Understanding Ruling With A Rod Of Iron

Well, good afternoon, brethren, and thanks, Larry, for helping us with the music throughout the day. And, you know, it's wonderful and kind of uplifting to listen to and peaceful, but I don't want us to all go to sleep. And Mr. Brannon is...he offered a suggestion to me, because we had such an abundance, and there's so many donuts and stuff back there on the back. He wondered if we ought to pass those out during church. And I told him, well, I'm not sure that that's what God's planning or intending for his services, but anyway, he said, well, that would keep people awake. I guess I could say that should be my job, but... Just everybody watch can't. Just see if he stays awake. Of course, the Feast of Trumpets, as all of us know, pictures in unprecedented time in the history of man. Each one of the holy days often has a past, a history, may have a direct present application, and often have a future, a future prophetic thing they are describing or projecting to. And obviously, you know, there is some connection with the Day of Trumpets in the past, the blowing of the shofar, as we heard mentioned this morning. That was, at that time, whenever horns were blown in the nation of Israel, that was, in almost every case, or most cases, sometimes it was just to direct people, you know, where do they need to go, how do they need to line up. Most of the time, it was dealing with an alarm. An alarm regarding war. And in many ways, that's clearly what the trumpet does sound. And when we see the fulfillment of what 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 16 and 17 actually, when that comes to pass, you know, Christ is going to intervene in world affairs, and it's going to be noticeable everywhere on earth. It's going to be noticeable not only in Jerusalem, but as we know, even today, you know, we get immediate responses from around the world. We can hear what's going on in different parts, not only of the country, but of countries around the world. We hear if something big happens, as far as either a catastrophe or some type of warfare, sometimes it's just reporting. You know, you can report and hear things immediately. And yet, when Christ comes, when He establishes the beginning of His kingdom, it's going to involve a war. And I want to talk about that a little bit today, and yet I hope that we can see beyond the warfare that's going to take place. Because there's more to it than that. But whenever we actually are able to see the return of Jesus Christ, see, that's what we pray for. We know that's a part of the model prayer that Christ gave. Pray, thy kingdom come. You know, that's clearly a – it should be a part of our prayer, perhaps, every day, because that single fact is going to change the world. It's going to make it completely different than what it is today. But it's going to be a time of remedy, of a solution to the woes that this world is suffering from, whether they feel they're suffering or not. Many people know they're suffering. Others may not feel it quite so much. You know, they're somewhat insulated. And certainly, whenever catastrophes happen, as long as they're somewhere else, you know, we're not as directly affected if it happened to be right with us. But a time of remedy and solution, a time of just rule that is beginning here on the Earth. Now, that's an exciting time to look forward to. I pray for that day. I yearn for that. If I can think through the suffering that I see others going through, the desperation of trying to dig out of a hovel that's been collapsed by an earthquake, or trying to find, you know, anyone else that you know, having gone through a hurricane.

Again, I'm, you know, I'm removed from that, so I find I have to think about it a little more than maybe even many of you. To really maybe put yourself in that place, what would that be like? That would be—that's just horrible. It's almost unthinkable. And yet, what we see is going to happen when Christ returns, a cataclysmic war is going to be taking place. People are going to have been gathered and amassed together to fight against Jesus Christ, who's going to come with the answers.

Now, we pray for that to happen. Others are going to be so opposed to that because of Satan's power and because of his deception. And yet, I want to just point out that the teachings and the doctrine of the Church of God, as all of us are learning that and perhaps have been aware of it for some time, all of it's based on the teachings of the prophets and of the apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.

I want us to look at that in Ephesians 2. Because in Ephesians 2, you see Paul writing to the Church. He was writing to a congregation of the Church in Ephesus, the western coast of Turkey, as we would look at it today. He was writing to a congregation he was familiar with. He loved the people.

He had been there and had cultivated much of the, at least at one time, the foundational people who made up the congregation. So he was very concerned about them, but there were Jews there, there were Gentiles there. They had all been drawn together in Jesus Christ. And it says in verse 19, You are no longer strangers and aliens or foreigners.

You're no longer foreigners with one another. You've been drawn into the one true Church of God. You've been drawn by the Father to Jesus Christ. And he wanted to make an impact on them. So he says, you're no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God that is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

And in him, the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. He has all of us are members of one body. We are to be growing together. We are to be learning together. We are to be pulling for one another. We are to love.

As Mr. Hudson very nicely went over this morning, you could always talk about the love of God. You could always talk about how we need that, because the Bible is filled with illustrations, and not only illustrations, but examples, and of course, it directly says that God is love. And yet I simply point this out because I'm going to go to an apostle, and I'm going to go to a prophet this afternoon, because that's the foundation of what the Church of God teaches.

But the question that I want us to think about is, why do you have the description of Jesus intervening and coming the second time to the earth? Why do you have the description of that intervention from God? Why do you have it described as ruling with a rod of iron? Why is it that He's going to come rule with a rod of iron? What does it even mean to rule with a rod of iron? I think in some ways that can almost be a misleading perception, because for the most part, ruling out of force, ruling out of intimidation, and ruling as a dictator, that's pretty common in this world.

That's what we've got already. So something's got to be different whenever Jesus is going to be ruling with a rod of iron. That's not going to be out of force or intimidation just in order to benefit Him. It's going to actually be to benefit all of the people on earth.

He's going to begin with a terrifying show of divine power that will initially get everybody's attention. That's a part of why He's going to do what He's doing. But He's going to come, and it's going to be a war, as we'll clearly see. But as I said, that's just going to be the initial rule that Christ will install on the earth. It talks about the thousand-year period, and during that thousand-year period, symbolized by the Sabbath, symbolized by an understanding of a seventh thousand years, six thousand years of man's rule, and the next thousand years of the rule of Christ.

How incredibly different is it going to be? See, we're even told, and I'll read the verses that tell us that we're going to rule with a rod of iron. What does that mean? Does that mean that we get to get our own way and force people to do what we want them to do? Or should we learn what it is that Jesus is talking about when He says this? Here in Revelation, you find this in Revelation 11. You find more of it in chapters 15 and 17.

And ultimately, maybe you could look at the—in a sense, this is a summary statement. A summary statement in chapter 11, verse 15, the seventh angel blows his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever. What an incredible—if you want to focus on a verse that has hope, that has meaning, all the kingdoms of the earth are going to give way. They're going to come under the power, the divine power of the Creator God. Twenty-four elders around the throne of God say, they sing, We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, who are and were.

For you have taken your great power, and you have begun to reign, and even though the nations raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for judging the dead has come, and the time for rewarding your servants has come, the time for rewarding your servants, the prophets, and the saints, and all who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying those who are destroying the earth.

See, that's what's happening today. The earth is being destroyed. It's being undermined. There is continual distress among nations, and yet, we see the description here of Christ coming, and in chapter 19, you see this statement where it talks about Him ruling with the rod of iron. Chapter 19, verse 11, I saw heaven opens, and of course, who's writing this? Well, John the Apostle, who's writing this. Now, he didn't just dream this up.

This was something that was revealed to him, and a vision. It was from Jesus Christ. It was from God the Father. But John says, I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse, and its rider was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, he judges and makes war. So, can you have a righteous war? Can you have a just war? Well, it says that's what Jesus is going to be involved in doing. He's going to come back, and he's going to put an end to the unrighteous rulers who want to war against the only one who has all the answers, the one who is able to straighten out the world and set us on a path that's going to produce incredible.

Dr. Hasselton talked about the superabundance that God blesses with. What kind of superabundance is the world tomorrow going to be like? Well, it's going to be incredibly abundant. But see, initially, there's got to be a war. There's going to be a war because, as it says here, this is the way he judges and makes war. He says, the eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. He's clothed and road-dipped in blood. His name is called the Word of God.

So every one of us wants to relate to the Word of God. We want to relate to Jesus Christ, the one who is described in John 1 as the Word of God. We want to relate to him. We want to love him. We want to thank God for him. And I think we could rightly think about the Father and the Son as the Eternal God and the Eternal Word, because both of them have always existed.

And so thanking and honoring the Eternal God and the Eternal Word for their intervention is what is happening here. He says the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

He would appear at the end of the age with men and kingdoms warring against one another. The only thing they understand is overpowering strength. The only thing they comprehend is just somebody more strong, somebody more highly numbered, somebody more greater strength. That's clearly what Jesus will do to begin with. But he says he's going to strike the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

He'll tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty on his robe and on his thigh. He has a name inscribed, The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. See, that's a great reason to pray, Thy kingdom come. Because this particular event, described here in Revelation, described in 1 Thessalonians 4, described in Joel 3, described in many different passages in the Old Testament as well as the New, you know, this is going to get everyone's attention. Now, I want, we read that the teaching and doctrine of the Church of God is based on the Apostles.

This is part of what the Apostle John would write. But I also want to look at at least one prophet, a prophet that's in the Old Testament, one that we've mentioned already and read a little bit about today. But you also are aware of the prophet Zechariah. Zechariah was one of the post-exilic prophets. The people of Israel and Judah pretty much already had gone into captivity. Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi were actually writing real late. Much of what they were saying was not so much for the people right then, but for the future, for us. And that's what we see here in Zechariah, chapter 14. Now, if you look through Zechariah, you can see that, well, there's some things that are not as clear, some things that, you know, they appear to be a vision about different things, perhaps some symbolism with each one.

And yet, when you get on over to the last few chapters of Zechariah, and Zechariah, chapter 12 and 13 and 14, you find the final oracle, the final statement that Zechariah is going to make. And he's talked about the power of the Holy Spirit. He actually, in being one who was sent back to encourage the people to build the temple again, you know, you've been in captivity, you've been sent back, you need to build the temple.

That's what several of the prophets were involved in doing, but Zechariah was encouraging that as well. But here in chapter 12 and 13 and 14, he's talking about a future time. He's talking about a time described in that day or on that day, meaning when Jesus does return, meaning when the Feast of Trumpets is fulfilled, and what we read in Revelation 19, we already read, where that's going to actually happen.

There's more detail to what Zechariah writes here. In chapter 14, you see his description of, and this, of course, is one that we have often understood to apply to the world tomorrow and apply to the Millennial Rule of Christ and apply to, in a sense, the Kingdom going forward. But here in chapter 14, the entire chapter at the very end of this minor prophet, Zechariah, is about the Rule of Christ. It's about his intervention. Verse 1, A day is coming for the Lord when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your midst. For in verse 2, I'm going to gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle.

See, now we already see the outcome. Obviously, Christ is going to win. He's obviously going to establish his rule on earth. He's going to do that, as it describes, as ruling with the rod of iron. But see the transition that's going to happen here as we go through much of this chapter. He says, I'm going to gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken.

The houses looted, the women raped, half the city shall go into exile. But the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. And so here it appears to be talking about those people who do still live. You know, there are people that's actually increased in population over the last several decades. More and more thousands of people live in and around the nation of Israel. Since 1949, there's been quite a restoration in the land. And yet, as I'm sure all of us know, the nation of Israel is in conflict with almost every other nation on earth.

Certainly all of those around them, Egypt and Syria and Iran and Iraq and all the others that are clearly just out to try to destroy them. But here's what it talks about a time when Jerusalem is going to be under siege in verse 3. Then the Lord will go forth in verse 3 and fight against those nations, as when he fights on a day of battle and on that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies between Jerusalem on the east and the Mount of Olives, shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley.

So the one half of the mountain will withdraw to the north and the other half to the south. And he says, you shall flee by the valley of the Lord's mountain, for the valley between the mountains shall reach to Israel, and they shall flee as you fled from the earthquake. And the days of King Uzziah, of Judah, and the Lord will come, and all the holy ones with him. So you see reference that tied clearly together with what you read in Revelation, what we see here, what we see in other prophets. That's why the teaching of the Church of God is so very clear.

You know, Christ's rule is going to be established initially through warfare. In verse 6, on that day, there will be neither cold nor frost, for there will be continuous day, as it is known to the Lord, not day or night, for that evening there shall be a light.

And we covered this this morning in verse 8. On that day, living water shall flow out from Jerusalem. I would imagine having to do with the valleys that we saw described here a little bit earlier, in verses 4 and 5. But it says living water is going to flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the east and half of it to the west, half of it back into the Mediterranean, as we would know it, and the other half, toward or into the Dead Sea area, actually giving a sea, whose name is the Dead Sea, giving that sea life. Not just physically, but even spiritually expending, because, of course, living water is what Jesus says, I have to give. I'm the source of that living water. And he talks about that in John 7, as we went over this morning, about referring to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God being extended in order to provide healing, in order to provide restoration. So living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the east, half to the west. It will continue in summer and winter. So continually, a healing will be taking place over the land. And, of course, again, another very encouraging verse in verse 9, And the Lord will become king over all the earth. On that day, the Lord will be one in his name. One. We're not going to have all the divided, conflicting, religious groupings, religious organizations, people going all which direction, certainly some, using the name of Christ, others using many other names, many other gods. It says at that time, in verse 9, the Lord will become king over all the earth. On that day, the Lord will be one in his name. One. And the whole land, this would be in and around Jerusalem, shall be turned. Jerusalem right now is up in the mountains. It's high in the mountains. Not real high, but higher than everything else down on the Mediterranean Sea. Obviously, that's on sea level and Dead Sea. It's even below that. And so the whole area is going to be lifted up. There's going to be a geographic change here, it would appear. The whole land will be turned into a plain from Gebedah to Remmon south of Jerusalem, but Jerusalem shall remain aloft. On its site, from the gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, on the corner gate from the town of Haniel to the king's wine presses, it shall be inhabited. That's kind of an understatement in verse 11. It will be inhabited.

It will be the setting for the rule of the king who rules the whole earth will be there in Jerusalem, and it will be inhabited. And ever again shall it be doomed to destruction. And whenever he establishes his rule on this earth in Jerusalem, it's not going to be destroyed.

And amazingly, it says Jerusalem will abide in safety. Jerusalem will abide in security. There will be less and less need for there to be defenses and for there to be walls, and for there to be warfare, because warfare will be minimized. Now, it's clear that not everybody is going to give in to this, and there's going to be some who will continue to think warfare is a good way to go. I would imagine, you know, Lucifer is the first one who would push that, or did push that in the past. He's going to be exposed for what he is, and then he's going to be set aside for a period of time, at least, for a thousand years. And so then you can have security, you can have stability, you can have safety, you can have prosperity, because the king ranks, the king rules in Jerusalem.

And then, in several more verses here, I want to read out of the book of the prophet Zechariah. This will be the plague in verse 12, with which the Lord will strike all the people that wage war against Jerusalem, their flesh shall rot while they're still in their feet, their eyes shall rot in their sockets, their tongues shall rot in their mouths, and that day great panic from the Lord will befall them so that each sees the hand of his neighbor, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. You would think infighting, even Judah will fight it. Jerusalem and the wealth of the surrounding nations will be collected, gold and silver and garments and great abundance.

And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses and mules and camels and donkeys and whatever animals may be in the camps.

This is a description of everyone yielding.

Everyone coming to see, I don't have the power to overthrow this force. I'm going to have to be under the rule of the Rod of Iron. But it kind of shifts a little bit here in verse 16. At least it shifts in the description of what's going to happen then. What will happen as we go into Jerusalem? There will be people who still somehow survive the devastating warfare that is going to take place.

Verse 16, all who survive of the nations that came against Jerusalem, so there will be some who survive, some who manage to live through it, some who maybe are hurt, some who maybe are not hurt.

But it says, all who survive of the nations that come against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, how are they going to know they need to do that? Well, it's going to be an edict, go out from the King, the one who is ruling, the one who has had to rule initially with the Rod of Iron.

But then, as we read in several places there in Isaiah, like other prophets of God, it talks about the law going forth from Zion, instruction being given, and people then beginning to learn what it is to relate to God.

How it is that God wants us to obey? How is it that God wants us to live? What are the right principles?

And so, whenever you read the verses, and we often do during the Feast of Tabernacles, we read verses about the law going forth from Zion.

We read all of the mountains, or the symbol that is used for nations, all of the nations, any grouping of nations, look up to the highest mountain called in Jerusalem, to look up to that rule, that kingdom.

But it says everybody is going to learn Leviticus 23. Everybody is going to learn Isaiah 11. Everybody is going to learn Isaiah 35. Everybody is going to learn John 7.

Everybody is going to learn what it is to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

And so, initially, that is going to require some training. That is going to require some teachers who are already prepared to provide that information.

And that, of course, Mr. Welburn mentioned that in his sermonette.

The saints are going to be offered opportunity to serve. That is what we are, in a sense, preparing for today.

Maybe in a far greater sense than anything we could imagine.

And we need to think about that, that I am being prepared to become a teacher of Jesus Christ.

I am being prepared to be a servant of God.

And yes, God is going to allow us to be given a spirit body.

We know that is going to be far different than being in a physical form like we are today.

But see, the mindset of an individual who actually is given a spirit body is going to be one who fully understands what it is that needs to be taught. What it is that needs to be, how people need to be guided. And a part of that is going to be to understand that there are holy days that are not just simply Jewish days, but are days that should be celebrated by the entirety of the earth.

And, you know, they all have great significance.

See, we all know, we rehearse every year, what the Passover is about.

It's not just that we need it, but because we really, really need it.

But we want to thoroughly know what the Passover, what the wine, what the bread symbolize.

How it is that the blood of the Lamb has been offered for us.

See, what people are going to learn is what we're already pretty familiar with.

People are actually going to learn something about the days of Unleavened Bread, whether they want to know anything about it or not.

They will learn, well, there is significance to understanding I need to put sin out of my life.

I need to be in a battle against sin.

And, of course, they can learn about the day of Pentecost. At that point, it will be obviously, even as it is today, we're looking back on a day when God began the spiritual birth process in His family, in His church.

Two thousand years ago, He did that. And today, we're in extension of that.

We're going to be teaching the Feast of Trumpets and the Feast Day of Atonement. I guess the fast of Atonement, instead of the Feast. We're going to teach the Feast of Jabernacles. We're going to teach the eighth day, the last day, what it means.

See, that's what everyone's going to need to learn.

And, of course, that's going to be a huge education project. So, to say that we're going to be teachers, you know, you find that in Isaiah 30, I think, where it talks about, you know, people being taught, teaching the right way, teaching a way that is not only regarding the Holy Days, but regarding the Sabbath, and regarding the remainder of the Ten Commandments, that there is only one true God. And you must serve Him the way He directs.

In the same way with idols, the same way with using His name, and honoring your parents, and killing and stealing, committing adultery, lying, coveting what everybody else has, or someone else, anyone else has, see, that's what we're going to be teaching. And that's going to be at least a basis of what we are teaching.

And so this verse in verse 16 is quite an incredible verse, where it talks about all the nations being educated, that they need to come up and present themselves before the King.

That's what's going to happen. We mentioned that this morning. That's what we do now. We come to church on the days that God says to come to church on. We're celebrating these days, and we enjoy these days. We know that they are, in the case of the Feast of Trump, it's an annual Sabbath. And then we have a weekly Sabbath starting tomorrow night. So we know what that is. See, that's so foreign to most people. You know, it's just kind of right over almost everyone's head because of Satan's deceptions. But when people are educated that, well, the Feast of Tabernacles is important, you need to go up.

You need to go and present yourself before the King and worship the King. Now, it gives a little qualifier in verse 17 and 18, 19. If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, then there will be no rain for them. You know, they need rain, like we learned this morning.

They need rain. They need abundance. They need a relationship with God. There are a lot of people who are deceived enough today that they don't think they need a relationship with God. And if they survive the initial rule of the Rod of Iron, then they're going to have to learn that I need to respond to the living water.

He talks about if they decide to disobey, well, then he can deal with that. He's not going to just whack everybody with the Rod of Iron again and destroy them all. It says he's going to continue to work with them. There won't be any rain, and then you won't get to eat too much. Then you might be given some help by some who are able to help you.

And it says in verse 18, if the family of Egypt doesn't go up and present themselves, it's not enough just to know what to do. You've got to do it. You've got to come and present yourself. Come and enter into the gates. That's not always directly just meaning physically, because how could you get everybody through the gate? But spiritually, they've got to be looking up to the king. And then they've got to be presenting themselves. It says that the family of Egypt doesn't decide not to go up and decide not to present themselves.

Then on them will come and plague that the Lord inflicts in nations that don't go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, does a plague kill everybody? No, no. It does kill some. Of course, God's able to rule over life and death. He's able to resurrect people if they are ill-informed and deceived and confused still. And they are not impressed with the initial wrought of iron. And so He is going to kindly be working with them.

And in verse 19, such should be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that simply do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. See, now, that's an incredible description when we read about it here in the book of Zechariah. And of course, we have to think about, well, if we teach people the truth, we teach people the way to live, we teach people the response that God requires and that the King deserves.

You know, He works with them. He's measured. He's merciful. He's going to allow time for their carnal attitudes to change. That's going to take a while. It's going to take a good while. Now, I would imagine there would be a lot of people that maybe catch on real quick.

But there will be others that are hard-headed and stubborn, others that think they know better than God, others that are far more opinionated. It's kind of like us today. You know, we're not all exactly the same. We all have the same direction to head, though. I can tell you that. We have, relating to the Father, the Eternal God, and relating to the Son, the Eternal Word, we all have that in common, and that's never going to change. That's always going to be what we are expected to do. But I think you see in these verses that God will be merciful, He will be measured, He will be teaching, He will be loving, He will be nurturing, He will be trying to get people to see the need.

And at that point, He will have pulled Satan's influence from the world. But again, if these people have come out of this present evil wage, then they're still going to be affected by it. They're going to be affected by human nature as it has been corrupted by the devil. But it's going to take some time. It'll take a... I don't know how long. It doesn't say how long this can go on. We see glimpses into different time frames, it looks like, in the millennium, and actually progress, a great deal of progress being made.

And then in other areas, not much progress at all. And so God is going to continue to work with people. Why? Because He wants all of them, He wants all people to grow. He wants all people to not just be oppressed by the rot of iron, He wants their heart. He wants their heart to turn to Him. And He wants them to choose to obey, choose to come up, and choose to present themselves before Him. And then, of course, He talks about that as a change in their outlook, a change in their learning.

See, this applies to us today, but we can see what He's going to do here in the very initial aspects of the Millennial Rule of Christ. He wants everyone to grow. He wants them to obey, choose to obey from the heart. That's why He's so merciful with us. You know, all of us sinned today and yesterday and the day before.

We know we can come to God and He will be forgiving, but He doesn't want us to be whimsical about the impact of sin. He wants us to be dead serious about that and try to get away from that. That is our struggle, and of course, Satan magnifies that for us today. That's why we can say, well, as Paul said, I'm chief among all sinners. And so, you know, he wants people at that time to come to understand what it is to relate to the Father and to relate to the Son and to understand being a part of a divine family.

And big brothers and sisters are already here, already spirit beings, already setting a good example, already showing the right way, already teaching the law, already serving people with encouragement and with love. Now, I want us to look at Revelation 2. Revelation 2. This ties together with what I mentioned about ruling with the rod of iron. Revelation 2 is one of the letters to one of the churches that were there in Asia Minor.

And Revelation 2 covers the message to Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamos and Thyatira. Revelation 3, the message to Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea. Now, these all have significant meaning for all of us today. And yet, what I want to point out is just simply the message to Thyatira. Again, I'm not going through all of the message here. But in verse 24, I want us to read what he says. He usually says something good and then says something that is wrong and needs to be corrected.

And then he gives some more encouragement about, you know, if you learn to do this, then I'm going to reward you. I'm going to give you promises. And so in verse 24, but to the rest of you and Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burdens, only hold fast to what you have until I come.

And so this was, again, an encouraging statement. It was, he says, you have come out of great deception, and you need to continue to the end. Verse 26, to anyone who conquers or who overcomes and who continues to do my works to the end, I will give authority over the nations in order to rule them with the rod of iron, as when clay pouts are shattered even as I also received authority from my Father.

So here Jesus is not only going to be returning and ruling as with the rod of iron. He says, I'm going to give that to the saints. They're going to be allowed to rule with the rod of iron. Let's see again, God doesn't want us to just say, okay, great, I'm going to be in charge of something, and I'm going to smash anybody that doesn't happen to respond quickly, because we've already seen that's not what he's going to do.

He's going to work with people. He's going to go year to year. He's going to work with them. He's going to encourage them. He's going to love them. He's going to forgive them if they ask, but they are going to learn to ask. They are going to learn what repentance is. In a repentant attitude, God is always going to work with. Ken read a verse in Daniel 7 that, of course, is directed to the saints of the Most High God. And I want to continue in Daniel 7, because, again, this is a part of the prophecy or the part of the work of the prophets that is a basis for the teaching of the Church of God.

Earlier we read Daniel 7, and this is talking about the end time in verse 21. I looked and the horn made war with the saints, and was prevailing over them, and the ancient of days came, and judgment was given. The saints of the Most High and the time arrived when the Holy Ones would gain possession of the kingdom. So obviously that's describing what we're talking about happening. But I want to read verse 27 as well, because verse 27 says, The kingship and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom unto the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints, the holy ones of the Most High, and their kingdom will be everlasting, and their dominion will serve, all dominions will serve and obey them.

See, that's a process. That's talking about a process. A process of people learning what God requires, learning to do it as they respond and repent, and then receiving the blessings of a relationship with God. And a relationship with God that I'm going to show you is not described as one of a tyrant and a subject, which it appears to be to begin with, maybe out of necessity, but it's one out of a shepherd who truly, truly loves the sheep, who are voluntarily sheep in his pasture. Over in Ezekiel 36, you see again another description here. Ezekiel 36, see, the message of God from His Word comes from the apostles and the prophets.

And often we know that we have to put those together in a way, adding one thing to another. But here in Ezekiel 36, you see a description of a conversion process. And this is a process that's going to take place in the world to come. In the world beyond today, at the beginning of the thousand-year rule of Christ, and then on into that rule, 100, 200, 300, 400 years, the people who are going to populate the millennium are going to learn to seek and receive the blessings of God.

And they're going to learn that, well, God can just eliminate me, but that's not really what He wants. That's not what He wishes. He wants His family to continue to grow. Here in Ezekiel 36, He says in verse 24, I will take you from the nations and gather you. This is directed at Israel.

I'll take you and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. And I'll sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. I'm going to cleanse you. See, this is what He says I'm going to do. That kind of ties together with how people are going to be taught an understanding of the Holy Days and then expected to learn to obey, learn to present themselves before God as He directs.

Here in talking to Israel, He says, I'm going to bring you back. I'm going to clean you up. I'm going to wash you off. I'm going to show you forgiveness is available. You shall be cleansed from your uncleanness. You'll be removed from all of your idolatry. And He says, a new heart, verse 26, a new heart I'm going to give you and a new spirit I'm going to put within you.

See, this is the blessing of those who are going to learn about the Holy Days, about the law of God, about the purpose and plan of God. It's going to require a new heart, change of heart. It's going to require a different mind, a different way of thinking, instead of simply rebelling or simply resisting or simply throwing yourself on the ground and having a tantrum. As some people think that works.

That doesn't work. That's just ridiculous. But see, He says, a new heart I'm going to give you, a new spirit I'm going to put within you. And I will remove from your body the heart of stone. And I'm going to give you a heart of flesh. Now, that's a contrast between stone and flesh, between very, very hard-hearted and very tender, very meek, very teachable heart, a different heart.

He says, I'm going to give you a different heart. I'm going to show you. Your rebellious attitude is wrong. You need to get over that, and you need to seek a different spirit from me or a different heart from me, and I will even give you the power with the Spirit of God to completely change that.

A new heart I'm going to give you, a new spirit, I'll remove from your body the heart of stone, and I'll give you a heart of flesh.

And I'll put my spirit within you, and I'll make you follow my statutes, and I'll be careful to observe, or you will be careful to observe my ordinances. You shall live in the land and give to your ancestors, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. See, what God describes there when He says a new heart and a new spirit is exactly what all of us at one point came to yield ourselves to here in the immediate past. When we were seeking to be baptized, we should have understood we need a new heart. I don't need my old heart. I don't need my own righteousness. I need a heart that's tender, a heart that's soft, a heart that's teachable, a mind that is receptive to the truth of God. And I need the power from God. I need a power that God says is a spirit that's not a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.

See, that's what God blesses us with today, and that's what He's going to offer to people in the world to come.

But He describes it here in the change of heart from being a hardened carnal and resistant, deceived nature to one that's soft and tender, responsive and teachable, easily guided heart. And those people, you see them actually described by the prophet Isaiah. Here in Isaiah 40, Isaiah 40, it also describes Christ returning. The people of God in Isaiah 40 are going to be comforted.

Verse 3, it talks about what Jesus did initially, what John the Baptist said He did. Boys crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straighten the desert a highway for our God. Every valley will be lifted up, every mountain and hill be made low on uneven ground. We become level in rough places plain. And verse 5, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Verse 7, the grass withers and the flower fades, and the breath of the Lord blows upon it. Surely the people are like grass. The grass withers, the flower fades. In verse 8, but the Word of God, the Word of our God will stand forever. See, what we're going to be teaching, what others are going to be learning, is an attitude, it's a relationship with God. Based on the Word of God. And he says, Get you up to the high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings. Lift it up, do not fear, say to the cities of Judah, Here is your God. And so this was an admonition that was extended to Israel and to Judah to realize, God is going to provide rescue, He's going to provide encouragement. And yet we see that being applied in our lives and in our looking forward to in yearning, for the kingdom to come. See, in verse 10, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him, and His reward is with Him, His recompense before Him. That seems like the Rod of Iron approach. Certainly to begin with, but what does He say in verse 11? What does He say about how He feels toward other people who have been deceived, who need to be taught the truth, who need to be taught the Word of God, that stands forever, and then who have a changed heart and mind and a changed spirit, and are able to benefit from that relationship? It says, He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in His arms. He will carry them in His bosom and gently lead the mother sheep. See, that's a description of the type of rulership that Jesus Christ will extend to the entire world, of all the people who learn. They start off being told what to do. Then they come to love Him. They come to realize, being a sheep in His pasture, that's a pretty good deal. That actually provides security. It provides food, water, everything I need, the relationship with God. It provides blessing. It provides healing. Whenever you see what Jesus is described as as a shepherd in the Old Testament, it talks about, and David says this, of course, in Psalm 23. Even though I go through difficult times, I'm never afraid, or I don't have a reason to be afraid, because you are with me, and your rod and your staff comfort me. See, that rod is used to direct and to correct and to protect, and the staff is used to nurture and feed and care for and comfort and heal and encourage. See, that is a type of servant leadership that Jesus Christ will instate, or install, I guess, would be the right word. He's going to install servant leadership instead of the chaotic domineering and dominating governmental structures of today. He's going to install a servant leadership that he wants all of us to learn today, and that he's going to use to nurture the hearts and the spirits of people who will become a part of his family throughout that millennium. See, we have a lot to look forward to. It's exciting. It's encouraging. And I've only gotten to the servant leadership part, so I'm going to go over that Sabbath. But that's, you know, we've got to understand what that is. That's not just something to say. That is what the King will install as a method of leadership of teaching and loving and serving and caring for people throughout the millennium. So don't have a misperception about what ruling with the Rod of Iron is. That's not beating on people. You know, that's getting their attention, as Christ is going to do, and then carrying them, even as it says here. He'll feed his flock like a shepherd. He'll gather the lambs in his arms. He'll carry them in his bosom and gently lead the mother lamb.

So he will do that. That's the tone of Jesus Christ in the world to come. And it's a tone. Servant leadership is an outlook. It's an outlook that every one of us have to identify with in order to be there and serve in that wonderful coming kingdom.

So certainly, we have a responsibility to spend our lives, whatever we have remaining in our life, whether that's a few months or years, or whether it might be for some of our younger people. You may have a number of years to learn, but you want to develop the character of Jesus Christ and become one of those who can be trusted. You can be trusted to exercise great power, yet with love and mercy and encouragement like a shepherd. So learn what servant leadership is. And again, we'll cover that this next Sabbath. But the Feast of Trumpets is an absolutely, incredibly wonderful part of God's divine plan. And we are preparing to be there and serve the entirety of the earth, the people that are still alive, the people who will be born. They're all going to need to learn the same thing. God is teaching, and He is preparing us to do that now. So let's be thankful for what God has extended to us through the help of the Holy Spirit today.