TWO RESURRECTIONS AND A THOUSAND YEARS
PART THREE: THE 8TH DAY -
RETURN AND RESTORATION
ISAIAH TO MALACHI
The writings of every prophet, from Isaiah to Malachi, are centered around two main themes:
1. disobedience and destruction and 2. return with healing.
Some of the prophets wrote more about the violations of the covenant which had separated Israel and Judah from their God. Some wrote more about the destruction which resulted from the loss of God’s protection. Some gave additional details about the destruction of surrounding nations, and even of the “whole earth.” Some wrote more about the return to the land, and about those events which would take place in the land after that return. Some of the prophetic books give details about the calling of the prophet, about his experience of persecution, or about things which happened during his captivity. But beyond those details, the two main themes remain very clear.
Scripture references to the “8th day” :
Dedicated to the Lord on the 8th Day:
Exodus 22:30 The firstborn were to be given to the Lord on the 8th day.
Leviticus 12:3 Newborn males to be circumcised on the 8th day. (Acts 7:8, Gen. 17:12)
Leviticus 22:27 A newborn animal was to remain with its mother for 7 days. On the 8th day, the animal would be acceptable as a sacrifice to the Lord.
Declared healed and cleansed on the 8th day:
Numbers 19:11-20 Anyone who touched a dead body was unclean 7 days. (Note: Joseph of
Arimathea, and Nicodemus were not able to keep the Passover after touching the body of Christ. They would have kept the Passover 30 days later. As members of the ruling Sanhedrin this would have been a very serious thing.)
Leviticus 13: Quarantine for infectious diseases, issues, skin lesions etc. lasted 7 days.
Leviticus 15:14 Anyone with a discharge was separated from the camp. If the person was healed he was to remain separated for another 7 days. On the eighth day he could present a sin offering and a burnt offering and rejoin the camp.
Leviticus 14:10-32 The leper who was healed must present himself to the priest. After certain ceremonies were done, the leper could come back into the camp but must remain “outside his tent” for 7 days. (Just as the Israel of God will remain “outside” of their “tent” (the earth). On the 8th day, the priest would offer sacrifices in the lepers behalf. The leper would then be considered “clean.” (See Numbers 12:14: Story of Miriam.) (See also Leviticus 15:19-28 concerning women and bloody issues.)
Fully consecrated on the 8th day:
Leviticus 8:33-34, 9:1 Aaron and later priests were consecrated for 7 days and began to officiate as priests on the 8th day. (Exodus 29:35)
Ezekiel 43:27 The alter in the courtyard of Ezekiel’s Temple is considered consecrated and may be used for sacrifice on the 8th day. (Exodus 29:37).
The Festival of the 8th Day
Leviticus 23:36, 39 Following the 7 day Feast of Tabernacles, the “eighth day” was to be a special
“sabbath of rest.” (Numbers 29:35, Neh. 8:18, ).
THE MEANING OF THE 8TH DAY
2 Peter 3:8 “... one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day.”
The 8th day was prophetic! We have all “touched death.” We are all “unclean” We must be healed,
restored, and reunited with the family of God. The symbolism of the 8th Day tells us that this process of
healing and restoration will not be complete for all Israelites until we have returned to the earth
following 1000 years in the Father’s house (the 7th Day - millennial rest). The Israel of God, raised in
the first resurrection ,will not begin to serve as priests until the 8th Day. (Leviticus 8:33-9:1) The 8th Day
symbolizes the 8th millennium.
Let’s summarize Parts One and Two of our study.
At the end of the 6th Day (6000 years), Jesus will return.
1. Those who are in covenant with Christ (living and resurrected) will go with Him to the place of safety He has prepared - in the “Father’s house.” Only those whose names are “written in the book” will be delivered by Christ when He returns. (Daniel 12:3)
2. The message given to John states clearly that every person on the earth, whose name is not written in “The Book of Life,” WILL worship the beast and WILL take his mark. The prophecy also states that every person who worships the beast will suffer the wrath of God which is poured out full strength in the 7 last plagues. (Rev. 13:8, 12, 16; Rev. 14:9-10). When the “earth and the works therein” are “burned up” all of those who have worshiped the beast “will be tormented with fire and brimstone.” (Reb 14:9-11). All of those now dead, from all the ages, will sleep, and will be raised to “live “again” after 1000 years have passed. (Rev. 20:5)
3. Satan will be bound to “the pit” for 1000 years. (Rev. 20:1-3).
Conclusion: Israel with Christ as their High Priest and King, CANNOT rule over “the
nations” during the 7th Day - the 1000 years which immediately follow Christ’s return.
Why? Because these people are all dead. In what sense then, do those “delivered” by Christ
at His coming, “live and reign with Him for 1000 years?”
IT’S ALL ABOUT DOMINION
Daniel 7:26 “But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his (Satan’s) dominion, to
consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.”
Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
“dominion” - meaning sovereignty or lordship
Psalm 8:3-8 “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit
(care for) him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him
with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet, and sheep and oxen–the birds of the air, and the fish of the
sea that pass through the paths of the seas”
REST FOR THE EARTH
Dominion of earth will be restored to Christ, and to those who have chosen Him as LORD and King. On this day Christ will begin to reign. He will “tred the winepress of the wrath of God” fighting the last battle with Satan’s forces before the 1000 year rest. The “saints of the Most High will also begin to reign. They will be co-regents with Christ. And what will be the first decree concerning the earth?
At the completion of His work of creation, God rested the 7th day. I believe that Christ will again rest,
when His dominion is restored, and his people delivered. The people of earth have not rested on the
7th day sabbath originally set up by the Creator. During the first 1000 years of His restored dominion,
the earth will keep God’s sabbath. It will rest completely - desolate and uninhabited. Nothing will
be sown, and nothing harvested. This agrees with the prophecy given to Jeremiah, which decreed 70
years of desolation for “the land,” because the people of Israel had not kept His sabbaths for 490 years.
(See II Chron. 36:21)
PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD
All of those raised in the first resurrection will become “priests of God and of Christ.” Imagine a child of twelve, who has given his heart completely to the LORD. He has been baptized and has entered into covenant. On the day that Jesus raises this child from the dead, will he be ready to serve as a priest of God, ruling the nations? I think not.
We will all need time, and training. We will have hundreds of questions to ask, concerning the actions
of God. We will need to spend time with the Master - just as the first disciples listened to His every
word for three and a half years. Before we can represent Jesus to “the nations” we will need to spend
1000 years learning about the great war, the rebellion, the reconciliation, and the mysteries of God’s
government of love.
ON THE 8TH DAY - ISRAEL WILL RETURN TO THE LAND
Prophecies of the promised return:
NOTE: The prophetic books, from Isaiah to Malachi, include so many passages repeating the promise of healing, restoration, and a return to the land for Israel, that we cannot give the full text of each passage here. This is a major theme in the prophetic books. We will try to give the highlights, with a list of references so that you can study this topic for yourselves.
NOTE: A detailed event by event description is NOT the purpose of the prophecies. They give us a sweeping overview, with the promise of eventual victory over all enemies and of return to a perfect relationship with the LORD.
Isaiah 11:11-16 The “Rod from the stem of Jesse” will slay the wicked. Then “the wolf will lie dwell with the lamb” and “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD.” This “root of Jesse” will “stand as a banner to the people”; and “the Gentiles will seek Him.” “In that day the LORD shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left” ... He “will assemble the outcasts of Israel,” and “gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” ... “There will be a highway for the remnant of His people who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.”
NOTE: The first time that the LORD “recovered a remnant” was the return from Babylon in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. The “second time” would be for those delivered at the second coming.
Isaiah 35:1-10 Notice the context of the preceding passages. The healing and return of the “ransomed” v. 10, follows the general destruction of earth and the nations.
Additional references: Isaiah 14:1-2; Isaiah 27:6; Isaiah 27:12-13; Isaiah 31:35;
Isaiah 37:31-32; Isaiah 43:1-7; Isaiah 49:20-22; Isaiah 54:1-10;
Isaiah 56:1-8 (Gentiles also will be included in this gathering.)
Jeremiah 23:3-8 “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; “ ... A king called “The Branch of Righteousness” will come to reign over the earth. .... “‘Therefore, behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ and they shall dwell I their own land.’”
NOTE: The “return” of Jews to the land which became the modern nation of Israel following WWII was NOT an event brought about by miracles which rivaled those of the first “exodus” from Egypt. We saw no plagues, no opening of a “red sea,” no water brought from a rock, no manna from heaven. We saw only a persecuted, war weary people fighting their way into a portion of the ancient homeland of their ancestors. The Temple Mount has not been restored to the Son of David. The lion does not lie down with the lamb. No. We must look to the future for a full and forever deliverance and return of the “whole house of Israel.”
Jeremiah 24:5-7 The LORD promises to bring back a small remnant called the “good figs.” He would give them “a heart to know Me” (New Covenant Promise).
Jeremiah chapter 30 (v.3) “‘I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’says the LORD. And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers...” (v.11) “Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you...”
NOTE: The LORD had divorced the 10 Northern tribes-now called Israel (Jeremiah 3:8). Yet there were faithful individuals within the 10 Northern tribes. Christ knows each person, and will faithfully resurrect each one, and return him/her to the “promised land.” The inclusion of Israel (the 10 Northern tribes, whom God had “divorced), also tells us that this return takes place after the Gentiles have been “grafted in” to the place where “branches were broken off.”
Jeremiah chapter 31: (v.6) Ephriam (a name for the 10 Northern tribes) will return to Zion. Israel and Judah will enter into a “new covenant” with the LORD. The outcome of this covenant - “they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” “For I will remember their sin no more.”
NOTE: Again and again we will see that the “new covenant” is made with redeemed Israel, in the land, AFTER they have been gathered. At the last Passover, Jesus said “this cup is the new covenant in my blood.” His death would bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. A gathering, full healing, and restoration of Israel.
Jeremiah 32:37-41 Gathering - everlasting covenant made with those who return.
Jeremiah chapter 33: (v.7) “And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first.” ... They will be “a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble ...”A descendant of David to reign and “execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.”
NOTE: The picture presented of Israel and Judah, together again, their dead resurrected, healed
and restored while “all the nations of the earth” witness this and “tremble” tells me that this takes
place after the second resurrection - the resurrection of “the nations,” which takes places 1000
years after the second coming (Rev. 20:5).
Other texts: Jeremiah 17:24-25; Jeremiah 46:27-28; Jeremiah 50:4-5, 19-20
Ezekiel 11:13-20 The Lord would watch over the remnant who survived the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem. He would gather them, and would give them the land of Israel. Then he would “give them one heart” and would “put a new spirit within them.” (This is the New Covenant promise.)
Ezekiel 20:40-44 All the house of Israel will serve the LORD GOD on ‘My holy mountain.” (v.41) “... I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles.”
Ezekiel 28:25-26 “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the site of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.”
NOTE: The land area over which King David ruled covered approximately 48,000 square miles. This would compare with the area covered by the state of Mississippi, and would be slightly larger than the state of Pennsylvania.
Ezekiel 34:11-30 After the LORD has brought his sheep back to their own land, He will set up “one shepherd over them”- a descendant of King David. “I will make a covenant of peace with them.”
Ezekiel chapter 36 (v.24-27) “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;” ... “ I will put My Spirit within you and cause yo to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (v.33) “... On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities I will also enable you to dwell in the cities and the ruins shall be rebuilt.” (v.36) “then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. ...”
NOTE: The gathering of Israel- then the complete forgiveness - then the new covenant realized.
The resurrected Gentiles see this. This is completely consistent with the conclusions of this study.
Israel (all of those who have entered into covenant with God thru Christ) will be gathered at the
time Christ returns in glory. After they have been with Christ, in the “Father’s house” for 1000
years, they will be completely cleansed of every trace of sinful thinking. They will then return to
the earth, where they will enter into a new, and everlasting covenant with the LORD. The Gentiles
will be resurrected after the 1000 years, and they will see the Israel of God - blessed - restored -
living on the land given to Jacob.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 "Therefore prophesy and say unto them, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, Oh my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, Oh my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land; then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord."
NOTE: The promised return comes after the resurrection of the dead. Also note that the “dry bones” seen by Ezekiel “are the WHOLE house of Israel” (Ezek. 37:11). The very recent return of biological descendants of Jacob to the present nation of Israel does NOT fulfill the prophetic vision given to Ezekiel. The recent “return” does not include “the WHOLE house of Israel.” The dead are missing. Most descendants (living or dead) of the 10 Northern tribes are missing. The vast majority of those who have been “grafted in” through Messiah are missing.
Note: The prophet Daniel would be included in this prophecy. He never left Babylon. He was told, “for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”
Ezekiel 37:15-27 The LORD will gather the children of Israel. Judah and Israel will be joined into one kingdom - never to be separated again, with one King - from the line of David (v.24). The Lord will then make an everlasting covenant of peace with those He has gathered.(v.26) “My tabernacle also shall be with them; ... The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
NOTE: Israel is gathered. They enter into a new and everlasting covenant of peace with the LORD. The Temple is restored (Ezekiel’s Temple). And the nations around them see this.
Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 The army of Gog will come up to attack “those brought back from the sword” and “gathered from the nations” (v.12). The LORD will fight for Israel and the army of Gog will be defeated.
NOTE: Many believe that the current nation of Israel is the fulfillment of the promised return. I believe that Satan will counterfeit the Gog-Magog battle, prior to Christ’s return with an attack upon Israel by Islamic forces along with Russia and perhaps Germany. Satan may appear to “save” Israel, with “fire” coming “down from heaven.”
Ezekiel 39:25-29 “When I have brought them back from the peoples and gather them out of their enemies’ lands.”... The LORD will be “hallowed in them in the sight of many nations.”
NOTE: The Scriptures make it very clear that AFTER Israel is rescued (either through resurrection or translation) and then returned to the land, there will be “many nations” on the earth. I believe these nations will consist of those resurrected after the 1000 years.
Ezekiel 47:21-23 The “strangers who sojourn among you” (Gentiles who have come to faith) ... “shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.”
Other texts: Ezekiel 16:53-63 (After return - I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.”)Hosea 1:10-11 “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea. ... And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ there is shall be said to them, ‘You are the sons of the living God.’”
NOTE: Paul applies this verse to the Gentiles who would come to faith in Messiah. (Romans 9:24-26). The LORD had divorced the 10 Northern Tribes. (Jeremiah 3:8) They were branches broken off. (Jer. 11:10, 16-17). They would “never rise again.” (Amos 7:14). In their place would be grafted the Gentiles who come to faith.
Hosea 2:16-23 The LORD will one day take Israel back, and will again be “Husband” to her. He will take away all false worship, and “will make a covenant for them.”
NOTE: We know that the New Jerusalem with its citizens will be the “bride” and “the Lamb’s
wife.” (Rev. 21:9)
Other texts: Hosea 3:4-5; Hosea 11:10-11 (Ephriam to return).
Other texts: Joel 3:1, 7, 17, 20-21
Amos 8:8 “The sinful kingdom” (10 Northern tribes) to “be destroyed.” .. “Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob.” (v.9) “I will command and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of my people shall die.”
NOTE: There were a few faithful individuals living among the 10 Northern tribes. Christ will
remember each one of these people, and will raise them to life when He returns in glory.
Other texts: Amos 8:14
Obadiah 20-21 “And the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites ... Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.”
NOTE: I believe “the saviors” to come will be the “Kingdom of Priests” who will judge the nations.
Micah 4:1-8 “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’”
“For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
“I will make the lame a remnant and the outcast a strong nation; So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever. And you (Messiah), O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to You shall it come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
Micah 5:2-8 The coming “One to be ruler in Israel” will be born in Bethlehem. He will give them (Israel) up, until it is time to gather the remnant of His flock. (v7-8) “Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass .. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many peoples.”
NOTE: These prophecies from Micah suggest very strongly that many from “the nations” will come to the LORD after the LORD’s house is rebuilt on Mount Zion. The “remnant of Jacob” - the “Kingdom of Priests” will go out from Jerusalem to govern, to judge, and to teach.
Other texts: Micah 2:12-13; Micah 7:11
Zephaniah 3:14-20 Jerusalem -“The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst” ... “I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I return your captives before your eyes.”
Other texts: Zephaniah 2:6-7, 11; Zephaniah 3: 10, 12-13
Zechariah 2:1-12 Jerusalem to be inhabited as a “town without walls” (Ezek. 38:11) because of the multitude (v.4) “Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people ...” (v11) “The LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land and will again chose Jerusalem.” (v.12)
Zechariah 8:1-23 “Jerusalem shall be called ‘The City of Truth,’ ‘The Mountain of the LORD of Hosts,’ ‘The Holy Mountain’ .. (v3) Promise of return for the remnant (v7-8, v.11-13).
“Peoples shall yet come, inhabitants of many cities; the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us continue to go and pray before the LORD, and seek the LORD of hosts. I myself will go also.’ (v.20-21)
Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come and seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.” “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man (Jesus Christ), saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” (v.22-23)
NOTE: After the remnant is returned, and Jerusalem is restored, people from “every language of
the nations” will come to worship the LORD - and many will cling to Christ.
Other texts: Zechariah 10:6-12; Zechariah 12:10; Zechariah 13:1
ISRAEL WILL BUILD EZEKIEL’S TEMPLE : EZEKIEL CHAPTERS 40-48
In the visions given to Ezekiel (a captive in Babylon), the “whole house of Israel” would be resurrected, gathered, and returned to “the land.” Then the prophet was shown “a city,” and a “temple.” The Temple shown to Ezekiel in vision has never been built. Yet God’s word will be fulfilled. (Isa. 55:11). We can only speculate concerning the size of the Temple. The sacred district surrounding Ezekiel’s Temple measured approximately 43,750 by 35,000 feet, or 8.3 by 6.6 miles. (During the time of Christ, the whole city of Jerusalem measured about one mile square.) Ezekiel’s Temple also measures 210 feet high. The technology for such high rise building, did not exist in that day.
Ezekiel 37:27 I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore.
My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that
I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."
A note regarding animal sacrifices in Ezekiel’s Temple:
A duel prophecy.
There are Bible students who believe that animal sacrifices will again be offered in this rebuilt Temple, because such were seen in the vision given to Ezekiel. I do not believe that this will be the case. The vision was given to Ezekiel during the time of the Babylonian captivity. The Israelites would indeed return to the land at the end of the 70 years. They would rebuild the city and the Temple. If Ezekiel had been shown the future Temple WITHOUT the animal sacrifices, the returning Jews would have assumed that this system was not longer necessary, and it would have been discontinued. But it was not yet time. THE True Lamb had not yet been offered. The Temple constructed by the returning captives did not match the vision seen by Ezekiel, but a healing stream did flow out from Jerusalem - the blood of Christ and His Holy Spirit - which brought healing of spirit to those who accept HIM.
Like so many other prophecies, the vision of Ezekiel’s Temple will be completely and perfectly fulfilled.. The “whole house of Israel” will be returned to the land. (This did not happen in the time of Ezra.) They will build the Temple seen by Ezekiel. In this Temple - Christ WILL BE the Lamb, and the High Priest. All Israelites will serve as priests, helping those who come in faith to claim the sacrifice of Christ, as the one true offering. This vision of the rebuilt Temple, with a priesthood convinces me that many of those raised after the 1000 years will indeed come to Christ, accepting HIM as their Lamb and High Priest, and King. If the work of redemption was finished at second coming, there would be absolutely NO NEED for a Temple, with a priesthood. In the earth finally healed, John saw “no Temple” - only “the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22; 22:1,3)
THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD IN THE RESTORED KINGDOM
Isaiah 2:2-3; Isaiah 60:13-14 (whole chapter - gentile kings bring riches to Jerusalem to beautify House of Lord.– Gates always open) Micah 4:1-8 (Mt. Of Lord’s house shall be established - many nations shall flow to it.)
Ezekiel 44:5,9 Only those circumcised in heart AND flesh may enter.
Zechariah 14:20 There will be no Canaanite in the house of the LORD.
NOTE: The circumcision of the flesh will take place when we are “changed in a moment” on the day Christ returns in glory. The “flesh” will be cut away, and we will receive immortal spiritual bodies (I Cor. 15:44 and Joshua 5:3)
Haggai 2:6-9 “For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, says the LORD of hosts. ... The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former’ says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
Note: Here again we have a prophecy with a dual application. The presence of Christ in the rebuilt Temple of Herod’s day, did bring “greater glory” to that House. But there has been no peace, as yet, in Jerusalem. For this, we must look to the coming kingdom of Messiah on earth.
Amos 9:11 “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” (Why?) “That they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the Gentiles who are called by My name.”
NOTE: I believe this passage strongly suggests that some descendants of Esau, and many Gentiles,
will come to faith in Messiah, after the Temple is restored on Mt. Zion. And of course--- this will
happen on the 8th Day.
THE HEALING STREAM
AND THE RESURRECTION AT THE END OF 1000 YEARS
Revelation 20:5 “But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.”
Psalm 104:30 “You send forth Your spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth.”
Ezekiel chapter 47 In the vision of the Temple to be built, Ezekiel saw a stream, flowing from under the right side of the Temple, flowing south of the alter and out the threshold toward the East. The
stream became a river which was to deep to cross, and where this river flowed, everything came
back to life. (v.9) “And it shall be that every living thing that moves, where ever the rivers go, will
live.”
NOTE: “Every living thing” would include the people.
Joel 3:17-18 “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again. And it will come to pass in that day, ... A fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD and water the Valley of Acacias.”
Zechariah 14:8 “And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea, in both summer and winter it shall occur. And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be –‘The LORD is one, and His name one.’”
Revelation. 22:1 The “River of water of life” will flow from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
CHRIST WILL RULE OVER THE NATIONS
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, .. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward even forever.”
Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Revelation 19:15-16 “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And he Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. .. And he has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Jeremiah 33:13-21 “In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely.”
Israel - the “kingdom of priests” will reign with Christ - the High Priest/King.
NOTE: Christ was anointed as a “priest forever.” (Heb 5:6; Heb 7:21; Psa. 110:4)
NOTE: Aaron and his sons - the first priests, did not begin to serve as priests until the 8th day
(Leviticus 8:33-9:1). Their “consecration” lasted seven days. They were to remain inside the Sanctuary tent (which symbolized heaven). As in the ancient type, the Israel of God will not begin to serve as priests on the earth, until the 8th Day (the 8th millennium).
Revelation 2:26-27 “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations – He shall rule them with a rod of iron.”
Revelation 5:9-10 “... For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”
II Timothy 2:12 “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.”
Revelation 3:21 “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
I Corinthians 6:2 “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”
Matthew 19:28 (spoken to the disciples) “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
A STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT WILL BE PUT IN PLACE
Christ the King.
The 12 apostles.
The 24 elders of Revelation.
The 144,000.
All of Israel - Now “priests of God and the Lamb”
Ezekiel 44:23-24 describes the role of the priests who serve in the New Temple. They will judge,
decide disputes, and teach the law, just as they did during the time before Israel had an earthly king. (Lev. 9:1, Exo. 29:35, Lev. 8:33-35, Deut. 21:5, Deut. 33:8).
THE NEW COVENANT WILL BE FULLY REALIZED.
Ezekiel 36:23-36 "’And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.’ ‘For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.’ ‘Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations.’ ‘Not for your sake do I do this,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!’”
“Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it.’"
NOTICE: This transformation is NOT fully realized UNTIL the people have returned to the land.
NOTICE: There are “nations which are left all around.” They see this transformation of Israel.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, the days are coming says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people.”
Jeremiah 32:37-41 “‘Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’”
NOTE: Isaiah 56:3-8 makes it very clear that the “everlasting covenant” will include persons from all nations (non-biological descendants of Jacob).
NOTE: The author of Hebrews, in the New Testament, repeats the New Covenant promise. (Hebrews 8:10).
THE NATIONS WILL BE INVITED TO “COME UP” TO JERUSALEM
FOR THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES.
Zechariah 14:16-19 “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain, they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”
NOTE: During the Old Testament period, the Passover feast and festival included ONLY Israelites, (those in covenant) as did the Pentecost. At the Feast of Ingathering, also called the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot, Gentiles were invited to take part. In fulfillment of the type, “the nations” will be invited and encouraged to come up to Jerusalem to worship God and His Son. Some will accept this invitation. Others will not.
NOTICE that “EVERYONE who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem SHALL go up” to keep the Feast. ALL of those who are left, WILL “go up.” This fact tells me that “those who are left” ARE Israelites, the people of God, who have been returned to the land. Compare Isaiah 66:18-21.
Isaiah 66:18-21 The LORD “will gather all nations.” “They shall come and see My glory.” “I will set a sign among them; those among them who escape I will send to the nations:” to all “who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles.” Then they will bring others “to My holy mountain Jerusalem.” And the LORD will also take some of those who have been brought, “for priests and Levites.” The population of Jerusalem will increase - just as other prophets foretold.
NOTE: From every nation, kindred, and language there will be a few who have come to Christ, and have been raised in the “first resurrection.” These people will be sent back to their kindred, to witness for Christ.
Also compare Zechariah 3:7-8: The “companions who sit before” Joshua (Jesus) the High Priest, will be “a wondrous sign.”
CHRIST WILL SIT TO JUDGE THE NATIONS
SOME WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM - OTHERS WILL NOT
Matthew 25:31-46 " When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” ... "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ... And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
NOTE: All of the nations are not “gathered before Him” at the second coming. Most are being killed by the plagues. I believe that this prophecy will be fulfilled during the 8th Day, after the millennium.
Isaiah 66:18 “It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and see My glory.”
Jeremiah 16:19-21 (Verses 14-15 describe the promised return of Israel to the land) “The Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth ...” “I will cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that My name is the LORD.”
NOTES CONCERNING A 7TH DAY SCENARIO:
Many believe that Christ will return to set up His kingdom on this earth during the 7th millennium - that is, during the 1000 years which immediately follow the second coming. In this scenario, many Gentile, non-believers will somehow survive the plagues. I cannot believe this. These people BELONG to Satan. They are his subjects. They have taken “the mark” and “worshiped the beast and his image.” The Beast power is “given authority over EVERY tribe, tongue, and nation. And ALL who dwell on the earth WILL worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:7-8, 16) Yet in the “7th Day” scenario, they are NOT “tormented with fire and brimstone” as prophesied through John. (Revelation 14:9-11). They survive through a miracle of Christ - to live for 1000 years, in peace, free from Satan’s temptations. Why?? And what of those who have died - all down through history - apart from Christ? Why are they not permitted to live in this kingdom of peace? In the “days of Noah,” everyone who did not get on the boat - died! Christ is our ark of safety. Only those who are rescued by Christ at His coming will live through the 1000 years. I believe that the 8th Day scenario makes much more sense. All of those who have never come to Christ will sleep through the 7th millennium, and will be resurrected at the same time, on the 8th Day. They will be governed and taught by the “priests of God and of Christ.” Some of these people will come to faith in Christ, and will be saved.
Satan will deceive the whole world. He will set up a counterfeit antichrist, so that he can appear “second.” He will bring on counterfeit plagues, and a counterfeit “battle of Armageddon,”so that the world will believe that he is Christ come. (I believe that he will use the current nation of Israel as the focal point of his grand deception.) His deception will be so perfect that ONLY those whose names are “written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” will see through that deception and refuse to worship the Beast or to take his mark. (Revelation 13:7-8, 16) Only those who are illuminated by the Spirit of Christ will escape the deception.
Our study continues with Part Four - “The Lake of Fire.”
Of those resurrected AFTER the 1000 years, what will happen to those who refuse to submit to the government of Christ? And what will the LORD do with those who were “cut off from the people” at the time of the first resurrection?
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