The Third Day—the Third Millennium

“As the first day of the week began to dawn . . . an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it.” Matt. 28:1-2.

The debt of sin was then rolled away from all those who turn from darkness to light—from the power of Satan to God. On this day an eternal flame was kindled in the hearts of man­kind. On this resurrection morning—the third day—the night of hopelessness was gone! Death was destroyed, and life and immortality were brought to light through the gospel. He died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and He arose from the dead on the third day, according to the Scriptures. 1 Cor. 15:3-5.

That which God had spoken to the fathers so many times and in so many different ways through the prophets had now come to pass: “That the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the people and to the Gentiles.” Acts 26:23. If Jesus had not suf­fered, it would have been impossible for Him to carry out this work of salvation for us. He could not have accomplished it in heaven. There He was the only begotten Son, yet that was not what He desired. For Him to share His glory with us, He had to be born into mankind and partake of flesh and blood like the children, so that He through death could destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. “For in that He Him­self has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” Heb. 2:18.

Jesus arose on the third day, and the grave was opened. There He stood unharmed and triumphant on resurrection ground after undergoing, for a brief period, many trials and temptations during His sojourn here on earth. Then He was no longer the only begotten Son; He was the firstborn among many brethren! He had loosed the chains of sin and death through obedience to the laws of the Spirit of life. He had en­tered the strong man’s house and destroyed his power over people. Now Jesus Christ had the keys of Hades and of death; now He could loose the chains that bound people in sin and death.

Now the morning of the first of these last days had dawned, the time when the Lord could reveal Himself to us and speak to us from heaven. Heb. 1:1. This is what the spirit world had longed for and had been so interested in: “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you.” 1 Pet. 1:10-12.

The first morning—the third day—also brought with it a new age in which the Spirit was sent from heaven—the gospel of the great glory of God. The angels also desired to look into this—the tremendous work of salvation of which those of us who have a heavenly calling can partake. This dispensation also brought a new covenant of which Jesus is the guarantor. Therefore we also know that it will succeed for us if we follow Him on the new and living way with all our heart.

When Jesus led the disciples as far as Bethany and blessed them, was parted from them and was carried up into heaven, they probably didn’t think it would take this long—even though Peter wrote that in the eyes of the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Now the work of salvation was finished, and Jesus had brothers. That was a great joy to Him. This brotherhood was also the first light He proclaimed after He had been raised from the dead: “Go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” John 20:17. If we see this as great as Jesus did, we will love Him fervently and consider everything else as dung and loss so that we can gain Christ.

Now we are at the conclusion of this dispensation, and we have entered into a new millennium, which is the third millen­nium after Christ. Just as the third day brought a new dispen­sation, so also the third millennium will usher us into a new time. This is the time during which we expect Jesus to return and establish a kingdom of peace in which the Holy Spirit will be the spirit of the times on earth. It is natural that the follow­ing question will arise in believers’ hearts in this time: “Who will be taken and who will be left behind when the rapture occurs?” The preachers of our day have spoken many unclear words about this important subject. The reason for the lack of clarity concerning this question is because of a lukewarm love for Christ, in contrast to the fervent, passionate and pure heart relationship that the apostles had with Jesus. That is why the apostles’ preaching was clear as crystal, as Paul writes: “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh, with its passions and desires.” Gal. 5:24.

The apostles were sent out by the Master not only to bap­tize, but also to teach people to observe everything He had commanded them. He gave them clear words to hold onto: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. . . . So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:26, 33.

When we read what the apostles proclaimed, we can see that it is in complete harmony with the words of the Master, whom they loved unto death. That is why their preaching is full of exhortations to godliness. They had the firm and un­shakable testimony of the Spirit in their hearts. Their entire ministry proceeded from a pure and holy heart, and in this inner purity, the Lord could reveal Himself clearly. This re­sulted in a sharp division between light and darkness so that all who heard them were confronted with a choice and given the opportunity to make themselves ready. We can still hear the prophetic words ringing out to us who are in this battle. For example, John writes, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. . . . He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 2:15; 3:8.

James writes, “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.” James 1:26.

Paul writes, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither for­nicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor re­vilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Cor. 6:9-10.

Peter is in the same Spirit when he exhorts, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth, who, when He was re­viled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righ­teously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteous-ness—by whose stripes you were healed.” 1 Pet. 2:21-24.

Clearly, those who have crucified the flesh with its pas­sions and desires belong to Him. Those who walk as enemies of the cross live according to the flesh and desire earthly things. They live in darkness and do not belong to Him. Jesus will only come for the children of the day—the children of light. We can ask: “What will be the end of those who choose not to believe the gospel of God?” They will all enter into the great tribulation. The wine of God’s wrath is over those who are not willing to be chastised by God’s grace. This is in con­trast to the fire that comes over us to try us—that fire is God’s chastisement through grace over those who are genuine sons. Rev. 14:9-13; Titus 2:11-12; Heb. 12:5-8, 11.

These will be terrible times when people will experience the full strength of God’s wrath. Therefore we must examine what we are doing now during the time of grace: we must take heed to ourselves and to the doctrine. We must examine our­selves to see whether it is the desire for honor that compels us or love for people. 2 Cor. 5:11. God can anoint such servants with His Spirit. They judge themselves and enter into a good development by grace. Such people will not be condemned together with the world. “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5:9-10. We can see that mankind is now working to­ward the establishment of “one world”—a world where they can have peace and safety. But we read, “Then sudden de­struction comes upon them . . . and they shall not escape.” 1 Thess. 5:1-3.

Just as a bird hastens to a snare (Prov. 7:23), so people has­ten toward a peace without God because they long for “Peace, peace, and safety!” But then, according to the Scriptures, sud­den destruction will come upon them, just as the bird that does not realize that it has been captured until it tries to fly away.

In the time that is ahead of us now, it is important that we do not let ourselves become fearful, as if the Day of the Lord were already at hand. That is the Day when Jesus will come and devour the lawless one. If that Day were already at hand, it would be too late to be along in the rapture, and that would indeed be terrifying. However, we are now living in the time when we can lift up our heads knowing that summer is near. If we live in the Spirit, we have crucified the flesh with its pas­sions and desires—we are children of God and are led by the Spirit of God. All such people belong to the kingdom of God and have an inheritance together with Christ Jesus, our first Brother.

Jesus is the chief cornerstone in God’s temple, a temple of living stones. We are still living in the time of grace and have the opportunity to be formed and molded to fit into God’s building. But when the temple is built, we will not hear the sound of an iron tool, just as it was when Solomon built the temple. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” 1 Thess. 4:16. This will be the most glorious gathering of all time. These are the first fruits of God’s creation. Our glorious comfort is that we who are alive can be a part of this glorious work of cre­ation, in our time. 1 Thess. 5:17-18.

Every one of these living stones has counted the world as dung in order to obtain a place in this temple, which is God’s eternal building. When the Lord returns with the voice of an archangel and the graves open so that the saints from the past 2,000 years arise from the dead and meet those who are alive in Christ, then the capstone of this great temple of God will be put into place, and the building will be finished. Then the time of grace on earth will also be over, and those who are left be-hind will experience the great tribulation. They did not under­stand to make use of their precious time of grace for salva­tion. May this be an encouragement to seriousness for us so that we can be a part of this flock—the host of people—who will be raptured to be together with the Lord. There are not many who believe these glorious promises in our day, just as they did not believe them in Jesus’ day. Most people are of­fended by these words of faith; but Jesus said to His disciples, “What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?” John 6:62. The disciples saw it. That is why they spoke and wrote with great seriousness and many exhorta­tions, urging us to be faithful so that we too can experience this. For this reason we must live in the fear of God in the days ahead.

When Jesus returns—in the same way as the disciples saw Him ascend—we will enter a new era. Then we will celebrate the wedding while the time of tribulation comes over the earth, and we will be together with Jesus when He returns to establish the kingdom of peace. The Spirit that has been ac­tive in the church, the body of Christ, from the first day to the present, will then flood the earth like sunlight, and it will be a blessed time for all mankind the likes of which the earth has never experienced before. In John 6:63 Jesus says, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” We must be watchful as we enter into the third millennium, so that it is Jesus’ words that speak to us and through us. Only His words are spirit and life. Never before have people been bombarded with so many words—through the newspapers, radio and television, not to mention all the satellite channels. These are all words that belong to the wind because they do not proceed from God’s eternal “Let there be . . . .” Hespoke and it was so. We experience the roaring of the waves and the seas. These are spirit powers that whip up the sea of humanity into a frenzy. There are signs in the sun and in the moon, and the power of heaven is being shaken. “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28.

We who have a living faith in Jesus’ words do not need to be afraid. “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. Which king­dom is that? It is none other than the kingdom that is now within us, which we will receive for all eternity. “Nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21. This is the kingdom that does not consist of food or drink—of laws and letters—but of righ­teousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. “For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and ap-proved by men.” Rom. 14:17-18. Such people serve in the new covenant—an eternal stewardship!

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Cor. 3:16. Everyone who knows this and is willing to be led by the Spirit of God have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. They know they are Christ’s and that Christ is God’s. 1 Cor. 3:23.

Let us now, as we enter the third millennium, a new millen­nium, watch and pray always so we may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand be­fore the Son of Man! Luke 21:36.

This is our glorious calling and our glorious message—the gospel of God. And it must be proclaimed to all nations in ev­ery possible way and by every possible means in the next mil­lennium! Then our Master Himself, our first Brother, has promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age!