The Loosing Of Satan

President of the Fall Holy Days is a time of great excitement and rejoicing for us. And I think particularly the buzz of activity and the conversation really ramps up because of the dramatic prophecies that we see surrounding these days. The Bible gives us a glimpse as to what the fulfillment of these things will be once these days come to completeness and have come to pass. But we enjoy looking through the Scriptures and looking through the prophecies. As we walk through the Fall Holy Days, it's a time that is very much forward-looking and anticipation. The Peace of Trumpets, which we just came through, reveals that Jesus Christ will return with great power and might.

The kingdom of God, His Father, will be established. And we, the resurrected saints, will reign alongside Jesus Christ as priests to our God. That's referenced in Revelation 5 and verse 10. The Day of Atonement, which we will be observing later on this next week, is the next step in God's plan. An atonement is necessary if the rest of mankind is going to come into a reconciled relationship with God.

The fulfillment of that day as we see it portrayed in Scripture will be twofold. First, the instigator of sin, the antagonist, Satan the devil, the enemy of God, and the devil of God will be bound. His influence will be removed from pushing at mankind and against God's purpose. Secondly, on that day, all of mankind will come to understand what it means to repent, what it means to have the blood of Jesus Christ applied to their sins and then to live in a reconciled relationship with their God.

As we move forward from there, we come to the Feast of Tabernacles. It portrays a thousand years of feasts for mankind under the reign of the kingdom of God. As we've heard some of today already, we will play a part in that. Renting alongside Jesus Christ will be teachers. We'll be helping to guide and direct the course of this world and the affairs during that time. And finally, there's the Eighth Day.

When we come to the Eighth Day, we want to be careful not to look at the Eighth Day as the completion of all things as the end of God's plan. Because as Isaiah 9.8 tells us, of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. So God's purpose in his plan, what it is he will accomplish, will go on for eternity. The government of God, the peace of God, always on the increase, always producing, always growing. The Eighth Day is not the end, but rather it is the beginning of the rest of eternity. The Eighth Day is an age of light in which darkness has been removed and it's the ultimate fulfillment to God's proclamation in Genesis where he said, let there be light.

Bring the light out of the darkness and out of the confusion. That was a physical proclamation, but spiritual as well. So we walk through these Holy Days, brethren, and we look at their meetings and they're exciting to us because we see what yet lies ahead. In many ways, we see through a glass darkly and at times, I suppose, we speculate and we just try to imagine what those things would be like and will be like.

And I think that speculation can be healthy and appropriate if it's kept in its proper context. But God has given us many principles for us to look to His Scripture, to understand what it is He will fulfill not only in our lives, but in the lives of the rest of mankind. This is my travels this year to Africa. I won't be with any of you for the feast. And so what I'd like to do today is jump forward and deliver to you a message that I will bring to them in Ghana at the end of the feast.

It may seem a little out of order in terms of our progression through the Holy Days as they currently lie ahead of us, but I think this message as well will tie in with the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles, giving us things to consider as we walk through those feast days. I'd like to look at an event today that the Bible shows will take place at the end of the millennium. And it's an event that might seem somewhat out of sorts in comparison to what God and Christ have done during the thousand years, what we will be doing in assisting them along the way. Today I'd like to look at the loosing of Satan.

The Bible does show, as we know on the Day of Atonement, he will be bound, but there is also a day where he once again will be loosed. Let's go first this afternoon to Revelation 20. No doubt a passage we'll turn to often as we walk through these holy days.

Much packed into Revelation 20. I want to begin in verse 1. Revelation 20 verse 1, this is the vision that was delivered to John. Ultimately, the message came from God through Jesus Christ to the angel to John and now delivered to us. Revelation chapter 20 verse 1, 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 surfing of old, who was the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. Cast him into the bottomless pit, shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more.

Now, if we were to stop right there, close the book, I think we could all be satisfied with what that verse says. Satan's bound, removed, his influence is locked away, that prince of the power of the air, the enemy of God, not to be on the loose any longer, disrupting the plan of God, influencing mankind for evil. Sounds good, doesn't it? And it is good. The conditions under which the thousand years will exist on this earth. But the verse doesn't end there. God does have a future purpose, even for the devil. So if we continue on, says he set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were finished.

But after these things, he must be released for a little while. Carry on, verse 4, and I saw thrones, and they that sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus, and the word of God. You know, God is fulfilling his plan. It will not be stopped. It will not be thwarted by whatever tempts the devil makes. But again, he will be bound. He will at one day be loosed. At the end of the millennium, after a thousand years, when that period has expired, Satan will then be released.

He will go out once again to wreak his havoc on this earth. And you know what? That's not a mistake. Verse 7 says, when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison. That's not a mistake. That's not sort of a whoop-sy-daisy. That's not a matter of the justice system of God releasing the wrong inmate.

No Satan's release at the end of the millennium is an intentional action by a perfect God that has a plan for his creation. So let's see what the results of that will be. Again, verse 7 of Revelation 20, now when thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison.

He will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle whose number is as the sand of the sea. So you have this incredible deception that Satan is able to bring about once he's released. He's able to go out and stir up at least a portion of the nations, gather them together in rebellion against God and their numbers, as the scripture says, are as the number of the sand of the sea.

Pretty sobering, isn't it? That's just not one or two people rebelling. It's not just a small handful of people rising up in rebellion against God. That's a rebellion of the size and scope, brethren, I think we can even hardly imagine. That's millions, if not billions, of people in opposition to God. How could that happen? How could Satan go out and stir up such a rebellion? After a thousand years of the kingdom of God reigning on the earth, knowledge of the Lord covering the earth as the waters cover the sea, not a dry place on this earth where the knowledge of God is not known, how could Satan stir up a rebellion against God and Jesus Christ of this scope?

Another question we could ask is, why would God allow that to happen? We could ask, how could it happen, but why would God allow it to happen? Why would, after that period of time, God release the bounds on Satan, turn him out, allow him to have opportunity and access to nations in that way? We're going to answer those two questions today, and in doing so, hopefully we'll come to understand a little better what it is that we face in this life and our struggle against Satan, and what it is we need to keep in mind as we walk through the days of the toma, feast the tabernacles in the eighth day. Let's take a moment again to consider the environment that Satan will be released into. The Scripture says he will be loose when the thousand years have expired. What will this earth look like after a thousand years under the reign of the kingdom of God?

We have prophecies with Scriptures. No doubt we'll turn to many of them during the feast of tabernacles. The lion and the lamb and the wolf and the child and all the different animals as they come out in peace, able to mingle together. It's a reflection of a wonderful physical blessing, but it's also a type of a spiritual blessing of the nations and the peoples living at peace with one another. We think of the desert blossoming as a rose, plowmen overtaking the reaper.

He's driving down the loose then this morning and you look out over the wheat fields of the Palouse and think, you know, there's never been a crop failure on record here. And you can see where the wheat was harvested here recently and then they've cut that stubble right down to the ground and bailed it up for straw. And now the ground's being worked up again and replanted with the winter wheat. Reminds me of the plowmen overtaking the reaper. The great prosperity, the blessing, the generational improvement. Mr. Iams has spoken about that at the feast before.

How when people live their life according to the laws and the commandments of God, it's a good life. And then you teach your children and they live it and they teach their children. And generation after generation now becomes stronger and stronger as the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth, as the waters cover the sea. It will be the best environment, brethren, that has ever existed physically for the physical and spiritual growth of the people of this earth since the time of the Garden of Eden. And it's in that environment that Satan will be loosed.

So let's answer the second question I asked first. Why? Why will God release Satan for a little while? Why turn him loose on this world? Why not keep him locked away, restrained, never to be heard from again? What could be the purpose? The answer, in short, is that God releases Satan in order to test the hearts and the minds of man to see what's there, to see if they will indeed be faithful to God and obedient, to see if they truly have embraced his calling and this way of life as their own. Or are they just simply compliant? Satan is released at the end of the thousand years as a test. Let's go to Jeremiah chapter 17. Jeremiah 17 speaks to the important condition of the human heart. God will have to see what is in the hearts of men and women in that day, just as he does with us today. Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 9 says, The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?

You know, who could know it? It's hard enough to know what's going on in somebody else's heart, right? But do we even truly understand what's happening in our own heart?

We can deceive even ourselves. We can justify ourselves very easily.

Who can know it?

Verse 10, I the Lord search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. So God looks into the heart. He's ultimately the one who can see what is happening. He's the one who can test to know if man or woman, you or I, all who have ever lived and those who ever will come, he has a way to look to see if we indeed will be faithful, obedient, put our trust in him. Now, one of the primary ways God evaluates the heart is by evaluating us as humans, by allowing us to face circumstances. He introduces various circumstances in our life, sometimes trials that we have to endure and walk through to see if our faith is directed towards him, if our trust is in him. Down in Lewiston, Joe brought up the fact that God tested Abraham. He said, now I know. He asked him to sacrifice his son, that son that he had waited for and waited for. I mean, God didn't know Abraham's faithfulness when he said, leave the country you're in and come and follow me. I'm sure he knew to a degree, but again, he tested Abraham in a way that he said, I need to see that you put me first before what it is that you want even the most in this physical life. When Abraham put God first, God said, now I know. And for you and I, brethren, there has to come a time where God looks at you and me individually and says, now I know about him or her, that they trust me, that they put me first, that they'll never turn away from my calling, that they're dedicated to this way of life. God allows us to face circumstances in this life so we can see those things, so you can see the intent of our heart. Let's take a look at an example of God doing this with ancient Israel. Let's go back to Deuteronomy chapter 8.

Deuteronomy 8, here Israel, God had delivered them from Egypt by a great might and power. He brought them up to the brink of the promised land, and you'll recall the story.

They refused to enter because of unbelief, because of lack of faith in God. Therefore, they wandered 40 years in the wilderness. That older generation died, and now the next, the young generation is preparing to enter the land, and there's instruction for how they must live their lives. Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 1, here Moses says, every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful to observe that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. And so he's saying there's a way in which you need to live in order to be blessed. That way is obedience. Verse 2, he says, and you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness to humble you and to test you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

And so he humbled you. He allowed you to hunger. He fed you with manna, which he did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you to know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

So God led Israel through some difficult circumstances, trying circumstances at times.

In Egypt, they had abundance. They had plenty, even though they were in servitude to the Egyptians. When God brought them out, they had to learn to look to God, to trust in Him, to realize it was from His hand that their blessing would come. And so he allowed them to walk through the desert, and look to Him for water, look to Him for food. But he says he did these things so he could know what was in their heart, to know whether they would fully submit to Him or not.

In many ways, this physical life is approving ground. Proving ground is something, an area where maybe you take something and test it out to see what it's capable of. Maybe it's a race car out on the track. Approving ground helps the person that's doing the evaluation to know, again, what is this capable of? What are the stress limits here? What is the ultimate capability of whatever it is you're testing? For us, this is approving ground. God is testing us unto salvation.

Are we faithful? Are we obedient? Is there some limit that we will not step across in order to serve God? Or are we able to follow His lead, wherever that may lead? This life is approving ground. God must know about us, and He needs to know about those who will live in the future as well.

The Bible reveals that God created man with free will. Mankind has the ability to look around, sum up their surroundings, see what the options are for choices, and then to make the choice.

God doesn't make our choices for us. He guides and directs us and helps point us into the right direction, but ultimately the choice to be made is ours alone. Deuteronomy 30, verse 15.

Deuteronomy 30, verse 15. Brother, one of the greatest blessings that God has given us is the power and the opportunity to choose. And in the end of the day, the choices that we make reveals great things about our heart. Deuteronomy 30, verse 15. Here again is God speaking to people of Israel. He says, See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. And then I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go up to possess. And so Moses here is saying, you know, you need to obey God and walk in His statutes and judgments, and that's option A. That leads to life.

Verse 18, he says, But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, you are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.

So that's option B. Life, the path that leads to death. Every human being that God has ever called into a relationship with Him has a choice to make life or death, blessing or cursing. There's a choice. Verse 19, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I've set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life that both you and your descendants may live. That you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him. For He is your life and length of days, and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord tore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. So God sets before His children an option. Life or death, blessing or cursing. But God's not indifferent as to the choice that we make.

Again, He says, I've set these before you, but please choose life. You know, as my people, God says, I want you to choose life. I want you to be the recipients of my blessings.

The choice is there. It's yours to make. It says, please choose life. For that's a choice we must all make. It's a choice that existed since the beginning of mankind's existence. It's a choice that will exist at the end of the millennium as well. Since we're looking at the end in terms of biblical record, let's go back to the beginning. I mentioned recently in a sermon that there are so many threads that run through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. If we come to master Genesis, well, we begin to see these threads that they carry all the way throughout Scripture to their ultimate fulfillment. Let's go to Genesis 2 and verse 7, again, examining the choice that God gives to man. Genesis 2 verse 7 says, So right from the beginning of man's existence, there was a choice.

God presented two options, one leading unto salvation or the one unto death.

Life or death, blessing or cursing. Verse 15, Now Genesis 3 verse 1, we see the scene change. New character, come on the scene. Genesis chapter 3 verse 1 says, Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.

And he said to the woman, As God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden.

The woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden.

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.

Then the serpent said to the woman, Did God really say that? You'll not surely die. Verse 5, For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you'll be like God, knowing good and evil.

And this is where we begin to see the difference between what God does and what Satan does.

See, God tests us unto life, unto salvation. It's a test.

What Satan does is he tempts us unto sin and death.

Go ahead and do it. Try it. You know you want it. It'll be good.

But God says, It is here. You be aware of it.

Don't touch it. Don't partake of it. Lest you die.

God created a tree of life and a tree of knowledge of good and evil. He said it before Adam and Eve. Again, life and death, blessing and cursing. But God was not indifferent to their decision.

Today in our life, he sets before us life and death, blessing and cursing. God's not indifferent to the choices we make, either. He says, Please, as my people, choose life. But on the flip side of the coin, you have the adversary, Satan the devil, pushing for sin. The Bible says God tempts no one.

But Satan does.

There's a difference between the testing of God unto obedience and life.

And the tempting of Satan unto sin and death.

It's important for us to recognize the difference.

Verse 6. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.

She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

We know the consequences.

Due to the poor decision of Adam and Eve, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden, cut off from the tree of life.

The relationship with God was not what it could have been.

Life and death, blessing and cursing, they made a choice.

God put Adam and Eve in a circumstance that would test their faithfulness and obedience unto him.

And in the process, he allowed Satan the devil to have access to them.

For his purpose.

At the end of the millennium, after the thousand years have expired, God will again allow Satan access to those living in that age for the purpose of testing them, knowing what is in their heart.

Will they obey him completely or not?

That's what the whole thousand year process has been about.

It's been about creating an environment for growth, an environment where people can come to understand the word of God, come into a personal relationship through atonement and reconciliation. It's a time where man can understand what it means to apply God's word to their life and live. God says, I said before you, in that day, life and death, blessing and cursing, they must choose. All mankind must make their choice. Now, unfortunately, as we know, Revelation 20 tells us, not all will choose life. In fact, there will be many who will not. And when we tend to like to, at least in our mind, insulate ourselves a little bit and think, well, maybe only one or two or three truly evil people will be burned up in the lake of fire or a small handful of those who would resist God. Brethren, that's simply not the record of the record of Scripture. It would appear there would be plenty of fuel for the fire.

Man will make their choice. But throughout the process, God says, please choose life.

I think it's a rather dramatic illustration.

The second question we're going to answer here is, how could that happen?

Again, the why. God needs to know what is in our heart, whether we will submit to him or not. But second question is, how could that happen? How could Satan go out, stir up such a rebellion, whose numbers are as the sand of the sea? An environment such as the world will be at the end of the millennium, how could he even get into the minds of the people and twist and turn them in such a way that they would come up with an active rebellion against the kingdom of God, ultimately? Well, brethren, Satan is clever. I think we understand that, but perhaps even more clever than we give him credit for. Apart from being close to God, you and I cannot stand against Satan the devil. We must be close to God, drawing near to him. Jesus Christ was tempted by him in the wilderness. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, it's what he used in the Garden of Eden and is what he uses on us today. But apart from a closeness and relationship to God, we are vulnerable and we're in a dangerous spot. Revelation 20 says that Satan will go out to deceive the nations. He's a master deceiver. It's his ploy. He's so good, in fact, that he's actually deceived himself. Satan believes and has believed historically that he can overthrow God and the plan of God and the purpose of God and instill himself as God. He's delusional to the point of deceiving himself and he will sell that bill of goods to anyone who will listen.

After a thousand years of truth being spread across the face of the earth, the introduction of Satan and his devices will have a devastating effect on at least some who live in that age.

We can almost imagine, if we think about it, how Satan might go about spreading discontent, unsettling the hearts and the minds of people through twisted words and half-truths, outright lies. He used that strategy on Eve, did he not? He'll not surely die.

Perhaps it was partly true for that day physically she did not die, but mankind has lived under the penalty of death ever since. Satan might seek to convince people that they really aren't that special to God. And you can sort of imagine maybe how this would play out. He could come up and whisper in somebody's ear, you know, God has his first roots. Jesus Christ has his bride. You'll never be that. Christ is only marrying the church. Second born, second place.

Second in importance in the family of God. Would you like to be stepchildren in the family of God?

Maybe imagine how we might stir up the hearts and minds of people in that way.

Perhaps Satan will convince people that God is holding something back from them, just as he did in the Garden of Eden. You know, there's something more you could have, something better. God's hindering you. He and his spiritual family have it, but you don't. I'll show you a better way.

Follow me. Whatever his strategy, Satan's message is targeted to undermining the authority of Jesus Christ and casting the integrity of God into doubt. And unfortunately, as the record of Scripture shows, many will buy in. Satan's approach after the millennium will be no different than it is today.

He'll still be going about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour. He'll still be looking for an opportunity to gain a foothold in the people's lives. Look for that open door.

Maybe it's an offense. Somebody wrongs you and you're not willing to forgive.

Maybe it's some sin you're not willing to address in your life. However, we crack that door open and leave it unguarded. In this life, Satan can come into disruption in our midst. It'll be the same in that day and age as well. Ephesians 2, verse 2, calls him, the prince of the power of the air, the son who now works, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. And in that day, Satan the devil will be working in the sons of disobedience again. Sometimes we forget that mankind has the ability to, as we said, make their choices but go about in sin on their own, even apart from the influence of Satan. Even during the millennium when Satan is bound, there will still be sin. It's not going to be openly tolerated as it is in our society today, and people will be taught how to live and deal and overcome those things. But we see scriptures that say you'll hear the voice behind you from your teacher saying, this is the way walk in it, whether you turn to the right hand or the left. Those born and living in the millennium will still need the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in order to be reconciled to God. Again, that opportunity and that ability to sin is still there. It's not bound simply because the devil is bound.

Without Satan in everyday life, man is still perfectly able to light the flame of sin themselves. Now the difference is what becomes of that flame, because God is offering a relationship with him to be reconciled with God, to receive his Holy Spirit, that living water, in their life.

And if they receive that Spirit, they become converted and draw close to God. They will have the ability to quench that carnal nature, quench that flame. What Satan does, on the other hand, is like throwing the can of gas on the flame. And if people are not close to God and they submit to the influence of the devil, it will ignite an inferno in their lives beyond probably what they have ever experienced. When things released after a thousand years, he'll again broadcast moods, attitudes, impulses to the thoughts and the minds of people. We'll take many of those things that carnal nature struggles with on a daily basis, and it'll just kind of dial them up a few notches.

Hatred, the contentions, the jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions. Those are the works of the flesh, as the Bible describes them, but they're the works of Satan. As we've heard in the first message, looking to self, trusting in self, out to get what is best for self.

For some, his influence will be like throwing that can of gasoline on an open flame. They'll be stirred up in opposition to the truth, to the people of God, and ultimately to the kingdom of God.

Some of that rebellion we see in Revelation 20 may have been made up of individuals who simply let Satan get to them in their life, again through that open door, the offense, the sin that they did not address. Others may have simply become complacent. If you think about it, we live in a wonderful culture, in an age, and in a country where we have most anything we need, right at the tips of our fingers. God has blessed us greatly, and yet it's an atmosphere that could tend to lead us to forget God, because things are so good. God told Israel when they're coming up to the brink of the Promised Land. Now, when you enter in there, and the crops, many of the prophecies of what God would bless them with are similar to what we read about in the millennium. Plowman overtaking the reaper.

God says, when that blessing is in your midst, do not forget from whose hand it comps. Well, Israel did forget. And brethren, we must be cautious, or we will forget as well. Perhaps, at the end of the millennium, with such a beautiful, wonderful age of prosperity and peace, there will be few in that day who become complacent and forget as well. Others may simply be individuals who go with the flow of the tide. They're condemned to follow the ways, the laws of the kingdom of God, but then when another option comes on the scene, it's like, well, that's interesting. And they simply turn and go the other direction. It's something we struggle with, even in the church today.

Will we remain faithful, or will we be blown about by every wind of doctrine? Brethren, it's about choices. There's another possibility I'd like for us to consider as well, as to why and how Satan could stir up this rebellion against God. When we read the prophecies in the millennial age to come and see the results of the kingdom of God, we sometimes assume that all people have bought in to what God is offering. We think all people have bought in, and it's my belief, brethren, we can't afford to make that assumption. We can't assume that everyone has bought in. We can't assume that all in the millennium will respond to God's calling and be converted. Yes, the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and in that place there will not be a dry place where the knowledge of God does not exist, and people will be compliant, but we should not confuse compliance with acceptance in every case. In many cases, it may merely be compliance because that is the standard that is in place, and that is the authority that must be submitted to. If you and I are driving down the road and we're speeding because we're in a hurry to get somewhere and you see the police officer at the bottom of the hill, are you going to blow by him at a high rate of speed? Probably not, because he's the authority there that's enforcing the law. So you'll slow down as you pass him, but once you're around the corner and out of sight, the foot goes on the pedal again. That is compliance. That is not acceptance to the law. Jesus Christ will rule the earth with a rod of iron, and so there will be compliance.

Are you Egypt? Do you not want to come up, send your representatives to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Tabernacles? Will you not observe it yourself? Fine. No rain for you. See how long that attitude holds. This world will be brought into compliance under the reign of the Kingdom of God. Every knee will bow, but don't imagine, again, that compliance automatically means acceptance.

Mankind will still have free moral agency. They still have the option to make a choice, and Scripture indicates that there would be, in fact, holdouts and resistance to the Kingdom of God in the conversion process. Conversion is one of those things that we, I think, we evaluate maybe a little differently than we should. Conversion is not required in order to be lost to salvation, but you have to be able to recognize what God is offering and of your free will rejected, and that is apparently what will happen with some at the end of the millennium.

Let's take a look at a prophecy that I believe may indicate this. Ezekiel chapter 47, no doubt go here during the Feast of Tabernacles. Ezekiel 47, passage here describes the living waters that will flow out both ways from the Temple in Jerusalem.

Ezekiel chapter 47 and beginning in verse 1, Ezekiel sees this prophetic prophecy in a vision. Ezekiel 47, 1 says, Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and there was water flowing from under the threshold hold of the temple towards the east. For the front of the temple faced east, and the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple south of the altar. Now we combine this with other scriptures and prophecies as well, and we understand these living waters float out both ways. They flow down to the Mediterranean Sea, flow down to the Dead Sea. Verse 8, Then he said to me, This water flows towards the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea, and when it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.

President, you'll recall the prophecies of the destruction of this earth that will take place at the end of this age. Basically, all the water, poisoned and ruined, all the fish, the living creatures within it, dead. Much of the earth is decimated. Verse 9, And it shall be that every living thing that moves wherever the rivers go will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there, for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. And so there's a great miracle that's taking place in the presence of these living waters. The bodies of waters are healed. The fish and the other living creatures are restored. Wherever the living waters of God flow out, a transformation and a renewal takes place.

Notice verse 9. It says, And it shall be, I'm sorry, verse 12, it says, Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food. Their leaves will not wither, their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine. This will be an incredible miracle that this world will desperately need. But apart from the physical healing, these waters have a spiritual significance as well, because they represent God's Holy Spirit. They flow out from His temple. In the world tomorrow, mankind will be given opportunity to seek out God, again develop that personal relationship with Him, in spite of, or in the midst of all the miracles that will take place, the abundance, the peace, the prosperity. The greatest miracle of all will be that of conversion.

The heart and mind of men submitting to God, receiving His Spirit. God's Holy Spirit will be poured out on all who seek it. The spiritual living waters will be responsible for the healing of the human heart and mind, and the reconciliation that must take place in that age.

That's the spiritual representation of these living waters. They flow out from God, from His presence, and they're healing, and they restore. The question is, will all accept it?

Will all in the millennium accept it? Verse 11 is quite interesting. Verse 11, it says, but its swamps and marshes will not be healed. They will be given over to salt.

So there will actually be places in the world tomorrow that will not be healed, that will not realize the blessing and benefit of those living waters.

Now, the term given over to salt is an interesting one, and if you want to do a fascinating Bible study, I'd suggest you look at what the Bible says in terms of salt when referenced to God's judgment on those who disobey Him. It's rather fascinating. There's biblical references to Sodom and Gomorrah being turned into a salty waste. Recall God called Lot and His wife and daughters out of that. Lot's wife couldn't leave behind that which she was being brought out of. She turned back, yearning for those things which were being destroyed. What happened to her?

She became a pillar of salt. God describes His judgment against Moab and the people of Ammon as being overrun by weeds and salt pits. So it's my personal belief that these areas given over to salt in the millennium symbolize the fact that not all peoples will choose to accept and be spiritually healed. Choose not to comply with the calling of God and enter into that covenant relationship with Him. Choose not to accept the outpouring of His Holy Spirit, not because it missed them or didn't get there, but by their own choice. When a place is given over to salt, it's desolate. Oftentimes on our flights out to Africa, we connect through Salt Lake City. If you've ever come in on a plane to Salt Lake City, you see the salt plains down below and the marshes. It's a desolate place. It's not much down there except some four by four tracks. People having fun running out across the salt marshes, but there's no life. There's no trees and vegetation thriving in that. Nothing can grow or be established there physically, and you know it's the same with people spiritually as well for those that would be given over to salt. Let me show you an analogy to this concept. Jeremiah chapter 17.

Jeremiah chapter 17, beginning in verse 7. In Ezekiel, we had the trees thriving by the rivers of living water and the areas given over to salt. Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 7, says, "'Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord, this person who has committed their life through a relationship with the God.

They have his spirit. Verse 8, "'For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green, and it will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.'" Sounds a lot like the trees planted by the rivers of living water, doesn't it? When a person submits themselves to God and puts their trust in him, they're blessed both physically and spiritually. They put their roots down deep. They're drinking from that source of the living water which God provides. They won't fear, and they will not see distress in the time of drought because their trust is in God. I believe there will be many people of this type in the millennium, but we see the contrast to this back in verse 5. Still, Jeremiah 17 verse 5, thus says the Lord, "'Cursed is the man who trusts in man.'" As opposed to, blessed is the man who trusts in God.

Cursed is the man who puts his trust in himself, in his own strength, in his own way of doing things.

"'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit parts, places in the wilderness, and a salt land which is not inhabited.'" Man who rejects God, a man who with knowledge departs from God, is cursed.

He is as if he is spiritually desolate. It's as if he has been given over to salt, where nothing good will grow or be produced spiritually. It would appear that these individuals will be on Satan's radar as well, at the end of the millennium. And you can bet that they'll be stirred up in opposition to God when another option is presented.

Brother Satan knows what he is doing, Prince of the Power of the Air. We look forward to a day, as atonement portrays, when he will be bound, yet he is still loose today. We're going to go to the feast. We're going to hear messages about the wonderful millennium and the prophecies of the time in which his influence is not there. We're going to come home again to a world where he is here. And, brethren, we have our choices to make. Life or death. Blessing or cursing. But God's not indifferent. All along the way, God is saying to us, please, my people, choose life.

It is more blessed to do so. Let's conclude back in Revelation chapter 20 and see the fate of Satan's final rebellion against God. Revelation 20 verse 7 says, Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison.

And we'll go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

Verse 9, And they went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

Now the devil who had deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are. It should be translated were. The beast and false prophet were physical beings burned up in the lake of fire.

Satan will be tossed there and will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

After the thousand years, those who have chosen to follow Satan, submit to his influence, follow his ways, will be gathered together and destroyed. God will destroy them. With knowledge, they have rejected his call and his purpose for them.

Satan the devil himself will be removed from the presence of God and his holy family for the rest of eternity. And, brethren, when we go to the feast, we'll read prophecies of the wonderful age to come. We'll return home to a world in which Satan is still on the loose. The lesson we need to take from us during these holy days is the importance of staying close to God and walking in obedience to him, to submitting to him, choosing life. God says, again, I said that before you, life and death, blessing and cursing, please choose life, but the choice is yours each and every day.

Whether we turn to the right hand or to the left, God is there. Please choose life.

So then this is our day of salvation. Scripture tells us the judgment is now on the house of God.

So the choices we make today do matter. The decisions that we have placed before us each and every day reveal to God what is in our mind, what is in our heart, and he's watching.

This is a proving ground. God is preparing his sons and daughters to reign alongside Jesus Christ in his kingdom forever. It's not a game. It's not a joke. Satan is on the loose.

Therefore, brethren, let us draw near to God with a true heart and full assurance of faith.

And as Dr. Ward encouraged us in his chairman letter, let us live these holy days today.

If we submit to God and are close to him for living this way of life as the Scripture gives us, then you and I will have the power and the ability with God's help to bind Satan's influence in our life today. We can resist him just as Jesus Christ resisted him.

We're just the devil and draw near to God. It is the blessing for us. It's a blessing he's called all of mankind to. God is not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance.

That it's his will, that it's his purpose. Not all will accept that.

Brethren, he's laid that choice before you and I today. Let us choose life.