Today I wish to talk about an aspect of the Feast of Tabernacles that is likely to be very welcome to the people listening here today. It is something you all can perhaps relate to far better than those of us who come from more settled places and backgrounds. Today I am going to talk about the work that Jesus Christ will do when He returns to settle the refugees in their own land. No more will there be people without a country or without a home, dependent on handouts from governments or charities. Instead, everyone will have a chance to own and be responsible for their own lands. This is a promise from God, and it relates to His Millennial kingdom that we celebrate here at the Feast of Tabernacles. Let us look at this subject closely today.

Let us look at two aspects of what God will do for the refugees at the time of Jesus Christ’s return. First, let us look at how he gathers the refugees and captives from all around the world and places them in a settled place where they are at peace. Then let us look at the sort of society that God envisions for the world in His Millennial kingdom. First, before we can rebuild the world and rule it according to God’s laws, we must first bring back all of the people who are captives or refugees when Jesus Christ returns. This will be a massive task.

The Daughter Of My Dispersed Ones

What will the world be like when Jesus Christ returns? The world will be scared and frightened of God and of His wrath and anger. Revelation 6:15-17 tells us of the state of the world, and how people will hide away from Jesus Christ when He returns. Revelation 6:15-17 says: “And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Here we see a picture of mankind that is terrified at the judgment of God. Not only the common people, not only the poor and the slaves, but also the wealthy and powerful and brave and rulers will be afraid of God’s judgment and the fierce anger of Jesus Christ at a rebellious and hostile world that refuses to repent of their sins to God and to follow His ways. So people will be hiding in caves and mountains trying to escape the wrath and judgment of God. They will not be in their homes, but rather in hiding.

So, when Jesus Christ returns He will have to first, when He is establishing His kingdom, bring back all of the dispersed exiles and refugees and place them the place where He chooses. We read of this concerning the exiles of Israel in Zephaniah 3:8-13. This passage both talks about the time of God’s wrath and what will happen afterward. Zephaniah 3:8-13 reads as follows: “”Therefore wait for Me,” says the Lord, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all My fierce anger; all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy. For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, the daughter of My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering. In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds in which you transgress against Me; for then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in My holy mountain. I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed their flocks and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.” ”

In this passage God tells the remnant of Israel, those who are in exile or captivity, to be patient, because God has a plan to judge the nations with His wrath. We saw this wrath earlier in Revelation 6. Once God’s wrath has gone out over the nations, then He will come to restore the world to its proper place. He will give all mankind one language, a pure language, that they may all call on the Eternal in unity, no longer speaking foul and corrupt language as is so often the case nowadays. Those who are proud and arrogant in their sin will be removed from Israel, and only the humble and repentant will remain to be restored back in their homeland by God when Jesus Christ returns. These people, who speak no lies and who have been dispersed all over the world, even into the depths of Africa, shall feed their flocks in peace, and no one will make them afraid. It is not the desire of God that the people of the earth will remain afraid, but rather that they will recognize that their only true safety and security is in the loving care of God for His children.

We may think that God’s care is only for Israel, as the prophecy of Zephaniah refers to Israel, but there are other passages in the Bible that refer to God’s concern for bringing back the exiles of other peoples. Let us look at some of them now. First, let us look at what God says about the captives of Moab in Jeremiah 48:46-47. Jeremiah 48:46-47 reads as follows: “”Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh perish; for your sons have been taken captive, and your daughters captive. Yet I will ring back the captives of Moab in the latter days,” says the Lord.” Jeremiah 49:11 talks about the captive widows and orphans of Edom, another Gentile people. Jeremiah 49:11 reads: “Leave your fatherless children, I will preseve them alive; and let your widows trust in Me.” Here again we see God’s provision for a Gentile people. And Jeremiah 49:5-6 talks about the captivity of Ammon. Jeremiah 49:5-6 reads as follows: “ ”Behold, I will bring fear upon you,” says the Lord God of hosts, “From all those who are around you; you shall be driven out, everyone headlong. And no one will gather those who wander off. But afterward I will bring back the captives of Ammon,” says the Lord. And let us turn to one last example in Jeremiah 49:38-39, about the people of Elam. Jeremiah 49:38-39 reads as follows: “”I will set My throne in Elam, and I will destroy from there the king and the princes,” says the Lord. “But it shall come to pass in the later days; I will bring back the captives of Elam,” says the Lord.”

Here we see, in a short span of the book of Jeremiah, four prophecies about God’s care and concern for Gentile peoples. Edom was a brother of Jacob often hostile to the people of Israel. Moab and Ammon lived in the territory of what is now Jordan, and the capital of Jordan, Amman, is still named for the people of Ammon. Elam was an ancient kingdom in what is now Iran. All of these nations are Gentiles, but God shows concern for their widows and orphans and for their captives whom He promises to bring home in the latter days, when Jesus Christ returns. Let us therefore understand that God’s care and concern are not only for Israel, but for all people. For all people are created in the image and likeness of God, and God is concerned for the well-being of all, male or female, old or young, rich or poor, regardless of their tribal or national origin.

Their Own Vine And Fig Tree

And what sort of society will God return the people of the world to when Jesus Christ sets up His millennial rule on earth? The societies of this world are corrupt and wicked. Soldiers and policemen look for bribes. The rich and powerful exploit the poor and those who lack a patron. Governments and warlords feed on their own people, taking advantage of suffering and misery to line their own pockets with aid money given by Westerners. These things are against God’s laws, but they are how mankind’s governments have operated as long as they have existed. Man’s governments exist to serve only certain people’s interests, rather than the interests of all. Even those governments that pretend to care for the people in the end seek only the interests of their ruling strongman or clique and make the people either dependent on what the government gives them or make the people their enemies to be exploited or exiled or slaughtered like sheep.

This is not the society God will set up or that Jesus Christ will establish. There will be no rapacious governments or selfish and corrupt elites in God’s Kingdom. Micah 4:4-8 tells us what kind of society it shall be when Jesus Christ returns. Micah 4:4-8 reads as follows: “But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast, and those whom I have afflicted; I will make the lame a remnant, and the outcast a strong nation; so the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever. And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you it shall come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

When Jesus Christ returns to take the throne as ruler over all the earth, sovereign over all nations and kingdoms on this planet, He will bring back the outcasts of the world and make them His people. No longer will they worship false gods or walk in worthless traditions, but they will serve God in truth and sincerity as God’s own people. And, very importantly, everyone will have their own vine and fig tree and will not be afraid of anyone. They will not be afraid of warlords, afraid of corrupt government officials, afraid of armies marching toward their homes and villages, afraid of natural disasters, afraid even of their own shadows. This does not mean that everyone will be a farmer, but that society will be just and will allow all an opportunity to own their own land and be productive and responsible for their own well-being in families and communities that can and will look out for each other. This sort of world does not exist now, but it will when Jesus Christ returns.

Conclusion

So, therefore, let us comment some in closing about what the Bible tells us about what will happen to the exiles and captives and refugees when Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom. Jesus Christ will bring back the people from their place of exile or captivity and establish them in their own lands, where they will worship God in truth, be under His loving and righteous rule, and have a society without selfish and corrupt elites and authorities where they can be safe and free from exploitation and fear. Let us all hope and pray for that day to come when we can all dwell under our own vine and fig tree where no one makes us afraid and where we can worship God without fear or want. May that day speedily come.