God's Plan to Deleaven the Earth

What would it be like to live in a world without sin? No crime, no warfare, no lying, no stealing, cheating, no lusts, no war, no hatred, no greed, no evil of any type.

You know, if you and I go on to endure and to overcome and enter the kingdom of God, one day we will be able to live in a world that has no sin, no spiritual leaven.

God promises in the Bible to create a world where there will be no leaven. There will be no sin, only righteousness. The title of this sermon is God's Plan to D11 the Earth. Yes, God has a plan to D11 the Earth, and one day we can live in a world that has no sin.

But let's go back first of all in this sermon and look in history. Go back to the history of leaven. You know, leaven has not always existed. We're talking about spiritual leaven. It has not always existed. There was a time when there was no leaven. I'll be quoting some verses that we are very familiar with. In John 1, verses 1-3, we read that in the beginning was God, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and all things were created by Him. At that time, that was the very beginning, and only God, who later would be the Father, and the Word, who later was Jesus Christ, existed. Nothing else. No material universe, which is so huge we cannot begin to fathom it. No angels, no humans, nothing else. But John 1, verses 1-3, reveals that the Word created, then, the universe, and the angels, and later humans.

So, when God, who became the Father, and the Word, who became Jesus Christ, existed there in that beginning, there was no leaven. There was perfect harmony and agreement between those two.

The first thing that God apparently created, as we read in Job 38, that the angels, the morning stars, rejoiced when God created the universe. It appears, then, that the angels were created before the universe itself was created, and the angels were created perfect without any sin.

God created millions of angels, just millions and millions and millions. Some of them were very exalted-type angels, carobes, they're called, Michael, Gabriel, Lucifer.

And they were all dwelling together in harmony, and there was no leaven. None at all. And some were God created on the earth. Maybe shortly after that, a creation here on the earth that we look back in archaeology and discover is quite different. It was an age when there were dinosaurs and giant mammals of other types. A creation that was quite different, apparently, from the creation that we have. Now, we often refer to this as the pre-Ademic creation.

It appears that God placed Lucifer, a carob, by the name of Lucifer, and one-third of the angels on the earth to oversee this creation.

And there was perfect harmony and unity at that time that God gave this responsibility to these angels.

It was a beautiful creation, much different than the creation today. There was no leaven, just love and peace and harmony. But at some point, something happened.

Let's turn real quickly over to Isaiah 14. We'll read a few of these verses just so that we get a little bit about the background of this thing that we call leaven.

We have the appearance of leaven on the earth here in Isaiah 14.

Isaiah 14 and verse 12. How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer? Lucifer was a bright, shiny carob. We'll read that he was created perfect. No sin, no leaven, until leaven appeared in his life.

How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How are you cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations?

For you have said in your heart, here is where leaven began to first appear, You have said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven.

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the Mount of the congregation in the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above, look at all the eye here, the big eye. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.

I will be like the Most High, yet you will be brought down.

It goes on the same.

So, Lucifer began to get this idea of taking over God's throne.

Let's read in Ezekiel 28 next about Lucifer then beginning to be exalted and have pride in his heart and mind and to begin to ascend up to even take over God's throne.

In Ezekiel 28 and verse 12, Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre. This king of Tyre is, as we'll see, actually is a type of a spirit being.

As we get into these verses, we'll see that.

Thus says the Lord God, you were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering.

Skipping on down to verse 14, You were the anointed carob who covers.

I established you.

You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones.

You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created.

Here's a carob that was a created being. It did not always exist. It was perfect in his ways from the day he was created. Till iniquity, here 11 first appears in the universe, till iniquity was found in you by the abundance of your trading. You became filled with violence and you sinned.

Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing.

God did cast him. Jesus would say later, when he was on the earth, that he saw Satan thrust down to the earth. That's in Luke 10 and verse 18. Jesus recalled seeing Lucifer then rise up and coming to take over God's throne.

Revelation 12 and verses 3 and 4 brings out, the dragon drew one-third of the stars of heaven. We believe that indicates that one-third of the angels rebelled with Lucifer. That's where the fallen angels or evil spirits come from.

So Lucifer, here on the earth, leading one-third of the angels to oversee the creation here, began to think, get the big head about himself. He began to think he could do a better job than God was doing, and that it could take over God's throne. He was able to get one-third of the angels to follow him. He must have lied to them and said, we will do it better. And he somehow was able to persuade them.

And so they rose up thinking they could take over God's throne.

Lucifer, or Satan, is called the father of lies in John 8 and verse 44. He lied to these angels. He deceived them. He got them believing that they could take over God's throne. Let's go to 2 Peter 2 and verse 4. We've cut through very quickly some things that we are, I think, pretty much well aware of. And that is that angels a long, long, long time ago sinned, and that is how leaven was introduced into the world. Before that, there was no leaven before the sin of the angels. No leaven whatsoever. But now, suddenly in the universe, there is leaven. 2 Peter 2 and verse 4, If God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell, Tartarou in the Greek, a place of restraint, delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment. There is some type of future judgment for these angels who sinned. So the Scriptures clearly state and reveal the origin of Satan and the fallen angels. They rebelled against God. God cast them back down to the earth. Suddenly in the universe, there is leaven. But the leaven is confined to the earth. God thrust them down to the earth. And so Satan and the evil spirits are not just wandering all through the universe. This leaven is confined to the earth. Well, then we know the story that God created Adam and Eve. And in Genesis chapter 3, Satan, the serpent, was able to get through to Adam and Eve and get them to disobey God. You shall not surely die, or you'll be like God knowing good and evil. So Satan was able to deceive Adam and Eve. And through the sin of Adam and Eve, they were thrust out of the Garden of Eden. Then their children, born to them and grandchildren and generation after generation, then has had this leaven of sin passed on. Sin and death. Let's read about that in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12. So these first humans, then through Satan's deception, had spiritual leaven passed on to them and to all of mankind. Romans chapter 5 and verse 12. Therefore, just as through one man, those first two human beings, Adam and Eve, through one man's sin entered the world.

And as far as mankind is concerned, sin, leaven, entered the world. And death, through sin, and thus death spread to all men generation by generation by generation, because all have sinned. And we'll come on down to our time today. Six thousand years later, here we are. Mankind's history then has been one of leaven. Leaven, today, is running rampant, isn't it? Abortion, crime, murder, warfare, living together, unmarried, gay marriage. Trying to change one's gender. Isn't that a crazy thing? Trying to change one's gender. I guess what we should do now for all these transgender people is to just say, well, at birth, don't put down whether somebody is male or female. You have to wait until they're old enough to decide what they want to be. It is crazy. This world has gone absolutely crazy. So, leaven runs rampant in our world today. So, it has been for six thousand years. So, very quickly, we have brought the history of leaven up to date. It began with angels. It was passed on to human beings. And generation by generation, all of mankind, down to our time today. Here we are. I'm about leaven in the millennium. Will there be any sin or leaven around? You know, indications are that, yes, humans will still be human. Turn to Isaiah 30. Let's read a couple of verses here, beginning in verse 20.

Isaiah 30, verse 20.

Verse 21. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying. So, this is talking about the millennium, there will be spirit beings around guiding and directing human beings. You'll 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. So, human beings are going to be, they're going to have human nature. They're going to be tempted to go wrong ways. And when they start to go a wrong way, sin will no longer be allowed to be rampant. Spirit beings will step in. Before someone murders somebody, somebody might have hatred that builds up, and before they would rise up and murder someone, then a spirit being will step in and say no.

So, human beings will still be prone to leaven and have to resist it in the millennium. In Isaiah chapter 2, it brings out that Christ will rebuke strong nations afar off. Well, why will they need reducing? Because they'll be tempted to give in to leaven. So, yes, it appears that there will be leaven then, during that time, and human beings will be guided and directed. It will not be rampant as it is today. Instead, all nations are going to be taught to keep God's Sabbath day from one Sabbath to another.

They'll all come up to worship God, it says. In Isaiah 66, all nations will keep God's holy days. They'll keep the Feast of Tabernacles, or they get no rain. Can we imagine that? All during the millennium, then, sin is no longer... leaven is no longer rampant like it is today. Human beings will still need to be guided, they'll need to be directed, they'll need to be taught, they'll still be human.

But they will not have Satan's temptation like today. And so they will be keeping God's laws. They'll be keeping the Passover. Can you imagine that? All nations keeping the Passover. China, Russia, Egypt, Germany... Washing feet, just like we did a week from last night. They'll be washing feet over in China, over in Iran. Can you imagine the Iranians over in Iraq, all through the Middle East? They'll no longer be Islamic in their religion. So it's going to be a wonderful time all during the millennium.

Nations will be taught to not go the way of pride and vanity. Let's look at Zephaniah. Here's a beautiful verse about Israel. It's going to extend out to other nations also. Here's a beautiful verse showing nations keeping what this feast, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, pictures. Zephaniah chapter 3 and verse 11. In that day... and again it's talking... it's directed primarily at Israel. But it's going to extend out to other nations too in the millennium. In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds, in which you transgress against me. For then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer be hottie in my mountain.

Frankly, there's a lot of hottiness today in our own country and in modern-day Israel. Verse 12, I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, and no one will make them afraid.

So here is Israel keeping what the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures, a feast of humility. And this feast is one of meekness, humility, sincerity, truth. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is the opposite of being strong-willed and disobedient, opposite of pride and vanity and human pomp and ego. God hates all of that. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is the opposite of seeking to be the greatest, seeking position or fame or status.

This feast picture is putting all those things away. The picture of the whole world living this way, speaking no lies, nor having a deceitful tongue, humble and walking with meekness and humility and teachable. So for 1,000 years, all nations will be keeping God's laws. No more wars, murder, crime, violence. No more rampant sin. If any human is tempted to go some other way, then a spirit being shows up and says, no, this is the way.

You resist that human impulse. There will be some human impulses to go the wrong way, but it will be directed, redirected. Humans will still need the Passover. They'll still need the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They'll need to work to take on the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

They'll need God's Spirit the same as we to do that. Okay, well, all during the millennium, that's the way things will be. But what about at the end of the millennium? Maybe leaven has been put away from the earth. There's no more leaven around. Let's go to Revelation 20. And yes, there's some leaven that, in fact, the author of leaven shows up on the scene.

God permits this to happen in Revelation 20. And in verse 3, it talks about Satan being bound here a thousand years, cast into the bottomless pit, and a seal set upon him, so that he can deceive the nations no more until the thousand years were finished. After these things, he must be released for a little while. Oh, so God is going to allow the author of leaven, after he is bound a thousand years, to be released. We read about that beginning in verse 7.

Revelation 20, verse 7, when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from this prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, and gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, that would be Jerusalem, fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet, or should be were, were cast, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

There's a lot that we don't understand about these verses and exactly how all this is going to transpire, but it is going to happen because God says it's going to happen. Satan will be loosed. This author of leaven is going to be loosed for a little season. Deceive nations and people and they will come up against Jerusalem to fight. And they will be put down. And Satan then will be bound in his demons and they will be put away once and for all. So here it is. There's going to be some leaven allowed.

The author of leaven is going to be allowed to be free to operate for a short time after the thousand years have ended. Again, I don't think we understand all involved in this because not too much is revealed. But after Satan and the demons then here have been put away, maybe there's no more leaven. No, we're not done. The earth is not free of leaven yet. Let's read on down in verses 11 through the rest of this. 11 through at least 13.

What we call the second resurrection happens right after the thousand years and after Satan and the demons there are removed from the scene. I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. Here they are. These are people that lived during these six thousand years, during this age of leaven. All the good people and the bad people, there will be murderers, people that have committed all kinds of crimes and evils, will be resurrected. There's going to be a lot of leaven around in the second resurrection because people will be resurrected like when they died and they will have to face their sins. They will have to come to the Passover and repent and be forgiven. They will have to purge out sin and work on that the same as we. Be baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit to help them. So there's a lot of leaven that will need to be dealt with in the second resurrection. I saw the dead then, small and great, standing before God. Books were opened. Another book was opened. The book of life is open to them. These dead, who are now alive, were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead in them. Death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them. They were judged, each one, according to his works. There's going to be a lot of spiritual leaven that we will need to deal with in the second resurrection.

So humans will still be human. They'll have to work on getting rid of their sin just as we strive to do today. They will need the Passover, and they will need the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and they will need God's Holy Spirit to enable them.

Okay. At the end of the second resurrection period, at last, we get to the time there is no more leaven on the earth. No. There's one more big chunk of leaven remaining. And we read about that in the final two verses of this chapter. Verse 14, Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.

At the end of that second resurrection period, which we have speculated might last a hundred years, to give plenty of time for people. Think of little babies have to come up in that second resurrection. It would take 20 years for them to reach adulthood where they can repent and be baptized. Then they'll need time to grow and overcome, just as we have also needed time.

But anyone that turns down the opportunity to be in God's eternal family will suffer. Verse 14, the lake of fire. Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Verse 15, Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

That's because those not found in the book of life, what kind of people are they? Look at chapter 21 and verse 8. The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, people that are just full of spiritual leaven, unrepended of, sexual, immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death. So, brethren, here is the final chunk of leaven that has to be dealt with on the earth. The wicked, the unrepentant, will be burned up. Malachi 4, let's turn to that as well, brings out this last bit of leaven that has to be dealt with in the lake of fire. Those who will not repent, those who will not accept the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, they will be cast into this lake of fire and burned up. In Malachi 4, verse 1, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly, shall be stubble. The day that is coming will burn them up, says the Lord, and leave them neither root nor branch.

And verse 3, the righteous are going to trample the wicked, they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, says the Lord. So, with the lake of fire, at last, burning up the very remaining chunk of leaven on the earth, at last we have an earth that has no leaven, a world without leaven. Let's go to 2 Peter, read a few miscellaneous verses about this wonderful world that will have no leaven.

At last, God will have de-leavened the earth. 2 Peter 3, verse 10, The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. This is talking about the lake of fire.

Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? Looking for and hasting the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat.

Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness, and I think we can add the word only, only, righteousness dwells. That's what we look for. A new heavens and a new earth when there is only righteousness. Let's read a little bit more about that world without sin, with only righteousness in Revelation 21. Revelation 21. And we read about here a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and earth that passed away, verse 1, no more sea.

The new Jerusalem coming down. And a voice saying, the tabernacle of God, thus God the Father, is with men. He will dwell with them. God will wipe away, verse 4, every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death or sorrow or crying. Verse 5, he that sat on the throne said, I make all things new. He's got some things in mind for us to do.

I make all things new. Right. These words are true and faithful. He said to me, it is done. God's plan with creating his family, now with millions and even billions and billions of sons and daughters. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirst. He that overcomes will inherit all things.

I will be his God and he shall be my son. Let's also read in chapter 22. This is talking about that new earth that has no leaven. In Revelation 22, verse 14, blessed are those who do his commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city.

But outside, and that is left out of God's kingdom, are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. Brother, God is going to fulfill his promise to create an earth that has no leaven. There will be a world without sin, only righteousness. And what would that be like again? No sin, no evil? Something we can't identify with having seen it because we don't see it. We see the opposite. But no hatred, no jealousy, no lusts, no greed, no evil thoughts, no wrong attitudes, nobody trying to do you in.

Everybody perfectly joined together in love for one another. It's going to be wonderful. Let's read Matthew 13. It talks about this time. It's going to be wonderful indeed. Matthew 13, verse 41. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend. God is not going to allow any leaven to sneak into his family.

No jealousy, no lust, no evil thoughts, no pride, looking out for just number one. God will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, that lake of fire we read about. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, and then the righteous will shine forth as the Son in the kingdom of their Father, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

So, ultimately, yes, God will complete his purpose, but think about that. It's been a long time since the angels sinned, maybe millions of years ago. God is confined leaven to the earth. He's let the earth be leavened. He has let it pass on to human beings, but he has a plan by which he is going to de-leaven this earth, and there will be an earth without sin.

As the Feast of Unleavened Bread for this year comes to an end, realize that the Church is called upon to be cleansed of leavened bread that we eat shows that we are striving to have that in our life, that kind of world, you might say, in our life right now.

And so we say no to sin and worldly lusts, and we say yes to righteousness, the unleavened bread.

And we actively strive to resist the world. Let's go to 1 John chapter 2. And this Feast is to help us and exercise to help us resist the world more actively, to hate this world. This is not our world.

1 John chapter 2 and verse 15. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It kind of summarizes all sins kind of fit under these three categories. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Not of the Father, but of the world. The world is passing away.

So with the help of God's Holy Spirit, we can resist the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread has been a time of personal reflection. And though I have done extra personal reflection, how about you?

Meditating on our attitude, and zeal, and enthusiasm, our relationship with God.

Do we end up wanting to have a closer relationship with God, and maybe actually having a closer relationship than we had before the Feast?

Well, we should. We should examine ourselves. These seven days are days of self-examination.

We realize more deeply, too, that we don't have the strength to do it on our own power.

Overcome our sins, and deficiencies, and shortcomings.

But the Holy Spirit empowers us to recognize sin, and resist, and expel sin.

The Holy Spirit empowers righteous thinking and deeds.

So, what are we to carry forth as we exit this year's Feast of Unleavened Bread?

A deeper understanding, certainly as far as the Passover, a deeper understanding about supreme sacrifice.

I'm still striving to understand that sacrifice more deeply myself. How about you?

And also, as we exit the Feast, we have a renewed commitment to purge sin from our lives.

So, as we exit, then it's been, I think, a good Passover in Feast of Unleavened Bread.

I hope that we have been refreshed and rejuvenated.

We've done spiritual exercises unto righteousness.

And we do yearn for the time when the world will be keeping Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

And just as keeping these days makes us different, it will make the world different as well.

We do yearn for the time when all mankind will be keeping these days, and also when all mankind will attain the fullness of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

And we will live in a world where there will be no sin.

That time is coming, God promises.

Have a good Holy Day afternoon.

In conclusion to the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

See you tomorrow!

Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm.