Coming Soon: Atonement with God for All Nations

We had a wonderful feast of trumpets last Tuesday. What a marvelous day. Trumpets a turning point in human history. And now we have the Sabbath between the two holidays, between trumpets and atonement. The trumpets and atonement are nine days apart, which means there will always be a weekly Sabbath day within this period between trumpets and atonement, always. Is there any significance to there being nine days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement? It seems that there is, that it will take some time for all nations to come under the government of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ comes back to set up the government of God on the earth, but nine days later comes the Day of Atonement, picture in the world being at one with God. It does appear that it's going to take some time before Jesus accomplishes fully all nations coming to repentance and submitting to His rule and His government. So that's something I'd like for us to think about today. As we think about the Day of Atonement just ahead next Thursday, it's going to take some time for nations to be at one. It's not just going to happen automatically. We many times think that, well, Christ comes back. He just quickly sets up God's government. All nations submit to Him. Well, no, it's not going to be quite that easy. Even scriptures indicate that it will take some doing. Let's turn over to Isaiah chapter 2. Isaiah chapter 2, a passage of scripture that has been read often. We're very familiar with it, but let us notice a verse that has a word here that shows it's going to take a little bit of time. It's going to take some doing before all nations submit to the government of Christ. In Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 2, 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 be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow to it. This just sounds like it's going to happen, no problem.

Many people will say, come and let us go to the mountain of the Lord. He'll teach us His ways. Out of Zion shall go forth the law. Verse 4, He shall judge between the nations and shall rebuke. It's going to take some correction, some of it, some of it, some of it, some of it, some of it, reducing. They shall beat their swords and the plowshares, and they won't learn war anymore. So yes, this verse indicates that it will be necessary for Jesus Christ to redo some of the nations. They don't just automatically accept His rule. Also in Zechariah 14, we won't turn to that. We turn to that very often as well. All nations will keep the Feast of Tabernacles, but there's indication there that some nations will not want to do that at first. If Egypt is singled out, if they don't want to come up and keep the Feast of Tabernacles, then they'll have no rain. That'll be the punishment of Egypt and all nations, it says. It may be that Russia doesn't want to come down. It may be that China, India, other nations don't want to come and keep the Feast of Tabernacles. So maybe that's why we have a time element then between trumpets and atonement, a nine-day period. Trumpets came on Tuesday, and nine days later, atonement comes on a Thursday. A little bit of time to let the nations submit to the rule of Jesus Christ. You know the first nation that is going to just submit and come to be at one? They're going to experience spiritual atonement with God. The first nation or nations that will do that are the Israelite nations. By Israelite, we mean the United States of America, modern-day Israel. We mean Great Britain. We mean the democracies of Northwestern Europe. We mean the Jewish people. We're talking about people who are on the earth alive today. God is going to refine the 12 tribes of Israel in a horrible captivity. They will be dealt with first, you might say, corrected. They will go through a horrible time of captivity. It is described in many Bible prophecies. Our booklet, United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy, the last chapter deals with the time of captivity, this time of correction. And this refinement is not going to be easy. It's not going to be easy to change the United States of America, the people, that is, and Great Britain and Northwestern Europeans.

The Israelites have to be put through a horrible time of captivity and refinement. Let's read about that time of refinement right here in Isaiah. Isaiah 4 and verse 2. Isaiah 4 and verse 2, In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious. When God's kingdom is set upon the earth, the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped those who come through that time of captivity. And verse 3, it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem will be called holy. That's because the Israelites who escaped and survived the captivity will then be at one with God. Everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. And verse 4, When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst. How? By the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.

By the horrible time of captivity. Brethren, we have some things coming upon us, and it's actually from Almighty God. A day of correction is coming upon the Israelites. A day of refinement, and it's not going to be easy. I tell you, atonement with God then is not an easy thing. Is that why God has us to fast on this day? Atonement coming to be at one with God is not just a natural, easy thing for us human beings. It's not going to be easy for our nation, either. Let's read also from about this time of refinement in Isaiah 48, chapter 48 of Isaiah, and verses 10 and 11. Isaiah 48 and verses 10 and 11. Behold, I have refined you.

It's talking about Israel. Look at verse 1. Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel. You can see this is talking about the Israelites. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. That's what our nation is going to go through. Americans and British. We could be heading on. We could be getting closer to that time, to that furnace of affliction, even right now. We have a weak president, even his cognitive abilities are very obviously impaired. We are being perceived in the world as weak now, not willing to really put out the effort. Look at the way we exited Afghanistan in a weak manner. So we'll have to wait and see just how soon this time of trouble develops. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Verse 11, for my own sake, I will do it. Because God wants to bring Israel into alignment with his law and begin to be the model nation. For my own sake, I will do it. For how should my name be profaned as we have been doing it? God's not going to allow it to continue. I will not give my glory to another. So God is going to refine the modern day 12 tribes of Israel. Zachariah 13 mentions this also. Zachariah chapter 13 and verse 8. Zachariah chapter 13 and verse 8.

I shall come to pass in all the land, says the Lord, that two-thirds of it shall be cut off and die. That's a horrible time that God is going to bring upon our people. But one-third shall be left in it. Verse 9. I will bring the one-third through the fire. We'll refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name. Yes, they will in the time of captivity. And I will answer them. I will say, This is my people. And each one will say, The Lord is my God.

So, brethren, the end result is that Israel is going to be refined. Israel is going to be the twelve tribes of Israel are going to be brought into at one man with God. That's going to produce wonderful results. I tell you what, I'm looking forward to that. I would like for our nation to be at one with God, wouldn't you? It's coming. It's going to come after a time, though, of great refinement and a horrible captivity. Let's go to Ezekiel 11. Some of the wonderful results are described here. Ezekiel 11.

Ezekiel 11 and verse 16. Let's read several verses on down. Ezekiel 11 and verse 16. Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God, although I have cast them far off, this is talking about the Israelites in our time, although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I will be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they've gone. It won't be a total destruction, but it will be a total refinement. In verse 17. Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God, I will gather you from the peoples of some of you from the countries where you have been scattered. I will give you the land of Israel, and they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. As for those whose hearts walk after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads, says the Lord God. And they will be cut off. Those who will not be brought into alignment with God will simply not be allowed to carry on. Let's read Ezekiel 20. He also writes about it in this chapter. Ezekiel chapter 20 and verse 33.

Ezekiel 20 and verse 33. As I live, says the Lord God, and he does live, doesn't he? Surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. God is going to, he is determined, he is going to refine and brought into atonement the Israelite tribes. Verse 34. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. Skipping on down to verse 37. I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant, the covenant God anciently made with Israel. Verse 38. I will purge the rebels from among you. Notice that. Is God going to refine us? I will purge the rebels. Anybody that wants to continue believing in like things that we know are contrary to God's laws, they're going to be purged out. Those who transgress against me. Skipping on the verse 40. For in my holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all twelve tribes, all of them in the land shall serve me. There I will accept them, and there I will require their offerings and the first fruits of your sacrifices together with all your holy things. Oh, this is when Israel has been refined. They've gone through the furnace of affliction, and now they are at one with God. Verse 41. I will accept you as a sweet aroma. When I bring you from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles, Israel will be the model nation, then you shall know that I am the Lord. When I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I lifted my hand in an oath to give to your fathers. Verse 43. There you shall remember your ways. Americans are going to remember that free-willing style. Just anything goes. Just any old thing. You can redefine marriage. You can try to redefine what sex you want to be. All those things we're going to look back at. You shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled, and you shall loathe yourselves. Can you imagine that? When the Israelites really come to see, then they are going to loathe. That word means to hate, abhor yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils you have committed. Then you shall know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your own corrupt doings, O house of Israel. So, brethren, the first peoples to be brought into atonement, the first nations, will be the Israelite tribes. All the tribes of Israel will be made at one with God. What a wonderful thing to look forward to. It is going to take some refinement in the Great Tribulation.

The end result is going to be atonement with God. Let's read just a few more verses on that. Jeremiah 31. A few verses in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 31. Notice again in verse 1, it is talking about the Israelites. I will be the God of all the families of Egypt.

And of course, we know we read about the captivity. Verse 8. I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the ends of the earth, and a great throng shall return. Verse 9. They shall come with weeping and with supplications. I will lead them. So imagine Americans and British coming out of captivity, having gone through the the furnace of affliction, coming back with tears, streaming down their cheeks. What a wonderful attitude that is going to be. The attitude of repentance. The attitude of atonement with God. It's going to be wonderful. Let's go to Jeremiah 50. Jeremiah chapter 50. And we have some beautiful verses here about this the state of atonement that is coming for our people in the future. God's going to bring this to happen. We're going to see it. There's going to be refinement of the tribes of Israel. There's going to be atonement with God on a nationwide basis. Jeremiah 50 and verse 4. In those days and in that time says the Lord, the children of Israel shall come. They and the children of Judah together, all the twelve tribes, with continual weeping they shall come and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces toward it, saying, Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten. God is going to bring back Israelites who have now gone through a horrible time of great tribulation, and they will have tears streaming down their face. In verse 19, the same chapter verse 19, But I will bring back Israel to his habitation. He shall feed on Carmel and Beishan. His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days and in that time says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none. That's because Israel is now keeping the laws of God, and it is at one as a nation. The sins of Judah shall not be found. I will pardon those whom I preserve.

Okay, so the Israelites, we spent quite a bit of time showing that Israel is going to be, all the twelve tribes are going to be brought into Atonement with God. What a wonderful thing! Picture by the Day of Atonement.

General, other nations are going to become also at one, but they must submit. As we read in Isaiah 2 already, there may be, there will be a need, in fact, for rebuking. Russia, China, India, Iran, North Korea, Egypt, Mexico, Central and South America, you name it, all nations will need to be brought into Atonement with God. Many of them begin to meet their Maker, you might say, during the Day of the Lord, but not all of them. Some of them will resist. But every nation has to go through this time of Atonement. But it's not just a simple thing. When my wife and I went to keep the Feast of Tabernacles in India in 2010, the primary religion in India is Hindu. There were Hindu temples, Hindu worship. They don't, you know, cows are sacred over there. They roam the street. They're sacred in India. So, you know, there's a lot of changing that has to be done in India. Very nice people, but they have all this false religion. And you go to China and they have Buddhism there. In the Middle East, there's the Islamic religion. But all the false gods, all the religious customs, all the any national customs of a country that are contrary to God's law, there's a lot of changing that has to be done in every nation to be brought into Atonement with God. Again, those nine days after trumpets show that it's going to take some time for Atonement of the nations. They do.

It doesn't just happen automatically. It's going to take some time.

It's going to take some teaching. And it's going to take some patience on the part of, well, Christ will be patient. And we also, you know, some of the nations that will not want to change. Apparently Russia, for example, China, Iran. Let's go to Ezekiel 38. I think we are familiar with Ezekiel 38 and 39, but these chapters show that the Russians and the Chinese and some of the other nations to the east of, let's say, the Middle East area, on over toward the east. Some of those nations are indicated here that they're not just going to easily submit to the rule of Christ. Let's read just a few excerpts of this. And if you need to brush up on this sometime, that would be fine. Ezekiel 38, verse 2, Son of Man, set your face against God, the land of Magog, the Prince of Rush, Meshach, and Tubal. We believe that these would be nations like Russia, Rush, Meshach, Tubal. I'm against you, O God. Maybe over in China, the Prince of Rush, Meshach, and Tubal. Verse 3. Verse 5, Persia, which would be Iran, Ethiopia, down in Africa, Libya are with them, Gomor, and again over in the Orient, all his troops, the house of Tugamath from the far north, many people with you. You know, the time element on this is after the tribes of Israel had been brought out of captivity and restored to the land of Palestine. And here they are under the rule of Christ, under the rule of King David, the twelve tribes of Israel ruled by the twelve apostles. Here they are living God's laws. They're at one. And these nations will say, verse 11, you will say, I will go up against a land of unwalled villages, all the Israelites who have been restored from captivity. I will go to a peaceful people who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars or gates. It shows here that the restored tribes of Israel have no military. They're not depending on if they don't have any military might. They don't have any military budget. They're looking to God. So these nations that we mentioned earlier in this chapter are coming to plunder, verse 2, to take plunder. They're going to see a wealthy people there prospering. So they go to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations who have acquired livestock and goods who dwell in the midst of the land. So here they come.

And you can read on in this chapter that God is going to punish them. They will come against the restored tribes of Israel in their tribal areas there in Palestine. And all these nations come thinking they're going to get some of the wealth and everything. And guess what? They're totally utterly destroyed. In fact, it takes seven months for the Israelites to bury all of the dead.

Seven months. You can read that later in the chapter. It takes seven years to use up some of the to burn and use up some of the things that are scattered from this mass of people on the land. So you can read about that if you read on through the chapter. And then chapter 39 just continues the story and ends with chapter 39 and verse 21. I will set my glory among the nations.

All the nations shall see my judgment, which I have executed, and my hand which I have laid on them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity because they were unfaithful to me. The Gentile nations come to see that why did America go into captivity? Why did Britain go into captivity and and the Jewish people because of their disobedience to God? They'll come to understand. They'll come to be at one with God.

So eventually all nations will be brought into atonement with God. As we read in Isaiah 2, all nations will come up to Jerusalem and they will come to learn God's law. Isaiah 9 and verse 11 says that the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. All nations will be brought into atonement, but it's going to take some time. Isaiah 66 and verse 23 says that all flesh from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before me. So all nations will be brought into atonement.

Yet the Sabbath will be kept in China. It will be kept in India. It will be kept in Iran. Yes, even those moolahs of Afghanistan, the Taliban, they'll all be brought into alignment. But you know this is not just going to be an easy thing. These people are going to have to have pressure, maybe no rain even, or other severe punishments. They'll have their own furnace of affliction, perhaps, to go through before they all comply with God's laws and come under the government of Jesus Christ.

So I guess the point I'm trying to make is it's not just going to be an automatic thing. The day of atonement for the world is not just going to be automatic. It's going to take some doing. And we'll be there. We'll be assisting. We'll need to be patient. We'll need to give it time. We'll need to...

But it does say that we will rule over the nations with a rod of iron. We're not going to just allow anything. We will insist upon the nations being obedient to God's laws. Of course, God will open the hearts and minds. He will then be pouring out His Holy Spirit upon all flesh. Joel, too, brings that out. God will pour His Spirit out upon all flesh. So their hearts and minds will be opened and nations will be able to be in atonement with God. Okay, my time is just about up, but you know when the nations are finally, after a good number of years, apparently, I mean, Ezekiel 38 and 39, happen a number of years after Christ has returned, after Israel has been restored in the land of Palestine.

It's going to be a number of years later. Read it carefully. There you'll see that it doesn't just happen right away. It takes a little bit of time, but all nations will come to be at one with God. And then after that takes place, guess what happens next? The Feast of Tabernacles can at last, that peace, that happiness, joy, abundance, all of that can at last be realized by all the nations all around the world. So wonderful blessings, happiness, and joy when the whole world comes to repentance. What a wonderful time that is going to be. The title I've given to this message is, Coming Soon, Atonement with God for All Nations.

Coming soon. It's not far away. Atonement with God for All Nations. So, brethren, let's have a good Sabbath afternoon, and let's also be looking forward to a wonderful day of atonement this coming Thursday. You might want to read the chapter in our Holy Day booklet on Atonement. It'd be a good way to look at some of those scriptures.

It would be a good way to get ready for the next Holy Day, the Day of Atonement. So have a good Sabbath afternoon, and we'll hope to see you then on Thursday.