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The
Last Great Day, 2008
Fred
R. Coulter—October 21, 2008
The Last Great Day, 2008, the eighth day after the seven days of
the Feast of Tabernacles. And as you know, the only place in the Bible where all
the Holy Days are listed together are right here in Leviticus 23. And the only
other place that the Last Great Day is alluded to, is in 2-Chronicles, the sixth
chapter, after they had the dedication of the temple by Solomon and then
observing the Feast of Tabernacles. So let’s read it here in Leviticus 23 and
we’re going to see that if someone were just to read the Bible, never read it
before and read about the eighth day, they would kind of think that this is,
well, not very important. Because as you look at the evidence within the Bible,
it really does appear to be not very important at all—when in fact, as we will
see today, and as you probably already know—it is the greatest and most
important day of the Feasts of God.
Let’s begin here because it blends in with the Feast of
Tabernacles. Leviticus 23:33 (pg. 241): "And the LORD spoke to Moses saying…
[Now this is something always to remember: There is not one place in the law—the
Five Books of Moses, as they are called—where Moses himself gave a law separate
from what God told him to give them. So these are the words of God—not
just something Moses invented.] …‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying, "The
fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for
seven days to the LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation. You
shall do no servile work therein. Seven days you shall offer an offering
made by fire to the LORD…. [And you can read about that in Num. 29.] …On the
eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you…. [Isn’t that something!? That’s
all it says, ‘a Holy convocation.’] …And you shall offer an offering made by
fire to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly. And you shall do no servile
work therein"’" (vs 33-36). Two sentences.
Then he goes on to review: "‘These are the feasts of the
LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations to offer an offering made
by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice, and
drink offerings, everything on its day; Besides the Sabbaths of the LORD…
[They’re all Sabbaths. Remember: the Sabbath is the weekly
Sabbath; and all Holy Days are called a Sabbath. Collectively
together, all of the Sabbaths during the year, in addition to the Holy Days, are
called the Sabbaths.] …and besides your gifts, and besides all
your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD’"
(vs 37-38).
Then he also gives another explanation for the Feast of
Tabernacles: "‘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. On the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall
be a Sabbath’" (v 39). There it is right there–so this is the eighth day.
Now here’s what they were to do on the first day: "‘And you
shall take the boughs of beautiful trees for yourselves on the first day,
branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook.
And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And you shall keep it
a feast to the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever
in your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in
booths seven days. All that are born Israelites shall dwell in booths…" (vs
40-42). Now, the type of that dwelling in the booth was temporarily dwelling
with God, as God was temporarily dwelling in the tabernacle or the temple. Now
we have the temple in heaven above; we have Jesus Christ Who is the High Priest;
and God is dwelling in us. So the important thing is not to dwell in booths per
se today, because everything on the earth is temporary; the important thing is
to have Christ dwelling in you and you dwelling in God—and that’s what’s
important. Now the eighth day then, after he said that they were to remember
that the Lord brought them out of the land of Egypt and they dwelled in booths.
Now, on all the Holy Days we do take up an offering. And when we
understand how much this day really means to all the world—because as we’re
going to see, the world doesn’t understand what’s going on. And only those who
truly love God and keep His commandments and keep the Holy Days have an
understanding as to what is really taking place in the world and what God is
doing.
Now, if you don’t have the book, God’s Plan for Mankind
Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days, then you be sure and write for it. We
have four CDs with 38 sermons which goes through all of them, beginning with the
Passover and ending with the Last Great Day.
So we will take a pause right now and take up an offering.
*****
What does the Last Great Day picture in the plan of God? And
actually, this day explains the greatest mystery of God throughout all the ages,
and all the time of human history. And it helps understand the nature of God
even more. And also it tells us how God is going to resolve all of the difficult
human problems that people see and experience around them. So when you look at
the view of human history from individuals to great civilizations, from the
forgotten and unwanted and rejected—and there are many of those; to the famous
and idolized and celebrated, you have to ask the question: Why is there life and
death, and good and evil? And the most perplexing question of all that people
cannot resolve in their minds is: Why does God allow and/or cause disasters and
floods and tidal-waves and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, destruction, war,
famine, pestilence, sickness, disease, pain, suffering, violence and death to
befall all mankind? And that’s throughout every generation and every
civilization.
So they always ask the question: If God is a God of love, why
does He not stop or prevent the wretchedness and misery of human suffering and
accidental death? Especially when you consider innocent children and babies and
the abortion of the unborn. And these are very perplexing questions; and as we
will see, this day gives God’s answer.
They also ask: Why does God allow rape, murder, sadistic
torture, cruelties of man against man; the strong against the weak; the wicked
against the righteous. If God really hears the mournful cries of desperate human
beings suffering such horrible tragedies—disaster, sickness and death—why does
He not intervene? Why doesn’t God hear? So these have been the questions
throughout the ages—life and death! You’ve had philosophers try and answer it;
religionists try and answer it; atheists try and answer it—can’t find it.
So when they attempt to find the answers to these things, they
often find themselves going in the wrong direction and coming up with the wrong
conclusions because they are not coming to the true knowledge of God.
So what has happened as a result of all of this? Men have
cultivated countless theories, religious philosophies about the nature of God,
as well as the origin and purpose of life. And to be a believer in evolution has
got to be the most insane position that anyone could possibly believe. Because
the theory of evolution was invented when men thought things were all simple.
But it’s not! They’re finding even the simplest thing that God has created is
very complex.
So because of that, then they’ve developed various theories of
how life came to be. We all grew out of the slime from the ocean and
automatically changed. So, trying to understand the origin and purpose of life,
religionists have come up with the immortal soul, heaven, hell, purgatory,
re-incarnation—so when you come to the conclusion of it all, they all really
admit they don’t know! And they don’t have the answers. And yet,
the answers that would give them truth are right here in the Bible.
But when they read the Bible, they come up with many different
conclusions and theories about what God is saying in the Bible, and they really
don’t understand it at all. And actually, when they read some of these
Scriptures, they think God must be schizophrenic. He says one thing in one
place; one thing in another place; and how are we going to know what is right,
what is true? How are we going to understand the Bible?
Well, let’s come here to Romans, the ninth chapter, and look at
some of those. The way you understand the Bible is—if you want our booklet:
The Fourteen Rules of Bible Study; and we have it in several of our
publications, as well—that will show you
there is a
way to understand the Bible;
and there is
a way to put the Scriptures together;
and there is
a way that God is showing and teaching us.
And there’s one thing for sure, you cannot come to the Bible to
read it and say you disbelieve God. Because with that you’ll never understand
it, even if you read the Bible throughout your whole lifetime.
So, what happens here? People come and they say then, because
God allows all these things we’ve covered earlier, then God must be evil. God
must be unrighteous. And how would God do that? Especially to what people
consider ‘good people.’ Well, let’s see a statement here: Romans 9:14: "What
then shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with God? MAY IT NEVER BE!"
So there’s no unrighteousness with God at all.
Now let’s look at a couple of other statements that are
interesting and that show us maybe a conflict in statements of God. Let’s come
here to v 27: "But Isaiah cried out concerning Israel, "Although the number of
the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be
saved." All right, we find in the Bible, the New Testament, that there are few
who are called, few who are chosen. It’s the straight and the narrow way. So
there are going to be a remnant that are saved.
All right now, let’s come over here to Romans 11:26—and we see
this: "And so all Israel shall be saved… [How can that be when it’s only a
remnant that are saved? Is this a conflict—God saying one thing in one place and
one thing in another place? Or could it be that He’s talking about one time in
history and another time in history? And if that’s the case then there’s no
conflict. The thing is to understand when those things take place.] …according
as it is written: ‘Out of Sion shall come the Deliverer, and He shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob.’" Then He says He’s going to make a covenant with them,
and so forth. And Paul, Paul himself understood these two things, but he didn’t
understand when they would take place.
So he writes, let’s read on, v 27: "‘For this is My
covenant, which I will make with them when I have taken away their sins.’…. [Now
when is God going to take away their sins? because you can’t be saved unless the
sins are taken away. We’ll find the answer today.] …On the one hand, concerning
the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes… [that is the true
Christians] …but on the other hand, concerning the election, they are
beloved for the fathers’ sakes… [So what he’s saying here: God chose Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob and even though there are some of the children of Israel who are
enemies of the Church and against the brethren of God—yet, when you look what
God did physically with them, He elected to call them as a physical nation. Now
this also demonstrates some of the future mercy of God, which He is yet to give.
However, let’s read on]: …Because the gifts and the calling of God are
never revoked. For just as you once did not believe God, but have now been shown
mercy through their unbelief… [now, he’s talking to the Gentiles, and he’s
saying because the Jews didn’t believe now God has saved you.] …In the same way
also, they have not believed at this time in order that through the mercy shown
to you, they also may have mercy shown to them" (vs 27-31). Now, how is
God going to do that? And when is God going to do that? We’ll see a little
later.
"For God has given them all over to unbelief in order that He
might show mercy to all…. [How is God going to give people over to unbelief and
show them mercy? Now is the not a contradiction? Well, it appears to be one.
So Paul, understanding that this is going to be, but not understanding the
time-sequence, and essentially because the book of Revelation had not yet been
written, here is how he ends this chapter.] …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!…
[Unless He reveals them.] …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?… [And Job had to learn that lesson didn’t he?] …For
from Him, and through Him, and unto Him are all things; to Him be
the glory into the ages of eternity. Amen" (vs 32-36).
Let’s look at some other Scriptures that kind of look like, hey,
God really doesn’t know what He’s saying. Let’s come to 1-Timothy, the second
chapter. So this is why when someone is hostile and antagonistic and atheist and
they pick up the Bible and read it, they can’t understand it. And the key is,
they don’t believe the simple things first—like the Ten Commandments; like God
is Creator. So therefore, they can’t understand these other things and God has
hidden them as a mystery. And we will see that only God, through His Word, can
reveal.
So, what we’re going to cover today is not the opinions of any
man, but what is the revelation of God through His Word.
2-Timothy 2:4—speaking of God our Savior, it says: "Who desires
all men to be saved… [Well, if He desires all of them to be saved and He’s given
some over to unbelief, and they die without being saved, how’s God going to save
them? Now if God’s Word is true—and God cannot lie and does not lie—how are you
going to come to understand this? Now notice even further]: …and to come to
the knowledge of the truth."
Let’s look at another one—2-Peter, the third chapter, and this
one here will tell us something else right along those lines. 2-Peter 3:9 (pg.
1,136): "The Lord is not delaying the promise of His coming, as some in
their own minds reckon delay… [God has His own time schedule. And the truth is,
if you know and understand the Holy Days, you have a framework so we can do as
Paul said, we can understand the times and the seasons. So we can
get a pretty well overall timeframe of understanding.] …rather, He is
long-suffering toward us, not desiring that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance." Now, how are all going to come to repentance? So
we might ask the question: When will they come to repentance?
All right, now let’s look at another one. Let’s come here to
Matthew, the thirteenth chapter. Let’s see what else God has done, which also
ties together with what Paul wrote about: that He gave them over to unbelief to
show them mercy. Now that seems like a contradictory statement in itself,
doesn’t it? But when you understand the whole plan of God, that’s not
contradictory at all. But an atheist could read that and he could say, ‘Well,
this sounds a little schizophrenic to me—talking out of both sides of his
mouth.’ So hold on, we’ll get there.
Let’s come to Matthew 13:10—the disciples wanted to know why
Jesus talked to them in parables that really were not understandable to them.
"And His disciples came to Him and asked, ‘Why do You speak to them in
parables?’ And He answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given
to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven…’" (vs 10-11).
So God has to give the knowledge. God has to give the
understanding. And even as we now understand, looking back in history and what
the apostles taught and what they did and so forth, and what they wrote—even
some of the things that they understood to a certain degree, like Paul as we
read there in Rom. 11, they didn’t have the fullness of the understanding of it.
This is why we find in Dan. 12, he says that ‘none of the wicked shall
understand. But the wise shall understand.’ And the wise are the ones
who keep the
commandments of God;
who believe
God;
who are
converted;
who have the
Holy Spirit of God;
and who love
God with all their hearts and minds and soul and being.
And furthermore, Daniel also said that this ‘knowledge would be
understood in the time of the end.’ And not even Daniel, as a prophet who
delivered many of the prophecies, would even understand them. So it’s all based
on what God does.
So here’s part of the revelation that was given when Jesus
taught the disciples. "…‘it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven… [That’s why I call this God’s greatest mystery.] …but to them
it has not been given…. [Then here’s something else that happened. It happens
also in the lives of even those who are professed Christians; those who may even
be converted and yet, get very slack.] (So here’s a true principle): …For
whoever has understanding, to him more shall be given, and he shall have
an abundance; but whoever does not have understanding, even what he has
shall be taken away from him’" (vs 11-12). And we are now seeing that actively
happen in Protestantism, which is in a death spiral.
"For this reason I speak to them in parables, because
seeing, they see not; and hearing, they hear not; neither do they understand….
[And the reason? They don’t repent!] …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… [So they made the choice to disbelieve God first.
And God acted upon that knowledge and brought upon them the spiritual blinding.]
(now here is an astounding statement, when you compare that with that God
‘desires ALL to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth’): …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).
Now, what an incredible statement. Why would God the Father and
Jesus Christ do that? Because you see, the knowledge of God only comes with
repentance. Not by intellect; not by wanting to know just for the sake of
knowing; not so that you can feel good and be important—but so that you
can answer the call of God and follow Jesus Christ.
Now notice v 16: "‘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…" (vs 16-17). Isaiah didn’t know; Jeremiah didn’t know; Ezekiel didn’t
know; all the prophets of the Old Testament didn’t know; Elijah and Elisha did
not know; Moses did not know—though he prophesied some things of the last days.
All the way down through history till the time that Jesus came, as God
manifested in the flesh, then He began revealing many, many of these things to
His disciples and to His apostles. But how many? Stop and think for just a
minute. How many thousands did He feed? Well, He fed approximately 14,000
people. But how many believed and followed Him? How many thousands of people did
He heal? And He raised three from the dead, but they didn’t believe Him. So
there you have the answer. What was the end result of Jesus’ ministry after He
was crucified and ascended to heaven? The end result was 120! A measly
120—the 12 apostles plus 108 others.
Now you would think that the Son of man could have done better
than that—some people would say. When you compare that to some of these
evangelists, and you better check out whether they’re from God or not, they go
out and they supposedly have conversions of how many? Now granted, on the Day of
Pentecost 3,000 were converted. But out of how many that were at the temple? So
it fills in just what Jesus said: ‘In this age few are called, few repent, few
are chosen.’ And the way to life is through the ‘straight gate and the narrow
gate.’ And Jesus said, ‘few be that find it’—and the vast majority fall into
this category and they’re blinded.
So how’s God going to solve the problem? Let’s look at another
one that is really kind of an enigma for many people. Let’s come to Matthew
19:16 (pg. 980). Now, let’s stop and think about all the good, sincere people in
the world—hard working, love their family, love their wives, love their
children, sacrifice for them, do good, go to church every Sunday, faithful
Catholics, faithful Protestants, faithful Buddhists, they try and do nice and
kind things for people, etc., etc. Now let’s look and see one here, right there
during the days of Jesus.
Matthew 19:16: "Now at that time, one came to Him and
said, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal
life?’…. [Everyone wants to do something to inherit eternal life. So he came.]
(notice Jesus’ answer): …And He said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good?…. [As
long as Jesus was God manifested in the flesh and carrying enough human nature,
He was not truly good as God the Father in heaven was truly good.] …No one is
good except one—God. But if you desire to enter into life, keep the
commandments.’ Then he said to Him, ‘Which?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not
commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not
bear false witness; Honor your father and your mother; and, You shall love your
neighbor as yourself’" (vs 16-19). Now, He didn’t mention the Sabbath and Holy
Days, because this was a Sabbath and Holy Day-keeping society.
But notice what the young man answered: "The young man said to
Him, ‘I have kept all these things from my youth. What do I yet lack?’ Jesus
said to him, ‘If you desire to be perfect, go and sell your property, and
give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come and
follow Me.’… [He struck right at the heart of where this man’s real
intention was—his wealth.] …But after hearing this word, the young man went away
grieving, because he had many possessions" (vs 20-22). The truth is, the only
one’s who are going to understand are those who deeply repent, who give their
lives totally to Jesus Christ, God the Father, love Them with all heart and mind
and soul and being. And that you truly not only give up the things that you
have, you give up something greater than what you have. He didn’t ask him to
give up himself. But that’s the ultimate thing that you do, which is greater
than all of your possessions.
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Truly I say to you, it is
extremely difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven’" (v
23).
So the point here is this: Not just the wealth. But here’s a man
who kept the commandments in the letter. He was a good, upstanding man of the
community. He was probably well-liked. He probably, with all of this money, did
many things with the money. But he wasn’t willing to give up his possessions or
himself.
Now, what about all those good people? We can understand people
who die in war and battle, because they’re shooting, killing, destroying; and
so, if they are killed, we say, well, you know, they deserve it. Well, do they
really? But we can’t understand good, upstanding people; we can’t understand the
death of innocent children; we can’t understand why God doesn’t intervene in all
of these things. And the reason is is because beginning with Adam and Eve they
weren’t willing to obey God—and God then gave them over to human nature to do
whatever they chose to do, and live their lives in any way that they desired to
live; and God blinded all of them and only called those few that God would
convert at this time. And that is God’s basic plan. So included in that, and in
many of these things, God requires—even in that state—all
people to keep His commandments in the letter of the law.
And that does not mean they receive eternal life. Because you
have to repent and be baptized and give yourself wholly to God for that. And how
many are willing to do that? Truly? Truly, truly, truly!? In a humble and
converted way? Not in a vain way, like Peter said, ‘Lord, I’m not going to let
You die. If they do, I’ll be there to protect You.’ And that’s why Jesus said,
‘Look, you’re going to deny Me three times tonight.’ Because that was a carnal
response. It has to be a spiritual response of deep repentance.
Now, we have the category of the saved and the unsaved. Those
who are going to be saved are in the first resurrection. And it says, "Those who
are Christ’s at His coming, and every man in his own order." So God is not going
to forget all the rest of the people. But there is an order to what God is
doing. And this is the secret that we find within the Bible. So let’s come to
Revelation 20, because you see the truth is, you cannot understand the Holy Days
in the fall—Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacle and the Last Great Day—unless there
is the book of Revelation to give us the interpretation of it.
Now we know about the first resurrection. They are going to live
and reign with Christ a thousand years. Now here’s a statement in Revelation
20:5—because the ones who are resurrected in the first resurrection, they are
going to be alive and they are going to be ruling and reigning with Christ as
kings and priests; we know that. What about all the rest of the people? What’s
going to happen to them? "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the
thousand years were completed." So the order of the resurrection for other
people is what? After the thousand years are completed, then the rest of the
dead live again.
So, let’s come here to John, the fifth chapter, and let’s see
how Jesus explained this; and let’s understand what the Scriptures really tell
us. John 5:24 (pg. 1,060): "‘Truly, truly I say to you, the one who hears My
word, and believes Him Who sent Me [the Father], has everlasting life and does
not come into judgment… [and ‘judgment’ in this case means the judgment unto
eternal death.] …for he has passed from death into life." So if you are
converted and have the Holy Spirit of God, God views you as having passed from a
state of death to a state of life; because when you do die in Adam—because we
all die in Adam—we are going to be resurrected. So our death in the faith is an
absolute guarantee of eternal life at the resurrection.
Verse 25: "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. 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 we’re all going to be judged] …because He is the
Son of man. (now notice v 28): Do not wonder at this, for the hour is
coming… [‘I didn’t tell you when’] …in which all… [not excluding anybody—not
some, not a few, not the majority, but ALL] …who are in the graves shall
hear His voice… [that means everyone who’s died. And the truth of the
matter is, no one has gone to heaven and there’s no such a thing as an immortal
soul. So if you don’t understand that you can write us and we’ll send you the
information.] …And shall come forth: those who have practiced good… [that is the
true good, the goodness of God, the commandments of God, loving God, loving the
brethren and have grown in grace and knowledge so that they are truly
converted.] …unto a resurrection of life… [That’s the first resurrection] …and
those who have practiced evil unto a resurrection of judgment" (vs 25-29).
Well now, if you disbelieve God, even though you live in what is
perceived to be a morally good life, you are still counted as those who are
blinded and you are doing evil because you’re not believing God. And we’re going
to see there are two kinds of evil that are judged by God—and what happens to
them—because it says, ‘all who are in the grave shall hear His voice and come
forth.’ So that’s really quite a fantastic thing for us to understand.
Now as we have seen, in Revelation 20, the "rest of the dead"
who are going to hear the voice of Jesus calling them forth, will not live again
until the thousand years have been completed. This is important for us to
understand. And we’re going to see the "rest of the dead" fit into two
categories. And so, if the first resurrection, which is labeled the first
resurrection in many places, are those who are resurrected at the return of
Jesus Christ, then the rest of the dead who are brought back to life again after
the thousand years is over, they have to be in what is called a second
resurrection. And we will see that there are two categories of those in the
second resurrection. And we will see how Jesus makes the differentiation here in
just a minute.
Now we’re also going to see that they will be raised to
judgment, as Jesus said, and this is also called the Great White Throne
Judgment, which we will see in the Scriptures in just a little bit. So here are
the two categories that God has made as two distinct classes of people that will
be raised from the dead. From the creation of Adam and Eve until the return of
Jesus Christ all who God did not call during their first lifetime—because they
had a lifetime and they died, regardless of how long or how short it was, they
died. Because God deliberately bound them to a life of spiritual blindness and
unbelief, as we saw—and because of that, they haven’t committed the unpardonable
sin; because we will see as there are two categories of people there are two
categories of judgment for them even in this life.
Those who
sin a sin not unto death; or they committed forgivable sins. We’ll see
that in a bit.
Those who
did unforgivable sins.
So God, because He’s gracious and generous, resurrects them to a
second life in the flesh for their first opportunity for salvation. Now we will
see that they will be raised to a life of flesh—and we’ll understand why it is a
life of flesh. And this will be their first opportunity for salvation because
they were blinded and God gave them over to spiritual blindness; did not reveal
these things to them; did not grant them repentance; and regardless of how good
they were in the flesh because of keeping some of the commandments of God, they
still did not receive eternal life and they still didn’t repent. So He
resurrects them back to a second physical life, for their first opportunity for
salvation.
Now, this includes all, whether old or young who have died
untimely deaths, as a result of war, disease, natural disasters, accidents,
murder, suicide, as well as those who have died as newborns, those stillborn,
and even those who suffered death by abortion! God is not going to let Satan
have his way. And the greatest, most heinous act that Satan has
perpetrated on mankind has been the death of the unborn through abortion.
Because you see, the truth is this: Even though they have been aborted, every
human being when conception occurs, what they are is already locked into the
genes and chromosomes, and that’s all God needs to resurrect them back to a
second physical life; and in the case of the aborted unborn, probably back to
being full-term infants.
(go to the next track)
Now let’s look at the second category of those who will be in
the second resurrection, which will be the second phase. So we will see there
are two phases of the second resurrection.
The first
phase will be for those who have sinned forgivable sins.
The second
phase will be for those who have committed the unpardonable sin.
So let’s cover this now.
So the second phase of the second resurrection will be all those
who in their first lifetime have rejected the salvation of God and blasphemed
against the Holy Spirit. Now we’ll see Jesus’ explanation of this in just a
minute; because if you blaspheme against the Holy Spirit you are rejecting God
the Father Himself. And having committed the unpardonable sin they will be
raised back to a physical life for their final judgment to be cast into the lake
of fire and die the second death; because everyone has to die the second death
who has committed the unpardonable sin. All those who have committed the
unpardonable sin, they lived one life, rejected God, rejected salvation. But
they have to die twice. To die twice is not some sort of ethereal theological
thing that they really don’t die. With immortal souls you have three stations:
heaven, purgatory or hell. The wicked are in hell according to that theory. But
God says they die. And when you die, the Bible reveals, you are DEAD! And you’re
dead all over. And it also reveals that the righteous are going to walk on the
ashes of the wicked. They are not in hell being tormented. Please understand
this: Everlasting fire does not torment human flesh. It destroys it!
Now, let’s see how Jesus explained this. Let’s come here to
Matthew 12:31, because He says something here that can only be understood in a
timeframe when you have Revelation 20. So this is why even the Apostle Paul,
though he knew it was going to happen; though the other apostles
knew it was going to happen; and though Jesus said it was going to
happen, He had not yet revealed the information about when it
would occur until John wrote the book of Revelation about 95-96 AD, which then
is 35-36 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the death of the other
apostles.
Matthew 12:31 (pg. 972): "Because of this, I say to you, every
sin and blasphemy… [now listen carefully] …shall be forgiven to men except
the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; that shall not be
forgiven to men…. [Now we have online and also in the Hebrew series in two of
the sermons What is the Unpardonable Sin? And the unforgivable,
unpardonable sin is the sin of total rejection of God with no remorse, with
hatred, with contempt, with deliberation, and with foreknowledge and not
absolutely feeling sorry concerning one thing that the one who has done to
commit the unpardonable sin is even willing to admit or repent of.] (now notice
v 32; see how Jesus explains this): …And whoever speaks a word against the Son
of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit…
[Because that comes from God the Father] …[and rejects it] it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming age" (vs
31-32).
So this shows forgivable sins will be forgiven in the coming age
of the second resurrection, at the end of the thousand-year period. This is for
all of those in the first phase of the second resurrection, which is at the
beginning of the Great White Throne Judgment, as we have mentioned and covered
yesterday concerning Isa. 65, will probably be for a 100-year period. They’ll be
raised back to life. They’ll have the memory of all of their past life. They’ll
be able to see that. They’ll see all the glory and goodness of the world at that
time, because the last part of the thousand years they’re going to be preparing
for all of those who are going to be resurrected, in the first phase of the
second resurrection at the end of the thousand years.
Now how do we know this is going to happen? Let’s come back to
Ezekiel 37. We know this is going to happen because of this chapter in the book
of Ezekiel. Now, without the New Testament, the teachings of Jesus that we just
read and the book of Revelation, you have no clue as to when Ezekiel 37 is going
to take place. Now, Ezekiel 37 shows a resurrection to a second physical life
for a first opportunity for salvation. So this has to refer to the "rest of the
dead" in the first phase of the second resurrection who have not sinned against
the Holy Spirit, and their sins are forgivable. And we’ll see the whole thing
right here in Ezekiel 37.
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…. [Now, if you have bones, what does that tell you? Someone
died! And it had to be a fleshly human being.] …And He made me walk among
them all around…. [So he walked among all the bones.] …And behold, very many
were in the open valley. And lo, they were very dry…. [showing that
they were dead for a long time.] …And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these
bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, You know.’…. [he didn’t know] …Again
He said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, "O dry bones, hear the
Word of the LORD"’" (vs 1-4).
"Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause
breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews on you, and
will bring up flesh on you… [a second resurrection to a second physical life in
the flesh, for a first opportunity for salvation, because as we will see, He
says this is the ‘whole house of Israel’ down through the whole history of
time.] …and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. And
you shall know that I am the LORD’" (vs 5-6). And knowing the Lord then
means they are converted, as we’ll see here in just a minute.
So he prophesied and he saw everything shaking, bone coming
together, and he watch and sinew and flesh came upon them—skin covered them; but
there was no breath in them (vs 7-8 paraphrased).
Verse 9: "And He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the wind, prophesy,
son of man, and say to the wind, "Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Come from the four
winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain that they may live.’"’" And I’ve
often wondered: I wonder what Ezekiel thought when he was given this vision? Now
you see, you can also wonder: I wonder what the Jews think when they read this
in their Bible and they don’t have the New Testament. And since the Protestants
and Catholics reject the Old Testament, they don’t even have a clue that this is
in here or for what purpose; or if they read it, unless they have understanding
give to them from God, they won’t understand what and how and why.
So let’s go forward here, v 10: "So I prophesied as He commanded
me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an
exceedingly great army… [now notice v 11 carefully]: …And He said to me, ‘Son of
man, these bones are the whole house of Israel." That God deliberately blinded!
And did not give them an opportunity for salvation. And also understand this:
Under the covenant with Israel that God gave to them, there is not a single
promise of eternal life. They were expected to obey God in the letter of the law
and receive physical blessings that God would give them for obedience in the
letter of the law. And as we have seen, this is what God requires of every
single human being. That doesn’t mean that they’re going to be called. That does
not mean that they’re going to receive the Holy Spirit, because that only comes
with repentance. So here they were blinded, not given an opportunity for
salvation, didn’t even know anything about the Holy Spirit; lived their lives in
sin, sin, sin, sin, sin; rebelled against God. You can read it all the way
through the books of 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, 1-2 Samuel, Joshua, Judges and
so forth—even in Numbers and Deuteronomy—all the sins that Israel committed,
none of them were unforgivable sins. Though they lived their lives, etc.,
etc.—some good, some bad. He resurrects them!
Now notice their reactions, after He says these are the whole
house of Israel: "Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried and our hope is
lost; we ourselves are completely cut off.’… [In other words, Hey we’ve sinned
so great there’s not a chance for anything.] …Therefore prophesy and say to
them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves…
[they were dead] …and cause you to come up out of your graves… [second time
‘graves.’ Where were they? In their graves.] …and will bring you into the
land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD when I have opened
your graves… [three times] …O My people, and have brought you up out of your
graves…"’" [four times] (vs 12-13). So for any skeptics that are out there who
don’t believe that this a resurrection from the dead, you’re kind of stuck when
it says all of the things that it says. And it is a life to a second physical
life in the flesh.
Now notice, God continues, v 14: "‘And I shall put My Spirit in
you, and you shall live… [There is the opportunity for salvation—their first
opportunity granted to them in a second physical life.] …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." So that’s pretty powerful!
Now let’s come back here to Matthew 11 and let’s read a little
more of it; and then Matthew 12, and we will see how Jesus Christ explains it.
Now the Jews didn’t like what He said to them because they knew He was talking
to them, because they were rejecting Jesus Christ. And in rejecting Him as
Messiah and they knew better because they had all the prophecies and the really
knew and understood who He was. He was warning some of them: ‘You’re going to
commit the unpardonable sin.’ So they thought, ‘Well, who is this?
Matthew 12:38: "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered,
saying, ‘Master, we desire to see a sign from You.’ And He answered and
said to them, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no
sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 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….
[Then He brings out something to them which probably was very hard for them to
understand.] (v 41): …The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the
judgment… [Now we’re going to see that in Rev. 20 in just a minute. As Jesus
said, they’re going to be raised to life or to judgment.] …shall stand up in
the judgment with this generation… [Now the men of Nineveh lived long
before this generation, some 900 years before—maybe even 1200 years before.]
…and shall condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah; and
behold, a greater than Jonah is here’" (vs 38-41).
Now during the days of Solomon, v 42—He’s talking about
Gentiles, isn’t He? So this means that what happened to the children of Israel
there in Ezek. 37 is also going to happen to all the Gentile nations, because
He’s talking about Gentile nations—is He not? Yes! "‘The queen of
the south shall rise up in the judgment with this
generation… [so He says it twice—‘rise up’—and that means be resurrected.]
…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.’" So with
these verse we can understand the unpardonable sin and the pardonable sin and
the two categories concerning them.
Now let’s come back here to Revelation 20, and let’s see what it
says about this, and the approximate timeframe that it’s going to happen.
Actually, not approximate, but actually fairly direct timeframe—which is still
approximate because we don’t know when the Millennium actually begins in
timeframe of today’s date.
So after Satan is bound and cast into the lake of fire and then
into outer darkness as we saw yesterday, ends the Millennium. So when the
Millennium ends, after the thousand years, the rest of the dead shall live. And
the only way they can live is be resurrected. And they are not going to be
resurrected to eternal life, because they have not been given the opportunity
for salvation. They are going to be resurrected to a second physical life for
their first opportunity for salvation.
A lot of people say, ‘Well, why do they get a second chance?’
Well the answer is, this is not a second chance because they never had a chance.
And God blinded them, and God was responsible for their condition. So if He
wants all men saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth, then He has to
have a time and place to save them. And this is the time and place to save them
because they lived a life blinded and cut off and had not committed the
unpardonable sin. So they are resurrected at the beginning of the Great White
Throne Judgment as we find here in Revelation 20:11—after Satan is bound. Now
let me say something else. Just as those during the Millennium lived without the
presence of Satan, and without the temptation of Satan, so likewise, these
people will live their second life in the flesh without Satan being around. And
as I have said many times, don’t you think one life living in a world run by
Satan the devil is enough? Yes, indeed! So they’re going to be given the
opportunity much like was given to the people all during the Millennium.
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…. [There are so many billions and billions and
billions and billions and billions of people. And when you consider that all
during the Millennium, the earth is going to be built up for a thousand years in
preparation for this event. So there’s going to be plenty of food, plenty of
water; and I don’t know what kind of economic boom there’s going to be in the
last generation, because they have to build houses, they have to have clothing,
they have to have food, they have to have water, they have to have all these
things immediately. Because why? They are resurrected to a second physical
life and will need them immediately.] (Now notice what it says. Who are
these people? Verse 12): …And I saw the dead… [the ‘rest of the dead’—and as we
have seen, there are two phases to the second resurrection and there are two
categories of people: those who have committed forgivable sins; and those who
have committed unforgivable sins. And both are covered here, as we will see in
just a minute.] …And I saw the dead small and great… [That includes everyone, no
one is left out.] …standing before God; and the books were opened…" (vs
11-12).
Now they’re going to begin to understand the Word of God. That’s
what it’s referring to here. The books were opened. They’re going to be taught.
They are going to learn. They are going understand. And also notice: "…and
another book was opened, which is the book of life" (vs 12) So
here the book is opened. They never had their names written there for eternal
life. Now perhaps they had their names written there for the second
resurrection, but they never had their names written there for eternal life. And
now the time comes for the opportunity for their names to be written there after
they repent, because they’re going to remember their lives. They’re going to
remember their sins. They are going to abhor themselves and repent as we find
there in Ezek. 36. And they are going to live for a hundred years. They are
going to be able to develop the character of God, to love God and to do all the
things that God gives them to qualify for eternal life. And these then are going
to be the nations that are saved as we will read of in a little bit in
Revelation 21.
So this is how God is going to do it. This is how God is going
to undo every evil, every wrong, everything that has been done; and just as He
took care of Satan the devil, the author of sin, and has bound him into the
blackest darkness forever, so likewise He’s going to take care of all of those
who have committed the unpardonable sin and they will be cast into the lake of
fire and will be burned up.
Now let’s read on. "…And the dead were judged out of the things
written in the books, according to their works" (v 12). Now isn’t that
interesting? They’re going to be judged. But how are they going to be judged. It
can’t be on their first life, because they were already judged to what? To
not have committed the unpardonable sin, but forgivable sins, and they were
raised back to life. And as Israel said to God, ‘Oh, we’ve been cut off for our
parts’ and so forth; and God says, ‘No, you’re going to know that I am the
Lord.’ So therefore, the works that they do will not be the works of their first
life. They were already judged for that, and judged to die the first physical
death; but also to receive the judgment to be brought back to a second physical
life for the first opportunity for salvation. So this is judgment unto
salvation, based upon their works during their 100-year period that they will be
able to live their lives.
Now, what’s going to happen is this, when they’re resurrected:
There are going to be all these babies, all of these small children, and there
are going to be billions and billions of everyone. There are going to be enough
fathers, enough mothers, enough who can take care of the children. And I think
one of the greatest acts of forgiveness and reconciliation and mercy is this:
For God to take the aborted baby, now resurrected back to a full-term baby and
call the mother over. Now maybe we’re going to have an opportunity to do this,
because we’re the ones who are going to help carry this out and call the mother
and father over and say, ‘Here is your baby.’ And you know that after having an
abortion, every woman you know—unless you’re hard-hearted as can be—can never
forget that abortion. And wonder was it boy, was it a girl? What would it have
been like? And the vast majority of those who have had abortions are truly sorry
for it. And just think of the repentance and the joy when they’re given back
their own children.
God says. "Here now, you’re going to live My way. Now, you’re
going to learn to obey Me and love Me. Now here’s a place to live." All the
people regardless of what it is. And I can also imagine all of those
Muslims—especially those who died as suicide bombers—thinking that they’re going
to heaven and they’re going to have 72 virgins. And they’re brought back to
life. And the thing they talk about as heaven is a place where there are trees
and water and plants and every lovely thing; because they inhabit the waste and
desert places of the world. So here they’re resurrected and they look around and
they see all of this. They see trees. They see water. And they’re going to say,
Where’s Allah? And we’re going to say, ‘Well, Allah’s not here. He’s been
bound and he’s never coming back. Now you’re going to learn of the true God.’
Well, I thought I was in heaven. ‘No, you’re on the earth. And you’re not a
soul. You are a physical human being. Now God tells you, repent! He’s giving you
an opportunity. However, please understand this: you may have one wife, but not
72 virgins.’
And also there has to come a time for the stopping of production
of children otherwise the physical plan of God would have to continue and
continue and continue. So during this period there’s obviously no physical
children being born. There’ll be plenty to take care of. But can you imagine
some of those who have died in wars? Some of those who were in airplanes that
crashed to the ground? Can you imagine what it’s going to be like for all of
those who have died at sea? Talks about it right here—there have been plenty.
"…And the dead were judged out of the things written in the
books, according to their works. 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 then, what
about the wicked? Because it says here]: …And death and the grave were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death" (vs 12-14). So they have
to be resurrected at the end of the 100-year period. There’d be no need for them
to live a hundred years, and have an opportunity for salvation because they have
committed the unpardonable sin. So they are all raised and are judged and are
cast into the lake of fire and they burn up!
And as 2-Peter 3 tells us, the whole earth then is going to be
engulfed in fire and lava and flame. It’s going to destroy the whole surface of
the earth. It is going to burn up the atmosphere that is around the earth. "…And
death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death" (v 14).
So all of those who commit the unpardonable sin have to die
twice. So that’s why they have to be resurrected at the end of the 100-year
period.
Now, notice, here’s the qualification, v 15—so God takes note of
every single individual, doesn’t He? And there is a record that is being kept on
every human being, because you see, from the time of conception, you are who you
are, and all of your genes and chromosomes are written in the book of God, the
book of who you are. And if God knows every hair on our head and He knows when a
sparrow falls, He knows when every child is conceived, because He gives the
spirit of man to that newly conceived life. So here it is: you’re either written
in the book of life, qualify for salvation—whether in your first life, and we
will then have reigned 1,100 years by that time—or during the Millennium; or
during the Great White Throne Judgment period.
Now, there has to be billions and billions and billions of
people. Because if we’re going to share the universe with Jesus Christ, what is
out there in the universe? So many billions of galaxies that they cannot be
numbered. And remember, God didn’t create those in vain.
Now let’s see what happens after the earth is fully consumed in
fire and in lava to burn up all the works of men, to burn up all the things that
are physical, now God is ready for the spiritual earth, the spiritual heavens,
etc.
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…. [The only reason we’d need an ocean is to moderate it for physical life.
We don’t need it then.] …And I, John, saw the holy city, the new
Jerusalem… [The great spiritual city. The place that Jesus was building. And
remember, He was a carpenter on the earth.] …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; and He shall
dwell with them, and they shall be His people; and God Himself shall be with
them and be their God’" (vs 1-3). What a wonderful and tremendous thing
this is going to be. And especially for those of us in the first resurrection;
because we’re going to live in New Jerusalem, and we are going to see God the
Father and Jesus Christ directly, in a eternal family relationship.
Now notice: v 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.’… [They have been burned up. And now with a spirit body, with a
spirit mind, we look forward to living all eternity.] …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.’… [They will happen!] …And He said to me, ‘It
is done…. [it’s finished; it’s completed] …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’" (vs 4-6). And that is symbolic of God’s Holy Spirit. So God’s
Holy Spirit is going to constantly flow to us. And just imagine how we’re going
to be learning all through eternity.
"The one who overcomes shall inherit all things… [And all
things means the universe, everything that there is.] …and I will be his
God, and he shall be My son…. [Now because this is so great and because this is
so fantastic, He gives a warning for those of still on the earth reading these
words—and here’s the warning]: …But the cowardly, and unbelieving, and
abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and
all liars… [Obviously, all committing the unpardonable sin, not repenting of
them, rejecting the salvation of God, rejecting the way of God.] …shall have
their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the
second death’" (vs 7-8).
And one of the angels came and showed him New Jerusalem coming
down out of heaven—describes it with all of its glory and all of its beauty and
how it is going to be just a fantastic thing. It’s going to be 1500 miles long,
1500 miles wide and 1500 miles high. So it’s going to be quite a thing to be
able to be there. The streets are going to be paved with gold; the foundations
are all of precious stones; the names of the apostles written in them. There
will be 12 gates with the name of the 12 tribes of Israel written in them. So
God’s plan, where He began back with Adam and Eve and then later with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob is all put together in New Jerusalem.
Now notice v 22—for all of those who love to build temples: "And
I saw no temple in it… [The place you would expect to be the greatest temple of
all, right?] …for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it….
[Direct worship of God.] …And the city has no need of the sun… [Doesn’t say it
won’t be there] …or of the moon, that they should shine in it… [even though it
will] …because the glory of God enlightens it, and the light of it is the
Lamb. And the nations that are saved… [now that’s all of those through
the Millennium; all of those through the Great White Throne Judgment—they
receive salvation.] …shall walk in its light; and the kings of the earth shall
bring their glory and honor into it" (vs 22-24).
Now what all that means, does that mean…I don’t know exactly
what all that means except whatever we are doing, we are going to be busy and
productive and making things and creating things and doing things. And based on
that, and based on what we know in the Bible, there’s got to be some sort of
offering and tithing system that God is going to have for all eternity for
sharing in the creation and wealth that God has made.
Verse 25: "And its gates shall never be shut by day; for there
shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the
nations into it…. [Now just in case someone misses the point, here’s another
warning]: …And nothing that defiles shall ever enter into it, nor shall
anyone who practices an abomination or devises a lie… [And who
is the father of liars and lies? Satan the devil.] …but only those
who are written in the Lamb’s book of life" (vs 25-27).
Now Revelation 22:1 "Then he showed me a pure river of the
water of life… [God’s Spirit, His power] …clear as crystal, flowing out from the
throne of God and of the Lamb…. [So apparently they’re going to have joint
thrones. It comes right out from underneath it.] …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" (vs 1-2). The Greek is ‘therapeon’ for the maintenance of the
nations. This is going to be perpetually eating of the tree of life,
forever. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have eternal life. But eternal life is
going to be also a growing and tremendous experiencing thing through all
eternity.
Now notice v 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…
[You go back and see where that applies to the 144,000 and great innumerable
multitude, and you again picture the throne of God there (Rev. 4 & 5) and the 24
elders and the multitude of angels and ten thousand times ten thousand angels.
It’s going to be something!] …And they shall see His face; and His name is
in their foreheads…. [And that’s what we find back in Rev. 3: the name of the
Father, the Holy City, New Jerusalem and Jesus’ name—those three names will be
right there in our foreheads.] …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" (vs 3-5).
Now, that’s something! Eternal life into the ages of eternity!
Now, as we have seen, every time we come to a real high point of
what John is describing and for us to understand, then God also gives a warning.
So here He gives a warning—v 6: "And he said to me, ‘These words are
faithful and true… [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 in the time of eternity, this is shortly coming to pass.]
…Behold, I am coming quickly…. [So don’t think He’s slack. Don’t’ think He’s
late. Don’t think He’s delaying it.] …Blessed is the one who keeps the
words of the prophecy of this book’" (vs 6-7). And in the book of Revelation you
are going to find every commandment of God referred to or declared.
"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…. [Now that can
also refer to the whole Bible, because this is the last book of the Bible.]
…Worship God.’ And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this
book because the time is near…. [And much more so as we get toward the end.]
…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. 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 8-14).
Then again, another warning: "‘But excluded are dogs, and
sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves
and devises a lie. I, Jesus, sent My angel to testify these things to you in
the churches…. [So this last part is the message to the churches: that we
grow in grace and knowledge, hold fast to what is true, live the way that God
wants us to live, in spite of all circumstances around us.] …I am the root and
the offspring of David, the bright and morning star.’ And the Spirit and the
bride say, ‘Come.’… [This is going to be our mission.] …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 jointly testify to everyone who hears
the words of the prophecy of this book, that if anyone adds to these
things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book…. [Now
that is to anybody, not just the Church.] …And if anyone takes away from the
words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from
the book of life, and from the holy city, and from the things that are
written in this book. He Who testifies these things says, ‘Surely, I am coming
quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen" (vs 15-21).
And that’s the message of God and the meaning of the greatest
mystery of all: How God is going to save all who will.
Scriptural References:
Leviticus
23:33-42
Romans 9:14,
27
Romans
11:26-36
1 Timothy
2:4
2 Peter 3:9
Matthew
13:10-17
Matthew
19:16-23
Revelation
20:5
John 5:24-29
John 5:24
Matthew
12:31-32
Ezekiel
37:1-14
Matthew
12:38-42
Revelation
20:11-14
Revelation
21:1-8, 22-27
Revelation
22:1-21
Scriptures referenced, no quoted:
2 Chronicles
6
Numbers 29
Daniel 12
Isaiah 65
2 Peter 3
Revelation
20:15
Revelation
3, 4 & 5
Also referenced:
Books:
God Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy
Days by Fred R. Coulter
Fourteen Rules for Bible Study
Sermon Series: Hebrews (noted: What is the
Unpardonable Sin)
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