The New Millennium And YOU

What is REALLY going to happen during the next 1,000 years? How will this affect your life? What should YOU be preparing for?

Staggering changes in world affairs will soon begin to occur. For the United States, a massive drop in prestige and power is on the horizon. Events will soon begin to unfold which will SHAKE this nation and the entire western world. Following these events, a "New World Order" will unfold—led by a European colossus which will, in fact, dominate the entire earth for a few years.

Your life and everything around you will CHANGE dramatically.

Will you be ready? Will you understand the real meaning of these events as they begin to unfold? Will you know how to protect yourself and your loved ones during the traumatic years ahead?

What Lies Just Ahead

Within the next several years, the deterioration of American power and prestige will become obvious. The number of young people reaching their teens and early twenties will greatly increase within the next five to seven years. In spite of a slight current downtrend, our crime rate will go back up and up and UP! The absolutely vile entertainment served up to our youth, the increase in broken homes and the rising incidence of drug use will all be major factors in this increasing crime and violence in our society.

In addition, Jesus Christ Himself tells us that there will be drought, famine and powerful earthquakes affecting our daily lives before too much longer (Matthew 24:7). America, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be greatly weakened by these conditions.

Make no mistake. This coming series of disasters will be brought on by our personal and national SINS. There is a REAL God. That Great God loves our peoples—as He does all peoples. But, though we have been blessed by God above all peoples of the earth, we have turned our backs on the true God. We continue to break His laws with impunity. Millions of our citizens blaspheme His name daily.

In spite of our outward show of religious interest, the American and British-descended peoples do NOT serve and obey the God of the Bible. And that God states in His inspired Word: "For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives" (Hebrews 12:6). This principle certainly applies nationally as well as individually. As I discussed in a recent article in this magazine, God predicts massive national PUNISHMENT to come upon our peoples—unless we repent. Speaking clearly to our peoples—the modern descendants of the "lost ten tribes" of Israel—God tells us: "All your lovers (national allies) have forgotten you; they do not seek you; for I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of your iniquities, because your SINS have increased. Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. because of the multitude of your iniquities, because your SINS have increased, I have done these things to you" (Jeremiah 30:14–15). If you want to absolutely PROVE to yourself the identity of America and the British-descended peoples in Bible prophecy, be sure to call or write today and ask for your FREE copy of our exciting and revealing booklet entitled, What's Ahead for America and Britain?

Finally, we will come to the "time of Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7)—a tribulation so monumental that "NONE is like it." This will definitely be the Great Tribulation prophesied by Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:21–22). At this time, all humanity would be destroyed, "but for the ELECT'S sake."

Who are these "elect"? Why are they protected? How can you be counted among them?

Your Future Possibilities

Now we need to think about you! What does your future hold? Where will you and your loved ones fit into the scheme of things to come?

First of all, you need to grasp the fact that you cannot "go along with the crowd" and also be among God's elect! Throughout the Bible, you find statement after statement indicating that God's true servants are—and have always been—in a tiny minority. Please think about that!

In Matthew 7:13–14, Jesus warned: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Over and over, Christ predicted that His Church would be small, scattered and persecuted (Revelation 12:13–17). Notice that Jesus called His Church the "little flock" (Luke 12:32). Think about the many warnings against following the crowd—including the religious leaders of our human society, as John's Gospel points out: "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42–43).

Do you love the "praise of men" more than the praise of God?

Consider also God's consistent teaching that this present society is definitely under the invisible sway of Satan the Devil. Notice Jesus' statement about the real RULER of this present society:

"Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the PRINCE of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me" (John 14:30, KJV). And the Apostle Paul was inspired to write, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Corinthians 4:3–4).

Let us be very plain: IF you go along with this present society and continue to follow its ways and customs, you WILL end up in the Great Tribulation—the greatest national punishment in all human history!

However, if you repent of your sins, of following human traditions instead of God's law and His way—and if you will accept the true Jesus Christ revealed in the Bible not only as your Savior, but your Lord and Master whom you must now choose to OBEY—then you will be protected from the Great Tribulation and be given a position in the soon-coming Kingdom or Government of God to be set up on this earth! (Revelation 5:10).

Christ Must LIVE Within Us!

Remember Jesus' warning: "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). Note also the Apostle Paul's clear description of how we MUST repudiate the flesh and let the Living CHRIST live within us through the power of the Holy Spirit, "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:13–14).

Again, the inspired Paul describes for us the very essence of what it means to be a true Christian:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ LIVETH in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, KJV).

The Bible tells us: "Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews13:8). So Christ will live within you and me the SAME kind of life He lived in the flesh nearly 2,000 years ago. Of course, we will NOT be perfect all at once. We must GROW in grace and in knowledge during a lifetime of overcoming (2 Peter 3:18). Nevertheless, Christ will guide us—through His Spirit—to keep God's Ten Commandments which He Himself kept while fully in the human flesh (John 15:10). Christ will direct you to OBEY God's true Sabbaths and annual Holy Days which picture the great PLAN God is working out here below.

As we daily surrender our lives to the Living Christ, God becomes more and more REAL to us. Then, we will begin to understand and claim His promises for protection, for Divine healing, for strength and many other things. For then—as we grow spiritually—we will come to know God in a way we have never known Him before. As the "beloved Apostle," John, wrote: "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:3–4).

We do not truly know God until we begin to "walk" with Him and experience His very nature and character placed within us by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:4). Then, as we begin to "walk with God" through the promised Holy Spirit, we will be considered among God's "elect." We will be guided, blessed and protected in a way we have never experienced before. And we will be among the "overcomers."

BLESSINGS for the "Overcomers"

Although certainly NOT understood or taught by mainstream "Christianity," the truth is that one primary purpose for our Christian lives is that we are now "in training" to be kings and priests in the soon-coming Government of God. As the Apostle Paul was inspired to write: "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?" (1 Corinthians 6:2–5).

Paul's point is that we should now be learning to make proper judgments and decisions since we will soon be serving under Jesus Christ to "judge" the entire world and even the angelic hosts! The Moffat translation rendered the term "judge" in this passage as "manage." Therefore, Moffat's translation reads: "Do you not know that the saints are to manage the world? If the world is to come under your jurisdiction, are you incompetent to adjudicate upon trifles? Do you not know that we are to manage angels, let alone mundane issues?" (1 Corinthians 6:2–3).

The New Layman's Bible Commentary states regarding this passage: "It is possible to understand judge in the Hebraic sense of 'reign,' a function incorporating judgment, and basic to New Testament eschatology; cf. Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 2:26–27, 3:21, 20:4."

So the responsibilities of God's saints—in the resurrection—will include "managing" or "ruling" over the entire world as kings and priests under Jesus Christ. What a wonderful opportunity to serve in this way, to REALLY straighten out the problems of this world's society—yet be inspired and guided in this by the Living CHRIST as King of kings!

The Apostle Paul is telling true Christians—in effect—to practice the right kind of standards and judgments now, since all faithful Christians will be using those standards to help rule or "manage" the entire earth in the soon-coming Government of Jesus Christ! That's why Jesus Christ tells us: "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall REIGN with Him a thousand years" (Revelation 20:6).

Describing the time immediately after the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, God tells us, "Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him" (Daniel 7:27).

Even in the Psalms, God describes for us the opportunity His faithful servants will have to help stop the "bad guys" at the beginning of the Millennium: "Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment; this honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD!" (Psalm 149:5–9).

Again, I think we should meditate on what the famous historian, Edward Gibbon, wrote about the beliefs of the early Christians in his celebrated work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:

"The ancient and popular doctrine of the Millennium was intimately connected with the second coming of Christ. As the works of the creation had been finished in six days, their duration in their present state, according to a tradition which was attributed to the prophet Elijah, was fixed to six thousand years. By the same analogy it was inferred that this long period of labor and contention, which was now almost elapsed, would be succeeded by a joyful Sabbath of a thousand years; and that Christ, with the triumphant band of the saints and the elect who had escaped death or who had been miraculously revived, would reign upon earth till the time appointed for the last and general resurrection" (Vol. 1, p. 403).

Note that even Gibbon discovered in his historical research that the early Christians believed that the true saints "would reign upon earth" at Christ's Second Coming! Are you preparing for this responsibility by taking God seriously, by really STUDYING His inspired Word to learn His will?

BIG Responsibility for the "Overcomers"

Remember, Jesus Christ said: "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels shall be broken to pieces—as I also have received from My Father" (Revelation 2:26–27). The "overcomers" are those true Christians who—led by God's Spirit—overcome their own human nature, overcome the world and its pulls and also overcome Satan the Devil. Of course, no one does that perfectly (1 John 1:8–10). But God looks at the attitude. He looks at the "heart." As God told Samuel when He was about to select David as the next king of Israel: "For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

Before Abraham was made "father of the faithful," God tested him again and again. He had to be willing to leave the land of his birth and everything with which he was familiar. He had to TRUST GOD to guide him in his journeys. He had to OBEY God to the extent of asking hundreds of young men—both he and his own son as well—to undergo the painful rite of adult circumcision: "So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, EVERY MALE among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him" (Genesis 17:23).

Finally Abraham had to be willing to sacrifice his only legitimate son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God! When Abraham showed himself willing to do this, God said: "Now I KNOW that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me!" (Genesis 22:12).

Have you shown God that you will do whatever He commands? Can He TRUST you with the responsibility of governing a city or a nation in His Kingdom—knowing that you will faithfully carry out His will in your administration?

The Bible tells us that Abraham was blessed: "Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws" (Genesis 26:5). Are you willing to keep the Ten Commandments as Abraham did? Remember, Jesus Christ told the young man who asked Him the way to eternal life: "If you want to enter into life, KEEP the COMMANDMENTS!" Then Jesus began to name some of the Ten Commandments (Matthew 19:16–19). Did Jesus—the Son of God—know what He was talking about? Are you willing to DO what Jesus Christ commanded?

Again, God needs to KNOW where we stand before He entrusts us with the responsibility of RULING over the cities and nations of this world. For our responsibilities and opportunities in Christ's coming Kingdom will be AWESOME.

The Structure of Christ's Government

It is encouraging to know that the Living Jesus Christ—seated now at God's right hand—has already planned out in concert with the Father an entire system of government. First of all, Christ Himself will be King of kings. "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!'" (Revelation 1:15). And note this description of Jesus Christ at His Second Coming: "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:15–16).

Under Christ, the Bible surely indicates that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be top advisors or administrators in the Kingdom (Matthew 8:11). After all, Abraham is the "father" of ALL the faithful.

Next, serving under Christ and His "executive team," we find that King David will be given back his job as king over all twelve of the "tribes" or nations of Israel. Describing the Israelites right after Christ's Second Coming, God says: "But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them" (Jeremiah 30:9). Again, describing the same time, God inspired Ezekiel to tell us: "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them…. My servant David shall be their prince forever" (Ezekiel 37:24–25).

Think about it. Since God's LAW will be the very basis for the government and the entire way of life in Christ's Kingdom on earth, of all humans who have ever lived, who is best qualified to administer that government over Israel? Of course, it is the very man who DID faithfully administer that government for about 40 years! David had the experience of teaching, guiding and administering the affairs of Israel based on God's LAW. And it is David who said over and over—in many different ways—"Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me" (Psalm 119:97–98).

Writing approximately 250 years after the death of King David, the prophet Hosea also described the time of the resurrection from the dead when the modern tribes of Israel will return from their captivity in the Great Tribulation and David will once again be their king: "Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days" (Hosea 3:5).

My friends, as the world's slide into sin continues and mankind now possesses more than enough weapons to ANNIHILATE all humans from this planet, it should be obvious that we are now in these "latter days." So it should not be too many more years before Christ returns, King David and the true saints are resurrected and the Kingdom of God becomes a physical REALITY here on earth! We should all be inspired and excited by our present opportunity to prepare for our part in the coming reign of Jesus Christ.

Serving immediately under King David will be the twelve Apostles—now also resurrected from the dead. For on His last night in the human flesh, Jesus told His Apostles: "But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones JUDGING the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:28–30).

Under Christ's overall direction, perhaps Daniel or the Apostle Paul will rule over the Gentiles during the Millennium, since each of them had a lot of responsibility working with the Gentiles during their physical lifetimes. But, the Bible reveals only the overall pattern of Christ's coming world government. The important thing is that we understand the REALITY of what is soon to occur on this earth. It may be ten to twenty years or even longer before Christ's feet again touch this earth—this time as King of kings! But many of us will probably live to see that day and we need to be ready.

Are YOU Really Getting Ready?

Whatever God says is CERTAIN to happen! The apostle Paul was inspired to reveal God as the One "who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did" (Romans 4:17).

In that light, Christ reveals that—in His great Plan—He has already "made us kings and priests to His God and Father" (Revelation 1:6). Again, in the inspired "prayer of the saints" we find that the Living Christ has "made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall REIGN on the earth" (Revelation 5:10).

If we, individually, surrender to God and let Christ rule our lives, then our responsibility in the coming Kingdom will not only be to rule, but to teach and guide and encourage the countless millions of mortal humans who survive the Great Tribulation and live right on over into the Millennium.

Read Micah's prophecy for the latter days: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain [kingdom] of the LORD'S house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will TEACH us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion the LAW shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Micah 4:1–3).

Note that Christ will "teach" the people of the earth "His ways" and that the LAW will go forth from Jerusalem. Obviously Christ will direct and inspire His Spiritborn saints to do most of the direct "teaching" of these millions of human beings.

As did King David, all of us should LOVE God's great spiritual LAW—the Ten Commandments. As David did, we should meditate on that law—understanding more fully with each passing year how to love God with all our heart, strength and mind and how to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:35–40). We should study carefully how Christ "magnified" God's law in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, 7) and throughout His ministry. And how His apostles also did this throughout the entire New Testament.

In this way we should learn to "walk with God"—studying, meditating and imitating Jesus Christ through the help and power of His Spirit within us. For God reveals that when the nations of Israel return from captivity at Christ's Second Coming they will have teachers who will be very alert to their problems and will guide them in the right way: "And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your TEACHERS will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your TEACHERS. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left" (Isaiah 30:20–21).

God grant that you will take this seriously. And God grant that you may be among those teachers"—those resurrected Christians now made kings and priests in the soon-coming Government of Christ—the Kingdom of God on earth. For the true Gospel—the GOOD NEWS—is not only about Christ's death on the cross. It is also about His resurrection, His actively working with His true servants even now as High Priest and His loving and magnificent RULERSHIP over this earth, which will begin very early in this New Millennium. This will be the most exciting and awesome time in human history.

Be sure that you are genuinely getting ready for this coming reality!