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Fred R. Coulter—October 20, 2011
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Track 1 or Download
Greetings, brethren! This is the Last Great Day, the eighth day after the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Let's review; come back here to Leviticus 23 and let's cover the Last Great Day. It's very interesting that here in Leviticus 23 it is only called 'the eighth day,' and we have absolutely no meaning whatsoever of what the day may mean.
We have some meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles because God said that the children of Israel would build booths or small tabernacles to know that when they were coming out of Egypt that they dwelt in booths. We know for us in the New Testament that our bodies, which now have the Holy Spirit of God united with our spirit, is only a temporary dwelling, and that Jesus, when He came to the earth tabernacled with us. There's a lot of information in the Bible concerning the Feast of Tabernacles when you put it all together.
But it's just like here in Leviticus 23:39: "Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a Feast to the LORD seven days.. [we've done that] .On the first day shall be a Sabbath. [we've had that] .and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath." That is today.
When we come up here, v 36: "Seven days you shall offer an offering." of course, on the eighth day here we are. This is a day in which we should bring an offering to the Lord. We all know about offerings and we know about giving and we know the meaning of God's days, so in taking up the offering we need to understand that we are also thanking God for all the physical blessings that He has given us. Also, spiritually:
- thanking Him for His Spirit
- thanking Him for His Word
- thanking Him for His Truth
- thanking Him for the understanding
- thanking Him for revealing the meaning of the Holy Days so that can know what God is doing
That's why we have the book, God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days.
What we are going to cover today is going to be absolutely fantastic because the world doesn't know it.
Let's also understand something else, that regardless of our circumstances God promises—and we can claim this promise if we give according to the blessing that God has given to us. That 'He is able to make all grace abound to us so that we have sufficiency in all things.' Let's keep this in mind as we keep this Last Great Day, and as we take up an offering and then understand the finality of God's plan and what it means for all the world: past, present and future.
(pause for the taking up of the offering)
What is the meaning of the Last Great Day? The Last Great Day answers the unanswered questions that people have concerning God, salvation and mankind down through history.
We find that Jesus kept the Feast of Tabernacles and also the Last Great Day. Let's come to the Gospel of John, chapter seven, and let's see where it talks about the Last Great Day.
John 7:37: "Now in the last day, the great day of the Feast." That's why we call it The Last Great Day. Later we'll also see that it is called The Great White Throne Judgment, and we will see how that fits into the plan of God and what God is doing, and why it is a great day!
We also need to understand that in ending the seventh day and beginning the eighth day at the temple they had the ceremony of the pouring of water around the altar of God. This is why Jesus speaks of it this way on the Last Great Day.
"Now in the last day, the great day of the Feast, Jesus stood and called out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.' But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, which those who believed in Him would soon receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified" (vs 37-39).
- Why have this tremendous ceremony here of water?
- What does the Last Great Day have in meaning for us?
Let's understanding something: God says that He knows the beginning and the ending. As a matter of fact, Jesus said, 'I'm the Beginning and the Ending, Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last.' And we will see at the finality of the Last Great Day, He again repeats it. Every time we come to an ending, there is a new beginning. The Feast of Tabernacles has ended, and now there is a new beginning.
What we understand and how we understand it comes because God has revealed it in His Word. Let's come to 1-Corinthians, the second chapter, and let's understand that what we understand concerning the Word of God is only because of the Spirit of God. It's not because of any inherited intelligence that we have more than any other people, so that we can read the Bible and we can understand it, but the scholars can't understand it. They have greater minds than we do, but there is something very important to understand: We need the Spirit of God in order to understand the Word of God.
Then it will be like Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel told him all throughout. Daniel said that there's a 'God in heaven that reveals secrets' (Dan. 2). This is the secret of God and it answers the questions that men have thought of, but never have been able to find the answers. If you go to the religions of this world you're not going to find the answer there, even in Christianity that's out there in the world. They do not know! God has not revealed it to them!
Remember: God gives His Spirit to those who obey Him, and as God told Daniel, at the end the wise—and the wise ones are those who love God and keep His commandments—shall understand. We are looking at things, brethren, that has been kept secret from the 'foundation of the world.' We just happen to live in the end-times when it's time for God to reveal and show what it is.
Let's begin here in 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.'" The first thing you need to do is love God! He has a plan for us, which we know is the first resurrection when Christ returns. We also know that 'many are called but few are chosen.' What about the rest of the people? We'll ask that question and see how that is answered.
Verse 10: "But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things—eventhe deep things of God." And the Last Great Day is one of those deep things of God; part of the secret of His plan that He has let known to those of us who are
- in the Church of God
- that love Him
- keep His commandments
- are in covenant with Him
- keep His Feast days.
Verse 11: "For who among men understands the things of man except by the spirit of man which is in him?.." We all have the spirit of man, which gives us mental ability and intelligence, the thinking process and everything. That's what keeps us alive, keeps us running, keeps us going.
The soul is the part of the brain which keeps the physical part of our bodies working and functioning. But it says in James 2, 'as the body is dead without the spirit.' When the spirit leaves, you're dead! What did Jesus say—the last thing before He gave up and died? He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit,' and He died!
- You must have the spirit in man in order to live as a human being.
- You must have the Spirit of God, begotten by God the Father through Jesus Christ, in order to be Christ's and belong to the Father.
Then
- you have to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and being
- you have to study and know the Word of God
As you do, God reveals the meaning of His Truth to us!
So, he says here that men only learn the things of men through the spirit of man which is in him. ".In the same way also, the things of God no one understands except by the Spirit of God" (v 11). It's impossible to understand. How is it going to be? We'll look at a lot of these things and find out.
Let's see some things which appear to be contradictions in the Bible. Let's think about it and let's ask some questions: 2-Peter 3:9: "The Lord is not delaying the promise of His coming, as some in their own minds reckon delay; rather, He is long-suffering toward us, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
- How are all going to come to repentance, when "many are called but few are chosen'?
- How is God going to bring them to repentance and bring them eternal life?
- What about all of those who never received the Spirit of God?
1-Timothy 4:3—let's see something here that Paul also wrote. This becomes quite a thing we need to know and understand. "For this is good and acceptable before God our Savior, Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth" (vs 3-4).
If God desires that, why did Jesus say that God 'blinds' people? Let's come back here to Matthew 13 and read that again. Let's understand what Jesus said, because this is a phenomenal Scripture that really tells us a great deal about what God is doing, but it is also perplexing. He said to the disciples, 'Blessed are your eyes, for they see.' But the others, they are 'blinded.' They don't know. He told us it's given to us 'to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God,' but to them—the rest of the people—it's not given to them to understand.' If God wants all to come to repentance, and all to be saved, how does that square with Matt. 13—the very words of Jesus:
Matthew 13:13: "For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing, they see not; and hearing, they hear not; neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, 'In hearing you shall hear, and in no way understand; and in seeing you shall see, and in no way perceive; for the heart of this people has grown fat, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed. [How does this square with that God's wants all to come to repentance and for all to be saved?]: .lest they should see with their eyes, and should hear with their ears, and should understand with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them'" (vs 13-15).
- What does that mean?
God did not want them converted at this time!
- How are all going to repent?
- How are all going to come to the knowledge of the Truth?
- What about all of those who have lived their lives and never knew about Jesus?
- What about all of those who have died unfortunate deaths?
- How is God going to handle that?
- What about all the babies that have been aborted?
- How is God going to handle that?
- If He doesn't take care of that, then we have to conclude that Stan is more powerful than God—correct?
Well, we know he's not!
- How is God going to handle this?
This is going to be quite something for us to understand! We have some clues. Let's come to Romans, the eleventh chapter; this is quite something for us to understand. Paul writes some things that he knows is true, but he doesn't quite understand the timing of it, because God didn't reveal it to the Apostle Paul, rather He revealed it to the Apostle John at a later time.
Let's see what Paul writes concerning Israel; he's talking to the Gentiles contrasting his ministry to them and what happened to Israel. He also gave the example that when Elijah was wondering what was happening, and he was thinking he was the only one, God told him there were '7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal.'
Romans 11:17: "But if some of the branches. [the olive tree of Israel] .were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and you became a fellow partaker of the root and of the fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches; but if you are boasting against them, remember that you do not bear the root; rather, the root bears you.. [hat root goes all the way back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob] . Will you then say, 'The branches were broken off in order that I might be grafted in'? That is true! Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be high-minded, but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He not spare you either" (vs 17-21).
Verse 22: "Therefore, behold the graciousness and the severity of God: upon those who fell, severity. [they fell because God closed their eyes, closed their ears and didn't call them to conversion. How is God going to solve that? That's the answer of the Last Great Day!] .and upon you, graciousness, if you continue in His graciousness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, shall be grafted in because God is able to graft them in again" (vs 22-23).
Let's see where he's going with this, because he's coming to a certain point, he has a certain understanding of what God is going to do, and then we need to take this and fill in the blanks and look at the other Scriptures—'rightly divide the Word of God' and then find the Biblical and Scriptural answer to what God is going to do.
Verse 24: "For if you were cut off from an olive tree which by nature is wild, and contrary to nature were grafted into a good olive tree, how much more shall those who according to nature were from the good olive tree be grafted back into their own olive tree?"
What does he say? Notice his conclusion. Yet, He understands that at that time salvation was not offered to all of them. It was as 'many as God would call.' But notice what he says here:
Verse 25: "For I do not wish you to be ignorant of this mystery, brethren, in order that you may not be wise in your own conceits: that a partial hardening of the heart has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." Paul knew that God was eventually going to save them.
Verse 26: "And so all Israel shall be saved. [and the answer is found in the Last Great Day] .according as it is written: 'Out of Sion shall come the Deliverer, and He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is My covenant, which I will make with them when I have taken away their sins'" (vs 26-27). This is at a future time that it's going to happen. He didn't know when it was going to be. He told them that God is able to bring them back.
Verse 32: "For God has given them all over to unbelief in order that He might show mercy to all." But Paul didn't know when. He just knew that God was going to do it.
Notice how he concludes here, v 33: "O the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unfathomable are His judgments and unsearchable are His ways! For who did know the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who first gave to Him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? For from Him, and through Him, and unto Him are all things; to Him be the glory into the ages of eternity. Amen" (vs 33-36). That's all Paul knew about it.
Now we are going to see exactly how things are going to take place. Let's talk for a bit concerning the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. We know that God inspired Jesus to do this, after he had been dead for four days. It was to be a sign for all the Jews. But also, Lazarus was one of those who was called to be in the firstfruits. However, he died before the Holy Spirit could be given. Another purpose as to why Lazarus was resurrected from the dead back to flesh was so that he could receive the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and become converted and then be ready for the first resurrection when Jesus returns. This is important to understand, so that we realize that God is going to give people a chance for opportunity, who had died before they had an opportunity; and that's the majority of all mankind.
Let's come to Revelation 20 and see what it tells us about this. It tells us some very important things, and also—when we put it together with the other Scriptures—it reveals to us, through His Word and His Spirit and the meaning of the Last Great Day, what God is doing for all of those people that He blinded, that He never called and all of Israel who went astray.
Revelation 20—we know that v 4 says that we're going to be resurrected and live and reign with Jesus Christ a thousand years. Verse 5: ".This is the first resurrection. Blessed and Holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power.." (vs 5-6).
Let's come back to the first part of v 5. We know that Paul wrote that Christ is the Firstfruit, afterward those who are Christ at His coming. That's the first resurrection that we just read about. We know that's the few. We know down through time that is going to be a good number, but compared to all the human beings that have lived and died, that is a very miniscule amount, indeed!
Notice v 5, this inset parenthetical statement: "(But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed.).." Who are the 'the rest of the dead'? That is all of those who died who were never called. The 'rest of the dead' are all of those who were not raised in the first resurrection. Let's see how this works.
After Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire then a new beginning takes place. We are going to see this is the greatest time of redemption and renewal that the world will ever know. We will see how God is going to do it. All the rest of the dead, we're going to see, fall into two categories:
1. those who did not commit the unpardonable sin
2. those who had committed the unpardonable sin
We know that the unpardonable sin requires a second death. That means that those who committed the unpardonable sin have to live twice in order to die twice. Let's see what it tells us here:
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.. [Who are the 'them'?] .And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is thebook of Life.." (vs 11-12). Why is the book of Life opened? Because the 'rest of the dead' who had not committed the unpardonable sin will have an opportunity for salvation! Where in the Bible do we find this?
First of all let's come back to Matthew, the twelfth chapter, and let's see what it tells us here. It defines the unpardonable sin and it defines the forgivable sin. Let's see what Jesus said. Here is a clue as to giving us a time-period when this will happen. We know that what we read there in Rev. 20 is after the Millennium has ended. All of those who qualify for eternal life have entered into the Kingdom of God. We know right after that, Satan the devil is cast into the Lake of Fire. Then the Great White Throne Judgment begins.
Let's see what Jesus said here concerning people and their status before God. Matthew 12:31—listen carefully to what He says: "Because of this, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men." What if they have never had an opportunity to repent? How is that going to be forgiven them? You have to have life and consciousness in order to repent and receive forgiveness—isn't that correct? Yes! So, these are all sins that are not sins unto eternal death.
Then He says, ".except the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; that shall not be forgiven to men" (v 31). What is the 'blasphemy' of the Holy Spirit?
- A rejection of God the Father in hatred, in vitriol, with no remorse!
- It is a rejection of Jesus Christ, the offering of God for the forgiveness of your sins!
- And you have an attitude of Satan the devil!
That is the unpardonable sin! Most men have not done that; most women have not done that. Let's see what else Jesus says.
Verse 32 is a real key verse to understanding about the Great White Throne Judgment and the resurrection of those, the 'rest of the dead' who were not called to salvation and were not in the first resurrection. "And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit. [rejecting God the Father and His Spirit] .it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming age."
What we're reading about in Rev. 20 is the 'coming age.' We're going to see that's an opportunity for salvation that was not granted to people.
Verse 40—they wanted a sign; Jesus said that there would be no sign given except one: "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."
He's talking to those Jews who were not believing Him and ridiculing Him and rejecting Him. Remember, every sin and blasphemy against Jesus will be forgiven. But in order to receive forgiveness there must be repentance. In order for there to be repentance, there must be life and consciousness so the person knows what he or she is doing. If they died without committing the unpardonable sin, we're going to see they're going to live again and receive their first opportunity for salvation.
Verse 41: "The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment." That's what we're talking about, the Great White Throne Judgment. They weren't converted, but they believed Jonah. And beginning with the king all the way down to the lowest one in the society, they repented in sackcloth and ashes and fasted and even made their animals fast, too.
"The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with. [together with] .this generation. [the men of Nineveh were separated by well over a thousand years] .and shall condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here" (v 41).
Now He gives another example of another time-setting to show that when it says 'shall rise up' that means to be resurrected. We will see that is a resurrection to a second physical life for a first opportunity for salvation. But, just as Rev. 20 shows, the second death will have power over them if they don't repent.
Verse 42—this is during the time of Solomon; about 900 years before this time: "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." We're talking about Gentiles in both cases here—aren't we?
Let's come to Romans, the second chapter, and let's see something else that Paul wrote concerning the Gentiles and how those who kept things concerning the law. Yet, were never given the law. Let's see what he says that God is going to do, which will tie in with the judgment that is talked about here:
Romans 2:13: "Because the hearers of the law are not just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." This tells us that before you're going to be forgiven and justified, you have to be a doer of the law to show a change of heart, which is a demonstration of your repentance.
Verse 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; 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 14-16).
He's talking about those who did not commit the unpardonable sin among the Gentiles. They never received the law, never had the Word of God.
- What about all of them?
- What about all those nations who lived and died and ever heard of Christ?
- Never heard of the Word of God?
- ü before the birth of Jesus?
- ü after the birth of Jesus?
- What about them?
- What about Israel?
- before the birth of Jesus?
- after the birth of Jesus?
- What about those who never committed the unpardonable sin?
We read in Rev. 20 of the 'rest of the dead' who were not in the first resurrection, nor entered into salvation during the Millennium, were raised to The Great White Throne Judgment! Then the book of Life was opened to give them an opportunity for salvation.
It says they're going to be judged out of the things written in the books. Hey! If they were judged by the way that they lived—though it wasn't the unpardonable sin—then the 'wages of sin is death'—correct? So they can't be judged by the things that they did in their first life. The only judgment of the things in their first life was that they did not commit the unpardonable sin.
Just like Jesus said, they will be raisedwith the generation of those Jews who rejected Jesus. How many of them committed the unpardonable sin? We don't know! God alone judges the hearts.
We'll see how God is going to do this when the rest of the dead live again.
Track 2 or Download
Let's come to Ezekiel 37, and this is quite a chapter. Let's also understand this: The Jews who have the Old Testament cannot understand any timing of Ezekiel 37 without the New Testament and the book of Revelation.
Likewise, the Christian world—in the world today—or worldly Christianity cannot understand Ezek. 37, because they believe in the immortality of the soul. They say that everything in the Old Testament has been fulfilled. Really? How can that be? If you don't believe in the resurrection—
- the first resurrection for the those who are called and saved now
- a second resurrection for those who have not been called, but have not committed the unpardonable sin
- the second resurrection for everyone who has committed the unpardonable sin so they die the second death
—it's a conundrum for people to try and understand what God is doing when they reject half of the Word of God—either the Old Testament or the New Testament.
That's why Paul wrote, all Scripture—meaning each and every word—is God breathed! Therefore, since it was inspired in that way—being God breathed—it all has meaning and it is all important. This is why we must 'rightly divide' the Word of God and rightly put it together.
Here is the key chapter, which unlocks the mystery of how is God going to have all come to repentance—all who would—and remember, that's a choice. They have to be given this choice while they are living, and they didn't have a choice with it in their first life, so how are they going to repent? How is God going to have all be saved if He never gave them an opportunity, never revealed to them His Holy Spirit or His Word for salvation?
- those who never heard the name of Jesus Christ
- those who died untimely deaths
- even the children of Israel that God never gave the heart to so that they could obey Him
All these questions are answered in Ezek. 37, Mat. 12 and Rev. 20.
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 see a lot of bones—human bones—what does that tell you? These are people who have died! If they died that means they have lived once—correct? Yes!
Verse 2: "And He [God] made me walk among them all around. And behold, very many were in the open valley. And lo, they were very dry. And He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?'.. [How is that possible, Lord?'] .And I answered, 'O Lord GOD, You know.' 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'"'" (vs 2-5).
We're going to see this is talking about a second physical life. Verse 6: "'"'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.'"'" The children of Israel who didn't obey God, and served other gods—yet, not committing the unpardonable sin—never knew the Lord. Here they're going to have an opportunity to know Him. This is astounding when you understand it. I've often wondered: When Ezekiel saw this in vision, I wonder what he thought! Amazing!
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. 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."' 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" (vs 7-9). I imagine that Ezekiel was astonished! I imagine that he just couldn't comprehend it! Looking out in this great valley and millions and millions and millions of live people. He was wondering, who are they? So God said,
Verse 11: "And He said to me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.. Who are they? The whole house of Israel! When He says 'whole house' that means all 12 tribes! All of those who were never offered salvation under the Old Covenant. All of those who have lived and died in varying degrees of righteousness and sin, but not having committed the unpardonable sin, and they lived.
Verse 11: "And He said to me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, "Our bones are dried and our hope is lost; we ourselves are completely cut off." Therefore prophesy and say to them, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves. [Notice how many times He says graves. Being in the grave, they're dead and now they're coming to life.] .and will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD when I have opened your graves, O My people, and have brought you up out of your graves'"'" (vs 11-13).
- Why would He do this?
- What is the purpose of it?
Remember what Paul said: So all Israel shall be saved!
Remember what Jesus said: The men of Nineveh shall rise up with this generation and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah!
And the queen of the south shall rise up with this generation.
Verse 14: "And I shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live." He didn't say 'I put the spirit of man back in you.' When they have the breath come into them, that's when the spirit of man went into them, to give them life and consciousness again. Now He's going to put His Spirit in them. When you receive the Holy Spirit, what is that? Conversion!
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 the Lord.
Remember what it says there in 1-John 2, 'Everyone who says, I know the Lord and keeps not His commandments is a liar and the Truth is not in him.' But hereby 'we know that we are in Him if we keep His commandments.' Right? Here they're going to have an opportunity for that. Before, they didn't know. Before, they were not called. Here now, they have a second life. Some people get all angry about that and say, 'Oh, why should they get a second chance?' Because they never had a first chance! They're not given a second chance. They're given a second life in the flesh for a firstopportunity for salvation.
- That's what God is going to do!
- That's how all Israel is going to be saved.
- That's how all the Gentile nations are going to be saved.
God is greater than the thoughts of men. God has greater things than what theologians suppose. God is going to do this—He said He would! And they will know the Lord! That's quite a thing—isn't it?
Let's come back to Revelation 20, and let's read again concerning the Great White Throne Judgment. Let's understand what is going to happen. We also know—through the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, which I've given in a sermon just before the Feast of Tabernacles, so I'm not going to go through all of this concerning the second part of the second resurrection and those who have committed the unpardonable sin.
Revelation 20:11: "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."
How many billions will this be? After the earth has had a thousand years of the blessing of God, and everyone—the whole earth—is going to be capable of handling billions and billions and billions of people. I think that in the last generation there's going to be a whole building campaign to have houses ready for them, to have clothes ready for them, to have food ready for them. This is going to be a big project! Raising all the dead who have ever lived, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, and give them an opportunity for salvation. Fantastic! No wonder it says there was no place found for them.
Verse 12: "And I saw the dead. [as we saw, the rest of dead (v 5)] .small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened." Meaning they can understand the Bible; they can now understand the Word of God. God had closed their minds; didn't give the Gentiles the law; and yet, they lived and died and God wants them saved. Here's how He's going to do it:
".and another book was opened, which is thebook of Life.. [Showing they didn't have their name written in the book of Life.] .And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works" (v 12).
They're going to have an opportunity to have good works, Godly works, understanding what they are doing, opportunity for salvation—all of those things will be there. Then they will have the works motivated by the Spirit of God, because the Spirit of God will be in them. They will repent! They will abhor their past lives and the sins that they have done. They will be converted. And just like those in the Millennium are going to live a hundred years, so will they here live a hundred years, also. Give them plenty of time to show what they're really going to do.
At the end of that time, if they don't repent, and if they don't turn from their sins, then their opportunity for salvation has been given to them and they haven't acted upon it, which then will be an unpardonable sin.
Verse 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."
Now the second part of the second resurrection takes place, and that second part has to do with the unpardonable sin for all of those who are going to die the second death.
Verse 14: "And death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." In order to die twice, you have to live twice. Here they lived a life and they did not accept the salvation of God; they committed the unpardonable sin and they were cast into the Lake of Fire. Burned up! No longer existing!
This ends all human life. All of those who have accepted salvation are in the Kingdom of God as spirit beings. With every ending, there's a new beginning. Here we find a new beginning, Revelation 21. What is God going to do now? He's going to create this earth into a new earth, and the heaven into a new heaven—for His spirit sons; for His spirit daughters; for His children; God's Family now grown great through the first resurrection, the Millennium, and the second resurrection. Satan is put away, no longer to bother anyone. All of the wicked have been burned up and are ashes under the feet of the righteous.
John was given this vision, 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." Just like Peter said, it was burned up, the whole earth, to change it, to have it ready, livable for all the spirit sons and daughters of God in the family and nations of those who have been saved. 'No more sea' means no more human life. The sea is only necessary for those who are physical and they need the temperature modulated by the sea.
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." That's how New Jerusalem looked. New Jerusalem was not the bride. The bride of Christ and the marriage of the Lamb took place before the Millennium began. In fact, right after the resurrection, the first resurrection on Pentecost, on the Sea of Glass. This is only describing how New Jerusalem looked. ".prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
Verse 3: "And I heard a great voice from heaven say, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. [men 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.'" That's why Jesus said, 'I'm the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.' God is going to accomplish what He set out to do, beginning with Adam and Eve, to dwell with His people, to be their God.
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." What a glorious thing that is going to be, brethren! Fantastic! Notice what God says, because now the whole heavens and the earth are prepared for all of His spirit sons and daughters.
Verse 5: "And He Who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.'.. [Everything new, everything for His spiritual family and the nations that are saved.] .Then He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.' And He said to me, 'It is done..'" (vs 5-6). God's plan is finished, now a new beginning, now a new start for all of eternity—reaching out into the furthest reaches of the universe. What God has, and the plan that He has, is going to be magnificent and wonderful and fantastic and beautiful.
Then He said, "'.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'" (v 6). Do you thirst for God's way. Remember where Jesus started out with the sermon on the Mount? He said, 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.' Here it is here. ".To the one who thirsts, I will give freely of the fountain of the water of life."
How that's going to work, we don't know. We're still looking through a glass darkly. We don't understand all things, but what we know, we know; and what we understand, we understand.
Verse 7: "'The one who overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.'" This shows that
- it's going to take work
- it's going to take effort
- it's going to take faith, hope, love
- constantly yielding to God
- growing in grace and knowledge
- growing in the Spirit of Truth
- growing in everything and every aspect of the character of God
So we can qualify to be in New Jerusalem. There are those who are going to be excluded, they won't be there.
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.'" And they will be ashes under our feet, just like Jesus said.
Then John is shown the vision of New Jerusalem, the great and fantastic city of God. Remember what Jesus said on the night of His last Passover: 'If I go I will come again and receive you to Myself. So, where I am you may be also. I go to prepare a place for you.' What is this final place? New Jerusalem! Streets paved with gold. It's going to be four square—1500 miles cubed. There's a place there for you and me and for all the brethren in the first resurrection. We will live in New Jerusalem.
The rest who are saved will be the nations that are saved, and they will live on the new earth and they will come to New Jerusalem. We'll see that in just a minute. But notice the fantastic part concerning New Jerusalem. After describing the foundations, the gates, the walls, the size of it:
Verse 22: "And I saw no temple in it." Remember what God told David when David said, 'I want to build a house for You.' God said, 'I've never asked anyone to build a house for Me. I've always dwelt in a tent and tabernacle.' Here now, God is going to dwell in New Jerusalem. We will see again, there's no temple there.
"And I saw no temple in it; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city has no need of the sun. [It's not that it won't be there, there just won't be a need of it] .or of the moon. [neither does it say that the moon won't be there; just have no need of it.] .that they should shine in it; because the glory of God enlightens it, and the light of it is the Lamb" (vs 22-23).
This is why, brethren, the first resurrection is superior! Living in Jerusalem is superior! It's not because we're better than anybody else—no, no not indeed! It's because God has called us. It's because of God's work in us. This is why we do the things that we do. This is why we strive and grow and overcome. We're going to have written upon our forehead the name of God, the name of Jerusalem and the name of the Father. We will be special to God the Father. We will serve Him, and serve Christ, and serve the nations that are saved.
Verse 24: "And the nations that are saved shall walk in its light; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it. 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" (vs 24-26). How that's going to work, we'll have to wait and see. But you can guarantee there aren't going to be any sinners there, there aren't going to be any liars there.
Verse 27: "And nothing that defiles shall ever enter into it, nor shall anyone who practices an abomination or devises a lie; but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of Life." Brethren, that is us! Not only us, but all those that God will call and become converted and be faithful to the end, and attain to the Kingdom of God. Fantastic—isn't it?
Revelation 22—part of it we don't fully understand, because we're still looking through a glass darkly. We can understand some of it, but not every bit of it. 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." What an awesome thing that's going to be! What is that going to be like? Well, the only thing I can say is, let's make sure we're there so we can find out!
Verse 2: "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 of the nations." Exactly how that works, we don't know. Healing can also be for the maintenance. Exactly how that works, we don't know.
We must get there so we will know! If we don't get there, it doesn't matter if we know! Isn't that true? Yes!
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). Think of what it's going to be like face-to-face. Think what it's going to be like to come up to God the Father knowing that He is the ultimate of love, with Jesus Christ at His right hand. We look at Jesus Christ and thank Him and worship Him and we look at God the Father face-to-face and eye-to-eye. What a tremendous thing that is going to be—we shall see Him face-to-face!
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." God's plan reaches out into the whole universe. What the 'ages of eternity' are going to be like; we'll just have wait and see. God is so fantastic and marvelous and wonderful. His plan is so great that it's going to be awesome indeed! I think so astounding that it's impossible to write it here, because we are not capable of comprehending that, other than the fact that we will reign into the 'ages of eternity.'
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. Behold, I am coming quickly [says Jesus]. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book'" (vs 6-7). You will find incorporated in it all the things concerning God: His love, His commandments, everything that there is. And we are to keep these words. It's not only just in the book of Revelation, but the book of Revelation also reaches back to all the rest of the Bible and brings it together—does it not? Yes, indeed!
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! 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.'" (vs 8-9). That's what we're going to do, brethren!
Verse 10: "And He said to me, 'Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book because the time is near. 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. And behold, I am coming quickly; and My reward is with Me, to render to each one according as his work shall be'" (vs 10-12).
Brethren, let's make sure that we draw close to God and always have those spiritual works, always have the works of
- love
- faith
- hope
- belief
- longsuffering
- self-control
—all of the things that bespeak the way of God.
Verse 13: "'I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.. [Here's a blessing]: .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'" (vs 13-14).
Then He gives another warning; there are several warnings here before we finish; v 15: "'But excluded. [not counted worthy; will never be there] .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.. [So the whole thing is a message to the churches.] .I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star.' And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.'" (vs 15-17). This is what we're going to do all during the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment.
".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. For I [John] jointly testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, thatif 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" (vs 17-19).
Since it is this book that finishes off the Bible, the book of Revelation—the seventh division of the Bible—is the completion of God's plan. Then He gives us one other thing, some encouragement for us to understand.
Verse 20: "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 20-21).
Brethren, that is the meaning of the Last Great Day. This is our destiny, this our hope, this is why we do what we do and live the way we live, and believe the Lord Jesus Christ, believe God the Father. So that we can
Walk in faith!
Believe in hope!
Live in love!
And be in the Kingdom of God and New Jerusalem for all eternity!
Scriptural References:
- Leviticus 23:39, 36
- John 7:37-39
- 1 Corinthians 2:9-11
- 2 Peter 3:9
- 2 Timothy 2:3-4
- Matthew 13:13-15
- Romans 11:17-27, 32-36
- Revelation 20:5-6, 5, 11-12
- Matthew 12:31-32, 40-42
- Romans 2:13-16
- Ezekiel 37:1-14
- Revelation 20:11-14
- Revelation 21:1-8, 22-27
- Revelation 22:1-21
Scriptures referenced, not quoted
- Daniel 2
- James 2
- Revelation 20:4
- 1 John 2
- Revelation 20:5
Also referenced: Book:
God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days by Fred R. Coulter
