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A New Beginning

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A New Beginning

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A New Beginning

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There are beginnings and endings in life. When the millennium is ushered in, what will God's people be doing, in this New Beginning? Comforting people who just went through the most devastating time in the history of man. Working with people, teaching people how to act, and how to love, and how to become part of the God Family.

Transcript

A New Beginning, by Craig Clark

October 22, 2022 Freeland, Michigan. First given in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on the October 10, the first Holy Day of the 2022 Feast of Tabernacles

You know, just about everywhere we look in life there are beginnings and endings. Life itself. has a beginning and an end. There are beginnings and endings of school and work, of friendships and marriages. There are beginnings and endings of stories and papers and books and movies. There are beginnings and endings of days and months and seasons and years. And the Bible itself has many beginnings and endings. We heard a little bit about a beginning this morning already and if you remember not too long-ago Bill gave a sermon and talked about seven different beginnings in the Bible.

Today I do want to focus on beginnings. And while there are many beginnings found in the Bible, there are a few that I think really stand out. Some of these are in the past and some in the future. One of those is related to the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. And we're going to talk about that. But before we get there, we're going to start by looking at a couple of other beginnings. So, the first beginning we're going to look at is found in Genesis 1. And I do want to begin by just reading the first verse, so Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Why does the Bible begin with these words? Let's think about it for a minute.

Everything that we can see, feel, touch it was all created by God. We are introduced to God here. And in this first verse of the Bible we do learn some things about God. God is greater than anything that we can experience in the physical creation. God created it all. And God exists really, outside of time and space because again, he created it. And we'll look at that briefly in just a minute.

There are things that we are introduced to in this first chapter that will continue to be discussed through the entire Bible. God certainly is, as are the heavens and the earth. And so is what we read about next in Genesis 1:2 says, “the earth was or became without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “let there be light and there was light.” So, from the darkness God brought light. And this is how it all begins. Out of darkness into light. And we've talked about that a bit over the past few years. But it is an important concept that continues here from the beginning to the end. So, let's continue reading verse 4“and God saw the light that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness and God called the light day. And the darkness he called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” So, we have a day. Now, I mentioned earlier that we would get back to the concept of time. A full day consists of light and dark day and night and the day begins with evening the darkness and ends with the morning the light. So again, it's that out of darkness into light that we see, and this same cycle is repeated another five times in this chapter. And we're not going to read those, but there is one verse that touches on this that I do want to read. And that is verse 14. Gen 1:14 Where it says then “God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs and seasons and for days and years.” And I know we have discussed this in the last year but signs and seasons and days and years. So, we're not going to spend much time on it, but just as a reminder, the word that is translated as signs means a signal or such as a flag or a beacon or a monument. It is a mark or a miracle or an Ensign. It is something that is there to point us to something else that is important. The heavens were created in such a way that they signal or mark or point us to something that we should pay attention to seasons is “moed” an appointed time, a festival, among other things. It can also refer to a year. And as I've mentioned before, I look at this as a year defined by the appointed times or the festivals of God. The first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, being one of those, appointed times.

The heavens are the most intricate time keeping device ever created. And God created it all. God created time and space. He also created this continuing cycle that is established here at Creation, out of darkness into light. And this theme also continues throughout the Bible to the very end. There is one other thing that we are introduced to in this chapter that we need to look at and understand and it is found in verse 24. Well verse 26. Sorry, I can't quite read my notes today, but verse 26 beginning in verse 26 it says (Gen 1:26-27). “Then God said let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air, and over the cattle over all the Earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So here God introduces himself as our creator as well. Verse 27 “so God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him, male and female. He created them. Then God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

The implication here in these verses and confirmed later in the book, is that man is different from all other animals. He was given dominion over all of them. And that God made man with the intention of having a relationship with him. So, in this first beginning we see the start of God working with man.

So, let's move on to the second beginning that I want to look at today. And this one is found in the first chapter of the book of John. Now in this beginning we are going to see some things that are very similar to what we saw in the first beginning, and we will also see some things that are different. We're going to start with verse one. John, 1:1 “in the beginning”. Now in what beginning? I think it is important to note that by using this phrase in the beginning, John was clearly pointing back to all that was included in Genesis1. At the same time, he is adding further detail to what was written there. So, it is fair to ask, is this the same beginning that we read about in Genesis 1, or is it a different beginning?

The implication is that maybe this is an earlier time than what we read about in Genesis, but it doesn't really say. And in some ways, it doesn't really matter. The focus of this beginning for the most part isn't on the “what” and the “when” but on the “Who”. Let's continue (Gen 1:1). “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” I said there were some similarities, right? So here is one of them. We have God. In both beginnings we see God there. But we learn a little bit more about God here. God is not just one being. And I know that we can see that a little bit in the first beginning, but, here we see a little bit more. There was God. And the word. They were there together, and they were both God. And the focus here is on God referred to as the word.

Verse 3 “all things were made through him. And without him, nothing was made that was made.” Something else that we learn is that this God, the Word, who was instrumental in creating all things including man. Right? Us. And we see that clearly in the next verse (4). It says, “in Him was life and the life was the light of men”. And then we see another concept that was introduced in the first beginning that out of darkness into light. Verse 5 “and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” This is not just talking about physical light and physical darkness here. It says that the Word was life, and that life was the light. The Word is the true light. Let's drop down to verse nine it says in verse 9. “That was the true light. Which gives light to every man that coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through Him and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not know him,” or did not receive Him.

You know, up to this point we learn about the Word, that He was involved in that first beginning. All things were created through Him. But here we also see another  What? The Word-God came into the world but the world did not know Him.

John 1:12-14. “But as many as received Him to them, He gave the right to become children of God. To those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,  nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth”.

We really do have another beginning here. The word, God himself, became flesh and dwelt among us.

In the first beginning that we talked about, we learned about the relationship of God as the creator of man. In this second beginning, we see that the creator God becomes flesh, like His creation, and dwelt among men as a man. We also learned that even though God Himself dwelt with man, not everybody accepted him. In fact, we learn as we read more about this particular time, and I think you were all aware that not only did they not accept Him, but they murdered Him. John hints at that in what we just read. He said (vs 10) “He was in the world and the world did not know Him and He came to His own and His own did not receive Him”.

John also mentions that he is the light. And in the various gospels we read that Jesus Christ himself confirms that. Let's read what John wrote later in John 8. One verse here John 8:12 says, “then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

So, in this second beginning we see that the relationship has changed. God is not just our creator, but He is the light in our life. Through the stories of this time, we learn that of we are to be His children, the children of God, firstfruits of God, we must be chosen, we must accept Him, and that we must follow Him. And if we do that, we will be His at the return of Jesus Christ. But we also learned that this is not all going to be completed during or within this second beginning.

And so that brings us to a new beginning, one that has not yet come. And that is what the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is all about. It represents a new beginning. As with the two beginnings that we've talked about so far, there are some things that are consistent. And there are some things that are new. Unlike the other two, there are no scriptures that describe this new beginning as in the beginning. But there are some places that we can read about it.

In this beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, just like in the other two. In this beginning God became flesh and dwelt among us, just like in the second beginning. In this beginning we see that there is also darkness and light. In this beginning we see that there is a relationship between God and men, but this relationship has changed once again. So, let's look at some scriptures that talk about these things. I think we need to begin by reviewing the meaning of the 1st 2 of the fall feasts, The Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement.

I'd like you to turn to Matthew 24 and we'll begin there. What does the feast of trumpets mean? Well, generally we look at two main themes. First and foremost, it points us to the return of Jesus Christ and we read about that here in Matthew 24 we're going to going to read verses 30 and 31. So Matthew 24:30-31 says “then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the Earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Next, let's read what Paul writes in 1Thessalonians 4:16-17 “for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an Archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

And then finally in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. All of these very familiar passages. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Paul writes, “behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on in corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

What we see in these passages is that Jesus Christ has returned and the called and faithful have been resurrected as spirit beings. And then comes the Day of Atonement. And there are two components of this feast that are important to this new beginning. I'm going to take a quick look at those by first turning to Leviticus 25 we talked about this on the Day of Atonement. Well, we did up north. I’m not sure if you did here. But we did cover this up in a in Gaylord.

It's not something that we always talk about on the Day of Atonement, but it is something that is important that does take place on that day. So, Leviticus 25 beginning in verse 8. Lev 8-10 And it says, “and you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself. Seven times seven years and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you 49 years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the 10th day of the 7th month, on the Day of Atonement. You shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the 50th year and proclaim liberty. Throughout all the lands to all its inhabitants it shall be a jubilee for you. And each of you shall return to his possession and each of you shall return to his family.” The Jubilee begins on the Day of Atonement when Liberty is proclaimed throughout the land.

Now let's read a few verses from Revelation 20, which is probably also generally looked at on the Day of Atonement. So, Revelation 20 beginning in verse one, we're going to read the first 3 verses. (Rev 20:1-3) And here John writes, he says. “Then I saw an Angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan and bound him for 1000 years, 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 1000 years were finished. But after these things, he must be released for a little while.”

We just read in Leviticus 25 that the Jubilee begins, and Liberty is proclaimed on the Day of Atonement. And here we see that Satan is bound for 1000 years and that too speaks of liberty.

The first two fall festivals portray Jesus Christ returning, us being resurrected as spirit beings, people returning to their homelands and their families and liberty being proclaimed throughout the entire Earth. And all of that makes possible this new beginning.

In this beginning, the relationship between God and man changes once again. God will be back on the earth. Not as a man this time, but as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will rule this earth. And we, His family of firstfruits will be with Him. We too will be with him helping to rule this earth. We will be kings and priests, helping those who have come through the darkest time in man's history to see the Light.

I'm going to talk a little bit about what we are going to be doing in this beginning. But before we do that, I'd like you to turn to 1 Peter 2:9 because I think this is a good summary of what this beginning is really all about.

Peter is writing to the church about the church. And he says, “but you are a chosen generation. A royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

From the very beginning we see that the day begins with darkness and ends with light. And throughout the entire Bible we see this cycle, this contrast is explained, darkness and light, Good and evil, lies and truth, righteousness, and unrighteousness. I think this verse is more than just a summary of this beginning and Our Calling it is a good summary really of what God's plan is all about. Bringing mankind out of darkness into light. Out of the world, out of Satan's ways, out of our own ways into God's marvelous light. His ways, the truth and ultimately, salvation.

If this is what we have been called to, what is it that we will be doing in this new beginning? Turn to Revelation 20. This time we're going to read verse 4. Here John writes (Rev 20:4)“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 heads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for 1000 years.”

We will be working with people for 1000 years as priests of God explaining to them the plan of God: How to live, How to act, How to love, How to be. Think about what it's going to be like for these people. Especially at the start of this thousand years. They will have just experienced the most devastating time in human history. Man will have been at the brink of total annihilation. They were fighting against God, and they didn't know that. And here they are, alive, somehow. What are they going to need? I think they're going to need some reassurance. The worst is over. The enemy has been removed and peace can reign.

They will need to understand how we got here and what the future will hold. They will need to know who and what God is, who and what man is. Why he was created. They will need to know and understand what God's plan is all about. As priests of God, those are the things that we will need to teach them. Priests are to teach the people about God and His way of life. And if we are going to teach people about God in his way of life, I can't think of a better place to start then in the beginning. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Together they created the heavens and the earth. Then God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea. Over the birds of the air and over the cattle over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So, God created man. In His own image in the image of God, He created them. Male and female, He created them. Then God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. And subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth. (Genesis1)

Unfortunately, man rejected God. Instead deciding for himself what is right and what is wrong. And so, in the fullness of time God sent the Word to the world who became the Son of God. He was in the world and the world was made through him. And the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. But as many as received him to them, he gave the right to become children of God. To those who believed in his name. Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of the will of God. (John 1)

It is those who now rule under the Son as kings and priests. Who will teach the world the truth about God and his plan. Who will help the world become a part of God’s own family just as they are now, a part of God's family. That is what the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is all about. A New Beginning. For all the people who are left on this earth. When they too can finally understand the truth. We will be there as kings and priests to teach them, and guide them, and they too will be called out of darkness into God's marvelous light.