Transcript
This is Part 2 of the series Christ's Great Kingdom Before the Millennium!
Part 1 explained a Kingdom precedes Christ's 1,000-year reign, as the title states. This was provable to many thousands who quickly took time to watch it. And remember what was heard was the barest beginning of evidence supporting this Kingdom! Start with Part 1, or you'll be lost.
My job is to present you with the truth. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice,” which He defined as the truth. Part 2 explains more truth of what is coming. Watch to the end. The picture will become wonderful!
We start with a central question: Who is here for the Kingdom before the Millennium? Those with a Worldwide Church of God background understand the dead will one day be resurrected and given a chance to enter God's family. But we have not correctly understood when this occurs! It is not after the Millennium, but rather before it! Let's see…
The apostle Paul called the “doctrine…of the resurrection of the dead” one of the “foundational” principles of Christianity. Who rises when must be understood!
First recall the apostles' final question in Acts 1:6. They asked Christ about “the Kingdom to Israel.” Our obvious question remains: Would the Kingdom to Israel include all Israel? Think of Ezekiel 37, where it says the bones of the whole house of Israel come together! This is not shown as after the Millennium, but rather seven years before.
Further recall two chapters later, when Peter told his audience, “Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall you hear [they would hear this man!] in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.” If his audience rose after (or even at) the Millennium, how could they obey this prophet?
In chapter 13, Paul told his audience—including Jews and Greeks—that they, too, would be a part of this Kingdom! Notice: “Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which you shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.” This warning cannot apply if Paul's listeners remained dead through this punishment. Remember, Israel is also Jacob. Would not Jacob's trouble involve all Jacob?!
Christ in Matthew, Mark and Luke similarly told His audience that they would see, and are included in, all the events He listed. He has commanded people for millennia to “Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Was this instruction really only for those alive in the final generation? Of course not. It says Christ was speaking in the audience of all the people! Thousands heard Him! And note that many of them could stand before Christ saved.
Similarly, in Luke 23:28-30 Christ told the “daughters of Jerusalem”—to whom He was speaking—that they and their children would be here to say to the mountains, “Fall on us” and to the hills, “Cover us!” This will be said at the day of the Lord. Read Revelation 6:16, Hosea 10:8 and Isaiah 2:19-21. Now here is what Moses told his audience just before he died...
“And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and you shall be left few in number among the heathen, where the LORD shall lead you. And there you shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But if…from thence… you shall seek the LORD your God, you shall find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Get this! “When you are in tribulation, and all these things are come upon you, even in the latter days, if you turn to the LORD your God, and shall be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD your God is a merciful God;) He will not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore unto them.” Will you ignore the powerful truth here? And will you ignore that you could be working with all Israel soon?! Think. You'll meet Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln, but also John Wilkes Booth and Jack the Ripper. All four must be worked with!
The prophet Malachi recorded, “You [Israel] are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.”
Malachi, and the Old Testament, then close speaking to all Israel: “Remember you the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I [God] will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.” This could only occur if all fathers and all children—all generations!—of Israel are present. The billions of Israel are here—period! And this will include all of your ancestors, whether you knew them or not.
But a greater question emerges: Would God exclude anyone from His Plan? What about all peoples, beyond just Israel?
In John 5, Christ said “Truly, truly, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” He continues, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves [perhaps 100 billion people!] shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good [you'll see this means imperfect saints], unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil [the Greek means flawed], unto the resurrection of damnation [judgment].” Why would God wait until after the Millennium to do this? Scripture after scripture underscores when this occurs!
Before His ascension, Jesus added in Mark 16:15 that “all the world...and…every creature” would hear the gospel. Every creature in Greek means every original formation—starting with Adam and Eve! It makes no sense to conclude the vast majority of humanity first hears the gospel over 1,000 years after the Kingdom arrived. That's absurd! You heard the good news of the gospel possibly many years ago—before any Kingdom arrived!
The same Paul who told the Hebrews about this resurrection also said this: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” This immediately precedes the description of Christ's reign putting down His enemies. Everyone will be here! This means all Christ's enemies will be here, too!
What about the enemies who crucified Him? And why did He tell Caiaphas the High Priest at His trial that he would see Christ appear in glory beside the Father at the day of the Lord, which is the same as the day of Christ?!
Zechariah 12:9 and 10 corroborate this, stating that those who pierced Christ will see Him! John quotes this in Revelation 1:7, again describing events on “the Lord's day” (verse 10)! The very Roman soldier who pierced Christ will be present to witness this earth-shattering event to start the Millennium. Note it says: every eye will see Him!
Now this. At each Feast, God's people hear Isaiah 40 describe a time before the Millennium when Elijah speaks to the world: “The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh [don't miss this!] shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.” “All flesh” will see the world's topography change! Realize this is the New Heavens and New Earth arriving at the Millennium, not after it! And all flesh will see God's glory revealed! But Isaiah adds a warning that all flesh is grass! The plagues of Revelation come when all flesh is here!
Joel 3:1-2 confirms Isaiah: “For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem [all of both], I will also gather all nations [think of gentiles here, not merely countries today], and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations...” Evidence of all mankind being present is everywhere.
Here's more clarity: Jeremiah 25:15-38 repeatedly speaks of all nations—all kings—all people—all inhabitants of earth—all flesh!—in a day of the Lord context. Just consider how kings are addressed: “All the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes.” When in history did Tyre, Zidon and all cities and nations have multiple kings reigning at once in the same kingdom? Answer: Never! And of course they are subject to Christ's reign, so they don't all arrive as kings.
Three prophets name Nebuchadnezzar as being here: Ezekiel 29:19 says, “Behold, I [God] will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.” Certainly this never occurred in history, especially the latter phrase. Two verses later speaks of that day and two more verses after that (chapter 30 verse 3) puts this just before the day of the Lord! There is no denying this!
Jeremiah 50 and 51 speak of the day of trouble, the time of the Lord's vengeance, the day of visitation and the wrath of the Lord. Why in this context is Nebuchadnezzar referenced two times—50:17 and 51:34—as present, and again called the king of Babylon?!
Isaiah 13 affirms Jeremiah and Ezekiel. It shows how the king of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar)—and the whole Babylonish system—called Babylon the Great in Revelation 17—will be destroyed at the day of the Lord! No wonder in Daniel 2 Nebuchadnezzar was told about this Kingdom in the last days!
Now get this! Nebuchadnezzar is the little horn of Daniel 7—and the king of the north of Daniel 11—Nebuchadnezzar is the Man of Sin of II Thessalonians 2—and the antichrist of I John 2—Nebuchadnezzar is the Beast of Revelation! No one knows this, but now you do! The 10 kings you've been waiting for to give power to this man are not here yet! These kings cannot do this if they are not yet here and he is not yet here! But they will be here then because all kings will be present!
Will you believe this? Don't attack your ministers, even if they attack you for consulting them. They just do not know these things. The question is not what will they do about this, but what will you do? For every verse covered, 10 more were left out. Now for a different, but related, question...
When do past saints rise? The Church has not understood there are in fact two categories of saints—complete and incomplete. Hebrews 12:22 is one of many verses that spell this out. It speaks of God dwelling in “mount Zion…the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” And verse 23 speaks of “the general assembly and church of the firstborn [obviously Christ], which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, AND [separate] to the spirits of just men made perfect!”
Do not miss the distinction. There are “just men made perfect”—who are complete!—think of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the apostles, prophets and other great servants through history like Noah, Daniel, Job, David and Mr. Armstrong. Of course this includes faithful brethren down through the centuries who met God's high standard. These few all rise at the day of the Lord! But the category called the “general assembly and Church of the firstborn” is a separate group made up of those who must still develop the final character required to enter God's family. Think of those who died with only a little of the Holy Spirit, just barely hanging on. You can name many. I can name many thousands!
Ponder this. Why would saints be told to “Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light” and then “redeem the time, because the days are evil”? The Millennium is not evil! But the first Kingdom is filled with all God's enemies—and filled with persecution and a test for all incomplete saints.
Why did Paul tell Timothy to warn the saints of his time about dangers of false doctrine in the last days, saying, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come”? Answer: Timothy's audience would be here!
Why did James do the same with his audience in regard to the last days? Answer: His audience would also be here!
Peter told brethren to “be mindful” that “there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?” Why give this warning if they wouldn't be here for the last days? The answer? Peter's audience will all be here, not just Laodiceans as we thought!
Now this titanic question. Revelation 2 and 3 describe all seven Church eras. Why are they all told Christ would come quickly on them? Certainly no one could believe quickly describes 2,000 years! But seven years would fit!
Why in 2:22 are some Thyatirans told they could enter great tribulation if they did not repent? This is impossible without being here when the great tribulation comes (also called the “hour of trial” in 3:10 and “the fire” in 3:18).
God intends to use the seven years to ready those who died in what is best called an incomplete state—people who never fell away or gave up, but who also had not yet fully qualified for Eternal Life.
Make this personal. Think of those who have died in the Laodicean era. God describes them as “lukewarm,” but wants them “hot!” Instead of deeming them failures, he counsels them to “buy of me gold tried in the fire.” This is only possible if they are resurrected for the fire. This path to salvation is not isolated to the last era, which Christ repeats seven times: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches”—all eras!
This is all unfamiliar, but the plain verses you saw should not be difficult to understand considering that God wants every saint to have a chance to succeed. I have given you but a tiny smattering of verses that could be included. See how many you can find! Start with Mark 13:34-37 and ask how both all saints and all people are not waiting for the Father at the day of the Lord? This passage cannot honestly be read otherwise.
A brief word: Who will lead and run this Kingdom? Christ often referenced a small group of saints He called “the last who go first.” Last is plural. It means lasts. Isaiah 41 also mentions these lasts (plural again) in a Kingdom that brings good news to Jerusalem. Having met God's high standards, a few living brethren will enter the first Kingdom and avoid the tribulation. They receive salvation to start the seven years. And this time is close!
God's people are “sanctified by the truth.” They're set apart by what they believe and live. Following the apostasy, I gave three sermons describing 90 Reasons to Follow the Truth. They helped many thousands. Nine years later came Anoint Your Eyes - Christ's Warning to His People. It explained how to escape the division and confusion surrounding God's people today. The truth is the only path to safety in today's spiritually dangerous world, rapidly growing worse. You now understand more truth of God's Plan. Don't believe what enemies say about us—hear us, and judge for yourself. Tell family and friends about this series, and let them judge for themselves.
Until next time, this is David C. Pack saying, Goodbye brethren.
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