Stambaugh Auditorium, Youngstown, Ohio
Sunday, August 5, 1962
Kathryn Kuhlman
As I told you before, I do not believe I ever brought a message on the millennium until a couple of Sundays ago.
God is going to keep His Word to the dotting of every i and the crossing of every t. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” A fool is the person who will take exception with the Word of God.
In this message, you may feel that I may be getting off a little bit from my subject, but I am trying to answer at least 12 or 14 questions that have been asked me regarding the millennium. Before I will have finished my sermon, I will have this question, which is the basis for my sermon: “What does the Scripture as found in Micah 4:3 and 4 mean? ‘Then the nations shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: …'” It refers to something that is very definitely future, near future. There may be those living this very hour who will see the fulfillment of just these words. And yet, I heard our Baptist minister in Missouri quote this. I don’t think he had any idea what it meant. You have asked me to explain what it means.
At the very beginning, I want you to see something, something very definite, because if you don’t understand this, you will not understand what I am talking about. Understand that there is a difference between the “millennial age” and the “perfect age.” I have never heard a minister use that expression, the “perfect age,” neither will you find it in the Word of God. I might say it is my own wording because I do not know how better to express it. There is a difference between these two ages. I like to call it the millennial age, but it is the millennium. That lasts for 1,000 years. Don’t confuse the millennium with the perfect age that follows the 1,000 years of millennial age. You must get that firmly fixed in your mind, otherwise there is confusion. They are two separate and distinct periods of time. The millennial age, or the millennial reign, follows the time that Jesus comes back to earth.
We talk about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again there is confusion.
When we speak of the Second Coming of Christ, there are two phases: One, He comes FOR His saints, and the second, He comes WITH His saints. The word “rapture” isn’t found in the Bible in the sense that we have the great Rapture of the Church. The Bible term for it is the “catching up.” When we have the Rapture, when the Church is taken out of this earth, when the Holy Spirit leaves, don’t confuse it with the time that Jesus comes back in bodily form and walks upon this earth.
At the time of the Rapture, I do not believe that anyone in the whole world will see Him except those for whom He has come. I do not believe the unregenerate man will see Him.
I honestly believe that He will be hidden from the eyes of the ungodly by clouds in the sky. The unregenerate will not see Him. All that they will know is that the Christians are gone. Those who have been BORN INTO The Church will be gone. Think how many embarrassed ministers will be left! And choirs. Some will be left; some will be gone. Take the division in the home. Then you will know exactly what was in the heart. Think how many will be left! Think of those who will be gone. That is when Jesus comes only partially down, not completely – only part way; for we meet Him. Where is meeting place? Jesus made it definite, there will be a definite meeting place. It is going to be in the AIR. His feet will not touch this ground at that time. He comes half way and we go the other half way, and then we go the rest of the way together. It is going to be glorious! Then, beloved, as I told you last Sunday, is that glorious time when Jesus is seated upon His throne, and the great coronation that takes place.
We see a part of it in the 4th chapter of the Revelation. The 4th chapter of the Book of the Revelation is one of the greatest when you understand the words.
That is the time then for the very first time that Jesus is seated upon His own throne; that is the time when you and I, as Christians, receive our rewards. But at the same time, while that is going on up there, for seven years down here, the earthly covenants are being kept with the Jewish people. It is at the end of the 7 years of tribulation that Jesus, for the very first time since His feet left the Mount of Olives, returns to earth in bodily form. He has never – so far as we know, been on this earth, He has never returned to this earth, in bodily form, since His feet left the Mount of Olives. There is no Scripture.
That is where people get off into fanaticism. You stay in the middle of the road. You take the Word of God and don’t deviate from it, one iota, and you will never get off into fanaticism. STICK WITH THE WORD!
The only time that we have Scripture to substantiate the fact that Jesus returns again is at the close of the 7 years of tribulation on the earth. And at that time – the end of the 7 years – remember, that is the time, beloved, when literally, actually this earth sees the greatest revival it has ever seen since the beginning of man. We talk about the great revivals of Moody, Sankey, Billy Sunday. They will only be a drop in the bucket in comparison to the greatest revival at the end of the great tribulation when the Jews as a whole, not merely individuals, but as one nation, when Jerusalem, when Israel literally will have one of the greatest rebirths, one of the greatest spiritual resurrections that the world has ever known, when Jesus conquers their foes and they see the mercy of Almighty God and accept Him as the True Messiah; when, as it were, the cataracts were lifted from their eyes, and they see Him whom they rejected and they accept Him as one as their True Messiah. You talk about a spiritual revival! You talk about a spiritual awakening!
I have preached it so long. I have stood so alone. I have but one prayer, that the Heavenly Father will lift the curtain in Glory and let me peek down to see it, for He has given me the revelation and I don’t want to miss it. That is going to be one of the most thrilling experiences that this old planet has ever known. That is after the 7 years of tribulation.
Then immediately something happens, as recorded in the 19th chapter of the Book of the Revelation, the 11th verse and up to and including the 16th verse. Here we have the picture and the facts stated in the coming of Jesus. As He comes, remember, He doesn’t come as a Saviour. We think of Jesus in terms of the Saviour. It is very difficult for me to think of Jesus in any other light than the One that I have accepted as My Christ, and the One who has forgiven my sins, the One who has blotted out my transgressions. I have loved Him so long, I worship Him as my Saviour. It is most difficult for me to think of Jesus as a great world ruler, One who rules with a rod of iron. But, beloved, He has known from the very beginning that He was going to come back to rule upon the earth. He has known it from the day He gave Himself, through the Holy Ghost, to God the Father to come and pay the price. God gave His only begotten Son, but remember something that to me is even more marvelous. Before God gave His Son, Jesus gave Himself, through the Holy Ghost, to God the Father to be given. And away back there, before the beginning of time, away back there in eternity past, Jesus knew that there would come a time when He would set up a kingdom here on this earth. He knew that, beloved, at the time of the fall of man.
That is the reason that the Old Testament prophets spoke of it. You will find it in both Old Testament and the New Testament. That is why, beloved, when Jesus was born those wise men were looking for a king. They came from the East to Jerusalem. They had that knowledge of the Word that they knew enough that the king would be in Jerusalem. They had the knowledge that a king was coming, and that he would have a kingdom and would rule upon this earth. That is why the very first words they said were: “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” A part of that was in the foreknowledge of Almighty God; a part of that which is yet in the future in the great millennium was a part of the plan that the Three had at that great conference table, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Jesus knew that one day He would rule as King. Watch it.
I am not talking about that perfect age. I am talking about the millennial age.
That is the reason, beloved, in John 1:49, Nathanael said: “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” Do you know the amazing thing? Jesus did not deny it. He did not correct him. He did not rebuke him.
What happened after His glorious resurrection? The disciples had that knowledge. What I am reading to you is nothing that is a secret. I am not bringing you something new. The amazing thing is why the preachers don’t see it today; why they don’t have the knowledge of it; why they don’t preach it, when the Old Testament prophets had the knowledge of it. The Old testament saints had the knowledge of it. Nathanael had the knowledge of it. It was common knowledge in that day. The disciples knew all about it. That is why, after His resurrection, what was the question they asked Him? “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6.) It was common knowledge that He was coming back and establishing a kingdom and ruling as King.
He comes back. We see how He is coming. Revelation 19:11 through 16. He is not coming as a Saviour. He is not coming as a Redeemer. He is not coming in the light that you and I know Him. He is coming as a ruler and He is going to rule with a rod of iron. Verse 16: “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” In other words, He is coming as a mighty ruling King. Remember, before Him, kings have sat upon thrones on this planet. But He shall be the greatest of all kings that ever ruled upon this planet. There have been Lords before Him. We have lords in high positions today, but of all the lords that have ever ruled in high positions, He shall be the LORD OF ALL LORDS.
But see something. Why does He come to rule and reign for 1,000 years, not as a Saviour, but as a ruler? Why? To give man every chance possible, to give humanity every chance possible and to erase every excuse that any human being might have in rejecting Him as the son of God. He has sent the prophets; they killed them. He sent the Holy Ghost; man has spurned and rejected Him. We have closed the doors of many of our churches to the Holy Ghost because we have been afraid of fanaticism and wildfire. Finally, as the last call, Jesus says: All right, I will do something. He is going to prove something.
You remember that incident between Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man died and went to hell and he said: If you will send one back from the dead, if you will please go to my brothers and tell them the torment that I am going through; that there is a literal hell… Remember the words: Though one rose from the dead and went back to preach, they wouldn’t believe.
Jesus said: Before I pronounce doom and damnation, before the great white throne judgment, I will give to man his last chance. I’ll go myself. And what does He do? Satan is bound during those 1,000 years. Why? To prove to man that even with Satan bound, man at no time is completely eradicated from sin. The human heart is still black, deceitful and desperately wicked. Even with Satan bound, man is still a sinner; even with Satan bound, man is still unclean; even with Satan bound, sin is still there in the heart of man.
Many people say – I don’t know why I did it. The Devil made me. I’ll tell you what made you do it. The sin in your heart. It is there.
The Lord said – All right, I’ll take away man’s last excuse. I’ll take the Devil and bind him for 1,000 years. I’ll come in person to rule and reign. And He does. He comes as world ruler. His seat of government will be at Jerusalem. He will rule and reign not as Saviour, as a Redeemer, but as world ruler. Even with the marvelous world-wide influence of the Son of the Living God, even with the glorious fact that Satan was bound, when Satan is loosed
for a little while to give man a chance to make his choice, there will still be thousands upon thousands who will turn from the Son of God to follow Satan. You can live under the rulership of Christ and still be lost. You must ACCEPT HIM AS SAVIOUR IN THE FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS, AND HIS OWN PRECIOUS BLOOD MUST BLOT OUT YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS BEFORE YOU ARE BORN AGAIN AND BECOME A PART OF HIS OWN BODY.
There is more than the keeping of the law. There is more, beloved, than the keeping of the Ten Commandments. There is more than the keeping of the Golden Rule. There is more than just adhering to the Word. There is only ONE THING that takes you all the way from earth to Glory, there is only one thing that will make you a child of the King, and that is, THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S SON. It is the BLOOD that cleanseth from all sin. I believe that there will be many who will sit under His rulership, a part of His government, who, in the end, will be lost refusing to accept Him as their Saviour in the
forgiveness of their sins.
Oh, beloved, our precious Jewish people. There is no nationality in the world where the people believe so completely in God as the Jewish nationality. But this is the sad part about it. JUST TO BELIEVE COMPLETELY IN GOD IS NOT ENOUGH.
Paul saw it. You condemn Paul. You don’t understand. When he persecuted those early Christians, he was living up to all the light that he had until that marvelous experience on the road to Damascus. It was then for the very first time he saw how blind he really was.
It took something more than just simply accepting the God of Abraham. It took regeneration, the NEW BIRTH experience; it took the ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD; it took the SHEDDING OF THE BLOOD TO CLEANSE ONE FROM SIN.
In the future the Jewish people are going to see. It is there in Ezekiel, chapter 39. Read it. In the acceptance of the One who gives life eternal through His own shed blood, the Messiah. Again during the millennial reign of Christ, it will take more than being obedient to His rule.
All right, as He rules, I am going to give you the character of the millennium.
Praying for the sick is marvelous. Seeing sick bodies healed is marvelous. The gifts of the Spirit are marvelous. But, beloved, there is something that is more priceless to me than even to lay hands upon the sick and see them healed. You can well afford to go through life with a deformed limb, but you can’t afford to live and die without the knowledge of the Word, for this is what you and I are going to be judged from. This is what gives eternal life. There is nothing greater than the knowledge of the Word. This comes from Him. “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” DON’T TAKE FOR GRANTED ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORD THAT YOU HAVE. Thank God! It is your GREATEST TREASURE. It is your GREATEST POSSESSION. And your New Birth experience – guard it, protect it, and don’t have it spoiled by fanaticism.
Follow me, as I give you the character of the millennium. Remember, at that time, as I told you, Satan will be bound and loosed at the end for only a little while. I want you to see something that is marvelous. It is the revival of the land of Palestine. Turn to Joel 2:24 to 27. There will always be an Israel. There is coming a day when literally the blessing of God shall be upon them, when the Mighty King Himself, the greatest King of all kings shall come to rule, when literally Israel shall blossom as a rose. That is after the new birth of Israel.
Joel 2:24 to 27:
“And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
Joel 2:24-27
“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
“And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealth wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
“And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.”
There will also be a change in the animal life. Turn, if you will please, to Isaiah 11:6 to 9. This is still the millennium. The perfect age still follows.
Isaiah 11:6 to 9:
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isaiah 11:6-9
“And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
“And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
Human life will be prolonged in this age when Christ rules and reigns upon this earth. Turn to Isaiah 65:20:
“There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.”
Isaiah 65:20
Now, here is something that I think is most interesting because there is such a to do that is made about the sun and the moon and the rest of it. Turn, if you will please, to Isaiah 30:26:
“Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and health the stroke of their wound.”
Isaiah 30:26
From this, man never made it.
Why is it that human beings can make such fools of themselves? That is the reason, I do not believe for one minute, with all of these marvelous scientific discoveries that we have, that the mind of man is any keener than it ever was. I believe that God is permitting man to discover these things. These things have always been there but they were kept closed and kept in readiness for the time that God was ready to have them released. And as God
is permitting man to discover these things, man gets so bigoted, he gets so self-sufficient, he gets so proud that he becomes like Satan when Lucifer said: “I will be like the most High God.”
It was never God’s idea to have man set out for the moon. That is how stupid man is. The moon and the sun were created for one purpose, and one purpose only, to make day and night; to divide the light from the darkness. Read Genesis 1:14 to 18. There is nothing on the moon. There are no people on the moon. The moon is not populated. He flung the moon out there for one purpose, He put the sun out there for one purpose: to give night and day; to give light and darkness. And man shows how ignorant he really is. Our scientists are just being allowed to discover these things, God is just revealing them, for His own use.
Isaiah 30:26: “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun…” It is still intact. This is during the millennium. Russia doesn’t own it. We don’t own it. It still belongs to God. Don’t start making reservations to the moon; you will never get there.
But this is the greatest of all. Deuteronomy 28:13:
“And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.”
Deuteronomy 28:13
All of these generations they have been the tail. But away back there God said: “I will make thee the head, …”
Now remember the question that I was asked? “What does the Scripture mean in Micah 4:3 and 4? ‘Then the nations will beat their swords into plowshears and their spears into pruninghooks.'” When Jesus rules and reigns with a rod of iron, it will be the first time that we will be without war. I don’t care whether you are Republican or Democrat. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are going to save our nation from war. This world will never be safe, there will never be peace, until Jesus comes and rules and reigns with a rod of iron.
For the very first time, beloved, we will be without two things: war and taxes. We will have war, we will have taxes, until we get a new government and Christ is the Head of that government. It is then, beloved, instead of swords and spears, we are going to go back again to plowshears and pruninghooks and start tilling the soil, which was God’s plan for man in the first place.
PRAISE THE LORD!!!
