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The Seventh Millennium
Introduction
In previous lessons we have seen that the Creation Week was real and scientific verifiable. Many scientists can agree with the understanding that it was a renewal of the face of the earth. We have also seen that God is almighty and forming His spiritual creation on the earth over seven thousand years after the pattern of the physical creation or recreation of the initial seven days of Genesis one. What we left out is the anticipated spiritual creation of the seventh millennium. We have seen that the true turn of the sixth millennium to the seventh millennium may happen in 2027 to 2030, assuming that the counting of the past 2003 years is correct. Hence we can look forward with anticipation to the seventh millennium, based on Bible prophecies. This is patterned after the seventh day of the Creation Week, the Sabbath of the Lord, and will benefit all mankind.
"27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
(Mark 2:27-28, KJV)
God is omnipotent. Mankind continues today as though He does not matter. Very few "Christians" really take His Word serious. Even less will actually obey His Commandments given to us. But in the end we will know that we need His loving rulership over us if we are to survive into eternity. This will happen in the future!
"6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
(Revelation 19:6, KJV)
God had a course of action prepared even before mankind was created. He saw the rebellion of some of the angels under Satan before the creation of mankind. He knew their arguments. He knew Adam and Eve's probable course of action, and anticipated it. Mankind's level of civilized behavior is in direct proportion with God's blessing of aspects of His Spirit. Hence He can dictate the level of degeneration by removing aspects of His Spirit from leaders and nations. He can manipulate the weather and influence the outcome of wars. He is justified in doing so due to mankind's rebellious attitudes. He knew how history would turn out over a period of seven thousand years because He controls destiny. In the end we will know that He is ultimately in control. Yet He allows us to get burned in the process of trying to live in defiance of Him, and His Laws, so that we can turn to Him and experience His love in the end.
"8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: "
(Isaiah 46:8-10, KJV)
We will now declare the seventh millennium, the ultimate Sabbath of the Lord, decided on for all mankind, which He declared from the beginning!
The Sabbath
"1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."
(Genesis 2:1-3, KJV)
As we have seen before, every millennium of the spiritual creation over seven thousand years is patterned after every day of the Creation Week. So also will there be a spiritual rest for all mankind in the seventh millennium.
God has a certain viewpoint on the spiritual meaning of this rest. What is the meaning of His "rest"?
We will investigate this.
Mankind's Endless Work in Sin
When Adam and Eve sinned against God, He sent them into hard labour.
"23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
(Genesis 3:23-24, KJV)
No longer the good life in paradise. Life would be hard for them. Life is still hard for mankind. On the physical plane mankind would have to work hard to survive. But this is also true on the spiritual plane. All the sin of the world makes life very hard, even in terms of mental and emotional survival. All the theft, all the lies, all the deception! All the belittlement, all the oppression, and work for status and survival! We enter a life of endless work. In the end we will look back and wonder whether it was worth the effort.
"2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?"
(Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, KJV)
Economies and prosperity are based on trust, and can only thrive among honest people. But the lies and deception of ambitious people willing to trample on others are demoralizing the population. Whole nations are collapsing under the burden of the deception and eventual tyranny of some governments, giving in to Satan's way. Mankind has chosen Satan's way in the Garden of Eden, and is still doing so today. But in the end even Satan will fall from his position of power, destroying all the efforts of all the hard labour of mankind.
"12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! "
(Isaiah 14:12, KJV)
So today people struggle to survive. It needs not to have been this way! But the burden of the sin and corruption of mankind is bringing us down, and we have to work hard to survive.
People get married and think that they have arrived in seventh heaven, only to find problems and sin threatening their marriage. So they have to constantly work to prevent the inevitable result of sin from occurring - the death of love. They have to work to keep their marriage together, or loose everything they have hoped and worked for.
Some work very hard and assemble businesses to provide for their families in their old age, only to find that theft, deception and corruption have eroded their fortunes. Many of them loose everything in hostile company takeovers.
Some young farmers work ambitiously to build their farms, only to loose some of the crops due to theft, and some is burnt down by arsonists.
All the work we do to assemble is eroded away by sin.
"5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways."
(Haggai 1:5-7, KJV)
To maintain civilization, people that work have managers that monitor them. They in turn have senior managers that monitor the managers. They have bookkeepers and accountants that draw up books to verify what they did. Then auditors check on the accountants. Governments have agencies to check on auditors, and special teams to check on agencies. So much people and work is required to hold together some sense of civilization, simply because we cannot trust people. For all of this we have to pay high taxes. We can never rest, for there are always taxes to be paid.
In the end when we have managed to hold society together and have built some civilization, more greed fueled by misunderstandings and mistrust leads to wars, and all is destroyed.
When will the work end?
Excessive Spiritual Work
Even on the spiritual plane we have to do a lot of unnecessary work.
There are many kinds of religions in the world today, but only one God. There are many kinds of "Christian" churches in the world, but only one Christ. Who is right? Even here we find that we have to work to uncover deception and prove the Truth. The original Church of the first century had already seen corruption before the end of their era.
"3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."
(Jude 3-4, KJV)
There is a great deception that leads potential saints to think that they can continue in their spiritual lawlessness, or lasciviousness. We find that it takes many years for new converts to undo the systematic deception that has crept into the general Christian faith over the first three centuries since Christ's first advent. So we have to do much work before people can recognize and turn to the true Messiah. Even here we have to do unnecessary excessive work.
So, this life is all about work and more work, never ending work. And if we think we can stop after some accumulation, we find that it has been eroded by sin and corruption, and we will never end having to work day and night. We climb a hill never to reach the top, forever sliding, and if we stop, we simply slide to the bottom again!
God's "rest"
This was not God's intent from the beginning. He would have wanted us to listen to Him and to obey Him, so that we can continue to learn and grow in paradise without having sin erode all our efforts. God decided that he would lead a nation, Israel, into His civilization. He wanted them to rest from all the unnecessary work due to sin. He wanted them to enter His rest. But they continued in their sin. Hence God refused to let them enter His "rest". There was no point in allowing them to enter. They simply would have destroyed the "rest" and would have created excessive work due to their sin. The reason for their calling was precisely to enter God's rest, due to a cessation from sin, and that would have been in vain for the first generation of the Exodus.
In the first century the Apostle Paul understood this, when he preached to the new converts. He used the example of ancient Israel forever causing God unnecessary work in their refusal to listen and obey during the Exodus!
"8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest."
(Hebrews 3:8-11, KJV)
So that generation did not enter God's rest in the Promised Land. Their children entered the promised land, and experienced some form of rest during the initial phase of King Solomon's reign. However, the Kingdom that will form after Christ returns will be much greater, and experience the true intended "rest". The "rest" that mankind as a whole will ultimately experience will be much better. In fact, this "rest'" is the promise of our salvation in Christ. Few understand it! Yet this is what the apostle Paul discussed!
Lets continue in Hebrews 4.
"1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it."
(Hebrews 4:1, KJV)
The promise of rest was therefore not yet fulfilled in the first century!
We can see that the "rest" that ancient Israel entered into is not really the intended "rest" that the Bible prophesied all along. The real "rest" of God is still in the future! Ancient Israel only entered a type. It was limited to one generation, and to that nation, but did it last?
In the first century Paul tells us that true Christians are hoping to enter God's "rest"!
"2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
(Hebrews 4:2, KJV)
Our faith is based on entering His "rest"! The true Christian faith is in entering God's "rest"!
"3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world."
(Hebrews 4:3, KJV)
We need to make one thing plain at this point. While this may take many sermons to clarify, we will deal with it very shortly.
Three phases of entry
The Kingdom of God comes in three phases. The first phase comes when we respond to Christ's sacrifice as first fruits, and turn from sin to Him in the spirit. The second phase comes when Christ returns to the earth and establish His rule in Jerusalem, and it begins to grow into the entire world. This third phase comes when Christ hands it all over to the Father. See Revelation 20 and 21.
"23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power."
(1 Corinthians 15:23-24, KJV)
This "rest" therefore comes in three phases.
In the true Church of God we do enter the first phase of that rest, since we come into a true and comprehensive understanding of the Bible that resolves all the apparent discrepancies. We enter into knowledge that is complete. We no longer wrestle with all the misunderstandings. We are educated and can read the whole Bible without having to wrestle it into an incorrect doctrinal model. The minds of believers that obey the Lord accept His Word with love and clarity. Therefore in this life we already enter "rest" from spiritual confusion. We also rest from personal sin. But there is more "resting" ahead. The true "resting" for all mankind of the millennial Sabbath lies ahead!
"4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest."
(Hebrews 4:4-5, KJV)
We see how the seventh day Sabbath points to the millennial rest that God wants us to enter.
"5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God."
(Hebrews 4:5-9, KJV)
The complete rest that we hope to enter still remains and lies ahead. It remains for us in the future, in the seventh millennium. True Christians stop their work of sin in their present life, but still lives in this world with its sin, and therefore excessive work of vanity. While we enter some form of spiritual rest in the true Church of God, we still look forward to a "day of rest", the seventh millennium in which Christ will ultimately rule the world, and all people can collectively stop working their endless and excessive work in the sins of the world.
While the saints enter a spiritual "rest" in this life, they still suffer the consequences of other people's sins. In the seventh millennium they will not suffer the result of other people's sins. In fact others will also cease from sin, and eventually nobody will suffer the result of sin. This is the real "rest" that God wants us all to enter!
One aspect of rest in the millennium would be the fact that there will only be one Church. People will not have to spend half their lifetime searching for truth, undoing the deceptions accumulated earlier.
"10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."
(Hebrews 4:10, KJV)
One day when Christ returns we will enter the "rest" of God and will have ceased from all the useless work of the present world. Spiritually speaking we in the Church of God have also found rest from sin and deception. We have also found rest from work at least on the Sabbath. The rest of the week we still have to continue with the endless work of the sinful world.
"11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."
(Hebrews 4:11, KJV)
We believe in the future "rest"! The saints enter this ultimate "rest" by being resurrected to reign with Christ.
This truth was given to the apostle John.
"1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. "
(Revelation 20:1-3, KJV)
Satan's deceptive ways and false religious systems will be removed. There will only be one Church. The saints will assist Christ in service to God and mankind, to bring on a much easier life for all of mankind, so that all mankind can enjoy the "rest" of the seventh millennium.
" And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
(Revelation 20:4-6, KJV)
This promise was given to the original apostles, and is available to you, the reader, as well.
Many think that we go to heaven when we die. The Bible shows that the promise to the saints is to inherit the earth!
"5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
(Matthew 5:5, KJV)
These are not idle words! The hope and reason for our faith is to inherit the earth. Today we sometimes find that the overly ambitious that are willing to break the rules, cheat and deceive, and outsmart the system to gain the unfair advantage has inherited the earth for a few short years. They leave disillusioned, hurt and broken people in their wake. Today the meek has not inherited the earth! Their hope for this is in the future.
"8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
(Psalms 37:8-11, KJV)
Jesus also showed this to His disciples.
"25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
(Matthew 20:25-28, KJV)
The meek saints' hope and faith is to inherit the earth and bring rest after Christ's return, after the beginning of the seventh millennium. They will do this by serving the people in humility and justice.
When the seventh millennium arrives, the Day of the Lord, the millennial Sabbath, will start. Jesus will return, and Israel will be restored, not just Judah. Be aware that the "root of Jesse" refers to Christ, to whom even the Gentiles will be drawn!
"10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."
(Isaiah 11:10-12, KJV)
This will happen in the seventh millennium, when Jesus returns to rule and bring on the millennial rest on Judah, to end their wars around Jerusalem, and to Israel, gathering them from the four corners of the earth, and to all nations that will all seek His ways of peace and rest.
The beautiful situation that will exist during that time can be discussed through many sermons. It will be a wonderful time. The saints will rule with Christ and enjoy the Kingdom together with all people for a thousand years! Speaking of Christ's return, Isaiah had the following to say:
"1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
(Isaiah 11:1-9, KJV)
This will be a fantastic time. Towards the end of the seventh millennium, all mankind will live in paradise, for the saints will have had the opportunity to develop utopia for a thousand years! They would have been changed into immortal beings at the beginning, at Christ's return, to support Him for a thousand years!
"50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
(1 Corinthians 15:50-58, KJV)
The Work we do in Christ is not in vain! This will remain for all eternity! We can rest assure in that!
Summery
We had a short glimpse of the coming millennium, the "day" of the Lord, being portrayed by the weekly Sabbath. It will be a wonderful time. Imagine living in a world where there is growth and all work is done with the knowledge that it benefits all. Labour is maximized to enhance everybody's life, and no crime or war will erode or destroy. It is done in love of our people, and appreciated by all.
Some new converts may at first be daunted by the prospect of keeping the Sabbath. We are not under the Law of Moses with its strict rules (Acts 15). Jesus showed that some unavoidable work may continue (Matthew 12, Luke 6, 13, 14, John 5, 7, 9). Some essential services must continue. However we preach Christ every Sabbath to all people (Acts 18:4, Acts 13:42-45), like the apostle Paul.
God has promised the patriarchs and saints that they will inherit the earth. Hence he will send Christ to intervene at the point where final destruction at the end of this current age is inevitable. He will keep His promises, and the earth will be saved for the sake of the resurrection of the saints, and their opportunity to rule with Christ in the seventh millennium, to achieve utopia.
"21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."
(Matthew 24:21-22, KJV)
Many fear the end of this age, but for the saints these are exciting days, to see prophesy unfold before their eyes, and know that there is a God that wrote their Bibles!
We will deal with the Last Days in lesson 4.
