We greet you, dear friends, in the name of Christ our Lord, our Savior, and our coming King, the Sovereign of the Universe, and the God of history and of human destiny. The Lord Jesus Christ made it very clear to his disciples that history does not simply move in circles, it moves toward a predetermined, glorious, divine goal. And like a mighty river, all of history and human activity under God's providence is aimed at that ultimate display of the unique, magnificent person of our Lord Jesus Christ at his second coming. But students of the Bible are thoroughly aware of the fact that the second coming of Christ is a mixed blessing, to put it mildly. In fact, for the vast majority of human beings, it is a total disaster. The Old Testament scripture, over and over again, speaks of the coming of the Messiah to establish his kingdom on this earth as a time of separation of the righteous from the wicked, a time of decision for those who have yet to make their peace with God. In Psalm 2, for instance, Jesus Christ, in anticipation, prophetically, a thousand years before his first coming, describes what's going to happen at the inauguration of what we call the fourth world of Bible history and prophecy, his kingdom on earth. Listen to his words. I will declare the decree, the Lord has said to me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost part of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. That's not a missionary verse, it's a promise of global catastrophe under God's judgment of the nation. One half millennium later, God gave that same truth from a different perspective to the great mighty golden head, namely Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And Daniel interpreted his dream for him as he saw one night in his sleep suddenly looming before him a gigantic spectacular human image with head of gold and arms of silver, belly size of brass and legs of iron and feet of clay. And as he watched in that vision dream, all of a sudden from the third heaven descended rapidly to earth beneath a stone coming a tremendous force that suddenly smashed the image, pulverized it, wind came and blew all the pieces away. And the stone became larger and larger and filled the world. That is the second coming of Christ, as seen by Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted by Daniel. When the Lord Jesus Christ, a half millennium after that, finally came to earth, offering to Israel her kingdom, rejected by his people, his own, crucified upon a cross. He explained to the nation, as well as to his own disciples, that that was only phase one of his appearances on earth and phase two would bring total destruction to all those who had rejected his claim and resisted the gracious convicting work of the Holy Spirit through his divine word. The Bible tells us that when Christ comes back to this earth The vast majority of men, then, even as at the first coming, will deny him and reject his claim and his promise to return. And thus, tragically, this great third world that has now existed for thousands of years since the flood, with God's progressive self-revelation, in the form of covenants and theophanies and promises and miracles and finally incarnation, atonement and resurrection and the launching of his true church upon the sea of humanity will at last come to one stupendous global catastrophe. Namely, the Great Tribulation. Jesus anticipated what that will be like in his Olivet Discourse when he said to his disciples one day, As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be when the Son of Man returns. In those days, total self-centered demonism. Until the flood came and destroyed them all. In that day, the same thing will happen. Men will blaspheme the living God rather than to surrender to his sovereign claim, no matter how horrible their sufferings will be at his hand. And furthermore, it'll be the hour of darkness for Satan on a global scale as he kills God's two witnesses in Jerusalem, as he persecutes the remnant of believing Israelites as he destroys tens, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of those who are one to the living Christ by faith through the witness of the 144,000 whom God will seal for that purpose in that day. He will unveil his masterpiece, a resuscitated diabolical incarnation of the satanic trinity. And with his henchmen the false prophet who will cause all men to worship the image established in the Temple of Jerusalem of the beast, the Antichrist himself. It will be a time of horror, indescribable, incomparable. And yet, that deep, deep darkness in which the world as we know it will come to an end is merely the backdrop for the greatest brightness the world will ever have known since creation. God's Word tells us that that coming great fourth world, which is the world of Christ's thousand-year kingdom on Earth, is an event that will be seen by every human being who still survives on planet Earth. Jesus said it won't be something that will happen secretly in the desert or inside some secret chamber somewhere because as the lightning flashes from one end of heaven to the other every eye shall see him and they that pierced him and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son. Every person will see Christ returning to some special provision that God will make to unveil the beauty and the dignity and the glory of his beloved son. Following the battle of Armageddon, described in Revelation 16 and 19, the Bible says that Christ will, quote, sit on the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all the nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goat, Matthew 25. And then, after this eternal separation of believers from unbelievers on the earth, through what we may call the rapture to judgment. Two in one bed, one taken the other left. Two in one seal, one taken the other left. And Jesus explained it's not the rapture of the church at all. The rapture of the church is not described by Jesus. Paul said it's a mystery, hidden until his day. Jesus is describing an opposite rapture. He said, as it was in the days of Noah, when the flood came and took them all away. took who away? The wicked. And the righteous remained alive on earth to repopulate the post-flood world. So at the second coming, one will be taken away. Where? To judgment, leaving the believing living survivor to enter the kingdom and repopulate the world. The rapture to judgment. When that eternal separation takes place, then the great Desire of our Lord expressed in the upper room discourse to his own disciples will at last take place He said I have longed To drink the fruit of the vine new with you in my father's kingdom This of course was prophesied 700 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah who says that the great kingdom age will be inaugurated with a stupendous banquet and as God will gather his people to celebrate the inauguration of his kingdom. Jesus described it this way, many shall come from the east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So you see, resurrected and glorified Old Testament saints raised from the dead after the tribulation period will join together with raptured, resurrected, glorified Christians in the true Church, the Bride of Christ, returning to earth to inaugurate the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. What will Christ do during that great kingdom age? I personally feel it's a mistake to visualize the Lord Jesus as being a permanent earth dweller. during that age, visible at all times, accessible at all times to Earth's people. Believers though they may be. I take this from the analogy of our Lord, phase one of glorified Earth. Instruction. Involvement with human beings not glorified. Namely, the 40 days after his resurrection from the dead. What did he do? Did he just stay with his disciples, night and day, available, accessible at all times, visible to them? No. During that 40-day period, he was mostly invisible and appeared on special occasions, shocking, surprising, thrilling his disciples when he did appear, to instruct them with never-to-be-forgotten words. And I take this as my hint, my analogy, my illustration, my comparison and parallel to what will be true of the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. Namely, mostly invisible to mortal believing earth dwellers who will enter that kingdom, but at the beginning, at the inaugural fellowship banquet, and on special occasions from year to year, especially I believe at the Feast of Tabernacles, which means dwelling with. Christ will be here. in Jerusalem, the official center of his earth government, to be seen, admired by those who love him and worship him. I believe, therefore, that on those occasions we will find the fulfillment of Isaiah 33, 17. Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty. That is God's promise of what he will do to end this world that we know and to usher in the kingdom age that's coming. Now what will angels be doing during that coming kingdom age? The world of Christ's thousand-year reign. I believe that the ruling function that angels, both righteous and wicked, perform today will permanently come to an end at the beginning of the millennium. We certainly know that's true of Satan and demons, don't we? Paul said in Romans 16 concerning Satan, God will bruise him under your feet shortly. And at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet will meet their match in the person of our Lord. Can't you just sense the enormity of the confrontation at the second coming of Christ between the forces of darkness that have dominated the world since the dawn of human history and the Christ who created the world and by redemption has a right also to its possession. as his realm. Can't you sense what will happen when our Lord returns to earth, perhaps gradually to be seen by all as he descends in dignity to take over his rightful possession? Can't you see Satan and the Antichrist gathering the armies of the world to Armageddon? And believe it or not, the book of Revelation says it's for the purpose, the incredible, unbelievable purpose of waging war against the Lamb. and against his army of saints above. Can't you hear them saying, with their completely irrational blasphemy, You set foot on the planet Earth again and we'll kill you. We'll destroy you again. That will be their last word. Because one word from the lips of Jesus, described as a two-edged sword proceeding from his mouth, will dispatch Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet. They will be flung into the bottomless pit, where they will be tormented under the judgment of a holy God forever. For the first time since humanity has been on earth, following the fall in the Garden of Eden, Satan will be conspicuous for his absence. All fallen angels, all demons, will be gone. No longer will they have access to human beings. No longer will it be possible in that kingdom age for those who sin, and some will, as we shall see, to be able to use Eve's excuse who said, Satan did it. Dear friend, whatever sin any human being indulges in is not Satan's fault, ultimately, but our own. As James chapter 1 tells us, it begins right here. But the tempter has vanished from the scene. What about righteous angels? I believe certain inferences from the Bible indicate that they also will cease to function at the dawn of the kingdom age. For example, we are told in the book of Hebrews chapter 2 verse 5, not unto angels has he made subject the world to come. They certainly are ruling the world that's now here. The heavens and earth that now are angel-dominated. Righteous angels, basically ruling the affairs of the universe in ways that we can't even begin to imagine that someday God will tell us. I personally am interested in meeting my guardian angel, aren't you? Seeing all that he's gone through and endured in fulfilling his assignment, which is, I'm sure, so enormous that by the time the kingdom comes he will be desperately ready for the retirement he richly deserves. Righteous angels since the fall, struggling thousands of years against Satan and his wicked forces, will be in a sense exhausted, figuratively speaking, and will be set aside by God for retirement as a fresh new team takes over. Well, what team would that be? Well, as Hebrews chapter 2, verse 5 and 6 go on to tell us, one in a certain place has testified, saying, What is man that thou art mindful of him? For thou hast made him a little lower than angels. But you see, that's only temporary. God created angels at the beginning on a higher level of existence than man. But all that changed when God the Creator became a human being by incarnation. And although he too, in the days of his flesh, was lower than angel, served by angel, at his resurrection, at his ascension to heaven, God's word tells us he ascended far above the heavens, and he is now the King. of kings and lord of lords and angels are infinitely below him even in outward function to say nothing of created dignity. And you know the Bible very clearly states in Psalm 8 that God has put all things under man's feet and someday among those things that man in Christ glorified with him will find under his feet will be angels. Even the unworthy Corinthian Christian, Paul says, will judge angels. That, frankly, is hard to believe. 1 Corinthians 6.3, Paul says, you mean you can't even find a worthy man in your local church to judge matters that concern yourselves? Know you not that you will judge the world? You will judge angels. How? What kind of angel? When? These are great mysteries. But when we add all these inferences and hints together, it seems to point toward one thing. That the glorified Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, by virtue of being his mystical body and his bride, will assume a superior position even to the righteous angels that until then will have governed the universe. And in Christ we shall participate in angelic judgment. This of course magnifies God's purpose for man. Lowly though he may seem today in his sin and degradation, and almost at times as if the image and likeness of God has been rubbed out, warped, twisted out of recognition, The fact remains that those objects of his redemptive grace and love are walking, living temples of the Holy Spirit, who is the down payment, the foretaste of glory to come. When that great kingdom age dawns, we will discover that living men will be in two separate groups. Number one, glorified believers who at the rapture or at the second coming have either been glorified without dying or have been resurrected from the dead, from ages past. The second group of living men will be non-glorified believers who will be living on earth with mortal bodies capable of begetting children. What is the key that unlocks the mystery of the resurrection body of believers? It's 1 Corinthians 15. A marvelous exposition with comparisons and illustrations and analogies to show us basically that this is not a fable, a myth, a dream. It is a reality demonstrated by the reality of the resurrection body of Jesus Christ. A body that operates in a totally different realm. from the physical chemical laws that we know in our present day science. A body that was so tangible, so real, that the very wounds that were given to him at his death will be the mark of his identity. The same voice, the same facial expressions, handle me and see as spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have. And he ate before them. a piece of fish and honeycomb, to demonstrate that he was not a mere theophany this time, but a permanently incarnate God. Now dear friends, 1 Corinthians 15 says that our body will be patterned after his on the same principle exactly. With incredible power, incorruptibility, glory, No pain, no suffering, no limitations as we now know them. Although we will never be infinite, we'll never be God, we'll still be finite, we'll still be creatures, we'll still be limited. But what fantastic transformation God has in mind for those who believe in him. In fact, In order to show the limitations of science on this, the Bible says, I have not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that love him. But he has revealed these things to us by his Spirit, through his word. And 1 Corinthians 15 is the place to start if you want to know what glorified living men will be like in the kingdom age. What will they be doing in the kingdom? My personal opinion is that they will not only live and reign with Christ as kings and priests for a thousand years and then forever, Revelation 20, but also that they will make occasional appearances with Christ on earth, especially at the beginning and then on the special festival occasions that God describes in many places in his word. That is my opinion, which is difficult to prove because the Bible is quite reticent on the earth aspect of the functions and ministry of glorified people. Because during the Kingdom Age, the main functions described in terms of earth ministry are for those who are not glorified, as we shall see. Now, believers in Jesus Christ who survived the Great Tribulation and who are not raptured or resurrected will nevertheless be marvelously provided for by God in the form of supernatural sudden bodily healing. Consider these three groups of tribulation survivors and what will happen to them. Number one, wounded, sick, half-starved Israelite witnesses, 144,000 in number. nearly five times as great an army of missionaries as exists in the world today. That Christ refers to as, quote, my brethren in Matthew 25 40. Secondly, other Israelite refugees from the Antichrist who have fled to the wilderness and have been hidden by God three and a half years during the awful onslaughts of the Antichrist. And thirdly, sorely persecuted Gentile converts of the 144,000 witnesses who are called by our Lord the sheep from the nations, from the Gentiles, the Gentile sheep who respond to the witness of these Jewish evangelists and in most cases suffer a martyr's death according to Revelation chapter 7 where a myriad of them is seen under the altar in the form of souls who have been martyred for the name of Christ during the tribulation. What will happen to these survivors? Listen. The physical healings that our Lord performed at his first coming were intended to be a foretaste, a sign of what will happen at the dawn of the kingdom age. He says so in Matthew 11.5. And Isaiah 35 tells us that when the kingdom comes, the mark, the sign of it will be that the lame will leap like a heart. The blind will see, the deaf will hear. There'll be instantaneous, vast, supernatural healing. And how desperately it will be needed after three and a half years of treatment at the hand of the Antichrist. In fact, our Lord said that those who are his servants by the end of that period who have survived at all, the only reason they survived is because they're sealed from death like Paul was till his ministry was over. And that's the worst thing that could happen to a witness, to be sealed from death. Paul was stoned to death. In fact, he said, I die daily. You know what that implies? He rose daily from the dead in the sense that nothing could stop it. He was sealed till his work was done. And so will these eschatological witnesses on a global scale. Jesus said, this gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all nations. And their job will be accomplished before that end comes. And so horrible will be the end that Jesus said, if those days are not shortened, that is shortened to the God predicted limits, no flesh would survive. Horrible conditions. in prison, wounded, tormented, starved. Jesus describes them in Matthew 25. And those who give to witnesses for Christ, a helping hand, an encouraging word, will not lose their reward, according to Jesus. Now, if he has the power to forgive Israel's sins at the end of this age, according to Romans 11, when the original branches of the olive tree are put back and grafted in where they really belong. He certainly will have no difficulty in doing the lesser work of saying to his wounded, crippled people, arise and walk. In fact, so greatly will they be strengthened by God that, believe it or not, dear friends, every one of them will live throughout the entire thousand-year reign of Christ in mortal bodies outliving Methuselah before the flood. And thus, to use a biblical description of this amazing situation, there will not be an old man that has not filled his days, and as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people. And my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hand." Isaiah 65. Even more amazing, perhaps, is this consideration of that coming kingdom age. There will be no infant mortality. Isaiah 65. And by the way, may I add this, there will be no abortions either. None. Because there will be no more an infant of days. Isaiah 65 verse 20. There will be no sickness in the Millennium. No need of doctors, nurses, hospitals, clinics at all. Why? Because Isaiah 33, 24 says, and I quote, The inhabitants shall not say, I am sick. They will be completely healthy and whole. In fact, there won't be any calamities of any kind that will endanger or harm the bodies of God's people. Isaiah 65, 23. Therefore, just imagine this if you can, the population growth rate will be astronomical. Because there won't be any wars. There will be permanent peace under the administration of the Prince of Peace that will put all present day promises of political leaders totally into the shadow. Isaiah chapter 2, they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and nations will not learn war anymore. And dear friend, the only hope for that ever to happen is Jesus Christ's return to planet Earth. Furthermore, They're all potential criminals. And there will be millions of them by the time the Kingdom Age comes to an end. We'll be strictly and totally controlled by a rod of iron form of government, and rebels will die instantly at the hand of Christ the King of Kings, according to Isaiah 11.4 and Revelation 2.27. It'll be one gigantic penitentiary for potential rebels, who would lift their hand against the Christ and smite and destroy his people. There will be death in the kingdom age, which proves it's not the eternal state. It'll be rare, but it'll happen. Listen, it will involve only the unregenerate descendants of those who enter the millennium with mortal bodies. Because sad to say, It'll still be true under a perfect government in a magnificent environment with Satan absent. That every child that's born will be born in sin. And it can be said then as it is now and always has since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Behold I was shaped in an iniquity, in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalm 51 5. And not every child that's born with a sin nature Accept Jesus Christ as Savior, even though he is visible and present. It'll be a situation analogous to Judas Iscariot, who saw the Lord Jesus constantly before his face for three and a half years, signs, miracles, claims, wonders, and all, and utterly rejected him in his heart, and died an unbeliever. So you see, you can't necessarily guarantee conversion by sign miracle. or by the visible physical presence of Christ himself. And this is the key that unlocks the mystery of how you can have an increasing population of unbelievers in a perfect world ruled by Christ himself. What will happen to unbelievers who attempt a rebellion against the Christ in his kingdom? Isaiah 65 20 tells you that a sinner who is accursed will die and be considered a mere child if he dies at the age of 100. He will die because he is a cursed sinner. That means a sinner who has invoked the special judgment of God for some deed that he contemplated against God or his people. And yet, if he's only a hundred at the time, he's considered a mere child. Why? Because the normal lifespan of millennial inhabitants will be vastly greater than that. If you want to see prophecies in the Old Testament of the stupendous population explosion that'll take place, read Isaiah 49, 20. Palestine won't have room for the people of God. Isaiah 54, 1 to 3. Stretch out the tent, loosen the cord, make room. The prophet says, Zechariah 8, 4-5 says the streets of Jerusalem will be filled overflowing with people, children playing everywhere. What a fantastic purpose and plan God has revealed for that coming age. The Bible assures us that carnivorous, flesh-eating animals were a great hazard in Old Testament times in the Holy Land. Many people were killed and thousands terrified by lions and bears and so on. But in the Kingdom Age, not only will this danger be completely removed from Palestine, according to Isaiah 35.9, where we're told there will be no lions there, and Ezekiel 34, 25 and 28 where it says it will be perfectly safe to sleep in the forest of the Holy Land, but also apparently the whole world will experience a transformation in the animal kingdom, for these creatures will be transformed to their original plant-eating herbivorous characteristics. as described in Genesis 1.30, where all animals were created to be plant-eaters only. Lions, for example, will still be lions. They will maintain their taxonomic identity. And so the change from plant-eating lions at creation to flesh-eating ones in the second, third world systems, and then back again to their original state, does not change their identity taxonomically. They're still lions. God is able, miraculously apparently, to change the tooth structure and metabolism and appetite of animals without rubbing out their identity. In fact, Isaiah tells us in chapter 11, verse 7, that lions will live peacefully with cattle and eat straw like oxen. And the same thing is said of bears and leopards. Now before the fall, And during the flood, when all human beings were right with God, animals were all submissive to men, showing us very clearly a principle in Holy Scripture concerning the animal kingdom. Namely, it is programmed manward in terms of response in proportion to and in the light of man's relationship to his God. It's a pyramid structure of God programmed into relationship. And so really, we're not surprised, are we, to find that in the coming age when all human beings who enter that kingdom are right with God, we will find that, quote, they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, which means kingdom, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11.9. There will be no harmful animals in the kingdom age. Now apparently even the microscopic world of amoeba and viruses will cease their warfare against man, sinful man. For quote, the inhabitants shall not say I am sick, Isaiah 33, 24. Now the big question is this, are these statements to be taken literally or merely figuratively of some unknown spiritual reality? Well, we discover that the Apostle Peter sets for us a guideline on how to interpret such statements because he said that Israel must return to God, quote, so there may come seasons of refreshing from the Lord and times of restoration Apokatastasis is the Greek word there, a return back to original conditions, apokatastasis, of all things were of God's sake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old. That was his great temple sermon in Acts 3, 19-21. Peter says everything the prophets spoke concerning that coming age must be fulfilled. And therefore I understand that this includes the condition of the animal kingdom described not only in Isaiah, but other passages that depict a new relationship, which on the basis of the submission of animals to Noah's family and to Adam and Eve before their fall, as I say, is not surprising to us at all. The Bible makes special emphasis upon the condition of serpents in the Millennium. And surprisingly, Even though they are rendered harmless, Isaiah 11.8, they shall not hurt or destroy, and even a child shall play with a cockatrice in the adder and not be injured. Those are poisonous snakes in our age. Serpents will nevertheless continue to have dust mingled with their food. They will grubble in the dirt. They will not be restored to their original more flexible lifestyle, apparently, of living in trees or whatever may have been true at the beginning. Because Isaiah 65, 25 tells us that dust in the kingdom age will still be the serpent's food. Why? I suggest that this will provide a visible, impressive reminder to inhabitants of that kingdom age that the sin nature of man, even in a beautiful, perfect environment. And an ideal society remains a horrible reality and points to a literal fall in actual history. What will the world be like in that kingdom topographically and in terms of the soil and the weather conditions? The Bible has a great deal to say about that too. Topographically, By the dawn of the millennium, the present rough topography of Palestine, with its hills and valleys, deep ravines, will have been evened and then elevated to a very high plateau. Revelation 6.14 says that in preparation for that kingdom, God will so shake the world that every island and every mountain will be removed. And Zechariah 14.10 specifies that in Palestine The whole region, from Jerusalem down to the south, will be flattened like the Arabah, that's the region from the Sea of Galilee to Jordan and south, will be flat like the Arabah and uplifted. Well again, when you compare this with other passages in the Old Testament, that fits perfectly, because Zechariah agreed with Ezekiel that there has to be an enormous uplift of Palestine in order for the Dead Sea to be cleansed and to have, quote, exceeding many fishes for men to cast their nets at En Gedi. That's Ezekiel 47.10. And so you see, to have many fishes and to have fresh water, it has to have an outlet, and it's right now 1,300 feet below sea level, and therefore will have to be lifted up more than a third of a mile in order to have waters flowing through it and out to the ocean. Furthermore, there will be a great rift in the present Mount of Olives region. that will provide a new channel for waters to enter the Eastern Sea, or the Dead Sea, to drain Palestine, in particular Jerusalem, which will have accessed us to a broad river." Zechariah 14, verse 8. What about the condition of the soil for agriculture in the present largely barren Holy Land? We are told that the soil of Palestine will become fantastically fertile. even to the top of mountains, Psalm 72, 16, so that mountains shall drop sweet wine in the enormous grape harvest, Amos 9, 13. And even the wilderness and the dry land and the desert shall blossom as the rose, Isaiah 35, 1. And what today would seem to be a mirage, an unbelievable water supply in the midst of the desert, shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water." Isaiah 35-7. I personally believe that this promise will apply only to Palestine and not to the entire world. That is, this incredibly fertile soil. Because, Zechariah 14-18 states that any nation that does not participate in the annual Feast of Tabernacles in the Holy Land will be under a special curse of God, in the sense that rain will be withheld from that country. But Egypt, which doesn't have rain anyway, and thus would not be affected by that kind of curse, will have a special judgment, namely a plague. And Egyptians have a vivid memory to this day of the certain series of events when you mention the word plague. They know that the God of Israel can handle Egypt very well. Zechariah 14, 18. Weather conditions also will be vastly transformed, especially in the Promised Land in the Kingdom Age. In fact, it will be supernaturally controlled to encourage those who come to the Temple from all over the world for worship services. Just as the pillar of cloud followed and protected Israel in its exodus from Egypt and its wilderness wanderings long ago, this covering over Palestine will serve as, and I quote Isaiah now, a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain. Isaiah chapter 4, verse 6. God takes very seriously the conditions for worship. And you remember how serious consideration of an enormous spiritual problem in the days of Ezra, recorded in the last chapter of that book, were hindered and disrupted because of adverse weather conditions and the cold and the rain. God will see to it there will be no such hindrance to the public, meaningful, joyful, united worship of the world in the Millennial Center. of worship. What does the Bible say about the end of that magnificent, beautiful, wonderful kingdom age? It says, to our utter astonishment, it will end in a total global catastrophe. If you and I were writing the Bible, we would, I'm sure, never end such a beautiful story that way. We would end it typically, and so they lived happily ever after. But that is not true because the Millennium will be increasingly populated by unbelieving men. The children born to believing survivors of the tribulation who enter the Millennium alive with mortal bodies. And God always gives such people a choice. The unbelievers will not all be ushered automatically to heaven. It would destroy heaven. And so God will give them a choice, as he did to Adam and Eve. And the choice is especially provided at the end of...