Last Great Day – 2004

Fred Coulter - October 7, 2004

- Video |  - PDF | Audio | [Up]

And greetings, brethren. Welcome to the Last Great Day. The eighth day of the feast. We’ve had seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles. And you know, it’s very interesting how God starts out the feasts season. He starts out with the Passover, which is one day, plus seven days, equals eight. So we have one plus seven equals eight. And then we count seven weeks to Pentecost. And then on that eighth day we have Pentecost, don’t we? We have the first resurrection. And then we come down to Trumpets and Atonement and then the Feast of Tabernacles. And now the Last Great Day. So He ends it with seven plus one equals eight. He starts it out with one plus seven equals eight. And those juxtaposition, or are like bookends for the plan of God.

Now let’s go to Leviticus 23, because this is where it tells us about the eighth day and that it’s a holy convocation. Verse 34: “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles [we’ve already done that] for seven days…” First day is a holy convocation. They were to make their offerings, which we covered on the first day in Numbers 29.

Now verse 36 in the middle of the verse: “…on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation…” So this is an appointed feast of God. And it is probably the most insignificant feast that is in the Bible. It’s mentioned once in the book of John, which we will see a little bit later. You hear of the Jews keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, but hardly do you hear them keeping the Last Great Day. And of course the Protestants and Catholics know nothing of it.

But here’s what He says: “…on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.” Now verse 37 reads: “These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations…” And these are the feasts. Notice how He ends it.

Let’s come back here to verse 4. So this again ties it in. Verse 4, and verse 37. “These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.” Now we do take up an offering on the holy days. We know that we are not to come before God empty. And knowing and understanding the plan of God, you think about how much God has blessed you and the knowledge that He has in your consideration of the offering. So at this time we’ll take a pause and take up the offering.

(Pause)

Now let’s begin by going to the Gospel of John 7. And here it talks about the feast of the Last Great Day. And here again is showing that Jesus kept the feast, but He also prophesied of it’s meaning and gave a fulfillment of it, as we find here in John 7. We know that in verse 2 it says that it was the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. And of course Jesus went up and kept the Feast of Tabernacles. Now let’s come down here to verse 37. And this was a special ceremony called the Ceremony of Water, which took place as the sun was going down to end the seventh day, and the beginning of the Last Great Day.

Now let’s pick it up here John 7:37: “ ‘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 [prophecy of universal salvation]. The one who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water’ ” (John 7:37-38, FV). Again, a type of spiritual life, spiritual truth, spiritual cleansing. And all of these things are all a part of what we have here in what Jesus is explaining. And there has to come a time when God undoes all evil. And this is the day that pictures when God does that – when He gets rid of all evil in the whole human family.

Now verse 39: “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.” So it had it’s fulfillment beginning when they received the Holy Spirit when the church began. And it’s going to have it’s fulfillment in the end. But what is the meaning of the Last Great Day? And why do we call it the Last Great Day? Well first of all we’re going to see that just like God has always done, that which is considered least among men produces the most for God.

Now let’s come to Isaiah 14 and let’s see what God has declared. And the first thing we need to understand and always remember is that God has a purpose and He is going to carry it out. He is God and He looks down on the nations and as far as compared to Him what are they but a drop in the bucket. They aren’t even weighty enough to be counted as dust in a scale of balances, is it? No.

Now here Isaiah 14:24. Let’s read this: “The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand…” Whatever God’s purpose is, it’s going to stand. That’s why God has given His word, has given His Spirit, and also has given choice – whether we believe in God, whether we love God, whether will keep His commandments, whether we will do the things that are pleasing in His sight. And as I mentioned yesterday: the way that you understand God’s plan is by keeping His commandments. That’s what it says in Psalm 111: “A good understanding have all they who do His commandments…” (Psa. 111:10).

Now verse 26: “This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth…” Yes, it talks about breaking the Syrian, which is a type of the beast as fulfilled in Revelation 19, as we saw yesterday. So He has a purpose that is proposed upon the whole earth. “…And this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.” God’s hand. He’s going to do it. You know, and I just imagine that the throne of God is a whole lot closer to the earth than we think. But you see, being spiritual we don’t see it. “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (verses 26-27). So God is going to do His purpose. He is going to accomplish His purpose. No man, no angel, not even any of the demons are going to turn back the hand of God. It is just not going to happen.

Now let’s come to the New Testament to the book of Ephesians here and let’s understand something that is very profound. And God has called us to reveal His secret to us. And the understanding of this Last Great Day is the greatest fulfillment of the plan of God and it is a secret that God reveals to us. It’s a mystery to the world because they cannot understand it because they will not obey Him.

Now let’s come here and begin in Ephesians 1:3. Now see, the whole first chapter of Ephesians is in English the worst sentence in the world. But in the Greek it is one long sentence. Two at the most. So let’s get the thoughts together here.

Verse 3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things with Christ…” And those spiritual blessings are going to be fulfilled when we enter into the kingdom of God and are the spirit glorified sons and daughters of God. But He has given us the earnest, the down payment of it now.

Verse 4. I want you to mark verse 4 because this is the correct translation here. “According as He has personally chosen us…” Now that’s what it means in the Greek with the special middle voice verb as I have covered before. And I want you to understand: think about you. And if you’re sitting there and you’re thinking, “Well, little old me – what do I have to offer God?” You have love, obedience, and God’s calling and God’s education for you. But God personally has: “…chosen us for Himself before the foundation of the world…” And that means in His plans He said, “Ok, I’m going to call the firstfruits. They will be in the first resurrection.” This is not fatalism, by the way, where most of the churches in the world believe in fatalism. And that is, if you’re called you’re going to make it and go to heaven. If you’re not called you are going to go to hell and be tormented for ever and ever. And this day shows that that lie cannot possibly be true. So the predestination of this whole thing is that He had the plan before the foundation of the world.

“…In order that we might be holy and blameless before Him in love; having predestinated us for sonship…” That is, all of those who are in the first resurrection have been predestinated for a special sonship, by a special personal calling of God the Father and Jesus Christ. “…For sonship to Himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us objects of His grace in the Beloved Son; in Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the remission of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He has made to abound toward us in all wisdom and intelligence; having made known to us the mystery of His own will…” (verses 4-9, FV). When you understand the plan of the holy days of God you are being invited by God Himself to understand His will. And the mystery is that if you don’t keep the holy days, and if you don’t keep them the way that God has said and Jesus Christ has shown, you’ll never understand it. See, because the Jews have rejected Christ, they don’t understand anything. And they believe just as much as the immortality of the soul as any of the religions in the world. Because even though they have the form of the law, they don’t keep it; even though they have all of the prophecies, they don’t keep it; even though they have all of the prophecies of Jesus Christ, they don’t recognize Him. And so you see, God has called you, God has called me, God has called all the brethren. And down through time, as much as they are able to learn and know and understand. And here we are at the end of the age and what can we do? God has given us His will, His truth, His Word, time to study, to know, to grow, to change, to overcome, and all of these things. And to realize that the very purpose and plan that God thought of at the beginning before the foundation of the world, He has made known to us. Now that ought to be very humbling indeed.

God has made known to us, see. “…Having made known to us the mystery of His own will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself; that in the divine plan for the fulfilling of the times…” And that’s what this is. The Last Great Day is the fulfilling of the last of the times of salvation. “…He might bring all things together in Christ, both the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth…” (verses 9-10, FV). Yes, God has a plan. God has the purpose. He has called it. We are part of it. It is fantastic and tremendous for us to realize and understand.

However, now let’s look at the world. Let’s understand something very profound. God has chosen the few. Many are called but few are chosen because few repent. Now let’s understand something else here. That God has done something that He alone is responsible for. Number one: He’s given all human beings the law of sin and death within them (a miniature part of the nature of Satan the devil). He’s allowed them to go their own ways. He has let them be ruled by Satan the devil. And God is responsible for that. As a result – as a result how many people have been killed and died in wars and all of the things that have gone on down through time because men just reject God and cannot stand Him? But God is responsible.

Now we’re going to see, yes, there is the unpardonable sin as we have covered in the book of Hebrews in going through that series. Which by the way I hope to finish after the feast. But never the less, here’s what God has done. Let’s come to Isaiah 29:13. People love to have their religions. Oh they love to take the name of God in a religious sense; condemn all of those who swear and curse; but those who take the name of God in vain in a religious sense are worse than the people who swear and curse and are just totally blinded. And those who are the religious ones don’t realize that they are blinded because they don’t want to do everything that God has said. An amazing thing, isn’t it? Now you stop and think about that –what a fantastic miracle that it is that you understand, that God has opened your mind; that God has called you.

Now notice, Isaiah 29:13: “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth [Oh yes, got to have religion], and with their lips do honour Me [God bless America], but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men [not by the Word of God]: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field…” (Isa. 29:13-17), and so forth. And He’s showing the solution to the problem.

Let’s look at some things here which are important for us to realize and carry through on this. Let’s come to Matthew 13 now, and let’s see where this is fulfilled. And this will help us to answer a couple of very difficult Scriptures in the New Testament to understand. And here we have Christ’s explanation of this even a little bit more. Matthew 13:13: “ ‘For this reason [He said to them explaining why He spoke in parables]I speak to them in parables, because seeing, they see not; and hearing, they hear not; neither do they understand.’ ” Now isn’t it amazing that people can have a Bible and not understand it? They can read the words and not comprehend them. They can hear the things said but it’s meaningless to them.

Now notice verse 14: “ ‘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 [and that is true concerning the meaning of the Last Great Day]; for the heart of this people has grown fat, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed…” They have chosen to do this. So God has selected their delusion, but also to serve His purpose and have mercy on them at a later time. “…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.” ’ ” Well now doesn’t this go against mainstream Protestantism, which says, “We have to save everybody. And if you’re not saved in our church you’re going to go to hell and burn in everlasting fire for ever and ever.” How’s God going to do that? Who is responsible for all of this? God is.

Verse 16, He says to the apostles, which means to us: “ ‘But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous men have desired to see what you see, and have not seen…’ ” Even Daniel didn’t understand. Moses didn’t understand. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel – none of them understood. And even the apostles themselves did not fully understand. We have been blessed at the end of the age to understand this far more fully than they did. “ ‘…and to hear what you hear, and have not heard’ ” (Matt. 13:13-17, FV).

Now let’s look at a couple more Scriptures so we can understand what God has said. Let’s come to I Timothy 2. Now here is an enigma. And this is a hard one to answer. And really the answer is found in the meaning of the Last Great Day. This is important. Let’s come to I Timothy 2:3, and here is God’s desire. But remember God’s desire is always modified by the choice of the individual. Let’s read it: “For this is good and acceptable before God our Savior [that is to pray for quietness and so forth], Who desires all men to be saved [now that’s what He desires] and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2:3-4, FV). Now question: If He blinds them, how can they come to the knowledge of the truth? Now what if they lived a full life and died without having the knowledge of the truth, how can they be saved? Because they must be called. And if God has blinded them then obviously God is not going to call them, right? So how’s God going to solve this problem?

Let’s come here to II Peter 3. Let’s see what is said here in II Peter where Peter was writing about the very same thing. And he says in verse 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.” So He wants them all to come to repentance. And He wants them all to be saved. Now how is He going to do this? If He cuts them off so they don’t understand it, how’s that going to happen? Now we also have this: that He has used Satan the devil to blind their minds, hasn’t He (II Corinthians 4:4), that they cannot understand? Yet it says He wants them all to be saved. So how’s God going to do this?

Well, let’s come over here to Romans 9. Let’s take a little look into that. Let’s see what the apostle Paul wrote. Now we’re going to see in these Scriptures that we’re going to cover here in Romans 9 (and also Romans 11 in just a minute), that the understanding that we have today Paul didn’t quite have it. He knew that it was going to happen. But you see, God had not given the revelation to the apostle John yet, so those Scriptures were not available for him to understand it.

Now let’s come to Romans 9:14: “What then shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with God?” That is, because He loved Jacob and hated Esau. Or we could say, because He called some and didn’t call others, is God unrighteous? No, because God has to lead a person to repentance. He wants them all to come to repentance. He wants them to all be saved. But He has closed their minds. He has blinded their eyes, and shut their ears, and put them in this predicament. Is God unrighteous in it? Or is not God righteous in doing so? Because you see, the Last Great Day is the rest of the story.

Let’s go on. “What then shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with God? MAY IT NEVER BE! For He said to Moses, ‘I will show mercy to whomever I show mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion.’ So then, it is not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs; rather, it is of God, Who shows mercy” (Rom. 9:14-16, FV). So if God has called us and shown us mercy, then we ought to be thankful and happy and grateful that God has done it.

And then he goes on to show that yes, He raised up Pharaoh for the very purpose, you see. Verse 17, quite a verse here: “For the Scripture said to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I raised you up in order that I might show in you My power, so that My name may be declared in all the earth.’ ” And it is. In the Bible, His name and what He did to Egypt is there for anyone to read from that time forward to glorify the name of God. “So then, He shows mercy to whom He will, and He hardens whom He will. Will you then reply to me, ‘Why does He yet find fault?’ ” In other words, why does He still punish people for sin if He blinds their eyes? Because sin has penalties, that’s why. So He’s not going to take that away. Otherwise how are you ever, ever, ever going to know what’s right and wrong? “ ‘For who has opposed His purpose?’ Yes, indeed, O man, who are you to answer against God? Shall the thing that is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me this way?’ ” (verses 17-20, FV).

Then he goes on to explain here a little bit about a potter and all the things that are done there. He says: “Or doesn’t the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump of clay one vessel unto honor, and another vessel unto dishonor? And who dares to question His purpose if God, willing to show His wrath and to make known His power, chose in much long-suffering to put up with the vessels of wrath which were created for destruction…” Now if God created them for that, how is He going to save them? How is He going to solve the problem? That’s the answer of this day. “In order that He might make known the riches of His glory unto the vessels of mercy, which He prepared before for glory…” (verses 21-23, FV).

Now let’s come here to Romans 11. Now he’s talking to the Gentiles and he’s saying the Gentiles were seeking God, but not the way that they should have. So they were broken off. Even God cut off His own people that He says He loves. Now he’s talking to the Gentiles and he says, verse 18: “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.” Isn’t that interesting? It shows that it comes all from the Word of God.

Verse 19: “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…” (verses 19-20, FV). A good lesson for us. Because God has given us the understanding of His plan and has called us, let’s not be high-minded and hooty-snooty and self-righteous and look down on the world.

Verse 21: “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He not spare you either. Therefore, behold the graciousness and the severity of God: upon those who fell, severity; 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. 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?” (verses 21-24, FV).

 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…” God is going to resolve the problem. Verse 26: “And so all Israel shall be saved…” He doesn’t know when. But at this time, verse 32: “For God has given them all over to unbelief in order that He might show mercy to all.” When? Verse 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?” See, so here we have it. “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” (verses 25-26, 32-36, FV).

So now let’s look and see how God is going to begin to solve the problem. Let’s come here to Revelation 20. And again, it deals with the millennium. And again, it tells us something that is very important. And it tells us something which shows the mind of God. And it tells us something about the plan of God. So let’s come here, Revelation 20:5. Now verse 4 talks about the resurrection of the saints. They will live and reign with Christ a thousand years.

Verse 5: “(But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed.)” So at the end of the millennium there’s going to be a resurrection. Because it says “the rest of the dead shall not live again until the thousand years were completed.” Quite an amazing and a profound thing, isn’t it? Yes, it is.

Let’s look at some other Scriptures which help us understand this a little bit here. Who are the rest of the dead? Well we know (I Corinthians 15) as we learned on the Day of Pentecost tells us that Christ is the firstfruit, and then all of those who are Christ’s at His coming – that’s the first resurrection. Well what about all the other people? What about all of those that God blinded? What about those people who were sincere but never knew, never understood, never had the Spirit of God? Are they lost? Are they cut off? Are they destined to have no opportunity for salvation at all? And if the rest of the dead, all of those who were not in the first resurrection, why are they to be resurrected? What is the purpose in doing so? Well, we get a clue.

Let’s come back here to John 11 for just a minute, and let’s ask the question. We may not read some verses there for the sake of time, but you know that talks about the resurrection of Lazarus. Now why was Lazarus resurrected? Remember, he died and was in the grave for four days. But why did Jesus resurrect him? Even in coming to the tomb Jesus said, “If you believe that I am the resurrection.” And his sister said, “Yes, I believe that he’ll be raised up at the last day” (John 11:23-27, paraphrased). But she wasn’t thinking that he would be raised right then. But, Jesus loved Lazarus, didn’t He? Jesus had called Lazarus, didn’t He? But he died before a very important thing could take place in his life. He had not received the Holy Spirit. And if he had not been raised from the dead he would not have been in the first resurrection, because you have to receive the Holy Spirit of God and to grow in grace and knowledge and to be resurrected when Christ returns. So therefore he was brought back to life. Same way with the saints who were resurrected, came back to a second physical life in the flesh as we find there in Matthew 27, so that they could receive the Holy Spirit and be saved.

Now this tells us how God operates. Let’s come to Romans 2 because this tells us something very important. Because let’s talk about the so-called “good sincere people” out there in the world, because there are many of them out there. Many of them. God hasn’t called them. They’re blinded. Have they sinned a sin unto death? Have they committed the unpardonable sin? No. As a matter of fact, a lot of them are trying to live fairly decent lives, aren’t they? Yes.

Now God talks about this. Romans 2:14: “For when the Gentiles, which do not have the law [and we could say today - do not understand the law], practice by nature the things contained in the law…” They don’t believe in stealing, they don’t believe in committing adultery, they don’t believe in lying and all of those things. They try and live good decent lives. They try and be honest. But their minds are not open to the Sabbath, not open to the holy days, not open to the Scriptures. But maybe they’re even trying in some way to be (as some of the Sunday professing Christians are) trying to lead a decent life. But God hasn’t opened their minds to understanding. And the reason that God does this is so that everyone is going to know that no one is going to receive salvation because of the works that he or she is doing. God has to give it. But in cutting people off from having the understanding of the Word of God, then we have a vast area of decent people out there down through all time who have not committed the unpardonable sin. And it talks about here in verse 14, that we’ve been reading.

“…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;)…” Now notice verse 16: “In a day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel” (Rom. 2:14-16, FV). Now we know this: our names are written in the Book of Life. But what about all of those people out there who have died in wars, and famine, and pestilence, and starvation. What about all of those who died in accidents and floods? What about all of those who were under the influence of Satan the devil before the flood of Noah? What about all of those that have been deceived, that don’t know, that never heard the name of Jesus Christ? And long before there were any Protestant missionaries, hundreds of millions of people down through history have died having not known the way of God. And even a lot of the children of Israel and Judah have not known God because He’s blinded them. Yes, they’ve had the Scriptures. Yes, they’ve had the Word of God, but they don’t know God.

Here, let’s go to John 5 now and let’s see what Jesus said so that we understand all of those who are to be resurrected… Now we’ll cover this in just a minute. We’re not going to delve deeply into the unpardonable sin. But here in John 5:25 where Jesus tells us this: “ ‘Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live.’ ” They’ll be raised. That’s what happened to Lazarus. That’s what happened to the others that He raised. “ ‘For even as the Father has life in Himself, so also has He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and has also given Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of man. Do not wonder at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves [that means all who have died] shall hear His voice and shall come forth: those who have practiced good unto a resurrection of life, and those who have practiced evil unto a resurrection of judgment’ ” (John 5:25-29, FV).

And there are two kinds of judgments, as we will see. The judgment of the unpardonable sin, and the judgment of the person who has not committed the unpardonable sin. So we can extrapolate from what we know from the Scriptures. One: there is a Book of Life, and our names are written in it right now. Could we also say that in order for all of those who have not committed the unpardonable sin, that their names are also written in a separate book of life to be raised in a resurrection. Have to be, otherwise how can they be resurrected. And we can also extrapolate that there has to be a book of the dead for those who have committed the unpardonable sin to die the second death. Now as we continue we’ll go ahead and take a look at those scriptures which show this.

Part 2

…and see where it talks about “the rest of the dead who live not again till the thousand years were finished” (Rev. 20:5). Now remember, they cannot come out of the graves. They cannot be resurrected from the dead unless Jesus resurrects them. Now these are all the people who never had an opportunity for salvation. And I know there are a lot of hard shelled Baptists out there in the world who don’t want to give people a second opportunity. Well, what if they never had a first opportunity? What if they need a second life in the flesh (as we will see, this is in the flesh) for a first opportunity for salvation? If God is going to do as He wants to have them come to repentance and be saved, He’s got to do it someway, somehow, doesn’t He? This is how He’s going to do it.

Now, Revelation 20:11: “Then I saw a great white throne [that’s why this is called the Great White Throne Judgment Day] 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.” Billions, and billions, and billions, and billions of people. “And I saw the dead [Which dead? The rest of the dead who lived not again until the thousand years were finished.], small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life” (Rev. 20:11-12, FV). Now they’re going to have an opportunity for eternal life. Amazing, isn’t it? “And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works.” Now their first life surely couldn’t qualify them for salvation. And you can’t say because they are good sincere people, therefore they earned salvation a little differently than the rest. because Jesus said that He is the door, and if they come in any other way they are thieves and robbers. So it’s not going to be another way. It’s going to be according to God’s way, see. So here is how God is going to do it.

Now let’s see in the book of Ezekiel where it does talk about this. And then we’ll come back to the New Testament again. Let’s come to Ezekiel 37, and let’s see where there is a resurrection to a second physical life of those who were never called to receive salvation in their first physical life.

This is quite a long one here so we need to read all of this section in Ezekiel 37 because this is the meaning of this day – when the rest of the dead live again. And we’re going to see that it is a second life in the flesh. And as we will see, for a first opportunity for salvation, which they never had before, because number one: God didn’t call them. Number two: God blinded their eyes. Number three: they lived before Christ came. They were in other nations other then Israel. And of course this helps answer the question too. Look at all of the things that Israel went through. And this proves a point, which is this: There was not universal salvation granted to those under the Old Covenant. They were required to obey in the letter of the law. But there was no salvation granted to them. Only to the prophets and certain of the kings, and that was it.

Now Ezekiel 37:1: “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.” It was like looking out in a valley and all you see are bones. All human bones. “And He [that is the Lord] said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest” (Ezek. 37:1-3). He couldn’t tell Him whether they could live or not.

“Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live…” Now what kind of life? The answer’s right here. Verse 6: “And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you…” Let’s stop here for a minute before we go on and analyze this any further. First of all, if you see all these dry bones out there, what does it tell us? It tells us these were people who were alive once, correct? Otherwise how are you going to get the bones? It also tells us that it’s people who have died. So now here we have the details on how the rest of the dead are going to live after the millennium is finished. He says: “And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD” (verses 4-6). So here’s a group of people that didn’t know the Lord. Now then, if their eyes are blinded and if their ears are stopped, there is no way they could know the Lord, right? They lived and died without knowing God. Now then He’s going to give them a second physical life to what? To know God.

“So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them” (verses 7-8). So here they were. They look like human beings again, recreated in the flesh according to the genetics that God gave them when they were first conceived. Amazing, isn’t it? No breath in them.

“Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” Well the next question is: Who are they? Well it’s answered the next verse. “Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel…” (verses 9-11). And this tells the rest of the story that Paul was writing about there in Romans 11, that they were cut off – the whole house of Israel, all twelve tribes.

“Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.” They lived lives that were “the wages of sin is death and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” even though they may have tried to do the best that they could. “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD…” Now listen carefully to these next verses: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves…” Now it says graves four times, right? Yes. They were dead. They were in their graves. This is picturing the resurrection from the dead to a second life in the flesh. It has to be. But notice verse 14: “And shall put My spirit in you…” An opportunity for salvation. There you go. “…And ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD” (verses 11-14).

Now we come to the book of Matthew. We find something very interesting. Because this happens to Israel. Well, what happens to all the rest of the nations then? There’s a principle in the New Testament, as we are turning to Matthew 12 to understand this, which is this: to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. Or, to the Israelites first and then the Gentiles. What happens to Israel also happens to the Gentiles. Very important principle to remember.

Now here we have in Matthew 12:32. Here’s something to understand. This gives us a little definition of the unpardonable sin. Since we have covered that in the book of Hebrews, I’m not necessarily going to cover it here. But the unpardonable sin is the total rejection of God, total rejection of being led to repentance, a total rejection of the Spirit of God, total rejection of God’s way completely. Now that is the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit of God.

Now 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.’ ” Now we’re talking about the coming age – the Last Great Day. “ ‘Either make the tree good and the fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for a tree is known by its fruit. Offspring of vipers, how are you able to speak good things, being evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out good things; and the wicked man out of the wicked treasure brings out wicked things. But I say to you, for every idle word that men may speak, they shall be held accountable in the day of judgment.’ ” God is going to judge us by our words. That’s talking about the unpardonable sin here. “ ‘For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned’ ” (Matt. 13:32-37, FV). And then the Pharisees, they wanted to have a sign. And He said it would be the sign of Jonah three days and three nights and so forth.

Let’s come to verse 41: “ ‘The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment…’ ” Now isn’t that what we read in John 5? Some to a resurrection of life and some to a resurrection of judgment. The Last Great Day is called the Great White Throne Judgment, to be given an opportunity for salvation for those who have never had an opportunity, and they are given a second life in the flesh.

Now notice: “ ‘The men of Nineveh shall stand up [that means be resurrected] in the judgment with this generation [which shows that this is going to take place at the same time that Ezekiel 37 is fulfilled when all Israel is resurrected] 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 [now removed by well over a thousand years from the men of Nineveh] shall rise up in the judgment [that is be resurrected] with this generation [that’s at the same time] 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’ ” (verses 41-42, FV). So here we have right from the Scriptures a resurrection to life of Israel (all twelve tribes) and Gentile nations at the same time. Be resurrected and given an opportunity for salvation. Be brought back to life in the flesh, just like Lazarus and the saints were brought back to physical life so they could have an opportunity for salvation.

Now let’s see what kind of world that they are going to come back to. So what is the sum of this, brethren? Well, the sum of it is this: all those who have lived and died and have not committed the unpardonable sin are going to be raised to have an opportunity for salvation. And I think we can just refer to what we covered yesterday. They are going to live a hundred years. Now there are going to be some people who were righteous at the end of the millennium who are going to also live on through into that time.

Let’s come here to Revelation 20 and let’s see something that’s important for us to understand. Many people have misunderstood this, which is this: remember Revelation 10, it talks about that Satan the devil is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. He is put away. When these people are resurrected and stand in the judgment, and God is going to be fair in the judgment that He is giving them. That He is giving them an opportunity for salvation. And they are going to be judged just like we are today. What does it say of the church? “For judgment is upon the house of God. And if it begin with us, where will the sinner and the ungodly be?” (I Peter 4:17, paraphrased). So likewise they are going to be judged and have an opportunity to live. And in this second life Satan is not going to be anywhere around. Now let’s just stop and ask the question: Don’t you think that living one life under Satan the devil is quite sufficient? So, Satan is not going to be around. They’re going to have the opportunity for salvation. And this is when God is going to fulfill that He wants all men to come to repentance and be saved. And as Peter said, He wants all men to be saved. And this is how He’s going to do it.

And you see then we have the situation which comes with the unpardonable sin. Now then we have what is called the second death. Since all men who reject the salvation of God must die twice regardless of when they lived. Therefore there has to be another phase of this second resurrection, which is the resurrection of the wicked. Now it says here…

Let’s just continue the story before we get to that. Revelation 20:13: “And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the grave [hell] gave up the dead that were in them; and they were judged individually, according to their works.” Now that’s a very interesting situation here. Each one is judged individually. Now then, when they qualify for life what’s going to happen? They are going to enter into life just like those during the millennium. When it came the end of the hundred years they would enter into life. All of those who do not qualify for salvation, or at this time reject the salvation of God (which they have the choice to do), then there’s going to be something else that’s going to happen. All those who qualify will enter into the kingdom of God. All of those who do not qualify will be left standing waiting their fate. Because it is judgment. Judgment unto life or judgment unto the second death. So what’s going to happen is this: all of those who committed the unpardonable sin all the way down through history are all going to be resurrected and they are going to stand waiting their judgment to the lake of fire.

Verse 14: “And death and the grave 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” (verses 14-15, FV). And if they are cast into the lake of fire they are burned up, they are ashes, there is no more torment. And as it says concerning the wicked, that the righteous are going to walk on the ashes of the wicked in Malachi 4.

Now let’s look at a very interesting parable that Jesus gave in Luke 16 concerning Lazarus and the rich man. When you read this it looks like that people are tormented in hell forever. You see, and that’s part of the problem with the translation in the King James Version, because it says, “and in hell.” That’s not correct. The Greek word hades is “the grave.”

So let’s pick it up here 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.’ ” No one to comfort him but a dog. That’s why God gave dogs – to comfort people when no one else will. “ ‘Now it came to pass that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom’ ” (Luke 16:19-22, FV). Now, when is he carried away? He dies. When is he carried by the angels? At the resurrection – Matthew 24. Into Abraham’s bosom because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are going to be in the kingdom of God. So this is the first resurrection.

“ ‘And the rich man also died and was buried. And in the grave he lifted up his eyes and was in torment…’ ” (verses 22-23, FV). Now when, because obviously this man had committed the unpardonable sin. Not just because he was rich. When is he going to lift up his eyes in the grave? See, that’s why it’s misleading where the King James says “and in hell.” And I just imagine there have been thousands and thousands of fire and brimstone preachers preaching this about being tormented in hell. Not so. “In the grave he lifted up his eyes.” When would that be? We just read it back there in Revelation 20. After the Great White Throne period of one hundred years. The second phase of the second resurrection takes place and the incorrigible wicked are raised to face their judgment of the second death. So this is what happened with the rich man. “And was in torment.” Why was he in torment? Because he could look out and see the lake of fire out there.

“ ‘…For he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 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” ’ ” (verses 23-24, FV), that is by seeing it. You’d be tormented too. How much fear would you have if you were standing on the edge of a volcano and you thought you were going in there? I mean you think about that the next time you watch Kilauea volcano in Hawaii blow up and all that lava is flowing down. “Because of this flame,” not in the flame. It’s a wrong translation.

“ ‘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 besides all these things, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed [The difference between physical life and spiritual life. That’s fixed]; so that those who desire to pass from here [facing the second death] to you are not able, nor can those from there pass to us [To go back and become a human being again. It’s not possible.].” And he said, “I beseech you then, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 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” ’ ” (verses 25-29, FV). Very important thing. Now are we talking about the difference between eternal life and eternal death? Yes, indeed. What is the difference? You must hear Moses. And as II Corinthians 3 has said, that in Christ the veil of the eyes is taken away at the reading of Moses when you have the Holy Spirit of God. So isn’t it interesting. Moses and the Prophets are necessary for salvation, are they not? Have to be.

“But he said, “No, Father Abraham, but if one from the dead would go to them, they would repent.” ’ ” No, you see, because people will not be convinced unless they choose to repent. Unless they are convicted in heart of their sins there is no way that they will repent. And besides you’re also dealing here with the unpardonable sin with the rich man. So notice verse 31: “ ‘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” ’ ” (verses 30-31, FV). So this parable of the rich man takes place when the dead, the incorrigible wicked who have committed the unpardonable sin, are raised from the dead to stand alongside the lake of fire with all of those who have committed the unpardonable sin, and they are all going to be cast alive into the lake of fire as God’s final judgment. See, God has told all the righteous down through time, “You will see the final judgment of God. You will see the vengeance of God.” And it’s necessary for a demonstration of the righteousness of God that all of the wicked die together just as all who are saved will live together.

And with this lake of fire God is going to do something. He is going to prepare the whole earth for the new heavens and the new earth. Let’s come to II Peter 3 again, and let’s see where it talks about the destruction of this earth in preparation for the new heaven and the new earth. Now the destruction of the earth is going to be that the lake of fire is going to envelop everything on the earth. And it will be a great renewing of the surface of the earth. Now as spirit beings, that will not affect us.

We’ll pick up where we left off with the verse about repentance there. II Peter 3:10: “However, the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night in which the heaven itself shall disappear…” Now Peter didn’t have all the knowledge and understanding that John did in Revelation. So his account here is a little deficient. But we put it together a line here, a line there, a little here, and a little there, precept upon precept and that gives us understanding. But notice: “…in which the heaven itself shall disappear [now that’s the heaven around the earth] with a mighty roar, and the elements shall pass away, burning with intense heat [and they will], and the earth and the works in it shall be burned up.” So when the wicked are cast into the lake of fire, like it says there in Revelation 12 “death and hell are cast into the lake of fire,” it envelops the whole earth. And when it does it destroys all the oceans. We’ll see that in just a minute.

Now verse 11: “Since all these things are going to be destroyed, what kind of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking forward to and striving for the coming of the day of God, during which the heavens, being on fire, shall be destroyed, and the elements, burning with intense heat, shall melt? But according to His promise, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (verses 11-13, FV).

Now let’s come back to Revelation 21 and let’s see the fulfillment of this that was given to John approximately thirty years after Peter wrote this, thereabouts. And here then it gives us a glimpse into the final fulfillment of the kingdom of God. 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.” Now you see at that time, as spirit beings, we will no longer need oceans. We need them today as physical human beings to keep the temperature on the earth suitable for human life. So there’s no more sea.

Here’s the new earth. Now God is going to begin to replenish the new earth. Let’s see what He does. 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 [that is, all men now made perfect being born again into the kingdom of God]; and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people; and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. 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’ ” (verses 2-4, FV). Now we enter into the glorious kingdom of God. We look forward to the new Jerusalem made by the very hands of God the Father and Jesus Christ and the angels prepared for His church.

Verse 5: “And He Who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Then He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful [It’s going to happen. It’s going to come to pass.].’ And He said to me, ‘It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.’ ” From the very beginning of the creation of Adam and Eve, clear down to the very end Christ is going to carry out and fulfill His plan as He has told us. Now then: “ ‘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’ ” (verses 5-7, FV).

Now then He gives a warning here which is very important for us to understand. “ ‘But the cowardly…’ ” Someone said, “Well the King James says “fearful.” Now aren’t we to fear God?” Well this is not the same kind of fear. This is that you don’t have enough courage to be a Christian the way you ought to be, and you give up on God. The cowardly. “ ‘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’ ” (verse 8, FV). 

Then there is this great vision that he sees of new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. Fifteen hundred miles cubed. New Jerusalem: streets paved with gold, made with all of the most fine and precious stones. And I am sure that all of these, as it lists all of the stones, the wall, the gates, the pearls, and everything like that, I’m sure that he is seeing not just the physical thing of it but he is seeing that which is composed out of spirit but looks like these things. Because you see in verse 21 it says: “…and the street of the city was pure gold, as transparent as glass.” Well see, that has to be spiritual. We’re going to be spirit beings. Everything that we have will be made out of spirit, whether it be the clothes that we have, new Jerusalem that we dwell in, or whatever our place is. Remember Christ said in John 14 that He went away to prepare a place for us. So right now Jesus Christ is active, busy, preparing that place in new Jerusalem for us, looking forward to this day.

Now verse 22. Something very profound and important. “And I saw no temple in it; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Amazing thing to be in the family of God. We’re going to see God. We are going to see Jesus Christ. We’re going to live with Them, we’re going to dwell with Them. No need of a temple. “And the city has no need of the sun, or of the moon, that they should shine in it…” It doesn’t say that they aren’t there. It just says they have no need that they shine on it. “…Because the glory of God enlightens it, and the light of it is the Lamb” (verses 22-23, FV).

“And the nations that are saved…” So here, all the nations from the millennium, all of those through the Great White Throne Judgment, all of those of the saints down through time. But here all the nations that are saved shall walk in the light of it. See, those who are in the first resurrection are going to live and dwell in new Jerusalem. All of the rest who are saved are going to live outside of Jerusalem and they are going to come to new Jerusalem. These are the nations that are saved. “…Shall walk in its light; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it.” Yes, there’s going to be ruler ship. There are going to be kings. “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” (verses 24-26, FV). So God is going to have us busy, producing, making, creating, doing. If God by Himself (with the help of the angels and the twenty-four elders and Jesus Christ) created all the heavens and the earth, I wonder what sort of thing He’s got planned for us. See, because this indicates there’s going to be a fantastic amount of things going on. We’re not going to be there humdy-dumdy strumming on harps, or as the beatific vision is: look at the face of God like you’re staring at some thing you never understand. No, this is real spiritual life, greater, better than the best of human life.

Now then he gives another warning: “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” (verse 27, FV).

Now then it concludes with one of the most tremendous chapters in the whole Bible – Revelation 22. Now let’s think on this for just a minute. You have seven plus one, don’t you, making eight? How many chapters do we have? We have three sections of seven in the book of Revelation. That makes twenty-one. Plus one is twenty-two. And moreover twenty-two is also the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. So here we have the eighth one again, don’t we? Showing the newness of God’s way and everything.

“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.” So through all eternity the righteousness and power of God’s Spirit is always going to be flowing. “And in the middle of the street, and on this side and that side of the river, was the tree of life…” Now I don’t quite understand all of this completely, but it says: “…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” (Rev. 22:1-2, FV). Now the Greek there is therapeian [therapeia], which could also mean “for the maintenance of the nations.” I don’t know exactly how this will fit in, but I’ll tell you how we will understand it. Be there in new Jerusalem and you will know.

And now this here’s a great thing, 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” (verses 3-4, FV). Complete oneness with God. Here, everything that God has done in His plan has now all come together and we are ready in the family of God to begin to do the work of God which He has for us for the rest of eternity down through the ages of that eternity.

Now notice it says: “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” (verse 5, FV). For ever and ever and ever. And that’s the kind of life that God wants us to have. That’s how it’s going to be. That’s why it says that: “The eye has not seen and the ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (I Cor. 2:9, paraphrased). That’s why we need to love God with all our heart, and all our mind, and all our soul and being.

Now we come back to the closing part here, verse 6: “And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true [see, they’re going to happen]; and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things that must shortly come to pass.’ ” And that’s really true right now. It’s going to come to pass shortly. “ ‘Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book [meaning the whole Bible].’ 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.’ And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book because the time is near’ ” (verses 6-10, FV). In other words, when we come close to the time of the end we’re going to understand it. And I think today we understand the book of Revelation more than any other time in the history of the whole world. Because we are living in the times when we see these things coming to pass.

And then he says: “ ‘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. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ ” God’s plan has now been completed and then He’s going to open up the rest of it to our understanding. And he finalizes by this: “ ‘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’ ” (verses 11-14, FV). Now that’s the full meaning of this day, the holy day the Last Great Day. And you know why it is The Great Day.