Dear Brethren, 

Jesus Christ will soon be setting foot on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. This will be the beginning of the long-awaited millennium. Great and wonderful changes will then begin to take place.

There are many Scriptures that speak to us of those right and good changes.  And realizing how close we are to this coming time we need to be thinking and preparing ourselves as much as we can now for the part God will have in mind for each of us when that time comes.

In order to try and get a grasp of what it will be like in the beginning years inside the millennium there is the need of projecting our minds and try to envision what will take place and the sequence of them while studying those Scriptures.

In the past two writings on this subject, I have been focusing on what will begin taking place immediately following the battle of Armageddon. It is my hope the reader will review them prior to reading this one to try and keep the whole picture in mind.

In just a few days we will be observing a very important Day in God’s master Plan that involves all of us who have been called and selected by Him to assist Christ in changing over this evil world into the Wonderful World Tomorrow.

Firstfruits Harvested

The real future for each of us will begin when Jesus Christ will enter into this earth’s atmosphere and bring about the resurrection to Spirit life of all of the firstfruits chosen during this six thousand years – from righteous Abel to the coming of Christ.

To have a better picture in mind of all the events to follow it will be good to once again realize what that change will mean to us and to those Christ will enable us to begin serving from that time. No longer will we be limited physical beings handicapped by old age, sickness, or anything else that we experience in this present life.

Meditate on the following Scriptures found in different writings and blended together to have a more complete picture in mind of what our change will mean to us:

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with A SHOUT, with the voice of an archangel, and with THE TRUMPET of God. And the dead in Christ WILL RISE FIRST. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught together with them up in clouds to MEET the Lord into the air, ... raised in incorruption, ... in glory, ... in power ... a spiritual body ... bear[ing] the IMAGE of the heavenly ... SHINING FORTH LIKE THE SUN ... like the brightness of the firmament, ... like the stars forever and ever" (I Thessalonians 4:16-17; I Corinthians 15:42-49; Matthew 13:43; Daniel 12:3).

Tomorrow ... What It Will Be Like, Mr. Armstrong, page 73

"And consider that immortality will multiply their aptitudes, abilities and powers perhaps a million times above what they achieved as humans, by infusing into them the power and glory of God. That is what God is going to do!"

The Dead To Be Raised FIRST

"... And the dead in Christ will rise FIRST ... (I Thessalonians 4:16).

How many of us have ever asked ourselves why Christ will first resurrect the dead before He changes the living? Why not both at the same precise time?

I do not presume to have all the answers, but when we try and get the big picture in mind some of the answers seem very easy to understand. Especially so when we take into consideration Jesus Christ will be establishing His governmental reign on this earth and He intends it to be in place within His Family Members before touching down on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

It appears that most of the dead will be made up of those who proved themselves over the millennia with relatively few in comparison with this generation. However due to the need for the main leadership to be immediately put in place it would appear to be necessary for the dead to be raised first.

With this in mind please consider the following Scriptures that bear on this question:

1) There will be at least 144,000 firstfruits to be harvested in this first resurrection (Revelation 14:1).

2) "For God is not the author of confusion but peace, as in all the Churches of the saints." (I Corinthians 14:33).

3) "God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He pleased" (I Corinthians 12:18).

4) And He (God) will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:31).

Putting It Together

When we put all of these Scriptures together with what Mr. Armstrong has written regarding the top leadership that will be instilled within Christ’s governmental rule on this earth the answers seem obvious.

(For greater understanding, please read what he has written in his book regarding His coming Governmental rule: Tomorrow ... What It Will Be Like, pages 48-59. "Government Planned from the Beginning")

The Role of the Angels in the Resurrection

Based on what Christ said (above, 4), there will be an angel on hand where each one will be resurrected. And when each one comes forth from among the dead the angel will then lead that glorified being up to meet Christ. Upon arriving the angel will then guide each one into his and her pre-appointed place within the body of glorified saints as it pleases Christ (above, 2, 3).

Among the many thousands to be resurrected will be the great leaders Christ has used and proven over the millennia. The angels will undoubtedly take these leaders immediately before the presence of Christ who will then brief them on their leadership positions and responsibilities.

Mr. Armstrong makes known in his writings (see above reference) that among these leaders there will be men such as: Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David. Most of these men worked with millions of people during their lives.

They will be assisted by other great leaders such as the apostles and many others. This will include all of us in lesser roles while cooperating fully with those who have been placed over us in authority and rule.

There will be perfect order, harmony, and unity! For these are the things we will have learned in this life of learning obedience to our God and those He has placed over us in this life.

"Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (I Thessalonians 4:17).

Here the apostle Paul makes known the remaining order of the 1^st resurrection. After the dead are resurrected and all in place then the change will take place with the saints who yet live. They will then be gathered by the angels and taken to their pre-appointed place within the multiple thousands who will then descend with Christ to this earth to assist Him in rendering judgment on sinning mankind:

"... Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment on all; to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him" (Jude14-15).

Firstfruits Final Preparation and Training

In conjunction with all we will have learned up to leaving for the place of refuge there will undoubtedly be more of a focus on millennial Scriptures and coming responsibilities for God’s people while in the place of safety in sermons and Bible studies.

However Scripture indicates the real final preparation will be made IN A CLASSROOM SESSION almost immediately after Christ has returned and will then speak to the newly expanded minds and hearts of His saints who will have been given perfect understanding and remembrance. This will be due to our change from mortal to immortal beings and as the result we can fully receive the very necessary teaching just before reaching out to the Israeli slaves and the world:

"The LORD came from Sinai, and DAWNED on them from Seir (see Obadiah and Habakkuk 2); He SHONE FORTH from Mount Paran (east of Petra) and He came with (among) ten thousands of saints (an indefinite number); from His right hand came a fiery law for them (teaching). Yes, He loves the people; all His saints are in Your hand (meaning simply with Him); THEY SIT DOWN AT YOUR FEET; EVERYONE RECEIVES YOUR WORDS" (Deuteronomy 33:2-3)

As it may be recalled it was right in the beginning of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ that He began teaching His disciples the very basic fundamentals that would not only be needed during those three and one/half years but would be needed in a much greater way when they would come to be on their own after His ascension to heaven.

... He (Christ) went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying ... (Matthew 5:1-2).

These two places in Scripture reveals the obvious parallels. The disciples of Christ were then physical and limited but there will be no limitations as newly-born sons and daughters of God. And realizing that God the Father and Jesus Christ have always been, They have unlimited wisdom and teaching to impart to Their Family! Never will They cease to have things to teach us!

The teaching we will then receive from Christ will be just the beginning session for schooling will continue forever – always learning, and always eager to learn!

It would seem that immediately after this beginning teaching session THE TRAINING will then begin to be put into practice. All that we will have been taught in this present life and coupled with the further teachings direct from Christ will make possible the help we will be able to offer to others.

Under the direction and guidance of Christ we will then move forward in our first assignment from Christ to recover all of the people of Israel.

Previous Writings

Previously I wrote of Jesus Christ and His glorified saints beginning to reach out to all of the survivors of Israel who will have been enslaved by many nations. And once liberated begins the second exodus to the land that will then be desolate and in ruins, cities and all, but will begin rebuilding due to God’s blessings and will after a few years to once again become the land of milk and honey.

I will also still touch on other Scriptures that speak of their liberation from slavery because they speak of other important things to take place that were not touched on before in other Scriptures.

Will There be Some of Our Families to be Liberated?

As made known by God to the prophets, both major and minor, many Scriptures reveal much about this coming yet future time.

A time that will possibly be of even greater importance to us for in all likelihood possibly some of our own brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and grandchildren, will have been enslaved and will then be liberated along with the few millions of other Israeli slaves.

If this should be then the very real possibility will exist that we will have the opportunity of working with our own families as well as working with others at the same time.

The following Scripture speaks of our promised blessing of assisting Christ in the WORK before Him at that time (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:42-49; I John 3:1-2; Revelation 5:10; 20:4-6).

"Behold, the LORD God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His REWARD (for His saints) is with Him and His WORK before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in His bosom and gently lead those with young" (Isaiah 40:10-11).

The Gathering of Israel

Now that we have the setting in place of what will probably take place after all the captives of Israel have begun to be found and liberated let us return to what God tells us in Scripture regarding His loving promises to His people after having had to punish them to bring them back into His loving favor.

"Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and the one who labors with child together; a great throng shall return there. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them ..." (Jeremiah 31:8-9)

Here we see the tears and prayers of repentant men and women of Israel beginning to leave where they have been enslaved and will gently and affectionately be carrying the little ones belonging to them having been born in captivity along with other children belonging to parents who will have been separated from them or the parents will have died.

The slave owners in Gentile nations who have held these people captive as slaves will also voluntarily be helping carry the little ones as well:

Thus says the LORD God, "Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up MY ENSIGN to the peoples; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders; kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; they shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me" (Isaiah 49:22-23).

God continues to describe how He will deal with these pompous and mighty leaders of the Gentile nations who have dealt so severely and harshly with His people (Isaiah 49:25-26).

The kings and queens along with the peoples of the Gentiles nations will be extremely fearful and will do all they can to make amends to save their own lives.. They will assist in the restoration of the families of Israel and at the same time humbly pay Jesus Christ the highest marks of homage. With tenderness and care they will look after the welfare of God’s people, abject self-humiliation will be displayed!

The Israeli Exiles Searching for Their Own

Probably most of the families who will have survived will have been separated at the beginning of the exile and also during their captivity. As they join with others who are freed and coming together by the hundreds and then the thousands families will be looking and searching with great eagerness and excitement with the hope they will see their loved ones. Eyes will be darting here and there over all the peoples they chance to meet.

This will continue all the way on the trip to Jerusalem for peoples will be coming together from near and far to a very large processing center that will be established there.

As already indicated very possibly a preliminary processing center will be established somewhere in Europe. If so the information there could easily be transferred via of computers to the main processing center in Jerusalem. This would speed the process of moving and settling millions of former slaves.

Though no one can say for sure this scenario seems logical. Identities will need to be entered into computers along with necessary information to be given where they are to go and what they are to do once they arrive at their destination. Transportation and other needs such as food and clothing will also have to be provided for them. This will be no small task!

A Language Problem

It has been said by the government officials of Israel that the biggest problem they have with all of the Jewish immigrants coming to live in Israel from other nations is the problem of language. The same will be true in this coming time up and until the change of language will be made by Christ.

It would appear that this gigantic problem will be resolved by Jesus Christ in one of two ways:

1) Christ and His glorified Family Members will lead the leaders to begin classes as does the nation of Israel today to teach the new language.

2) Christ will perform the miracle by undoing what He did at the Tower of Babel, miraculously placing the pure language in the minds and speech of all peoples on earth. Scripture tells us that from creation up until that time all spoke the same language. But due to necessity God miraculously changed it:

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech (one thought, one culture). ... the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there CONFUSE their language, that they MAY NOT UNDERSTAND one another’s speech" (Genesis 11:1, 5-7).

God then separated them by language, geography, thought, and culture.  For the most part they appear to be still pretty much in the same locations as can clearly be seen today (verses 8-9).

What language will it be? It has been suggested it could be a modified form of the English language (possibly like Rex Harrison speaks of it in the movie, "My Fair Lady"). In considering this thought it is interesting to note that though not all peoples are able to speak English it is presently the universal language of virtually all nations. Is it possible God has brought this about for reasons we do not fully understand at this time?

No one really knows but God what He will do in bringing about the pure language and what it will be!  One thing we do know is that all of the impure words that are to be found in all languages today will not be in it 

When we closely examine the Scripture that speaks of the new pure language it speaks of TURNING BACK – or  RESTORING A PURE LANGUAGE!  One that will be free from all of the impure words that have to do with idol worship, profanity, obscene and filthy words, as well as any and all other impure words that abound and are used in all languages today! Something to think about.

Realizing the need of uniting all of the Tribes of Israel and developing a new relationship with God it would appear that Christ will almost immediately perform the miracle of either restoring the pure language for them.  Based on the fact that it will require possible 3 generations to turn the Gentile world around it is a question in my mind whether this change in language will be made at that particular time.  The change in language seems to equate with conversion. 

This change will not only eliminate the language problem of today but all the other problems connected with it. My personal thought is that it will be an immediate dramatic miraculous change – undoing what was done before at the tower of Babel. Here is the Scripture that speaks of what God will then do:

"For then I will TURN BACK OR RESTORE to the peoples A PURE LANGUAGE, that they all may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord" (Zephaniah 3:9).

In regard to the great need of restoring a pure language from all of the multiple hundreds of languages and dialects spoken today and the problems associated with them; please meditate on this Scripture in connection with what Mr. Armstrong wrote about this great need and the problems that are connected with it:

Tomorrow ... What It Will Be Like, Mr. Armstrong, pages 89-91

"CAN YOU IMAGINE A WORLD OF ONE language? Think back a little. One of the major barriers to mutual understanding and cooperation between peoples has been the language barrier. When one man cannot understand another — he can’t freely exchange ideas, philosophies, concepts, or opinions. And in translating. The personal rapport, the sense and feeling of what is being said, is lost.

If you have ever experienced talking to someone through an interpreter, you probably remember how awkward you felt.

Today, this world stands on the brink of cosmoscide. Great races, having different languages, cannot seem to come to a meeting of minds. And different people’s minds work differently.

A different language means a different culture, different music, different habits, different education, different values and standards, and a whole different approach to life. ...

But once the returning Christ conquers this earth, He will usher in an era of total literacy, total education –- and give the world one, new, pure, language."

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The Present Tribes of Israel

As we should all well know all of the tribes of Israel over time developed other languages and all the things Mr. Armstrong said that goes with each language, including the English language.

The tribes of Israel have their own individual languages and cultures, but this will soon change, for the better.

NOTE: Though God will bring about some needed miraculous changes we should realize at the same time that God is not going to do everything for physical human beings! If He did there would be no learning from the mistakes made from living lives by human reason instead of by divine revelation. As Mr. Armstrong often said God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves.  Possibly this will be made clear in future writings on this subject.

To Be Continued

As I have already said, and repeat, what I have written is based on the Scriptures that have to do with the near future. Perhaps it will happen the way I have written or it may not. In any case believe the Scriptures.

Until next time our love and prayers are for each one of you,

Don Billingsley

 

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