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FEAST OF TABERNACLES - 2001

DAY 1

Fred Coulter - October 2, 2001

And greetings, brethren. This is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the year 2001. So time marches on and here we are all ready to go for the Feast of Tabernacles. And this is a very important feast, but just like everything else, there is a beginning, there is an ending. So this begins with the first day and it ends with the eighth day, which is the Last Great Day although the Feast of Tabernacles itself is only seven days long. So we have seven plus one equals eight, and that’s just the reverse of what we have when we begin the holy day season. We have one plus seven, that is the Passover plus seven days of Unleavened Bread. And then we have a total of eight days. And then we count seven weeks plus one day, which then is the fiftieth day or the eighth day. So all the way through the sequence of God’s holy days we have seven plus one, which is very interesting thing. We have it at least with Pentecost and Passover/Unleavened Bread, and Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day. Now Trumpets and Atonement do not fit into that particular category, but these three feasts do.

Now let’s turn to Leviticus 23 because here’s where God has all of the holy days listed. And we’ll just pick it up right here where it begins with the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is really one of the great feasts of God. All of them are important. But this is the one which symbolizes the great harvest, the great ingathering, the great number of people that are going to be brought into the Kingdom of God, receive salvation, and become sons and daughters in the Kingdom of God.

Now let’s begin in verse 33. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein” (Lev. 23:33-36).

Now for the Feast of Tabernacles, the offerings that they were to bring were really quite substantial. Let’s come to Number 29. And the reason that they are substantial is because you have not only the maturity of the animals, the completion of the harvest of all the food. Not only just the grains, but you have the fruit, you have the wine, you have all of those things at the end of the year. The apples, the oranges, the pears, all of those things. So that’s all a part of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Now let’s pick it up here in Numbers 29:12. “And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days.” Now here’s what they were to offer beginning the first day. And all the offering remains the same for the number of animals with the exception of the bullocks. Now let’s notice here verse 13. “And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish.” And then all the other things that went with it.

Then the second day it’s twelve bullocks and all the rest that goes with it, and so on down until we come to the seventh day. “And on the seventh day [you shall offer] seven bullocks, two rams…”, etc. (vs. 32). Then on the eighth day “…ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice…” (vs. 36), which is only one bullock and seven lambs, not fourteen, and the things that go with it. So these were quite substantial offerings.

Now let’s also understand it’s very important concerning the Feast of Tabernacles, God commands us to bring an offering. Now let’s go to Deuteronomy 16:16 and of course we talk about this on every holy day. And in doing so we don’t like to reach out and do things which compel people. Now as I have said in the past, and I will say again, that if you have been so burned by being merchandised by religious leaders, and people taking money from you that in conscience you can’t give any money to a man, then don’t do it. But you have to get those things resolved in your mind between you and God, because you see, the issue is not whether God commands it or not, because He does. The issue is the abuse of men. And so that’s the thing that needs to be corrected. So we try and do that with the things that we do and we don’t make a big to-do about offerings. And once a year I promised the brethren that I would talk about tithes and offerings, which I do generally toward the end of the year.

Now here, Deuteronomy 16:16, “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which He hath given thee” (Deut. 16:16-17). So when we pause here in just a minute to take up the offering, consider the blessings that God has given you from last Feast of Tabernacles to now and you do so before God from your heart in the way that is pleasing to Him.

(Pause)

Now we know that the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of God here on the earth. But let’s ask the question: What condition will the earth be like when we begin to reign and rule with Jesus Christ? I don’t think we have any comprehension of the destruction, of the death, of the turmoil, of the earthquakes, and all the things that are going to take place. So we need to look at it from a realistic point of view, so let’s go to Isaiah 13 and let’s begin and answer the question first: What will the earth be like? Because that will be our first priority, to help restore the earth. That will be our first priority in dealing with people too. Not only to help them, but also that they’re going to need clothing, they’re going to need housing, they’re going to need all of those things. And of course they’re going to have to work to produce it to get it done and make it possible, but we need to understand exactly what condition that the earth will be in.

Isaiah 13:6, “Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand…” And we saw that on the Feast of Trumpets, how the judgment of God against the Babylon the Great is going to effect the whole world. “…It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt.” Now you talk about battle fatigue, and battle shock, and mental problems, and physical problems as well as the wounded and the missing limbs and all of those things. It’s going to be something. “And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.” Or that is, their faces will be all just out of shape. “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world…” (Isa. 13:6-11).

Now a lot of people ask the question: Why does God have to go to this extent? Well, we need to understand something brethren, which is this, God has to do this. Not just to show His power, that He’s greater than anybody else. He can do that at any time. But because of the sins of the people, because of the magnitude of their rebellion and rejection of God. Now we have gone many years past the time we figured that Christ would return, haven’t we? We don’t know how many years we have to go down the road in the future, but I think we need to look at the fact that this society of man is going to get greater, and greater, and greater, and greater and they are going to begin exalting themselves higher, and higher, and higher. Plus the oppression of people will become more, and more, and more, and the control of Satan the devil through the Beast and the False Prophet will become so powerful, will become so great that the only way that God is going to be able to take the earth back is to literally do these things.

Because it’s not just against human beings. As we saw in the Day of Atonement, Satan has to be put away. So it’s men and demons, and Satan the devil, and all of these things combined. God says, “I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease…” And you know they’re going to be really arrogant when they have these things going, and they are doing all these things because they’re going to pretty well figure that they are gods. And so it’s not really just a battle of God against men, but it’s a battle of God against men and demons who think they are gods and are fighting Christ at His return. “…And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” Now that is the terrible one, and that’s the one in Revelation 13 who exalts himself above all that is called god. “I will make a man more precious than fine gold…” Now we’re going to see that the death of human beings is going to be in the billions. And it’s going to be quite an awesome thing indeed. So much so that it’s going to make a man more precious than fine gold. “Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger” (vs. 11-13). And so God is going to literally turn this earth upside down.

Let’s come to Isaiah 24. Let’s see where it talks about that. Now maybe it’s reversing the whole magnetic field of the earth. Now that’s been done several times in the past. They know in the geologic timetable that it will be. Now here’s what the earth is going to look like. Isaiah 24:1, “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 24:1-5). Now you see it’s very clever the way that they do it. They replace godliness with morality. How moral are you? And of course that’s a sliding scale depending upon your interpretation. And they replace the commandments of God with ethics. And they replace the laws of God with lawlessness. And this whole thing is just a formula to grow and grow and grow, and God is going to have to bring it completely smashing to the ground.

Verse 6, “Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” Now we’ll get an idea of how few that is and what we’re going to start with. Because you see there’s so much that has to be destroyed. There is so much that has to be gotten rid of that this is the only way that it can be done.

Now let’s go to Jeremiah 25. Let’s see that there are going to be corpses, there are going to be dead people, there are going to be bodies strewn all over the land. All over the earth. And not just in one place. Everywhere, because of all the things that are going to take place. Let’s pick it up here in verse 32. “Thus saith the LORD of hosts…” When God says, “Thus says the LORD of hosts,” host means of the army. And that’s talking about the power of God. “…Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground” (Jer. 25:32-33). That’s quite a thing, isn’t it, for that to happen? So that’s what the earth is going to look like.

Let’s come to Revelation 16 and let’s see what the cities are going to be like. Now we know that Isaiah says that every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be brought low. So the whole thing that we understand is that the geography of the earth is going to be completely changed. And that’s going to be necessary to get rid of all the toxins, the waste, and the garbage and things that men have piled up for centuries. Now let’s look at the cities here. Revelation 16:17. Now this is when the seventh angel pours out his vial, but what I want to cover here is for us to understand that what happens here, what the seventh angel does, that carries right on over into the beginning of the Millennium because this tells us what the earth is going to be like.

“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great” (Rev. 16:17-18). Now we out here in Hollister live in earthquake country, and we feel them every once in a while. But I tell you these are going to be awesome. The whole earth is going to shake.

“And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell…” (vs. 19). That means they collapsed. It’s going to be such an awesome earthquake that all the buildings are going to collapse. And of course there are going to be bodies in those buildings. There are going to be survivors in those buildings. So when we start dealing with the people as we begin to rule and reign with Christ, we need to understand the conditions that we’re going to be facing. It’s going to be a tremendous challenge for us.

Now let’s continue on here. Let’s come back here to Zechariah 14. Now you know what we covered on the Feast of Trumpets. Let’s come back here to Zechariah 14 as we talk about what happened on the Feast of Trumpets, how that the battle is going to be that the flesh is going to fall right off those that come and fight against Christ. And it says so right here in Zechariah 14. Let’s pick it up here in verse 12. And so there’s going to be all of that too. Brethren, this earth is going to be just absolutely literally upside down.

“And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour” (Zech. 14:12-13). So it’s going to be everybody fighting everyone. Just like every battle that God said He would fight for Israel, what did He do? He turned them against themselves to kill each other. And so that’s what’s going to happen here too.

Now then, with the earth in this condition Satan is going to be put away, as we saw in the Day of Atonement. So let’s go back to Revelation 20 and let’s carry this through now to the beginning of the Millennium and what we are going to be doing. Not only what we are going to be doing, but all the saints. And it’s going to be quite a thing, brethren. The beginning of the Millennium is going to be an awesome thing indeed. Here, Revelation 20. Let’s just pick it up here in verse 1 and we’ll carry forward now with the Day of Atonement and Satan and the demons being put away.

“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [the abyss] and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years…” Now you see, let’s understand something. You can never, as I pointed out on the Day of Atonement, get rid of sin as long as Satan is around. Now we’re going to have enough trouble with just human nature with the people that are left without having Satan around. But with Satan they’re constantly to tempt, as the prince of the power of the air, the one who stirs everybody up, you see. With him bound it’s going to be a whole different story. So when we start the clean-up job and we have the people be aware of what’s happening, and of course a lot of them are going think that we are the invaders from outer space because the Pope is going to be saying that Christ is the anti-christ. Did you know there’s a Roman prophecy that says “anti-christ shall come, shall reign for a thousand years and abolish all idols.” Well no, that’s Christ Who’s going to do that, see. And Satan has to be put away. “And cast him into the bottomless pit [abyss], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Rev. 20:1-3).

Now after Satan’s put away, here’s the earth all in this cindering hulk and now begins the reign of Christ. Verse 4, “And I saw thrones [you’re going to have a throne], and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them…” Now we’re going to see that judgment is given to us under Christ. Now we’re going to have to make the decisions on how to repair the land, repair the cities, bring the people together. We’ll have the power to heal the sick. We’ll have power to comfort all of those who are depressed and shell-shocked and war-shocked. “…And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus…”, and I was just given an article here before we started the video taping that the State of Georgia is looking to enact a law which will make the guillotine the method of death. So you see, all of these prophecies are going to be fulfilled to the letter, the very ultimate degree of fulfillment. “…And for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” So there is the Millennium. We will live and reign.

Now the reigning and ruling can be various kinds. As we will see a little later on there are those who rule in the cities, there are those who rule over ten cities. There will be those who will be sitting on the thrones of the twelve tribes of Israel, as Christ promised the apostles. Everyone will have a job. Everyone will have a work and it’s going to be a tremendous work to do considering the condition of the earth.

Now notice, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Now we’ll cover this on the Last Great Day, day 7 and day 8. “This is the first resurrection.” Now notice, “Blessed and holy…” Those are names for God, aren’t they? “…Is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (vs. 5-6). That’s a tremendous thing.

Now let’s understand something about this. Let’s go back to Isaiah 9. We are given judgment and also rulership, but here in Isaiah 9 we see the prophecy that the government, the responsibility of that rests upon Christ. Now let’s begin here in verse 6. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Now when the Church and Christ are married, just before they come back to the earth, then all of those who are converted under the reign of Christ and under the reign of the Bride, they are going to be the offspring of Jesus so that He will also be an everlasting Father, just like the Father is an everlasting Father. So that’s when that will be fulfilled.

Now notice verse 7, “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end…” It’s not going to be like it has been with human beings. It’s not going to be like the civilizations down through history. There will be no end. “…And upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.” Now notice, “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” So this is going to be quite a thing that’s going to be done. Really it’s going to be a mammoth and wonderful thing and we’re the ones who have part in it.

Now let’s see the first thing that we’re going to do is teach them to have no more war. That is those who want to submit. Now let’s come Micah 4 and we’re going to see and also understand that there are going to be some more battles. Now we covered part of that before so we’ll just briefly review that. But here in Micah 4, here is how the Millennium is going to begin. It’s going to be first a campaign to get rid of all weapons of war.

 Let’s begin here in verse 1. “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways…” So not only are we going to be ruling but we’re going to be teaching. That’s why it’s important we know and understand the word of God today. And we can teach. We’ll teach them His ways. “…And we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Micah 4:1-3). So the whole fabric of society has got to be changed. Changed from a war society to a peace society. From a sinful society to a righteous society. From a society of lawlessness into a society of godliness. And then there can be peace. Not until. But it’s going to take some time. It’s going to take some doing.

Now let’s see how this unfolds. Let’s come to Isaiah 11 and let’s see how Christ is going to execute His office as King of kings and Lord of lords, and how He’s going to establish peace on the earth and how we are going to help Him do it. Now, let’s come to Isaiah 11:1 and see how He’s going to do it. “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him…” Now not only is this talking about His first coming, but also His second coming because you see when Jesus was baptized the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him, right? Yes. “…The spirit of wisdom and understanding…” And it’s going to take that in order to rule the world, in order to be King of kings, in order to be Lord of lords. “…The spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD…” And of course that’s talking about His first coming. “…And He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isa. 11:1-4). So this shows that it’s going to take a time to subdue these people.

Now the large nations afar off, big nations, we’ve got China, we’ve got India, we have all of Russia, Mongolia, all of the nations there east of the Black and Caspian Seas. Those nations are going to have to be dealt with. And then we have the battle of Gog and Magog, which is the finality of that, which is bringing of all of those nations that still have their armies over there, and Christ is going to rebuke them, and Christ is going to correct them. But they’re not going to listen. They’re going to come and fight. And Christ is going to have to make His power known. So He’ll have to rebuke them.

Now, let’s come to Isaiah 30. Isn’t it interesting that so many of the things that we find concerning the Kingdom of God we find in the book of Isaiah. But let’s also understand something else that’s very important. The whole Bible is full of what the Millennium is going to be with the Kingdom of God. Did you understand that? The Old Testament, the New Testament. We’re going to look at some of those in the New Testament as we go through the Feast of Tabernacles. Now we’re going to have an unusual thing that’s going to take place here.

Isaiah 30:18, “And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you…” And we’ll talk about the salvation of Israel here in just a minute. “…And therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee. And though the LORD give you the bread of adversity [that is through the tribulation that Israel comes out - that’s the bread of adversity], and the water of affliction, yet [that is, now at this time] shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers…” (Isa. 30:18-20). And we will be those teachers, brethren. We’re going to show them the way.

“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying…” Now if they start going the wrong way. Now how are we going to do this? We’re going to do this every Sabbath when we teach on the Sabbath. We are going to do this individually and directly if someone starts really getting out of line. We are not going to allow murders and rapes and robberies and things like that. But we’re going to be spirit beings. We’ll be able to make ourselves visible to people, and also make ourselves invisible to people. So when we’re invisible, when the people turn to the right hand or the left hand, you’re going to hear a voice which says, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” (vs. 21), and that’s going to be quite a thing. So you talk about a super crime prevention way, God is going to have it. And really, when you understand it, that’s the only way that you can bring peace among men. But they’ve got to be educated into it. And after they’re educated into it and have the Spirit of God and are converted, then these things will come more naturally. They will be led by the Spirit and we will help them and we will lead them. And then they will begin to overcome these things.

Let’s come to Amos 5, and let’s ask the question: How many people will be left on the earth when we begin the Millennium? Now we’re getting pretty close to the point that the way the population is doubling, we will have 10 billion people on this earth within the next what, five years, seven years? Now that’s a lot of people. Remember we read that the earth is just going to be, the dead are going to be from one end under heaven to the other end of heaven. Let’s read it here what happens against Israel.

Amos 5:1, “Here ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by [captivity]…” Now these are the ones that escape. Now remember the book of Ezekiel says what? A third shall die by famine. A third shall die by sword, and a third shall go into captivity. Now notice, “…The city that went out by a thousand [so that was a city originally with 3000 people. After the famine and after the sword goes out by 1000] shall leave an hundred…” That’s all that’s going to be left. “…And that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel” (Amos 5:1-3). So that’s going to be quite a thing, isn’t it? Now that is leaving less than 10%. That’s 10% of one third, and 10% of one third is equivalent to about 3.33%. So that’s something. We’re going to have a big job to do.

Now let’s continue on. Let’s come to Jeremiah. Let’s see what God is going to do. The very first thing we are going to do, we are going to enter in, that is we, that is those who are the sons and daughters of God who are the priests and kings with Christ, we will help facilitate this. Let’s come to Jeremiah 30:1. “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.” And we’ve got it right here, don’t we. God not only had it written but He’s also preserved it that we may know it. “For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah…” Now that means bringing them out of captivity. And we saw that there’s going to be one tenth of one third left. “…I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it” (Jer. 30:1-3).

Now, let’s come over here to chapter 31, verse 31. Again, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” Now that covenant is not the same as the covenant that we have. Remember the Old Covenant with Israel and Judah was the covenant that was given at Mount Sinai. The New Covenant that Christ brought was for the Church. That was not for all Israel and all Judah. So this is the New Covenant that God is going to make with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Now notice what He says here, verse 32. “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD.” And that’s why Christ died. To end that covenant. Now He’s going to enter into a new covenant with them. And this is when salvation comes to all the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Verse 33, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts…” That’s the whole proposition of conversion. That is what is to happen to us now, brethren, in the New Covenant we are with, with Christ. But now this is going to be extended to Israel. “…And will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother [and how many weird doctrines have come up out of that], saying, Know the LORD…” And boy how many things have gone astray when people say “Know the LORD”. “…For they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (vs. 33-34). So He’s going to establish that covenant with them and it’s going to be quite a thing that God is going to do in doing that.

Now, let’s come here to Isaiah 43, and let’s carry this on because you see the first part of the Millennium God is dealing with Israel and with Judah. And the rest of the world, if they come up to Jerusalem can learn. But He’s not dealing with the rest of the world in the same way that He is with Israel at the beginning. Because there’s still yet the war that’s going to take place with Gog and Magog, as we will see. There’s still yet nations that have to be rebuked until they give up their armies and give up their arms.

Let’s come to Isaiah 43:1, and let’s see what God is going to do. He’s going to bring them out of that captivity. He’s going to enter into a New Covenant with them. “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not…” All these things have taken place and all these things have occurred. “…Fear not: for I have redeemed thee…” Christ is bringing them back. Leading them back into the promised land. “…I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in My sight…” And Israel is precious in the sight of God. “…Thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life” (Isa. 43:1-4). Great vast numbers of hundreds of millions. That’s quite a thing. That’s something. This salvation that God brings in bringing Israel and Judah out of captivity is going to be an awesome and mammoth thing to see and to behold indeed.

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