The Beginning of Freedom

Wayne Matthews

October 11, 2017

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon - 2017

Welcome, everybody, to this Feast of Tabernacles for 2017!

The purpose of this sermon is to consider what changes Jesus Christ will make during the Millennium. These changes will be for mankind, and it really is the first opportunity for the majority of mankind to begin the process of being made free. True freedom. They're going to be set free from the captivity of their minds.

If we consider our calling it's about our minds and the freedom that's going to be given to us at a point in time. Now, over a process of time we're gradually being made free because we're not free yet because we still have the natural carnal mind.

It is God's desire to give mankind freedom. Freedom physically and more importantly, freedom spiritually, because when we look at it, there is a freedom physically for mankind because there's going to be a change of thinking, a change of government, therefore, they're going to become free compared to the bondage mankind is held in now.

Nothing can or will stop the introduction to the Millennium. The return of Jesus Christ will happen. The thousand year reign of Jesus Christ as King of kings will happen. Nothing can stop it.

Now, mankind doesn't understand it or know about the return of Jesus Christ, but God is almighty and He has established a period of time—6,000 years—for the rule of mankind, which we call mankind's self-rule, which is under the dominance of Satan, all for a purpose. Now, most, a lot of people in the world would consider, "Well, why did God leave Satan here for 6,000 years?" Well, the truth is the development of 144,000 because they've been tried and tested under a regime of Satan's influence and have to come out of this world, and therefore, it's more difficult. So for the 144,000 it's a lot more difficult than what it will be for the rest of mankind. It's going to be easier for mankind because Satan is going to be removed, but that's God's purpose. Then we see a freedom beginning for the majority of mankind, which is that 1,000 years, and then the 100 years.

So nothing is going to stop what God has established. Absolutely nothing. It can't be changed. It's 6,000 years of man, 1,000 years under the rule of Jesus Christ, and then a 100 year period after a resurrection.

If you'd like to turn to Job 42:1-2. There is a statement here that is made by Job that mankind just doesn't understand, but we in the Body of Christ can. Job 42:1—Then Job answered the Eternal and said, I know that You can do everything. So God can do everything. God is pure in motive and intent in the sense of God is pure. He doesn't have motive and intent like humans, He has will and purpose. So God is pure, therefore, everything He has set down is for the benefit of His creation. And no purpose of Yours, what God has determined, what God has planned, can be withheld from God. In other words, there's nothing that happens that can't be seen by God or known by God. His will and purpose will be achieved.

So there is going to be 6,000 years rule of mankind under its own rule, under its own thinking with Satan involved. Then there is going to be a 1,000 year of reign of Jesus Christ and the 144,000. It's called the Millennium, which is what the Feast of Tabernacles is about, and if we look at it, seven days because we have six days under man and then one day of a release so that mankind can begin this process of freedom.

What mankind has planned will be changed. Mankind, what he has planned so far, is going to be changed. It's God's will and purpose. It's God's will and purpose that will be achieved. So what man's thinking about now, about doing 'this' and doing 'that,' that's all going to change. The reason is because mankind's thoughts or intents are evil. There is no good in mankind. Everything he has planned is about selfish gain or protection of his own family, his own nation. It's about himself, what he values, whereas God's way is totally different.

Nothing can divert God's will and purpose. It doesn't matter what man plans or what Satan plans, it's just not going to change what God has planned and purposed. God will bring it about.

The title of this Feast sermon is, The Beginning of Freedom because the Millennium is the beginning of a freedom for mankind. Yes, 144,000 have been brought to a freedom, but they are still not yet free. The only time a person is actually free is once they don't have a carnal mind anymore, the natural carnal mind is done away. So we see this millennial period of a thousand year reign of Jesus Christ and 144,000 as a beginning for mankind. It can only happen once Satan is removed.

Galatians 5:1— Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free. Now, we've been made free from the penalty that is to be paid for sin. So we have a freedom because we can choose to repent, which is a freedom in itself. So the penalty of sin is a freedom from spiritual bondage once that penalty is paid, which Jesus Christ has paid. So we've been called and we have been made free because we have the ability to repent. …and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. So we were once in bondage. We weren't free because we had a natural carnal mind and that mind tends to sin just by nature; it's selfish by nature so it tends to sin. So we're under this yoke, and if you look at what a yoke is – where you see two cattle together there's a yoke. One is put over the one shoulder and one put over the other so they are kept at a level so they can pull a weight, but they're bound, they're held by this yoke. Well, mankind is also held by a yoke of bondage. He's being held. He can't make himself free because the only way a person can be free is by a calling, and if you're not called you can't become free.

So we are not to go back again to the way we were, not to think the way we used to. We've been made free. So we're not to get entangled, which is bound up in or caught up in what we were called out of, which is sin. We've been called out of sin. Freedom is about being made free in the mind. True freedom is made possible by repentance, and that's what we have. It's the beginning of freedom. Repentance is the beginning of freedom. Repentance is the process of thinking differently because we're held captive to our biases and our prejudices because of our natural carnal mind, what we value, what we consider of value. Now, one person values something differently than another, and therefore, that person will fight to the death, so to speak, to look after what they believe, but they could be wrong. Both of them are wrong because it's motivated by selfishness.

So once called we begin this process of thinking differently, which we understand. For approximately 6,000 years mankind has been under the sway of Satan and his demons for a spiritual purpose. Now, a lot of people wouldn't understand it. That's why when we see commands in the Bible where God told Israel to go in and destroy man, woman, and child, and all the animals people are horrified and say, "Why? That's incredible! Why would God kill all the children?" Well, we understand the reason why is because they were bound up in falsehood and the parents will only teach the children falsehood. It far is best, its better that the children are killed at that point, in other words, put into the grave at the age of whatever, a young age, because they won't learn error. They won't learn false religion. They won't learn corruption. Because the day is coming where they will be resurrected and given the opportunity during the 100 years to learn God's way. So that's why God did it, because of falsehood, false religion.

But mankind can't see that because they believe in a lie. They believe in an immortal soul that will go to heaven. See, for when somebody dies, people mourn. But as said before I don't know why you would mourn, because aren't they in a better place? The reality is we know that when a person dies they are in a better place. They're dead. There's no consciousness. The next waking moment for them is going to be in a resurrection where truth is going to be taught. So they're far better out of this evil system, this present evil age.

Mankind is currently held in deception. They're not free. The freedom that we're discussing here today in the Millennium is that a deception that exists in the world is going to be done away and truth is going to be taught. The mind that is held by this error and by the lies of Satan is going to be made free. It's an incredible thing! We've started the process of being made free. We've started it. Mankind has been influenced by the prince and power of the air because God allowed it to be so. This is all part of God's incredible plan for the creation of a family. So out of the 6,000 years, 144,000 have been made free. They're going to be with Jesus Christ. They've already been guaranteed a freedom. The freedom has not yet been given though because we have to enter Elohim to be free – to have a change of thinking, complete change of thinking, change of mind.

Ephesians 2:1-7. Now, we can rejoice during these seven days, or eight days that are in total, because we understand freedom, where mankind doesn't understand it. People think they want to be free so generally when people want to be free they end up going off and living in a remote area and they might grow their own vegetables, become self-sufficient, because they don't want the bondage of mankind. But they soon learn that everybody has to pay rates for land, so you're not free at all. Everybody has to pay, in Australia, GST. Everybody pays tax. You're not free. No one is free. There is no way to be free. There’s the Medicare levy, so nobody is free. Everyone has to pay for something. So there is no freedom, but that's what they think on a physical level, but we're looking at this on a spiritual level. To be made free spiritually is to come out of lies and deception, which our natural carnal mind is riddled with lies and deception. That's just the way that we are. That's what we've been subject to.

Ephesians 2:1-7—And you He made alive… Now, this is through Passover and the forgiveness of sin. So we were dead to sin, well, now we have life, a different life living in us, and we can be alive on a spiritual level in the sense of being repentant. …who were dead in trespasses and sins, or who were dead in trespasses and sin, which is before baptism, in which you once walked. Now, we did walk in this and we still can walk in these things, and really it's saying you once walked in it. What is it that the world walks in? Well, the world walks in selfishness and they walk in attitudes of selfishness. So we have to be on guard all the time about our attitudes, because attitudes are a bondage. It's like when people say, "The person made me angry." Nobody can make us angry. It's a choice we made. We can choose. We are going to choose to ignore it or we can choose to be angry. So no one makes us. Satan doesn't make us angry. We choose it because there's a self-satisfaction in becoming that. It's no different than walking in revenge. It's something that's in the mind.

I’ve been through many a period of time where I would like to get even and you pull yourself up and say, "No, I can't go over there and run him over. No, I can't burn his house down," but they're all thoughts that we have by nature. When somebody affects us personally we like to get even. It's a natural thing. "I'd like to stitch them up. I'd like to fix them up." "I'd like to get even." Well, we're not to walk in that because it's an attitude, it's a way of thinking.

So we walked in this way before, in this attitude and this thinking of selfishness, according to the course of this world, selfish thinking, lusts, our own views and opinion. That's what we're supposed to be coming out of. …according to the prince of the power of the air, because of this spiritual deception. So the world is held in spiritual deception, every one of them. …the spirit who now works (and is working) in the sons of disobedience, which, it tells us a fair bit. If we're coming out of deception, we're being made free, we begin to obey God, because freedom is in obedience to God. Disobedience is not a freedom. It's a bondage. It's a captivity. We're held in bondage to ourselves, really, to our thinking. …among whom we all once conducted ourselves, so this is not just the way we thought. We actually lived it. We got involved in it and we conducted our life, we lived our life according to this selfish thinking, in the desires/lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, because we were under the death penalty, just as others, just as everybody out there is, just like we can be if we fail to repent.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He has loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, which we all were. We were disobedient to God. We never knew of God's ways. …made us alive… How? By the power of God's holy spirit. We were called, we were impregnated with God's holy spirit which give us life, the ability now to repent of our selfishness. …together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and we know that. It's only by God's mercy, by God's grace that we are on this path of salvation because life is all about salvation.

Verse 6—and raised us up together, at baptism, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ, because it's by Jesus Christ that we have this potential, that in the ages to come, which is a future time, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, His mercy, in His kindness toward us in Jesus Christ. So what that's saying is one day at a point in time others will see what God has done in us and with us. It has nothing to do with us, really, it's about God's mercy. We are an example of God's mercy at this time, and in the future God will reveal that this is what He did with this small group of people. This is what He did with 144,000. This is what He did with the Church, small Church at the end-time, the Church of God—PKG. It will be spoken about because the credit will go to God. It won't go to us as individuals, about, "Ah, look what they did." No, look what God did in us. God was giving us freedom in a time when everyone else was held in bondage, captivity of the mind, yet God in His great power and mercy called us as an example of how freedom can happen.

Now, how much easier is it going to be for someone in the Millennium once Satan is removed compared to today with the trials and the tests and the satanic system we are held bondage by? We are in captivity of the system and unless it disobeys God's law we subject ourselves to it. We pay rates and taxes, unfair as they may be. We pay them. We give to Caesar what's due to Caesar and to God what's due to God, but in the future things will be different. It'll be easier for people because they're not going to have this broadcasting. They'll still have a natural mind, but it will be easier for them.

God has selected and developed 144,000 that will support Jesus Christ's rule on this earth. It's called the Millennium. They have been made free. The majority of them are now dead in the ground. They don't fully comprehend the freedom that they're going to be given. They have a knowledge of what they expect, but really to have a different mind? We can't comprehend, really, what a different mind God has.

We are only free once changed to spirit. So, yes, they've got a freedom. They're dead and waiting a resurrection, but when they're changed to spirit a true freedom comes. So we are at the beginning of a freedom. We haven't got it yet, but we're on the process. We're well ahead of others. Others will be given that opportunity but it will be easier for them.

Now, anybody that lives from this present evil age into the Millennium the difference is going to be so stark, so different, that we can't really comprehend it. Well, we're going to look at some of the changes. We know them already. We're going to look at some of the changes that are coming that will help mankind to begin the process of freedom.

Now, we've had one truth in particular delivered to the Church about a freedom, and that's about the role of women in families and how women are equal to men. Well, that freedom is for women, but its freedom for mankind because there's a freedom in a way a man will think toward a woman. He doesn't comprehend it. And even within the Church, the Body of Christ we don't fully grasp the impact of that very statement, that truth that God has already given. That truth was given for the Church preparing them for the Kingdom of God that's going to rule in the Millennium because women are going to be given a freedom that I'm not too sure even within the Church can be fully comprehended, yet alone men and how they think about women and think towards them. But can you imagine the change of that when that is taught to the world, for those that (generally men), that have a wrong attitude about a role of a woman? It's a freedom that it's going to change the world! It's going to change family. It's going to change everything, just that one truth alone. Well, there's more coming. That truth is a beginning of true freedom. It's a beginning of freedom.

Now, we don't really grasp that impact. We might think we do when we think about it and think "Oh, yes. I understand what that will change." I don't think we can because often we have to live it. We have to be part of it. We have to be involved in it to see the change that's going to take place, the change of thinking that's going to take place within men and within women.

Now, in my time in the Church I've met both types of people, regarding men and women, the way they think. I've met a lot of women that feel that they need to be doormats, even within God's Church, that they need to be virtually oppressed almost and their role isn't fulfilled unless they're being oppressed by the male. I've met the male who's willing to oppress. He's quite happy to have the woman to be the doormat, literally. There are other men that see that and think that's not right! We're equal on a spiritual level. We both have the potential, men and women, to enter Elohim, to be part of Elohim. There are no men and women in Elohim. For us to think about these things, it's difficult sometimes. "What do you mean there's no sex (as far as sexuality) within Elohim?" No, we think like God. We love, not as a sexual love between a man and a woman; we love all.

There have been times when discussions come up about freedom and people say, "Once we're changed to spirit I hope 'such and such' is in there because we have this relationship." Well, with God, God loves everybody. There's no bias. There's no prejudice to say, "Oh, my wife is in Elohim with me." No, the mind is totally different thinking. We will love one another. It's not a matter of whether male or female, it's Elohim. We're part of God's Family.

So we have to change the way we think. It's a gradual process. And that doctrine, that truth alone is huge, what's going to change in the Millennium.

Once Jesus Christ has returned to this earth mankind will be offered the beginning of freedom for himself from his physical thinking because the natural mind of mankind can only think physically. It cannot think spiritually unless it has the impregnation or the beginning of the process of a calling, which is part of God's holy spirit for the ability to change the way we think. Other than that everything will be physical. It's like one of the Psalms or Proverbs we may read. You can read a Psalm or a Proverb and see the physical component. A lot of people can. They can look at it and say, "Oh yeah, that's what it says, 'Dog returns to its vomit.'" Dog returning to its vomit – I see that, but they can't see the spiritual component of it, that it's about a baptized member who has been through this process of being called out of the bondage of this world and given some level of freedom of the mind by the power of God's holy spirit and then rejects it, returns to the vomit. The dog to the vomit is a member of the Body going back to the world, the vomit. It's incredible! They can't see that, that it's talking about the Church, it's talking about a baptized member called to think differently who returns back to thinking selfishly and carnal and has no spiritual thinking in their mind. They can't see that component. We can because of the power of God's holy spirit because we only "see" by the power of God's holy spirit.

Well, in the Millennium this opportunity to think differently and to see Proverbs and Psalms and to understand them on a spiritual level is going to be magnified because of what God's going to do.

True freedom of thinking takes time and is based on God's holy spirit and personal choices because it's a combination. God can give us the power to see spiritually, but we have to make a choice whether or not we want to continue down this path of thinking differently. We've been called now at this time in a difficult time. This is a difficult time. It's an incredible thing to see God's people that are called. We rejoice in it, to see somebody who has God's spirit and is willing to sacrifice themselves to the benefit of others powered by God's holy spirit, to think differently. It's a wonderful thing. It's a very exciting. The times that I’ve been involved in God's Church where we've had access to people being called, it's really, really exciting when somebody is genuinely repenting. It's hard to explain the excitement of it. To explain it to somebody else, it's difficult because there is a real love there. You want that person to endure. When you see them going off track a little bit… it's painful to see that. You think, "Oh no." And you do pray that God will intervene and help them to see where they need to change, but we can get excited because someone else is called. Well, we're coming to a time where that's going to take place because it's about freeing a person from the way they think.

The truth is we are being called into a freedom from selfishness. We're selfish; well, we've been called not to be selfish. To be free we need God's holy spirit. Freedom is the way of thinking, or it's the way we think.

For the next 1,000 years, the Millennium (during this Feast we're celebrating this) it will be completely different compared to the last 6,000 years of man's self rule, completely. We don't grasp how different it's going to be. God has said that He's going to bring mankind down like the walls of Jericho. It's going to fall flat. It's got to be gotten rid of. So a lot of these things that we now are involved in, they're going to have to go. They're going to have to go, but we're going to get into some of those, hopefully. It's going to be so different. It's difficult to sometimes comprehend it because we're going to have to live it, we're going to have to get into it to see how different it is, just the way things work.

So this rule of Jesus Christ and 144,000 will see major changes introduced to this world. Major changes that will take place physically and spiritually. So it's both. All physical change will have a spiritual purpose explained. All physical changes will have a spiritual purpose explained because everything physical has a spiritual motive behind it, has an intent behind it. Well, when you see them both together it's easier to accept physical change based on the spirit of a matter.

One example would be lawyers. When you consider a major change, and one of them would be the law, the law of man versus the law of God, the law of man is that a person who is guilty can hire a good lawyer (if you've got enough money) and they can get up there and lie to deceive the judge and the twelve jurors. That's what they're getting paid for. He will make no comment, he won't go up as a witness, but he'll do everything to deceive the judge and the jurors. That's the lawyer's goal. He gets paid big money. Just like a prostitute, he sells himself for something. Lawyers sell themselves. Whether you're innocent or guilty is irrelevant to them. They overly don't care. They're about getting paid. So they can get up there and it can go on for six or eight weeks. Somebody may kill somebody, which you see on various programs and you see it takes six years to bring someone to court. Six years of agony! Then they have a mistrial. Then it goes on for another four years. And meanwhile the prosecution has to get all the facts together, work out why there was a mistrial and start all over again. Sometimes ten years later the person may get off who murdered somebody. That is all going to change because we're dealing now with the spirit of a matter.

So somebody can go up and say, "Did you kill that person or didn't you?" God already knows. The 144,000 will know. The angelic realm knows. The person says, "No, I didn't," when they did – justice will be swift! A murderer and a liar – it's going to be swift. There's not going to be "Ah, we'll employ ten lawyers." No. This is the ruling. “Bang,” it's over. It's instant. "You're guilty. We know it. You can't lie to us." It's over. It's finished. What a difference that's going to make, just the legal system, all the judges, all the law system that we have, and all the books. They take seven years, I think it is, to become a lawyer, and they've got to go through all these cases and this case versus that case and this is a precedent. No, that's all going! Every bit of it's going because justice is coming with Jesus Christ. It's going to be pretty straight forward. Innocent or guilty? Yes or no? There's no "Oh, maybe." No. "Yes or no." Justice will be swift.

That's a massive change when all that industry's going to be closed down. No more twelve jurors who, you know, are hand selected. There are speciality people now or specialists that are paid huge money to pick the jury because they go into the psychology of it and they ask you thirty questions, you know, "Do you like Donald Trump or don't?" If you say, "No," well, you're not on this jury, you know. Or if you do, "Yeah, you're on it!" It's all crazy stuff. That's all going. What a wonderful time. What a freedom for mankind. What a freedom. Justice is one of the biggest things. We're going to have justice on this earth. You're not going to get away with things for very long.

Major changes will take place on both physical and spiritual levels. We talked about that. All physical change has a spiritual component. All of the changes will be motivated by and out of God's love for His creation. Now, that is a huge change. Satan's been removed. What a massive change. Everything that's going to be done, whether what type of road system or what type of councils or whatever there is about advice and benefits and all that, it's all going to change.

The purpose of life will be explained to mankind, which is what we read on the Feast of Trumpets. When you look at it the whole purpose of man is to fear God and obey His Commandments. It's going to be explained to mankind, and therefore, chasing money, you know, chasing lifestyles, that's all going to be considered irrelevant and people will look on others and say, "Boy, that person's being a fool, doing that, going off in that area, because that's not the purpose of life." The purpose of life is to be given true life in Elohim. Physical life is not about what a person can get or acquire but about the very spirit of a thought. Now, that's really different. People are going to have to now manage the spirit of a matter. That's what Christ came to explain, the spirit of the matter. That's what's really is involved. That's the important part. We covered that in the previous sermon about tithing. The spirit of tithing, that's what's more important, not the actual physical tithing, but the spirit of why we do what we do. What's our motive?

For mankind change is coming, change that today cannot be seen or conceived. We might think we understand it but really we only see very dimly what major change is going to take place because everything that is of this world of selfishness and Satan's system has to be gotten rid of – because God's not involved in sin. So it's going to be so different that we really can't comprehend it.

God has already started to introduce some major spiritual changes to the way His called out ones think. His Church, the Church of God—PKG has been provided truth. Now, there's no truth in the world and people are going to have to start to learn the truth. Truth comes from God. It doesn't come from man, it only comes from God. The beginning of freedom comes by a calling from God. It's the only way. We have been called to freedom, and we're on that process. Every path, everyone's on that path, to different degrees.

Hebrews 10:19—Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus… We have this freedom, the world doesn't. We've been given it. They don't have it, but they're going to be given it. We have this boldness or this liberty or this freedom to "enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus Christ." It's talking about prayer. We have access to the Almighty God of the universe. Mankind hasn't been given it, but in the Millennium they're going to be given this freedom, the freedom and the ability to come before God, where God will hear them. It's an incredible freedom. Now, this is a freedom that we don't always appreciate, that we have access to the Creator of the universe and mankind doesn't.

It doesn't matter what they do on a physical level. I remember a program that I watched once about the rolling monk. I don't know whether you ever saw it. Well, he was supposed to be holy. He's supposed to be closer to God than anyone and people used to watch him. I think he was from India, but he was called the rolling monk because he used to get on the ground and roll. He never walked anywhere; he'd roll. He'd roll on the hot road and on the dirt, and he'd roll and people were in awe of this guy. He'd roll for 10 miles, however many kilometers, whatever. At the end of the day after rolling all day he would get up and go off and have a meal and go to bed and get up in the morning and go and roll again. He was called the rolling monk. He is in total bondage! He's not free. People look to him as if, "Ah, isn't he incredible? Look what he's doing for God." It's just garbage. It's actually satanic.

God doesn't require that of us. God doesn't require of us to beat ourselves. God requires us, because He's given us the freedom, to talk to Him. That's what God requires. He wants to know what's going on in our mind, in our heart. He wants to know what we think, really, about the spirit of the matter. What are we really thinking? Why we do what we do. God wants to hear from us. Mankind out there does not have this access, does not have this freedom. We've been given it. e shouldn't underestimate this power that God has given us.

Verse 20—by a new and living way which he consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, his flesh, because we understand when the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom giving us access. …having a High Priest over the house of God, over the Church of God, let us, therefore, draw near with a true (sincere) heart. Let's be genuine in this, in full assurance of faith, in other words, believing God, listening to God, having our hearts (minds) sprinkled from an evil conscience, our thinking, and our bodies washed with pure water, because we are in a process of repentance, our minds have been cleaned up. We've been provided this freedom.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope… Now, what is the confession of our hope? Salvation. We hope to be saved at a point in time. We're on a process of being saved. Salvation is really freedom from the bondage of our minds, without wavering. So we shouldn't give up on it. We shouldn't waver and doubt about it. No, God's called us to save us. It's a fact. Where it goes wrong is us, the way we think. …for He who has promised is faithful. He's going to honor His part of the promise.

Referring to prayer now in verse 24, because this is all about getting access, which is what's going to happen in the Millennium. Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. So in our prayers we should consider one another, those that are going through various trials and those that need support because we are there to support one another, well, we should stir up our love, our concern for other members of the Body of Christ. "And good works," the way we think about them and what we do, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, which is before God's throne in prayer. So we shouldn't give up on prayer. It's a freedom we now have. It's a freedom mankind's going to be given. We're at the beginning of freedom; we've been given it. They're going to be given the same. …as the manner of some, by exhorting one another, and so much more as we see the day approaching. We see the day approaching. How much more should we come before God's throne in prayer for the Church, for the work of God, all those things?

Access to God's throne is a freedom that mankind's going to be given. Prayer is a freedom that mankind's going to be given. God through Jesus Christ will provide a way for mankind to have this freedom, and it's all done by the power of God's holy spirit. So let's look at one of those freedoms in Revelation 20, because the beginning of the Millennium is the beginning of this freedom.

Revelation 20:1—Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit, or this place of restraint, and a great chain in his hand. This is spiritual language, it's not physical language. And he laid hold of the dragon, we understand this is Satan, that serpent of old, in other words, he was in the Garden of Eden, who is the Devil and Satan, his name was changed from Lucifer and now he is the deceiver. He's deceived mankind for 6,000 years. He's no longer going to be able to do it. …and bound him for a thousand years. We understand its 1,100 years. …and he cast him into the bottomless pit, this place of restraint where he no longer can broadcast to the minds of mankind.

What a freedom that is! What a freedom that is. When you drive down the freeways and you see some of the billboards, there's going to be a freedom because all of those false advertising and the nude girls on top of the car and the men with the abs, it's all going! It's not going to be allowed. It's not going to be allowed. There's not going to be billboards with nude girls wearing bikinis on cars. It's all going. What a freedom for man! The distraction is going to be taken away. Well, we know why Satan is doing it. It's about the lust of the flesh and the lusts that are within us, our selfishness, that it's just aggravating it to get the mind to think.

Johnny's often used the term "it's a battle for the mind." It is so true! It's about our mind. All the rest is irrelevant. Whether we've got abs, all that is actually all irrelevant. It's about this mind in men and women. It's the way we think. That's the battle. Satan knows it. Whether we have abs or not, Satan doesn't care. He wants to destroy the way we think. Anything that might honor God or give preference to God or put God in awe, Satan will fight it. He'll try to destroy that mind. There's been a many a mind that have been destroyed. There has been many a mind that over time have been destroyed.

…and he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more, because that's what it's about, deception. This world is riddled with deception, absolutely riddled with deception and when we were talking before about the false advertising and the deception, everything is in deception. Everything is done about deception. Over here at the moment they're now bringing out a new law about the grocery bags, the plastic ones, biodegradable bags. Well, in July they're going to make sure that the supermarkets no longer have those bags. This is all a deception because if you work in the retail industry and you know what's going on, everybody has a budget in retail and its called stationery, and bags come under packing and wrapping and stationery. So the profit margin of bags is built into the price of all the products. Therefore, if they're no longer to provide bags and you have to now pay 70¢, or 60¢, or 50¢ for a bag, what happened to all the packaging that they paid for that we're now going to pay for? Will all the prices across all the products come down? I think you know the answer. The chance of that is zero to zilch to nil because the shareholders want more profit.

If they were really serious about packaging, the Muesli bar that used to be 75 grams and longer, they would reduce the packaging to the size of the current Muesli bar, which is 35 grams. What they've done, of course, is they've reduced the Muesli bar to 35 grams, but they've left the packet that takes 75 grams, and they've left the box it's in that big, because otherwise we'd all think, "Boy, that's shrunk. That's too small. I'm not going to buy that." No, it’s the same price for a third of what you used to get. And when you get the box or the bag or the cereal and you shake it, it's only half full. So if they're really, really serious about the environment and the packaging, reduce all the Corn Flakes and the Wheaties to their real size of the content, and half of the stores that are out there could be half the size. True? Because it's deception! Everything is deception. The packaging companies are not going to turn around and save all that ink they could save, and all the packaging they could save because of the environment, because we're going to pay. So that's just part of the whole deception.

When you look at it, apples are already packed. God made it perfect. It's perfectly packaged. Oranges are perfectly packaged. It doesn't need thousands of chemicals and salt and sugar to give it long life. It really doesn't. So we're going to see such a change in food because the deceiver is going to be taken away and things are going to be made obvious.

They're bringing out rules here about smoking. The easiest rule to implement is that there are no more tobacco making companies. Problem solved. Oh, no, we cannot get rid of the tobacco companies because they're taxed at about 100% or something crazy, and therefore, the revenue of the government would crash. What will the government do? All those jobs and all the other things where we're spending all this money, we'd actually have to cut back, so we're definitely not going to ban cigarettes. We'll ban heroin and other things, but the hospitals are full because of tobacco. We could ban all that. The hospitals would be half empty. A lot of the cancers would disappear. We're not going to do that. No, we'll put up the health levy 2% more, but we'll keep the tobacco companies going because of revenue. Isn't it all deception? Isn't it just insane? That's all going. Tobacco companies are going to be wiped out. There's not going to be any tobacco companies, and if anyone tries to start one up it won't take long before it's shut down because it's not in the interest of the individual who's consuming it. It's actually sin. It's an act of selfishness. So that's all going.

So we can see these changes. When Satan the deceiver is got rid of deception will be more obvious. We'll go, "Ah, that doesn't sound right." So people won't have the motivation to deceive because it's going to be exposed by people. Sin is going to be exposed. Deception is going to be exposed.

So once he's removed, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after this he'll be released for a little while. And I saw thrones, and they that sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. (Revelation 20:4) Then I saw the lives of those who had been cut off, which is the real word, for their witness to Jesus and the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, which is that system, the Babylonian system. They didn't yield to it, they defied it by denying themselves and their selfishness. …and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. That's 144,000 that have been granted a promise of freedom, yet to receive true freedom, but they've got a promise of a resurrection of salvation. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years was finished. So at the end of the thousand years we see this resurrection, which is that hundred year period.

Going back to the verse: This is the first resurrection. 144,000 that are going to think like God and be able to now communicate freedom to mankind. Blessed and holy is he who has his part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and Christ, and shall reign with him for a thousand years. This is a beginning of freedom. A change of government is a freedom.

The removal of Satan and the demons will enable the potential for freedom, the beginning of a freedom, freedom from Satan's deception and lies. Now, we see it. We see it in just about everything that we're handling today. And, you know, we have to put up with a lot of it. A lot of promises that are made by various products are not real.

There was a program the other day about cars. I was quite shocked because to date I've been very fortunate that I've not had big problems with cars, but some people bought brand new cars and they're what is a “lemon” from day one. They pay $30-40,000 for a car and it's continually going back to the mechanic and the mechanics are saying it's the way you're driving it. You know, the gear box is almost falling out. These are brand new cars! They just lie. Deception, it's everywhere. It’s no different than the airbags that are in cars. They're now recalling them all because they explode and shoot out bits of metal and kill people, but they knew it. But they're not going to tell anyone because they're going to have to recall them all. No different than all the cars that are being made, when somebody sat down with a computer and worked out how to communicate that these emissions are okay based on the environment, when they knowingly know that they're not. But they put this computer in the car so that when they do the emissions, yes, the computer is telling us these emissions are safe. The reality is it was all a lie, all deception, and there are thousands and thousands of cars out there that are polluting the environment terribly. Now, they've been called out. They're going to have to now recall them gradually. Who knows what's really going on? Really? Who knows what's really going on?

So one major change will be how government works. Now, today you listen to radio broadcasts and people get on there and the better the liar you are the better politician you'll be. That's just the way that it is. Politicians are expected to lie because nobody wants to hear the truth. Nobody really wants to hear the truth. Sometimes they'll get asked a direct question and they never answer it. You know, that's a good politician. They say, "Boy, that's a good politician. We just asked him a direct question and he goes off and blames this other guy and he did this and that," and they say, "Yeah, hang on. What about…" "Oh no, di-di-di-di-dah, yeah." It's insane! All that's going. Honesty is coming. It's going to be a big change; honesty is coming.

Christ and the 144,000 will govern this world in righteousness, whereas at the moment it's not governed in righteousness, it's governed in evil and lies and deception. Freedom from mankind's government is coming. Now, that's a massive change! There are things that we don't even comprehend about laws and bylaws. Over time he's seen that people are evil, a lot of people see there's evil people, so we have to have a law about 'this.' Then they realize that law doesn't really cover enough detail so it goes deeper and deeper. So in the end there are encyclopaedias of laws about laws because it's not about the spirit of the matter, because they can't get to the spirit of the matter, because it requires God's spirit to get to the spirit of the matter. So there are books and books and books of laws. Law students study for seven years to come up with all these principles about laws and bylaws. All of it needs to go because it is about the spirit of the matter. A change of government will bring this.

God's spirit will be poured out so that humans can start to govern their lives. Isn't that incredible? They’ll govern their lives because it takes God's spirit to be able to govern a life, govern the way they think. They can now start to overcome their own selfishness because the world doesn't see itself as selfish; it doesn't know it's selfish. We know we are selfish. It's the way we are. It's about fighting that fight. They can now start to overcome the deception within themselves. Now, if you went out to people and said, "You are riddled with deception." You're not going to get a good response. It's better to say nothing at all, just keep out of it because we have deception still within our own thinking because it's the way we are naturally. They now have the potential to free their thinking.

It is important to note that everyone will still have their own selfishness during this Millennium and the hundred years. They will have their lusts and desires within their nature, but they are going to have to be like us and start a process of fighting self. We're to fight ourselves. Well, they're going to have that. We'll be able to feel for them. We'll be able to draw alongside and know what it's like because we're doing it. We know it's not easy. We know they're going to make mistakes. They're going to sin. They're going to fall. They're going to despise themselves in the sense of, "Oh, no, I've done it again!" We've done it. We do it. So we're going to be a lot more compassionate about human nature because we've got it and we know what it's about. So we'll be able to draw alongside and we will be able to listen and know, and be able to nod and go, "Yep. Yep, I know." Because we know, we've been there. That's what we're here now doing.

They'll have the potential now to sacrifice their desires, which is what we have to do, to benefit others by the power of God's holy spirit. This will still be a choice that everyone must make. Now, it is hard to believe that people won't make this choice. They just won't make the choice. They're not able to do it because of their own selfishness. They will give into their own selfishness. Everyone will have this choice – love God and place Him first or love self and place self first. That's the choice we have.

Because of this major change within government there will be no more politics. It's going to be exciting. If you ever wanted to rejoice about something, whew, this is going to be brilliant! No more talking heads. It's incredible. No more lies coming from the leaders. No more elections based on money or personalities. Isn't that going to be great? No more compulsory voting. This is just going to be incredible. What a freedom we're going to have!

Because today elections are about money and about personalities and sometimes it's very hard to understand how the polls can swing so greatly where somebody all of a sudden one week is a 35% acceptance rate and the next week they're 50%, then they're down to 22%. What's going on in people's minds that they're so swayed so quickly over one little thing? They go over here, they go over there. It just can't work, can it? No more political campaigns, eight weeks of campaigning on TV. You know, you turn the radio off. No more voting.

Now, the difference is going to be and it's going to be a big challenge for mankind because mankind is used to expressing his opinion and voting. People want their way. That's the way they want it. Well, this is the big challenge for mankind, just like it's a big challenge for us now.

Roles will be selected by God. It sounds simple, doesn't it? It sounds simple. God is going to select who He wants as elders just like He does today, because in the end what's really being said here, it's all about government. Government is really about God's holy spirit. That's what government’s really about. So we, because we are natural, tend to look at people as we do, and we will make judgments based on what we see, what we think we hear, and we then analyze it and make a decision. And, of course, we think, "Oh, I've known that person. Boy, how can they be an elder? You don't know what I know." Well, this is the challenge for mankind in the future. When God decides to raise someone up as an elder or put them in the ministry or give them a role, it was God's decision. Just like He called Moses who had a problem with speech. Now, do you think there were not Israelites there that said, "You're joking!" Some of them would have known that he was a murderer. They think, "This is great! The guy's leading us out and forty years ago he killed one of the Egyptians. He's a murderer. He killed him. And he can't speak properly." That would have gone on in minds. It's natural mind.

Well, the Millennium is not going to be much different because God will select the roles. People can't vote. People can't express their views and opinion based on physical components. We're going to have to accept what God decides. So although it sounds easy and it's a wonderful blessing, it will be big challenges for mankind in his thinking, to come to understand that government within a person and within the Church is all about God's holy spirit. It's not about the way we see it or the way we think.

Psalm 97:1. Now, we've just been over a couple of things that are going to bring freedom to mankind's thinking and in enabling that freedom mankind still has choices to make because some of those freedoms, like the role of women, change of government, no more voting, for some people it's going to be difficult, not be able to express an opinion or view. An opinion or view is just that, an opinion or view. But this is what we're doing. Sometimes it’s going to be difficult for mankind to accept.

Psalm 97:1-12, we're going to read. The Eternal reigns. Now, we understand God reigns through Jesus Christ. Let the earth rejoice. For this millennial period let the earth rejoice because of what has happened, a change of government. Let the multitudes of the isles (coastlands) be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him, talking about God the Father, Righteousness and justice the foundation of His throne. So this way of thinking, God's way of righteousness and justice that's going to be delivered for mankind will create a freedom, because it's a way of thinking.

A fire goes before Him, and burns up His enemies about Him. Now, in anything that resists God this principle will apply. Anybody during the Millennium that resists God and Jesus Christ and the 144,000, if they want to continue with that rebellion and resistance they will be destroyed because it's in the best interest of them. It's actually mercy. Everything will be brought to be at-one with God's way of thinking. That's the objective of the Millennium and the Hundred-Years, that mankind will be brought to be at-one.

Verse 4—His lightning's light the world; the earth, which is really referring to the nations of people, sees and trembles, because of this great power of God. The mountains, which is referring to governments, melt like wax at the presence of the Eternal, because they're all going to be humbled. Every government's going to be brought down. At the presence of the LORD of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory. Now, we should be able to see the glory of God now because we've been called to see it. We see God's glory by what He is doing with us and what He's doing with the Church because there's a great glory in God's plan of salvation for mankind. What an incredible thing, what God is doing! We see how glorious it is, God's plan to have a family.

Verse 7—Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, which they will, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all gods. So everything has to come to realize that God is almighty. Zion, referring to the Church, hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments, O Eternal. For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth, above all the people. So God's government when it comes through Jesus Christ and the 144,000 will be over all, and all will have to come into subjection to it. Now, we understand from other scriptures there are people that refuse to come up to the Feast of Tabernacles. Well, God in His mercy will give them time to repent, to hold God in awe, to show respect to Him and if they don't things just get worse and things get worse, and in the end, death, because it's merciful. Death, because they will not listen to God.

Verse 10—You who love the Eternal, hate evil, which is what we read on the Feast of Trumpets. If we love God we will come to understand that we have to learn to hate our own selfishness. Now, it's something that takes time, and when we're first called we don't actually see this to the depth that really it exists within us, our own selfishness. We just don't see it. It takes a lifetime to come to see who we really are by nature. It takes a long time, our own thinking, how bad it really is, because naturally, we don't think we're evil. Naturally we just don't think, "Oh, I'm evil. I'm bad," but the truth is we are selfish, which is evil, which is sin, because we look after ourselves before we honor God.

He who loves the Eternal, hate evil, hate sin within ourselves. He (God) preserves the life of His saints. So God maintains us by the power of His holy spirit. The only reason we are in the Body of Christ is because of God's great mercy to us. He preserves us in here because He has a will and purpose for us. He delivers them out of the hand (out of the control) of the wicked, out of the control of Satan. Now, that's what we're covering today, this freedom. It's God that's delivering us now out of Satan's hand, out of Satan's control, coming out of bondage, out of slavery, and it's God that's doing it. Well, He's going to do the same for those in the Millennium. They're going to begin this path of coming out of the control of Satan because until that point, until Satan's removed, they're under that control. Until we receive God's holy spirit we are controlled by our selfishness, swayed by Satan.

Verse 11—Light (truth) is sown for the righteous, those that God has called and gives His holy spirit to, and gladness for the upright of heart, those that are sincere.

Verse 12—Rejoice in the Eternal, you righteous, those that have God's holy spirit, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. Now, people in the Millennium are going to be able to do this, rejoice in what God has done, the freedom that He is going to give them.

Isaiah 2:1, which is often read at every Feast of Tabernacles. The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain, referring to God's government, of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, over man's governments, and shall be exalted above the hills, the smaller governments, and all nations shall flow to it. Now, they will function under God's government, and this is a freedom that we understand.

To be part of the Body of Christ, the Church of God now, is a freedom, and we function under God's government because God established the government. We understand the structure of a government, but it is God's. It's God's Church. It's God's government. So we should have a freedom because we know of God's government. We know how God's government works. God's government works based on love. Now, over time I have seen, and it still goes on to a degree, where decisions come from God's government and people won't agree with it, but the reality is that the spirit of the matter is all decisions that are made by God's government, the ministry, God's apostle, are based on love for the brethren. It's based on God's thinking, but if we don't see God involved in it we're going to have a problem. So in the future where Jesus Christ is here the government of God is based on love, so people can't always see the correction.

We've often talked about rebellious youth and what God says about rebellious youth because it's rampant these days. There's no respect for authority – it’s a big problem. There’s no respect for parents. What does that mean? No respect for authority. If a child can't respect the authority of a parent what hope does the child have to respect the law, the police, ambulance workers, or any level of authority? Little. Because it all starts in a family. It starts in a family structure, respect for the parents, respect for authority. If there’s none there, there's not going to be any anywhere else.

Well, mankind is now going to have to come to operate within a family environment and come to function under a government based on love. Now, they don't understand it. So the young child that's rebellious, what happens? They steal a car, they may go to court, may not, it depends. What would happen? The judge may say, "Oh, well, you've done no other offenses. You stole; it’s a one time mistake. You're okay." He goes out and does it again. Authorities arrest them. The police get sick of it, chase them, take them to the judge again. He might get three months. This child is in rebellion to authority (not to the parents), but also to the governmental structure. When a person's in rebellion against the governmental structure, what's the best thing for them? The best thing for them after a period of time is to be put to sleep so they can't rebel anymore. It's in their interest. Some of the young people they get called up to court cases now, their records as long as their arm, as they say, you know, they've been going on since they were twelve, they're now twenty-four. They've stolen 30 cars, they've run over people, they've injured people, put them in hospital, and the judge says, "Well, we'll give you three years in jail." Everybody knows the outcome. Everybody knows the outcome of that, what's going to happen next. They're going to be back.

So justice is not man's justice. It's going to be God's justice. It's going to be swift, and rules and decisions are going to be made based on God's government, based on love, out of the interest of the individual.

Verse 3—Many people shall come and say, so people will know about God and what's happened, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Eternal, "Let's go up to God's government to establish what's going on," God's government on the earth. "Let's listen. Let's just see what's going on," because it's not going to be that evident to everybody from day one. It's going to take time. …to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways. Big change! The education system that is in place today where people, young children have to go to schools and be taught levels of sexuality is going to change. Our grandson is 11-12, and has to go to certain classes. And I said to his mother, "Be sure he doesn't get confused," because that's confusion in these places now about sexuality because it's openly taught two women, two men, it's okay, you're not to make any decisions, you're not to say anything. You can't. Well, young minds that are now taught that this is all acceptable—to disobey God, that's what they're taught—they can get confused. There's great confusion out there, there really is. So they're going to have to now change. That's all going to be done, gotten rid of. It's got to be gotten rid of; all the garbage, the teaching of evolution, it's all got to go. It's going to be a complete change of education.

The first thing is going to have to learn God's ways, which is the 10 Commandments. They’re going to have to learn those first of all. So if you want to sit for a test and sit there and they've got now particular tests and you've got to go through and write out all these, this would be the greatest test of all. "Write out the 10 Commandments for me and what they mean." Well, they wouldn't have a clue what the 10 Commandments are, really. They might know not steal, not murder, but they don't know the spirit of it. Well, it's going to be taught. God's way's going to be taught, the spirit of a matter.

And we shall walk in His paths, which is about a change of thinking. Repentance. They're going to begin the freedom that is being offered. They're going to begin on this path to freedom, spiritual freedom. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, which everybody says is done away. Well, that's not true. It's going to be taught. The spirit of it's going to be taught. And the word of the Eternal from Jerusalem. So God's government and what is said is going to go out. Just like what God did with Moses, "This is what you're to say. This is what you're going to do." It’s the same with 144,000, "This is what you're to do. This is what you're to preach." On the High Days and the holy days, this is what's got to be taught. On Atonement, it's going to be taught. People are going to learn to fast. Today people fast and drink water all day. They've got no idea what fasting is. Why do we fast? People say, "Oh, I fasted." Big deal. Go without food and water for 24 hours. Big deal. What did we repent of is more important. What did we repent of? What did we change in our thinking during that day of fasting? That's what's going to be taught. So people are going to be taught about the Day of Atonement, but they're going to be taught why the Day of Atonement. Well, it's about thinking differently, about getting rid of the bondage and the things that we put on others from our nature.

We can see what the Millennium will be like based on Psalm 100. Psalm 100:1-5 we're going to cover. So we can see when we see the change of God pouring out His holy spirit and the law being taught so the law can be understood what a change it's going to take place in people's thinking. The way people think about others is what's going to change.

Psalm 100:1-5—Make a joyful shout to the Eternal, all you lands! A time of rejoicing. The government of God coming to this earth is a time of rejoicing. Serve the Eternal with gladness; come before His presence with singing. So rejoice! Rejoice about this change of government. We, brethren, can now do this right now because, really, we've been called now to be under the government of God now by the power of God's holy spirit. We have God's government on this earth now through the ministry, Church of God—PKG. It's on this earth now operating based on the spirit because it is a spiritual matter. Government is actually a spiritual matter.

Verse 3—Know that the LORD, He is God. Now, this is something that's going to be taught. There is one God, Yahweh Elohim. He alone is the Eternal. It's going to be taught. So there's a freedom for mankind in that. That is He who has made us, and not ourselves. So when we look at that evolution is going to be exposed for the lie that it is. It's going to be exposed for the lie that it is. It's a manmade concept. That's why it's called "the theory of evolution." It's a theory. Now, what's a theory? Well, a theory is a concept that this might happen if you do this and that. So it's a theory of evolution that we all came out of the slime. What's going to be taught? There is one God and He made us. That's what's going to be taught. And the word "evolution" will disappear from the vocabulary. There's no need for it because it was only made up not long ago. It's going to disappear. People won't know. "You're joking! They believed in what?" Eventually it'll go. God made us and not we ourselves because evolution really is that we made ourselves. That's the theory, that from the big bang we came out of the slime. So we evolved from whatever and we made ourselves, really. That's what its saying. Well, that's going to be taught, that that's all a lie.

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. We will feed spiritually. We will feed spiritually, just like in the future they're going to.

Now, I highlighted something here because I wanted to go into some of the lessons that I have learned in relation to having some sheep on a property. We have a bit of land and we let that land to a particular farmer and he's placed some ewes on there and they were all pregnant and they've now had lambs and it's been rather interesting to watch that. Stressful at times as well for Chris probably more than me, but it can be a bit because you're concerned for them. There's foxes in the area and that so it can be a bit stressful.

Some of the lessons that I've learned, and applied because God calls us sheep of His pasture and if you look at some of the Psalms, you know, "lay down in the pasture," which is the paddock. We call it the paddock, in English, pasture. Well, what actually happens, at some days you can go out there and there's twenty-five lambs now and they're all asleep, every one of them on the ground. They all look like they're dead. I've got a photo if anyone wants to have a look at some of them. They look like they're all dead. I sit there and I think, "That's like what happened to the Church before the Apostasy took place." All the lambs, all the sheep were asleep, dead to the world, knew nothing because God allowed the Apostasy to happen for a purpose. We were spewed out of the mouth. I look at them and think, "They're all asleep." It's interesting, because later on you'll see some of the ewes, the mothers, one in particular, she will call out. The mother, the sheep, (the Church – the mother of us all is the Church), she calls out. You hear, "Baaaa," and there's no response. The lambs are all dead to the world. There's nothing!

That's what's been happening. The Church, God's Church has been calling out with the truth. There's no response for all those that are asleep. They're asleep. Now and again one will wake up, which is like an awakening. They wake up and the lamb will then turn around and go, "Baaaa." "Where's mum?" But the ewe by then, the mother, is sort of heading in another direction. She may not be aware that it's up, which is we're not aware who God's calling. True? We have no idea who God's calling. But the lamb cannot identify the mother by sight, which I found very fascinating. The lamb, those that are asleep in the Church that's scattered, cannot identify God's true Church by sight. Well, if you wake up and you look, you go, "That mob? They're God's true Church?" It doesn't work like that. It takes time to see.

So the lamb cries out and it sees another ewe, and runs up to it just like someone that might be awakened, the beginning of the process, run to another Church. The mother, the ewe, not the mother, but the ewe that's there she knows that it's not hers. So what does she do? She turns around and gives it a nudge (because it tries to come up and feed) and knocks it away. Then the lamb goes, "Ah, that's not for me. It's the wrong mother." No different than awakened brethren may go to different places for a start. A lot of that's happened, where they go somewhere and they realize, "This is not it," because they're looking for mum, looking for the Church where the milk is, the milk of the word where God's spirit is.

So in the end she may go to a couple. Then they both identify each other, which is no different than an awakened brethren. What they do is they generally come through the Church website. And believe it or not you can identify somebody that God is awakening. You can actually identify it because there's a zeal for the truth, the truth. Now, there have been others that have (so-called) woken up to a degree and they'll write to the Church, but they write for one reason. They want a level of fellowship. They want it under their terms, in other words, you know, "Like mind. We'll get together," and there's somewhere to go on the Sabbath and holy days, so they can have Passover with somebody, but they've not really been awakened by God. They may just want some level of fellowship. So we go back normally as the Church and the Church will say, "Do you believe the 57 Truths?" Normally they just fade away very quickly because 57 Truths. "Do you believe this is God's true Church and He's working through an apostle?" Well, see, the mother (the Church) can identify the lamb because it wants the milk, and the mother, as soon as the lamb comes there, the lamb drinks the milk of the word (God's word) and the mother identifies it and feeds it, which is the truth through Sabbath sermons.

Now, all my analogies don't always fit everything, but it's true. There's sometimes we've had examples where lambs die. There was one particular lamb that it looks like it could have been a kangaroo tick or something and the lamb could not identify the mother. It sort of knew it there, but it would just walk around in a circle like it was lost and became rather still and didn't say anything at all and just went very calm. We identified there was a problem with it because normally you can't get close to them. We walked up and you can pick it up and take it away. It really didn't know what was going on. So that can happen to members of the Body of Christ where if they're not feeding anymore, because it had stopped feeding, and it became lost wandering around in a circle, and the eventual outcome is death because it's not feeding from the mother anymore. Well, it's the same for us. No different from the truth.

Well, in the Millennium all of these principles still apply. People have a choice to feed from the mother, the Church. The Church of God will continue. Everyone has the opportunity to enter the Church of God, the power of God's holy spirit, and to feed from the milk, but there's going to be some that are going to get diseases, or whatever, but a spiritual principle, they will leave and they will die because you've got to be connected to the mother.

So it's been really interesting watching lambs and what lambs do and how they get in smaller groups and run around. But the majority of the time they’re no different than brethren where we live our lives and run around, and all of a sudden after 10 minutes of being away from the mother they all stop and they realize, "Hang on a minute! I need the milk of the word. I need milk." And they'll yell out for the mother and the mother will yell out for the baby and they unite. Every night before sunset it's generally what happens because they've been running around all day and next thing you hear, "Baa, baa, baa, baa," and they're all trying to find each other and they all come back together.

The only difference in one of the analogies that I was looking at was regarding we have foxes. The other night there was a mother yelling out at 6:30-7, 8:00. It was dark. So we knew something was wrong because if the mother's crying out there's something wrong. So we went outside with torches, and sure enough there's a fox, which I put down is like Satan. Satan wants to destroy the lambs. Satan wants to destroy the flock. If he can get in amongst there he can do a lot of damage. No different than in the Church today. We as God's people are like the sheep and the lambs. We're following, we're in a pasture, we have milk available to us, but Satan can get in. And normally what a fox does, not like some animals that go in, kill, and then take the one away, a fox will go in and kill five or six lambs just get them by the back of the neck, kill them and just eat their tongue and go off. The lambs are all dead through the paddock because it's not about the lamb to feed, it's about destruction. It's about destruction. Satan wants to destroy you and me, and it should be burned in our brain.

Well, guess what? The time is coming where he can't do that because he's going to be removed from the pastures, removed from the Church, removed from affecting God's people. So there's a wonderful freedom coming for mankind where they don't have to put up with that anymore. So we understand that God is the one who made us; He's the one who protects us now because we're no match to Satan.

Verse 4—Enter into His gates with thanksgiving… How do we do that? That's referring to prayer. We, brethren, can enter into His gates now by accessing God through His throne, through prayer. People in the Millennium are going to have that opportunity, which is a massive freedom. To be able to pray is a freedom we don't fully comprehend at this time, but mankind's going to be given that opportunity through the power of God's spirit. …into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him (God) and bless His name. Give credit to God. So we should give credit to God for our calling. In the future, in the Millennium mankind will give credit to God for what He has done. It’s no different than the Israelites gave credit to God at Mount Sinai, gave credit to God for the Red Sea. Well, in the future people are going to give credit to God for being saved, the plan of salvation, the holy days, to understand those things, to be taught those things. It's incredible things that we know compared to mankind.

Verse 5—For the LORD is good. The Eternal is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. So truth is going to be taught into the Millennium. It's going to be a wonderful time.

John 8:31-32. A major change that will take place is the teaching of the truth. God's word is truth, and this truth is what sets mankind free. So it's the truth that sets us free. John 8:31—Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, If you abide (continue) in my word, you are my disciples indeed. It requires obedience to God and dwelling in God's spirit or having God's spirit dwelling in us so that we can abide in Him and He in us, that we are His disciples. So how do you know whether someone is a follower of the true Church of God or the follower of God? It says here, "If you dwell in (abide in) my word." They believe the truth.

So someone that is called or awakened has to believe the truth to have God's holy spirit to be living and dwelling in them, which means they believe God. This means if they live the truth they will be obeying God.

Verse 32—And you shall know the truth, which we do, and the truth shall make you free. It's made us free. We're free from this world and we should know it, that we're different. We're different than other people because of the truth. That's what makes us free. The Millennium will be exactly the same. Freedom is going to come because of the truth. They're going to be taught the truth. Many of them are going to be dumbfounded because of how wrong they have been.

To obey God creates freedom in our thinking. I want to repeat that: To obey God creates freedom in our thinking because our minds are held captive and we have to become free by believing God and obeying God, obeying the truth.

To have the mind of God is true freedom. That's why I've said we're only really free when we are changed into spirit because then we are free. God's spirit will be at work on this earth. It's by God's spirit that truth can be understood. We're going to just go through now in winding this up, we're going to look at Proverbs 1:20. The Millennium, the real freedom of the Millennium is God pouring out His holy spirit to mankind. It's going to be available to them. This is what will enable the freedom because now they're going to be able to understand the truth.

Proverbs 1:20—Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open square, which is what's going to take place. Truth is going to be made available to mankind. She, wisdom, which is the mind of God, which is the thinking of God, cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city she speaks her words, because without God's spirit we can't understand God's words. So we need God's spirit to understand, to hear. And what does wisdom say? What does God say? How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? Which is the natural mind. How much longer will you carry on thinking that you know everything? Why won't you just listen to me, the Creator? Well, when people know that God created everything, that God is almighty and that they didn't evolve, this is going to be an answer to this because they're going to not love simplicity anymore because they realize they were totally deceived by Satan, which they'll be taught about. They'll be taught about Satan as the god of the previous ages.

For scorners delight in their scorning, which is all about pride, and fools hate knowledge. So anybody that hates what God has, resists change, resisting the truth, think they're right in their own eyes, in their views, what they are really doing is hating knowledge, the knowledge of God. Turn at My rebuke. In other words, repent. And this is what God has said: Surely I will pour out My spirit on you and I will make My words known to you. It's a wonderful thing that this has happened to us and it's going to happen in the Millennium to create this freedom for mankind.

Because I have called and you refused, and I have stretched out My hand and no one regarded, because peace has been offered and some are still going to turn away. Well, there's a consequence. Because you disdained all My counsel, and would have none of My rebuke, they refused to listen. They didn't like the instructions they were given. They don't like being corrected. Well, sadly, there's always going to be someone that doesn't like correction. Well, it's something that we have to learn to come to see and know, that we need correction. Now, correction isn't a good thing, we've covered this before; correction is not an easy thing for the natural mind to accept. To be corrected, to be told that you're wrong is not an easy thing. Well, brethren, before our calling we were totally and utterly wrong in everything! There's nothing that was right about us because everything we did was selfish. We didn't know it. So if we refuse to listen to God we're refusing to repent. That's what it's really saying.

I also will laugh at your calamity, the disaster that's going to come on anybody that refuses to listen. I will mock when your terror comes, because God's warned the people long enough. The book's going to warn people and they will have a choice. In the hundred years they're going to have a choice. In the thousand years they're going to have a choice because mankind has a choice. God is not going to force His spirit on anybody. It's going to have to be an acceptance that we are wrong and that we need to change.

When your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when disaster and anguish come upon you. So it's not going to be easy, because we know that there are some that aren't going to listen to God in the first few years. They're just not. Even though they've lived into that period, nations in particular. Scripture talks about that. Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer, because it's not sincere, it's not a genuine repentance. It's a mock type of repentance. They will seek Me diligently, but they will not find Me. Because they hated knowledge, they hated God's ways. They hate the truth, which is God's ways, and did not choose to fear the Eternal, which goes back to what it's really all about. We have to learn to fear God because that's what our calling's about. The Millennium is the same: "To fear God is the beginning of wisdom." It's the beginning of a freedom, learning to fear God.

I'll wind up by just going back to the conclusion, because we're just about out of time. I want to go to Ephesians 4 and we'll wind this up. Ephesians 4:1. Now, we understand that communications will change. You know, the way we hear things today is going to change. So the TV programs are going to change. They're not going to be riddled with sex, drugs, murder, and sin, which is the world's entertainment. Today is the world's entertainment. We prefer to record programs so that when you come to a section that you know is heading in the wrong direction – you normally can tell – you can fast-forward it. Well, you don't always get it right. Sometimes you go too far. Sometimes you don't go far enough, but we won't have to worry about fast-forward in the future because it's not going to be in the programs. It won't be allowed to be made.

Internet information; there won't be fake news as we know it. The deception in the internet, it's just not going to be there. People are going to have to be honest. Pornography, which is the biggest use of the internet, would you believe, and I saw a program which is said I think that 12-18 is the biggest use of pornography, which is staggering, but that's what it is. It's in everything. That's not going to be allowed. Scams are not going to be allowed anymore. Now, we all know about scams that come through, generally, in the spam mail, but now and again it gets through. There are cons in everything. Somehow my wife's information, a lot of it, got through somehow and it was being sold to various companies. Well, I'll tell you what, we have won a lot of cars, land, money. I tell you, we are wealthy! All we have to do is "click here." It's unbelievable! We're bombarded by all this garbage. And they've got most of the details right, other than they think we live in Parkville. And they'll say, "You, Chris Matthews, of this age, this phone number, and you live in Parkville. Yes or no." Of course, the tendency is you want to tell them no, but you don't touch it. You don't go anywhere near it because all they want to know is do you exist. They just want your name, basically. Are you alive or not. So it's been over two years or more. The amount of spam emails, but we're very wealthy behind the scenes. Oh dear.

Media is going to have to tell the truth. No more gossip or potential or misleading information. Often you'll see on magazines, a glossy magazine, they'll say, "Such and such finally leaving such and such." But if you get into the article, they're leaving, they're going on holiday. It's got nothing about leaving them, they're just leaving to go on a holiday for a week. It's just insane what people are doing! All that lies and fake has all got to go. It's all going to be cleaned up. People are going to have to be honest.

This is one of the biggest changes of all, Ephesians 4:1, which is about one religion. We can't comprehend what it's like to have one religion where the truth is taught. We just can't comprehend it, really. We might think we do but we don't. I, therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, which is Paul talking, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. So we have a big responsibility to be an example, to represent God through the Church of God—PKG. People in the Millennium are going to have the same responsibility. They'll read this. They have got to walk worthy because of a calling. They're going to have to change the way they think, change their conduct. How? …with all lowliness, not more pride and lifting self up with opinions, and gentleness, with longsuffering, there's going to be a level of spiritual patience, bearing with one another in love, out of concern for others. We will put up with things because we love, because we don't exalt ourselves. Yes, we'll be disadvantaged because we love the person. …endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit… This is a beautiful scripture, about the spirit of the matter, God's spirit, in the bond of peace, because it leads to peace.

There is one Body, in the Millennium, the hundred years. How fantastic is this? One Body, one Body of Christ, one Church of God, not 600, or whatever there is. One Church of God where everybody is basically awake feeding off of the milk of the word. It's going to be Feast days, holy days, and Sabbaths are going to be unbelievable compared to what we have now. Thousands of people! Thousands of people in a spirit of bond and unity, peace, motivated by God's spirit, His mind, it’s hard to comprehend it. All of them planning Feasts. It's just exciting. One Body, one Church, one spirit, God's spirit, the holy spirit, not other spirits, not wrong attitudes. One spirit. All the credit goes to God for His power, what He is doing. …just as you were called in one hope of your calling; that one hope is salvation. We want to be saved from what we are. …one Lord, one Jesus Christ, not all the others with the long hair and all the rest of it. …one Lord, our Passover, one faith, there's one belief system, one with lot of truths and not all this other stuff that's out there. …one baptism by a true minister of God. One immersion. One repentance. It's exciting! They're going to have to go through the process we've been through. …one baptism, one God and Father of all, something that we've had since 2005, "one God and Father of all." We haven't had that truth for a long time. This is the truth that is going to be taught. Many of the Churches that are scattered are going to have to come to see this truth, just like the world's going to have to come to see it. …who is above all, and through all, and in you all. There will be no more titles like "Father." No more white collars. No more pedophile priests. No more religious institutions where children are abused. It's going to be done away. One faith.

So the spiritual awareness of people is going to be greater, heightened to sin, because we know what sin is. There is a baptism, not a christening, no more men dressed in white robes and robes, and now women with robes and white robes and getting a little vessel and sprinkling over the top of a little baby that knows nothing at all about the why it's going on. It's a religious thing. Baptism is a spiritual thing. Baptism is about the spirit of a matter. "I repent. I want to come up and walk a new way of life. I need God's holy spirit to do it." This is the Millennium. This is the beginning of freedom. Baptism is a beginning of freedom. How are we going to become free from the way we think?

There is one God and Father of all, not a trinity. Some people are going to be shocked! Crosses won't exist. All these symbols walking around the neck and hanging off cars. All that industry's going to be shut down. There is one Creator with a mind that we cannot comprehend that made all of these animals and all the plants – incredible things, like the human mind alone, the spirit in man. God's in control of all that, not evolution. So credit is going to be given to God.

Truth will be taught. Truth will be taught. So we have a lot to look forward to about the Millennium because the Millennium, the removal of Satan and the Millennium and what's going to be taught through Jesus Christ and the 144,000 is only the beginning of freedom for mankind.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1