The Most Exciting Thing in the Millennium

I really do appreciate that. Hope everyone had a restful Sabbath morning and feeling good this afternoon. But I want you to know I've been warned that the sermon better be good. Many people went to that big brunch at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel this morning, and they ate big. But you better stay awake. This one preacher gave a rip-roaring sermon about going to heaven or hell. And he really went along for 30 or 45 minutes, pouring it on hot and heavy. And this one man on the back row fell asleep. Well, near the end of the sermon, the preacher thought he'd get some audience participation. So he said, everybody wanting to go to heaven, stand up! Everybody stood up except that one man on the back row. Well, he had them sit back down again. He said, now everybody that wants to go to hell, stand up! At that very moment, this guy woke up and stood straight up. And he looked around and didn't see anybody else but just himself. And he looked at the preacher standing up there, and he said, preacher, it looks like it's just you and me. So you never can tell what might come at the end of the sermon, so stay awake. I do want to read before the sermon two or three of these church bulletin bloopers. They're always enjoyable. I'm sure you've read them and heard them. I'll read three of them. These are church bulletin bloopers. Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

And the next one, the pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, Break Forth into Joy.

And I like this final one. Irving and Ervin Benson and Jesse Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

Well, those are funny, aren't they? Well, we're having a good time, aren't we? And at the same time, we're here worshiping our great God and fellowshiping with Him and Jesus Christ. And we're getting a wonderful foretaste of the world tomorrow, truly times of refreshing and the restitution of all things. And I know we all feel God's speed that day. It's going to be an exciting time. We won't have any more devastating storms like even the one that is now in the area of Yucatan and Cancun. A lot of truly exciting things happening all over the earth for 1,000 happy, joyful years. There's going to be a lot of things going on in the millennium. Today, I would like to draw our attention and have us focus on what I believe is going to be the most exciting thing of all during that 1,000 years. Of course, we know there are many exciting things going on while even nature itself being at peace and wild animals being tamed and the wolf and the leopard, the lion, lying down, having a pet cougar if you want to or a pet rattlesnake, teens jumping on the back of a cheetah, and cheetahs can go off at 65 miles an hour. But I think they should do it only on country roads where the speed limit is 55.

It's going to be pretty exciting, isn't it? But it's not the most exciting thing that is going to be going on. It's exciting to think about world disarmament. No more war, no more military, no more worldwide destruction, but instead disarmament. Tanks and rockets and airplanes all disarmed. Today, we have somewhere between 25 and 30,000 nuclear warheads still on the earth. We don't even know where they all are after the dissolution of the Soviet Empire, the Soviet Union. And just one of those 25 or 30,000 warheads would destroy a city. There are deadly land mines that must be disarmed. And it may very well take a few decades into the millennium before we're able to realize worldwide disarmament. But that's exciting. But I think there's something even more exciting. Maybe that's an element of that which we'll get into. The new climate where people feel good and deserts do blossom and sweltering jungles no longer. Weather patterns that are healthy and that are invigorating to human beings. No more deadly tornadoes and hurricanes and monsoons.

And deserts do become productive and fruitful. And jungles become areas where agriculture and people enjoy living. It's going to be wonderful, but it's not the most exciting thing that's going to be going on. And we have a graphic description in Amos chapter 9 that we read the other day about agricultural abundance. And no one will go to bed hungry at night. Not one person anywhere on the earth. Tonight some people will go to bed on the earth without any food. Some will go to bed just having had one meal a day or today. And millions and millions of people are malnourished and even starving. For many, famine is here now and is sad. That age is coming where that will no longer be the case and thus exciting to think about. And the waste cities being rebuilt and desolate countryside restored. And again, it will probably take a few decades, maybe even a few generations before all of these things can be accomplished. But ruined cities become places of great beauty and buildings shaken by bombs and earthquakes restored. And countrysides marred by warfare and weather restored to beauty. A great work of restoration. Beautification projects around the world. What a contrast the before and the after there will be. And it's exciting to think about.

But still, this is not the most exciting thing going on in the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ and the saints. So what is the most exciting thing that will be going on? Let's begin to see by turning over to Isaiah 2. Isaiah 2 and beginning to read in verse 2. And this is truly exciting what we're going to be getting into this afternoon. Isaiah 2 and verse 2, It came to pass and shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow into it. Everyone comes under the government of Jesus Christ. And many people shall go and say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And so it's going to be a wonderful, wonderful time indeed. The kingdom of God will reign. All nations will look to it for leadership and government. And notice that a message will go out from Jerusalem. The word of the Lord will go out from Jerusalem. I want to ask you a question. What will be this word that goes out from Jerusalem? What message will it be that goes out to all nations on the earth? Let's turn over to the book of Mark for the answer. Mark 1. And beginning to read in verse 14. Mark 1. And verse 14. Jesus, at His first coming, brought a message. And we read about it in Mark 1 in verses 14 and 15. After John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying the time is fulfilled. And the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent you and believe the gospel. Brethren, I believe we can show that when Jesus Christ comes the second time, the same message is going to be going out from Jerusalem. It will be the gospel of the kingdom of God that will go out to all nations. And the message will be for people and nations to repent and to believe the gospel. The very identical same message Jesus brought at His first coming, the gospel of the kingdom of God. What is the gospel of the kingdom of God? Actually, I believe we can show from the Scriptures that it includes everything in God's plan of salvation for mankind. From the time He began to envision this plan, before time began, until the last great day, or until the new heavens and the new earth, and forever, of course, the gospel of the kingdom of God has been in the mind of the great God. The gospel of the kingdom of God includes the first coming of Jesus Christ. We could never begin. We could never have the death penalty removed. We could never be free from that death penalty without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The second coming of Jesus Christ in great power to set up the kingdom of God on the earth is a part of the gospel, an aspect of the gospel. The millennial reign of Christ for 1000 years is the gospel. The second resurrection, a day of salvation for deceived masses of people, billions and billions of them, is an aspect of the gospel. And then finally, the new heavens and the new earth, and being members of God's family forever and ever and ever, is the gospel of the kingdom of God. Let's turn over to the book of Matthew, chapter 13 and verse 43, and we see the very heart and the core of the gospel here. Matthew chapter 13 and verse 43.

Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Son in the kingdom of their Father, who has ears to hear, let him hear. Here's the gospel that all human beings, all who will, and it's God's plan that none should perish, that all should come to the knowledge of the truth, which shine forth as the Son. God has in mind that our faces one day shine like the Son, just like that of Jesus Christ, that our eyes be like flames of fire, that our bodies be no longer flesh and blood, but spirit, that we become his sons and daughters in his great kingdom. That's the gospel. The very heart and the core of the gospel is sonship in the family kingdom of Almighty God. Let's turn to Romans chapter 8. We begin to even see more about this gospel and what it means for human beings. Romans chapter 8. And this is the word that's going to go out from Jerusalem, that human beings are invited into God's family. That they have a great purpose and is far beyond this present temporary physical life. Romans chapter 8 and verse 14.

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Brethren, those who repent, those who have been baptized and received God's Spirit, are the sons of God. We're not fully yet. We've not realized the fullness of sonship. But even now we have the earnest of the Spirit. We have the beginning phase of eternal life already. And God considers us now as his sons, his sons that are in the making. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption that is sonship whereby we cry, Abba, Father. That expression is used in the Bible. I believe it is three times. It means a very close, warm, intimate relationship with our Father. Not a distant relationship, but close and warm, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. The gospel is going to bring glory to us. Our bodies will be glorified.

For the earnest expectation of the creature or creation of mankind waits for the manifestation of the sons of God, for the appearing of God's children, God's sons. For the creature or mankind was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by my reason of him who has subjected the same in hope.

The Berkeley New Testament translation says, the bondage of transitoryness. That is how we are born as human beings. We're born under the bondage of transitoryness. Life is just very short and very temporary. We're just a bunch of chemicals and molecules and atoms that are somehow brought together and wound up for a short span of time. And we find ourselves in the human flesh subject to vanity or the bondage of transitoryness. Not willingly, we didn't choose for it to be this way or volunteer for it to be this way, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope. So God has made us this temporary, physio-chemical existence, our lives being like a vapor that appears and then disappears, but with the hope of great glory. And brethren, that's what the gospel is all about. That we may one day be given the very glory of God. He's going to share his glory and his family with his sons. And verse 21 summarizes the gospel about as well as any verse in all of the Bible. Because the creature, man, shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

So God has that in mind that all human beings may repent and believe the gospel and may be brought into God's family. God says, repent and believe the gospel. That message will go out at the start of the millennium. It will go out to billions of people when they're resurrected in the second resurrection. Repent and believe the gospel. Their minds will be opened up. They can understand it and see their purpose in life and why they were born, but they never saw before. And God will say, come, prepare to enter a great, eternal family, the kingdom of God.

Now we're beginning to get to something that really is exciting, aren't we? Now we go back to verses 15 and 16, and we notice that there are actually two spirits that are mentioned in these verses. Verse 15, For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. There are two spirits here, the one we were born with, the spirit of bondage again to fear, and the spirit of sonship. And verse 16, we read the spirit itself bears witness with our spirit. Two spirits, also in verse 16. God's Holy Spirit and our human spirit. The human spirit is one to bondage or slavery, and the Holy Spirit of God provides sonship. God's spirit then opens the door to His kingdom. Once we have it, once we have God's spirit, that provides the avenue if we grow in it and walk in it by which we may proceed on forward toward God's kingdom and one day be in the kingdom of God as one of His sons. Now we read more about these two spirits, and we need to understand this, because one day we're going to have a city to rule over, and we need to explain to people these things so that they understand and they can have the gospel preached to them. Well, let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 2 in verse 10. Second chapter of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Well, let's begin in verse 7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Well, we still speak that hidden mystery today. The gospel is a mystery. Man doesn't know why he is here. He has no idea what God has in mind. The gospel is hidden. It is a hidden mystery of God, which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Of course not. But as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. You know, mankind just is not able. We were not able at one time. I was around the age of 16 to 19 when I began to really understand the gospel of the kingdom of God in that three-year span. God began to show it to me, and I began to understand it. Before then I knew nothing about it. It had not come into my ear. It had not entered. I had not seen it. Or into my heart. I understood nothing about the true gospel and the purpose for which I was here. No, mankind just is not able to understand the gospel. He's not able to see it. It takes a miracle from God. And it goes on to say that in verse 10, but God has revealed them to us these things that He has prepared by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. God's Spirit begins to open our minds to spiritual understanding that is not possible for human minds to comprehend. It's just not there in the human spirit. The human spirit just cannot see it.

And verse 11 gets back to the human spirit. What man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him? There is a human spirit with which we are born. But brethren, without insulting any of us, we were only half there. Only half there at human birth. And we were in desperate need of another spirit, the one from God. And it goes on to say in the last part of verse 11, our need for God's Spirit, even so the things of God knows no man but the Spirit of God.

Now we have received not the Spirit of the world but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God, which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for their foolishness unto him. And this way of life, even, does seem rather strange to the human spirit and mind. So the spirit of man, what is that? It's man's mind. It's man's intellect. It is that which makes humans grossly or vastly different from the animal world. There's a vast difference between human mind and brain and animal brain, especially human mind. That's the difference. The spirit in man's mind, his intellect. So the word that will go out from Christ in the world tomorrow will be that human beings are born with the human spirit but in need of another spirit, God's Holy Spirit. They'll be taught that the human spirit is not complete on its own. It requires another spirit from God. The message that will go out from Jerusalem will teach mankind the truth about human life and the purpose of human life. Let's turn over to the book of Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 5. Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 5. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. So this is at the return of Jesus Christ, and all flesh is going to see that Jesus Christ is back on the earth and that He is a world king. A voice said, cry, and He said, what shall I cry?

You know, it would seem almost like an insult to human beings. This message, all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades because the Spirit of the Lord blows upon it. Surely the people is grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever. You know, it's kind of humbling for us to realize what we are. We're just grass. They will be told to human beings in the world tomorrow they are grass, but we're no different today. And human life is compared in the Scriptures like a flower that appears for a short time. It's beautiful, goes through its beauty phase, and then it begins to fade and die away. And like a vapor that appears for a moment and then disappears, human life is temporary. You know, brethren, one of the very lessons of this Feast of Tabernacles is that we are in temporary bodies, temporary tabernacles. This is not the real thing. This is just enough time for us to prepare for the real thing. That's all the time that we need, actually, is this short time to learn godly character in nature and prepare for real life. We're just a physiochemical existence, and the gospel that will go out will invite human beings to participate in the Kingdom of God and be granted eternal life. Now, that is really exciting when you think about it. That message is going to go out, and every human being is going to be able to understand it. Everyone is going to be able to comprehend. They will have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to receive what that message will bring to them. The gospel will go out to people everywhere, and people, all nations, will be encouraged to repent and believe the gospel. That's actually what we were told as well. Retent. Change your life. Set your focus on the Kingdom of God. You know, repentance is even more toward what we are aiming toward, God's Kingdom, than even toward our sins of the past. We do repent of our sins. We do turn from them, but even more, we set our minds on the Kingdom of God. That becomes our goal, our one goal in life, and we sell everything for it. It becomes the pearl of great price, and we're willing to die for it. This present life we come to see is nothing but grass anyway. It's a vapor, and we set our minds on God's Kingdom. That's all that matters.

And so everywhere, people will be taught the message of repent and believe the gospel, and they will be invited to enter into an everlasting covenant with the great God. Let's turn over to Isaiah 55 now. Isaiah 55 and verse 1.

God has beckoned us already. He's going to beckon all nations and all the world. And, of course, in the white throne judgment, all of the masses of deceived people from this age as well.

Isaiah 55 and verse 1. Ho! This is God beckoning to humans, everyone that thirsts. Brethren, who is that? Everyone that thirsts. You have a thirst. You have a yearning deep inside. So do I. We all have a craving. We're looking for something that hits the spot. Young people that go out to the glitter of the world looking for fun and excitement are looking for something. They won't find it out there. There's only one thing that will satisfy this yearning, and that is an everlasting covenant with God. It's beginning to get busy in the message that God is shouting out to us and will to the world. Repent and believe the gospel. We all have a yearning and a thirst. There's only one thing that can satisfy it and hit the spot. Ho! Everyone that thirsts, come you to the waters. And he that has no money, come you. Buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfies not. Why do we spin our wheels, seeking after all these physical things that do not really satisfy at all? Harken diligently to me. Yes, really heed the message. Repent and believe the gospel. And you shall eat you that which is good and let your soul delight itself in fatness. That's where real happiness and real joy and abundant life come in. In verse 3, what we need to do is incline our ear, listen carefully, and come to me. Here and your soul shall live. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the surer mercies of David. God wants to enter into an everlasting covenant with us.

He wants to enter a covenant, an agreement that will never end. It will involve everlasting joy. It will involve everlasting happiness and gladness. It will involve everlasting life because it is an everlasting covenant. The covenant we enter at the time of repentance and baptism is one that will never end. God will never let us down. If we carry through with our part of the agreement, the covenant, the terms and the conditions that fall on our side, God will not renege on His side, and we will be granted sonship in His great family. And it will be wonderful and glorious. Human beings, then, in the world tomorrow will be invited to an everlasting covenant with God. Just like us today, they will need to grow and overcome over a lifetime before they can be changed to spirit and enter God's kingdom. Like us, they must walk in God's laws. Like us, they will know nothing at the start and must know everything at the end so they can enter God's kingdom.

Little babies that are born during the millennium will know nothing about the gospel. They will be taught it as children, and they will be encouraged at adulthood to repent and be baptized and receive God's spirit. So human beings must be taught God's laws and commandments, just as we. They must be taught the Sabbath, the holy days. You know, something will happen in their lives like is happening in our lives now. What's happening? We're being changed. There's a creation that is going on. God is busy working in our lives. He's changing us from what we were to what He wants us to become.

From flesh and grass to someone that can enter His divine family and kingdom. That's a big transition, and every human being in the millennium must make the same transition. From flesh and grass to be ready to enter God's eternal kingdom as one of God's sons. But little by little, week by week, and year by year, and decade by decade, they will grow in godly nature and character just as we. God's laws will be written upon their hearts and minds, little by little by little. In Hebrews chapter 10, we read about that. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 16.

God will etch His laws upon their hearts and minds just as He is now etching His law upon our hearts and minds. Anyone here who has repented and been baptized and is led by God's Spirit, God's Spirit is etching His law, which reflects God's character of love upon our hearts and minds. And this same process must go on in the lives of human beings in the millennium.

Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 16. This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

And so it's the same type of covenant we are involved in today. It's a covenant, an everlasting covenant where God is writing His laws, His character, His nature upon our hearts and minds. Our sins and iniquities God doesn't remember. They're forgiven. I think this verse alone will show that human beings in the world tomorrow will make mistakes. They will be human. They will have human nature. I don't think it will reflect itself as badly as in today's world, where Satan is involved in exploiting human nature. He plays upon the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. We won't have Satan playing upon human nature, exploiting it in the world tomorrow. But human beings will be human, and they will need to fight and overcome their own flesh, their own any lust or vanity that may be there, and have God's laws written upon their hearts and minds. But like us, they will be within God's law, but under grace and not under the penalty of breaking God's law, because they will be striving to keep the laws of God. That's the way we're living. We're striving to keep God's laws and be within the laws of God. And because of that, we're not under the law in the sense of what Paul was writing, being under the death penalty of sin and breaking God's law. So God's laws will be written little by little by little upon the hearts and minds of humans all during the millennium. What a wonderful time that is going to be. No Satan around and no evil society. They'll have it just a little bit easier, but I believe they will still have things to overcome. They may still be tested in certain ways. They will have to certainly fight the human nature and the law of sin that is in their members, as Paul did in Romans 7. They will need the Passover, and we will need to lead them to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ so that they may be forgiven of their sins, which of course they will be quickly forgiven. They will need to overcome and grow. In Hebrews 13 and verse 20, just as we, they will need the blood of the everlasting covenant. And that's what the blood of Jesus Christ is. It is the blood of the everlasting covenant. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 20. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. So we all have to come through that blood. Jesus Christ is the door. He's the way, all human beings. And we will lead our people in our cities to the blood of Jesus Christ to be forgiven, and they will go on to grow day by day and week by week and year by year in God's holy and righteous way of life. And guess what? Just like in our case, God's character is not being developed in us instantly or by fiat. It takes time for godly character. It takes time for a new creation, a new, well, a son of God in the making to take place. And just as tediously slow sometimes, much slower than we would like for it to be. We'd like for this process to be a lot faster than it is, but it takes years and years and decades and decades. And so it will for them. But little by little over a lifetime, God's holy and divine nature will be created in them, just as it is being in us. Second Peter, chapter 1 and verse 4. So the end product, of course, is God's divine nature created in us.

For none was before. We weren't born with any any godly character or any godly nature. We just didn't have it. And we are to end up with to be perfected in godly nature and character. In second Peter, chapter 1 and verse 4, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world, having escaped the flesh, which we are, and the corruption that is within ourselves, which is in the world through lust. So divine nature will be created in human beings, and they will grow and overcome and become a new person, ready to be granted in mortal life. Let's go to 2 Corinthians, chapter 4. We see this process at work. 2 Corinthians, chapter 4 and verse 16. It's a marvelous thing when we think about it. But I guess what I'd like for us to realize is that it's going to take time, and it is not character development in the world. Tomorrow is not instant, just as today it is not instant. It will take time, and we will be working with people as kings and priests. We'll get into that in just a moment, and helping them in this process.

2 Corinthians, chapter 4 and verse 16. For which cause we faint not. But though our outward man perish, we do get older, we do wrinkle, we do gray. Our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day through prayer, through study, through receiving more of God's Spirit. We are renewed. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. Brethren, we've set our minds on the things above. That's where our affection is, not the things here on this earth. The things that are not seen. The things that are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal. And chapter 5 continues with the same thought. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, that is, if this physical life ended, we have a building of God and house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, which of course will be brought to us at the second coming of Christ. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. We do groan. I groan. I'm still struggling. My fight is not over. And we all do groan. We all do struggle. We would be perfect in God's character in nature. But we're not there yet. But we're on the way, and we must continue going. In verse 3, if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked and not even to have any godly character or nature developed in us. Verse 4, for we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened. Not that we would be unclothed. We don't necessarily want to not live any longer. But what we really want is mortality swallowed up in life. That's what we would really like. Now he that has wrought this, or wrought us for the very self-same thing is God who also has given to us the earnest of the Spirit. So we see this process going on in ourselves. And human beings in the world tomorrow then will have this process of going from the flesh and none of God's character in nature to repenting and believing the gospel and then growing and overcoming over a lifetime and having becoming a new person. That's how the scriptures put it, becoming a new person with God's own character and nature ready for full sonship in his family.

That's wonderful to think about. That's the most exciting thing, I believe, that's going to be going on. All the other things are exciting. But to think about God's character being created in millions and millions and perhaps billions and billions during the millennium. An entry after the lifetime of overcoming and growing, entry into the eternal kingdom of God and being changed from flesh to spirit, and this corruptible putting on incorruption and this mortal putting on immortality.

The scriptures call the Feast of Tabernacles the Feast of End Gathering, a great end gathering going on all during the 1000 years. Plus our job. Let's get to that. Revelation chapter 20. God has called us ahead of time to get ready to help many at that time. We're not called for our salvation only. We're called to help with the salvation of others. And our job is one that is humanitarian.

Do you love human beings? Do you really hate to see them suffer? Would you like to see them do well, to succeed, to have blessings and good things? Yes, even to be in the church, to understand. That's your calling. One day you're going to help people to be in the church, understand God's way of life, and to fulfill their purpose for being born.

Revelation 20 and verse 4, I saw thrones and they sat upon them and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the Word of God, and not worshiped the beast or his image or received his mark on their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Brethren, that is us if we go on and complete our journey on the road to salvation, and our road to eternal life.

We will live and reign with Jesus Christ for one thousand years. The rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years were finished. Then referring back to verse 4 and ahead to verse 6, this is the first resurrection. Verse 6, blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection. On such the second death has no power because our bodies, our vile bodies, will be changed to be like the glorious body of Jesus Christ.

The second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and reign with him a thousand years. Let's read also Revelation chapter 5 and verse 10. Where is this going to be? Is it going to be up in heaven? Not at all. Right here on the earth, Jesus and the saints will reign. Of course, we will be the wife, the very wife of Jesus Christ. Revelation 19 says the bride has made herself ready, and the marriage has come.

And that's at the second coming of Jesus Christ. And we've become the wife of Jesus Christ. And think of that. Isn't that a high calling? All the trials and the difficulties we go through today, there's a better resurrection. And to have that kind of close and intimate relationship of husband and wife during the millennium, that's awfully close.

That's closer, really, than the ones that come into the family later. What a blessing is given to us. Revelation chapter 5 and verse 10 has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. Now, I never had, in my mind, ever thought anything about becoming a king and a priest. And I don't believe a single one of us here ever thought, well, I think I'd like to be a king and a priest one day. I did not go to Ambassador College, even realizing or understanding this or thinking I'm going to Ambassador College so I can become a king and a priest.

But I begin to understand along the way that that is the calling of those the first fruits today. To be a king and a priest and reign with Jesus Christ on the earth. Chapter 2 and verse 26 brings out that we will be ruling over the nations, he that overcomes and keeps my works and to the end. We do have to endure. None of us has it made yet. None of us.

We need to keep on going and endure to the end and overcome. To him will I give power over the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.

President ruling over people is not just a simple easy thing. Guiding and judging people and directing them over a lifetime and the creation of God's own character and nature. That's what we'll be involved in all during the millennium. It's not a simple matter. It's not just going to be an easy thing to do. Scriptures show that we will be on the scene and that we will be helping individuals when they go to the left or to the right. Let's turn over to Isaiah chapter 30. Humans will be just humans. They will be capable of making mistakes. They will be capable of sin. They will need the Passover. Now we will not allow sin. The God family will not allow sin to rain rampant as it does today. If anybody wants to get out and murder, steal, commit adultery, fornication, those type things, we will step in. God's laws will be taught and enforced. But human beings will have to overcome and fight against any fleshly pulls in the wrong direction. In Isaiah chapter 30 and verse 20, we read about what we will be doing. "...Though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet shall not your teachers be removed into a corner anymore. But your eyes shall see your teachers." You know, I believe that human beings that we rule over will be able to see us. Of course, we'll be able to disappear. They'll be able to see us a lot. They will see their teachers. "...And your eyes shall hear a word behind you," or your ears, rather, "...shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way. Walk you in it when you turn to the right hand or when you turn to the left." So the humans we are going to be ruling and teaching are just human. They will need guidance. Their character development will take time, in fact, a lifetime. And our job, simply put, will be to guide them and to assist them on their road to eternal life. I have the booklet by the United Church of God here, The Road to Eternal Life. Our job will be to guide people on their road to eternal life. They will be invited to get on that road and to begin making that journey toward God's kingdom, to repent and to believe the gospel. And our job will be to assist them and to help them along the way.

And what a wonderful thing that is when you think about it. We'll be helping people. What greater calling could there be? Humanitarian helping fellow man, giving mankind, fellow man, a helping hand into the kingdom of God to fulfill their purpose in life. People have told me, I wouldn't want your job for anything. But I tell you, you're going to have my job and more.

So get ready for it. You know, you may be given a city, and you may have 200 people, or you may have 500 people. And, of course, the parable of the pounds indicates that maybe some will have 10 citizens, some five citizens. We don't know, but maybe you're at least a city. You may be given a city, a community, and you will be their king and priest.

Their immediate king and priest operating under those over you and going on up to Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. And in your city, you will need to oversee everything that...

In your city, you'll be in charge of the government there. And anyone that... ones that may be assisting in governing. You'll be responsible for the education there, all the training and the teaching.

You'll be responsible for business in your city among your, say, 500 people. For transportation, whatever streets and highways and roads there may be coming and going. Utilities that people need. You'll be responsible for agriculture, perhaps in the countryside surrounding your city. You'll be responsible for construction. You'll be responsible for music and concerts and socials and sports. And most importantly, you'll be responsible for the spiritual education and well-being of your people. You'll be visible. You'll be a hands-on teacher.

Those people will see you often. You'll sit down with them and eat meals. And you will get up before them at Bible studies and teach them and give sermons to them and show them God's way. You'll give sermons on basic things like the Sabbath and the Holy Days and keeping God's laws and God's plan and purpose and the need for God's Spirit, the need to pray and to grow and to overcome.

Briefly put, again, you will just help them to discover the road to eternal life. And you will guide each one to repent and to believe the gospel. You'll teach them they're just grass. You'll let them know what they are but also what they may become. Step by step, you will lead your people, each one of them, toward character development, to have God's perfect and holy and righteous character. And you'll have to be patient.

There's one thing that a priest and king, a ruler, has to be ruling over humans. He has to be patient. With the people in your city, you will be patient. Certain qualities that you must have to work well with people will be a lot of love. You do need to love and really care for, have a deep concern for those that you are responsible for. You will need a lot of wisdom. There will be situations that arise, maybe even disputes. You'll be judging and seeing what is the right thing to do. So you will need a lot of wisdom. You will need a lot of mercy and compassion. Sometimes people will just make mistakes through human weakness, and you have to be patient. A lot of patience will be required. And I don't know, God's ministers today have anxious moments.

And I doubt there's a single minister that is not awakened at night and not being able to go back to sleep because there are things among his people with which he is so concerned that he cannot sleep. And there may be anxious moments for you in working with your people, even though that will be a much better age than it is today. You know, the Apostle Paul expresses that feeling that one has toward those he's there to help and to teach. In Galatians chapter 4 and verse 19. Galatians chapter 4 and verse 19. My little children, you know, I think that's the way you'll feel toward your people and your city. They will be your little children. They'll be your responsibility. You'll be the one that is there to rule over them and teach them. And you're there for their welfare and their benefit and for everything they need. You will attend to their every need and what is best for them. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again. Paul was like having labor pains with these Galatians. They were turned into another gospel.

And Paul was so concerned about them, and he wondered where they stood spiritually. I don't know. I don't think you'll have that to worry about in the world tomorrow, but just to show that you'll have anxious moments, perhaps, as you rule over your city. You'll be concerned that maybe some are not growing quite as fast as you would like. But Paul had labor pains after veiling birth again until Christ be formed in you. I desire to be present with you now and to change my voice, for I stand in doubt of you. Again, I don't think we'll have that same extent in the world tomorrow, but there could be some anxious moments. And just to show, this is to show that that your people are going to work their way into your heart. And you're going to be concerned about them. If anything is not going right, you're going to be very concerned because they're in your heart. In 2 Corinthians 6, 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 11, the Corinthians were not responding as Paul wanted them to. He had written a strong letter to them, 1 Corinthians. You can read it, correcting them on many problems. Some people in Corinth didn't even believe in the resurrection. Paul really had to teach them a lot of basic things. And Paul was not satisfied the way they were responding. He wasn't satisfied with his personal relationship with them. And he said here, 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 11, O you Corinthians, our mouth is open to you. Our heart is enlarged. I'm wide open to you. You're not straightened that is restricted in us, but you are restricted in your own vowels. They were holding back in their affection toward Paul. And I said verse 13, for I recommend them the same. I speak as in to my children, me you also enlarged. Open your heart up to me. My heart's open to you. Open your heart up to me.

And in chapter 7 and verse 2, receive us, he said, receive us. We have wronged no man. We've corrupted no man. We've defrauded no man. We've not done anyone wrong. I speak not this to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die and live with you. You're in our hearts. So your people in your city, those 500 that God might give you responsibility to teach and to rule, will be in your heart. They'll be human. They'll have human nature. They won't know anything when they're born or when they begin, and you want to guide them to know everything near the end of their life. There may be some anxious moments along the way. You need to guide them with a lot of love and wisdom and mercy and compassion and patience as you show them the road to the kingdom of God, as you teach them to repent and to believe the gospel and lead them to baptism, to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and then help each one to grow and to overcome year by year and decade by decade. You know, all during the 1,000 years then, that's the way it's going to be. This exciting thing is going to be going on. Of course, animals will be tame and no warfare and ideal climate. All those... man's home is going to be very nice. But still, the most exciting thing is going to be helping human beings into God's family. They'll be like our younger brothers and sisters in the family. And you individually might be able to help thousands and thousands during that 1,000 year period. You might end up helping thousands and thousands into God's family. And you'll take each one and show them God's purpose and their life from the very beginning, guide them toward repentance and baptism, and lead them to grow and overcome and acquire the divine nature of God. You know, it's going to be exciting to see your people perfected in godly character. I mean, every minister knows he's very happy when he sees his people blessed. He's very happy when he sees them doing well and growing spiritually. And I know every minister would say he'll be very happy when he sees them in the kingdom of God. When he knows they have gone on to complete their road to eternal life, that he has strived to assist them on. And you're going to be excited, too, when you see people in your city ready to enter God's kingdom. They've come to the end of that road and they've reached the destination of God's kingdom, and they're ready to enter the family as a newly born son of God. You know, brethren, this is a high calling. When we think about it, we have to prepare to reign with Jesus Christ as a king and a priest to serve as the very wife of Jesus Christ all during the millennium and to help many, many on their road to eternal life. Just a question or two to us. Are we today walking worthy of this great high calling? And are we making progress in our road to eternal life daily? Are we continually aware of who we are and what God is doing? Those are two things we don't want to ever lose sight of. Who we are and what God is doing. This Feast of Tabernacles in the Old Testament is called the Feast of In-Gathering. It pictures a huge in-gathering into God's kingdom all during the millennium. I think the most exciting moments for you individually will be when those in your city, ones you have worked with, labored with, ones who had none of God's character at the start, but who did repent and believed the gospel, who grew in grace and knowledge, and had God's laws written upon their hearts and minds, and were perfected in godly character and nature.

I believe the most exciting moments will be when you are there, once you've worked with, and they are now ready to be inducted into God's family. And they've overcome. They're ready to enter the family of God.

I doubt that your eyes or mind will be dry when Jesus Christ will say to them, no doubt with you standing nearby. Or maybe Jesus might even have you to say these words to them, the ones you have worked with. Well done, good and faithful servant. Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.