Most people rightly understand that the word sophomore refers to a second-year student in high school or university, but how many know the word’s derivation? It comes from two Greek words: sophos, meaning wise, and moros, meaning foolish.
So, why is a second-year student called a wise fool? And what does that have to do with us?
When encountering a new environment, the average person holds back, stays out of the limelight, takes in what is happening, and fits in accordingly. This behavior begins at an early age and normally continues through life. Whether it’s your first year in the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, high school, or the workplace, you know when you begin that everyone else has more experience and knowledge of how things work. Only in the course of time do you become part of the establishment to help initiate later newcomers. Second-year students—now sophomores—know a little, are eager to teach others, and don’t shy away from explaining the rules and what they know. This trait of human nature makes them feel good and important. You have likely seen a sophomore at work and have most likely played the sophomore role at some time in your life.
You probably remember what it was like when you first set foot in the Church of God. Everything was new, it was different, and you may have thought—as many of us did—that all the members were perfect. But we knew that we were not, and it usually did not take too long to realize that others were also imperfect. In time we were no longer freshmen, but new members of the establishment. We knew the ropes. We could answer questions from newcomers: “How do you keep the Feast? How can you afford to travel and stay in rented housing for eight days? What do you do all that time?” And there were many more questions coming our way. Yes, we graduated to the “sophomore class”—sometimes with more enthusiasm than wisdom.
Sophomoric Serving
Many decades ago, the Church designated men serving on “security” at the Feast of Tabernacles with armbands or other insignia to indicate their role. However, experience came to show that when you tell men they are on “Security,” some will turn into a Barney Fife, the officious and bumbling deputy sheriff on The Andy Griffith Show, a role played by Don Knotts. Barney was always eager to wield his importance in the small, rural town of Mayberry, which was mostly void of crime and criminals other than the harmless town drunk.
Because we saw men taking “security” to mean more than what we intended, some Feast Coordinators, instead of designating men as Security, selected ushers to watch the stage, back doors, or other places where trouble might arise. It is amazing how words can make a difference in how men see themselves!
In the early 1990s, when God used Dr. Roderick C. Meredith to continue His Work and lead the way out of the apostatizing Worldwide Church of God, many small congregations sprang up with no deacon or minister to serve them on a regular basis. Sermon tapes were sent to feed these in-home groups, and we referred to a person who opened his or her home to others to play a recorded sermon as the “host.” This made sense because that was truly what they were. Nevertheless, the term host became an exalted designation to some who had never before been given what they wrongly perceived as grandiose authority! Too many saw the term as conferring ordination status—which it did not. Some hosts took their responsibility to include correcting their guests. Others were offended when a deacon or elder came out of the apostasy later than they did and was given the oversight that they had presumed they held over the small group. Sadly, not a few of these hosts—these “sophomores”—failed the test and fell away. This is why I did everything I could while overseeing the Work in Canada to drive a stake into the heart of the term host by changing it to video recipient. Again, words do make a difference!
The sophomore inclination did not stop with hosts. It also affected some deacons and elders who were suddenly in positions of seemingly greater “independence” than they’d had previously. A few began teaching pet doctrines they may have held for years but were never allowed to promote. When given more autonomy, they failed the loyalty test. If you were a host, deacon, or elder in those days and have served humbly, faithfully, and steadfastly, we appreciate your service and example—and it does not go unnoticed by God Himself.
Few of you are in high school or college—and, if you are, you may not be in your second year. And most of you have passed the figurative second-year sophomore stage in the Church. So, what does this have to do with you?
“My” Kingdom Come?
The Feast of Trumpets pictures the Day of the Lord—seven trumpets—the climax of which is the return of Jesus Christ and our birth into the Family of God. No longer will we sin, feel pain, or wonder whether we will “make it.” Of course, God does not want us to walk in fear or doubt, but we should all know that we must remain faithful to the end. We will rejoice when Satan, the one who currently directs the course of this world, is removed and, for a thousand years, will be prevented from deceiving people. We know this from the Day of Atonement. Then the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the coming period of peace and prosperity for all humanity during the time we call the Millennium. After that comes the Last Great Day, depicting the time when all our currently deceived friends and relatives will be given their opportunity for salvation. Oh, how we look forward to each of these events in God’s plan!
It is important to remember that the Millennium is not the Kingdom of God. Flesh and blood cannot inherit that kingdom (1 Corinthians 15:50, 53). We must be born into it (John 3:3). The Millennium, as much as we look forward to it, is merely a period of time when that ruling Family of God reigns over mankind for what will be a blink of time in eternity.
After that, God’s one great Family will interact in ways that we now can only imagine. It will not be a celestial, drug-induced trip, nor an eternity of staring into the face of God (the so-called “beatific vision”). We will no doubt be creatively productive, accomplishing great feats. Of course, it will be joyous beyond what we can currently know. “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
Much discussion takes place regarding this seventh-month Festival season. Some want to know exactly when Christ will return and usher in the Kingdom of God. Those of Jesus’ day had the same question (Matthew 24:3; Luke 17:20; 19:11; Acts 1:6). We also speculate greatly on what the Millennium will be like. Scripture gives us some clues, but not a complete picture. Children want to know whether they will have a lion or a bear for a pet (if we were to take a poll, lions would likely win). Some want to know whether God will resurrect their dog, cat, parrot, or ferret to be with them for eternity. Some speculate, even declare as if they know, that there will be no modern vehicles in the Millennium—only horses, buggies, bicycles, and rickshaws. Others speculate just as vociferously that there will be planes, trains, and automobiles.
Then we hear such pronouncements as, “In my kingdom….” You can fill in the blank. Ah, but are not such pronouncements a tad bit sophomoric—or, we might even say, wrong-headed? After all, is it “My kingdom?” Is it “My city?” Or is it God’s kingdom with God’s cities?
It is one thing to speculate, but another to miss the mark when it comes to fundamentals. None of us know for sure the kind of clothing people will wear after Christ’s return. None of us know to what degree there will be mining and industry. Yes, we do know that God is not against digging metals out of the ground. He put them there for the benefit of His people Israel and, by extension, for mankind in general. “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land… a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper” (Deuteronomy 8:7, 9). But to what degree mankind will dig copper and iron out of the ground remains to be seen. What about coal, oil, and natural gas, which are also ready sources of energy that can be used to smelt these metals from ore?
We can speculate, and it is profitable to explore what the Millennium might look like—what innovations there may be to solve the problems we see today. We surely will not see the kind of pollution there is now. Yet, at the same time, dealing with human and animal pollution is a fact of life on this planet. How will sewage be handled? Will we all be given a shovel? Somehow, I doubt that—but, if so, opening a shovel store will be good business for those enjoying physical life in the Millennium, considering the billions of human beings who will be around by the end of those thousand years. And let us not forget the Great White Throne Judgment!
Yes, it is fun to speculate, realizing that speculation is merely that, unless it has scriptural backing. But again, we must realize that it will not be your kingdom and they will not be your cities—or mine. Yes, we will be given rule to one degree or another, but it will always be with the realization that it is God’s Kingdom.
Jesus’ Example
One lesson often brought out during the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread is that Jesus did not come to Earth to do what was right in His own eyes. He said, “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). And He confirmed, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38).
This is remarkable when you consider who Jesus was and what His role was in creating the universe, angelic life, and all life on this planet. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). And we are told in Hebrews 1:2 that it was through Christ that the Father “made the worlds.”
When the mother of James and John came to Jesus with her two grown sons and requested that one would sit on His right hand and the other on His left in His kingdom, we know that Jesus was not taking a pass by using His Father as an excuse when He said that “to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father” (Matthew 20:23). Again, this is remarkable when you consider that Christ is given the Kingdom. He understood what had been delegated to Him, what had been revealed, and what was not His decision to make. When Peter pointed out that he and his fellow disciples had left everything behind and wanted to know what was in it for them, Jesus answered, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).
Jesus was not self-willed. His whole purpose was to do the will of the One who had sent Him. We see this from a passage that we in the Living Church of God often quote: “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work’” (John 4:34). We see it also in His prayer leading up to the crucifixion, when the trial ahead weighed heavily upon Him. Three times He cried out, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).
Willingness to submit our will to that of God’s is esteemed above all else. Israel’s first human king, Saul, was rejected because he was presumptuous, self-willed, and disobedient. God then called David to be king, because “the Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), one “who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22). This humble character trait is why David will be king over all Israel in the near future (Hosea 3:5).
My Kingdom or Thy Kingdom?
The degree to which each of us will be expected to make decisions on our own will be interesting to see. God has made us free moral agents and expects us to make decisions. He does not dictate to us which clothes to put on in the morning, though He does give us principles of modesty and wearing appropriate clothing for the occasion. He gives us great latitude in what we can eat, yet at the same time puts limits on what kind of meats to consume, commands moderation in the use of alcohol, and warns us against gluttony.
Likewise, it is safe to assume that not every city during the Millennium will be constructed exactly alike. Christ will no doubt expect us to make wise and righteous decisions, just as He had to make wise decisions as to who would be His Apostles. In this we find an important principle. Jesus tells us that He was the One who chose the Twelve to be Apostles (Luke 6:13). We also read that Jesus told His Apostles, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16).
That was a choice Jesus was given to make, but there were certain parameters. The Apostles had to be within the scope of those whom His Father drew to Him (John 6:44, 65). This is also stated in Jesus’ prayer in John 17. We also learn that He did not “go it alone” when making these decisions. He spent all night in prayer to His Father (Luke 6:12–13) before making such momentous decisions regarding who would be witnesses of Him and who would lead each of the twelve tribes of Israel under King David in the Millennium—and perhaps for all eternity!
It is easy to speculate “in my kingdom,” but we must be careful about presumptuous sins. David made many mistakes, including terrible mistakes in the matter of Uriah. God forgave him, but that did not mean there was no price to pay for his transgressions. The penalties David suffered were horrific. The child born from his adultery died, his own son rose up against him, and many of his wives were defiled openly. However, the full penalty of his sins is forgiven through the blood of Christ, and God looks at the heart. God knew this was an aberration—that David was profoundly repentant and was truly a man who sought His heart. One of David’s psalms makes this request: “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression” (Psalm 19:13).
God will have no independent members of His Family who act presumptuously and are self-willed. When we enter His Kingdom and are given cities or other responsibilities, perhaps we will all feel like freshmen, newcomers. But what happens later? Will we be as wise fools? Will we be as hosts acting like evangelists? Will we decide on our own what our cities will be like? Will it be “my” kingdom or “Thy” kingdom? Will we first and foremost look to God, understanding what is within our authority and what is not? And even with what is within our authority, will we seek to do it God’s way or our own way?
God must know before our change whether we have holy and righteous character. Again, He will have no independent members in His Family—no more Lucifers—no matter how smart or talented. Let us not think in terms of “my kingdom,” or “my cities.” Let us consider these things as we rightly and enjoyably speculate about the future during the coming Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day!