22: The Millennium—Old Testament Millennial Scriptures (part 1)

A Study of Revelation

David Brandt Berg

1981-05-01

I’m going to read some verses which are my favorite passages in the Bible, some of the most beautiful scriptures in God’s holy Word.

The reason I am particularly fond of them is that they’re about the “happy ending” of the story. In much of the past chapters of this particular study of Bible prophecy in the book of Revelation, it seems as if it’s been a lot of bad news about the horrors about to come upon this world. The Bible admonishes us to be prepared for these days, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed. (See Matthew 24:33, 44.)

We’re just strangers passing through; this is not our home. We’re strangers and pilgrims, and this is why God says He’s proud to be our God. He’s not ashamed to be our God, for we confess that we are only strangers and pilgrims here. We seek a city whose builder and maker is God, which someday will come down out of heaven from God to this earth (Hebrews 11:13–16).

At the end of that mighty Battle of Armageddon, of the forces of God against the forces of Satan on earth, we, the saints of God, along with our King Jesus Christ, will take over this world as it is now—this present world—and we will organize it and rule it and run it the way it should have been run if man had yielded to God. But this time, yield or no, God’s going to run it with a rod of iron (Revelation 2:27).

Whether man likes it or not, God is going to be supreme and Jesus shall reign from shore to shore, and we shall rule and reign with Him with that rod of iron. Then the unsaved who remain will be forced to do what’s right and to obey for a thousand years. They will have the amazing blessing of being able to live at all during this millennial period in which the earth, though it is this same earth upon which we live today—not the new heaven and the new earth, but the present earth—it will be relieved from the curses that have beset it. The thorns and the thistles and the briar and all kinds of beasts and critters and creatures that are poisonous, even poisonous flowers and grasses, will be sanitized and made harmless.

Even the unsaved who have survived the Tribulation and the wrath of God and the Battle of Armageddon—and it’s quite a survival to manage to survive all three of those—will be allowed to live during this beautiful paradise-on-earth, millennial period.

The Devil will be bound in the heart of the earth in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, and we will rule and reign with Jesus on this present earth for one thousand years to try to teach the survivors righteousness, to try to show them where they failed, to try to point out what the mistakes were, to try to show them how much better it would have been if they had yielded to Jesus and let Him rule and reign in their hearts as we do today.

We already have the Garden of Eden in our hearts. We already have paradise restored in our hearts, those of us who have received Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Lover and our King and our God, who has forgiven us our sins and brought us peace and love and happiness such as we have never known before. We already have the Garden of Eden in our hearts, but then we will have the Garden of Eden worldwide—the curse removed, even a measure of death removed. People will live for a thousand years as they did before, and if you die at a hundred years of age, they’ll consider you just a child (Isaiah 65:20). Think of that.

This is a part of the beautiful happy ending. The Bible is full of descriptions of that beautiful millennial period. It says more about the second coming of Christ and His rule and reign on the earth as its King, its Messiah, than it does about the first coming.

This is the purpose of it all, the marvelous happy ending of it all! This is our reward for loving Him, receiving Him, believing in Him, and preaching Him, telling others about Him, spreading the Good News of His love everywhere.

Jesus was the one responsible for it all, who loved us enough to give His own life for us and take our punishment, the punishment of our sins on Himself on that cross, on that tree, so that we could be forgiven and restored and become citizens of His kingdom, the kingdom of God on earth of the King of kings in the heavenly kingdom.—First of all, the Millennium, and later the new heaven and new earth.

What are the two books that are the most messianic books in the Bible?—The ones that talk more about the Messiah and His kingdom, that marvelous millennial kingdom on earth and the kingdom that goes on forever after, than any other books? We have to go back to the Old Testament to find them: Psalms and Isaiah, by two great prophets. “Prophets?” you say, “I thought David was just a king.” David was a king, but he was also a priest of his people. Foremost and above all, he was a prophet of God who wrote the beautiful Psalms of David. In the Psalms, he describes time and again the marvelous coming kingdom of Jesus Christ.

First, he starts with the Antichrist kingdom and the Battle of Armageddon, the forces of good against evil. (This could also apply to the Battle of Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennium.)

Psalm 2: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” That’s what they will say during the Great Tribulation. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.” God gets the last laugh! “Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”

Despite all they can do, He has set His king upon the hill of Zion. Jesus will someday return to this earth and He shall stand first upon Mount Zion. God’s Word says it will cleave in two when He stands there, like a great earthquake, and cause a very great rift or very great valley (Zechariah 14:4). That great hill that the Jews and the Muslims are fighting over, guess who’s going to get it?—Jesus. And when He does land on it, it’s going to split wide open.

“I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me”—speaking now to Jesus—“Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” He’s going to give us the entire earth, all of it. “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

“Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.”—If you don’t want to be broken. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Do you put your trust in Jesus? Then you’re going to be safe. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be all right with you.

“The Lord is king for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of His land” (Psalm 10:16). That’s what’s going to happen then. “Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion. When the Lord bringeth back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad” (Psalm 14:7). The true Israel of God, those who have received Jesus the Messiah, the Christians.

“I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” There’s going to be a resurrection. “For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:8–10). There are many prophecies regarding the first coming of Jesus, but these are the ones about His second coming.

“I will declare Thy name unto my brethren: and in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee.” Before this, they were worshipping the Antichrist; now they’re going to have to worship Jesus, whether they like it or not. “They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done this” (Psalm 22:22,27,31).

The good news! We had to tell you the bad news first, all about the Antichrist and his reign of terror and the Tribulation and the judgment and Babylon and the horrors, and then Armageddon. But now comes the victory, the heaven on earth.

“Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O ye gates: even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah” (Psalm 24:7–10).

The Muslims have a prophecy that when Jesus returns, He will come through the gate called “Beautiful” and take over the city of Jerusalem and reign as the Messiah and King of kings. Therefore one Arab ruler many years ago didn’t want Jesus to come and take the kingdom away from him; he was afraid He might come during his day. So he walled up the gate “Beautiful” there in Jerusalem.

To this day it is still sealed, because God prophesied that no man should go through that gate again. A prophet prophesied this centuries ago when at that time it was one of the most popular gates of Jerusalem on a well-traveled highway that ran through that gate into the city. But God prophesied by His prophet Ezekiel many centuries earlier that it would be closed and never opened again until the Lord of hosts Himself, the King of kings, Jesus, would come and pass through that gate (Ezekiel 44:2; 43:1–4).

Praise God, the day is coming when “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:9–10).

“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth.”—In the Millennium. “He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness” (Psalm 47:1–3,7–8). All of these marvelous predictions of the coming kingdom of Christ upon earth.

“I will make Thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise Thee for ever and ever” (Psalm 45:17). For “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of Thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psalm 45:6–7). What wonderful prophecies of the coming kingdom of Jesus! I turn the pages here in the Psalms and on almost every page I find another prophecy about this marvelous millennial kingdom of Christ.

“Our God shall come and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is Judge Himself” (Psalm 50:3–6). That’s the way it’ll be when Jesus comes.

“Through the greatness of Thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto Thee. All the earth shall worship Thee, and shall sing unto Thee; they shall sing to Thy name” (Psalm 66:3–4). “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for Thou shalt judge the people righteously”—not all judges today judge righteously—“and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase: and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him” (Psalm 67:4–7).

For “Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men”—the greatest being salvation—“yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them” (Psalm 68:18). God is even going to be good to the wicked who will—some of them—survive all the horrors of hell of the Antichrist and the Tribulation and the plagues of the wrath of God and the Battle of Armageddon to finally come into this millennial period through which we will rule and reign over them with Christ with a rod of iron for a thousand years.

“Give the king Thy judgments, O God.” This is Psalm 72, and almost the whole psalm is a prediction of the Millennium—“and Thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” Who is the king’s son? Jesus. “He shall judge Thy people with righteousness”—that means Jesus—“and Thy poor with judgment.” The world is going to see a righteous judge, a righteous king, a righteous ruler at last, who will have a righteous government. No corruption, no vice or crime or payola or bribery or crooked judges and crooked politicians, but a righteous government and righteous justice.

“The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations” (Psalm 72:1–5).

Don’t think that something’s going to happen to destroy the sun or the moon or the earth! God didn’t make this creation to be destroyed. He’s going to have to destroy the surface of the earth and burn it up because of the pollution of mankind and its wickedness, but He’s not going to destroy the ball, the planet earth, or the sun or moon. They’re going to continue to shine upon the earth.

We won’t need them in the holy city that comes down from God to the earth. There’ll be no need of sun or moon or stars there. Jesus will be our sun. But outside on the earth where others are still learning and still being healed, they’ll still need sunlight and moonlight and the stars, and God will be merciful to them. But that is the new earth and new heaven, which comes after the Millennium.

“He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” Here it’s speaking of the kingdom of Christ on earth, how it’s going to be over the whole world.

“They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents.” The British. “The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.” The Saudi Arabians are going to become Christians.

“Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him.” There won’t be any religion then but Christianity; there won’t be any kingdom except that of Jesus Christ. “For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and the needy and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight.

“And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba. Prayer also shall be made for Him continually; and daily shall He be praised. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon. And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” That is, of the great city of God. ( To be continued)

05 The Great Tribulation

Book of the Future, Part 5 (part1)

Book of the Future

Compiled from the writings of David Brandt Berg

1983-03-28

When the Antichrist reaches the “midst of the week” and tries to wipe out all religions and establish his world religion of self-worship and worship of his idol, this is when he really starts getting into trouble—both with the peoples of the world and the religions of the world and their followers—and he begins having all kinds of wars. He has wars with different areas and nations and peoples, no doubt with those who are the most religious. He has a lot of problems in those last days of his reign, and God Himself will give him a lot of problems, too.

That final 3½ years will be the most difficult, as Jesus Himself said, “Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). Many will refuse to accept the Mark of the Beast, obey him, or bow down to his image, and as a result many will be killed. It says many shall “fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity and by spoil” (Daniel 11:33). There will be 3½ years of horrible persecution of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. All religions will be forbidden, banned and persecuted. (See Daniel 11:36–37.)

When he first arises as a great world leader, the whole world thinks he’s great and follows him, except, of course, those who really know God’s Word and will recognize who and what he really is. Millions will believe in the Antichrist and follow him. It even says, “All the world wondered after the beast” (Revelation 13:3). They may all be deceived by him and wonder and wander after him for a while, at least until the middle of his reign, but when he suddenly invades Jerusalem, sets up an idol of himself in the holy place, and sits in the temple of God saying that he is God, at that point, obviously, many millions of people will reject the mark, refuse to worship him and his image, and will rebel against his satanic kingdom, resulting in nothing but trouble from then on according to the Bible.

There will be literally millions who will reject the Mark of the Beast and refuse to fall down and worship his image, and who will, even as nations, rebel against him and fight him, which accounts for some of the wars and turmoil detailed in the book of Daniel. The whole world is not going to be in perfect peace during those last 3½ years, and he’s not going to have absolute control. Many people will rise up and realize that he’s not the right guy and he’s not good for them or the world, that he’s demonic and the worst thing that ever happened to the world, and they’re going to rebel and refuse to follow his orders. They’re going to refuse to take the Mark of the Beast.

In Revelation 12, when Satan was finally cast out of heaven down to earth, “having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12), what was the first thing he began to do? “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman”—the Bride of Christ, the church—“and the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:13,17). He’s particularly going to be out to get anyone who loves Jesus and is a part of His Bride.

The Bible says, “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:9–11).

The true Christians, the true believers in God, will not accept that mark. The Bible says that we who love Jesus will already have the invisible mark of God in our foreheads—faith in Jesus Christ. Those who are following the Antichrist, this horrible beast, will have the Mark of the Beast in their foreheads or in their hands as they follow and worship him. But we who love the Lord cannot accept that Mark of the Beast, and we will not. If you love Jesus, you will refuse the Mark of the Beast, because you’ll have God’s mark in your forehead already. (See Revelation 7:2–3; 9:3–4.)

Although the beast commands that no one can buy or sell without the mark and that anyone who refuses to worship his image should be killed, we will refuse. We will refuse both the mark and the worship of the image, and therefore they will try to kill us, and we will not be able to buy or sell food or clothing or shelter or the necessities of life. We will undoubtedly have to flee into the “wilderness” for survival, to prevent our being killed for not worshipping the image of the beast and to survive without being able to buy or sell. But God is going to take care of us.

Just because they tell you to stop worshipping the Lord and to worship the Antichrist, do you have to? Even if they tell you that unless you get his mark, 666, in your forehead or in your hand you can’t buy or sell anymore, you can’t go to the grocery store and buy groceries, and if you’re a farmer you can’t sell your produce, does that mean you have to? No. He only threatens to kill everybody. The Devil’s been trying to kill God’s people for thousands of years, but he’s never succeeded. He’s managed to kill a few, sometimes quite a few, but he’s never managed to kill them all. So he may get a few of us—if he can catch us.

During this Tribulation period, for Christians it will be impossible to survive except by miracles of God and faith and living independent from the system, without its mark and without its approval and benefits, unable to buy or sell. Christians will have to subsist in a survival situation, underground, and do the best they can to survive and continue to witness, much like the early Christians did from the catacombs during the Roman persecutions. The time of suffering and persecution under the Roman Empire during the early days of the church may be similar to what will happen under the coming Antichrist Empire, because Rome was also very anti-Christ.

Of course, if you’re really following the Lord, your very life and your light and your example and your love are a constant witness in themselves and sufficient and all that God may expect of you, until they come to you and ask you why.

Core 8-04: Knowing Who’s Who

2014-02-01

We can tell the difference between God’s good spiritual forces and the Devil’s evil spirits by “test[ing] the spirits, whether they are of God.” [4]

God’s power is creative and loving, while the Devil’s power is destructive and hateful. God’s Spirit ministers love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—all good things. The Devil and his evil spirits minister fear, hatred, bitterness, strife, misery, confusion, and torment—all bad things. [5]

Footnotes

[4] 1 John 4:1

[5] Galatians 5:22-23

Core 8-05: Heavenly Forces

2014-02-01

There is, of course, the good side to the spirit world—the side that fights the Devil and those who follow him. This side not only includes God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, but also other spirits as well. You can find reference to these spirits in the Bible.

These include the seven spirits of God spoken of in Revelation 4:5, the seven stars or angels or spirits of the seven churches of Revelation 1:20, the four spirits of the heavens of Zechariah 6:5, and the multitudes of other celestial messengers, angels, or spirits that are mentioned in the Bible.

The apostle Paul calls this heavenly host a “great cloud of witnesses” that surrounds us. [6] Just like a cloud is composed of millions of tiny particles of moisture, this spiritual cloud is composed of millions of good spirits.

In the book of 2 Kings we learn about how God opened someone’s eyes to see into the spiritual realm and he got a glimpse of some of those many witnesses:

2 Kings 6:15-17 (NIV) When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

They are not only watching us, they are watching over us, protecting us, and trying to influence us for good. All throughout the Bible there are many promises of spiritual protection, such as, “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them,” [7] and, “He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” [8]

These heavenly beings are also there to help us to fight the battle of good and evil mentally and spiritually, and to help us to choose what is right over what is wrong.

Footnotes

[6] Hebrews 12:1

[7] Psalm 34:7

[8] Psalm 91:11

Core 8-06: Strategy Against Satan’s Tactics

2014-02-01

The Bible tells us to “fight the good fight of faith” [9] and warns us not to be ignorant of the Devil’s tactics. The Devil has no direct power over us physically, but he can try to influence our thoughts, attitudes, and decisions. We don’t need to fear him, but we do need to be on guard against him.

The Devil knows that if he’s too obvious with his attacks, then we would readily recognize his lies and know how to defeat him. So he often uses more subtle tactics, like twisting the truth to cause us to choose to do something wrong, or magnifying our lazy nature to keep us from choosing to make a positive decision.

Say you became sick or were involved in an accident. You feel that if you would have done something differently, this wouldn’t have happened. As a Christian, you know that God can use this situation to either teach you something good or bring you closer to Him. Once you have asked Him and have done your part to get His thoughts on the matter, then that’s that—you get better and move on. But the Devil is more than happy to play on your feelings of remorse. He will try to make sure that you don’t let go of that bad feeling, and he does his best to make sure that you will continue to beat yourself up about what you did wrong for as long as possible.

The goodness that Jesus gives us makes us feel forgiven, humbled, and thankful, so if you are instead carrying feelings of remorse, condemnation, and regret, you need to realize that this is Satan at work.

It’s important to recognize the thoughts and lies of Satan, because once you do, you can then access the power and promises of Jesus that He gives you through the words that are written in the Bible. The Devil cannot withstand the power of Jesus. His own power is weakened and he is then easily defeated.

Fight Like a Warrior
A message from Jesus
The true warrior is always looking for a way to gain territory no matter how severe the attacks of the Enemy may be. Unlike earthly warfare, where you often retreat when casualties are high, or you concede defeat because you’re badly beaten, when it comes to spiritual warfare you never need to concede defeat, because you can always rely on Me to come through for you, and make every situation and every battle a victory situation if you never give up.

The way of man is usually to pull back in certain areas in order to reinforce other areas where major attacks have been launched, but that’s a very defensive approach. Often the best way to fight back is to not only stand your ground, but to launch an attack in several directions, so that the Enemy is the one who is then put on the defensive and sent running.

No matter how badly the Enemy attacks you, you have the power and the weapons to keep hammering away at him. You have the heavenly resources to keep blasting his forces to bits. And you have the gift of faith to hold tightly to, so that no matter how dismal the outlook may be, your faith in Me will sustain your spirit with the promise that I will be the victor, so long as you are willing to keep fighting and seeing the battle through.

Don’t give the Enemy the pleasure of seeing you pull back because of his scare tactics. Keep launching your attack. Keep sending volleys into Satan’s camp, no matter how hard he’s besieging you. The courageous man is the one who keeps fighting and moving forward even when he’s hardest hit, even when there are foes all around and the battles are intense. There is always hope of victory if you keep fighting.

Footnotes

[9] 1 Timothy 6:12

Core 8-07: The Armor of God

2014-02-01

In order to resist and fight Satan, Jesus has given us spiritual armor and spiritual weapons to use, which gives us strength to withstand his attacks. We must remember that the war of good and evil is not a carnal one but a spiritual one—one that can only be won through mind and spirit. And also one that is won through faith and belief in God’s Word.

Breakdown of God’s Armor
What do we need for protection?

We are fighting the devil—Satan. We are not fighting people, but the powers of darkness in this world, which is Satan and his helpers. The protection we need is the armor of God.

What is the armor of God, and how can we clothe ourselves in it? Let’s look at each piece.

Belt of truth—Standing firm in truth. Living our lives by the truth of God’s word.

Breastplate of Righteousness—Walking uprightly before God. Aligning our lives to His standards.

Shod feet—Standing with firm-footed stability, being ready.

Shield of Faith—Standing firm in our faith. This will squash all the fiery darts Satan sends.

Helmet of Salvation—Protection for our minds. Satan attacks us here more than anywhere. We need to be sure of our Salvation and not waver or doubt.

All of these pieces are for protecting us—and need to be put on daily.

There is still one other piece we need to be armed with. This piece is not for protecting us, but for fighting with.

The Sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.

We cannot fight the enemy if we don’t know the word of God. It is vital for how effective we are when we use the sword, and how effective the rest of the armor is that protects us. No soldier goes to war with faulty weapons, or with faulty protection. Neither should we. The key here is to learn God’s word. Hide it in your heart. Then you can put on God’s armor and be able to stand firm.

1. S. Lowndes

As it said in the last paragraph, “We cannot fight the enemy if we don’t know the word of God.” This is a key point to remember, because it’s the secret to defeating and overcoming the power of Satan.

A Living Message for a Dying World

Words from Jesus

2020-10-29

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”—Romans 10:14–15¹

How can they hear unless someone is sent? Pray, first and foremost, that souls will hear the good news and receive it. Pray as I prayed while on earth, pleading for those who were lost in the world, praying for their salvation, for them to be alleviated from their pain.

Prayer is a union of your spirit and Mine. It is quiet, yet in its silence it is all-encompassing. The fruit of such silence is service. As you love and worship Me with your heart, soul, and mind, I will give you the power and the counsel and the guidance to reach people and to share the good news that brings joy, hope, and eternal salvation.

My apostles abided in My presence. They lived with Me; they witnessed My obedience to the Father. They prayed with Me. They were instructed to tarry, so they tarried, and they were endued with power from on high. In obedience, they went out singly, not knowing whither they went. They walked, they traveled by ship and by any means necessary, and as they went, their lives were a testimony of Me. They went to the cross. They went through martyrdom. They were soldiers who received a shining crown of life. They lived and breathed My Spirit.

I pray not that you would be taken out of the world, but that you would be kept from the evil. For you must be in the world, yet you are not of the world. Therefore sanctify yourselves through the truth of My Word.²

If you wish to be a witness for Me, be prepared to encounter hardships, to be able to endure temptation, to have a life of prayer, and as you do your part to plant the seeds, you can trust that all who receive My words of life will become part of My kingdom. Whether people receive your witness or not, the fruit of your life of faithfulness will remain. You will be like a tree planted by the waters that gives fruit and provides shade to the people around you.

The people of this world ache for God! They ache for My Spirit and My truth! The need is as great today as at any point in history. Every generation must hear the gospel. Can you hear the heartcries of those around you? My Spirit aches for the lost and suffering and yearns to satiate their thirst!

A missionary is a person sent with a message—and all My children are called to share the message of My truth with others, whatever situation they are in. Let My Holy Spirit live in you. Clothe yourself with Me. When you say, “I am a Christian,” let sincerity and truth shine through your witness.

Be a missionary for Me today, and be faithful to share the message with the people I place in your path. As you search and seek for those in need, you will find them. Be the saints of God for today—so that others can experience and come to know My love.

Watch and pray

“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning. Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns.”—Luke 12:35–37³

Do not allow yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security in thinking that things will continue as they always have. You are called to watch and be prepared and ready. As I told My first disciples, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”⁴ Be patient and prepare in spirit, in My Word, and in love. Do your part to bring My kingdom to the hearts and lives of the lost.

Take advantage of this period of relative peace and ease for sharing My gospel with others. Do your part to fulfill your commission and preach the gospel to every creature wherever you are called to be in the world. Do your part to saturate the world with My Word and truth. Teach others who can teach others and who will be able to carry on My great commission.

No matter what else you are doing, always remember the calling you have to share the gospel, to witness the truth, and to love others into My kingdom. You can prepare for the harvest by doing your part wherever you are planted to plow the field, sow the seed, water that which has been planted, nurture it, and help it to grow.

Faithfulness

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”—Colossians 3:23–24⁵

I know it is not always easy to be a witness, especially in times and places where the ground is hard, and few seem to be receptive or even open to receiving the message. It takes a willingness to pick up your cross daily when the message isn’t popular or goes against the status quo. It takes accepting discomfort, sacrifice in your life, and death of self so that I can live in others, but hardship is the stuff that heroes are made of.

You are called to reach those who have no voice, the poor and downtrodden of the world with My salvation and hope. You must not only lead people to Me, but speak the truth that sets people free. Your job is to bring sight to those who are blind by showing them the truth.

Your part is to be faithful to share the message with others, whether people receive the message or not. My prophet Jeremiah gave the message, but not many people listened to him. They threw him in prison, and he had a lot of hard times with very few results. But he was faithful to give the message, and I rewarded him greatly.

Take the example of the widow who gave her mite to the temple. It wasn’t much—very little compared to others who gave of their abundance—but in My eyes it was just as great a gift. In fact, it was a greater gift, because she had given her all. So it is with you.

To you it may seem that what you can give and what it accomplishes is like a mite—just a small thing. You may look at others and compare; you see the great things they have accomplished, and you feel like your gift is so small. But I see your faithfulness, and for that, a great reward is prepared for you in heaven.

Published on Anchor October 2020. Read by Jerry Paladino.
Music by John Listen.

¹ NIV.

² John 17:17.

³ BSB.

⁴ Luke 12:40.

⁵ NIV.

Faith: Thanking God in Advance

July 1, 2024

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 11:10

Download Audio (10.2MB)

In the last several years I have faced different dilemmas where I had no idea how they could possibly be solved. It seemed as if they didn’t have solutions. However, because my faith was solid in the truth of God’s Word and the knowledge that He never fails, and I was seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I knew that somehow there would always be a solution.

Jesus said: “I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you” (John 16:12–14).

The Holy Spirit was sent to us after Jesus’ death to help us understand the truth and to apply God’s Word to whatever situation we find ourselves in. I believe that is why, when we revisit the Scriptures, they often take on new meaning for us as the Holy Spirit shows us how to apply them in new ways or reveals more of their depth to us.

There are many examples in God’s Word of how to approach the challenges of life. One such example that I find applicable to many difficulties that I encounter is the story of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles chapter 20, where he had no hope of any kind of human rescue from the various superior forces that were against him. In fact, there were three armies joining together to try to destroy him and his people. He said, “Lord, we know not what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12).

Jehoshaphat gave the Lord the glory and prayed and thanked God for His greatness and the wonder of His love. He reminded himself and the people who had gathered together of all the times when God had come through for His people in the past and that He would be there for them, too. He wanted everyone to recognize how their great God had come to their rescue time after time after time when there seemed to be no hope in sight.

We all have times when it looks like there is no solution to the situations we may find ourselves in. I believe that there will be many more times ahead when situations will appear impossible to overcome. And they may well be impossible without God’s intervention.

Whether He says, “Stand still and see the salvation of God,” or “Go up and fight and you will be victorious,” a great expression of our love for the Lord can be manifested as we trust Him and do whatever He shows us to do, even when we can’t see where our obedience will lead.

We can’t say, “Jesus, I’ll trust You and praise You for the victory as long as You do this or that for me, or don’t allow this or that to happen.” We need to place ourselves in His hands, knowing that He will always bring us through and cause whatever we face to work together for good in the end, which is something only He can do.

Here’s a helpful explanation of faith that I’ve seen several times online from different people: When you thank God after something happens, that’s called gratitude. When you thank God for something before it happens, that’s called faith. Faith is thanking God in advance before you see the answer.

If you can already see the answer, it doesn’t take faith to accept that it’s there. That’s why it’s important when you make a request in prayer to follow it with praise, right from the start, as well as whenever you think of the situation while you’re waiting for the answer to be manifested in a way that you can see or sense.

Faith thanks God. You could say something like, “Jesus, You know that request I made the other day? I thank You that the answer is mine. I don’t have to see it to know that You have answered. You have promised to answer, and that’s all I need. I thank You that the matter is already settled, and when it’s Your perfect time for the best solution to appear, it will.”

You don’t keep saying, “Please give it, please give it, please give it, please give it.” Instead, you say, “Jesus, here’s my heart cry that I know You have answered. Thank You!” That is faith, when you thank God in advance.

The Lord gave a message on this point:

Approach your challenges with prayer and praise. Let the light in and the darkness will flee. The light of My Spirit is there for you to receive. You can immerse yourself in it, and one way you can do this is with praise.

If you’re battling with worry, come to Me with an attitude of praise and thanksgiving. Keep looking to Me and trusting Me for the situation. Thank Me for how I’m helping you and reminding you to turn your gaze toward Me and My overcoming power.

Even when you don’t know how I have answered your prayer, and you are tempted to worry and try to figure out how I’m going to manifest it, go ahead and thank Me for doing it. Thank Me for giving you peace, even if you don’t feel peaceful yet.

(Maria:) Whatever you feed, either faith or fear, that’s what gains power in your life. Focus on thanksgiving and praise, and that will feed your faith! Faith is the victory! (See 1 John 5:4.) Manifest that faith through your words, your thoughts, the intents of your heart, and you will overcome the world. Fill your mind with words of thanksgiving and praise, and you will come through victorious in the end.

* * *

Hebrews 11 states: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:13,16.)

In this life, those men and women of faith in Hebrews 11 often didn’t see all that was promised to them, but they knew the author of those promises! They knew that He wouldn’t fail! I’m sure many of the saints highlighted in Hebrews 11 saw miracles and deliverances and supernatural protection, as well as the many hardships and troubles described in this chapter. For them, faith became a way of life that permeated their thoughts and decisions. It was a conviction that grew throughout their lives so that whatever they faced in the moment was secondary to what they knew by faith was to come.

Faith is supernatural. It is not bound by time or space. Those of faith in the Old Testament believed without seeing Jesus’ redemption manifested during their lifetime. We have the blessing of knowing that Jesus has already redeemed us, but we, too, can’t see all that Jesus has promised us.

He wants us to trust Him in all circumstances. If the answer to your prayer comes immediately, then rejoice. When you don’t see the answer right away, keep thanking the Lord anyway, because you trust Him. You have His assurance that He will keep you and give you strength and all that you need in order to hang on until the answer arrives.

Faith that the Lord has answered, when we have asked something of Him, could in some ways be compared to a trust fund. Trust funds can take on many forms, but they are most often used to ensure that money or other assets are distributed in a way that will provide maximum benefit to the receiver over the long term.

A friend of mine was a recipient of a trust fund. Sometimes, the trust would limit what funds were given to him even though he requested more. But then, an unanticipated medical event occurred and he was desperately in need of the funds for his care and support. Because the trust had rationed the funds, the money was there when it was needed most.

Though the potential answers to our prayers are unlimited, God knows what will bring the greatest good from them. So God could be compared to the trustee of the heavenly trust fund of answers to our prayers. He provides the answers and knows when manifesting them will bring the greatest good into our lives. The answers are there, like the assets in the trust fund, but we, as recipients of His loving promises and answers to prayer, can’t always see the bigger picture of how to best use them.

I firmly believe that God alone knows how to work all things together for good in our lives and for His good purposes. That’s why it’s so important for us to have faith in His love for us. We need to trust in His wisdom. Otherwise, we often don’t have the understanding to make the best choices in the moment.

Whether the answers to your prayers are manifested immediately, or whether they take time to be manifested, they have been settled in heaven. When we thank Him for His faithfulness, we’re declaring our trust that the God of the universe who loves us and has already sacrificed so much to save and restore us and to be with us through everything is going to continue to be who He is to us: our friend, our Father, our protector, our Savior, our healer, the source of all truth and power, the provider of all that we need, our guide, and the answer to every problem and question we will ever encounter.

Originally published May 2022. Adapted and republished July 2024. Read by Lenore Welsh.

Copyright © 2024 The Family International

I Am the True Vine

11/26/23 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants,^[a] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (John 15:1-17) ESV

160 – Jesus—His Life and Message: John 15: Abide in My Love

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2021-07-06

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

At the end of John chapter 14, Jesus informed His disciples that He was going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.¹ Chapter 15 begins with the words “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”² In a previous article in this series that addressed the “I AM” sayings in the Gospels, the first 8 verses of chapter 15 were covered, so I won’t revisit them here. (To read this earlier post on John 15:1–8, click here.)

After speaking to His disciples about abiding in Him,³ Jesus began to speak of His love for His disciples—His close friends who had been with Him over the past few years.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.⁴

Jesus’ love for them was like the Father’s love for Him. The Father’s love for Jesus is eternal; it had no beginning and has no end. It is a love that is close and personal, without measure and unchanging. He told His disciples that they should make their dwelling in His love, meaning to make His love for them their very identity.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.⁵

Having told them to “abide in His love,” Jesus describes to His disciples how to do this. They are to obey what He has taught them in the same manner that He has obeyed His Father’s instructions. Because Jesus obeys the Father, He abides continually in the Father’s love; likewise, as the disciples obey Jesus’ commandments, they will abide in His love.

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.⁶ 

Jesus had the joy of living a fruitful life, full of love for His Father, love for His disciples, and love for the world. He wanted the joy that He had to be in His disciples as well. Such joy comes from a life of wholehearted obedience to what He had taught throughout His ministry. Until this point, there had been little said about joy in this Gospel. It is mentioned only in John 3:29. However, when Jesus spoke with His disciples in the upper room, He referred to joy six times.⁷

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.⁸

Earlier (verse 10), Jesus referred to commandments, in the plural: If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. However, now He refers to only one commandment. This commandment was referred to earlier in this Gospel as well. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.⁹ Jesus made the point that if we love, in the way He uses the term, then we don’t need any other rule, because love will both motivate and guide us to do what God desires.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.¹⁰

Jesus now refers to the greatest love of all. He states that giving one’s life for someone else is the greatest love that can be given. In this context, Jesus is referring to laying down His life on the cross. Some question whether sacrificing one’s life for one’s enemies wouldn’t be considered greater than laying it down for their friends. However, that question isn’t what was being addressed here. Jesus was with His friends, those who had been with Him during His ministry, and was only speaking about friends. In reference to them, He said that one cannot have greater love than to die for them. Jesus was about to do just that. He was going to give His life for others.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.¹¹

Jesus called the disciples, the eleven who were with Him at the Last Supper, His friends. Their friendship depended on their common aims and goals; therefore Jesus added the conditional clause, if you do what I command. Clearly Judas, who had been one of His disciples, was no longer a friend, but those who were with Him at the Last Supper and during the time before His arrest were His friends.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.¹²

Jesus says He will no longer call His disciples servants. Jesus hasn’t specifically called His disciples servants within this Gospel, but some verses come quite close to it. Earlier He said, You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.¹³ The Greek word (kyrios) translated here as Lord means the possessor, the owner, one who has control of a person or a thing. Jesus’ relationship with His disciples was no longer that of a master and servant. Rather, Jesus now calls them friends. He isn’t keeping anything from them; He has told them all that He has heard from His Father.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.¹⁴

In Jesus’ day, disciples of teachers would choose the teacher they would follow and would attach themselves to that rabbi. However, in the case of Jesus’ disciples, it was He who chose the apostles and appointed them for the task ahead.

His instructions to them were that they should go, meaning that they were to be His emissaries to the world as they brought His message to others. As His emissaries, they were to bear fruit and their fruit was to remain. Their task was to share the message with others, to make disciples of them, so that they would also share the message and bear abiding fruit.

(To be continued.)

Note

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

¹ John 14:28–29.

² John 15:1.

³ John 15:1–8.

⁴ John 15:9.

⁵ John 15:10.

⁶ John 15:11.

⁷ John 15:11, 16:20, 21, 22, 24; 17:13.

⁸ John 15:12.

⁹ John 13:34.

¹⁰ John 15:13.

¹¹ John 15:14.

¹² John 15:15.

¹³ John 13:13.

¹⁴ John 15:16.

Copyright © 2021 The Family International.

A Child of God

David Brandt Berg

2021-08-19

If you believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you are one of God’s children, one of His saved and wonderful family of believers in His Son. You are a son or daughter of God, and your eternal home is heaven.¹

Although you may not look like a child, you had to become as a child in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. For Jesus said, “You must be born again” to enter into His kingdom. That of course means to be born of His Spirit, to become a new creature in Christ Jesus, with old things passed away and all things become new—a wonderful new person with your sins forgiven and living an entirely new life for Jesus.²

Your spirit and personality were fashioned by the very hand of God Himself, and then given a special mission to show others His love and tell them the good news of the gospel of His wonderful salvation and how to receive Him as their Savior and therefore be bound for heaven to dwell in His presence forever.³

The eternal kingdom of God will cover the whole earth when Jesus comes again. He will make the world over again into an entirely new earth, with His new heaven resting upon it and accessible to those who love Him. In fact, He said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.” And He said, “Now I go to prepare a place for you, that there you may be with Me also.”⁴

God wants His children to live according to His truth and love in every way and share with others how much God loves them, how much He has done for them, how Jesus, His Son, died for every one of us so that God could forgive our sins—your sins, my sins—for that’s the only way we can be saved. Not through our own righteousness and piety, but through simple faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, and in His blood shed on the cross of Calvary for the sins of all mankind.⁵

Anyone can receive His gift of love and free salvation by simply believing and receiving Jesus into their heart personally and telling others of His love, confessing Him before others. We are God’s children, and you are too, if you are a child of God and His love. For He is love.⁶

We believe in His holy book, the Bible, written by His prophets and disciples. Every word of it. We believe that it is all absolutely true. It was inspired by His Holy Spirit, to tell you about God’s love and His wonderful salvation from sin and His coming kingdom of heavenly peace on earth.⁷

Jesus called to the fishermen of His day, “Come. Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men! From henceforth you will catch men!”⁸ The souls of men are far more valuable than any fish those disciples could have ever caught. They began following Jesus about and witnessing His love and winning souls for Christ. Until finally He went away to heaven to prepare a place for them and for us, called the New Jerusalem. He’s going to take us there when He comes back again.⁹

God’s children are part of His big family. We belong to many different denominations and groups, but we are all the children of God, born again, saved believers in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and His death on the cross for our sins.¹⁰

But “strait is the gate”—that means very narrow—“and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life eternal, and few there be that find it,” because Jesus is that door, He is that way, He is the truth and the life. As He told His disciples: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.”¹¹ Jesus is the only way to God and the only way to heaven.

Jesus tried to help the poor people and heal and feed them and save them and love them. He reached out even to the drunks and the harlots and the publicans and sinners, whom He said would enter in before the hypocritical religious leaders of their day. So they killed Him, their own Messiah—or He would have been if they had received Him.

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. For if it were of this world, then would My servants fight.” To His disciples, He said: “If you were of this world, the world would love his own, but because you are not of this world, therefore the world hates you.”¹² The kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of this world, but the kingdom of God is within you, now.

The Bible says that Jesus is going to return to the earth. He’s going to appear in the clouds with bright light like lightning shining over all the earth, from the east to the west. He’s going to send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, the voice of God, and a great shout to call His own beloved children who are still alive to meet Him in the air.¹³ He promised it in His Word, and the Bible says, “So shall we ever be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words.”¹⁴

Then will the curses of sin be removed, and we will live again as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden, in love and fellowship with God. That will be heaven on earth again, paradise regained.¹⁵

Have you not yet come to know God or His Son Jesus Christ? Perhaps you have been looking for answers to the problems of your life, the questions of why you’re here and where you’re going, and what for. Maybe you’re wondering about death and the hereafter.

God has the answer for all of these questions and problems and burdens of life. All you need to do is receive His Son, Jesus Christ, into your heart, and He will destine you to live in His love with Him forever on that beautiful new earth and in that heavenly new city.¹⁶

Your salvation is already paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for your sins on the cross of Calvary, and all you have to do is believe it and receive Him and repent of your sins and confess Him before others.¹⁷

It’s so wonderful to know Jesus personally, the Son of God, and His precious Holy Spirit! Once you have received Him and learned how much He loved you to save you by dying on the cross for your sins, you can spend the rest of your life telling others about Jesus and His love.

Originally published October 1985. Adapted and republished August 2021.
Read by Simon Peterson.

¹ John 1:12; Galatians 3:26; 1 John 3:1–2.

² Matthew 18:2,3; John 3:3–8; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:16.

³ John 17:3.

⁴ John 14:2–3.

⁵ Romans 3:23, 6:23; Titus 3:5.

⁶ Romans 10:9–10; Matthew 10:32; 1 John 4:7–8.

⁷ 2 Timothy 3:16.

⁸ Matthew 4:19–20; Luke 5:10.

⁹ John 14:2–3.

¹⁰ Galatians 3:27–28; Revelation 7:9.

¹¹ Matthew 7:13–14; John 14:6.

¹² John 18:36, 15:19.

¹³ Matthew 24:29–31.

¹⁴ Matthew 24:29–31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18.

¹⁵ Revelation 20:1–4.

¹⁶ Jeremiah 33:3.

¹⁷ Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 2:24.