Feast of Tabernacles 2020
(Sermon Notes) By Warren Zehrung 10/3/2020
Brethren, we are here today to picture what the wonderful world tomorrow – the Kingdom of God on earth – is going to be like.
The Theme of this year’s Feast is: A quiet and peaceable life. The Theme comes from Paul’s instructions to Timothy:
1Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
1Timothy 2:2 For Sovereigns, and for all [leaders] who are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and honesty.
In today’s sermon we will be Painting a Picture of Peace (Title)
The Jews greet one another on the Sabbath with, “Shabbat Shalom.” Happy Sabbath! “Shalom” means more than “Happy.” “Shalom” means peace, and much more. “Shalom” carries the connotation of the tranquility and harmony of Justice, “Shalom” means, “may you have Prosperity, Salvation, Healthiness,” “Shalom” means, I wish you Fullness, Wholeness, Integrity, Soundness, Righteousness and Well-being. “Peace” means so much more than the lack of war.
When Jesus establishes the Kingdom of God on earth – He will be establishing Shalom – Peace.
Daniel 7:27 The Kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.
Music: O when the saints – Go marching in – Yes I want to be in that number – When the saints go marching in. Brethren, who will be in that number when the saints go marching in?
Revelation 3:21 To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
It is only those who overcome the evil of this world who will inherit the Kingdom. We are the blessed recipients of His promise to be the first to inherit the Kingdom just as it is being established on earth by the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in His glory…
Matthew 25:34 The King shall say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Brethren, this Feast pictures that day! …the Kingdom we are going to inherit. You would think that people would be beating down the door to find out about the Kingdom of God. I can think of no greater words that I would rather hear than those of Jesus Christ saying, …“Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” That Kingdom will be an entirely new world – the old world having been destroyed:
Zephaniah 3:8 …for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
Zephaniah 3:9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent.
How can that be? The answer is that it will be a converted world.
Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
In God’s Kingdom we will find a very enjoyable environment of Peaceful relationships, fellowship, unity, and togetherness: Brethren, when you think of the Millennium, what is your favorite picture that comes to your mind? What do you picture in your thoughts when you think of Christ’s rule to come?
Jesus Christ was ordained, anointed and appointed by His Father to be the Messiah. One of the first roles that we are aware of in that of the Creator God.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Remember this: We are to reign and rule with Jesus in the Millennium. These are Millennial Scriptures:
Isaiah 9:7 Of the [tremendous] increase of His [Kingdom Power empire, realm, and domain of jurisdiction,] and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
There will be a never ending spreading forth of the Gospel Peace that will go on and on and on… Today is a double-Sabbath – a High Sabbath Holy Day. The weekly Sabbath rest day of God’s creative week prophetically shows us that we are very near the end of the first six-thousand years of God’s seven-thousand-year Plan. There are few who understand that the Sabbath is a memorial of creation, or who believe that the weekly Sabbath rest is the promise of the prophesied one-thousand-year Kingdom of God on earth (Revelation 20:6). The Sabbath is a sign that identifies the people with whom God is working (Exodus 31:13).
Isaiah paints a beautiful Picture of what the Millennial Kingdom of God will be like.
Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: [The Branch is Jesus Christ the Messiah]
Isaiah 11:2 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;
Isaiah 11:3 And shall make him of [inspired] 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:
Isaiah 11:4 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.
Isaiah 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
The natural status of all living things will be brought back to the original condition in which God created them. The very character of animals will become peaceful as God has always intended.
Isaiah 11:6 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.
Isaiah 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isaiah 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
We see a picture of a peaceful earth.
Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain [the realm in which Jesus Christ will rule]: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, [The Root is Jesus Christ the Messiah] which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest [one-thousand year] shall be glorious.
The small scattered remnant of the Israelitish peoples who will have barely survived the Tribulation, will then be gathered from the four corners of the earth. Jesus said that there will not be many survivors of the tribulation:
Matthew 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved alive: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Isaiah 11:11 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.
How will these young survivors know where to go once they have been set free from their slave labor camps?
Isaiah 11:12 And [the Lord] 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.
The Messiah will be directing these survivors to the Land of Israel to establish a new homeland in the exact same place where the Temple of God once stood.
Isaiah 60:4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
Isaiah 60:5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
Isaiah 60:9 Surely the isles [islands – distant lands around the earth] shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because He has glorified you.
Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
“top of the mountains” is God’s dominion is above every nation on earth in power, jurisdiction, rule, righteousness and peace.
Isaiah 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
There will be world peace, as nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more:
Isaiah 2:4 And [the LORD] shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and 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.
We are seeing Isaiah Painting a Picture of Peace
Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse;
Revelation 19:14 And the [Saints] who were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Revelation 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Even then, the world will still want to wage war…
Revelation 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
But, as we just saw in verse :14, the [Saints] who were in heaven as the Bride of the Lamb followed Jesus upon white horses – coming to establish Peace upon the earth for the Millennium. And in spite of Christ and the Saints overwhelming victory, some nations will yet be reluctant to celebrate this Feast we are commemorating.
Zechariah 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of tabernacles.
If some nations will not come to the Feast—God will shut their water off!
Zechariah14:17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
God is serious about keeping the Feast. If they will still refuse to Keep the Feast – God will show His resolve by allowing another pandemic to strike them – like the warning that is going to all the earth right now.
Zechariah 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the Feast of tabernacles.
Zechariah 14:19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
It is Isaiah – who again Paints a most beautiful Peaceful Picture of the Millennium. To me there is nothing more peaceable than Rural Pastoral scenes. When my wife and I are riding through the countryside—and come across a beautiful white fence around an idyllic pasture – or we drive through a flourishing vineyard, or a blossoming orchard, and we say, “Look, a Millennial scene.” God describes this millennial view in Isaiah 65
Notice the reverse time order beginning at the Last Great Day – and working its way back to the beginning of the Millennium:
Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
That is speaking of the Day of God when all physical matter will have been converted to Spiritual.
New heavens and a New earth – that will be the subject for the Eighth Day of the Feast – the Last Great Day.
From where we are in time, that will be beyond the Millennium.
Isaiah 65:18 But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create [New] Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
Isaiah 65:19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
We have come to the time of the Great White Throne Judgment
Isaiah 65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
Isaiah 65:21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
Isaiah 65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Isaiah 65:23 They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; [a time of Peace] for they are the seed [Children of God] of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
Isaiah 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Matthew 6:8 …your Father knows what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.
Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says the LORD.
Brethren, the reason that we are experiencing so many trials and lessons in this life – even in this Church environment – is so that we will know how to be Kings and Priests in the Millennium – teaching God’s new people the principles of Christianity.
Isaiah 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Jesus is looking forward to the Millennium:
Matthew 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.
This painful world needs the Peace that Jesus will establish in the Millennial Kingdom of God:
Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Isaiah 35:2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
We will have Healing
Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
Isaiah 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. [That is Jesus our Savior]
The return to the Land of Israel will be the ultimate fulfillment of the Promise made to Israel at the time of the Exodus:
Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swore unto their fathers to give them.
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commanded him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Isaiah 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
Isaiah 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water [God’s Holy Spirit]: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
Isaiah 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, [for the remnant all over the world] and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
Isaiah 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed / Redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Again, God will Gather His People – Israel
Jeremiah 31:6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.
Jeremiah 31:7 … O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
Some of the returning survivors will already be starting their families.
Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the [pregnant] woman with child and her that travails with child together: a great company shall return thither.
There will not be many Israelites to begin the Millennium. God does not need many to Start Over! Look at it this way; God started with only Adam and Eve. 1650 years later God started over with only Noah’s small family of three sons.
God began the Church with only 120 names at Pentecost. (Acts 1:15) God is able to work with very few.
Jeremiah 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
Jeremiah 31:9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Jeremiah 31:10 Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
Jeremiah 31:11 For the LORD hath redeemed [bought back] Jacob [Out of Jacob’s trouble], and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd [Pictures of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Millennium]: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
Much healing will be required after the extremes of the Tribulation.
Jeremiah 31:13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and I will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
Jeremiah 31:14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
Ezekiel 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
Ezekiel 34:24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
Let’s look at The Lord’s Covenant of Peace
Ezekiel 34:25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
Ezekiel 34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
Ezekiel 34:27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
Ezekiel 34:28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.
Gather the Remnant
Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
The Spiritual Picture
Ezekiel 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Ezekiel 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Jesus Will Rule Throughout the Millennium
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ [Messiah]; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
The Saints will Rule with Jesus throughout the Millennium
Revelation 20:4 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.
Revelation 20:6 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.
In the one-thousand-year millennium, Jesus Christ will be establishing His Father’s Kingdom of Peace over all the earth.
End: Paint a Picture of Peace
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