Contend for THE Faith!
Our in-person services resume on July 5,2020 with precautions on SUNDAYS only. Thursday Bible study will continued to be live-streamed until further notice here and on our Facebook page.
All attendees are required to wear a mask or face covering for the duration of their time on LWBC property.
Due to limited seating, we ask that visitors stream our services online here, on our homepage, or on at Facebook.com/TheLWBC.
Yours in Christ,
-The LWBC
This is Brother Joseph at TheLWBC.com.
In our last message, I shared the importance of maintaining balance in our natural and spiritual lives. Next, I’d like to target four areas in the spiritual and natural areas of life that often give us trouble. They are maintaining balance when:
Some are things we don’t like to talk about—at least I don’t— but they are part of Satan’s Eden. As such, I believe it’s my duty as a pastor to address them.
In going through our message this evening, as always I encourage you to get your Bible and read through the Scriptures I reference throughout the week. A good companion sermon to today’s message is The Falling Apart of the World preached by Bro. William Branham in 1962.
So, let’s start with an easy one:
Sadly, I’ve seen doctrinal divisions divide churches, marriages, and believers at-large more often than I care to recount. Message believers disagree on many things from Christmas to the COVID vaccine. Not only does this demonstrate spiritual (and often natural) immaturity, but the sad reality is that all believers are striving to get to the same heaven. Do some think there will be special spots in heaven perhaps closer to Jesus for them because their opinion is the right one? Believe me when I say neither the Bible nor the messenger for this hour support that belief. The scripture does show us that all our debating is irrelevant because only God holds perfect insight into His Word.
Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
Psalm 147:5
Believe it or not, it’s rare to find Christians who agree on every single detail of the Word. Even when they do, there’s no guarantee that they’re right. Just because believers, or even preachers, say the same thing, it doesn’t mean that God is present or that God is pleased. Just think of King Ahab’s group of preachers who were all sincerely in agreement but had a wrong view of the Word (2 Chronicles 18:1-25). As a result of their error, the king died and the nation was thrown into chaos.
So let’s look at this more closely. On one hand, believers are supposed to contend for the faith (Jude 3). We cannot accept ideas that contradict the Word. On the other, we are to preserve unity at all costs (Eph. 4:3). Where is the balance? Let me put it this way,
Again, our goal is to maintain spiritual balance. The devil’s goal is to cause you to fall on one side or the other. If you’re straying off on the legalist side, you might find yourself in an argument, having some kind of ill feeling toward that person. If you stray off on the excessive grace side of things, you’ll find yourself tolerating error and the Word will no longer produce Its power.
But a discerning, balanced approach focuses on knowing Christ, NOT explaining His Word. When explanations are necessary, line everything up with the Word as best as you know the Word and leaves the rest up to God. Above all, keep a firm love of God in your heart toward that person,no matter what church they affiliate with or even if they don’t belong to a church at all.
Right now, a divisive issue is the right response to the COVID-19 vaccine. Christians are all over the spectrum on this issue but let this be clear—Satan’s objective to divide and then conquer the Church has never changed. The only way to win this fight is to maintain a standard of divine love and unity regardless of your brother or sister’s feelings on the matter.
Here’s a good test: ask yourself if you can feel as warmly toward that person after you’ve disagreed as you did before the divisive topic came up?
If not, pray through until you get that brotherly (or sisterly) love in your heart again. Otherwise, you’re not ready for the Rapture.
Let me give a simple example. Years ago, I used to work with a wonderful brother who I believe was an Apostolic Pentecostal. He and I often discussed the scriptures and , one day, he invited me to a gathering that Billy Graham was going to lead. I was a teenager and might not have been preaching yet but I told him that my friends and I wouldn’t go. My logic at the time was that, since we had heard what the messenger of the hour said, what could Billy Graham have to say that would be worth our time?
Now doesn’t that sound terrible?
It was. Frankly it was flat out wrong and I am thankful now that the Lord has let me grow enough in Him that I can share this with you to prevent you from making that same mistake. The fact is, yes we might be called out by a different Voice but that same messenger showed us time and again the importance of uniting ourselves and fellowshipping with others as long as they are Christians. Let me share a long but precious quote with you from teh emssage Speak to the Rock.
That’s the reason today the church is getting so dry and everything: murmuring, complaining, and fussing, and stewing, and one saying, “Oh, bless God, I belong to the Assemblies; that’s the biggest.”
And the other one say, “Well, I’m a Oneness, and I’ll tell you; I’ve got it.” And that’s just the reason your supply is cut off. That’s it exactly. Sure it is.
If you get together, and I don’t care whether he belongs here, or where he belongs to that; if he’s a Christian he’s my brother. Hallelujah. That’s all there is to it. And I’ll just shout, and shake his hands, and move on. What do I care? What…If he says he’s a Christian, and he’s acting like a Christian, and he—his fruits proves he’s a Christian, I’m associating with him and going on. If this fellow isn’t, I’ll take him by the arm and say, “Come on, brother, straighten up your life and let’s go anyhow.”
53-1115A – Speak To The Rock
Rev. William Marrion Branham
Did you catch that? Our spiritual dryness is because of divisive spirits which is really spiritual prejudice. You think your church is superior even if you don’t say so. Your view of the Word is more accurate. Says who? The Holy Ghost or your own imagination?
Is it getting warm where you are? I hope so!
Let me point out that Brother Branham said even if a brother isn’t acting like a Christian, still reach out, pull him up higher and move on together. But do we do that? We who claim to be followers of William Branham’s message?
No.
Too often we say, “if they were elect they’d have made it.” Or, the classic: “If they were elect, they’d see it my way.” This is exactly why we are dying by the thousands in our church pews instead of being the mature Bride that Jesus Christ is looking for. This is exactly why many may miss the Rapture itself. Beloved in Christ, you who are blessed of the Lord, examine your attitude so that you can reflect the truth of this Message.
You may have heard me tell this story but I believe it’s worth repeating just now. My wife and I love to travel. I’m a historian and and Europe is a favorite destination spot. One day I stood in France at Notre Dame cathedral and watched as an old woman who might have had MS struggled to make her way up the long path to the altar. She had a candle lit for prayer. My heart clenched as I admired this little lady. I don’t agree with the Catholic faith at all. But I wonder how many who claim to be Holy Ghost filled believers would go through the obvious pain and struggle that this lady did?
Or would we just stay home and stream?
In the end, I wonder who God feels has shown more love.
Remember this as you interact with Christians from across the spectrum. True balance doesn’t accept everything but it does accept everyone , discerning good from evil through the Word that you have received.
Now I want to address this same issue but focus for a few minutes on married couples. Things get a little more intense when the people involved are married.
Yes, God has an order for that.
First of all, the Bible shows us that it is the husband’s view of the Word that is to anchor the home—not the wife or the children. If there is a difference in understanding, to bein line with the Word she must defer to his judgment unless it is totally antichrist (which of course wouldn’t happen if this is a Christian man). As it is written in the biblical marriage song,
Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father’s house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him.
Psalm 45:10-11 ESV
That’s a tremendous amount of authority and most importantly responsibility. Men, make it your duty to be in fellowship with the Spirit and grow in your understanding of the Word. Quite honestly, not even the pastor of the church has the authority to go around a husband to explain the Word to that man’s wife (see 1 Corinthians 14:34-40) unless the husband asks the pastor to do so.
I’m stressing this because this Laodicean age influences easily creep into our lives and the only way to escape is to choose the Word way.
The same applies to the children of the home. If children believe they know more of God’s will than the parents, again this breaks the model of God’s Word (see Luke 2:51, Eph. 6:1-3).
It seems that society places more emphasis on rights, technology, wealth, and science everyday. As such, Satan works through this to tempt the Christian and place us in situationst hat are very difficult to navigate.
Let’s start with the rights issue.
It seems that everyone in this world has rights except the Christian. We’re stripped of our right to pray, to witness, to share the love of God as and when we would. But the biggest social “hot topics” lately have been issues revolving around the women and gender identity. As you interact with people who, sadly, have been blinded by the god of this world and cannot see whether or not they are male or female, remember two things:
This is Satan’s Garden of Eden, a perversion of the perfect place that God created. In God’s garden, man was both male or female originally (see Gen. 1:27-28) and Satan has deformed humanity through science until we have a generation that doesn’t know what gender they are. This is again a false perversion of the Bride of Christ losing Her identity as she unites with Jesus Christ (see 2 Tim. 2:7) and the beauty of Jesus Christ being formed in His Bride (see Rev. 1:13).
The spiritual union between man and woman is now a disgraceful reality that the governments of this world enforce. We as Christians must not encourage or support such lifestyles. However, we cannot stop people who wish to live in this way. Again, our job is not to REFORM society but to PREACH the Gospel (Good News) that Christ is here to liberate all who desire to find freedom from the bondage of this sodomite world. We are here to bear witness to the truth.
There has been much discussion about what to call “Johns” who now wish to be “Charlotte”. I do not believe we as Christians should use pronouns that refer to men as women and vice versa. To do so is to cater to what the enemy wants and implies that God made a mistake when He made that person male or female. However we believers are not responsible for the name that this person wishes to be called.
As much as I hate to say it, names are fluid and aren’t always tied to a particular gender. For example, we attribute the name Noah as belonging to a man, however the Bible tells us in Numbers 27 that Zelophehad had a daughter whose name was Noah and who received an inheritance along with her sisters.
The balance here is to stand for your principles, and the accuracy in God’s creative plan in making us male or female. However we must recognize that whatever name a man or woman is called is their responsibility not yours. I’m genuinely sorry for any man that wishes to be called Harriett. That’s a poor misguided brother that Satan has wrapped around his ugly crooked finger. But if that is the name I know him by, what else can I call him?
We cannot rename the whole world. Unfortunately. But I could not, as a Christian, refer to a man as “she.” Satan tries to indoctrinate us believers but we must remember that God makes no mistakes.
Beyond the gender issue, there are many social issues that clamor for our attention. Brothers and sisters, God has called us to peace. Racism is a rampant problem but Jesus never made it the focus of His ministry although He experienced it on a daily basis. He was a Jew, as they thought, living under the heel of Rome—the very government that killed him. In the Roman view, Jesus was not their equal. He was a little better than an animal fit to do the bidding of Rome.
If only they knew the truth!
My message to you is to keep balanced. Live a life that shows all you meet the respect and love of God. That is your focus. Remember, we are preparing to leave this world, not fix its problems.
Our world constantly struggles for “social justice” and to a certain degree that’s a good thing. But Solomon shows us that we shouldn’t be surprised when the poor are mistreated or the good meaning of a law is perverted to accomplish a political scheme. They are all reflections of a fallen world and corrupt government on a grand scale.
If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent [b]perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.
Eccl. 5:8 NKJV
Many get caught up in the cries for social justice and unknowingly fall into the devil’s snare. Again, we’re speaking of balance here.
On one hand, Christians tend to live in their own bubble without reaching out to those who suffer. This is wrong and we may answer God for having a callous heart or committing sins of omission.
On the other hand, believers sometimes get themselves embroiled in things that God never called us to do.
Our core mission is to “preach the Gospel” and demonstrate the power of Jesus Christ not be vocal advocate for social change and protestors.
We should care about the needs among us—the hurting, the homeless, the refugees and do all we can to help. James teaches us that this is part of true religion and undefiled (James 1:27). We should more than care, it is our responsibility to act to make a difference!
But act knowing that the corruption and cruelty in this world goes beyond your reach and will last until the King of Kings finally comes to set up His throne.
Brother Branham shows us where our eyes ought to be as Christians.
Everything that’s outside of that…God sent everything, He made it fragile so it would break. In its fragile condition like that, it’s got to break. It’s fragile. But, remember that we got a Kingdom that’s solid now, when everything else falls and give way.
….A Kingdom! Not a politicianal system, not a political system, not a church system, not a denominational system; it all becomes Pharisees and doctors of the devil. But we receive a Kingdom, an Eternal King Who is the Eternal Word, Who has Eternal Life; by His Eternal Word to His Eternal people who has Eternal Life, and we’re partakers of this. Oh, my! That’s the thing.
62-1216 – The Falling Apart Of The World
Rev. William Marrion Branham
The last thing I wish to present today is balance in regards to inflation. As the cost of living rises, the cry to “make more money” seems to rise in volume also. But, here again, God advocates for balance.
When goods increase,
Eccl. 5:11 NKJV
They increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
Except to see them with their eyes?
Plainly said, the more money we make, the more expenses there will be to pay. It is all an illusion of security and the same can be said for education and technology. While money, tech, and education each have their place, we must be careful of giving into the social pressure to “get more tech/education/money” which can make us miss the very call that God has placed on our lives to fulfill.
Most Christians don’t mean to get caught in the “need more money trap.” Instead, it’s the pressure placed by the employer, mounting expenses, or simply too much time on our hands. As Solomon says, you’ll always need more money–if not today, then tomorrow. But without balance, you’ll lose the joy of living. So, if you’ve met your 40 hours for the week why not take end it there and enjoy time with the Lord, by yourself, or something positive that you enjoy?
Peter shows us that everything around us will pass away and urges us to live with that understanding.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
1 Peter 3:11-14 KJV
Sometimes parents want their children to succeed in life, so they overemphasize school, clubs, and sports more than they emphasize a deep spiritual walk with God. How many of our children are used to spending an hour in prayer on their knees each day? Or listening to the sermons that will give them the spiritual strength they need to face an overpowering enemy? The time they give to the natural is taking away from their ability to channel into God’s Spirit.
I’ve had the privilege of teaching kids who were lined up to be professional athletes, ambassadors or politicians, movie stars and dancers. They knew that in order to achieve anything, they had to be the best. And so they sacrificed everything for the chance to get noticed by the right people.
I wonder if we Christians have that same vision for our own souls and the souls of those whom we care about? Are we willing to sacrifice the other pulls in this life in order to achieve the walk that God desires?
John has words that we must never forget:
And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
1 John 2:17 NLT
Now, here’s a good place to pause and reflect on what we’ve covered so far.
Today we’ve looked at maintaining balance in some very controversial areas such as doctrinal divisions and social issues. Above all things, remember the coming of the Lord is near and we must focus our time on winning souls for His coming while preparing ourselves to leave. Let nothing move you from those goals.
Next time we wish to look at maintaining balance when dealing with those who are not walking with the Lord, particularly family. How do we keep our interactions positive and pleasing to the Lord when they don’t share our faith?
I hope this is helpful and addresses some of the issues you face. Until we meet again, walk in the Spirit and may the peace of the Lord be with you.
Throughout the past episodes of this study, we’ve dug deep into the Book of Ecclesiastes to discover what God recommends for us humans to have a good life. By a good life, God doesn’t mean one that is necessarily filled with love or trouble-free. What He means is a life that accomplishes its spiritual purpose while achieving a sense of natural fulfillment.
Just before going further, permit me for a moment to explain what I mean. In his book, Motivation and Personality, the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow taught that we humans have five levels of needs which govern many of our decisions. For those of you listening to this podcast, there’s a diagram of this hierarchy on the website: theLWBC.com.
At the top of the list is the need to reach your full potential as a person or, what Maslow called, self-actualization. I teach my students that it’s to be the best you that you can be.
Well, God was way ahead of Maslow. And in this book of wisdom, through Solomon, God teaches us principles such as finding fulfillment in life, work and relationships, understanding that life operates in seasons.
As we start to wind down our study of the Book of Ecclesiastes, I’d like to draw one theme from chapters 5-8. It is finding balance and learning contentment.
Over the next two messages we’ll focus on the first aspect: finding balance in a world of extremes.
Now, before we get started, remember to pause throughout this study, read through the scriptures and pick up when you’re ready to move forward. There’s no rush and I’d like to make sure you’re getting all the benefit from this that you can because it is important for your life.
We live in a world of extremes. Extreme pleasure, extreme pressure, incredible wealth—where some can launch themselves into space whenever they want— and crushing poverty.
Against the backdrop of these social contradictions, God is trying to get a Bride who is in the world yet not a part of the world (John 18:36). Honestly, that is one of the biggest challenges a pastor faces in modern times. Preaching so that the people can live successful lives in a world that becomes increasingly ungodly by the hour, yet helping them to live more like the Word “in this present darkness” (Eph. 6:12), is difficult at best. But we are not discouraged and our hope is in the Lord.
One of the keys to navigating this complex age of Laodicea while striving for your overcomer’s crown is to find and maintain a balanced approach to your Christianity. By no means am I encouraging people to be lukewarm—those of you who know me know that nothing could be further from the truth—but I am encouraging you to walk in wisdom as Col.4:5 urges us.
Charles Blondin is probably the world’s most famous tightrope walker. In case you’re not familiar with the idea of tightropewalking, I want you to close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you’re crossing the Grand Canyon on a rope that is just two inches thick—without any belts or nets to catch you.
Blondin crossed Niagara Falls about 300 times on a tightrope and, on at least one occasion, he hauled a stove with him to the falls, lit a fire and cooked an omelet—all on a tightrope that was about 1,300 feet long and 2 inches thick.
I share this because that’s how I believe the Christian walks today. Hell is beneath us. The forces of evil are trying to push us from our Lifeline—the Word. Again, for a moment, just close your eyes and imagine a tightrope walker. Every move you make has to be balanced. Every step must be true.
To do anything else is to die.
Spiritual balance is the same thing. It is not letting yourself tilt toward the lukewarm, looseness of Satan’s Eden and neither is it allowing yourself to become overzealous and, ultimately, self-righteous. God warns Joshua of the same when He tells him not to go to the right hand or the left.
Just like with tightrope walking, it’s easy for us to sway to one side or the other. And so the Bible itself has advice for us.
Chapter 5 opens up with a warning to not be quick to promise God anything (Eccl. 5:1-7). Now this might seem strange as all who love the Lord should be happy to promise him anything—right? Well, not necessarily. The thing is, when you promise God something, He never forgets it and He holds you accountable for your words. Solomon shows us here that we must not let our love for the Lord get us into situations where we cannot keep what we promise. A balanced approach recognizes this and therefore focuses more on worship than making promises.
But balance goes beyond words into daily living. Let’s drill into this a little further. In this next section, I’d like to focus on keeping balance in our natural life and a few areas where the enemy tries or will try to get us off the straight path of the Word.
Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.
Ecclesiastes 7:16-18
As we interact with the world on a daily basis, let us keep focused on our mission: hate the sin but love the sinner. Stand for the Word without compromising but do not seek conflict unless you are definitively led of the Holy Spirit to do so.
There’s a good saying that we can be so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good. I recall a time when some married sisters didn’t want to make themselves attractive to their husbands because they were so given to living a holy life. Today, believers sometimes give off the idea that those who struggle with temptation are sinful when that is totally incorrect.
I’ve mentioned from behind the pulpit that we need to balance meeting our physical and emotional needs with bringing our body under subjection. There are times to give in to your body’s will and there are times to tell it a firm “no.” Now is a good time to bring this back to your remembrance while explaining a little further.
The Lord Jesus never focused on being too righteous—He focused simply on doing the Father’s will even though there were times that He was tempted to do what He wanted instead.
Christ showed us balance in all things. In terms of godly service, there were times when He pushed Himself the extra mile and there were times when He told His disciples to “Come aside and rest, (Mark 6:31).” At times He told the disciples to exclusively trust the Heavenly Father for protection (like Ezra of old in Ezra 8:22). But there came a time when He taught His disciples to sell their garments and buy swords (Luke 22:33-35). The gentle love Christ showed the lost was balanced by His fury when He beat the crowds out of the temple.
In like manner, we must accept that there are times we need to rely on the Spirit’s power and there are times we need to trust that the Spirit will work through our efforts. For example, there are times you must take medicine to get better and—when we appropriate the faith necessary—there are times when we won’t need medicine at all.
If you go to the extreme of always relying on medicine, your faith will be weak. But if you go to the other extreme of never taking it at all, without a solid revelation in your heart, you may die. Spiritual balance keeps our faith pure yet grounded in the realities of this world.
Let’s take another look at your life. You are called to be the Word but, like the Lord Jesus, you must balance that out with the fact that you are also human. Because of this, there will be times where we shake off the mental, emotional, sexual, and materialistic pressures of the age without much of a problem and there are times we will have to really do battle to overcome ourselves. And sometimes we’ll stumble and fall and need to cling to the cross to rise and do battle again.
I’m urging you to keep balanced in every area of your life as you look at yourself so you don’t get discouraged. On one hand you can go to the extreme of self-condemnation because you wonder why, as a child of God you’re struggling with ______X__________ (fill in the blank here). This is especially important if you’re going through a new phase in life and have never dealt with this kind of situation before. Think back to my message of Stages of Life. By condemning yourself, if you’re not careful, you’ll end up doubting Christ’s salvation in your life which means you’ll be doing the Devil’s job for him.
On the other hand, you can go like false Christians today and live without self-control, falsely claiming that the grace of God will atone for your lack of holiness and lack of faith. This leads to destruction. This is why the discernment of the Spirit and maturity that comes in Christ is something that all Christians must prioritize. As was well said, “we must lay in Christ’s presence and ripen.”
Jesus Himself maintained balance at all times.
On one hand, there were times that He gave into His body’s love for good food, so much so till the Pharisees criticized Him for being a glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34). The critics thought Christ really couldn’t be serious about a holy life if He ate and drank so much—especially in the company of prostitutes (Hmm…). Why, the Pharisees knew the body had to be constantly mortified and fasting should be done twice a week as per the publican (Luke 18:12). How could this Man be the Messiah and give into the love of food?
But you see there was also another side to Jesus. The side that brought that same body into subjection and fasted for 40 days and nights then overcame the temptation to transform stones into bread.
Here is what I want you to remember: when the situation demands a certain reaction, we must choose the path that will allow us to be the best that we can be in our current reality.
The Lord Jesus wasn’t the only one to demonstrate the need for balance in our daily natural and spiritual walk. Let’s turn our eyes now to Paul. This great Apostle to the Gentiles believed in divine healing so much that a poisonous snake’s venom couldn’t harm him and yet he knew take a doctor with him wherever he went. He also advised Timothy to pursue a physical cure for his stomach sickness without making mention of prayer. Obviously Paul trusted in prayer but he knew when to pray and when to take medicine.
The point is that we Christians need to find that place where we know we’re living according to the Word without overdoing it. This way, we can be the voices of wisdom that give an accurate picture of who our God is and what His nature is like.
We all love the mountain top experiences, those times where the will of God is so clear and the fire of God obliterates all doubt like it did on the Mount Carmel showdown that I spoke of this morning. But as we near the Rapture, we have to realize the BIble predicts that the age will be one that is dismal, a time in which it’s often difficult to discern what is the right thing to do in our day-to-day life (see Zechariah 14:7). Let us remember that it’s in this final age that the Bride of Christ is in her maturity and should be spiritually mature enough to know WHAT God wants done even if He doesn’t outright tell us what to do.
That’s one side of things. On the other hand, sometimes the choices we have to make may not be the choice that we want to make as Christians. I hope that doesn’t stumble you.
We as genes of God often want to achieve something for the Lord or change something in our life but we are “encompassed by infirmity” and cannot accomplish it—at least, not at that moment. We then have to do the best that we can and pray, struggle, and trust the grace of God to bring us through.
Here’s what Paul said:
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Romans 7:15-20
I love the Bible because it is so practical and doesn’t shy away from open, honest conversations that can help us all navigate a complex world.
Now, this scripture doesn’t mean that we don’t have to overcome but it does mean that we have to accept that there will be times we don’t get to have the clear-cut victory we’d like to have right away and sometimes ever in this life. There are some emotional and physical scars that linger even though God may forgive and we may have to struggle against them all our life. We’re designed this way so we can keep on our knees and always remember the grace that God has shown us.
I hope that’s clear. If not, write me a question and I’ll go into more detail.
There are Christians who try to live as though faith alone can solve all problems. That is not true. Faith must also be balanced by hope and love. In fact, love (which includes compassion) is greater than faith (see 1 Corinthians 13). And in every day living, faith must be balanced with wisdom. Brother Branham tells the story about a woman in midlife who’d been told by a minister that she had seven devils. Another minister told her she only had five. The poor woman almost went insane looking for devils in her stockings. Meanwhile, her home life was falling apart, her marriage was suffering. No doubt the ministers were sincere but faith without wisdom almost destroyed the woman and her family.
When God in His mercy began to reveal the woman’s condition, Brother Branham gave her some good advice.
34 I said, “Go home. Straighten up your house; cook your husband a nice, big, apple pie, about that thick. When he comes in tonight, throw both arms around him, kiss him, set down, and get on his lap, and tell him you love him, and live like a lady ought to.” That’s exactly. That’s all there is.
55-0224 – Water From The Rock
You see the truth was that a natural stage of life—that every woman has to deal with in some way or another— was causing some emotional turmoil even though she was a Christian. And it is the truth that sets us free, not shouting, stomping, or even our prayer meetings. Deliverance comes from accepting the Word.
With that being said, it’s probably easy to understand how Romans 7:15-20 applies to us in a physical and spiritual sense, so let’s take an emotional example to look at this more closely.
Again, I’m going to reference a story Brother Branham told, this time about himself. He stated that he tried to commit suicide after losing his wife and child.
Now, suicide is something we might expect from a sinner, but Brother Branham was a Christian (filled with the Holy Ghost) at this point in his life. Not only was he a Christian but he was a minister. What did it? A lack of faith? Did he somehow lose the Holy Spirit?
Not at all. It was simply the strain of unrelenting grief. Christian or not, the mind can only take so much. Paul spoke about comforting the feeble-minded in the Body. He did not advise us to take the approach that they should “get over it.”
Now, I realize that I’m constantly challenging the beliefs you may have held, but again, my responsibility before the Lord is to teach the Word in such a way that you can navigate the complexities of this age. Laodicea is like no age that’s ever existed in human history. To overcome, you must be grounded in truth not tradition.
We say that the Holy Ghost is the keeping power but the Holy Ghost is to work through you and me. If we do not support other members of the body when they are tested, can we be surprised when they fall? On the other hand, if we are struggling and we let pride keep us from asking for help from the other members of the body, can we blame the church or the preacher when we find ourselves lost in sin? James 5:14 brings this out clearly.
By no means am I condoning suicide, but I am trying to help you understand the balance between what we should do as Christians and the choices we sometimes make. Suicide is flat out wrong, and is a sin in the eyes of the Lord for you “are the temple of the Lord (1 Cor. 3:16).” No one should destroy God’s temple.
But given that this body (and mind) is prone to weakness–especially in this age of stress and anxiety–it is important that we balance our faith with practical, healthy lifestyles, love for one another, and an awareness of our own human makeup so that we that limit Satan’s opportunities to attack us.
Let’s take another example just to drive this point home. Brother Branham later shares how his second wife, Sis. Meda, was really struggling with the ongoing demands of the ministry. People were camped out in the yard and running to the door claiming to have “Thus Saith the Lord” for her husband and family. Her house was a mess. Kids were screaming on the floor and dinner hadn’t been cooked.
No.
It was a perfectly normal human response. She snapped under the pressure and had a meltdown.
You see, it’s important that we balance our spiritual faith with a solid understanding of our makeup as humans and know what we can and cannot handle. Knowing your limits, while being willing to push them as you grow in Christ, will help you balance everything in this world.
As Christians, we need to be compassionate and recognize that we do need to support one another continuously with our words and prayer. There are cases where believers shy away from converts who are tattooed or struggle with temptations that came from their life in the world.
It is as though we know God has forgotten their past life in our minds but we who have never stood in their shoes can’t seem to move past it. This approach isn’t good and we must be careful lest we drive those who are trying to follow Christ back into the arms of Satan by our attitudes.
We’ve learned that:
Here’s a great spot to stop for today. Lord willing in our next message we want to look a little closer at this great topic and focus on maintaining our balance in our interactions with believers and those who don’t know Jesus Christ. . Until then, walk in the Spirit, love God and one other, and may God bless you.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Eccelesiastes 3:1
In 1906, the world stood on the brink of war. While the world’s nations formed alliances and set the stage for WW1, the Holy Ghost was also on the warpath, baptizing souls and moving like a fire. It was a time of change.
Jennie Wilson, called the Fanny Crosby of the West, said it write when she penned the famous words,
Hold to His hand, God’s unchanging hand.
Jennie Wilson
Hold to His hand, God’s unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things eternal.
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.
It is said that the only constant is change. In other words, the fact that things change is the only thing that will never change. In the natural, to a certain extent, this is true.
Life is a great journey that’s filled with millions of moments. In each moment, we take a step toward something different, toward the person that we are becoming. But this journey is divided into larger chunks that Solomon calls seasons.
In Hebrew the word is Zeman and it means “a definite or appointed time.”
This is important because we often fail to realize that our life is divided into specific times for specific purposes in which God wishes to focus on a specific aspect of our natural or spiritual growth.
We often feel that the stage we’re at in life or what we’re doing will be forever. So we cling to things. To people. To our habits.
But if we’re not careful, we can end up limiting God and failing to achieve His purpose. Remember, God is involved in everything that involves you.
Like a score of music, there are specific moments where certain instruments must play certain parts. To continue to play the drums in a time where they are to be silent and a harp is to be quietly playing will only frustrate the listener. So is it in our life. We must recognize when God is changing things and embrace those changes.
Our natural life follows this pattern. Most kids think it takes forever to grow up. But that changes by the time we hit adulthood and our middle years. In young adulthood we think we’ll be strong and healthy forever. In midlife we’re often tempted to look back and wish we could be what we once were.
But again, God has a season and time for all things. We should not look back at what we were. Instead, let us look at what we are becoming. Remember that the road of life has bright spots and areas of shadow. We must pass through all of it successfully to make it to our destination or Heaven.
In Ecclesiastes 3, the Bible shows us that we must recognize the beginning and end of things, but if you’ll look carefully every verse shows us the opposite of what has been done. There is a time to get but also a time to lose. A time to hate and a time to love. Everything is the undoing of the other.
Why?
Often in life we face circumstances where we feel that our current actions are getting us nowhere, that we’re undoing or regretting the very thing that we once desired. But we need to realize that it’s all part of the stages of God. Part of making us more like Himself. As I said this morning, He is pulling us into in the image of Messiah.
Let me share a small testimony to make this a little clearer. As you all know I love to teach and dedicated almost 13 years of my life to my profession. Earlier this year, the Lord clearly showed me it was time to leave the field. I couldn’t understand and went into prayer. The Spirit directed me to the Bible and then began to show me a lesson I’d like to share with you.
I saw, as it were, a man planting vegetables in a garden. In the right season, all was well. There was a good harvest. But that same man planted vegetables–I believe it was pumpkin–in the wintertime. The ground was frozen, hard to break through and there was only a scraggly sprout that managed to spring up and die.
The question came to me: What made the difference? The answer was quite clearly the season.
Then the lesson became clear.
God operates in our lives accomplishing specific tasks at specific times. But when that season is over, He may make us tear down what we have built, not that it was wrong to build it but because now He wants us to move on…to do something different for Him. Remember, everything is for an appointed time (a season).
I hope this is speaking to your heart.
We so often limit God without intending to do so. We are like Martha who expected God to only raise the dead at the end of the world when He was ready to move at the season when she most needed it!
To be successful as a Christian, we must recognize what God wants from us at that time and be ready to accomplish it. But let us always remember that the God who told Philip to leave a revival and leave at a moment’s notice to do His will, is the God who may have a different path for you to follow than the one you’re currently walking.
The Lord Jesus came in the season of Redeemer to save those who were lost. But now the season has changed and He is coming to condemn the world, not save it. He is in sync with the Father’s plan and His mindset is perfectly in harmony with the Father’s will. Can you say the same?
When God changes dynamics in your life, when He chooses to allow trials to linger instead of giving you the quick victories you once had, when He asks you to give and then give some more without showing any indication that He’s about to bless you in return—is your mindset ready to adapt to whatever He has in mind at that particular season in your life?
Just remember that He does all things well and He is accomplishing a purpose. As the scripture goes on to say:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
The purpose of each season may be hidden from us but it is enough to know that God has a purpose for each season of your life. So don’t get upset when things change in your body, or you’re not able to do what you once could. Give thanks instead for what you still can do while remembering that God has a purpose in allowing one season to finish and another one to begin.
He is God and He is in control.
Toward the end of Ecclesiastes 4, we see that God’s principle of seasons also applies to nations as well as individual lives. For example, Solomon gives a picture that is very similar to what actually happened to his own kingdom in verses 13-16. He writes,
13 Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. 14 For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. 15 I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king’s place. 16 There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Eccl.4:13-16
Now, if you think back for a few moments to what was happening in Israel around this time, you’ll see a powerful life lesson from this chapter.
Jeroboam was a young man who was raised by his widowed mother Zeruah. King Solomon saw his leadership qualities and put him in charge of the labor forces from northern Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh). Jeroboam realized that many in northern Israel were unhappy with the southern rule under Judah because of the heavy taxes they had to pay for Solomon’s ongoing building campaigns and his forced labor requirements.
It’s important to realize that Solomon (an old and foolish king as he refers to himself) had only become disconnected from his people’s realities after he got away from God (see 1 Kings 11:1-13). God warned Solomon that his kingdom would be lost due to his spiritual infidelity—that the season of united Israel’s prosperity was almost over.
The prophet Ahijah told Jeroboam that he would rule over the majority of Israelite tribes (1 Kings 11:29). This came to the ears of Solomon and he tried to kill Jeroboam who fled to Egypt then returned when Solomon was dead. Jeroboam publicly challenged Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, and won the northern kingdom (see 1 Kings 12).
As Solomon predicted, Jeroboam’s reign was not a happy one. The two kingdoms broke into civil war and ultimately, Israel’s apostasy led to the Babylonian destruction.
But there is a lesson that I’d like to underscore today, and it is the fact that sometimes our attitude toward God can determine the outcome of a season in our life. Solomon’s reign began with a season of unparalleled prosperity but his loose attitude toward the Word (not taking advice as he says) led to an financial ruin, spiritual apostasy and the destruction of his empire.
In your life, always keep a close eye on your attitude toward the Word. A season of spiritual plenty can turn to a season of famine if God’s commands are ignored, even slightly. Also, if you’re in a spiritual dry season, check your attitude toward the Word. Humbling yourself before God can unlock the floodwaters from on high.
As the nation of Israel’s fate was turned based on one man’s attitude, so can the outcome of a specific season in your life be affected.
Time is filled with swift transition,
Jennie B. Wilson, 1906
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.
In all things, hold to God’s unchanging hand and cling to the cross in every season.
Today I’d like to continue our study of the Book of Ecclesiastes. If you haven’t listened to the first part, Finding Meaning in Life, make time do so as it will lay a solid basis for where I’d like to go in this podcast.
Ecclesiastes is written to give us a very sobering reality check, one that we need if we want to live a good life. Today I’d like to focus on the following three questions:
As I said before, I believe King Solomon is the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes and God gave him extreme wealth, power, and influence to prove that all these things that we so often long for are meaningless. None of us will ever have the natural success that Solomon enjoyed, and that’s okay. God gave it to him—and ensured that we had record of it—to prove to us the foolishness of prioritizing things in this world. We can learn from Solomon’s example. To him was given extreme wisdom, what we now call spiritual discernment, and yet he also made critical mistakes that would cost his son a kingdom (see 1 Kings 12). Let’s learn the answers to our own big questions as we look at the Bible.
Ecclesiastes 2 starts off with Solomon purposing to discover what we humans should do with our lives. He goes on to detail how he invested himself in building projects, business, and entertainment—all of which are familiar to us. How often has the message that productivity leads to a fulfilled life been presented to us? Many times we Christians are tempted to lose ourselves in the projects we undertake—maybe our jobs, our family, or the blizzard of entertainment options that now exist.
And yet, nothing satisfies.
Solomon shows us in verse 11 that the very things he had spent years building up now became a source of frustration.
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 2:11
We know that money doesn’t bring happiness, but why do we then spend so much time trying to gain the next dollar? Paul told us to live simply. In 1 Timothy 6:8-10 he writes,
And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:8-10
The drive to earn money is at the heart of the most sinful and pervasive parts of our global culture. A 2019 market analysis on PR Newswire put the pornography industry revenue in the U.S. at 35 billion dollars. Globally, some estimates put it at almost $100 billion annually.
In a 2019 study by the RAND Corporation, the illegal drug industry averages around $150 billion in the U.S. alone each year.
Now, if you’re listening to this podcast, the studies referenced are hyperlinked in the actual article at thelwbc.com.
I don’t need to talk about the harmful effects of both the porn drug and the literal drugs—we know both are addictive, shatter lives, and ruin self-respect. My focus today is on what God expects from you and me.
While the world clearly will go to any lengths to make money, God has clear boundaries about how much of a role work and the pursuit of money should play in the lives of His children. I want to identify two boundaries as we answer our first two questions.
Again, those questions are: Should my job determine how happy I am (or am not)? What does the Bible say about keeping a work-life balance?
First boundary:
Let me explain what I mean.
“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment[c] in his toil. “ (Ecclesiastes 2:25 NKJV).
Your job should be something you enjoy doing—not just something you do to pay the bills. Now, I realize this isn’t always possible and I’m not saying you’re sinning if you don’t like your job—believe me, I’ve been there too! But, no matter how long it takes, try to get yourself in a job that you enjoy because this is part of the blessing that God has for you in this world. It may also lengthen your life and your health by minimizing the negative effects of stress that you’ll otherwise face.
Solomon warns us against keeping a job you don’t enjoy or that is high-pressure when he says, “For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. (verse 23)”
Ever lose a night’s sleep because of your job? As a teacher, I have many times. But that’s not God’s plan. Neither is remaining in a toxic work environment.
Think about it: how many times do you complain about your job? Does it make you feel happy or emotionally refreshed to gripe about your supervisors or the demanding hours?
Probably not.
As the Bible shows us in Philippians 4:8, we Christians are called to keep our minds on things that are good and not meditate upon things that frustrate us. If we don’t, we’ll constantly have our spirit in turmoil which works against our health.
The work-life balance that God calls for requires us to leave our job at our job. When the people we work with, their personal problems, or the work itself continuously drains you (and I mean in a negative way emotionally or spiritually), it’s time to stop and ask God to either change the circumstance or make a way for you to leave. God’s plan for work is a job that we enjoy and work that allows us to rest easy at night with a clear conscience.
We can see this from the work environment that God provided for Adam. I have a hard time imagining Adam complaining to Eve at night about the stresses of gardening, especially when weeds and miniature terrorists called bugs didn’t exist—at least, not as we know now! Even in a perfect world, where Adam “worked from home,” everything all stopped at night when it was time to worship God, spend time with his family, and rest easy.
Now, let’s look back at the Ecclesiastes 2. I’m going to repeat that earlier verse but also read the following.
“24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment[c] in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him[d] who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”
Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
Now, I mentioned that your work should be meaningful…but it should not give you meaning. I want to repeat that so you’ll be sure to get the difference. Your work should be meaningful but it should not give you meaning.
This is a big subject, that I’m going to slant toward the men in the audience for a moment, because, generally speaking, we tend to judge our self-worth by our accomplishments (which are often job related) more than women do.
Brothers, God expects us to do our best at our jobs but don’t let the drive to provide for yourself or your family consume you. Keep everything in balance.
Let me share a personal story. Like most of you know, in 2016 I left my job because of my Christian principals. As painful as it was to separate from students I genuinely cared about, the hardest part was dealing with the fact that I had no idea what to do next. Without realizing it, I was equating my own self-worth with being a teacher. When that was taken from me, I floundered in depression for several years. Somewhere in the chaos of my churning emotions, our gracious Lord opened my eyes to understand where I had been erring.
You see, like many others, I depended on my job to give a sense of meaning to my life. Teaching. Coaching. Encouraging. Correcting. It’s all part of my nature. But, while those are natural human tendencies that God placed within me for His purpose, God calls us to draw every scrap of our sense of meaning from Him alone. And, through this experience, He showed me that I subconsciously gave to my work what belonged to Him.
Remember, the very God-given aspects of your character can work against you if you don’t constantly keep an eye on them. For example, a caring, open-hearted person can be drawn into a wrong relationship if he/she doesn’t keep that part of his/herself under control.
Now let me swing this thought over to my sisters.
Women often draw their sense of meaning from their relationships (romantic or otherwise). But what if all that was unexpectedly stripped away from you? What if you lost every person you ever cared about or your friends and family decided to shun you? Would you still feel that your life mattered?
It would. It does.
Sometimes the service that is done to others is what fuels a woman’s sense of meaningfulness, giving her a sense of value because she feels needed. But, remember Sister, your true value lies in simply who you are—not what you do. As a daughter of the King, who is living a surrendered life to your Heavenly Father, your true value comes from being His light in this dark world. Think of Martha who found meaning in serving others while Mary found meaning in her spiritual relationship to Christ. Both were good women but one, Mary, had truly grasped the understanding of a valuable life.
Which woman are you?
Please understand that it is right and good to serve others, and it is totally normal for that spark good feelings within us as Christians, but again that isn’t the source of our life’s value—it is an expression of it.
Men and women, if the day comes that you can’t work because of a disability or serve because the relationships in your life no longer exist , you can still have a meaningful life if you draw meaning only from God.
You see, as long as we draw meaning from anything else but Christ Himself, we Christians are vulnerable. Our enemy will have the power to disrupt our minds and our lives until we accept that our life is meaningful because Christ is revealing Himself to us and through us.
Remember the Scripture, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33).
As long as we have Christ… everything else will be alright.
The last thing I want to point out from this beautiful chapter is Solomon’s reminder that our work and efforts are all temporal.
You may remember King Henry 8th of England, the Tudor monarch who married 6 times and had some of his wives beheaded in his relentless pursuit of a legitimate male heir. After endless intrigue, assassinations, family divisions and war, this family line died out when Henry’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth refused to marry. Perhaps that’s not too surprising, given that her father executed her mother!
The point is, all his efforts to build a kingdom fell due to the choices of someone who lived after him. How many thousands died in war and civil strife to preserve a kingdom that would would only last about 120 years?
It was temporal.
The same can be said of our work, be it government, healthcare, business etc. You can devote 30 years of your life to an organization and they may never promote you. Or, if you’re a manager or VP the day will come where you’ll have to retire and someone else will simply take your place. So how much does that contribute to a good life in the end?
Because of this inability to control what happens after we leave our jobs or even this world, Solomon realized that life is meaningless if we define it by our work. As he writes in verse 18-20:
“Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 2:18-20
When we live with this reality constantly in our thoughts, it will make us cut back on those late hours at the job and devote more time to aspects of life that really matter. Instead of getting more things off our to-do lists, we’ll think more about what we put on our lists.
Instead of fitting God into our schedule, we’ll give Him more of our attention. Instead of surrounding ourselves with people who carry toxic atmospheres, we will replace them with people who will reinforce our faith and deepen our fellowship with each other OR use our time with them to point them to the better life Christ offers.
Finally, Solomon reminds us that life is brief. Now, as Christians who live in the shadows of the Coming of Christ, we believe that He will come before our life is over. But that is not guaranteed.
Many sometimes feel that it is a lack of faith to have things such as life insurance or a Will, but that is not written in Scripture and therefore should not be taught. If you have been born again, your soul is immortal (for God’s life dwells within it) but your body is not. Ecclesiastes 2:14 and many other scriptures tells us that all die:
14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
Ecclesiastes 2:14
Therefore, outside of a Simeon-like experience—with God promising you that you will not die until Christ returns—keep in mind that you can leave this world at any time and make appropriate preparations both spiritually and naturally.
The Bible keeps repeating this theme of a temporal life. I believe God knows our nature as humans—without constant reminders we become oblivious to our reality and will treat life as though we are immortal. Even with tombstones all around us, and terrorism claiming lives each day, billions still live without thinking about their coming appointment with a furious God.
But if you remember that life is temporal, you can make the choice to live for Him and also to make each moment of your natural life as full and vibrant as possible.
Do you have a dream you’ve been putting off? Why not start the journey? An activity that you’ve been wanting to do? Get going!
We weren’t just born to pay bills and die. Making each moment vibrant, as God’s Word allows, is all part of having a good life.
Next time we want to delve into Ecclesiastes 3. Why does life have phases? How do those phases affect us and how can we Christians navigate them while living in an ungodly world?
Until then, live simply, live well, and may God bless you.
I’d like to begin a short series on the Book of Ecclesiastes that I trust will help us live victorious lives. First, let’s get a bit of background.
About Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes is considered one of the three main Wisdom Books of the Bible. The other two are Job and Proverbs. Some people include Psalms and Song of Solomon into the category of Wisdom Books because they also deal with important daily aspects of human life. While all of God’s Word is full of wisdom, these books together give us divine insight into some of life’s toughest questions.
I am one of those who believe Solomon wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes for a number of reasons. He must have written this book in his middle or later years of life given the reflective tone and amount of work that he had completed prior to being inspired to pen these words.
Ecclesiastes is a powerful book that doesn’t shy away from the darker parts of the road of life. It is not intended to be one of those books that make you shout the victory per se like Ephesians or Psalms might. It is intended to change our thinking from ordinary human perspectives of life to God’s divine perspective. It’s intended give you a very blunt and practical picture of your relationship to God.
While some might consider Ecclesiastes depressing, if you look at it as part of God’s inspired Word that has been preserved for your welfare, you will discover practical truth that will help you live a good life. When I say a good life, I don’t mean a trouble-free life. I mean a God-honoring life that you can feel has been well-spent at the end of it all.
As we explore these sacred pages chapter by chapter, may the Spirit of God help you apply these truths to your own circumstances.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Most people have trouble defining life. What is life? Cells? An ongoing search for purpose that lasts until death?
God answers that question in one word: meaningless.
Now, at first glance, that might sound rather depressing. Life is meaningless? Not exactly. You see, life is God’s greatest gift. But it is how we spend our lives that is often meaningless. Everything we do—our daily tasks, our jobs, our pursuit of relationships—in the grand scheme of eternity, is all temporal and will pass away.
For example, let me ask you a question: who was the wife of the Roman Emperor Augustus? Unless you are a lover of history, you probably don’t know he was married to Empress Livia and two other women. Augustus once ruled the civilized world. He was one of the most important men in world history and his wife (Livia) was a powerful force in her time. But today, they are unknown to most of the global population.
The point is, it doesn’t matter how much you achieve in this life for death swallows up even the memory of the powerful. If the world were to last 100 more years, Jeff Bezos will be nothing more than a dim memory. Today, many may envy his success. But tomorrow? He may be a statue in a museum, lost among many others.
It is all meaningless and God wants you to know that. Why? So you don’t fall into the Laodicean trap of focusing on how many things you can acquire or how many hours you can put into the job.
How beautifully this coincides with the Lord Jesus’s words:
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matthew 6:28-29).
Let’s look deeper.
The popular notion is that you are successful if you clock in 50+ hours at the job each week—while juggling a few side-gigs and kids. If you’re really successful, you get to add the pressures of a social position on top of that. And if you’re absolutely heroic, you can add on a few houses that you’ll stuff with things you will only use a few times in your life.
You know that’s true. Now, I’m not preaching minimalism although I am, to a some extent, a minimalist at heart. I am stating that our idea of “a good life” is totally contrary to what God intended and science is coming around to realizing what the Bible has been saying for more than 3,000 years.
In May 2021, the World Health Organization released an article which stated that,
Long working hours led to 745 000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29 per cent increase since 2000…
World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization
Clearly, man’s idea of productivity is not God’s idea of a good life.
Knowing this age would come, He teaches us from the very first words of this chapter are here to turn our eyes away from this near-sighted view of incessant productivity.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t do your best at your job or have high aspirations for your life—you should!
But, to lead a good life, you must keep everything in balance and always remember that whatever you’re striving for will ultimately no longer make you happy.
God designs life in a way that happiness would be elusive. He made contentment something you must learn so that His children will continue to seek Him. God knows that, if work , relationships or the things of this world were all satisfying then we would never come to Him.
Think about it: what drove you to Christ in the first place? Wasn’t it a dissatisfaction with what you had? We all came from different places and have had different journeys to the Cross. But none of us were happy with the kind of lives we were leading or else we would have remained in that condition. As Paul said in his letter to the Hebrews:
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 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 11:14-16
By God’s order, we who are pilgrims turn our attention away from the meaningless attractions of the modern world in order to find true satisfaction in Him.
The thread of imperfection
The Persians were (and still are) known for their gorgeous rugs. But the weavers would deliberately make a mistake or weave in a thread that was out of place because they believed that only God could be perfect. As such, nothing man creates should be perfect.
I believe God Himself applies this principle to our lives, creating scenarios that leave us a little empty or dissatisfied. Sometimes this is with our family, our children, or with events in our life that we couldn’t control.
We sometimes think that we’d be happy if we could only achieve a certain milestone. But, after you achieve it, you realize that after a while that you need something more.
When you come to terms with this reality then you’re in a position to really understand the true, meaningful beauty that life offers.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
Here the Scripture shows us that, not only are we temporary but so is our impact on the world around us. Nature runs in a circuit with no permanent resting place. In like manner, none of us can have any truly change the world on a permanent basis. This is why we continue to have global crises in, what I call, an Age of Contradictions.
Think about it:
We live in a world where technology allows us to connect with ease yet people have never been so disconnected and without empathy. Everywhere, people talk about love yet our streets and grocery stores are filled with senseless acts of violence. Mass production and technology allows much of the Western world to live in comfort yet so many in America are homeless, and are without to running water. Obesity is a disease in North America while around the world billions live in starvation. Americans have tech-saturated classrooms yet 21 percent of Americans cannot read.
These problems and more persist despite the efforts of global organizations, church groups, aid societies and countless hours of volunteering.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Nothing we do is truly lasting or can satisfy. But does that mean we should we stop our efforts to do good in the world?
Absolutely not. We should brighten the corner where we are and do all we can with what we have.
Let us realize that while we cannot permanently affect society as a whole, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of other temporary mortals around us. A good life draws meaning from serving others in Christ’s stead.This is what gives meaning to an otherwise meaningless life.
Let’s pause for a moment and recap what we’ve touched on in this chapter before moving forward. So far we’ve learned:
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
I’d like to touch on three things in this segment: brevity, the heart of man, and the coming Kingdom of Christ.
First: God shows us that we are only here for a brief moment. Our lives are, as David said, “a handbreadth” (Ps. 39:5). We must therefore give urgent heed to God’s call for our life and not delay to fulfill whatever He has commissioned us to do.
A good life revolves around the understanding that we only have this moment and are not guaranteed the next. How you spend that moment will depend upon the condition of your heart. Which brings me to my next point: the heart of man.
Second: the heart of man. People often wonder why there are still so many problems in the world. The answer is simply that humanity has never changed its collective heart. We still have the same core issues as our ancestors did since the Fall. Our languages and cultures may be different than that of the early peoples but we still have hate, lust, greed and slander. In short, “there is nothing new under the sun” because we keep repeating a vicious cycle of destruction, renewal, corruption and destruction— a cycle that is propelled by the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10).
On a global scale, the hardness of the human heart led to the Great Flood (see Romans 1:18-32). He is the One that brought the world from chaos and can send it back to chaos anytime He chooses.
Spiritually, remember that just as it took a Creator to set these laws of sun, wind and water in motion, so will it take a Creator to bring order to a chaotic world. This is why the world is descending more into chaos—since the Flood, humanity has run back toward a world that refuses to let Christ (the Creator of Order) have any control. Which brings me to my final point: the coming Kingdom.
Third: the Kingdom of Christ. The Bible tells us that the disorder of this world must happen to allow for the perfect rule of Jesus Christ. Now, think for a moment how many times humanity has gone through this cycle of rebirth and destruction as I outlined it above. City after city and empire after empire have followed this pattern. As Hebrews 13:14 testifies, “For here we have no abiding city, but we seek that which is to come.”
We are so privileged to be living at the end of the world because the final change of rulership, from Man’s Day to God’s Day, is about to take place. This will end the cycle and bring about something that is new—Christ dwelling in flesh among all His redeemed children.
Let’s wrap up our study today with Solomon’s efforts to discover the meaning of life. Remember, these men of the Bible went through these profound—and often traumatic situations—for your benefit.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
I want you to realize that when Solomon was given the “spirit of wisdom,” he was actually given what we call prophetic discernment. Like the Lord Jesus (who he foreshadowed), Solomon told the people the secrets of their hearts. For example, when the Queen of Sheba came to him, the Queen didn’t need to ask Solomon her questions—he told her what she came to ask him.
And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.
1 Kings 10:3
This shouldn’t be surprising. We who believe this End-Time Message know that God did the same through Brother Branham about 50 years ago. God is simply showing us time and again that He doesn’t change and He, the Word, is still a “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” In 1 Corinthians 12:8, Paul also referred to this gift as wisdom and knowledge.
So, Solomon, this man with such a tremendous gift led Israel to a time of prosperity and dominion like they had never known before. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that he saw “everything that was done under the sun. ” So, what can we draw from these verses?
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting (or lacking) cannot be numbered.
Right away we see the need for the new birth. We were all born fallen, or crooked, and can therefore cannot lead a “good life” without God setting us straight no matter how hard we try. Since we were born crooked, we cannot be made straight. Reformation and rehab can only go so far. Since we were born lacking godliness or any good virtue, we cannot therefore count anything good from our lives—unless we are reborn.
In Solomon’s time the New Birth was not a reality so the poor prophet could only have “vexation of spirit” as he looked across humanity. What a blessing it is to know that now God has a way of dealing with the situation. He doesn’t straighten out the crooked nature—He destroys it altogether and gives us a divine nature called the Holy Ghost that leads us straight to Heaven.
But that blessed outpouring would only strike the Earth about 1,000 years after Solomon’s death. So he tried to find meaningful living in the same futile manner that many do today—by doing whatever makes them happy.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
With all respect to which he is due, Solomon became what we would call an epicurean—someone who tries to find meaning in life by indulging in whatever he or she wants. The sad reality is, he never found it and neither will you.
Imagine you’re King Solomon for a year. In one year, the Bible tells us, Solomon received 666 talents of gold (1 Kings 10:14) besides what the craftsmen and traders brought in. Most biblical scholars place a talent as weighing between 75-100 pounds by our modern weight. To be conservative, let’s go with 75 pounds. If you are King Solomon, each year you would receive 49,950 pounds of gold besides what the businessmen paid in tribute. At the time I am writing this article, the price of gold is $1,877.64 (US) per troy ounce. Assuming the rate remained constant, if you were King Solomon, your revenue from gold investment would be almost 94 million USD per year. With an estimated net worth of $2 trillion, Solomon was in a great position to be happy—or so we would think. By contrast Bill Gates in 2021 would be a pauper with a net worth of 126.8 billion USD at the time of this writing.
There’s a popular myth that makes people think that getting whatever you want makes you feel good. No, that only makes you more dissatisfied.
Now, remember, God let this man follow this road to nowhere so that you would not do the same. Christ’s whole intention is to stamp out all humanistic thinking from our lives by the power of His Word so that we might find true, lasting satisfaction in Him.
To live a good life, you must get used to not giving yourself what you want when you want. Frankly, Jesus commands us to live a life of self-denial if we want to be His disciples (Luke 9:23).
Solomon showed us that meaning doesn’t come from gaining or enjoying this world’s goods. He taught us that it is all a meaningless illusion that only one thing can fix—a deep abiding relationship with Christ in which He opens more of Himself to you each and every day.
We talked about a lot of things in this first chapter, so let’s recap. And I encourage you to go through this again and read the scriptures that I’ve referenced while considering how you can apply them to your own life.
Next week we want to look at Ecclesiastes chapter 2 while focusing on the following questions: What does the Bible teach about the work-life balance? Should we, the Bride, consider the fact that we may have to face death? Should my job define my life or my level of happiness?
God bless you.
I could spend the rest of my ministry just on the Fall and never touch on all aspects of this pivotal moment in human history. Today I’d like to reinforce some of the things that I have taught the church with the goal of deepening your appreciation for what lies ahead for the Bride.
Those of you who have been under my ministry for some time know that I believe the Fall was the result of Eve’s misinterpretation of God’s Word. His command to “multiply and replenish”, given while they were in a spirit body, still hung over humanity without being fulfilled. The serpent, who was a beast of the field according to Genesis 3:1 and not the devil, came to Eve and enticed her into a sexual relationship which resulted in the birth of Cain.
When confronted with this harsh reality of an unfaithful wife (who the Bible teaches was already pregnant) Adam had to make a fateful decision. Should he save his wife and condemn humanity or should he abandon his wife and save himself?
Now Eve should have been burned along with the serpent for their awful deed. But Adam intervened, taking her quickly to himself so that she was saved.
Church Age Book, Thyatarian Church Age, Rev. William Branham.
You and I might say, “Well, the lesser of two evils is to save humanity and let Eve be condemned.” But remember such thinking is carnal as Caiaphas showed us when he said the same thing (John 11:50). We must realize that God’s nature is to protect and defend ALL of His children.
He is the Chief Shepherd and to lose one of His flock is unthinkable (see John 17:12). This trait of God (protective instinct) is hardwired in God’s sons. Allow me to digress just for a moment to say that the modern concept of women not wanting a man’s protection goes against the very programming of God. Adam, who was made in the nature of God, loved his wife and didn’t want to see her lost. So, in that moment, he made a decision to lose everything in order to save everything.
Adam’s faith
Adam knew that he was God’s child—and if God condemned Eve He would have to condemn him too. So he risked it all, as we would say, counting on the fact that God would somehow save them all.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
1 Timothy 2:14
God did intervene. But, like any good parent, He had stern consequences in store. As I mentioned this morning, when man sinned, a great blackness struck the Earth and all creation just as the universe itself suffered when Lucifer fell from heaven. Even the very structure of humanity became deformed. As God pronounced the curse in Genesis 3, changes took place in Adam and Eve’s bodies—just as they did the serpent and the Earth.
Let’s look at the penalty of sin.
First, God took the serpent’s legs (Gen. 3:14). From being an intelligent beast that could communicate he was condemned to be a slithering reptile. From being the “second-in-command” after Adam, he became so low that even a bird can look down on him. This condition carries over through the Millennium where the Bible tells us that “dust shall be the serpent’s meat” (Isaiah 65:25).
I don’t think we realize how seriously God takes sin. God said nothing about removing the serpent’s ability to think or reason—but his ability to express his thoughts was eliminated. Imagine if that were you? If you, and your descendants, were still able to think but couldn’t speak. This condition lasts throughout the end of time. One act done by one serpent condemned all future generations.
So, when you’re tempted to do wrong, consider how seriously God takes sin and how harshly He punishes iniquity.
Second: man’s body changed. I mentioned once that Adam and Eve didn’t need a sewage system as their body didn’t produce any waste from what they ate in the Garden of Eden. I know this might have surprised you, and I understand, but I’d like to give you some scripture to think about in hopes that it will get you even more excited about the world to which we are going.
Adam himself could not be cursed, because he was God’s child even if he was in rebellion. So God cursed the ground for Adam’s sake. However, Adam’s body would be subject to time, gravity and other natural forces, and the elimination of waste products.
Before the fall, man didn’t sweat. Sweat is a direct response to the fallen condition—”In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread… (Gen. 3:19). Science tells us that sweat contains trace amounts of ammonia (a leftover product from broken down proteins). Everything Adam ate before sin hit the planet was perfect so there could be no elimination of waste.
No toilet paper hoarding there!
Our ability to bring genetically perfect offspring, our hormonal makeup…almost everything that we consider normal wasn’t what Adam and Eve knew before they sinned.
Jesus had to be born of a virgin because He is the antidote and sin started in the human race through adultery. His whole life was designed to fix the problems of humanity.
The holy God became flesh and had to humble himself to our fallen condition. The Second Adam has to deal with having his diaper changed as a Baby, the hormone changes of puberty, and all the other aspects of our life. Yet He is the bridge between God and man so He can command the winds and the waves to obey Him.
I like to think of Jesus as the world’s greatest undercover operative. He has to gain access to hell so he can liberate the souls in paradise, take the keys from the devil, and invade Satan’s stronghold. But how can He, a righteous man, end up in Hell? At the same time, how can God rip the law of sin from mankind that we inherit through our birth?
When Christ died, it was with the sins of all humanity upon Him—a fate that God Himself decreed. And when God saw the ugliness of every curse word, every rape, every murder, every single scrap of evil upon His Son, He turned His face away from the hideousness of what Jesus had become. Christ was to be the sponge that soaked up all the scum of humanity and He did the job so well that God condemned Him to hell without any hesitation (Ps. 16:10).
That day on Calvary set in motion a chain of events that no force could stop. God’s law decreed that Jesus (who hung on a tree) go to hell. Once in the devil’s kingdom, Jesus shifted from being a suffering servant to a conqueror who scattered demons with every step. The end result was Christ’s resurrection and the resurrection of all who are in Him.
The Bride is not so much going to rise as she is already risen with him (Colossians 3:1). But you remember I said these bodies were physically altered in the fall? Those aspects of a fallen man and woman will be changed to bring you back to exactly what God foreknew before Lucifer even had that first wicked thought!
Now we battle our nerves, but we won’t there because our bodies won’t come from the mortal reproduction of our parents with “short-wired circuits” and all kinds of random genetic variation. They will be the result of the glorified word of God that will make the laws of nature bow to your word.
Just as the product of an illicit union in Eden birthed death to the human race, so did a holy union between God overshadowing a consecrated womb produce Life that cannot be stopped.
That holy life now moves through us by the baptism of the Holy Ghost which teaches us more of Himself as we near that great Capstone. This is the season of the Third Pull—where you are brought back to everything that God envisioned. We can’t do it in this world so our loving heavenly Father is preparing to pull us out in a sudden, secret Rapture.
Make sure you are ready to leave.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4-6
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Our next few studies will center around the Battle of Armageddon and the Great Millennium that is to come. Today, I want to address three questions:
The word “millennium” means 1,000 years and the biblical Millennium is a 1,000 year period promised to the Elected who were faithful to the Word in their generation. This takes place after the Rapture of the Saints and the battle of Armageddon (which we’ll cover in another lesson) .
The Millennium is a honeymoon period—a sacred time where Jesus Christ, His Bride, and the 144,000 Jews who have received the Holy Spirit live and worship together. It is a time of peace that was typified by the reign of King Solomon in the Old Testament.
Notice that Solomon was the son of David. When he took the throne, Israel knew a time of prosperity unlike any other. His reign was a time of justice and peace for all because of the great gift of discernment (wisdom) that God gave him. So Christ—who is called the Son of David during this Millennium (see 2 Tim. 2:8, Rev. 5:5)—will take His place as King over Israel. This is the time that the disciples were longing to see when they asked if He would “restore the kingdom unto Israel” (Acts 1:6). You see, Israel means a “prince with God.” The name itself promises rulership over the nations yet, since the fall of Israel after Solomon’s time, Israel has never again known the glory that God promised.
But the wonderful God knew that the people that would rule with Him during the Millennium would not only be natural Israelites but an elected people made up of Jews and Gentiles. As I said this morning, He has been hand-selecting that Bride in the 2,000 years since He went away, pulling them to Himself for the great Age that is to come. When the last Bride-member comes in, and the 144,000 members of the Jewish remnant (see Romans 11 and Rev. 14) have received the Holy Ghost, God’s predestinated starter-seed for the new world will be complete.
Now, He can restore the kingdom to Israel. So, in the Millennium Jesus, the Son of David, will rule as head over Israel and as the Bridegroom to the Gentile church. To the Jew, Christ is the Root and Offspring of David. In other words, He was before David (the Root of the royal vine), in David, and after David (the Offspring). But to us Gentiles, He is the Divine Lover shown in Song of Solomon who has finally received a faithful Bride.
Now that we’ve got the basis established, let’s look at what happens to the Bride for and during the Millennium. Now take your time and study the Scriptures I’ll share with you. Pause, pray, think and come back whenever you want to so you can really soak in the Word and, I trust, love Christ more as a result of your study.
First, the redeemed upon this earth will live in a glorified body that is just like the body that Jesus Christ will have.
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Philippians 3: 21
All of our loved ones that died in Christ are in a theophany (2 Cor. 5:1) that does not age, thirst, sleep or get hungry. Therefore, as the Lord Jesus said, there are no human associated relationships in that body. You remember Christ was asked the question about the woman who had married 7 brothers (Mark 12:18-27)? He showed us that there is no marriage in that estate (called the resurrection).
Not exactly with flesh and blood like it will be in its glorified stage, but it is of a form of a human body that doesn’t eat, neither does it drink, but it’s—it’s a body, a body that’s waiting for us as soon as we leave this one. Now, in there, we enter into that body. And that’s the kind of body that God was, for He said, “Let us make man in our own image and in our likeness.”
57-0828 – Hebrews, Chapter Two #3
Rev. William Marrion Branham
If you recall Brother Branham’s experience beyond the Curtain of Time, you see this same truth born out. They all called him “our precious brother” including his first wife that had passed on. That body is waiting for the resurrection of their flesh which our text calls the “First Resurrection.”
But when Jesus Christ returns to start the Millennium and His saints with Him (see Zechariah 14:5, Matt. 16: 27, Psalm 96:13, Is. 66:15) the saints will no longer keep a theophany. Instead, the dust, minerals and whatever else that makes up your body will combine with that theophany to produce a perfect body that is ready to live and reign for 1,000 years and into eternity.
Brother Branham says this, speaking of the resurrection and the Second Coming of the Lord.
332 And now when that tabernacle…they left there in that body, they come back to the earth, and that type of a body they had took on immortality. The—the dust of the earth gathered into that theophany of somehow and they become human again, had to eat like they did in the garden of Eden. See? “But if this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting.”
61-0112 – Questions And Answers
Now there are so many things we don’t understand about how this body will work, as the Bible tells us that it is not fully revealed to us what kind of a body we will have, but we can look back at the pattern of God to get a good idea of what things will be like in the Millennium.
Notice how God brought man from a thought (attribute)–> theophany–> flesh man (glorified). If you can see my diagram it might make a little more sense.
God thought of Adam then He created Adam as a theophany (Gen. 1:28) and then He put Adam in flesh (Gen. 2:7). So we see the same pattern repeating again. From thoughts in God’s mind, we were put into flesh but that flesh was fallen because of sin. Christ’s blood brought us back into God’s order and so we enter into a theophany after this life is over. But the journey isn’t over yet!
And, then, when this robe of flesh is dropped, there is a natural body, theophany, a body not made with hands, neither born of a woman, that we go to.
Then that body returns back and picks up the glorified body.
65-0221E – Who Is This Melchisedec?
Rev. William Marrion Branham
At the coming of Christ, we return to a glorified body just as Adam and Eve were given. Now notice how human desires were granted to them in their glorified state. They got hungry. Tired. They loved. And yet they were divine beings. We see the same pattern in Jesus Christ.
After His resurrection He had to follow a specific order until He ascended to His Father (John 20:17). He did not eat or drink contrary to what He told Jairus to do when He raised up the little girl from the dead. Why? His body was not ready for that yet. But once He ascended and then returned to His disciples, He came with a glorified body that could eat, drink, and be touched. Do you remember what He said to Thomas (John 20:27). Something had changed for, instead of not being touched and eating or drinking, He asked them for food (which He had always loved) to prove that He wasn’t a theophany or a vision!
Now in the Millennium we will have a restoration of all that makes us human. We will eat. Drink. And love.
Micah the prophet predicted this Millennium about five hundred years before Jesus Christ came the first time.
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
Micah 4:5
Isaiah also prophesies of this great, agricultural society that lives in the blessed presence of the Son of God.
And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
Isaiah 65:21-23
In that world, all wrongs will be made right. Those without the correct spouse here will find that God brings them to the correct mate so they can live in happiness and peace.
Now, here we’re going to venture into some deep water so get your Bibles and stay with me. The Millennium is only for the Bride and tribes of Israel that stayed true to God. However, the earth will be well-populated.
Notice that all the Elect (those whose names are on the Lamb’s Book of Life) from Adam on to the last one that comes in before the Rapture will be there. But God brings in the twelve tribes of Israel with Dan and Ephraim (who were not among the 144,000 group according to Rev. 7) into the picture. There they establish the temple worship with the nations flowing to the House of the Lord according to Micah 4:1-3.
Let’s read.
4 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Micah 4:1-3
Here we see the Gentiles (many nations) being a part of the plan of God. We will all go to worship the Lord in Jerusalem during this time. Whereas these nations (Gentiles) once fought against each other, now they use weapons as agricultural tools for the world has been reset and we turn back to an agricultural society instead of the high-tech, high pressure world that we now know.
Ezekiel chapters 40-48 spell out in detail the order of worship that Israel is to follow and show us that there will be weights, currency, and measurements in this new world–much like there is now. We often think of it as a sort of mystical, dream world but it will be extremely tangible with work and trade being a part of it.
Some have wondered at my repeated statements that there will be children born in the Millennium but let me share just one scriptural promise regarding this matter. It is a beautiful scripture found in the book of Ezekiel chapter 47. Here God is ordering the layout of the tribes of Israel during this Millennium and He says,
And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
Ezekiel 47:22
You see, a glorified body doesn’t mean that we cease being human. Frankly, Eve conceived although she was in a glorified body, did she not? I’ll let you think on that awhile.
Our human talents and skills remain with us. We will use them to glorify the Lord who will be in our midst. Think of what it will be as we worship for a thousand years with singers like David and Sankey, as we hear testimonies by Paul, Peter Cartwright and Bro. Branham. Truly, I wonder how we’ll find time to sleep with so much excitement going on!
And through it all is the blessed presence of the Lord Jesus incarnate among us.
But, at the end of this Millennial period, some incredible things take place—the anointing of the New Jerusalem, the resurrection of those who have never heard the Gospel, and the general resurrection. How do these events affect the world? How do they fit into Bible prophesy? How does Isaiah’s statement that a child shall die at an hundred years fit into the great picture? Lord willing, we’ll look at this next time.
Today, I started my Good Friday by listening to Luke 23 which covers the trial and subsequent crucifixion of Jesus on the Bible app. It struck me how adamant Pilate was at first to spare Christ’s life but, when faced with mounting political pressure… he gave in. Why?
As a Christian, I believe this moment was firmly orchestrated by God for the purpose of humanity’s redemption. But we must realize that God works His divine will through the choices that we make based on our perception of reality. Pilate had no idea that he was an instrument in the hand of God. But he did understand the natural forces of politics, rebellion, and conspiracy that led up to this moment.
As a historian and minister, I love to dig into the background of major moments in world history. Let’s take a quick look at what geopolitical forces conspired to bring about Good Friday.
In AD 33 the Roman empire was confronted with a financial crisis that would have a global impact. A shortage of cash—largely triggered by political infighting in the Roman Senate, an outbreak of plague, and a strained financial market—resulted in an economic meltdown that is called the Financial Panic of AD 33.
Emperor Tiberius responded with a bailout—some 100 million sesterces lent at 0% interest to business owners and banks. This stimulus was injected into the market, primarily benefitting the elite but ultimately stabilizing the economy.
Sound familiar? Truly, history repeats itself.
But, while the world was grappling with a financial crisis, another event was mark AD 33 as a year unlike any other. On a hill outside Jerusalem, a Man hung suspended between heaven and earth, making a bridge between God and humanity with His body and blood.
These two events may well have been connected.
As financial panic spread throughout the Roman empire, Pilate himself faced an unprecedented challenge. He had been appointed by Sejanus, a man who effectively ruled the empire while the emperor Tiberius spent his days in a sort of voluntary exile in the gorgeous island of Capri.
Unfortunately, having power makes you want more power. Sejanus, who had 9,000 members of the Praetorian Guard at his disposal in Rome, was accused of planning a coup against the emperor and was executed before it could be carried out.
What followed was a persecution of Sejanus loyalists. So when a riot ensued in Jerusalem and the Jewish leaders threatened Pilate with an accusation of disloyalty, he had every reason to be concerned.
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
John 19:12
It’s doubtful that Pilate had a direct relationship with Caesar Tiberius so the Jewish leaders weren’t talking about personal friendship. To not be a friend of Caeaser, non amicus Caesaris, was to lose a position of trust normally held by administrative leadership. Pilate’s loyalty was being called into question–and he couldn’t afford to have that happen. Not when he had been appointed by a a man who Caesar had recently executed. Regardless of how Pilate took it, the implications were clear—and so was the decision he had to make.
I believe that God orders all things now as He did then. When we read the news online or see it on TV, we often wonder how things are all coming together. As our hearts break with those who’ve lost loved ones in mass shootings, or those who are victims of the ongoing pandemic, let us remember that everything—and I mean everything—plays some part in bringing about God’s perfect kingdom.
Without all the drama in Roman Senate perhaps the crucifixion would never have take place. Without all the drama in our halls of Congress, perhaps the pieces that are necessary for Christ’s return would never happen. But everything is working together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
One final thought: let those who believe the Gospel remember that we are not here to save this world but to look for the world that is to come. While we may not understand all that’s happening, the wheels of history show us that our decisions result in biblical prophesy coming to pass.
So let us true believers draw comfort from God’s promises and lift up our heads, as we remember the sacrifice of the Son, for our future is bright.