that the kingdom of God will destroy human kingdoms and last forever. And that the saints will have their part in receiving it.
God inspired Isaiah to write this:
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. 6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea. 10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious." (Isaiah 11:1-10).
7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:7)
The Book of Isaiah makes it clear that there will be a physical reign on earth, with the Messiah in charge, and people will not be allowed to hurt others. This is the real Utopia.
This is the millennial Kingdom of God.
There will be justice:
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
"Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place. (Isaiah 28:16-17)16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,
In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places, (Isaiah 32:16-18a)3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law. (Isaiah 42:3-4)4 "Listen to Me, My people;
And give ear to Me, O My nation:
For law will proceed from Me,
And I will make My justice rest
As a light of the peoples.
5 My righteousness is near,
My salvation has gone forth,
And My arms will judge the peoples;
The coastlands will wait upon Me,
And on My arm they will trust. (Isaiah 51:4-5)
Most of the scriptures above are prophecies related to Jesus bringing justice.
Five times in the Hebrew scriptures (Esther 1:13; Proverbs 31:5; Isaiah 42:4, 51:4; Habakkuk 1:4) and once in the New Testament (Matthew 23:23) from Jesus, we clearly can see that justice is connected to God's law.
Notice that Jesus said His original apostles will rule over the tribes of Israel in that kingdom:
24 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. 25 And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.' 26 But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. 27 For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.
28 "But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. 29 And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Luke 22:24-30)
Others will have other roles. Like David (see also Anglo - America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel).
The world will be a better place:
1 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing.The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, The excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,"Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you." 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:1-9)
The Prophet Micah was inspired to write:
1 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. 2 Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3 He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; 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. 4 But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. (Micah 4:1-4)
Both humans and animals will do better during this time. The New Testament confirms that the whole creation will benefit during this time:
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8:19-21).
The time of the "glorious liberty of the children of God" that the Apostle Paul is speaking of, happens at the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom.
And this is a time when the people of God will be used to help restore a damaged planet:
12 Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In (Isaiah 58:12)
Thus, the people of God will make it easier for people to dwell in cities (and elsewhere) during this time of restoration. The world will truly be a better place. The millennium is a time when the saints will reign with Christ. The saints help create the millennial Utopia. The saints are true Christians who are qualifying now by obedience to the Law of God through faith in Christ.
13 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 58:13-14)
For keeping God's days those who live then are assured they will “ride upon the high places of the earth” (Isaiah 58:14, KJV). THEY WILL LIVE IN LUXURY! The Bible is full of such promises for OBEDIENCE. Read Leviticus 26:1-13 and Deuteronomy 28:1-14, which reveal some of the blessings God has promised for obedience. When all obey God, the world will be full of things that are now considered great luxuries! THEY WILL SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN happiness which THESE TWO DIFFERENT WAYS bring them. And they WILL BE CALLED TO REPENT of their way of life and allow themselves to BE RE-EDUCATED TO GOD’S WAY of life. That’s why He is to be made King. He will have complete personal charge of guiding people to repentance and re-educating them in God’s way.
Agriculture will be more productive than now (called the "former days" below):
11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,' says the Lord of hosts. 12 'For the seed shall be prosperous, The vine shall give its fruit, The ground shall give her increase, And the heavens shall give their dew — I will cause the remnant of this people To possess all these. (Zechariah 8:11-12)
This seems to be in contrast to the time since Eden when God pronounced a curse on agricultural production (cf. Genesis 3:17-19). The millennium will be an abundant time.
The millennium will be fantastic, partially because people will be keeping God's law. God also will insure that people have better understanding of it than they do now:
20 ... Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
"This is the way, walk in it,"
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left. (Isaiah 30:20-21)
And, by the way, the teachers should include US! Resurrected Christians will be teachers and, also in a sense, real peacekeepers.
The late COG minister Dennis Luker wrote:
You will be ruling over people in the World Tomorrow. YOU will be helping, guiding, correcting, blessing, teaching them! Notice what God reveals through Isaiah about how we will teach them,
"... yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left" (Isa. 30:20-21).
We will be their teachers! As spirit beings we will have the power to manifest ourselves as human beings. They will see us and hear us. Whenever necessary we will appear to them and say, "This is the way, walk ye in it"! We will teach generation after generation God's way of life!
Do you want to miss out on the opportunity to live and work with Christ a thousand years? He is coming soon to rule this earth, to bring God's government, to establish peace, happiness and prosperity! You can have a direct part in all this. God has called you to be in the first resurrection — to be a king! (Luker D. The First Resurrection Is a Better Resurrection!Good News, July 1967)
Yes, we can be kings in God's kingdom!
As far as the millennium and the original Christian faith, consider that Papias, who was a hearer of John and a friend of Polycarp (and is considered to be a saint by Roman Catholics), in the early second century taught about the millennial reign.
Eusebius recorded that Papias taught:
... there will be a period of a thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, and that the kingdom of Christ will be set up in material form on this very earth ... (Eusebius. The History of the Church, Book III, Chapter XXIX, Verse 12, p. 69)
Here is another translation of the above:
... there will be a millennium after the resurrection from the dead, when the personal reign of Christ will be established on this earth (Fragments of Papias, VI. See also Eusebius, Church History, Book 3, XXXIX, 12).
Papias taught that it would be a time of great abundance:
In like manner, [He said] that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear would have ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten pounds of clear, pure, fine flour; and that apples, and seeds, and grass would produce in similar proportions; and that all animals, feeding then only on the productions of the earth, would become peaceable and harmonious, and be in perfect subjection to man." [Testimony is borne to these things in writing by Papias, an ancient man, who was a hearer of John and a friend of Polycarp, in the fourth of his books; for five books were composed by him...] (Fragments of Papias, IV).
The millennium will be a time of abundance.
A thousand years of peace is coming.
This has never before happened on the earth.
The millennial Kingdom of God is something all true Christians can be a part of.
Something we anticipate and see in type by keeping the Feast of Tabernacles.
My prayer is that all who read or hear this will strive to be there in the millennial Kingdom of God.
Thiel B. The Millennial Kingdom of God. COGwriter (c) https://www.cogwriter.com/millennialkingdom.htm