Reading—K. Thonney
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
It is right so.
Hard to do it and all the rest of the forever.
Run away.
Was the Garden Father, as we think of a person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy One, who knew no sin, and yes, was made sin, that blessed face which shown as the sun on the mountain, Transfiguration was spit upon.
A man so maltreated from the Son of thy law in his own creation. But Lord, thou art now exalted to the highest place in heaven, and shortly we shall be called away from this defiled scene to share my glory. We thank Thee for such grace as this and praise Thee. We worship thee. And we thank you too for this season, this Oasis that we've enjoyed.
Right now, as we come to this last Bible, reading that now it's make it good to our souls. As we contemplate the blessedness into which we have been brought, we pray too.
My dear brethren who are now on their journey homeward, it's always keep them in safety over the highways. They wait upon thee, blessed God, and give thee thanks. That name above all others, that of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
And we know that.
In a coming day after the Lord comes, he will set up his Kingdom, and there will be the wonderful millennial reign of Christ.
But then we find in Scripture very sparsely referred to the eternal state. But it's most blessed to see what characterizes it and.
We're aware, I trust, that the 1St 8 verses of Revelation 21 bring that before us. And so I wonder, would it be profitable just to consider that for the time and see what is the, shall we say, the culmination of God's dealings as far as heaven and earth are concerned?
Sounds good to me.
It's not very long, but usually we find that 8 verses is more than enough to occupy us for a meeting.
Revelation 21.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the 1St heaven and the first earth were passed away.
00:05:02
And there was number more sea. And I, John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death.
Neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.
For the former, things are passed away and he that sat upon the throne said.
Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, right, for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and ************ and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
We took up this subject and a little more at Hammer Bay.
And it might be.
Well, to discover where.
The eternal state fits in because we can talk about that and people say, what's that? When is it?
The next thing on God's timetable is the.
After the Lord Jesus is coming for the living believers and those dead in Christ, they will rise. They'll all go up together to meet the Lord in the air. And that is followed by a period of at least seven years. Daniel 70th week. It's often referred to and it will be the time of the great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, nor ever shall be. So that synchronizes the other scriptures of that.
Character, because there can only be one that fits that definition. And that will be a time too, when the Lord will judge the world. When He comes back at the end of that, that will be the appearing at the end of that period. And when He appears, He will set up His judgment of the living nations and have that in Matthew 25.
And that will usher in His Kingdom, the Millennium, because it's 1000 years. That's what a Millennium means. He will reign in righteousness. And at the end of that period, He will turn over the Kingdom to God, even the Father.
And that will bring in then the eternal state or not.
And I guess I I suggested this because.
We're living right on the brink, if we could say it this way, of the Lords return and we know that after the Lord has taken the church home, he will begin to deal with this earth again.
In judgment, and as our brother has mentioned, there will be a time of tribulation and then the Lord will set up His Kingdom.
At the end of that Kingdom, there is a further rebellion against his power and authority, a final rebellion which is put down. And then, of course, we also get the great White Throne judgment that's given to us in the 20th chapter here of Revelation, but then is ushered in the eternal state here. And at least to my own soul, it has been very encouraging to see.
That this is the.
End purpose, if we could put it that way, of God's purposes from the ages past in order to have everything brought together in the right way. We know in Ephesians one and 10 he says he's going to gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. And no doubt that takes place in the Millennium.
00:10:06
But there's still sin that rears its head in the Millennium. There is still judgment that is necessary.
But then it says, when you have put down all rule and all power and all authority, then the eternal state is ushered in. And these are not my own words, but I never heard it summed up any better.
A brother in some of our written ministry made this remark and I thought it was so beautiful and I just, I pass it on, he said. The Millennium is necessary.
For the public vindication of God's holy character.
We can understand that man has dragged his glory in the dust. Satan has usurped the place that belonged to the Lord Himself. Sin has reigned unto death for hundreds and thousands of years. Now God is going to vindicate His holy character in a 1000 year millennial reign of Christ on earth. But then the brother went on to say if the Millennium is for the public vindication of God's holy character.
The eternal state is for the eternal satisfaction of God's heart. The Millennium has a finite limit. Judgment has a finite limit. It has a time period attached to it. But then God brings in what is really for the satisfaction of his heart, and that is the eternal state. So I just say that. And I know others can develop what we have here better than I, but if we keep that thought in mind, it'll help us to see the description here and.
How it fits in with God's purposes.
In the 15th chapter of First Corinthians we have the thought they're brought into, don't we? And just read the verse here.
Verse.
28 We could read other verses here, but I'll just read the 1St. 28 of 615 For he has put all things under his feet. Who? Christ, who all turned under his under his feet?
That when He says all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is accepted which did put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall also the Son also Himself.
Be subject unto him, for all things under him. And this is what I was thinking about, that God may be All in all.
And somebody has said it culminates back to its source for God.
To see as we read these verses that they were read, and notice nothing you said about the land here.
It's God.
All true.
It is important to to realize that the rest of the chapter does not continue with the eternal state.
It doesn't continue that way and it will be confusing if anybody supposes that. And again refers to the Millennium and the difference is that in the eternal state we have the statement the dwelling place of God with men.
That is the redeemed from all the dispensations the church is.
The dwelling place of God with men you know. The bride is the city.
But in the first part of the chapter, when it is the eternal state, the emphasis is on the city being the bride.
And in connection with the Millennium, the emphasis is on the bride being the city, because the bride shares in their glory, but the dwelling place of God with men is connected with the eternal state. But then we find in connection with the Millennium in verse 26.
And they shall bring the glory of the nation.
And the glory and honor of the nations unto it. I think it's a correct rendering unto that city. There are nations in existing in existence in the Millennium, but not in the eternal state.
00:15:14
These are key verbs in these in this chapter to help us to understand and the Spirit of God does not always give things in the Word of God.
In the way they will take place in succession.
You know, one thing after the other. So we find here in the rest of the chapter the Millennium. But it's a wonderful thing that the church is the bride of Christ.
For all eternity we will be in that position, and there is a difference between the redeemed from the other dispensations and from those who are safe at this time, who make up the Church. We will be in a more intimate and close relationship.
Than any St. that ever lived before. But then we also even find some Revelation 5 that the redeemed will reign not on the earth, but over the earth in the Millennium. He will share their glory with us.
Not only has He secured heaven for us, He also makes sure that we share in that earthly glory. He was rejected and despised here, and He will have His day of glory when He comes back in power and glory, and He will bring us along and have us share in it. And these are all wonderful things to know.
But.
That will be all for His glory when He comes with all the redeemed. He doesn't only come with all the same as we have it in First Thessalonians 3, the last verse, He also comes with all the holy angels.
There will be quite a company that comes with Him and we will have all part in that. The Lord Jesus doesn't want to, as it were, a whole of that which He has titled to without bringing us into it. Hmm.
That his inheritance in the Saints, as we have it in Ephesians, is not to be understood. That the Saints are the inheritance.
In leading his own into it, he possesses it in his own, and he will not even want that earthly glory without.
Sharing it with us. You know, we had John Sadak here, and I think he'll forgive me to mention that, but John has a very nice apartment in Cairo and he took us into that apartment when he already had it.
But he didn't want to live there without having a wife to share it with. Now he has a wife and he lives there. I'm just using that as an example.
The Lord Jesus will lay hold of these things and share it with us. He doesn't want to have it just by Himself.
Just to give a a quick outline of events, the next event will be the Rapture when we're taken up to heaven.
And that will be for us the beginning of eternity, won't it? Because we'll be in our glorified bodies, but not for the earth. Then there'll be the tribulation period. That's Revelation 6 to 19. And then the Lord comes. And then I just want to touch quickly on then there's 1000 year reign, and that's mentioned in the 20th chapter.
It says.
Pick it up in verse five. The rest of the dead live. Not again until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection.
And then verse seven. And when the 1000 years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. Satan is bound for the 1000 years, so he's not free to tempt men as he is today. It'll be a rule of righteousness and wonderful time. It's called the regeneration, when everything will be headed up in Christ, heavenly and earthly. And when the 1000 years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.
And she'll go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth. Now that's still a time. Picture the nations. That's the end of the Millennium. Now Gog and Magog to gather them together to battle the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the Saints about and the beloved city, that's Jerusalem, earthly Jerusalem. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. After 1000 year reign, Satan still finds those that will follow him in rebellion against God.
00:20:28
And then it says, and the devil that deceived them, verse 10 was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. They were cast there at the beginning of the Millennium. And now Satan is cast there at the end. And they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then you have the final judgment of the great white throne in verse 11 to just quickly to touch on it, because this is, you might say this is between time and eternity. It's right there.
Time has really ended and eternity is about to begin, but there has to be the judgment of the wicked dead. And that's what you have in these last verses and in verse eight of our chapter that we read. I'll read it. And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. So here you have the earth and the the present earth and the present heavens.
Which has been regenerated. It's called the regeneration into the millennial state.
That's also called a new heavens and the new earth in Isaiah, but that's not the same as the new heavens and the new earth that we read of in Revelation 21. One, that's the eternal state. That's not the same heavens in the earth. There's no more sea in the eternal state, but there is still in the Millennium.
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. That's the unsaved dead. Now they stand before God. There's resurrection.
And they come into a resurrected body. We don't know what it's like, but they'll stand before God complete as soul, spirit and body. And and then they were judged out of the books, the things which were written in the books. And verse 13 says the sea gave up the dead which were in it, Death and Hades, that it's not hell because the lake of fire is hell. Death and Hades. That's the disembodied state, death for the body.
Hades for the spirit and soul. When a person dies, his spirit and soul goes into the disembodied state, and that's called Hades, a place for the departed spirit. The Lord for the Saints calls it to, to depart and be with Christ is far better, and it's called paradise in Luke 16, Abraham's bosom and so on. That's the disembodied state. But Hades describes that condition and notice what it says.
Death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works, and Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. That means there will be no more death after this point in time, if you can call it a point in time, there'll be no more death for the body, nor the spirit and soul going into the disembodied state. That will end, and man will be complete.
With a spirit, soul and body from this point on.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And notice verse eight of our chapter. But the fearful, that's chapter 21. And unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers and ************ and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars.
Shall have their part in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. So that eighth verse of chapter 21 is, you might say, complete what we had at the end of chapter 20. And the 1St 7 verses describes the eternal state for the believer.
May I comment on debt?
What is important to understand that death in the word of God?
Is not only used for the physical death when the soul and spirit leaves the body, that is also used for being separated from God through sin. And so you find when those who are judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, when they are judged and when they are referred to, they are spoken of as the death standing there.
00:25:04
They are raised, but they're still spoken of as death. They're still not in a relationship to God, dead in sins and trespasses, That says in Ephesians. And then when they are judged, this is the second death.
You know when sin entered.
This spiritual death separation from God took place.
But the grace of God can quicken a spiritually dead soul now and bring him into a relationship to God. But when they are judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, there is no hope for such. That second death is eternal separation from God. It's awful to think of it. Not only that, they will be in hell.
And sharing Satan's portion, God didn't make it for man, He made for hell for the devil and his angels, but they share that portion with Satan for all eternity. But there is also never any hope of being reconciled to God to be brought into spiritual life.
These are wonderful things to know that there is presently the possibility of one who is spiritually dead.
To be quickened, to be made alive and be brought into relationship with God. If there's anyone in the audience here that isn't safe, you better take advantage of the grace that is being offered to you. Otherwise you might stand there before the great White Throne Judgment. Only the unbelievers stand there, the believer. There is no judgement for the believer. We shall not come into judgment.
We read in John chapter 5, We have passed from death unto life. There is no judgment for us.
There is the judgment seat of Christ.
And we ourselves at that time will not be judged. Our life will be judged. Our life will be looked at.
And it's just like a teacher looking at the work that somebody has done, school work, the homework, and looking it over to God at that time when we stand before the judgement seat of Christ.
We shall all appear there.
Our life is evaluated, and whatever was not of God will be recognized and we will fully side with God's judgment about it. But whatever was of God in our life will be recognized and rewarded. It's a wonderful truth that we ourselves will not come into judgment, but our life will be judged. It will be appraised, you might say, and what is of God will be recognized and rewarded.
Yeah, we should be exercised that he had done so much for us, saving us from eternal judgment and bringing us into such a wonderful relationship that there be something for us that we can be rewarded and that there will be crowns giving given.
Someone has said, wouldn't you like to have some of those crowns so that you have something to cast at the feet of the Lord Jesus?
But they recognize by doing that the same is if there was anything in our life for God, that is by the grace of God that we were able to be something for him and by the Lords help and the spirits help. So we give credit fully to the Lord. We don't take it for ourselves. That's why the Saints cast their crowns at his feet. So there ought to be an exercise that there be something in our life.
Or the Lord that has done so much for us and He would want to bring that about in every one of us. I'd like to add to that another death. But first of all, they emphasized what you were just saying in John 525, the the Lord is speaking and he says, verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead. That's the morally and spiritually dead, not the physically dead.
But the morally dead here, the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. Now that happens at the new birth, when a soul is is quickened and born of God, he, the soul that hears the voice of the Son of God lives. So he passes from death to life. Then there's physical death, a loved one dies. We know they're put in the ground and so on. And then there's the second death, which you've pointed out.
00:30:29
Is eternal separation from God. And then there's what you have in Romans 6.
That we are dead to sin and that stated of a believer, we have died to sin to that sin principle and we now live to God. So death it's important to distinguish these different meanings of death in Scripture because otherwise you get all confused. And the second death is in our in our passage eternal.
Separation from God. When the soul is cast into the lake of fire, sometimes you hear it stated that certain souls that have departed and they're suffering are like the rich man in Luke 16, that they're in hell. I don't think there's anyone in hell yet. There's no one in the lake of fire yet. They're in the disembodied state, but the hell is the lake of fire. When they're in the embodied state, they have received the resurrection body and they are spirit, soul and body cast into hell.
That's that's an awful thing, but that's man. He has to be. He has to be complete.
In his final condition of existence, he doesn't have, he doesn't have eternal life, of course, but he he has eternal existence in the Lake of fire, which is a terrible thing to consider, isn't it?
There's a lot of enjoyment as we read these verses as we read, and I was thinking of how precious it is as we read here in verse three. I know we're not going to cover it all, but I just just thinking of this, I heard a great voice.
Out of heavens, then behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men.
He's living with them, the Tabernacles with them, then.
And God himself.
Shall be their God.
And God shall wipe away with all tears on their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.
For the former things after the way, but I just thought how beautiful all this is when you think about it for the child of God. And if there's anyone here that isn't saved, you want to be sure that you're brought in there because you're going to meet God someday. And it's a very important thing to see that. So how beautiful it is when we can read these things as a child of God to see how wonderful it is to know.
God is going to dwell.
It doesn't say here.
The Tabernacle of God is with them, but he goes well with them. All different, that is.
It was read about the the Millennium that the nations will have to come and give their reverence to the Lord.
But when we come to the eternal state, there's no nations who might just notice that it's.
God dwelling with men, human beings. They're not nations anymore.
And we'll no doubt all have one language.
One time, one of our trips to Japan, one of the sisters said to my wife, wouldn't it be wonderful when we get to heaven and we all speak the same language?
Because our Japanese is non existent in their English is not very good. We couldn't communicate like we'd like to. Well we all understand that. But when we are in that eternal state it will be just men and women, people dwelling with God. And also back in Peter that where dwelling comes again. Second Peter 3/13.
Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
In the Millennium, righteousness reigns, but there's nothing to rain. Raining has to do with authority to and control and so on. But there won't be any raining in the in the eternal state, but dwelling, even righteousness will dwell.
00:35:17
There will be never any unrighteousness there, it'll just be a solid-state of righteousness.
There's three worlds.
In second Peter 3.
Starting just with verse six or five. For this they willingly are ignorant of that. By the word of God, the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished. That's the world before the flood, and it came to an end in that flood. But the heavens and earth which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved.
Unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. That world continues right to the end, as we have that outline when fire from God comes down, and the heavens melt with a fervent heat, and all is consumed in fire. But then as our brother read.
13 Nonetheless, we, according to His promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. The dispensations of God, properly speaking, I'll say conventionally because we use that word dispensation broadly, and I don't have a problem with it. But properly speaking, the dispensations of God, the ordered dealings of God with men on the earth, began with government, and Noah and God divided the earth.
In the days of the Tower of Babel.
And that was the beginning of the nations, that confounding of men by giving different languages. And when God sent the bounds of those different nations, we could read in Deuteronomy, I think it's 30 two, he set the bounds for the children of Israel and he appointed them their portion in their place.
It was seized on by the Canaanites. Mr. Darby calls it the jewel of the Orient. But God trusts them out in time and brought Israel in and his purposes. The world that then was, that was overthrown with the flood and the world to come have similarities. Before the flood, there were no nations in the world to come. There are no nations in the world before the flood. There was no government. Man was left to his own conscience, to each individually. In the world to come, there's no need for government because there's no evil to put down.
In that sense, there's no government. The world before the flood is not part of the dispensations of God, and the world to come does not hold any part of the dispensations of God either. In that middle world is when all the unfolding of the mystery takes place. God's purposes with Israel come to a culmination are complete. But we see in our chapters has been already mentioned. But just to bring it into connection with that, the Bride, the holy.
City New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven to this earth, the dwelling place of God with man. We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. We speak that.
Hidden wisdom and a mystery.
In First Corinthians 2.
Which was before the foundation of the world.
And as presented to us in Scripture.
Although God knew all of His purposes from an eternity past, yet the Church is presented the mystery.
Is presented as having its conception from before the foundation of the world. It will continue after the foundations of this world that we are in now come to an end in that judgment of science. She continues on with that which had its conception. If I can say according to Deuteronomy 32, in this world God set the bounds of Israel when He divided those nations. When the times of nations comes to an end.
So doesn't Israel.
So we are not seen as being part of the men.
We are part of that city, the church, the men, I want to reemphasize that, refer to the same that are saved from the various dispensations, and we are seeing as that city as the bride. But I remember, Chuck, you mentioned there are in Ephesians verses that show the truth of the church being the bride in a more intimate way than what we have here.
00:40:10
Who ordered speaks of the intimate relationship that we have here, that is, that the Bride has part with the Lord in that eternal glory. But in Ephesians we have.
The union that exists and it is likened to what is true of men and women. When God instituted marriage, He wanted to give us a picture of what He had in mind concerning Christ and the Church.
I like to put that out as.
An admonition for us who are husbands.
You know, do we have an exercise and are mindful of the facts that in our marriage relationship we can in weakness give a demonstration of what is perfectly true of Christ and the Church. When I became interested in beginner in Germany.
A dear St.
Said to me, fine, never forget in your relationship with that girl.
The truth of Christ and the church. Can you give a better advice to a young fellow that is seriously considering to get married? But I'm only referring to that to remind us. This is a more intimate picture in Ephesians than what we have here. But it is an eternal picture here, and what is presented here is going to be.
Eternally the portion of.
The Church, the bride of Christ, the city.
And so where we write in saying that when we have the expression in verse four, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, that in Revelation refers to an earthly company, it refers to God's dealings with the earth. There's no need for God in that same sense to wipe away all tears from the eyes of the church. That you might say, goes without saying when they're taken up to that heavenly scene.
And so whenever you find the expression, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, it seems to me to refer to an earthly company. We get it in reference to the Millennium. We get it here in reference to the eternal state, because God is going to remove.
You might well in the Millennium. Of course, all sorrow isn't totally gone yet, but God is going to bring His people into marvelous blessing then once more.
For the last time he has to do it here. He wipes away all tears from their eyes, and it says there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. Well, as Brother Chuck has already mentioned, that begins for the believer with the Lord's coming with the rapture. As soon as you and I are caught up to be with the Lord in the air, effectively all the sorrow will cease. But not so for this world. It still has to go through a terrible time of sorrow.
But thank God, there is a day coming when He's going to be able to wipe all that away for the very last time. Has it not been, brethren, the desire of God to dwell with man throughout the history of man?
And what we find, of course, as we well know, the failure that had came in, starting with Adam.
The failure that came in, starting with, secondly, with Israel.
And we've been occupied, have we not, beloved brethren, in Revelation chapter 3?
With Philadelphia and Laodicea, the failure that began with the church leaving its first love.
For the other feasts, and it's looked at it as a feast in a certain sense and in its own right, and it's really the object to which all the other feasts head to. The other feasts are the ways of God to bring his people around himself, that he might be the center of the United people around himself. But as we had earlier, Finn separate, and God's principle of unity is separation from evil. But when we come to this state and evil is forever gone and every trace of it, there can be no separation anymore.
00:45:02
And the Millennium, as was mentioned.
There's still sin to be judged. And if we looked at a scripture in Hosea that gives us a little picture of of the Millennium in in connection with the Spears of heaven and earth, we see there's communion, but it's different than what we have in our chapter and Hosea 2.
Verse 21 And it shall come to pass from that day. I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth. And so there's a communion that's going to take place in the Millennium, can't take place today. But when righteousness reigns and sin is put down, that communion can take place. But in our chapter we have the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. Now there's still the two spheres.
There's the earth and the heaven, and they remain eternally to distinct fears. But the holy city, New Jerusalem, is now the habitation of God with men on the earth. Two distinct spheres, but it's like one balloon blown up inside another. They occupy the same space, if I could put it that way. That new city forever retains its character, is divine in origin from God, heavenly.
In her character.
But the dwelling place of God with men, there's no separation anymore between those two spheres, though they continue as distinct spheres. So they're brought closer in the Millennium. But here in the eternal state, there's no sin. There's no reason for separation of any kind. But in the in the Millennium, there's still Israel and the nations on earth. But in the eternal state, there are no nations anymore.
There's no distinct Israel. It's just men with God, right. And the distance between heaven and earth now is great. And the Lord taught the disciples to pray thy will be done, Father on earth as it is in heaven. And that will be the Millennium and then the eternal state. It's like they're together. They're I don't know how to put it. There's no distinction. There's, there's the the assembly, I think is the only thing that's distinguished in the eternal state, the habitation of God.
But all the rest is men, and there won't be Jews and Gentiles then, because.
That's that only pertains to time. This is the eternity, eternity, right? There's no, there's no Jews and Gentiles in eternity. It's just men and the church. Is that right? And the key to that, I think is what Brother Heinz mentioned at the beginning. Maybe he'd say that again, because I think it's so good about the difference in the emphasis between the bride and the city and the Millennium and in the eternal state. The emphasis in the eternal state is.
That the city is the bride. Hmm.
And in the eternal state is that the bride is the city, the Millennium, in the Millennium, I'm sorry, in the Millennium. But I like to also mention for our own personal exercise and enjoyment is what the Lord says in John 14.
In John 14.
Verse 23.
Said to him, if anyone loved me, he will keep my word.
And my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him. That is what the individual believer can enjoy now that the Father and the Lord Jesus makes his abode with those who.
Bowed to His word, obey His word. That can be enjoyed now, but what we're having here in Revelation is eternal. It's going to be perfect. And you know, if we don't obey the Lord at the present time, we cannot enjoy communion with the Father and with the Son. They would love to have fellowship and communion with us.
If we obey His word, but in that eternal state, there is no possibility of any sin to ever come, for pride and blessed sin where sin can never come, whose side our longing spirit means. From earth where yet we roam. And then I like to also mention.
There, about sorrow and weeping, somebody might ask the question.
00:50:08
If a believer is going to get to heaven and then find that some of his children or some of his relatives, perhaps even the parents, are not going to be there, is that going to lead to sorrow? Will that mar the joy of heaven? I don't think so.
Because we will fully agree.
With God's judgment.
At the present time, you better be grieving and sorrowing.
Where those who are our loved ones don't accept the gospel or go on in a sinful way so that we might even have to question whether they are truly Christians and cried to the Lord but once we are there in glory.
We will notice lack of seeing some of our relatives there.
It will not mar the joy of heaven. You will agree. Won't you have a question to Ephesians 110?
It speaks of a dispensation or an administration, and it speaks of the fullness of times. Does that include, does that refer to the Millennium or does that go into the eternal state? There wouldn't be any administration in the eternal state, is there?
It's the Millennium.
Thank you dispensation of the fullness of times whenever you're talking about.
Dispensation. It's time, not eternity.
Time to left ceased in the eternal state. Yes. I wanted to read though in connection with, well going back a little bit, Isaiah 65, so that when you read a passage like this, you don't confuse it with the eternal state of Revelation 21 and and second Peter 3.
It sounds like it, but let's read it a minute. Isaiah 6517.
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind. Now he's referring here to the Millennium, not to the eternal state, but the Millennium. But it's called a new heavens and a new earth, and notice how it reads.
But be ye glad, and rejoice forever in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy, and I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people. And the voice of weeping shall be no more hurt in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more fence and infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days.
For the child shall die 100 years old, but the Sinner shall, being 100 years old, shall be accursed, and they shall build houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them, and so on. That's the millennial. That's not the eternal state. And yet it's called the new heavens and the new earth. So there are two new heavens and new earth. There's the millennial one, and then there's the eternal state one. Just one more comment on what our brother Tom was asking about. Ephesians one and 10.
I believe it's right to say that it's the Millennium there that is brought before us because the administration of the fullness of times does have to do with that which occurs in a time scene. However, it's with a view to what we are getting here, isn't it? Brother Harry Hayhoe used to remind us that the Millennium was really God's front porch to the eternal state.
That is, it is that which is heading up to that.
And so when the Lord Jesus finally puts down all rule and all power and all authority.
At the end of the Millennium, everything dealt with, everything judged, that final rebellion on earth taken care of, the great White Throne, judgment performed. Then the Lord delivers up the Kingdom to the Father as having completed everything that is for God's honor and glory and the vindication of his holy character. And then it's with a view to what we have here, isn't it, so that that can take place.
00:55:04
And then Brother Charles read it. It wasn't commented on, but it's in First Corinthians 15.
When the Lord delivers everything up to the Father, who put it all under his feet, he delivers it back to the Father.
Then shall the sun also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him. That's the Father that God may be All in all. That tells me that tells us that he'll never cease being a man. He'll be a man for all eternity because he'll be in the place of subjection in his manhood. Though he has gone over all blessed forever, yet he's always the God man. And that's a that's a a tremendous truth that we can't really fathom.
But that's true, and we will be in the presence of that man, and being in his presence, we will see God for the first time.
Ever and the whole thing is beyond our understanding, as you say, because when it's his that God may be All in all, I believe it's God in Trinity there, isn't it? It's not just the Father. So it's it's totally.
Beyond our understanding, isn't it?
It's a blessed thing, brethren. I think of Brother Heinz suggested this. The former things will be passed away. He also will emphasize that verse.
There will be no more death, neither sorrow, tears or crying, neither shall there be any more pain.
For the former, things are passed away, the contrast to those who have gone into a lost eternity into, as has been described to us, the second death.
Will be just the opposite.
Pain and sorrow.
Weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
No rest for all eternity, but just thinking about the former things have passed away regarding.
Our suffering and pain now concerning our loved ones.
Who may be?
Have passed away.
And are lost. We have a difficult time.
In our hearts struggling with these things, do we not? And our brother Heinz suggested that when we get there that we're with Christ, We will not only have the mind of Christ, but we will see everything from his viewpoint and judgment and understand perfectly. And there will never be, even if it was a child that was lost in our family, there will never be a sorrow that will ever cross our minds.
That will burden us. In that day, the former things will have been passed away. How wonderful to think of that. It's hard to understand that now, is it not? But in that day, it will be a wondrous day of worship and praise forever. But as our brother suggested, in this time that we live, now is the time to be burdened in prayer and in perhaps fasting for our children.
And our loved ones.
Our time is going and I wonder if we could have some comment on verse 6.
What is the thought there? And he said unto me, It is done. What is done there? What is he referring to?
Miss Darby has a note there. I cheated. I read the note. Perhaps they are fulfilled. It says it is done. Perhaps they are fulfilled.
Everything has come to fulfillment.
Nothing more to be done.
Yes, and I don't mean to answer my own question because it was an honest question, but on the Lord on the cross, the Lord Jesus said it is finished and that was his victors cry when redemption was complete. But here it's more you might say the thought that God has finally got to completion all of the purposes of the ages. And we get in another place it says where the mystery of God should be finished.
01:00:06
That is, everything here will be fully manifested as to God's ways. Now man raises the question and says, well why did God allow sin in the 1St place? Why did he allow such awful things to enter the world? Couldn't he and His sovereign authority and power have prevented Satan from tempting Eve and prevented sin from entering this world? Of course he could. I remember once a Muslim lady contested with me and she said, and couldn't God if he were really God?
By a word of His power, save a soul without having His Son to go to Calvary's cross. And so she raised questions about God's dealings with man. But here we find that everything comes to completion, and it's all brought out now. It's evident why God did allow sin, and what God is going to accomplish by it, and how far greater blessing has accrued first of all in honor and glory to His beloved Son, and then to man, than if sin had never entered this world.
But it's not mentioned until we get to the eternal state, when all is peace and rest, and when all sin that once was allowed to enter this universe has totally been removed. Here's the point at which what John the Baptist said will come to pass. Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. I don't suppose he realized the far reaching statement he was making when he said that. But it doesn't really take place until we get to this point, does it?
And so God says it is done because He identifies himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. But it's connected with, as it says, I will give unto him, that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. And so it's connected with the blessing that all flows from the finished work of Christ, that all of this is able to come to pass, and that there will be a scene of rest and peace for all eternity as a result of that.
Does that commend itself?
Yes. And what if this question that the Muslim woman asked, couldn't God have done it another way? The answer is no. He could only He could only do it because sin had come in. Well, why didn't sin come in? If sin hadn't been allowed to come in, we wouldn't know God is the God of all grace. We wouldn't know him as the justifier. We wouldn't know Him as the one who's forgiven us all our sins.
We wouldn't know of all the virtues and qualities of God. We wouldn't know Him as our Redeemer. We wouldn't know Him as our Savior. There'd be no forgiveness that would be needed, no justification, no redemption, no reconciliation, all of that that we enjoy and were brought into and which brings out the worship and adoration of our hearts that He has. Let us fall. Let man fall so low that He might remove all that and bring us into His very presence on a righteous and holy footing.
That we know because He's allowed Sin to come in. We wouldn't know any of that had he not yet. Somebody would answer that too, wouldn't it? Father? If it be possible, let this cup pass for me. It was not possible. That possible. We have the volume of the book the other night.
The book of God's secret, eternal Council.
And if we could take one phrase.
To give a sense of what's in that book, what could we put there? Well, we couldn't come up with it, but we have it in that Scripture. Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. And that's the force of that in the volume of the book as a title over the eternal purposes and counsels of God. Burned in letters into that role of that book is that phrase of the eternal Son of God. To give a sense of everything that's in that book, Lo, I come.
To do thy will, O gone. He's the alpha and Omega. His word began it, and his words going to finish it. And he'll have the last word and his words, Lo, I come to do thy will accomplish all that was in between. The first word in the last.
One scripture here, brethren, that perhaps we didn't read, that our brother Bill suggested in his address concerning the subject of overcoming he that overcometh shall inherit.
All things.
Is there any hindrance?
In the life of a soul here this afternoon.
01:05:04
That would keep that one from entering into the blessedness.
Of what we have had before us in this last meeting. This is a glorious scene that our hearts can hardly take in. Beloved brethren, it is so wonderful as we meditate upon it.
It just goes beyond what our human minds can grasp, but is made good to us by the Holy Spirit. We know that is coming. We have a glorious future, but is there a hindrance?
In the life of someone here that would keep them from entering into the blessedness.
Of this wonderful future. Are you going to be an overcomer in that sense?
And lay hold of it by faith, and believe it, and take hold of it. If you're thirsty, the previous phrases suggest take it now and make it your own by faith, and you'll enjoy it. Even if you enter in through the door of faith now, you'll enjoy it forever.
And that eternal day I was thinking of this very statement about.
The one that is 13 should drink or would be given to drink. Now I noticed there is a slight difference in the end of.
Chapter 22.
There this and let him that heareth say.
Which is not given in diverse in the verses that we have read. I'm suggesting that, and I might be corrected that this first time here in verse 6.
That speaks of comfort and quenching of thirst. That will be the portion of the same in eternity. Those who are saying. But here at chapter 22, it seems to be directed to the Sinner, Come, you know, and drink, you know of that water of life.
And again, anyone in the audience that hasn't come.
Come and drink.
He would give you of the water of life freely.
Present. The time has come for the gospel.
I'd like to start out tonight with a part of a verse in First John.
First one John, chapter 3.
And the very first verse, the very first part.
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.
Let's ask God for his help.
Our God and our Father, we give thee thanks this afternoon for thy love to us.
We don't understand the greatness.
Of it how thou wouldst give the dearest object of thy heart.
Thy beloved son.
To come into this world and go to that cross.
To manifest that love. But we know it's true. And we just cry to thee this afternoon that thou which bless thy word and bring it home to each one here this afternoon, especially if there are those still.
That are lost. We cried for them, Father. Ask it in their worthy and precious name.
Amen.
You know, I was discussing recently with different ones.
What is the basic human need? What is it that we cannot do without? And I'm going.
We kind of passed over that air, food and water.
And what we found that generally.
01:10:04
The quickest and quickest answer, the one that generally everyone came up with, was love.
You know, that is something that each of us have a heart.
That craves love, and as we look around in this world, we have different examples of what love is.
And what we have in this world generally.
Apart from God is a love that's going to fade. It disappoints.
And.
We can be discouraged by what we see.
And that definition that God gives of love fades in our hearts, and we may decide we don't want to go that direction.
You know God has put that need in each of our hearts of His love.
It is such a vast subject. We've just been talking this afternoon of some of what that Love has brought us into, and through the last three days we have in different ways been able to see how He and Love is seeking to draw every one of us unto Him.
But for a moment I would like to consider this. What manner of love?
Now for the unbeliever, you can't go beyond that to say that the Father has bestowed upon us. But this afternoon.
Our God in His love and long-suffering is giving another opportunity for soul to come for you to stop for a moment.
Even in a room like this, there are many things that if we want to, we can be distracted and we don't hear what is even being said. But for a moment, stop and consider the manner of love.
How it is so needful and everyone of our hearts to have love, to want to be loved, to know that we mean something.
You know.
A couple years ago.
In my line of work I meet a lot of truck drivers and I.
Met a truck driver that I had known about 10 years before that.
And he when he came in.
Some cord sparked in my mind and I said to him. I said.
Skip, seems like I remember that I heard something really bad happened in your life.
He said yeah, about eight years ago I lost my wife.
And, you know, he had some time, so he started telling me about his wife. He told me about how they got together.
She worked at a restaurant and he came in and he would always kid her and she would kid him back and and she would give him extra pieces of pie or whatever. And he was just thinking the world of this, this girl.
And.
He said after quite a long time, he said well here goes. He said she might say no way and laugh at me, but I have to ask her if she'll marry me. So he found an opportunity.
And he said it was pretty awkward, but I went there and and I said, you know.
I love you a lot. Will you marry me? And he said he was totally.
Taken back by the answer because she just rushed at him and threw her arms around him and said I thought you'd never ask.
And he said after that, everything was so good. He said she would always, when they got married, she was always there. She packed his lunch when he got on the road. And when he got home on a weekend, she had a lunch pack and they went hiking, camping. And he said, you know, she was so fun to spoil, too. She especially likes a certain kind of pottery. And but it was real expensive and so she knew she shouldn't get it.
01:15:13
So we would go to these little shops and I would just kind of follow along with her and and when I saw her pick up something and look at it real close.
As you can see in her face, it said she set it back down and she said we would go out out to the store and then I said, oh, just a minute, I forgot something and he'd go back in there and buy it. He said, oh that was so nice.
And so.
Their life was very happy together.
And I said, well, what happened?
How did she die? He said. Well.
I killed her.
He gave me the time, the very date eight years before.
He'd been.
Getting ready to go for a load.
Over cross country.
And she had walked around.
Behind his back trailer and he hadn't seen her and he backed up the.
Hook up the trailer and somehow backed up.
And ran over her.
He said.
From that time on, life wasn't worth living.
I could have just as well been dead. Wouldn't mattered at all.
He said her folks blame me.
But not as much as I blame me.
I couldn't get over that that I had killed her.
And he said as he went on, it only got worse.
The loneliness.
He'd lost his love.
And he said my best friend became.
A loaded 38 pistol that I had in my bed stand. I knew that if it got too tremendous I could just pull it out and end it all.
He said one night.
It was especially bad.
And there was a knock at the door.
And it was a Christian family that had come.
And they told them that they were planning to just have their own family evening that night.
But the Lord had cried to them, had told them they had to go see this man. He lived 15 miles out of town.
So they put off all their plans and they went out.
And for this man, it was the beginning of being able to see there was a love.
For him.
Oh, he still The whole time he told the story, the tears were running down his face.
But he did have that peace.
Then he came to know the Lord Jesus as his Savior.
And he had the peace of knowing that God loved him when he thought everything else was gone. And so this afternoon, boys and girls and older ones too, we.
Have a need in her heart for that love and you know sometimes we don't even understand it because.
It's right there for us. We have it from dad and mom.
But there is a greater love that we have to speak of here. Behold.
What manner of love the Father?
Hath bestowed upon us that manner of love would turn over to that verse that has been quoted.
Few times already in John 3.
The greatness of that love here we've had these three days together and the things that we've had before us.
I thought about it beforehand. What could I say to convince anybody? If you've been able to sit through these times and it has done nothing for your heart, what could I say? But God is still speaking to your heart.
01:20:01
This afternoon.
He wants to show you his love.
It says John 316 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.
God.
In all the greatness of his person.
Is seeking to show you.
How much he loves you, How much he loves me, He gave.
Is only son.
He gave the darling of his heart, that one that he could say, that could say in Proverbs 8. I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him, that that one that God could say of.
At the baptism of the Lord Jesus.
This is my beloved son, and him is all my delight. And at the Mount of Transfiguration as well.
There was never a time before or since that God could set his eye on a man down here.
And say those words.
And yet he gave that son to die for you and for me over to.
First John 4.
One John four and verse.
14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
He gave his son. Here we have. He sent his son.
We can see even more.
The directness and how God had a determined purpose.
He sent his son.
For this very purpose, to be the savior of the world, why would a holy and a righteous God?
And this question was just answered just a little bit ago. Why?
Would he look down into a world of rebellious creatures who, even after he had declared and showed his son, would send him to that cross of Calvary because they did not want him? Why would he send his son knowing full well this was going to happen?
It's the manner of love.
That He is bestowed upon us. Many of us here can revel in that love.
And it just gets greater and greater. We can't even, as I speak of it, can't begin to scratch the surface of that love, of the manner of that love. But through eternity, we're going to revel in that.
Here over in Romans chapter 8.
Is there a well known verses but also beautiful And every time I read them there's something more for my heart. Verse Romans 8 and verse 32. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Here we have he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up.
That manner of love.
He sent his beloved son into this world.
And then?
With men not wanting him.
Saying away with him, yet he delivered him up.
You know, we read in the Gospels it says that.
Pilot delivered him up.
To be scourged. But no, no, it wasn't Pilot. It wasn't those people. It was that God that loves you, that loves me, that delivered up his Son.
Because he wants to declare the greatness.
And the manner of love that nowhere else have we ever seen.
How?
How could he make you rich?
How could he make me rich? He had to become poor.
01:25:02
How could he give you joy or me joy?
He had to become the Man of Sorrows.
How could he present us?
Before that throne with exceeding joy there in the garden.
He had to say, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death.
How could he say there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus?
He was condemned to be guilty of death.
All that list goes on and on.
He could say.
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, because he cried out on the cross. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He says, let not your heart be troubled. He said, now is my soul trouble. This is the God that has declared all the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Here we have he delivered him up, and then one more.
In 2nd Corinthians 5.
And verse 21.
For he hath made him to be sin, for us to do no sin.
That we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Have you been able to behold?
This afternoon, that manner of love.
How could we not?
Come.
Just as we are to that one that gave all for you and me.
The power, the greatness.
Own the cattle on 1000 hills if it would have worked.
He could provided.
We read of the thousands of offerings in Solomon's time. But if it was needed.
If it could have been provided.
He could have provided thousands on thousands on millions of more beasts for sacrifice.
But there was only that one way.
And he had to give his son.
He gave his son, he sent his son, he delivered him up.
And now?
If this doesn't move your heart, I don't know what will.
He made him to be sinned for us.
We can't begin to comprehend what this means.
This was a holy and righteous God.
Setting.
Our sin, my sin, on a holy and righteous sacrifice.
If I had to carry the weight of somebody else's sin, I wouldn't like it. It would be tough.
But to carry more sin on a sinful body.
Doesn't help me to understand in any way what it would mean for a holy and righteous man.
To bear that city.
But this for each of us.
Is God's way to manifest how much He loves your soul and mine.