Chapter 5
The Millennial Kingdom
of God—Its Law and Constitution,
“the laws of the land”
We as
Christians have been used to observing nine of the ten Commandments,
while choice over “days of worship” for us—as Paul explained in Romans
14—have been an optional matter—we’re free to choose which “days
of worship” we prefer. Ancient Israel was originally a theocracy with
the Lord God, Yahweh, as King. Moses
was over civil government, and Aaron (later the high priests who
followed him) was over the Church (called The Church in the Wilderness). The Constitution, the legal code of laws Israel
operated under, was the 10 Commandment Law of God contained in Exodus,
Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The
basic law is found in Exodus and Leviticus, and Deuteronomy restates
many of the laws. But let
us get something straight. All
too often legalism has been confused with observance to God’s law. Legalism
is not law-keeping. If
you are observing God’s law by and through the power and inspiration
of the Holy Spirit—who is “writing the law of God on our hearts and
in our minds”—that
is not legalism! Hebrews
8:10,13 states, “‘This is the covenant I will make with the house
of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my laws in their minds and write
them on their hearts’…By calling this covenant “new”, he has made
the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon
disappear.” Did Paul in verse 13 of Hebrews 8 say the Old
Testament Law of God would disappear? Many
Christian leaders wrongly teach that. No, how can God write his laws on our hearts
and in our minds, or on the hearts and minds of people living in
the Millennial Kingdom of God if it has disappeared? No,
what Paul quoted here from Jeremiah 31:31-33 is that the Old Covenant
which required obedience without God’s Holy Spirit would be replaced by a new covenant which freely made
God’s Holy Spirit available to all. Then,
by and through this grace offered, God through his Holy Spirit would
then write his laws on their hearts and in their minds (and ours
too, since Paul explained in Hebrews 8 that this covenant now applied
to us as well). I hope this
is clear. This is the only definition of the new covenant
given in the Bible, listed in Hebrews 8:6-13 and Jeremiah 31:31-33. There
is no other Bible definition for the new covenant.
Sabbatarians and new covenant, born-again
fundamentalist and evangelical Christians disagree only on one point—the “days
of worship” they chose to assemble and worship God on. Sabbatarians honestly believe the 4th Commandment,
the Sabbath, is still binding on new covenant Christians during the
Church age. New covenant Christians,
with a different and perhaps better understanding of Hebrews and
Romans 14, realize we have a choice on “days of worship” during the
Church age (31-32AD to 2nd coming). Sabbatarians
who are keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days of Leviticus 23 are not
necessarily legalists, just because they keep 10 of the 10 Commandments,
and new covenant Christians only keep nine of them. Law-keeping
is not of and by itself legalism. 1 John 3:4 states that sin is the transgression
of the law, and throughout the New Testament, Christians are told
not to sin. God said he’d
write his laws on our hearts and in
our minds. If you read Matthew 5:17-48 you will see that
Jesus basically commanded that we observe the loftier, higher magnification
or intent of the basic Ten Commandments. He
gave examples but didn’t name each of the Ten Commandments (9 of
the 10 Commandments are re-commanded throughout the New Testament
in their loftier spiritual intent—and sometimes are a word-for-word
repeat. For example, Paul said that ‘He who stole was
to steal no more, but work and then give to the poor and those in
need.’ An honest study through the New Testament will
prove this out. Instead of
obeying just the letter of not committing adultery, he said we had
to bring our obedience to the thought level for each commandment. Instead of not committing adultery he said
believers and followers of him should not lust after another of the
opposite sex. This level of
obedience—yes, law keeping—is only possible by God’s empowerment
through his indwelling Holy Spirit (cf. Romans 8:9-16; Galatians
5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8). How can I explain this? Legalism is “yard-stick religion.” When Jesus walked this earth as a human being
(as God in the flesh), God’s true religion (under Jewish administration
during Roman times) had degenerated into a massive series of “do’s
and don’ts” designed to help “keep the populace within the parameters
of the law of God.” The Sabbath
was created by God to be a spiritually refreshing day of rest. The
Jewish religious leaders made it a day of works. Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath by
healing a man, when in fact he had only broken some of their man-made
codes about proper Sabbath observance. You
can observe the Sabbath or Sunday as a spiritual day of rest and
refreshing without making it a day of works, or you can make your
day of worship a bunch of legalistic do’s and don’ts. Also
a mark of a true legalist is that he or she goes around judging the “performance
of others” and not their own. You
see, God could re-institute all the Old Testament law and empower
us to observe them in the spirit as well as the letter, and it wouldn’t
be a legalistic trip for those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It
wasn’t a works trip for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Ruth,
Esther, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Elijah,
Elisha, Hosea, Zephaniah, Joel, Amos, Obediah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Moses, Joshua, or Caleb. They
all kept the Old Testament Law of God indwelt and empowered by the
Holy Spirit (i.e. they were actually living examples of the New Covenant,
having God by his Holy Spirit write his laws in their hearts and
minds). None of
these people were legalists! It’s
not the particular version of
God’s law that you keep, Old Testament or New Testament (called the
law of Christ) that you keep—it’s the attitude you keep it in that
makes you a legalist—keeping it under your own power in a prideful
manner while criticizing the failings of others (yard-stick religion). Those that observe either version of God’s law—Old Testament, or New
Testament law of Christ—under the divine power and inspiration provided
by God’s Holy Spirit are not legalists in their walk with God.
Prophecy
indicates the whole Old Testament Law of God will be re-instituted
as the Constitution of the government of God on the earth after
the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ: If we as Christians are already observing
nine of the ten commandments (in the spirit, which is even harder
to do than in the letter without God’s Holy Spirit), and can see
Scripturaly that the 4th Commandment and Holy Days of
Leviticus 23 are re-commanded for those living during the time-period of the Millennial
Kingdom of God, then you can be pretty certain that the whole Old
Testament Law of God has just been re-legislated as “the law of
the land.” Let’s prove this one first,
and then we’ll take a quick look at “the Law.” (I
know this is going to prove to be a giant “bone of contention” for
some, but read this through. I
am being totally Scriptural in this paper. You
can either chose to believe these passages or not, that won’t change
what they say or that the Lord God Almighty has promised to bring
them to pass.)
Isaiah 66:15-21 sets this prophecy as
a 2nd coming of Christ prophecy (context, this is being
addressed to Zion, Jerusalem, i.e. the Jews). Isaiah
66:15-21, “See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are
like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his
rebuke with flames of fire. For
with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment upon
all men, and many will be those slain by the Lord. Those
who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following
the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats
and other abominable things—they will meet their end together,’ declares
the Lord. ‘And I, because
of their actions and their imaginations, am about to come and gather
all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory. I
will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive
to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans [Put] and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant
islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And
they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy
mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots
and wagons, and on mules and camels, says the Lord. ‘They
will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to
the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. And
I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,’ says
the Lord.” Now verses 22-23 which taken properly in context with
the seven verses that just preceded them—place this at the time of
the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ and onward in time—onward
into the Millennial Kingdom of God. Verses 22-23, “‘As the new heavens and the
new earth that I will make [after the 1,000 years, cf. Revelation
21:1] will endure before me,’ declares the Lord, ‘so will your name
and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and
from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow
down before me,’ says, the Lord.” Notice it said all
mankind. The
Sabbath here is now a universal ‘day of worship’, not just during
the Millennial Kingdom of God, but forever, from this future point
in time (at the 2nd coming) onward.
Now let’s turn to Leviticus 23, the
chapter in the Bible that lists God’s Holy Day commands for Israel. God says in verse 2, “These are My appointed
feasts, appointed feasts of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as
sacred assemblies.” Notice
even the wording. These aren’t the Holy Days of the Jews or Israelites, “these are my appointed
feasts…feasts of the Lord.” What
is the first Holy Day listed in Leviticus 23? (I bet most of you think it’s the Passover. If
you thought that, you’re wrong.) Look at verse 3, “There are six days when you
may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred
assembly. You are not to do
any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord.”
Now let’s turn to verses 34-44 of Leviticus
23, where the last set of Holy Days are described. We have seen in Isaiah 66:22-23 that the Sabbath
command will be re-instituted, not just for the Jewish believers
or the church—but all mankind. It’s
now a worldwide universal day of worship, after the 2nd coming
of Jesus Christ. If we can see anywhere in Bible prophecy
where the last set of Holy Days in Leviticus 23 are re-instituted
for those living in the time of the Millennial Kingdom of God, rest
assured, all the Holy Days of Leviticus 23 have just
been re-instituted. This would also strongly indicate all of the
Old Testament Law of God has just become “the law of the land.” Leviticus 23:34-44, “‘Say to the Israelites:
‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s feast of
Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The
first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to the
Lord by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and
present an offering to the Lord by fire. It
is the closing assembly; do no regular work. (These
are the Lord’s appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred
assemblies [KJV: holy convocations ] for bringing offerings made
to the Lord by fire—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices
and drink offerings required for each day. These
offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths and
in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the
freewill offerings you give to the Lord.) ‘So
beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you
have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to
the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of rest and the
eighth day also is a day of rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit
from trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice
before the Lord your God for seven days. Celebrate
this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations
to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths [i.e. temporary dwellings] for
seven days: all native-born Israelites are to live in booths so
your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths
when I brought them out of Egypt. I
am the Lord your God.’ So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed
feasts of the Lord.” Notice
verses 37-38 in parenthesis? They
are sacrifices of many types. Now
under the New Testament law of Christ, and since the Temple was
destroyed in 70AD, sacrifices are not necessary or possible (without
the temple and Levitical priesthood to administer them). So,
if and when the Feast of Tabernacles is re-instituted, you will
know that the sacrificial part of the law has also been re-instituted. The re-commanding of the Feast of Tabernacles
means the re-instituting of the whole Old Testament Law of God
during the Millennial Kingdom of God. Did
you catch this? I know astute theologians wouldn't miss this. Our
Church of God Sabbatarian brothers and sisters in Christ, who have
been faithfully observing the Leviticus 23 Holy Days (without sacrifices,
they understand Hebrews 10), have actually been quite forward-looking
in their practices and teaching about what the Holy Days mean prophetically
and symbolically—forward looking into the very practices of the
Church that will exist during the Millennial Kingdom of God. They
have not been so much looking into the ancient past trying to imitate
ancient Israel. Other than a few doctrinal misunderstandings
(we all have some of those, now, don’t we?) our Sabbatarian brothers
are Christ-centered too.
Now let’s see where the last set of Holy Days
in Leviticus 23 are re-instituted, this time for the whole world—made
into a universal observance—and by Whom. We’ve
seen that Zechariah 14:1-15 graphically depicts the 2nd coming
of Jesus Christ and the ensuing battle, the creation of a new river
systems for Israel, and the creation of Jerusalem’s new forty-mile
long foundation on top of a mountain range. Let’s
read verses 16 through 19 of Zechariah 14. “Then
the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will
go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and
to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any
of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship
the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. If
the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no
rain. The Lord will bring on them the plague he
inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of
Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to
celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.” Notice that in four short verses the
Feast of Tabernacles is mentioned three times,
as a worldwide observance. God
is placing very strong emphasis on this point. Usually
when God wants a point strongly emphasized, he repeats something
in Scripture twice. He did
it three times in four verses here.
You’ve just seen two prophecies, all
centered around the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, one making
the Sabbath-day a worldwide universal day of worship—the first Holy
Day commanded in Leviticus 23. And
now we’ve just read a very clear prophecy which shows the re-establishment
of the Feast of Tabernacles as a universally observed set of Holy
Days. Remember how I said that the total re-instituting
of the Feast of Tabernacles would also mean the re-instituting of
sacrifices? Verse 21 of Zechariah
14 says “…all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and
cook in them…” This is showing
the sacrificial part of God’s Old Testament Laws are now in force
again. This means not only has the whole of Leviticus
23, and all of it’s Holy Days been re-instituted, now on a worldwide
basis, but it appears the whole Old Testament Law of God itself has
been made “the law of the land.” Everyone
at first (those who are actually able to, physically and financially)
will attend the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. But
as world populations grow it will become necessary to establish Feast
Sites all around the world, so everyone is able to go and live in “temporary
dwellings” and attend the Feast. In
the first century Jerusalem would swell from a population of 350,000
to 3.5 million during the three festival seasons. But
can you imagine 100 million people, or a billion people all going
to Jerusalem? It would be impossible. God is a God of order, not confusion. And sacrifices are strictly forbidden to be
made anywhere but at the temple in Jerusalem, so for most, animal
sacrifices will be a very rare thing. Just
a word about sacrifices. Jesus
is now King of the world in Jerusalem. It
was always the custom when visiting a king or leader of a nation
(I think it still is) to bring that leader or king a gift. Bringing
offerings and sacrifices to Jerusalem—to the King of the whole earth—fits
right in here.
The Sabbatarian
Churches of God are quite familiar with setting up Feast sites, and
each has a certain capacity. Just
so many people can apply to go to one of their choice, say a popular
one on Hawaii, while the rest have to go to their “assigned” Feast
site. As a member of one of these Sabbatarian Churches
of God, I attended the Feast of Tabernacles for 25 years. I have nothing but wonderful memories of those
feasts, and the different locations we stayed at for eight wonderful
and spiritually refreshing days.
So the whole Old Testament Law of God
will become “the law of the land”. Isaiah
2:2-4, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be
established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above
the hills and all nations will stream to it. Many
peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of
the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He
will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He
will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many
peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation
will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war
anymore.” Isaiah 51:4, “Listen
to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me:
my justice will become a light to the nations.” Let’s
get something straight here. This
Old Testament Law of God was originally designed to be both a civil
and religious law. It was
designed for the governing of a civil population of a nation. It
had built within it great spiritual applications, but those real
spiritual intents weren’t totally brought to light until Jesus Christ
arrived and “magnified”
the law, as he was prophecied to do. In Matthew 5:17-48 and throughout the New Testament
the spiritual magnification or intent of the Old Testament Law of God
comes out. The Old Testament Law
of God will be in full force for the civil governing of the nations,
while within those nations, cities, towns and communities, church congregations
will be majoring in teaching the spiritual intent of “the Law”, drawing
people to Jesus and creating a desire in those who attend to become “born-again”,
receiving the Holy Spirit and entering the walk of “faith” and salvation. Nothing will change there. In any given Christian congregation today,
there are people who attend who are not born-again, do not have the Holy
Spirit residing in them. It will
be no different during the Millennial Kingdom of God. The
evil broadcast of Satan’s attitudes will not be charging the air-waves
and entering into the spirit in man, so everyone will tend to be going
in the “right direction”, will appear to be obedient to the Law. But real conversion, being a real believer,
walking in real faith and following the spiritual intent of the law as
described in Matthew 5 will only be accomplished by those really being
led and filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Yes,
salvation will be freely offered to all. But
God never forces his Holy Spirit on anyone, in the past, today or even
then. He is there for those who
ask, and then God will start “writing his laws on their hearts and in
their minds.” It will be the job
of those pastors and preachers in all the congregations to lead their
members to salvation, just as it is the job of pastors in real Christian
and Messianic Jewish congregations today. As
Revelation 20:7-10 brings out, there will be a final exam for the whole
world at the end of the Millennium, when Satan is released for a short
span of time. It is those who
do not accept the call to salvation who will be swept away in Satan’s
deception even then. Being obedient, being good is not good enough,
not for us, not for them then—being filled with and led by God’s Holy
Spirit and walking in faith is the only way. It
will be our job in the future, to try to lead people to Jesus, Yeshua
and salvation. False conversion
will be a real danger in these times. As
Paul brought out in 1 Corinthians, every man’s work (meaning a pastor’s)
is tested by fire. Our collective
work of salvation in the Millennial Kingdom of God will also be tested
by fire as well.
This technique I used to show how all
the Holy Days, and thus the Old Testament Law of God would be re-instituted
was used by Jesus once. Jesus,
looking into the future, knowing certain “enlightened” Bible critics
would teach the deuter-Isaiah theory—that the book of Isaiah was
really written by two authors—quoted from both ends of the book of
Isaiah, saying “Isaiah says…” Now who are you going to believe, Jesus or
the critics? You can find this passage in John 12:37-40, where Jesus
quotes from Isaiah 6:10 and 53:1. So
God Almighty used a similar technique in that he prophecied that
the first and last set of Holy Days in Leviticus 23 would be re-instituted. That equals the whole chapter of Leviticus
23 in God’s eyes, and yes, the whole Old Testament Law of God, sacrifices
and all (cf. Zechariah 14:20-21).
I can see all the questions forming
in people’s minds. Are we
now all supposed to start keeping the Sabbath or Holy Days? No,
absolutely not, not if it hasn’t been your custom of worship. Romans 14 is quite explicit about choice of
“days of worship” being optional, up the believer and the denomination
he or she is a part of. For a
fuller explanation on Romans 14 and this freedom of choice we have in
Jesus during the Church age (from 31AD to the 2nd coming)
log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/romans/romans12-14_2.htm . In the Millennial Kingdom of
God it will be different, and for good reason. The
Sabbath and Holy Days will be effectively used as teaching and instruction
days, equaling the good part of one day each week and 7 Holy Days a year
(not to mention Tabernacles is spent away from home in temporary dwellings
for eight days—being taught by God and us in a place of God’s choosing). We have seen in Zechariah 14, for Egypt their
“assigned Feast site” will be Jerusalem. Never
say Jesus doesn’t have a sense of humor! As my history sections shows, there are lots
of Christian churches and denominations that observe Sunday, Christmas
and Easter, and are full of Holy Spirit led and inspired people, people
filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Calvary
Chapel’s are a good example, as the Church of the Nazarene, many Pentecostal
churches, fundamentalist churches, and yes Church of God Sabbatarian
churches, all Holy Spirit indwelt, led and inspired. Right
now we have the right to chose our “days of worship”. When Jesus returns, well, that’s a different
matter as we have seen. Don’t
like it, argue with the Boss, not me.
A Quick Look at The
Old Testament Law of God
Now let’s
look at the core of the Old Testament Law of God, something we Christians
have been keeping the spiritual intent of (see Matthew 5:17-48) all
along (or should be). Exodus
20:1-17 (NIV), “And God spoke all these words: ‘I am the Lord your
God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. [1]
You shall have no other gods before [margin: besides] me. [2]
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You
shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the
fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and
keep my commandments. [3]
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord
will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. [True
believers in Jesus, Yeshua, stick out like beacons in this sick world
because they don’t use fowl language.] [4]
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you,
nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor
your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For
in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and
all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. [5] Honor your father and your mother, so that
you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. [6] You shall not murder. [7] You shall not commit adultery. [8] You shall not steal. [9] You shall not give false testimony against
your neighbor. [when added
to everything God says about lying and hating liars, this includes
all lies.] [10] You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You
shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant,
his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’”
Exodus chapters 22-23 contain various
civil laws and ordinances, what are called statutes and judgments,
as does the whole book of Leviticus. The
Holy Days (found in Leviticus 23) are statutes, and an extension
of the Sabbath command, the Sabbath being the very first Holy Day
mentioned in Leviticus 23. Exodus 21 deals with the laws about slavery
(usually people taken prisoner in battle, or someone sold into slavery
to pay off major debts he or she has incurred and can’t pay off). You will read in Isaiah that Judah and Jerusalem
will make slaves from some of the captured enemy armies that have
attacked Jerusalem at the 2nd coming of Yeshua. Exodus 21:1-6 defines how these “slaves” (or
servants in bondage) are to be treated fairly and how long they can
be held as slaves before they have to be released (no permanent slavery
allowed, unless it’s voluntary, the sincere desire of the person
in bondage). Verses 7-11 is about marriage. This “purchasing” is like the dowry payment
for a bride. Exodus 21:12-35
are personal injury laws, along with a strong penalty (death) for
kidnapping. Exodus 22:1-15, Property protection laws. Verses
16-21, laws of social responsibility (vs. 16, “you sleep with her,
you marry her…” Hmm, apply this one now in today’s world (and
enforce it), and there’d be a lot of weddings taking place!) Exodus 23:1-9, laws of justice and mercy. Verses
10-13, Sabbath laws, land Sabbath. Verses
14-19, three annual festival seasons (described fully in Leviticus
23).
Leviticus 13, regulations about infectious
skin diseases and quarantine laws (found to be medically sound, written
over four thousand years ago). Regulations
about mildew (some forms can be deadly).
Leviticus 18, unlawful sexual relations.
Leviticus 19, Various laws.
Leviticus 23:1-44, the Holy Day statutes,
all God’s Holy Days from the Sabbath to the Feast of Tabernacles
with instructions for their proper observance.
Leviticus 25, the land Sabbath (a farming
land-maintenance law which also coincides with a year of debt and
bond servant release). The
Year of Jubilee regulations (year of major debt release and restoration
of all inherited land going back to their original owners).
Remember, this Old Testament Law being
re-instated is to become “the law of the land.” It’s
not just a church law, it’s a civil law, to regulate and safeguard
society. It deals more with
the exterior actions of individuals in a functioning society, in
towns, cities and nations. The
spiritual intent of the Old Testament Law of God which Jesus came
to magnify, and which he did magnify (read Matthew 5:17-48), will
continue to be the law taught, expounded on and preached about in
the congregations of the Church during the Millennial Kingdom of
God. Only difference is that
the Sabbath and Holy Day commandments will be included with the New
Testament “law of Christ” (which they are not a part of now). Remember
this, by the very definition of the new covenant (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-33
and Hebrews 8:6-12)--the new covenant has absolutely nothing to do
with which set of God’s laws your Christian conscience dictates
you follow (cf. Romans 14:5-6, 22-23)--whether that be “the Old Testament
Law of God” or “the New Testament law of Christ” (which re-iterates
and magnifies nine of the 10 Commandments). The new covenant is enacted by God through the
Holy Spirit writing his laws on the hearts and in the minds of believers
in Jesus Christ, Yeshua haMeshiach (cf. Romans 8:9-16; 1 Corinthians
13:1-8; Galatians 5:22-23). Church
of God Sabbatarians whose Christian consciences dictate to them to
use “the Old Covenant Law of God” (along with the spiritual intent
of the law given by Jesus in Matthew 5) are every bit within the
new covenant as any evangelical-fundamentalist believer adhering
to the New Testament law of Christ. They
must not be called legalists! Yes,
there are some legalists among them, just as there are legalists
to be found in every Christian church and denomination. For
a good description of the spiritual symbolism and prophetic meaning
behind God’s Holy Days log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Holydayshadows.htm . It is these very Church of God Sabbatarians
who are kind of living as an example of how the congregations will
be living, worshipping and obeying God during the Millennial Kingdom
of God. [See also http://www.ucg.org/feast/ and http://www.ucg.org/commentary/harvestfestival.htm to see
how one such Sabbatarian Church of God denomination observes the
Feast of Tabernacles. You
might say, these folks have pioneered in how to set up and administer
Feast sites.] So don’t be so quick to label them as legalists
and heretics, just because they don’t believe or obey exactly the
same code of the Law of God that you do. The
apostle Paul didn't like that kind of discrimination and name calling,
and wrote about it in Romans 14.
Financial laws of the land: I almost
forgot! How will the actual
government of God, when physically installed ruling over the earth,
be funded? How will various
government agencies which reach out and help people, public education
(by and through the tribe of Levi, administering and teaching under
us), building of churches, government offices, roads (maybe even
railroads). This would require a whole section in itself
to explain, but I have a section already on my website which does
this. The tithing system of ancient Israel is part
of the Old Testament Law of God, and this system is explained on http://www.unityinchrist.com/gifts4.htm and http://www.unityinchrist.com/gifts.htm has a whole treatment of the subject of giving. Be sure to log on and read the appropriate
subsection about the Old Testament tithe system. By the way, the Sabbatarian Churches of God
function using this system, and on top of normal taxes which we all
have to pay, this would appear to be a real burden on them. But having been a member of one of these denominations
for 25 years, I discovered God richly blessed all of us and compensated
us for the sacrifice of faithfully following this system, which is
part of the Old Testament Law of God which our denomination had chosen
as the law of God we desired for the Lord to “write on our hearts
and in our minds.” Most of the members I knew were not “legalists”
by any stretch of the imagination. You
will read about “the 2nd tithe”, which is the festival tithe. That
is how each individual had the funds to be able to attend the Feast
of Tabernacles. This tithing system found in Deuteronomy will
be the only taxes
levied on people—10 percent going to the Temple, 10 percent saved by
each individual as his personal festival funds to make sure he has
ample funds to have a great time at God’s festivals. The
world’s economy will virtually take off like a sky-rocket with such
a low tax-rate on all individuals. Think
about that for a moment. If
you find it hard to compute, take one of your pay-stubs, and re-compute
your net earnings by taking only 10 percent out of the gross amount
(or you can take 20 percent out if you want to count your festival
tithe). Either way, look at
what you would be taking home living under the administration of the
government of God on earth during the thousand years spoken of in Revelation
20. One other thing, I doubt
there will be any banks or mortgage companies around, as charging interest
is outlawed in the Old Testament Law of God. See if you can find where this is in the book
of Exodus. Or if banks do exist,
it will only be for saving money, and proper money handling. No more people getting wealthy on the money
of others! No gasoline taxes,
no sales taxes, excise taxes or real-estate taxes. Wow! Can
you imagine that?
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