The Peaceful Kingdom of God

I certainly do want to greet all of you from the brethren here in Kansas City and in Fulton, Missouri, who are in the congregations that we serve. It's a blessing to have them. It's a blessing to be around them, and I thank them so much for their help, even in preparing for the feast. And brethren, it is a privilege to speak before this group, because God has drawn each of you to Jesus Christ. He is developing his family, and he's in charge of that. He's the one who is going to bring that to pass, and so we are really excited about being a part of it.

I do have, before I get started into the sermon, I do just want to mention one other announcement that we need to make a reminder on. This is regarding the Ambassador Bible College meeting that we're having after services today. It should be 15 or 20 minutes after services. They'll be meeting up in the mezzanine. And so we would like to ask any of you who are interested in attending ABC next year or in future years to please come.

This won't be a lengthy meeting. The meeting is open to any who are interested in finding out more about ABC. Parents are encouraged to come with their children. ABC graduates, we invite you to be there and share your experiences. And so we are planning to have that as kind of a—we don't have a lot of other activities, but that is one meeting that we will have after services. It'll be this afternoon. At least I hope I make it to this afternoon.

As you probably noticed, Mr. Hopper is talking about how God is going to create peace here on earth. And I'd like to remind you back to the opening video that we showed here at the beginning of the feast and first day, kind of the welcome video. We had a number of people give their thoughts about the millennium or about the feast and what it means.

And there was one young man who he said, this is my very first feast. And whenever they ask him, well, what does that mean to you? And if you'll recall, he said, peace. Peace! Plenty of peace! And of course that is, in essence, a theme for the world tomorrow, as of course we have called it for years. But perhaps as we should think about it today, we think about it as beyond today. And we look forward to that time.

We have a lot of conflict in our world and that, of course, is going to continue. It's going to continue until this huge change, this cultural change, takes place. And I know that all of us believe that Satan is the author of most of this. He certainly is stirring up the world in unparalleled ways today. And we know more is yet to come. I want to remind us of what we read here, and this is, in essence, what we've already covered in several different ways.

But I want to point out to you in Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2, the first few verses, as Paul is writing to the church there in Ephesus, he's explaining to them that God has drawn them out of their lives of the past. He has drawn them out of the world that they are comfortable with and that they are in. And he gives insightful information. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1, you were dead through the trespasses and sins and whence you once lived following the course of this world, following the ruler, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.

And of course, he says in verse 3, all of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses. And we were by our very nature the children of wrath like everyone else. See, that's a very insightful statement that Paul was making. He was actually explaining how that the prince of the power of the air, I think we could describe the devil as the prince of anger and hatred because he's the author of that anger and hatred, that resistance, that rebellion, of course, before God long ago.

But see, amazingly, God is going to set aside that prince, as we heard in the sermonette, very nicely covered by Mr. Hopper. And so, this is important for us to comprehend. The change that is going to take place and is going to create an incredibly different world and world of peace is going to come about because this prince of anger, this prince of hatred is going to be replaced by what we read about here in Isaiah 9.

Isaiah chapter 9, these verses I know are very familiar to all of you, but I want to make this contrast today because it's important. Not only for us at this time as God is actually working with us, he's helping us, we should understand he is judging us.

And yet, what we're looking forward to is written about here in Isaiah 9 verse 6, for a child has been born for us, a son has been given to us. This is talking about Jesus Christ, our elder brother, our high priest, our coming king, our lord and redeemer and savior. He has been given to us and authority. Government rests upon his shoulders, and he is named wonderful and counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, the prince of peace.

His authority in verse 7 will grow continually, and there shall be endless peace. For the throne of David and his kingdom, he will establish it and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore, and the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. See, now those verses clearly are ones we're familiar with. I know many of you have been around the church for many years, many decades, and yet the contrast between the prince of anger and hatred and the prince of peace cannot be more needed than it is today. And that's why, of course, as we often do in our telecast, as we often do even here in our services, we pray, thy kingdom come. We yearn, we yearn for that kingdom. So part of what is mentioned here in verse 7, his authority is going to grow continually, and there will be or shall be endless peace. Peace is going to continue to expand. And I want us to think about that. I want us to turn over to Mark chapter 4 and go through a parable from Jesus.

Thankfully, Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord, our Redeemer, and we look to him, you know, as the one who's going to rescue this world and the one who has already begun to rescue us. And he is going to be bringing to pass the installation of the kingdom of God. Mark chapter 4, we have a short parable here that, again, is relatively simple. But I'd like for us to think about how this describes the fact that peace is going to expand forever. Here in Mark 4, verse 26, Jesus says, the kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow. He doesn't know how. And the earth produces of itself first the stalk and then the head and then the full grain in the head. And then when the grain is ripe, but once he goes in with the sickle because the harvest has come. Now, that particular parable is not in any of the other gospels except Mark. But what does that tell us in the very few words? It talks about the kingdom of God and how it's going to grow and develop and expand and this is how he describes that. It's going to provide continuing peace and expansion.

You know, many of us are looking forward. I hope all of us do look forward to the first resurrection. That's going to occur when Christ returns. We want to be a part of that resurrection. We want to have allowed God to work in our lives to the point where he is purifying us.

And yet we know that beyond that a thousand years is going to be spent continuing to deal with human beings. And beyond that, a white throne judgment will occur and however long that period is, a hundred years or whatever it is, I know that during that time more and more people are going to be taught and going to be growing and are going to be brought into the family of God.

And then, of course, beyond that. We can only read in very, very vague terms about what the new heavens and the new earth. So it's going from where we are today to what will be available in the millennium, what is available in the period beyond that, and then whatever our Heavenly Father and whatever our glorious King have prepared. I'm sure they have an idea of what that is. I don't happen to understand it real well. But there's going to be a continued expansion of the kingdom and government of God and a continuing expansion of peace.

So I want us to think about what are the dimensions of peace.

There's a lot of different types of peace. We've already had one of those covered by Mr. Giddens in the sermonette the other day. Jesus said, My peace, I leave with you. That's an incredibly, incredibly important statement to understand in our lives that involve a good deal of struggling and difficulty today. We labor with many things. We're oppressed. Satan is after us. He doesn't want us to be focused on the kingdom of God. He wants us to be focused on this stuff around us today.

And yet Jesus said, My peace, I give to you. Don't worry about it. I can take care of it. And that's clearly what I hope to be able to show you more about today. I think we could easily say that the first level of peace or first dimension of peace Mr. Hopper has already covered today. We read about in Revelation 19, Christ coming to the earth and in a very strong manner be able to put down the rebellion, to put down the resistance from mankind, no matter who is gathered. That's not going to work. It's going to be overcome by the forces of God. I want us to look at Zechariah chapter 14. You actually find the kingdom of God proclaimed throughout the Bible through many different scriptures, through different prophets, the major and the minor prophets, and then of course through the teaching of Jesus, many of his parables about the kingdom of God. And much of what we read in the latter part of the New Testament involves understanding how he will bring peace to the earth. Now the initial step will be through warfare itself. Here in Zechariah 14 it says, the day is coming. In verse 1, for the Lord, verse 2, I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle.

And in verse 3, the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fights on a day of battle. And on that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in two. We drop down to verse 5. It says, You shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah. But then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with him. Now that's clearly what's going to happen.

In verse 8, on that day living water will flow out of Jerusalem. And in verse 9, and the Lord will become king over all the earth, on that day the Lord will be one, and his name one. Now, we know that describes the beginning of the millennium. That describes the start. And clearly that's what's going to happen. And yet, as I want to point out to you, that is the first dimension. Clearly, Christ is going to get everyone's attention. It's going to be noticeable if so many people, as we see predicted, will actually die prior to Christ's return. Well then, when Christ establishes his throne there in Jerusalem, then that's going to be a wonderful beginning. But what else is needed? What else do we need to know? What else will we be required to teach others? Because, you see, brethren, we're being worked with, we're being transformed, we're being converted not just for our benefit, but for the benefit of many others that we will serve under Jesus Christ. Another level of the gaining of peace would be simply the removal of the source of hostility, and all of us celebrated this on the day of Atonement. Now, we observed that day several days ago prior to coming to the feast. We know that it pictures a restraining, a containing of Satan. Let's take a look at Jeremiah chapter 3. Actually, the beginning of Jeremiah is a description of Jeremiah's calling, and yet a description of how it is that Israel at the time was really defective and needed to repent. And yet, in chapter 3, you have some very positive words here, which is described in this call to repentance. In verse 17, Jeremiah 3, 17, at that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no longer stubbornly follow their own evil ways. See, again, that's what was mentioned earlier. You know, people seem to be bent on anger, on conflict, on hatred, on war, but here it says and predicts they will no longer, they will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil ways. Now, I want to tie together with that what we read in James chapter 4.

James chapter 4, actually the book of James is an incredibly wonderful book. It's a short book, it's a book that we can easily read within just a short period of time, and yet you see James, who, as I'm sure most of you know, was very close to Jesus Christ, and you see him writing about numerous topics, sometimes just directing a statement and then going on, but here in chapter 4, he explains where war comes from, where conflict begins.

James 4, verse 1, those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Where do they come from? Now, I will mention to you, as surely most of you have figured out, I'm reading out of the New Revised Standard Version, so it might be a little different than your New King James, if that's what you happen to use, but in this translation it says those conflicts, those disputes among you, where do they come from? Where do they come from? Do they not come? Where do they come from? We've already identified Satan as one of the sources.

Well, what are the other sources? Well, inside the human heart, inside the heart of man, because we've been infected and we've been poisoned by the Prince of Anger.

So do they come? Do they not come from your craving that are at war within you? You want something and you don't have it, so you commit murder. You commit something, or you, excuse me, you covet something and you cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts.

See, now again, that's a another description of human nature, a description of how it is that we're affected by being in this world at this time, and see everyone that we are serving in the future, everyone that we work with as individuals that we're asked to serve and to teach and train. We're not going to be dictatorial rulers. We are simply going to be passing on what the king says. We're going to be passing on what the Prince of Peace gives us. And I'd like for us to think about this, this hostile nature that is described here in James.

What has had to happen for you and for me? What has had to happen for you to change that? Well, you've had to recognize that you have a sinful nature and repent.

That's what we've had to do, and that's what we are in the continual state of doing. And we are, we're not going through that just because it's nice exercise, just because it's something God thinks would be good for us. He wants us to understand that very thoroughly. How long does it take to be converted? How long? Well, I think when most of us agreed to count the cost, we understood, well, it's the rest of my life. I didn't realize that would be 50, 60, 70 years. I wondered if it would be 10 years. But see, most of us have figured out, I'm kind of slow, most of us figured out it's going to take my entire life of overcoming the hostile infection of the Prince of Anger to be able to be a different person. And see, that requires recognizing and then a change of heart with repentance. So those are not concepts that are foreign to any of us. At least they shouldn't be. They should be very well known by us. And we are, we're in the process of learning that so deeply that we will be able to mercifully extend that same understanding to others throughout the millennium, throughout the continued expansion of the kingdom of God and the family of God throughout the time that we are allowed to continue to serve others in that way. So I think it's good for us. All of us know that we're needing to endure unto the end. And I might, I guess I'll give a plug. Can hardly get away from all of my announcements. I'll give a plug for our services tomorrow. They're at 10 30 and 2 15. And I know many of you will be here tomorrow morning. I hope you will be here tomorrow afternoon. Because I know the speaker has prepared something that is really amazing. It's something that I know is in the Bible, but it's not something that I was very familiar with at all. And so you might hear something that you have not heard before. I'll just encourage you to come. I know that all of you have your plans, but I would just say our afternoon service, I think you will find to be very, very productive. You know, another thing that we're going to find as we move into the Millennium and as we are actually teaching conversion, which is moving away from the Prince of Hostility and moving toward the Prince of Peace, is that that's going to provide a lot of a lot of security. That's going to provide a lot of safety and calm contentment.

In Zachariah 14 verse 11, I'll just read that to you. It says, Never again will they be doomed to destruction, but Jerusalem shall abide in security. Let's read another one of the minor prophets here in Hosea chapter 2. Hosea chapter 2, so God is going to, as he ushers in the millennial rule of Christ, he is going to bring about a change and a transition and the expansion of peace that involves moving away from anger and yet creates security and safety wherever Hosea is. I know it's back here somewhere. I think Daniel is before it. Daniel, Hosea, chapter 2, I just want to read one of verse or two in verse 16. On that day says, Lord, he was talking to those who will be a part of what we know to be the future in verse 18, I will make for you a covenant. On that day, a covenant with the wild animals, the birds of the air, the creeping things of the ground, and I will abolish the bow and sword and war from the land. I will make you lie down in safety. He's going to bring about peace, first of all, having to be forceful and then later dealing with the real cause of the conflicts in man being affected by the devil but being affected by our sin and our own agreement with that. Now that's ultimately going to have to be forsaken. But he says, I'll make you lie down in safety and you have other descriptions in Ezekiel. Speaking about a time very early in the millennium, let me just read a couple of these verses to you. Ezekiel 38, Ezekiel chapter 38. You see this chapter directed to Gog, the land of Magog. And yet it says in verse 8, after many days, and this appears to be the time frame of the very early years of the millennium, many days you must be mustered in the latter years. You will go against the land that has been restored from war, a land where people were gathered from many nations in the mountains of Israel, which has long laid waste as people were brought out from the nations and now they are living in safety. Verse 10 on that day, he says to those who would oppose that, and we will still have opposition in the beginning of the millennium. It would be nice if you just change overnight, but how many of you were converted? You began a conversion process as a point, but see your conversion it's taken 40, 50, 60, a lot longer than that. And of course we still have to endure under the end. But it says on that day, thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme and you can say or you will say again, this is talking to people described as Gog and Magog, you will say I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who live in safety, all of them living within walls and having no bars or gates. It appears to be describing a safe place. See, that's what you really look for in this world. You'd like to be in a safe place, but where is that today? Well, this is talking about a safety and a security that God is going to bring about. Another aspect that you will find in the beginning of the millennium and then throughout that time and beyond, you know, we know that there will be a teaching of respect for the law, teaching of respect for the authority of God.

There's a lot of disrespect today. There are many people who don't realize how that God has given us the incredible blessing of life. He's given us that as a gift for the people of God. He's given us that as a gift. And yet, again, the Prince of Anger and Hostility has corrupted that to the point to where people are not yielded to the authority of God. And so that's what's going to happen whenever we get to the time of the thousand-year rule of Christ. Let's go back to Jeremiah 3 again. Jeremiah chapter 3. I read to you verse 17.

It tied in with what I was mentioning earlier. I want to also read to you verse 15. Jeremiah 3 verse 15. God says, as people become repentant, as they come to a point to where they comprehend their need for God, He says, I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Who's He talking about? Who's He describing? He's describing individuals that He has already prepared and that He is working with today, and that He will have serving as shepherds of others. Again, this talks about these shepherds as being after God's own heart. We clearly see that description with King David, but He wants to see that in every one of His children. He wants to see that in us. And it says that the shepherds after God's heart will feed others with knowledge and understanding.

And I believe many of us would be familiar with Zachariah 14, where you see the description of the return of Jesus to the city of Jerusalem, and it becomes a safe place. It dwells in security. It is going to be safe.

And yet, we're familiar with the description here in verse 16, and I'd like for us to just think about how this is going to apply. Zachariah 14, verse 16, that all who survived of the nations who have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it says, if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, there will be no rain upon them. If a family of Egypt doesn't go up and present themselves, then all names shall come the plague. That the Lord inflicts on the nations that do not go up to keep the feast of booths. So that shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all that don't go up to keep the feast of tabernacles. Now, all of us have clearly read that and realize that means we need to be keeping the feast today. It's a very special time. We prepare for it all year. And yet, this is a description of that time. And so does that sound like everybody immediately caught on and they all started acting converted immediately? No. This is going from year to year to year.

More and more teaching, more and more instruction, more and more training needing to be offered. And see, is God a merciful God? Well, sure. He's merciful. He's loving. He's kind. He'll continue to apply whatever pressure is needed to encourage the humans who are alive at that time to encourage them to embrace the Prince of Peace. That's what they're going to be required to do. Now, I want to go a little further into what it is that God has done for all of us.

See, He has brought us. We're going to be teaching and serving people, and it's going to be over a lengthy period of time. And yet, you know, what is it that we're going to be teaching the law of God? Sure. We're also going to be teaching them that, well, you know, your nature, which hasn't immediately changed, but you need to change that. You need to come to see your need for God. You need to come to yield to His authority in His Word. And you need to learn peace. Peace, not just from fighting with each other, but you have got to have peace in your own life. You have got to have peace that comes from Jesus Christ. I mentioned our sermonette the other day. It talked about that peace, peace that comes from Jesus Christ. Now, it's one thing to know about that. It's another thing to embrace it. It's another thing to be enveloped in that peace to where you're fully, fully content. Let's look at Ephesians chapter 2 again. Ephesians chapter 2.

Again, Paul is describing the benefits of being a part of the church of God.

And as the apostle to the Gentiles, he was aware. Clearly, Paul was a Jew of all Jews. He was highly schooled in the Hebrew religion. But he understood what it was for Jesus Christ to enter your life and to transform you. And he understood how that not only Jews, but everyone else, the Gentile world, would under God's direction be brought to a peace from God that only comes through Jesus Christ. Here in Ephesians 2 verse 11, he says, so then remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth called the uncircumcision, by those who are called the circumcision, so talking about a Jew and Gentile conflict. It says in verse 12, remember that you were at that time, you were without Christ being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world. See, without God, we're not going to have peace. Without God really involving himself in our lives, we're not just going to not have conflict, we're not going to have inner peace. That he says only comes through Jesus Christ in verse 13. Now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off, see, they were greatly separated. They were at odds. The Jewish world thought they had all of the information that God had provided, and perhaps at that point they did have access to the scriptures, they did have, of course, they misapplied it, as we know, as we read the gospel accounts, Jesus was in constant conflict with those who were opposed to him. And yet it says, now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace. In his flesh, he has made both groups into one, and is broken down the dividing wall. That is the hostility that is between us. See, that's what separated the Jews and Gentiles was their nature, their anger toward one another, their hostility. They were both affected by the influence of the Prince of Anger and Hostility.

So everyone's going to learn peace from Jesus Christ, and we hope from all of us as his agents, as his shepherds, as his servants. We want to learn that today so that we know clearly what it is that others need. How can we read here in Matthew 5? The Sermon on the Mount covers Matthew 5 and 6 and 7. What does Jesus say about the... say he's describing a spiritual application of the law of God. Now, he's not changing or doing away with the fact that we have to obey the law, clearly, but he's certainly expanding far more of what's expected.

Here in Matthew 5, verse 38, he says, you've heard that it was said...

you've read in the Old Testament an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But, of course, authoritatively, he could say, do not resist an evildoer, but if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, then give them your cloak as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, then also go the second. Give to everyone who begs from you. Do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. See, now, what is he explaining? Well, he's dealing with the impulse. He's dealing with human nature. He's dealing with the retaliatory nature. Whenever we get hit, we often lash back. And yet, that isn't what Jesus Christ did. He often had very good examples of turning the other cheek. And, of course, ultimately, when he would be crucified, then he was the primary example of committing himself to God and saying, I know that this is in your hands. My life is in your hands. And, brethren, we've had discussions throughout the feast, and even with many of the difficulties that we work through and live through today, we have to realize our lives are in God's hands. But here, he says, don't strike back.

And even in verse 43, he says, you have heard that we said you should love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Now, again, he was quoting from the Old Testament, but he said, I say to you, you actually need to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. See, we want to be the children of God, and so we need to learn peace. So these are descriptions of how Jesus not only did, but how he taught the way to peace of overcoming an angry and hostile nature that human beings are infected with. Ultimately, the peace of Christ has to truly be internalized for each of us.

And again, I'm saying this for us today, but also that that's what we will teach in the world to come. It's got to be internalized in order to create very settled and very happy sons of God. In Philippians 4, Philippians 4, we read, I think, verse 8, yesterday.

But I want us to focus on a few other verses here in Philippians 4. Again, Paul writing to the church in Philippi and writing to people who were actually a very, seemed to be a stable congregation, a very uplifting group, I think, to be around. They were in a major city where they were in Philippi. But he says in verse 4, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice.

He says, let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don't worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And so he encourages us today to rejoice, not to be upset, not to be concerned, in a sense, even when we struggle. And again, we've had that described incredibly well for all of us over the last week. Even when we struggle, we want to rejoice because we know God is working with us. And he says in verse 7, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.

So this is talking about peace that you cannot just work up. You can't work up peace from your own ability. This is peace that comes from God that you're asking for. He says, if we make our prayers and supplications with thanksgiving known to God, the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ. Now, all of us know the story of Paul. We know the things he endured. We know the stoning. We know the beatings. We know the lashings. We know the shipwrecks. He describes those quite clearly. But he said, I have peace because it's not a matter of what's happening to me. It's a matter of a peace that comes from outer space. A peace that comes from God is what has been internalized in my life. And it is why he can say down in verse 11, not that I'm referring to being in need. I'm sure there were times when he had need. And he certainly had many brethren in different places, in different cities, in different congregations who supported him. But others who didn't support him or who turned on him, those are all things that he suffered. That's kind of a deflating thing to see people that you trust and you love and are concerned for and want to see grow, to see them turn on you. He describes some of that in his writing. But he says, not that I'm referring to being in need, for I have learned. See, he had learned to have the peace from God, a peace that passes all understanding. He had learned for that to be internalized. That's just the way I am. I have learned to be content with whatever I have.

He said, I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have a lot. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and being in need. I can do all things. See, most of us know that verse. Philippians 4, 13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And certainly that is an outstandingly strong verse for us to not only remember and utilize. But see, Paul's stating that in the context of being settled. He was a settled son of God. He fully had given his life to the one who was ruling and leading in his life. I want us also to look at what Jesus said in Matthew 11. Because again, I labor with the congregations that my wife and I serve. I ache whenever we have problems that just seem not to have an answer. I'd like to be able to solve all the problems, but I can't. And I can't relieve sickness. I can feel or try to feel for others. And I am sure many of you can identify that with that. I know we've had people signing cards and sending to those who would be needing to be encouraged. I know we have people who pray for one another. But see, what does it tell us individually? And what are we going to teach when we point people to the King and say, he has all the answers? He's the one to look to? He's the one who can help you? You need to learn to pray to the ruler, the Prince of Peace and his Father. You need to ask them for what they have to offer. Jesus says in Matthew 11 verse 28, Matthew 11 28 says, Come to me, those of you who are weary and who are heavy laden, I will give you rest. He says, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle, I am meek, I am humble and spirit humble in heart. See, Jesus is not dictatorial. He's going to get people's attention at the beginning, but then he's going to expect the conversion process that takes time to cause people to come to trust, to trust, to trust God, to have the right perspective, to have the right faith and trust in God, to be able to receive the relief. He says, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest. You will find rest, peace, contentment, security, safety for your soul. See, that's what he offers. That's what he expects us to learn to seek, and that's what we're going to teach others that they have to seek as well. And of course, he says, my yoke is easy, my burden is light. That's quite a statement which we may not fully appreciate, but it appears to imply that if you are yoked together with Jesus Christ, as a yoke was used to tie together two oxen to be able to do a job, he says, if we're yoked together with Jesus Christ, then that yoke is easy, it fits well, and he says, You're so strong, no, he says, I'm so strong that the burden that we will share can be incredibly light. I have enough strength for everybody, and so don't take it lightly that the peace of Christ has got to be internalized in us now in order to teach that, to teach being settled and happy. We're not simply trying to escape this life. We're looking forward to teaching a relationship with God in the future. I want to look at one other thing here before I conclude.

All of us are familiar with Revelation 20 and the description that it gives of the coming of Christ to the earth and the binding of Satan, chapter 20. And it says in verse 4, I saw thrones and those seated on them give an authority to judge.

That's, of course, those in the first resurrection. And it says in verse 6, they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.

See, that's what we look forward to. That's what we desire. And yet, verse 7 and verse 10, verse 7 through 10, describes something that's going to happen at the end of the millennium.

And we may wonder why that God would do it, but he says he is, so that's what's going to happen.

But you see here a description of the devil having been contained and his pollution removed from the atmosphere of the millennium. And so God is obviously not in a war with Satan. He is fully in charge of his plan, and he's going to bring that to pass. Satan ends up just simply being an inconvenience. He's containing him, and he lets him back out for a little bit. Verse 7, a thousand years are ended. Satan will be released from his prison, will come out again. What does he do? Deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them to battle. There is numerous of the sand of the sea. Well, it surely sounds like he's able to, once again, deceive people. They march up over the breadth of the earth and surround with the camp of the saints in the beloved city. I would say Jerusalem. And yet, fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire.

Now, that seems like kind of an unusual thing that would occur at the end of the millennium, at the end of the rule of Christ on the earth for this thousand years, where we're teaching. He's teaching. We're teaching. We're pointing them to Jesus Christ.

Are we going to have warned them that this is going to happen? See, you and I know that today. It's not something we have to figure out right at the very end. People who are living toward the end of the millennium, and I don't know how long people will live in the millennium. That's beyond me.

But people who are living at the end of the millennium are going to be exposed to the prince of anger and hostility, and he's going to deceive some of them. See, in a sense, see, you have to completely internalize the way of God. To be a son of God, you have to reject. And this is actually what we see with this. This appears to be a final test for those who may have lived a long time. Through a millennial rule of Christ, they have to reject the prince of anger and embrace and choose the prince of peace. Because when we do, then we have an incredible relationship with our Lord and Savior, the prince of peace, Jesus Christ, and his Father, who sent him to the earth for us, for us and for everyone else that he will eventually deal with.

And so that appears to be a final test at the end of the millennium.

And I hope this perhaps gives us a little bit of insight into how peace is going to expand. It's going to be taught. It's going to be encouraged. It's got to be embraced, even by people during that time. And even though they're warned that Satan's going to try to deceive you again, don't fall for that. Don't fall for that wrong way because, as we read in Isaiah 9, of the increase of his government in peace, there shall not be an end. He will be victorious. And he says in verse 7, the latter part of that, the zeal of the Lord of hosts, is going to perform this. I'll read one final verse here in Isaiah 54 because this chapter, Isaiah 54, talks about an eternal covenant of peace. It follows, of course, the chapter we're maybe more familiar with in chapter 53 of the brutal crucifixion of Jesus Christ and how it is that he would be the one who rescues us, the one who purchases us, the one who ransoms us, and brings us to where we can relate to him and to his Father. But in chapter 54, it talks about a covenant of peace. We mentioned this, or I mentioned it earlier, but here in verse 10. I'm not going to read the whole thing, but in verse 10 of Isaiah 54, the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, my covenant of peace.

Shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion upon you.

See, brethren, God wants us, and I have to say that it's been exciting for me to work with you over this past week because, you know, you're a people who are growing in peace. You're growing in cooperation. You're growing in unity. You're rejecting the Prince of Hostility and embracing the Prince of Peace. So that makes it a very peaceful crowd. And certainly, as Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers, for they are the ones who are called the children of God. That's exactly what he is wanting to see in all of us. So all of you are displaying that peace from God, but we want to understand the significance of it and know that that's what we will be sharing as we enter into the Millennium. Where all men are going to learn to trust God and not live in hostility and anger, but to live in that peace that passes all understanding, that peace that comes from God.