Last Great Day—2015

Fred R. Coulter—October 5, 2015

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to The Last Great Day, the eighth day, the day after the Feast of Tabernacles! What a great day this is and will be in its fulfillment for the working out of God's plan and all eternity. This is the next to the last thing before the coming of the new heaven and the new earth. God is going to do the greatest work on that last great day!

Leviticus 23 has all the Holy Days listed according to the dates that they are to be kept, The only chapter in the whole Bible that does so. It is like a master seed or seeds for each one of the Holy Days of God. Who would have ever guessed that without the knowledge of God, without the knowledge of His Spirit, without the inspiration that He gives through His Spirit that this eighth day would have such tremendous meaning. It's like the infinitesimal seed. You look at it and you don't have a clue as to what it means. This eighth day is the least mentioned, but that which is least will be great!

Leviticus 23:33: "And the LORD spoke to Moses saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel… [this is for the Feast of Tabernacles, but the Last Great Day is attached to the Feast of Tabernacles] …saying, "The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD"'" (vs 33-34). We have just finished that.

Verse 35: "On the first day shall be a Holy convocation. You shall do no servile work therein. Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day shall be a Holy convocation to you. And you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly. And you shall do no servile work therein" (vs 35-36). Notice that, a half a verse. Today is going to tell us the meaning of the Last Great Day.

As you know, we take up an offering on every one of the Holy Days. If you were to give an offering of the kind that is listed in Num. 28-29, a burnt offering, it would be much more than a monetary offering. We know that God is able to make all things abound to us.

Deut. 16 tells us why we are to bring an offering to God. This covers more than just the offerings that we give on the Holy Days.

Deuteronomy 16:16: "Three times in a year shall all your males appear before the LORD your God in the place which He shall choose: in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the LORD empty, every man… [everyone] …shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God, which He has given you" (vs 16-17).

We are to look at all the blessings that God has given to us. How God has given us, especially, the understanding of His Word, and more importantly, the Holy Spirit, which is the begettal for eternal life!

Let's see how Paul approaches the things of giving. Here it is that they were making a collection for the needy saints in Jerusalem. He brings out a very important principle for us to understand. What you have to do is understand that whatever we do spiritually, we are sowing spiritual seeds. Those things are to bring spiritual fruit, which is called the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22):

• love
• joy
• peace
• longsuffering
• self-control

Against which there is no violation of Law.

2-Corinthians 9:6: "But this I say: the one who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly…" So, the one who does not give according to his ability, counting on the blessings that God has given, will "…reap sparingly…"

"…and the one who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully" (v 6). This is a matter of faith. Of course, everything we do has to be

• because of faith
• because of believing God
• because of believing His Word
• because of the Truth of God

• God loves us
• God has called us
• God is giving us the greatest, most precious promises of all: to be in the first resurrection!

Verse 7: "Each one as he purposes in his heart… [this is between you and God] …so let him give, but not grudgingly or by compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. For God is able to make all grace abound toward you so that in every way you may always have sufficiency in all things, and may abound unto every good work" (vs 7-8).

So, these offerings and tithes that are given go right into feeding the brethren, preaching the Gospel and helping us to all to grow in grace and knowledge. We put every penny to work so that it's going to produce the spiritual fruit that God wants.

Thank you for your offering!

(pause for offering)

Time marches on and we are getting closer and closer to the return of Christ. We know that in the future, we are going to see a lot of difficult things happen. But God has given us hope, the whole creation hope, even though they don't understand it. A lot of people who reject God say, 'Well, if God is a God of love'—which He is—'and God cares for people'—which He does:

• Why are there so many things that take place that destroy life?
• Why do we have floods?
• Why do we have earthquakes?
• Why do we have drought?
• Why do we have wars?
• Why do we have accidents?
• Why do we have plagues?
• Why do we have murders?
• Why do we have suicides?
• Why do we have death?

Well, they try to answer it by saying that everyone has an immortal soul, and the soul goes back to God. But nowhere does the Bible say that we have an immortal soul. As a matter of fact, it says, 'The soul that sins it shall die!'

• How many millions of people have the Bible?
• How many millions are there who profess Christianity?

We'll leave out the Catholics because they never were Christian in the first place. And the Protestants are in two categories, as we have discovered:

• those who are for Jesus
• those who are against Jesus

Yet, in spite of the fact that they have the Word of God and in spite of the fact that they say that they want to receive eternal life, they don't understand on what grounds the Bible tells us that it will come.

So, we're stuck with quite a few difficulties—aren't we? Let's see something very, very important that we know, but the world doesn't know.

• Why do we know?
• Are we smarter?
• Are we greater?
• NO!

There's a reason; let's look at the reason for some of these.

Let's see what happened to Daniel. We know that King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and all the important people around him, even the soothsayers, religious leaders and prognosticators, couldn't tell him the dream. He made it difficult for them and said, 'I want you to tell me the dream that I had in my head and the interpretation of it, and if you don't I'm going to kill you.' He understood all the politics that was going on with all of his advisors.

Then it was brought to Daniel's attention and he said, 'We will appeal to God and ask Him to reveal the dream.' So, Daniel went in to ask the king to give him a little time. He went to his house and he showed Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah his companions. Notice what they did. We're going to find that this becomes extremely important in understanding the Bible. They prayed to God:

Daniel 2:19: "Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. And Daniel blessed the God of heaven." Here is how we understand today, exactly the same way that Daniel understood, though not by dream, but by God's Spirit and His Word:

Verse 20: "Daniel answered and said, 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals the deep and secret things…'" (vs 20-22).

Today is really one of the deepest and most secret things in the plan of God. Yet, all the components of it are in the Bible: a little here, a little there, line upon line, precept upon precept, so we 'rightly divide' the Word of God and put it together.

"…He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him" (v 22). Then Daniel thanked God and came into the king and told him the dream, what he saw and what it meant.

Here's what Daniel told the king, v 28: "But there is a God in heaven Who reveals secrets and makes known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days…." That's quite a while back when this was given. But what happened was it showed how the Kingdom of God is going to come through the history of the world to the latter days, and that God is going to setup His kingdom on the earth.

Then Daniel explain it to the king and told him what it was, then Daniel said, v 45: "…the dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure." That's quite a thing!

We're going to see some very interesting things in Isaiah. Let's see what God says, declares, proclaims and challenges other people. The world today is filled with a lot of 'wise' men technologically improved. There are all kinds of things that human beings can do:

• go into outer space
• go to the moon
• send satellites and rovers to Mars
• they have a space station out there

• We can do wonderful things and we're going to improve the human mind.
• We're going to make it work with computers.
• We are going create human life in test tubes
• Pretty soon there won't be any need for regular human beings, because we will be post human—half machine/half human

Isn't that lovely and nice? Well, it's not going to come that way!

Isaiah 41:1: 'Listen to Me in silence, O isles… [meaning don't talk back] …let the people renew their strength; let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together for judgment. Who raised up the righteous one from the east, at whose steps victory attends?…." (vs 1-2). This is talking about raising up Cyrus at the beginning of the release of the Jews way before they went into captivity.

"…Who gives the nations before him, and made him to rule over kings? His sword makes them as the dust, His bow as windblown stubble. He pursued them; he passed on safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. Who has planned and done it, calling forth the generations from the beginning?…." (vs 2-4). God has His plan and His purpose, and the last is the greatest and most fantastic thing that He is going to do.

"…'I, THE LORD, AM THE FIRST AND THE LAST; I AM HE'" (v 4). Remember when Jesus came and told them at the temple, 'I AM.' He told them that 'unless you believe that you're going to die in your sins!' So, that was quite a statement to them.

God gives a challenge: All right, all you religions—Protestants and everybody—gather together and listen. God has a challenge for you:

Verse 21: "'Draw near with your cause,' says the LORD. 'Bring out your strong reasons,' says the King of Jacob. 'Let them bring them out, and declare to us the things that shall happen… [tell us what's going to take place] …let them reveal the former things, what they are, that we may consider them and know the final end of them; or declare to us things to come. Reveal the things that are to come after this, so that we may know that you are gods….'" (vs 21-23).

That's quite an up to date prophecy—isn't it? Yes, indeed! Why are people saying that they will become gods? Yes, they are!

"…Yea, do good… [God challenges mankind] …or do evil, so that we may be dismayed and see together. Behold, you are of nothing, and your work is of nothing. He who chooses you is an abomination. I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun; he will call upon My name. And he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter tramples clay. Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And beforetime, that we may say, 'He is right'? Yea, no one declares; yea, no one proclaims; yea, no one hears your words" (vs 23-26).

Quite a challenge! Let's see how they come out. God challenges men:

• Are you smart?
• Are you clever?
• What can you do?

'Well, I challenge you to do what I do.' But none of them can do it.

Isaiah 44:6: "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer even the LORD of hosts, 'I AM THE FIRST, AND I AM THE LAST; and besides Me there is no God'"—to Israel; the Father was not revealed; Jesus had to do that later.

Isaiah 46:9: "Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else, I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things which were not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure'; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. Hearken to Me, you stubborn-hearted who are far from righteousness; I bring near My righteousness. It shall not be far off, and My salvation shall not be delayed; and I will place salvation in Zion, for Israel My glory" (vs 9-13).

God's plan is going to be done! Think about the blessing of being called now. Think about the blessing of having God's Spirit that is greater than anything in all life, so that we can be born into His kingdom.

All of these things are mysteries. We know this, God tells us: It has been given to us to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven! Today, the Last Great Day, is the greatest mystery of all! Let's see how God reveals it. He does it by His Spirit and His Word. Also remember, what did Jesus say to His disciples? My words are Spirit and they are Life! The flesh profits nothing!

When we read the words of God, inspired by the Spirit of God, and then begin to have understanding God is revealing His Truth to us. Now then, we're going to see that there is a tremendous major requirement for understanding the Word of God as stated right here:

1-Corinthians 2:9: "But according as it is written, 'The eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'" This is how we understand; this our part. How are we to love God?

• with all our heart, mind, soul and being
• love our neighbor as our self
• love the brethren as Christ has loved us
• believe and obey God's Word
• keep His commandments

Those are the requirements for the Spirit of God and for understanding the mysteries of God, which He has hidden!

• none of the kings of the world have known this
• none of the theologians
• none of the religionists
• none of the modern men with scientific development

They do not know! They have a lot of understanding in other ways, but not with this.

Verse 10: "But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit…"—the Spirit of God within us combined with the Word of God, which is the recorded voice of God and those who have the faith of Christ and keep the commandments of God will understand. That fulfills the promise that God gave to Daniel. God said, 'Go your way until the time of the end. The wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.' Why? Because God reveals it by His Spirit!

"…for the Spirit searches all things—eventhe deep things of God" (v 10). What we are talking about is the greatest secret and greatest mystery of all. What is God going to do to solve these problems?

Let's read a famous verse that we all know, but let's look at and ask some questions. As you know, the King James Version has John 3:16 translated wrong. We won't go over that.

John 316: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life." There are conditions:

• there has to be repentance and baptism
• there has to be obedience and faithfulness
• there has to be enduring to the end

All of those things are conditions!

• What if God didn't call people?
• What if God just turned them over to their own devices?
• What about all of those in the floods?
• What about all of those who have died in wars?
• What about all of those who died in plagues?
• What about everybody from the time of Adam and Eve up to the coming of Jesus Christ?

All of those God never called! Salvation wasn't offered to them. The nations were blinded and left on their own. What is God going to do about that?

That's one of the things that the atheists really get all upset and concerned about. If God is a God of love, why doesn't He take care of this? Well, He has a plan! It is going to work! It will be done!

Some of them, as far as the standards of this society go, are very upstanding people. What about them? Is God going to destroy them? Remember what we covered during the Feast. When Abraham came and bargained with God, all the way down to ten before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

• What about the people who never had a chance?
• Are they condemned to hell?

The Protestants say that they are! 'They're condemned to hell and are going to burn forever!' Well, that's a totally false doctrine! If that's the case, how is God a God of love? Just to them? NO! It says, "God so loved the world…" How is God's plan going to work out? It's understood by His Sabbaths and His Holy Days!

John 11 has to do with the resurrection of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus and the brother of Martha and Mary. In this account it tells us that Jesus and the apostles were off and away and they heard that Lazarus was sick and Jesus told them that this was not unto death, but that he would awaken. Then word came that Lazarus died.

Martha and Mary met Jesus and said, 'Lord, if You had been here he would not have died. But we know he'll be resurrected at the last day.'

John 11:25: "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he die, shall live again.'"

• Was Lazarus and upright citizen? Yes!
• Did he keep the commandments of God? Yes!
• Did He know the plan of God? No, because Jesus hadn't revealed it, yet!

If Jesus hadn't resurrected him from the dead right at that time, he would not have received salvation. So, here's a very important lesson for us from this account in John 11. Lazarus was raised to life, brought back as a fleshly human being, and it was a marvelous thing, indeed! Word went out everywhere, 'Lazarus is alive!'

• Do you suppose that Lazarus was with the group of 120 on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2)? Of course!
• Did He receive the Spirit of God? He undoubtedly did!

That's sets a precedent.

We're going to see something very important concerning the plan of God. It has to do with the degree of sin that one sins during his lifetime and whether he will be given an opportunity to receive eternal life. After all, is that not God's plan? If everybody dies, how is God going to carry out His plan? Here's the example: he hadn't sinned a sin unto death!

Let's see something very interesting that Jesus said, Matthew 12:30: "The one who is not with Me is against Me, and the one who does not gather with Me scatters. Because of this, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men… [that's all inclusive] …except the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; that shall not be forgiven to men" (vs 30-31).

The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the rejection of God and His Spirit in a hateful, satanic way. There are some who have committed that. But the majority of people haven't. He says "…that shall not be forgiven to men."

Verse 32: "And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming age."

There is an age beyond the time we're living in now. The first part of it is called the Millennium. That's when the majority of those living will be saved. They will all be under the Kingdom of God. We've covered that with the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles. But what about everybody else?

The scribes and Pharisees wanted to see a sign, but Jesus said that He wasn't going to give it. Here's the only sign:

Verse 40 "For just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, in like manner the Son of man shall be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The men of Nineveh…" (vs 40-41). That's the only account of national repentance in the Old Testament; Israel never did.

"…shall stand up… [raised up out of the grave] …in the judgment with this generation…" (v 41)—together at the same time, yet, they lived thousands of years apart.

"…and shall condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here" (vs 41-42)—referring to Himself.

These were people that may have come into contact with some things of God that never committed the unpardonable sin. They're going to stand up in the judgment. We will see that that judgment comes after Satan and the demons have been bound.

Let's see what Paul writes, and that God also acknowledges those people in different countries and different lands, though they may not have the Law of God given to them, but follow along with the Law of God. They obviously didn't have the Law completely, but they understood certain things that are contained in the Law.

Romans 2:14: "For when the Gentiles, which do not have the Law, practice by nature the things contained in the Law, these who do not have the Law are a law unto themselves." God's Law functions for good and evil, depending upon obedience or transgression. God is no respecter of persons.

Verse 15: "Who show the work of the Law written in their own hearts, their consciences bearing witness, and their reasonings also, as they accuse or defend one another); in a day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel" (vs 15-16).

Everyone is going to come before the throne of God, and everyone is going to have to give an account for how they have lived. For those of us in the first resurrection, we know that's when Christ returns. We know that the declaration of the resurrection is a mystery.

How is God going to do that? To change us into spirit beings? We have some understanding of it, but the exact mechanics of it we really don't know! So, how is God going to carry this out?

Rev. 20 tells us the missing link or the rest of the story. We know that it talks about those in the first resurrection, that they will reign with Christ, the judgment will be given to them. That is the first resurrection! It's interesting, because when it says the first resurrection, that also tells us there must be another resurrection.

Revelation 20:5: "(But the rest of the dead… [Who are the rest of the dead?] …did not live again until the thousand years were completed.)…." Everybody from Adam and Eve all the way through history, all the way up to the time of Christ, with the exception of the Prophets and some of the kings, eternal life was not offered to them. They lived their lives and died, however they died.

It says, "…the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed…" We read that that generation would be raised up with those from Nineveh and with the queen of the south (Matt. 12). They will stand in the judgment! We will see it's exactly like we have put these Scriptures together. They will have the same qualifications as we find for those during the Millennium.

Verse 11: "Then I saw a great white throne and the one Who was sitting on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and no place was found for them." If we examine this closer, we see something very important take place. It includes:

Verse 12: "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God…" What is the penalty for sin? The wages of sin is death! There are sins that are not unto death, which then are sins that can be repented of. There is a sin unto death, which is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and rejection of God the Father, for which there is no forgiveness!

We can apply John 3:16 and now they have an opportunity for salvation and believe in Jesus Christ. They didn't have it before because, for most of them, Christ hadn't come, yet; so there wasn't any salvation offered to them. For a good number of those in the other category they heard of it, but they didn't understand it and they fell victim to the deception of Satan the devil in a false Christianity. They live relatively decent lives. They didn't commit the unpardonable sin. Their physical death wiped out the sins that they had committed. Now they have to be forgiven those sins so repentance will come after the fact of them being raised to a second physical life and they have their minds opened.

• then they will understand
• then they can repent

Notice that the same thing that's going to happen for them is what is already happening for us today.

"…and the books were opened… [What books? The books of the Bible and whatever books that were added to it during the 1,000-year period!] …and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life…." (v 12). This tells us that they did not have their names written in the Book of Life during their first life.

We're going to see that they were raised to a second physical life, and for their first opportunity for salvation. Just exactly like Lazarus who died before the Holy Spirit was given, so if he would have remained in the tomb and not been raised from the dead to a second physical life, which it was because his first life died. But he was only dead for four days.

All the rest of the people in this resurrection are going to be dead for thousands and thousands of years. At a bare minimum a thousand years. The Book of Life will be opened so that their names can be put there that they may receive salvation. 

"…And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works" (v 12). This means that now they're going to have a chance to live and a chance to have the works unto salvation, the faith and belief and everything like that, that they did not understand in their first physical life.

We will see exactly where in the Scriptures that it tells us that it will be a second physical life.

Track 2 or Download

Let's talk about the rest of the dead for just a minute. That is an all-inclusive phrase: the rest of the dead. Think about this for just a minute: God knows when a sparrow falls; does He not know when human life comes to an end? When does human life begin? At conception! When we really analyze this and think about it, this helps answer the question: Who will be in the second resurrection?

A human being at conception has everything that it will be physically and mentally contained in the conception with the genes and chromosomes!

The only difference between time of conception and birth and full human life is growth. When God says 'the rest of the dead' and if there is life at conception, then if that life is snuffed out before it was born, or died after it was born, they are both in the category of the rest of the dead. That means that all miscarriages and all abortions! God's plan is not going to be defeated one iota from anything that Satan has caused to be done.

If there was not the resurrection of those children who have been aborted, then Satan would have that one victory. God isn't going to give Satan a single victory! Satan is going to be absolutely vanquished!

Ezekiel 37:1: "The hand of the LORD was on me, and brought me by the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of a valley, and it was full of bones." If you have bones, somebody died.

Verse 2: "And He made me walk among them all around. And behold, very many were in the open valley. And lo, they were very dry…. [giving the sense of a lot of time passing] …And He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered, 'O Lord GOD, You know'" (vs 2-3). Ezekiel couldn't answer that question.

Verse 4: "Again He said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, "O dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live…. [this is a summary]: …And I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the LORD.'"'"

That's quite a thing! This is a second physical life! The bones are evidence of a first physical life, but God didn't call them. Or, in many cases, Christ did not come. For the first resurrection we know that many are called, but few are chosen, because few repent. This has to be a physical resurrection.

Verse 7: "So, I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise. And behold, a shaking! And the bones came together, a bone to its bone. And as I watched, behold the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above. But there was no breath in them"  (vs 7-8).

Just like Adam lying there after he was created. God had to breathe into him the breath of life and he became a living being.

Verse 9: "And He said to me, 'Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain that they may live.'"'" However they died. It says slain!

Verse 10: "So, I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. And He said to me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel….'" (vs 10-11).

Let's stop here for a minute and understand a principle in the New Testament. To the Jews or the Israelites first and then to Gentiles. Jesus said to the Jews that 'those of Nineveh would rise up in the judgment (Rev. 20) and condemn you' (Matt. 12); because they believed at the preaching of Noah. And likewise 'the Queen of South should rise up and stand with this generation and condemn it because she came to Solomon to hear his wisdom.' In both cases these are Gentiles.

If they stand up in that generation then that means they will be raised exactly like the "…whole house of Israel…" This will go to all nations and all people. God's plan is so great, marvelous and fantastic that in order to carry out His plan for all eternity—into age after age of eternity to do the will of God, to love God, to be productive in everything about life in the spiritual realm—that God's going to need every human being that has ever lived.

Notice that they will have consciousness and they will speak, v 13: "And you shall know that I am the LORD when I have opened your graves, O My people…" Dead people are put into graves, so they were dead.

"… and have brought you up out of your graves. And I shall put My Spirit in you…" (vs 13-14)—an opportunity for salvation.

• Do we have the Spirit of God today? Yes, we do!
• Did they ever have the opportunity for salvation during their lifetime? No!

This is an opportunity for salvation.

What we have here is not a second chance for salvation, but a second physical life for the first opportunity for salvation, because it wasn't granted to them in their first life. That's why we have the situation with Lazarus with the way it was (John 11). It helps reinforce the Scriptures so we know what is happening.

Verse 14: "'And I shall put My Spirit in you and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. And you shall know that I the LORD have spoken it and have done it,' says the LORD." They're going to know that it's of God!

Isaiah 65:19—God says: "I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and I will joy in My people…" The whole house of Israel are God's people—are they not? Yes, indeed!

"…and the voice of weeping will no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There will not be an infant who lives but a few days…" (vs 19-20).

Yes, all those babies that will be resurrected probably to about full-term. What wonderful thing that is going to be! Just think about all the healing that's going to take place when God gives back to the mother the child that was aborted, stillborn, miscarried or died young. 'Here is your child and now you have an opportunity to love your children and live with them, living God's way and receive salvation.' What a marvelous thing that is going to be! Everything of the past—because they're going to be repenting when they understand this—will all be forgotten. They will have an opportunity to live 100 years and learn God's way and receive eternal life at the end.

"…for the child will die a hundred years old… [be changed to spirit] … but the sinner who is a hundred years old shall be accursed" (v 20). Will go into the Lake of Fire to be burned up! That's quite a thing! Talk about undoing

• every evil
• every wrong
• every war
• all things that cause death and sin

They won't have to live this life under Satan's influence. Just think about how that is going to be! What a wonderful time that will be! It's going to require all the saints in the first resurrection, all the saints that live during the Millennium who qualified for salvation and were changed from flesh to spirit. It will require all of us to serve all these people.

We don't know how many it's going to be, but it's going to be billions and billions! Think of all the work that will be necessary toward the end of the Millennium to prepare the earth to receive all these people:

• housing
• clothing
• food

All that sort of thing! Talk about a wonderful thing that God is going to do, and we are going to help Him do it. That is the most marvelous and wonderful thing that we can think of.

• Is not God a God of love?
• Is not God a God of mercy?
• Is not God a God of hope?

Yes, He is! He is God of:

• love
• hope
• mercy
• Truth
• greatness
• forgiveness
• marvelous works

To create this gigantic, wonderful development for bringing people into His kingdom! The mystery of God that is hidden and the world does not know! What a fantastic thing that is!

Let's see what else is going to happen. Rev. 20 also shows that the dead are going to be raised wherever they were on the earth—land or sea.

Revelation 20:13: "And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead that were in them; and they were judged individually, according to their works." If they do what is right, accept the salvation of God, they will enter into the Kingdom of God. These will be the ones that are nations that are saved (Rev. 21).

Verse 14: "And death and the grave were cast into the Lake of Fire…." The King James says that death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. Stop and think about that. If hell is a place of ever-burning and not the grave—because the Greek word is 'hades' and means the grave—how is 'hell' cast into the Lake of Fire?

"…This is the second death" (v 14). That shows that the wicked must die twice. This means that this is the second part of the second resurrection.

• the first part is for those who had not committed the unpardonable sin
• the second part is for those who have committed the unpardonable sin

They were "…cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. And if anyone was not found written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire" (vs 14-15).

Many people misunderstand about the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Let's go over that. Why is there so much misunderstanding, especially among those in orthodox Christianity? Because:

• they don't understand the resurrection
• they believe in the immortal soul
• they believe that 'hades'—the grave—is hell where there is ever-burning fire

Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man

This is a classic example that you must know other Scriptures so you can understand what is going on. Without that knowledge it could very well appear that there is an ever-burning hell. But, as we will see, there is not.

Luke 16:19: "Now, there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, and daily indulged himself in luxury. And there was a certain poor man named Lazarus, who was laid at his porch, full of sores. And he longed to be nourished with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; and the dogs even came and licked his sores. Now, it came to pass that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom…." (vs 19-22).

• Is this not describing the first resurrection? Yes, it is!
• When does the first resurrection take place? When Christ returns!

This is not the second resurrection, but the first resurrection "…into Abraham's bosom…" If you are Christ's you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.'

"…And the rich man also died and was buried. And in the grave… [not hell] …he lifted up his eyes and was in torment, for he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom" (vs 22-23).

This is just exactly as it is that Jesus said, that at the Lake of Fire there will be 'weeping and gnashing of teeth.' But if there is not repentance and there is the unpardonable sin committed, it doesn't matter about the weeping and gnashing of teeth; it's not going to save you.

Verse 24: "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have compassion on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am suffering because of this flame.'"

Well, all the wicked are going to be resurrected and stand right alongside the Lake of Fire. All the wicked are going to be judged at the same time, all together. He's standing there at the Lake of Fire and he's tormented.

Verse 25: "Then Abraham said, 'Child, remember that in your lifetime you received good things to the full, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and you are suffering.'" And about ready to go into the Lake of Fire.

Verse 26: "And besides all these things, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed…" You're either a spirit being and in the Kingdom of God, or you are now the unrepented incorrigible wicked standing along side the Lake of Fire, and you cannot come, it's impossible!

"…so that those who desire to pass from here to you are not able… ['dunamis'—you have no power] …nor can those from there pass to us.' And he said, "I beseech you then, father, that you would send him to my father's house… [that the last thing he remembers] …for I have five brothers; so that he may earnestly testify to them, in order that they also may not come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them'" (vs 26-29). Very interesting—isn't it? How do the Protestants get around that?

Verse 30: "But he said, 'No, Father Abraham, but if one from the dead would go to them, they would repent.' And he said to him, '"If they will not hear Moses and the prophets, they would not be persuaded even if one rose from the dead'" (vs 30-31). That's quite a parable.

This shows the time-setting is at the Lake of Fire. This shows that there's a difference between those who are in the Kingdom of God and those who are ready to be cast into the Lake of Fire and burned up. The Lake of Fire is going to consume the whole earth!

2-Peter 3:7: "But the present heavens and earth are being held in store by His Word, and are being reserved for fire in the day of judgment anddestruction of the ungodly." Where does that take place? Rev. 20, right at the end!

Verse 10: "However, the Day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night in which the heaven itself shall disappear with a mighty roar, and the elements shall pass away, burning with intense heat, and the earth and the works in it shall be burned up." It's going to envelop the whole earth!

Peter was not given the understanding of the timing that was given to the Apostle John when John wrote the book of Revelation. So, Peter couldn't fill in the blanks in between, but we can because we have the whole Word of God.

After the earth and the heavens around the earth are all burned up, then there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. That's going to be the beginning of the rest of eternity for all of those who are in the Family of God, for the nations that are saved.

Revelation 21:1: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea." No more water as far as the sea goes. Now, there is water like crystal from under the throne of God, which symbolizes the Holy Spirit and continuous eternal life (Rev. 22).

Verse 2: "And I, John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from heaven say, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men… [men and women made perfect] …and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people; and God Himself shall be with them and be their God'" (vs 2-3).

The whole purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles is to show that this time is coming. That right now we are dwelling temporarily in the flesh. God is going to setup everything on this earth in His time and in His plan. There isn't going to be anymore—like we've understood—human life.

Verse 4: "And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall not be any more death, or sorrow, or crying; neither shall there be any more pain, because the former things have passed away." All of that is gone! By the time that happens and we're spirit beings, it will be just like a dream, a memory.

Verse 5: "And He Who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' Then He said to me, 'Write…'" God wants His Word written down, the things that we need to know.

• you can't leave this to word of mouth
• you can't leave it up to tradition

that's why:

• Moses wrote the Law
• the prophets wrote the Prophets
• the kings and Levites wrote
• the Psalms
• the Chronicles
• 1st-2nd Samuel
• 1st-2nd Kings

It's all written down! That's why:

• the Gospels were written down
• the General Epistles of Peter, James, John and Jude
• the Epistles of Paul
• the book of Revelation

All written down so that we would know and understand, and God would lead us to understanding the Truth in it. A fantastic thing!

"…for these words are true and faithful" (v 5). It's going to happen, brethren! God has said so!

Verse 6: "And He said to me, 'It is done…. [My plan is finished and now we have a new beginning—into the ages of eternity] …I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts, I will give freely of the fountain of the water of life. The one who overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son'" (vs 6-7). No more sin!

Verse 8: "But the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death." Whoa! Isn't that something!

Satan removed to blackest darkness forever! That is a testimony that there will never ever again be a rebellion against God. Never! Quite a fantastic thing! Then He shows John all of New Jerusalem:

• how beautiful it is
• how large it is
• how fantastic it is
• how rich it is
  • streets paved with gold
  • foundations of precious stones
  • the names of the tribes of the children of Israel written in it
  • the names of the apostles

Isn't that a wonderful thing that's going to happen?

Verse 21: "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each of the gates respectively was a single pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as transparent as glass." Now a fantastic thing is going to take place, because this is where God is going to live with His Family, Christ living with His Bride in New Jerusalem.

Notice that there will be no need for a tabernacle or for a temple, v 22: "And I saw no temple in it; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." It is going to be so beautiful, fantastic and glorious!

Verse 23: "And the city has no need of the sun, or of the moon… [it doesn't say they won't be there; they'll be there] …that they should shine in it; because the glory of God enlightens it, and the light of it is the Lamb. And the nations that are saved… [will be living on the earth as spirit beings] …shall walk in its light; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it" (vs 23-24).

I don't know exactly what that means, but we're not going to be twiddling our thumbs forever. We are going to be working in New Jerusalem, probably going out into the vastness of the universe to wherever God wants us to go to carry out His work, to do whatever He's going to do. Since He's Creator, just think about what He's going to create when everything is altogether in joy, peace, righteousness and no sin. And we're working together:

• worshipping God
• loving God
• serving God

What a fantastic thing that's going to be?

Verse 25: "And its gates shall never be shut by day; for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it…. [here's a warning just reaffirming v 8]: …And nothing that defiles shall ever enter into it…" (vs 25-27).

• no more sin
• no more rebellion
• no more scheming
• no more lies

"…nor shall anyone who practices an abomination or devises a lie; but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life" (v 27). That is a fantastic promise, brethren.

What is this going to be like? What is it going to be like for us, as the sons and daughters of God, to come to the very throne of God and see our Father face-to-face and partake of the fantastic water of life.

Revelation 22:1: "Then he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. And in the middle of the street, and on this side and that side of the river, was the tree of life, producing twelve manner of fruits, each month yielding its fruit; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing [sustaining] of the nations" (vs 1-2). Exactly what that entails, I do not know!

We can speculate all you want to speculate, but speculation is speculation and sometimes that leads to false doctrine. So, it's best to say that if you want to know what this really is, the best way to find out is to be there. Don't we all want to be there? Yes, indeed! That's going to be something!

Verse 3: "And there shall be no more curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face; and His name is in their foreheads" (vs 3-4). What an awesome thing that is going to be! Just think about that! Think about how we began as a speck of dust! Then this glorious, wonderful, eternal into the ages of eternal existence. Isn't that something?

Verse 5: "And there shall be no night there; for they have no need of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God enlightens them; and they shall reign into the ages of eternity." Forever and ever and ever!

That's why all the difficulties, trials and troubles that we go through are counted but nothing.

• look at the great hope
• look at the great glory
• look at the great plan of God

—which the world doesn't know and they can't find out and they don't understand. We know! Look at our calling and what a destiny. That's because of what God will do to us, for us and through us; fantastic, indeed! You might say this is awesome and some people might even think, 'WOW! Is that really going to happen?'

Verse 6: "And he said to me, 'These words are faithful and true; and the Lord God of the Holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things that must shortly come to pass.'" That is not very far away today!

Verse 7: "Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." That contains:

• all the commandments of God
  • the love of God
  • the love of neighbor
• the restitution of the earth
• the restitution of the heavens
• New Jerusalem
• everything that is written in the book

John at this point was just absolutely awestruck! It was so fantastic!

Verse 8: "Now I, John, was the one who saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who was showing me these things. But he said to me, 'See that you do not do this!…. [we're to worship God only] …For I am a fellow servant of yours, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.' And he said to me, 'Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book because the time is near'" (vs 8-10). That means the end-time because God told Daniel that the 'wise shall understand.'

From the time of the beginning of the Church down to our time very few really understood all of these things. But now that God has poured out understanding, given us understanding:

• through His Word
• through His Spirit
• through His Truth

All of these things now we can have a greater picture of it, though it's still like 'looking through a glass darkly.' What is it going to be like to be a spirit being? What a marvelous thing that is going to be!

Verse 11: "Let the one who is unrighteous be unrighteous still; and let the one who is filthy be filthy still; and let the one who is righteous be righteous still; and let the one who is holy be Holy still"—because all of the others are going to be excluded.

Jesus gives a warning, v 12: "And behold, I am coming quickly; and My reward is with Me, to render to each one according as his work shall be."

• What will that be?
• How marvelous is that going to be?

God is not going to forget one!

• He loves us!
• He cares for us!
• He is yearning to give us eternal life!
• He wants us to live with Him in New Jerusalem!
  • to worship Him
  • to serve Him
  • to talk with Him and Jesus Christ
  • to learn the magnificence of the great creation of the universe

—which He has made for us to help rule and serve!

The Final Warning:

Verse 13: "I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." God's plan finished from the foundation of the world!

Verse 14: "Blessed are those who keep His commandments, that they may have the right to eat of the Tree of Life, and may enter by the gates into the city. But excluded are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and devises a lie. I, Jesus, sent My angel to testify these things to you in the churches…." (vs 14-16). All the churches need to read repeatedly the whole book of Revelation, as well as continually study the whole Bible.

"'…I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star.' And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who thirsts come; and let the one who desires partake of the water of life freely" (vs 16-17). All come! Come to God!

Verse 18: "For I jointly testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book… [this is the capstone of the Bible. It means the whole book] …that if anyone adds to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, and from the Holy City, and from the things that are written in this book. He Who testifies these things says, 'Surely, I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (vs 18-21).

This is the fulfillment of the Last Great Day! That's why it's called The Last Great Day! What a wonderful plan that God has.

Brethren, because of the love of God, the Spirit of God, the Word of God and the teachings that He reveals to each one of us, we understand these things.

Now, as we leave the Feast, and head back into the world—it's going to be a world filled with difficulties and problems—do not forget the things that we have learned!

• Stay close to God!
• Love God!
• Serve Him!

Scriptural references:

• Leviticus 23:33-36
• Deuteronomy 16:16-17
• 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

• Daniel 2:19-22, 28, 45
• Isaiah 41:1-4, 21-26
• Isaiah 44:6
• Isaiah 46:9-13
• 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
• John 3:16
• John 11:25
• Matthew 12:30-32, 40-42
• Romans 2:14-16
• Revelation 20:5, 11-12
• Ezekiel 37:1-11, 13-13
• Isaiah 65:19-20
• Revelation 20:13-15
• Luke 16:19-31
• 2 Peter 3:7, 10
• Revelation 21:1-8, 21-27
• Revelation 22:1-21

Scripture referenced, not quoted:

• Numbers 28; 29
• Galatians 5:22

• Acts 2
• Matthew 12

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/14/15

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