Church of God Big Sandy
ChurchofGodBigSandy.com
Oct. 8, 2022 • 1:00 p.m. • Sunset 6:55
Bible studies

Interactive study—1:00 p.m.		Dave Havir (not transmitted live)
Presentation study—2:00		Dave Havir (not transmitted live)

Order of service—3:00 p.m.

Song leader				Reg Killingley
Pianist					Dixon Cartwright
Scripture reading				Revelation 20:1-6
Sermon					Dave Havir

Quick takes

1.  Today’s teaching activities are not transmitted live—Because some of our equipment in the sound booth is headed to the Destin Feast site, the 2:00 Bible study and the 3:00 church service are not transmitted live on the Internet today. They are being recorded for future distribution on a DVD.

2.   Prerecorded presentations today on website—There are two prerecorded presentations (at 2:00 and 3:00 both by Ken Tate) on our website today for the edification of our Internet audience.

3.  Feast sermons from Destin—The Feast sermons from Destin, Fla., are scheduled to be transmitted on our website during the Feast of Tabernacles. The Destin church service begins at 10:30 a.m. (central time).

4.  Meet & greet on Sunday, Oct. 9—As the Feast of Tabernacles is beginning on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 9, our congregation will host a meet & greet in the building from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. There is no church service scheduled, but everyone is invited for fellowship and snacks.

5.  Daily church service during Feast of Tabernacles—We want to remind the congregation that there will be a daily church service at 11:00 a.m. during the Feast of Tabernacles (from Monday, Oct. 10, through Monday, Oct. 17).

6.  Reminder about the Big Sandy Agape House—If you have questions about the Big Sandy Agape House, please see Shirley West or Ron Avey.

7.  Antiquities Encounter Museum—On Friday, Oct. 14, at 2:30 p.m., we have scheduled a guided tour by Dr. John Melancon (professor, archaeologist and biblical historian) at the Antiquities Encounter Museum in Henderson. More information will be available at the Feast of Tabernacles.

8.  Please remember to pray for the following people who are not able to regularly attend our church service.

•  Mickey Ashcraft		•  Ruth Roe
•  David and Becky Bonilla	•  Sonny Rosenberger
•  Timberly Dunnam		•  Ronnie Shirley
•  Elaine Holloway		•  Elaine Townsend
•  Annette Payne			•  Donna Weese

9.  Edifying the Body—This week's article is "How Many Monarchies Exist?" by News9live.com on Sept. 14.

10.  Among Friends—This week's article is "Revelation 20:1-3 Will Be a Great Day" by Dave Havir.

11.  Eye on the World—Dave Havir appologizes to the congregation because the busy schedule surrounding the Fall Feast days prohibited him from preparing an "Eye on the World" for this weekend. He anticipates the next "Eye on the World" to be produced on the weekend of Oct. 22.

Big Sandy Feast activitiy schedule

Sunday, 10/9		Meet & greet				6:00-8:00 p.m.
Every day			Breakfast refreshments			9:30-10:30 a.m.
Every day			Church service				11:00 a.m.
Monday, 10/10		Meal (not potluck)			After church
Tuesday, 10/11		Big Sandy Museum & card-making	1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, 10/11		Movie in building				3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, 10/12	Interactive study—Kemmer Pfund	1:30 p.m.
Thursday, 10/13		Cookout					4:00-8:00 p.m.
Friday, 10/14		Antiquities Encounter Museum	2:30 p.m.
Saturday, 10/15		Interactive study—Mark Weiss	1:30 p.m.
Sunday, 10/16		Seminar—David Eishen			1:30 p.m.
Monday, 10/17		Potluck meal				After church

Feast of Tabernacles speaking schedules

Monday—10/10		Wynn Skelton
Tuesday—10/11		Wynn Skelton
Wednesday—10/12	Gordon McCarty
Thursday—10/13		Don Smith and Bert Moers
Friday—10/14		Ron Avey
Saturday—10/15		Max Davis
Sunday—10/16		Mark Weiss
Monday—10/17		Vance Stinson

Thought for the week

"And he [an angel] cast him [the devil] into the bottomless pit, and
shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the
nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But
after these things he must be released
for a little while."—Revelation 20:3.

Thought with a twist

"To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first, and
call whatever you hit the target."

✩✩✩✩✩
Revelation 20:1-3 Will Be a Great Day

This article is from the "Among Friends" section of the Church of God Big Sandy's website, churchofgodbigsandy.com. It was posted for the weekends of Oct. 8 and 15, 2022.

By Dave Havir

BIG SANDY, Texas—There is an important event that will occur on this planet at the beginning of the Millennium. It is found in Revelation 20:1-3.

The purpose of this article is to focus on Revelation 20:1-3. However, before we accomplish that goal, let's dispel a theory that connects Leviticus 16 with Revelation 20:1-3.

Leviticus 16 is not about devil

Some religious people seek to connect a section of Old Testament scripture with Revelation 20:1-3.

Leviticus 16 involves the use of two goats as a sacrifice (Leviticus 16:21). An erroneous theory identifies a sacrificed goat as Jesus Christ and identifies a released goat as the devil.

It is a cute analogy that speculates that the goat bearing the sins of the people is somehow connected to Satan being banished as described in Revelation 20:1-3.

But the speculative theory is not supported by Scripture.

•  Leviticus 16:10—The live goat is set apart to make an atonement for the sins of the people. That cannot be the devil. In fact, such a notion is considered as heresy by many Bible students.

•  Where are the verses teaching that the devil is the atonement that bears the sins of the people?

Identifying the devil as the atonement that bears the sins of the people is certainly not a biblical theme.

•  Notice verses teaching that Jesus Christ is the atonement that bears the sins of the people.

Leviticus 16:10—“But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.”

Leviticus 16:22—“The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.”

Isaiah 53:4—“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”

Isaiah 53:5—“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:6—“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 53:11—“He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.”

Isaiah 53:12—“Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

2 Corinthians 5:21—“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Hebrews 9:24—“For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”

Hebrews 9:26—“He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

Hebrews 9:28—“So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

1 Peter 2:24—“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

1 John 2:2—“And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

Revelation 20:1-3

Have you ever noticed the various names in the Bible given to the devil?

Revelation 12:9—“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Revelation 20:2—“He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”

Have you realized how many verses in the Bible talk about the devil?

•  Dragon (as the devil)—13 times in Revelation

•  Serpent (as the devil)—five times in Genesis, one time in 2 Corinthians and four times in Revelation

•  Devil—61 times

•  Satan—55 times

Revelation 20:1-3 definitely describes what needs to happen to the devil.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4—“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

2 Corinthians 11:14—“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.”

Ephesians 6:12—“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

1 Peter 5:8—“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Revelation 20:1-3—“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 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 till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.”

Revelation 20:7-8—“Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.”