The Way of Peace – Pt. 1

Ron Weinland

July 31, 2010

The sermon today is a new series and is being given in preparation for the Feast of Tabernacles sermons that are going to be given this year.  I am really excited about these Feast sermons.  Five are now complete and there are two to go and I am immensely excited about that at this early stage because sometimes they don’t come together until into August when I begin to focus on them but God is giving these quickly.  They’re coming together quickly.  And I’ll just share with you, if I can... it’s in my mind to do so if God so leads me and works with me to do it; but I’d like to be able to write a booklet on the Feast sermons between now and the Feast so that we could have it printed, hopefully to be handed out   at the end of the Feast or sometime shortly after that to be sent out to everyone.  So you might be praying about that too because I think it’d be a great tool, a great benefit to everyone because there is a flow that ties in those sermons together; at least the first 6 that you’ll be hearing from me.  The last one given on the Last Great Day is a different one, I don’t know where that’s leading yet. This is kind of like the second book – God’s showing me what is to be given as I’m working with the sermons.  So that’s unique in itself and exciting as well.

I’ve mentioned that there are going to be two truths given.  I have already referenced them in times past but they’ve not been taught as a doctrine.  I have thrown some comments out there that if people were paying attention to you would understand that it’s something we haven’t taught before, if you’ve been in our past.  Those of you who haven’t been a part of our past... you wouldn’t know anyway.  But I’ll be telling you specifically this year as doctrine what they are, and there will be two additional ones, it looks like at this point as well, that are totally new.

So again, to me it’s really exciting to be able to have four more now...and if you think about some of that...at the end-time... 3 and then 4 – amazing. And there’s a lot more to that as well that God’s giving.  So exciting, inspiring, especially to me going through this and seeing it come together like this.  This subject is going to tie in with those sermons in a very meaningful way at the Feast of Tabernacles.

So this new sermon series is setting some of the groundwork for what will be given later at that time. This sermon today is entitled; The Way of Peace – Part 1.  This subject matter is far more important than what most could ever begin to imagine.  It is spoken of in ways that just don’t seem to sink into the human mind as it should; and the reality is God has to give it when it’s His time, to give more understanding of a particular matter in the first place and that certainly fits into this category.  Once you begin to hear the Feast sermons this sermon being given today is going to mean a whole lot more to you then.  So it’s going to be a building thing, a building process; but hopefully, you’ll pray about this sermon series, drink in as much as you can because it’s going to hit you in a stronger way during the Feast this year – or at least it should in a normal course of events here.  But again, very powerful, very exciting what God is giving to us and broadening our understanding of a particular subject that is awesomely important to God Almighty and He’s letting us understand that in a profound way.

Let’s turn over to Isaiah 9:6 – very meaningful, prophetic verse there about the Messiah, about the birth of the Son of God. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the Government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, it’s not ‘the Mighty God’; it is Mighty God, not ‘The Everlasting Father’; but Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  And the words ‘the’ really aren’t in there.  It’s a long continual name in Hebrew that’s being given here and this word ‘Prince’ here meaning, ‘the chief, the ruler, the leader’ of Peace, if you understand what it means. So that’s what this word ‘Prince’ means in these scriptures here and if you understand this it means so much more too, – ‘the leader’ ...showing us the way to peace.  That’s what God has given Him as one of His great titles; and in the sermons back in 2005 we broke this particular verse down even more.  It’d be good to go back and just review that a little bit because sometimes it still causes people to trip or to stumble a little bit.  It shouldn’t, because we know the truth, and you should understand then that there are things that sometimes aren’t totally translated in the intent that’s given spiritually that is in scripture.

It begins by context, telling us that a Child is born, that a Son is given to us, and of course this being Jesus Christ.  It’s about His birth as the Son of God given to mankind.  And then it begins here in Hebrew again; this is translated in one long name and it describes the entire meaning of the purpose for a Child being born, who is the Son being given by God.

Wonderful – it’s a word that means ‘a marvel, extraordinary, hard to understand’ things about Him, who He is, God’s purpose for Him. The reality is man can’t!  The world thinks they understand who Jesus Christ is today.  Much of the world, obviously, has rejected Him.  Another part that claims to ‘know’ Him, claims to ‘love’ Him, doesn’t know Him at all, doesn’t know Him in any fashion or form; just some stories in the New Testament about Him being born and so forth.  They don’t understand Him at all.  God has to give that; just as we understand God has to call someone.  You can’t come to God’s Church, you can’t see it and understand the truths of God, the plan of God unless God opens up your mind and gives you to Christ, His Son.

God the Father is the one who draws, the one who calls and draws you by the power of His spirit and begins to give you understanding.  And so God has to open up your mind all the way!  In other words... through your calling, through the time of your growth and development – those of you living on into the Millennium – God’s going to continue to work with you, to mould and fashion you, to teach you, to give you things that you otherwise could never come to understand.  The things that are spiritual in understanding God has to give and it takes time to learn those things.  It takes time to grow in balance in those things.  And sometimes, especially in this age because things can be given so quickly; you can read books quickly, you can go through the things and God has given so much more now in this period of time, up to this period of time for us that if you’re not careful you begin to think you have it; and you don’t!  There is MUCH GROWTH past this period of time to where it becomes a PART of your mind, a PART of your being.  KNOWLEDGE isn’t enough!  Having the ability to ‘see’ it is not enough!  In time, God blesses you to where it becomes a part of your BEING, a part of your MIND, a part of your THINKING!  And that’s POWERFUL if you understand it, it truly is.  Give yourself time.  Understand the importance and the need for growth, especially all of you who are new in the last three or so years.  It takes time to grow.  Don’t expect more of yourself in those areas.  Be patient!  Let God do His work.  Yield yourself to the process and continue to grow; because spiritual growth is not a matter of just receiving knowledge – okay?  It goes way beyond that and it takes a lot of time.  If we don’t think that way it can hurt you immensely.  I’ve seen it over and over again in God’s Church; into the hundreds of people who’ve been hurt.

Wonderful – ‘a marvel, extraordinary’; the word I use a lot, ‘awesome’, ‘hard to understand’.  The mind of man can’t.

Counsellor – a word that means ‘to give council, to advise, one who guides’ – everything we have of God’s way of life comes through Jesus Christ; He guides and leads us.  Everything is given to Christ; we’re given to Christ and He guides us on the way in every facet and form.   So again, Counsellor - ‘to give council, to advise, one who guides, to guide along the way’ – the way; the way that God has placed before us; and there is only one way, not a lot of different ways.  ONE!  And that’s hard for the human mind to get.  When the human mind gets that then there’s no problem out here in understanding a scattering that took place in God’s Church!  There can only be ONE.  When the world begins to see it and understand it, when you’re first called you begin to have that focus given to you; you understand that there are things required to be of that one way; the Sabbath, tithing, the name of God – God’s Church!  Not Luther’s church, not some method, not some catechism universal belief or ideas that are brought together as a way of life...and on and on it goes.  We bear God’s name; we carry His name, we are the called out ones – the Church of God.  Amazing!  And any other names that are out here, they’re just names that people have given to what they believe.  Incredible!

And so, ‘the way’ He has given to us, to lead us along the way, to guide us along the way.  And that’s exactly what’s given to us that’s akin to what’s given in 1 John 2:1 - My little children, these things I write unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate/paracletus, in Greek.  And it’s used in one other place in John 14 about the holy spirit; because it’s through the power of the holy spirit that it’s accomplished.  But Jesus Christ bears that name as well.  We have an advocate, a paracletus with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:  And an advocate is one who helps, who aids, who guides along the way.  So He bears many names that fulfill what He is fulfilling in His purpose and what He’s accomplishing in our lives.

Mighty God – it’s not ‘the’ Mighty God, it’s a word that means as a part of a title here, ‘Mighty God’. And so this is not translated well and is most often translated in meaning from the Hebrew as simply ‘strong God, mighty God’ and not THE Mighty God because then that can cause confusion and that’s what’s caused confusion in times past where people think that Jesus Christ has eternally existed because it’s obviously about the Son of God; and He isn’t THE Almighty God who has eternally existed, but He is Mighty God; big difference.  He is a part of the family of Elohim, but He’s not God Almighty.

Everlasting Father – again this is not an accurate translation and is most accurately translated by others as ‘father forever’.  He bears that name as well, to us.  As I referred to recently about how my feelings are toward Mr. Armstrong; that’s how I look to him, still do as far as God’s way of life that was given to me.  Everything I received came through him, everything that has laid the foundation of everything that I have came through him.  God used him in that way and he was as that father figure in essence, spiritually, on earth.  And so there are those situations in life as I’ve even talked about, my wife and I and how we feel about many who’ve come along and have been baptized into God’s Church.  We have that feeling, that connection, and so again here this is how it’s being used.  And again, this does not mean the Eternal Father, but Jesus Christ is as a father spiritually to us, working with us, how He works with us.  Not the Father, not our heavenly Father, but He bears that name just as much as different ones do.  As I mentioned about Paul and how he spoke and how Peter spoke about those who were... he talked about ‘his children’; that’s what he’s talking about, ‘in the Lord’.

So again, the word ‘Father’ here in Hebrew can have basically one of two meanings and especially if you understand this even more so.  It’s not even referring to in some cases as a ‘father’ but again you can use it that way and be perfectly fine in one respect.  It’s used literally as ‘the father of an individual’ but it’s also used as ‘the head’, or ‘head of a household’, which really is more in tune to what it’s about here because Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, He is the Head of the Church of God.  God has placed Him so.  And so indeed He fulfills that role as Everlasting Head, or Everlasting Father; but not the Eternal Father that we address in prayer.

So it’s better not to call Him that in that respect, refer to Him as Father.  It’s better to refer to it as Head, as it actually in spiritual intent, in the meaning of how it is here; but again, if you understand the other part it isn’t fully wrong either but it shouldn’t be addressed that way either because that isn’t what God intends.

Prince of Peace – ‘ruler, leader, chief’ of peace.  It’s the word ‘shalowm, shalome’... and it comes from the word, ‘shalam’ which is a root for ‘peace’ and I think everyone is familiar with that as a greeting, ‘shalom’ talking about ‘peace be with you’ and so forth.  It’s interesting here that there’s a word study in Hebrew that shows that it contains all the following meanings here, this word ‘shalowm’; ‘completeness’...or ‘shalam’ even, the root of this; ‘completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord’.  It’s powerful.  It’s powerful, that definition, all those words, they’re powerful in a description here that’s going to mean a lot more to you after the Feast this year...all having to do with His name, Prince of Peace.  So, let’s read this again and read it all in context here...

Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the Government shall be upon His shoulder:  the government of God.  He is the Head of that Government and everything has been given to Him and everything is going to be brought into subjection to Him, to the Family and then turned over to God Almighty when it’s all said and done; but this is how it’s accomplished, bringing everything into subjection to God; and the Government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Founder/Head, is better, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His Government and Peace... powerful, powerful, powerful; ...and Peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Eternal of hosts will perform this. God Almighty is going to accomplish this; of what’s being spoken of here about peace and about what’s going to be given in and through Jesus Christ in a very powerful way; and that’s what it’s talking about here.  It’s about Government, it’s about God’s Kingdom and it is about the way of peace that God is establishing very powerfully so.

Genesis 14; The account of Abram when he was talking to Melchizedek.  We just went through that recently here when he was coming back from his victory that God gave to him and it talks about how he tithed all to God and makes that comment at that time there.  But simply in verse 18 where it talks about Melchizedek it says – This Melchizedek King of Salem: it’s about God Almighty.  He is King.  We’ve had sermons about that.  He was King before Jesus Christ was given the title of King.  God Almighty is King; King of Kings as it refers to, even in the Old Testament.  God is King above all; but He’s given that title to Jesus Christ.  He is Lord, Lord of Lords; that’s why we went through those verses sometime back, clear back in 2005 discussing some of those things so that people could understand that’s God the Father first and foremost above all; Lord of all Lords, King of all Kings first.  And here it mentions   Melchizedek who was God Almighty manifesting Himself as a priest of God.  This is how He worked with Abraham/Abram.  And it says, Melchizedek King of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and He was the priest of the Most High God.  And this ‘Salem’; this is not ‘shalom’, but it’s still that similar word there ‘shalam’ which goes back to that root ‘shalome’ here.  You don’t have to go through all that; but you can tell by the sound they’re all interconnected.  They all mean basically the same thing and they’re all interconnected in a very powerful way with God’s purpose and what He’s accomplishing and what He’s doing and why these names are used SO MUCH in the Bible!  Over and over again, it’s a powerful THEME in the Bible; FAR MORE than what we have grasped and comprehended – truly.

And so again, this ‘Salem’ here, speaking of ‘King of Salem’... isn’t that amazing?  A word that was used.  It’s not about a PLACE as much as what HIS TITLE IS, of WHAT IT MEANS because there are those who believe when they write about this being; yes, we believe that He was in that area of what became known as Jeru-‘salem’ - Jerusalem... salem... but they don’t understand who He was fully or anything of that nature.  It’s about His title, it’s about who He is, it’s about the purpose and why He bears this name more than anything; that’s what it is: King... King of Salem.  King of Peace.  Very powerful!  Beautiful really.

Let’s turn over to Hebrews 7 where it talks about Melchizedek further.  By giving what God is giving to us now there is more expected of us in response to God.  There is more expected of us in repentance and drawing closer to God and living a way of life that God desires with all of His being that we be able to embrace more fully with greater understanding in grasping the importance of it all.  Hebrews 7:1 - For this Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of the Most High God, that’s how He manifested Himself; who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of Righteousness, and after that also King of Salem ...f you understand what it means when the title of King is used, of God, in the Old Testament.  King of Righteousness... He’s the source of it, it comes from Him, He controls it, He rules it, it is His life.  He controls all life.

...and after that also King of Salem which is, King of Peace; profound!  Powerful, truly is.  Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; there is only One who fits the bill.  There’s only one who fits into this and yet mankind is so blind of it – incredible!  The Almighty, Everlasting, Eternal God...Almighty God!  ...but made: this Melchizedek, was made like unto the Son of God; abides a priest continually.  And so He manifested Himself in a certain form to picture, to foreshadow what was to be accomplished and what would be fulfilled in His plan in time.  And so He was made like unto what the Son of God would be.  He wasn’t Him, but made like unto Him for a purpose; to teach us, to teach mankind.  ’Made like’ means ‘to render similar, to copy, to be a copy, to produce a facsimile’.  So again, very powerful here what’s being said.  Wasn’t meant to be Him, but it was to be a representation to be made like Him.

And then dropping on down let’s read verse 15 - And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchizedek there arises another priest,  ‘similitude’; used this one time here to mean ‘a likeness’, a similitude and it comes from the word that means ‘to be like or to be similar to, to resemble’.  In other words, here is someone who fulfills this for eternity – High Priest to God for eternity, speaking of Jesus Christ.  Hebrews is talking about Jesus Christ and the things that Jesus Christ is...talking about His coming and what He’s going to fulfill, what He’s going to accomplish, what God is in His purpose for His very Son, what He’s given to Him...and He talks about this one then that was made to resemble what God did so long ago with Abraham.  Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.  Not after the Levitical system that was here for a time and gone; not after a physical priesthood, not after the commandments of what they were to fulfill and accomplish in their service to God; but here, power given of endless life for a job that goes into eternity. For He testifies, You are a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.  Awesome!  ... ‘after the order of Melchizedek’... what God did so long ago. Here is one who fulfills it for eternity, Jesus Christ.

So again, remember the names; King of Salem – God Almighty, and He gives to His Son Prince of Salem, Prince of Peace.  That’s one of His names; very powerful of what God is going to accomplish in and through Him for all mankind.

It would be good to look at that which was established in early times in the name of a city, which has far greater meaning and purpose than mankind can begin to grasp and know.  Let’s turn over to

Micah, one of the Minor Prophets before the New Testament.  Once you go through this and you begin to see what God has written in the Old Testament, it’s really awesome, it’s opened up a door of   understanding of things in Psalms and things in prophecies that is far more meaningful and far more powerful – it truly is.  Micah 4:2 - And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the Mountain of the Eternal, and again, referring to the Kingdom of God, God’s Kingdom, what God is accomplishing, what God’s purpose is.  Prophetically we understand that; God’s Government, it’s about government, it’s about Elohim, a desire to become a part of God’s Family.  Let us to up to the Mountain of the Eternal, because that’s where the process begins, that’s where you begin to learn; 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 Eternal from Jerusalem. And it’s not about the city. It’s not about the city; it’s far more meaningful than that.

Let’s look at the word ‘Jerusalem’.  It’s a compound word. The second word is that word we’ve been looking at ‘shalome’ from which the two words earlier came from ‘shalom’ and also the other one that had to do with Prince of Peace and then ‘shalam’ which had to do with King, Melchizedek, King of Salem.  The word ‘salem’ in Jerusalem means ‘be at peace, to make peace, to cause to be at peace’.  It’s that which goes into it to bring it about.  And the first word ‘jeru’ is the Hebrew word ‘jaera’ and it means ‘to teach, to cast, to lay, to throw’.  It’s a unique thing.  You begin to look at other words where it’s used and all of a sudden it begins to become clearer what God is saying and what God is giving to us and the meaning He’s given in a name of a city that is so profound.

Let’s turn over to Isaiah 57 because as soon as I saw one word here in the meaning of it I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding!”  Amazing!  The word ‘to cast’ – what comes into your mind that you’ve heard in recent times?  ... ‘to cast’.  Isaiah 57:13 - When you cry, let your companies deliver you; but the wind shall carry them all away and vanity shall take them: but he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy Mountain; And shall say, Cast you up, cast you up, prepare the way, that word ‘prepare’ here means ‘as to turn, to turn toward, or turn to’ ...prepare the way, take up the stumbling block out of the way of My people. So we’ve had that in a sermon not too long ago talking about this ‘cast you up’; it’s like building a road, it’s like building a highway and you have to work to make it higher.  We have ditches today so the water runs off; and so that something stays drier and compact; and that’s what it’s talking about.  It’s talking about preparing a way.  That’s what it was called back in the Old Testament.  We talked recently here about how the children of Israel were brought up to ‘the way of the Red Sea’ and there was no such highway, or way of the Red Sea.  There was the way of the Philistines, there was the way of Shir to the north, but there was no way of the Red Sea.  Nobody had travelled that way.  But God provided it, He showed the way that He was giving, that God had to lead to give the way to the children of Israel and we’re to follow Him.

And so again here, profound words that are used over and over again.  So it’s talking about this work that you have to put into it, to ‘cast you up, cast you up’, and that’s what it’s talking about in the name of Jerusalem.  So the word Jerusalem is more than the name of a city, it is about what God is doing with mankind and the word means ‘to teach’, or, ‘to cast up, to lay’, if you will, ‘the way’ to something...and that’s peace.  It’s all about peace.

There’s so much about peace throughout the Bible that God wants us to grasp and understand that has such great meaning to God and He wants us to understand it more, to be more convicted of ‘this way’, to embrace it more fully, to understand what gets in the way of it, to understand what keeps it from happening, to repent of the things that keep it from happening because God wants us to have it.  He want us to have it more now as we push forward here, in less than two years where some will be in His Family, literally in Elohim, and others continuing on in His begotten Family in the Church of God.

So again, Jerusalem literally means ‘to teach peace’ or ‘to cast up peace’.  It’s the effort, the work that goes into it.  It doesn’t just happen.  But the connector in all this is the expression of ‘the way’; the way.  And there are some words sometimes that... I think of when the book was translated; I came to understand this in a greater way... came to see things in the Bible in a greater way that man has translated so many things word by word, not knowing what it means so he doesn’t know the intent.  So some things are there word by word and so the meaning sometimes of certain things is a little obscure, it’s hard to fully grasp.  And yet with God’s spirit we come to see it, we come to grasp it.  Sometimes we see something well before God even shows us what’s been there all along.  So He teaches us, He leads us, He shows us and this particular word Jerusalem literally means by its spiritual intent, ‘the way of peace’.  The way of peace.  It’s not just about to teach peace, or to cast up for peace, the way of peace, but that’s what it literally means; it means ‘the way of peace’ that God wants everyone to embrace in a very profound and very great way.

And so again here, God’s purpose and inspiration in the name of Jerusalem is in the intent of what it is to teach us and what it is to lead us in the way of travel that we’re to go, in the way that we’re to travel in this life; and it’s something you have to travel.  When you travel it you work at it, you have to apply yourself to it, you have to do it.  It doesn’t just happen!  It’s by choices and by design; and contains great meaning to it. And shall say, Cast you up, cast you up, prepare, in other words, ‘turn to’ or ‘toward’ the way, take up the stumbling block out of the way of My people.

Verse 18 - I have seen his ways, because God’s way is this way.  This is God’s way, the way of peace, Jerusalem.  It’s used in a very powerful way throughout scripture.  I have seen his ways and will heal him: I will lead him also, into what?  Into this way, into this way of peace that it’s talking about here.  I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace, God’s great desire for us.  It’s a healing process, something that God wants for every one of us, something that every one of us must grow in and become a part of us to become a part of His Family.  I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is afar off and to him that is near, says the Eternal; and I will heal him. God puts this in the context of having to be healed, of our minds having to be healed, having to do with ‘the way of peace’, having to do with this word ‘Jerusalem’.  Awesome what God gives.

Let’s go back to Micah 4:2 - And many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the Mountain of the Eternal, unto the House of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: ‘cast you up, cast you up’...that’s what it’s all about; for the law of God shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the Eternal from Jerusalem. And again, it isn’t just about the name of the city.

We’re going to look at numerous scriptures that contain the word here that talk about this subject matter and what God is telling us.  Isaiah 66:1 - Thus says the Eternal/Yahweh Elohim, Yahweh in this case; Thus says the Eternal, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that you build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all those things have I made by My own hand, and all those things have been, says the Eternal: but to this man will I look, even to him who is a poor and of a contrite spirit, you can’t place a value in understanding this and living it, you can’t place a value on it what this means to be  of a ‘poor and a contrite spirit’, how we look at other people, how we think about other people, how we interact with other people, how God is working with us, and to grasp and understand that process we go through.  And so God looks upon this kind of mind, this kind of attitude; one who is of a poor and contrite spirit, and trembles at My word.  Which means to fear to do other than what God says.  And sometimes we don’t FEAR to do other than what God says – we don’t fear enough, we truly don’t!  We do things we shouldn’t do!  We ALLOW things in our lives that we shouldn’t allow.  We PERMIT certain things to take place, to come out of our mouths, to come out of our thinking toward other people that should never be permitted nor allowed, that isn’t RIGHT with God!  ...that isn’t a matter of His way that He wants us to drink in of and live and be a part of us, and a part of our being...that God has planned for so long to give us, for so long that we become a part of it – spiritual Jerusalem –that it be in us, and be a part of us.

Verse 9 - Shall I bring to birth, speaking of His Family, and not cause to bring forth? says the Eternal: shall I cause to be brought forth, and then shut the womb? says your God. Rejoice with/Rejoice in Jerusalem, it’s not about the city.  It’s not about rejoicing in a physical structured city.  It’s not about a physical city whatsoever here!  It’s not about our rejoicing in a city, in something that’s built up physically in any fashion or form.  It’s everything about that which is spiritual, about what God is teaching and giving to us. Rejoice in the way of peace; because that’s where real rejoicing and fullness of life comes from, it truly does.  The real rejoicing, real happiness comes in this fashion, in this way and in no other way.  It truly does!  ...and be glad with her/in her...be glad in her all you who love her: How much do you love the way of peace?  Because I’ll tell you we don’t to the degree that we can now begin to love it more...because God’s offering that to us, to be able to embrace it more, to love it more, to love her more – Jerusalem, what it means, the way of peace, what God is placing before us.  He’s giving us more of His spirit to accomplish it if we will respond to Him and use it accordingly. ...Rejoice in Jerusalem, be glad in her all you who love her; and if you love her as God desires you will hate other things, you will come to loath other things, you will come to loathe things that get in the way of peace and you’ll come to understand the danger and the damage and the hurt and the pain and the suffering that’s caused by not walking in the way of peace.

Rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in her, all you who love her: rejoice for joy in her, all you who mourn for her: ...about a physical city?  ...a physical city that's so important that we should mourn for it?  Is God concerned about buildings and a city and a location on the earth?  No!  ...who mourn for the way of peace, because it’s not here; who mourn because we see what we see in the world that is not the way of peace and mankind.

So the message is to rejoice in the way of peace so that, as it says here in verse 11 – that you may suckle/nurse and be satisfied with the breasts of her comfort; as God gives poetically here, comfort in the way of peace that comes in that way.  There is no comfort in that which opposes peace.  There is no comfort in strife. There is no comfort in bad feelings toward others. There is no comfort in those things that have to do with the mind when we’re battling other people; there’s torment and hurt and pain and suffering!  That’s ALL that’s there!  ...and destroys the ability to rejoice and be thankful and happy in what God has given to us; but we have to have it in us and LIVING in us for it to be real.  Joy isn’t something you can just make up and be giddy about or experience for a temporary moment!  It’s something to be lived continually.  You want greater joy with people?  ...and fullness with people’s lives in relationship?  Then we have to live this more fully, more fully than what we currently do as God’s people; and that’s what God’s bringing into the Millennium very quickly now.  What a blessing that we have the opportunity to embrace it first in a greater way, to understand it’s importance in a greater way than ever before and the more you understand it’s importance, the more you will love her.  To love her is to love God.  To love her truly reflects the degree to which we love God because this is God; this is God.  This is the being and the mind and the way of God.

So you may nurse and be satisfied with the breasts of her comfort; that you may milk out, in other words drink all that’s there.  God wants us to have it all, to drink in it all, to have this way fully in us; and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. Great glory in Jerusalem. For thus says the Eternal, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, extend peace like a river... and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall you nurse, you shall be borne/carried/supported upon her sides, and be delighted/soothed upon her knees. Who’s it talking about?  Jerusalem... the way of peace spiritually.  As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.  Nothing whatsoever to do with the location and the city, not one thing; only in what it teaches us and leads us to understand; the way of peace.

Isaiah 65 – and if you notice this area of the Bible; do you know what so much of the context is about?  The Millennium and the Great White Throne, the 100 years; that period of time that we’re getting ready to go into.  So much of this that we’re going through is akin to the scriptures and verses that talk about these periods of time.

Isaiah 65:17 - For behold I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, not come to heart in other words, nor come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: it’s God’s creation and what He’s creating; for behold, I create Jerusalem; and it’s not about the city, not one iota, it’s about the way of peace.  I create the way of peace, a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and what He creates spiritually in His Family; it’s what He’s giving to His Family; and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, what does it talk about in Revelation?  It’s talking about that period of time, it’s talking about what God’s leading us through once we go through the last 100 years even.  It’s what God’s leading all of us to in His Family.  And the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days nor an old man that has not filled his days: for the child shall die a hundred years old, but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.  It’s talking about what happens to the very end of man's time on earth because after this mankind doesn’t exist anymore – everyone is either in God’s Family or not.  Awesome!  And it’s about Jerusalem, the way of peace.

Let’s back up even a little bit more here; Isaiah 52:1 - Awake, awake; put on your strength, O Zion... and so again here, this is so often used – even as Jerusalem has; and we understand that.  Jerusalem, we understand, has always had spiritual intent and meaning to it, it’s just that God is showing us a whole lot more about its spiritual intent and meaning; and Zion, being about God’s Family, that which is begotten, that which becomes born into God’s Family; that which pictures that Government, that way of life, that Kingdom. Awake, awake; put on your strength O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, ‘your beautiful garments’...the way of peace; the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.  Spiritually. Why? Because Jerusalem’s been fulfilled; it’s been created, it’s been accomplished in the God Family. All that God is working toward, all that God is moulding and fashioning, all that God is taking through time to bring about in profound ways...in profound ways...from henceforth there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. It can’t; it won’t be there because the way of peace, once it’s created, once it’s full, once it’s there... these will never be there again – nothing like that, nothing that opposes peace.

Shake yourself from the dust; arise, just like when you’re resurrected; and sit down,  it means ‘to dwell, to abide, to inhabit’...O Jerusalem: especially for those at that particular time.  I think of those who are going to be resurrected who live into the last 100 years and what God is offering them; shake off the dust...abide in, dwell in the way of peace.  Not everybody is going to be living in Jerusalem.  It’s not about the city.

...loosen yourself from the bands of your neck, that’s what God wants for all mankind and now for these they’re being given that opportunity and anyone at anytime, this is what we’re to live. ...loosen yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. Anything that opposes peace is like being in captivity.  It’s still captive; we’re not totally free yet.  God has freed us, we’ve been freed, but because we hold onto, we’re the ones...we’re the ones still holding onto captivity.  We do!  And God wants us to shake it, get rid of it.  And so there’s a process, a lifelong process of getting rid of that.  It’s like coming out of Egypt; you don’t shake it overnight. Just because they left doesn’t mean you leave it spiritually overnight.  It’s a lifelong struggle, it’s a lifelong journey – the way to cast up, the way to prepare, the way to turn to the way of peace, to learn the way of peace; for it to become a part of your mind and a part of your being to where you loathe everything else that gets in its way.

...loosen yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Eternal, You have sold yourselves for nothing; it’s the way man has been, it’s what we do; sell ourselves for nothing, sell ourselves to this world, to the ways of this world.  We embrace the world, we embrace selfishness; and you shall be redeemed/bought back, in essence, as it means here, without money. Purchased without money.  We, hopefully, understand what that’s about.  It’s about Jesus Christ, about a sacrifice that was given and that’s how the process begins of being able to be redeemed, of being able to be purchased, to God; of being able to be forgiven of sin so we can have a relationship with God, so that this way of life can begin to dwell and live within us, so that we can begin to embrace something that God wants us to embrace; a way of life.  And this is another way of expressing it.  There are many ways of expressing God’s way of life, but this one is truly profound and powerful.  Jerusalem – the way of peace.

Verse 9 - Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem: the waste places of the way of peace – that’s all that’s existed on this earth for 6,000 years!  The waste places!  And we’ve done it to ourselves as human beings; we’re selfish.  It begins very quickly in life, doesn’t it?  Incredible the way of life of mankind on this earth for the past 6,000 years!  We’re getting ready to have a big boost forward here in the Millennial period, of everyone being able to drink in, to suckle of one way of life.

I can’t help but think of what Mr. Armstrong continually told world leaders and some of the critics and some of the foolish people who were supposedly in God’s Church at that time who would find fault, “Well, he’s not preaching the gospel!  He’s not quoting scriptures!  He’s not going in the Bible and quoting scriptures to these people!  How could he do that?  How could he fulfill going into all the world and preaching the gospel unto everyone if he’s not quoting scriptures?!”  DUMB, Dumb, dumb, royally dumb!  And these are people who had supposedly God’s spirit and were baptized, finding fault with Mr. Armstrong.  Blows my mind!  But you know, people go astray, people begin to be filled with what they think they know, with what they think they understand – even above and beyond, at that time, God’s apostle.  Dangerous!  Dangerous, dangerous not to understand how God works in our lives, how God moulds and fashions us, how He leads us, how He works with us.

But I think of what he told world leaders; and you know what?  They understood; there was a closeness there, there was that which they were drawn by, and they candidly had help from God; they were worked with by God to a limit, to a degree, with an ability to see something, with an ability to grasp a bit of something that even some in the Church just didn’t get.  And he basically was talking about how the way of the world does not know peace.  I wonder if that’s scriptural?!  I wonder if he’s preaching the gospel to them when he talks about ‘the way of peace’ and that man doesn’t know it. Of course it is!   And some of the things he used to say.  I think about some of that.  Different ones... I can see them, because of what we saw in some of the videos and some of the times he talked to those in the Philippines or he talked to different world leaders that come into your mind, whatever you see - those of you who remember some of those things: and he was very powerfully teaching what’s being spoken of here today that the world doesn’t have, that leaders in the world knew that they didn’t have, and it’s very much about a message that God wants mankind to grasp.  You. Don’t. Have. Peace!  You. Can’t. Give. Peace!  We. Can’t. Give. Peace!  We can’t CRAM it down anyone’s throat.  Afghanistan or Iraq or whatever, you can’t force them to think like we think and we don’t have it right anyways!  Do we?  We’re getting a big belly full of that right now in this country and God’s letting us see that in a very powerful way.  We don’t have it right and you cannot give what we think is the right kind of peace to people of a different part of the world who think so much differently from us.  And some are beginning to understand that.  I am sickened to the core of my being when I hear of the death toll in Afghanistan – the highest yet - 66 in the month; might as well have been in one day... 66.  What did they die for?  What about all the sorrow and the hurt and pain in all those families.  No peace in that whatsoever!  Nothing but torment and torture, hurt, pain and suffering!  ...and think they’re doing it for a good cause?  What is that ‘good cause’?  Give me a break!  Because we’re afraid of Al-Qaeda?  What a joke!

I can’t wait for God’s Kingdom to be established and every government on this earth to crumble; every government to end because it’s been corrupt for 6,000 years.  Mans ways are corrupt and we’re learning and seeing that in a very powerful way.  The way of this world is not the way of peace and it is so sickening, it truly is, what man is doing and what man has done.  I think of the institutions of mankind to bring peace to the earth; NATO, it's there to help bring about peace and keep peace in Europe.  Riiight!  United Nations; it’s been nothing but a big joke since it started; and those who try to, and get upset about that and get mad about that... tough cookie!  What a sick thing, the United Nations...it’s like the United Church of God, AIA, it’s not united!  I’m not going to get into it because they have their problems right now.  It hasn’t been united since it started, on a spiritual plane.  And neither has United Nations been united since it started.  Sometimes names are a joke and they come back to haunt.  United is one of them; the United Nations... who pays the biggest part of the bill?  Who wants the greatest control?  Who is so frustrated when they don’t get their way?  ...when other nations would dare stand up to them?  ...because they have a different agenda.  They don’t have the same one we have; isn’t that a shock?  And so they have the audacity to have a statue in front of the building that pictures something that only God Almighty can do; to bring mankind to a point where he’ll beat his weapons into something useful, where we won’t have war anymore.

I truly ache for, hurt for, every time I see a news article come across of those who are dying.  I was so enraged yesterday that if I had time I’d want to start a program in this country to get us out of there.  But that’s not my purpose, that’s not my calling.  But I thought, you know if there was just more outrage...and to not do like they did Vietnam; it’s not their fault.  It got so bad there that people turned against people who thought they were doing the right thing.  I hope war sickens your stomach. There is nothing glorious about it, people going to war and people fighting and people killing and being taught how to kill and then told to come back and live in their communities.  You’re told to go out and take  human life, and then you’re brought back to your communities and you’re supposed to be able to go to work and not have any of this bother you anymore in society, in the world and the way you interact with people!  And how is that not going to scar your mind for the rest of your life?  It does!  It does!  I know of people from Vietnam who are suffering mightily to this day because of atrocities and things they saw and things they were brought to as well.  Scars that are there for life, that only God Almighty in time can heal and will never really, totally be healed until their change comes, when they’re no longer in this mortal physical body.  So I hate, I loathe anything that opposes peace, that contradicts peace in life. And until you do, until you love Jerusalem, until you love the way of peace, until you love God and love His way and embrace it more fully you’re not going to hate to the degree you should that which causes pain and suffering and hurt and sorrow and every evil that exists on earth.

(Isaiah 65:17) - I create a new heavens and a new earth and the former things shall not come to heart, nor come into mind anymore.  What a beautiful, beautiful thing.  To come to a point in time that those of you who have been in Vietnam, and those of you who carry scars and carry hurt; and those of you who’ve been in Afghanistan, those of you who’ve been in Iraq, those of you who’ve been in different parts of the world in different conflicts, that one day, one day you’ll finally be at peace, one day those things will no longer haunt you, one day those things will no longer hurt you and no longer hurt others because of how they’ve hurt you.  One day you’ll be free from it.  What awesome good news that God gives to us!  Same thing it talks about when it says, ‘how beautiful are the feet that bring good tidings of good things’[1] , and its peace that’s brought, the way of peace.  Incredible!

And so God says, talking about those things, the process we go through, that which will no longer exist in Jerusalem, that which is going to be a joy to us as it says here in verse 9 - Break forth into joy, sing together you waste places of Jerusalem:  and there’s a lot of waste places that have fought against peace; for the Eternal has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. He has bought back/purchased through Jesus Christ, Jerusalem.  That’s how...that’s the price paid for Jerusalem to come to be, the creation of the way of peace in God’s Family.  It’s all about Jesus Christ and what He did for us.

Psalm 122:1 – understanding this about Jerusalem, there are other verses that just come alive in a beautiful and a profound way too. I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the House of the Eternal. That in itself is prophetic.  David was a prophet, that which is given through David to us in so many of the Psalms of things that have to do with that which is spiritual, not that which is physical.  It’s not about going up to a physical house, a physical temple; it’s about that which we’re able to enter into.  We are part of the House of the Eternal, we are a part of the House of God, we are the Church of God; that’s what it says in Ephesians; it says, we are the Household of God.  It’s beautiful; and Jesus Christ is the Head of the Household.  All the things that are given to us to understand what that means.  We dwell in it, we live in it – beautiful.

Goes on to say, Our feet shall stand within your gates, O Jerusalem.  It’s not about a location; it’s about what you’re able to stand in, our gates, the way.  Gates are about the way into something and God shows us the way into, to be able to have this, the way of peace.  And so that which you’re able to stand in, to live in, to dwell in yourself.

Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together: beautiful verses here, means ‘joined, united together, united as one’.  Unity, true unity, truly carrying that name ‘united’ is something on a spiritual plane.  The ‘United’ Nations is a joke, but that which is united by God into one Kingdom, into one Government on the earth is all powerful and all mighty and it comes from God Almighty and truly will be united.

Jerusalem is built as a city, built; it takes work, it takes effort; a lot of work, a lot of effort to build it through the ages here of those who have already been building for so long who are dead and awaiting a great resurrection here – those of us who are still a part of the building and awaiting a great resurrection, others of you who are still going to be building into the Millennium and waiting a resurrection.  Beautiful!  Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together; joined, united together, united as one in one way of peace – that’s what it’s all about.  Meaning here in this Hebrew word that it can’t be breeched.  Beautiful!  Can’t be breeched; the way of peace.  That which opposes it, that which seeks to destroy it, that spirit, that mind, that thinking that has existed here for 6,000 years...

Verse 4 – That is where the tribes go up, the peoples, the peoples of God over time, that’s where the tribes go up and the tribes of the Eternal, all the peoples of God through time...to Jerusalem, the city that’s compact together in the way of peace that God wants to give to everyone.  ...that all go up to the Eternal, as the testimony/law given to Israel says, to give thanks unto the name of the Eternal.

Verse 5 - For there are the thrones of judgement set, that’s where they’re established; the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: pray for the peace of the the way of peace; another way of talking about it; that which God desires to give.  ...they shall prosper who love you. Who love who?  The way of peace, Jerusalem. Peace be within your walls, that’s what it is; and prosperity within your palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be unto you. Because of the house of the Eternal and our God, I will seek your good. Again, talking about seeking the good, the prosperity of peace of Jerusalem.  Here’s an entire chapter in the book of Psalms about Jerusalem and about what it means to God and it’s all spiritual, it’s all about that which God is creating, it’s about that which all peoples and time that God has a desire for are going to be able to embrace and what it means on a very poetic and a beautiful scale here that God has given in Psalms, an inspiration to David.  I think of some of this here as it’s written because this verse 4 is really a very powerfully written scripture and there’s great depth of importance to it, there truly is.  But it’s easy to miss if we’re not careful.

That is where the tribes, in other words, all the people through time; that’s where all the tribes, all the people through time, go up, everyone has to go that way, or not... the tribes, or the people, of the Eternal unto/as the testimony given to Israel, in other words, what are they going up to?  It’s talking in context about the way of peace, that road to be travelled, that particular way.  It’s all about Jerusalem and what it means.   ...unto/as the testimony given to Israel – What is the testimony given to Israel?  In other words, ‘as’... this word ‘unto’ is an unfortunate word being used but it means ‘as’ the testimony given to Israel.  It’s about as the law that was given to Israel...to give thanks unto the name of the Eternal.  What law?  God’s law.  Everything about what God has given shows the way of peace and that’s what it’s talking about here.  Anything that opposes peace; anything that is not unified with the commandments of God starting with the 10 Commandments if you will. If you want to go through all 10 Commandments they show Jerusalem; they show how God’s creating it, how God is making it a reality in our lives; the way of peace.

So you can go through each one of them; first four about a relationship with God. Awesome! Exodus 20 – and we understand the spiritual intent even more so in what these things mean to us.  But all this context about peace and how it’s accomplished, how it’s brought about and becoming, if you will, ‘united’ with it, ‘joined together’ with it, ‘in’ it, has to do with as it says here, ‘the testimony that was given to Israel.’  That’s how it’s accomplished – by doing this, by living this, by drinking in this mind because this reveals it all.  That’s why I marvel sometimes at how much man resists a relationship with God and resists peace.  They don’t have peace in their lives, they don’t have peace in their families, they don’t have peace on the job, they don’t have peace in the world until the world is changed and that’s what God has to do then, He has to bring about a change in the world so everything can begin to receive what God has intended for man from the beginning.

Exodus 20:3 - You shall have no other God’s before Me. Over and over again here things about having a relationship with God and things that man has broken over and over and over again.  I think about the Sabbath day.

I think about verse 7 – You shall not take the name of the Eternal your God in vain. We come and understand it’s not just about cursing and swearing.  When we take things lightly like this; how we speak, what comes out of our mouth... it starts there, that’s why it’s so important to guard our lips, to guard what comes out.  We have to be careful and so we learn very quickly in the Church not to use even slang terms.  Why would we want to do something that denigrates, degrades the name of God Almighty; ‘Gee Whiz’, ‘Golly’, different things that are used out there that are slang for names of Jesus Christ or God Almighty.  But sometimes when we’re brought in we’re so used to doing it in the world and we hear it so much in the world that sometimes it takes a little while sometimes and hopefully we’re jarred like a tonne of bricks or have something jarred in our minds like a tonne of bricks so we don’t let those things slip.  What a horrible thing!  So it starts there, and then we learn in time that by every way we live our life we bear the name of God, the Church.  When you’re baptized, when you go down in that watery grave and you come back up, what are we to reflect, what are we reflecting?  We carry the name of God and we’re not to carry it in vain, we’re not to misuse it and we’re all guilty and hopefully as time goes along here and we go through this sermon series and we go through the Feast  this year; hopefully we’ll have a renewed and strengthened sense of understanding a desire that God has for us and a desire He has in giving us more of His spirit, to better understand a way of life that we need to be living more fully, more completely in the Church of God.  Because there are changes that need to be made in our lives and how we live and it starts with how we live toward one another and how we live toward others, how we think toward people in the world around us, on the job and everywhere else we go.  We need to get the picture in a greater way, truly.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Just in a relationship with God...that you can’t have peace with God if you don’t do things His way.  You can’t even begin the walk, the process. And so we even have to be careful of how we enter into God’s Sabbath day and sometimes we let down in those things; so you have to examine your life.  I don’t care how long you’re in God’s Church, you will always be examining that one, you’ll always be examining it; seeking to do it right, desiring to do it right. If you’re not seeking to do it right, if  you’re not guarding and watching self in those things then it’s easy to let down, and easy to begin to take God’s name in vain because we don’t obey that.

Just went through a sermon series about tithing.  Not only in this part of a relationship with God, but to understand we don’t give to God what is God’s, if we don’t do what God says in that area of our life, then  God says not only will you not be blessed, you’re going to be cursed for it.  He’s going to see to it that you’re going to have some difficult times to go through – things are not going to go well for you!  That’s what God’s telling us. And yet God has great mercy if we’ll repent and start doing things right and God’s been patient with some; with others He says goodbye.  We’ve told some you’re not a part anymore.  You can’t rob, blatantly rob from God.  And your life will not have peace.  What a horrible thing for a human being to do, to cast yourself into that kind of life to where you can’t even attain to peace in your life, but you begin to have greater wars and battles and trials and hardships.  Blows the mind!

Then we get into the relationships with one another...and that’s where it really becomes a part of something that is so difficult for us to see it seems.  Starting with Honour your father and your mother.  Relationships in family and what people teach their children and striving to do the best we can and even in this world though and the pulls that are there we see battles in things.  But you have to strive to do the best you can in every way, teaching them, leading them toward God.  That’s why I can’t understand not wanting to teach children as much as we can about God and God’s way of life and Sabbath and Sabbath services and yet sometimes I find situations where (thankfully it’s not very many) but sometimes there are some who don’t seem to be doing that, or not doing that as fully as they should.  How are they going to learn that when you have opportunity to come together in fellowship... unless you’re coming together in fellowship and they’re with you?  How do they learn that?  Do they learn it finally when they’re a teen, finally when the world's way is set in them and they have a greater battle then?  No, you teach them when they’re little that this is the way of life we live.  We go to Sabbath services.  We do this on the Sabbath day. This is how we observe God’s Sabbath.  That’s how you teach; and if we don’t do those things, how are they going to learn it?  That’s how they learn it.

So many things, brethren, along the way.  Well, we’re going to get into some of these other things here as we go along because I’m going to stop there today.  But if you think about what God says about Jerusalem, about the way of peace just in the Old Testament alone; you might even go through some of the Psalms in just a few places where it talks about Jerusalem and realize it’s not always about a city.  What can be learned about this through the use of what God says about a city, about the importance of a relationship with Israel and what they went through. And so there’s much to learn here. Next Sabbath we’re going to go into the New Testament and begin looking at some things there and carry on with this.

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1. Isaiah 52:7/Romans 10:15

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