The 3 R's

Again, happy Sabbath, brethren! I've been trying to get into the habit of bringing my cell phone up here.

There's no clock in this room, and trust me, it's very dangerous to leave a minister alone in a room with no clock in it.

We're on the cusp of celebrating the fall Holy Days, and that's, of course, always very exciting.

This year, as we enter the feast, I want you to think of the three R's.

When we think about the fall Holy Days this year, the three R's are resurrection, restoration, and reconciliation.

Those are the three R's in a nutshell. The fall Holy Days represent these three things.

Resurrection, reconciliation, and restoration.

And I'd like to highlight today the resurrections, because it all begins with the first of the fall Holy Days that we will be celebrating. That is the Feast of Trumpets.

Every human being who's ever lived is remembered and cherished by God.

No matter how long ago they lived and died. If it was 6,000 years ago that they lived and died, we have forgotten them. The world has forgotten them. God remembers them. He knows them by name.

He knows every dream that was ever in their hearts. Every goal, every aspiration that they had as a person, as an individual, God knows what that is. And he has a plan that encompasses every human being who has ever lived.

And they are to be involved in one of God's resurrections. Let's begin by going to Matthew 24 and verse 21.

And we'll take a look at what we commonly call the first resurrection, also known in scriptures, the better resurrection.

And it's celebrated by the very first of the fall holy days that we're looking forward to coming up.

That is the Feast of Trumpets. Matthew chapter 24 and verse 21. Let's see what it says here.

It says, For then there will be great tribulation. Mr. Scapura was talking about this a little bit in his sermonette. Such has not been since the beginning of the world until this time known, nor ever shall be a tribulation that's greater than the Black Plague, the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the Middle Ages, where one out of every three human beings died. Even greater than that period of time, even greater than two atomic bombs being dropped on Japanese cities near the end of World War II, even greater than any Ebola virus outbreak that could occur on Earth at this time, it says there will come a time of great tribulation. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for your sake, and for my sake, for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. And if God didn't intervene, indeed humankind would find a way to wipe itself off of the face of the Earth.

It would be nothing but a burned-out cinder floating in the dark sky of the universe.

But for the sake of his elect is called out once, Jesus Christ will intervene. Then if anyone says, do you look here is the Christ? Or there, do not believe it, for false Christ and false prophets will not rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I've told you beforehand, Jesus Christ says. At this time, there will be individuals who say, I am Jesus Christ, or I directly represent Jesus Christ. It's him and me, and I'm beginning to have my doubts about him. There will be people like that who rise up in the world, and of course, there will be false prophets, people that are saying things that don't come true.

He says, see, I've told you beforehand, therefore, if they say, look, he's in the desert, he's a mystic, he is just such a righteous man, he lives in the desert with sand and scorpions. Oh, isn't he righteous? Look, he's in the desert. Do not go out. Or look, he's in the inner rooms, he's inside of a building, he's in a temple. He must really be righteous because he's in a temple.

Do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be, for wherever the carcass is, there the evils will be gathered together. Jesus Christ is saying it's not going to be in secret like lightning flashing across the sky. That's how dynamic and obvious will be the second coming of Jesus Christ. In verse 28, he says, for wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. The teaching here is that this world is governed by cause and effect. As though God is gracious and merciful and patient, where moral corruption exists, divine judgment eventually prevails and overcomes.

And what's left of the system of this world will be a dead carcass. And those elect whom God has called like eagles will take flight and will rule this world with Jesus Christ. Verse 29, immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and all the tribes the earth will mourn.

You see, they are convinced that it's an antichrist coming back. They are convinced that it's a being who's coming back with harsh laws. Why, you won't be able to be a degenerate anymore.

Your constitutional rights will no longer be respected. The right to be a jerk as an American will no longer be respected when this man comes back to the world. The right to use people and manipulate them. To foster children on a wedlock that you're not a real father to.

All of these things, drug abuse, all of these things will no longer be part of that world.

And the earth will mourn. They will look upon the coming of Jesus Christ as something to be afraid of, as something to fear. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, pictured by the Feast of Trumpets itself. And they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn this parable from the fig tree, when its branch has already become tender and put forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things, know that the end is near at the doors. So when the time comes, when the sun is darkened and the moon doesn't give its light, stars are falling from heaven, and these world events are coming to a cataclysmic end. Jesus Christ says, just like those tender leaves on a fig tree, they should warn us, they should tell us something. This is an event that will occur on the Feast of Trumpets itself, and it's very possible, by the way, that Jesus Christ came to earth the first time on the Feast of Trumpets or the Feast of Tabernacles, but that's a topic for another time, not for today.

Let me ask this question, but why will His elect be from one end of heaven to the other? That's what this verse says. It says that they'll be gathered together, His elect from one end of heaven to the other. Does that mean that they're coming down from heaven? They've been in heaven all along, and now they're just being gathered in heaven? Let's go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13.

We want to make sure that we understand what the scriptures actually teach.

1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13. But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

So Paul says, I'm going to tell you the chain of events, what exactly is going to occur, because I don't want you to be ignorant. Like the other people in the world who God hasn't called, and they have no hope. They think when you're dead, that's it. Or they think when you're dead, you flitter off to heaven. Or if you weren't a good person, you're down there smoking on the eternal charcoal briquettes. They think one way or another, and they're ignorant. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus, period. That's where many of my Protestant friends stop quoting right there. Because if you don't go any further, that implies that Jesus is bringing with him from heaven those who sleep in Jesus.

But unfortunately for that theology, there's another verse here. There's another couple of verses. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means perceive those who are asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, once again, these two trumpets, and the dead in Christ will rise first. He's saying that those who were dead in Christ are buried. They're in the earth. They're in the ground. They're awaiting a resurrection to immortal life. Then we who are alive, Paul thought that Jesus would come in his lifetime. At the time he wrote this, and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord, therefore comfort one another with these words. So now we know why his elect shall be gathered from one end of heaven to another.

They leave the earth to meet him in the air, and they are gathered together after their feet leave from this very earth and meet him in the air. And it says here that they will always be with the Lord.

Well, what does that mean? Where is he staying? Where is he going? Again, many people will end with the end of that verse in verse 17 and say, see, they're always going to be with the Lord in heaven.

Is that what the scriptures tell us? Zechariah chapter 14 beginning in verse 1. Zechariah chapter 14 in verse 1. Again, all events represented by the trumpet blast by the feast of trumpets. So we can look forward to coming up very shortly. Zechariah chapter 14 verse 1, Behold, the day of the Lord is coming and your spoil, he's talking to the nations who invaded Jerusalem, the loot you have stolen will be divided in your midst. You will lose everything you have and it will be given back to God's people. Verse 2, For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city shall be taken, the houses rifled, the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. So he's saying those people, and I might add, we should never forget that God loves his covenant people. There are millions descendants of Judah who live in Jerusalem. God will not forget them. God will not forsake them.

It says here, half them will be taken captive, but half of them will remain in the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as he fights in the day of battle. Verse 4, And on that day his feet, so what does he do after he gathers his saints, his elect, from the four corners of the earth, they gather together in the air, they obviously come back down to earth. And that day he will stand in the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem to the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west, making a very large valley.

Half of the mountain shall move towards the north, half of it towards the south, and you shall flee through my mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach the Azal, yes, you shall flee, as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah the king of Judah. So for those who are trapped in the city, the mountain will split in two, and they will be able to escape just before this glateclismic event occurs with Jesus Christ strikes the nations that are assembled against him. And notice what it says, thus the Lord my God will come and all the saints with you.

So together, along with Jesus Christ, all of his elect, after they have met him in the air, will return as part of his army with the king of kings and the lord of lords return to this earth.

So let's put these scriptures together. Jesus Christ returns to earth during a time of great crisis. The nations of the world are gathered to find him in the valley of Megiddo, from which in our English today we use the word Armageddon, meaning the apocalyptic, the end of times, the valley of Megiddo. And they gather there because they're convinced that he is an anti-Christ, that he is an invader. Jesus calls his saints dead and living from the earth to meet him in the air above the earth where they are instantaneously made immortal and incorruptible. And together we all return to this earth as an army of God to conquer the warring nations. Christ himself arrives on the Mount of Olives. So that's the first resurrection, the better resurrection, because there's no second death if you're part of that resurrection. You're immortal, incorruptible. You have spirit, life. You are part of the family of God. Let's take a look now at Revelation chapter 20. I'm not going to spend much time in these verses today because this refers to the Day of Atonement. And without stealing any of my thunder, it'll be discussed in greater detail on the Day of Atonement itself. But let's take a quick look at the verses.

Revelation chapter 20 verses 1 through 6. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that serpent of old, who was the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

So for the length of the millennium, what we call the millennial period, he is bound and can no longer influence the world for that period of time. Verse 3, and he's cast into a bottomless pit and shut him up, instead a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he must be released for a little while.

And again, we'll discuss this in greater detail on the Day of Atonement. Let's pick this up in verse 4. Again, we're getting back into the discussion of the first resurrection.

And I saw thrones, a throne is symbolic of having authority. I saw thrones and they that sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And there's always been a lot of speculation about what this mark is. I know some have said it's a tattoo, some have said it's a chip embedded in your forehead or on your hand that will give you the ability to buy or sell or even function in society. Who knows? It could very well be a product made by Apple Computer.

But without speculating what it is, I want to emphasize the symbolism here. This mark that's on people's foreheads, it affects their thinking. It affects the way they think. They are anti-God.

They are anti-Jesus Christ. That's what the mark in the forehead represents. They are evil. People who receive the mark in their hands, our hands are symbolic of what we do. It's symbolic of our behavior. So those who receive the mark on their hands, their actions, their behaviors perverse, it's evil. And that is what it will take in order to get along with the beast in order to be able to thrive in that culture and in that society. And these individuals who were on thrones had not received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years in verse 5, but the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.

That's an insert sentence. And it says, this is the first resurrection, again, talking about those who were on the thrones who had not received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or on their hands. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power because they're immortal, they're incorruptible, and they are not subject to death. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Again, these are the elite. These are the saints. Brethren, this is the calling that you and I have the privilege of being part of and having our eyes open and receiving God's calling at this time in our lives. So to recap, the first resurrection occurs when Jesus Christ returns to earth. Those blessed to be part of it are immortal. They're incorruptible. They can never die again. They serve in positions of glory and authority. They sit on thrones. They are given the responsibility to judge others, to judge the nations. It is so desirable that it says in the faith chapter, Hebrews 11, I won't have you turn there for sake of time, but it says in verse 35, speaking of some of the patriarchs, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.

You see, they weren't interested in being resurrected again to physical life. They were willing to remain faithful to God and endure whatever they had to endure so that they could be in that first resurrection and be immortal, incorruptible. Now let's take a look at Revelation chapter 20, verse 7, and talk about another resurrection. This one, the physical life. This is celebrated on the eighth day that follows the Feast of Tabernacles.

Some of us who are ancient will usually refer to this as the last great day because we've been around a long time, and that was part of our church culture. Verse 7, now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is of the sand of the sea.

And people should not put racial implications on who Gog and Magog are. Gog and Magog are symbolic of people who rebel and reject God's way of life. Verse 9, they went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city. The fire came down from God in heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.

Now, of course, that word are is a poor translation. I'm proud to say that the modern translations that I quote from often, like the new century version in God's word for today, say where the beast and the false prophet were. It correctly translates it past tense because by now they're already ash. They have already been consumed. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And I saw a great white throne in him who sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was no place for them.

What does this mean? It means there's no scenery. This is the great white throne judgment. Picture yourself like looking at a Hollywood movie and the brightness is so intense that no longer do you see the heavens or the earth. All you see is a bright glowing light and a throne and a being sitting on that throne. So powerful, so majestic, you don't even see any scenery around it anymore. Verse 12, and I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead which were in it. Little just minute particles of DNA floating in the oceans from people who died in shipwreck 5,000 years ago. Doesn't matter. It'll all be reassembled and they'll literally come out of the sea. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. Ancient peoples who were in moist environments and there's not even any bones left. It's just a little pile of dirt or dust.

Doesn't matter. They'll be reassembled and they too will be resurrected. Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them and they were judged each one according to their works.

So it says the books were opened. The books are the Word of God. The books include the Scriptures.

They include teachings like, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. You will not steal. You will not lie. You will not commit adultery. That's what these books say. But alongside it is another book. It's called the Book of Life. In it is written all of those whom God has given his Holy Spirit to. Those who are designated to have eternal life. Each person raised from the dead is raised and judged to see if they've sinned. And they all have. We all have. They're judged to see if they've sinned and if they were forgiven of their sins through the shed blood of the Lamb of God. And if they're forgiven, their names are written, added to the Book of Life. If their names are not written in the Book of Life, they, like us before we were baptized, are guilty of sin and deserve the second death spoken about here in verse 5. That's what they deserve. But let me ask you this question. Does God condemn them?

Or does he give them their first opportunity for salvation? Let me give you an example.

According to the CIA World Factbook, over 150,000 people die on earth every day.

It's an average. 150,000 people die on this planet every day. Virtually every source says that Christianity, and I'm going to give, I'm going to, just for the sake of discussion, the benefit of the doubt and say everyone who claims to be a Christian is. This is just for discussion's sake.

Christianity is about 33% of the world's population. That means that every day, 100,000 people die without accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. They die condemned because of their sins. That's over 3 million people every month. And it was 3 million people in August and another 3 million people in July. And it was another 3 million people in June, and it'll only get larger in the future as our world population increases. Is it God's plan that these people are lost because they had the misfortune of being born in an area of the world in which they never heard the Gospel? Maybe they were born in North Korea. Maybe they were born at a time in Native American lands before Columbus ever came. Maybe they were part of the Inca Empire or the Aztec Empire. Maybe they lived in parts of Africa where the Gospel was never preached. China.

Is it just too bad, so sad? I win, you lose! No? What kind of God do we worship anyway?

We worship a God who is caring and compassionate and merciful. Let me take this one step further.

Unless God specifically called you, if you grew up in a Muslim nature and your parents were Muslim and your siblings were Muslim and your entire family for generations were Muslim, why would you be condemned because you didn't resist the flow and you remained a Muslim unless you were specifically called by God as an individual? Why would you even expect someone to counter a thousand years of their family heritage unless God individually called them? Let's go to Ezekiel chapter 37 and beginning in verse 1 and understand what this second resurrection is about.

Ezekiel chapter 37 and verse 1.

Ezekiel sees a phenomenal prophecy here.

A hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the spirit of the Lord and sent me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. And he calls me to pass by them all around and behold, there were very many in the open valleys. We'll see this represents the entire house of Israel, twelve tribes, everyone who lived and died and had not been called or received God's way of life. They had the scriptures, didn't they? The house of Israel had the Old Testament scriptures. These are people who had the Old Testament scriptures, lived and died.

And behold, there were very many in an open valley and indeed they were very dry, meaning they'd been dead for millennia, a long time. He said to me, son of man, can these bones live? So I answered, oh Lord, you know. And again he said to me, prophesy to these bones and say to them, oh dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, surely I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live and I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you to cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

Brother Nis are individuals who were part of the whole house of Israel. Again, for many millennia they didn't know God, as we'll see in a minute, they're lost. They were never called or offered his Holy Spirit. They lived, they worked, they ate, they died. They are representative of the entire human race. If the house of Israel didn't know God, if the peoples of the scriptures didn't know God, how in the world could we expect the billions who grew up in areas of the world without the scriptures to have not known God and yet be accountable for it? Verse 7, so I prophesied as I was commanded and as I prophesied there was a noise and suddenly a rattling and the bones came together. Bone, the bone, indeed as I looked and sinews and flesh came upon them and the skin covered over them but there was no breath in them.

Also he said to me, prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man and saint of the breath, thus says the Lord God, come from the four winds, breathe and breathe on these slain that they may live. So they were dead in a-feshas. Yes, they were put together with muscle tissue and organs and skin but they're laying there lifeless until God's commands and says, thus says the Lord God, oh winds, breathe upon these slain that they may live. Verse 10, so I prophesied as he commanded me and breath came into them and they lived and they stood on their feet an exceedingly great army and he said to me, son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Hundreds of millions, everyone who had ever been born of any of the tribes of Israel who had lived and died and not been called by God and given his Holy Spirit. Indeed, they indeed say, our bones are dry. Our hope is lost. We were sinners. We have no hope. We deserved only death.

Our hope is lost and we ourselves are cut off. They lived and died with their sins. They think they have no hope. They believe their sins have cut them off from God forever. But God has other plans for them. Verse 12, therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God, behold, O my people. He doesn't say, O you sinning scumbags. He says, no, he doesn't say that.

Notice his compassion. Notice his love. Notice his mercy. O my people, I will open your graves and cost you to come to me from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. Realize, of course, that many of them know when they're resurrected or no longer in the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put my spirit in you and you shall live. Why does he put his spirit in them? Because when they lived the first life, the first time they did not have God's Spirit, they were not called to God's way of life. I will put my spirit in you and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, says the Lord. So they will not only receive physical life again, but this time they will be called and offered his Holy Spirit just like you and I were called, and the same spirit that you and I have been given. It's the gift of the Holy Spirit that one receives, and that's what makes them reconcile to God. And God, when that occurs, makes his home in us. Remember one of my favorite scriptures from John chapter 14, verse 23. Jesus said, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him, and we will come and make our home with him. That's what God did to us. When we were baptized and received his Spirit through the laying on of hands, he will do the same again for these people at this resurrection, at this time. Let's now go to Revelation chapter 20 and verse 14.

Revelation chapter 20 and verse 14. And we'll begin to talk about, traditionally, what we have called the third resurrection. Now, to me, it's just semantics. Some people prefer to look at this as the second resurrection, the final chapter. The second resurrection, phase two, or the third resurrection. To me, it's just semantics. The point is, it is a separate resurrection, and, shall we say, a second resurrection and also a second death. Revelation chapter 20 and verse 14.

Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This is what we have traditionally called in the church the third resurrection. The scriptures indicate that when God brings individuals to life after the return of Jesus Christ, that each individual will have a hundred years to accept Jesus as their Savior and to overcome their selfish nature. Because even though Satan is out of the picture, we still have to deal with our carnal, selfish desires, our poor attitudes. And God will give them time to overcome their selfish desire to develop the character to serve forever as a member in God's family. Let's go to Isaiah chapter 65 and verse 20.

Isaiah chapter 65 and verse 20. And again, this scripture implies that those who are resurrected from the great white throne judgment will be given 100 years of additional physical life or a new physical life to make the right choice. Isaiah chapter 65 and verse 20. Isaiah wrote prophetically about the world tomorrow, no more shall an infant there live but a few days. No more children dying as small children due to terrible disease. No more women dying in childbirth. No more childhood leukemias. Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days, for the child will die 100 years old, but the sinner being 100 years old shall be accursed. So again, it implies that individuals who are part of that resurrection, who are resurrected to physical life, given their first opportunity to know God, will be given a 100 years to make the right decision. And of course, the right decision is to accept the shed blood of the Lamb of God for the forgiveness of their sins and to seek God's Holy Spirit. There are, sadly, some individuals who will consciously and purposely disobey God. I'm now going to enter the realm of speculation a little bit, but here are three examples or types of individuals who may experience second death.

Number one, those who are physically alive, those who are physically alive after the return of Christ and born during the millennium, who reject God after a reasonable period of time. And again, that could be very well be the 100 years that Isaiah mentioned. So the first type of individual who unfortunately could and would end up in this lake of fire are those who were physically alive at the return of Christ. Remember, not all human beings are wiped out at the return of Christ. Some will continue to live, and throughout the millennium new generations will be born, and they will have a reasonable period of time to accept God. And if they reject that, they would be the first category of those who would be part of the lake of fire thrown into the lake of fire. The second are those who are resurrected during the great white throne judgment. The second resurrection, we talked about that, and they reject God after a reasonable period of time. And again, the scripture implies that may be 100 years. And then there's the third category, and that's those individuals who already had their one opportunity to know God in their lifetimes, in their first physical lifetimes, and blatantly rejected Christ during their lives. You know, Jesus warned many of the Jews in his physical lifetime that they were in danger of the lake of fire because they knew that he was the Messiah. They saw the miracles. They understood he was the Son of God. And yet, because it threatened their egos, it threatened their status in Judean culture. They rejected him. And sadly, many of them, according to what Jesus implied, may very well end up in the lake of fire.

Let's go to Malachi 4 and verse 1. Malachi 4 and verse 1.

Again, this is a scripture talking about the end result of those who reject God's way of life, who fall into those three categories that we discussed and don't make the right decision.

Malachi 4 and verse 1.

Brethren, today we have taken a look at the three R's. And again, in a nutshell, these are what the fall holy days are about. Resurrection. We took a look at the resurrections that all begin with the first of the fall holy days, beginning with the first resurrection, pictured by the very feast of trumpets itself. And we took a look at reconciliation. This will ultimately come to the rest of mankind when Satan is cast into a bottomless pit after being allowed to test humankind. But reconciliation also occurs when God will begin to call people during the millennium and offer his Holy Spirit to them. And again, we'll talk more about reconciliation on the Day of Atonement.

And the third R was restoration from the very moment that the feet of Jesus Christ returns into this earth. God begins a long period of restoration, restoring that garden paradise that he originally intended at Eden. And it's going to take a thousand years because of the degeneracy of human cultures and the deep seated influence that Satan has had in so many generations of people and on human cultures. It's going to take a long time. Much like that woman who put a little bit of leaven in a loaf of bread and eventually it spread throughout the loaf. One of the few analogies of leaven in a positive way in scriptures. That's how the kingdom of God is.

It starts small in Jerusalem, but eventually it will encompass the entire earth. So brethren, it's that time of the fall holy days, a time of hope. It's the time of the fulfillment that all that we have been promised, the reason that so many years ago many of us chose this way of life and in many ways suffered for it. In many ways we're denied the job opportunities because we wouldn't work on the Sabbath. Or we're mistreated, we're abused because we kept God's holy days.

Or because we believed in the teachings of God. It's that time that we have longed for, a time of hope and fulfillment of God's prophecies, and they are all reflected in the beautiful symbolism of the fall holy days. So let's remember resurrection, let's remember reconciliation, let's remember restoration. Because you and I have the great privilege of being there and being part of the three R's. Have a wonderful Sabbath day.