The Annual Holy Days Are Celebrations of Triumph

Brethren, we live in a frightening age, a frightening world, a world where the great majority of people don't have any real hope for the future. Some of the things the people of the world fear. We had that, I guess, yesterday morning, late last night, whenever it was. The significant earthquake in Oklahoma was centered in Pawnee, Oklahoma. I think it was 5.6 on a Richter scale. We actually got two people in a church who live in Pawnee, Oklahoma. Nobody was hurt. There was some property damage. The quake was felt for several states around Oklahoma. Some people are worried about what the world would call acts of God. I always hated that term because it's always some disaster. They're going to blame it on God. But the world is fearful of that. The world is very fearful of crime, violent crime against their persons, destructive crime against their property. People are concerned about illness, things like cancer, heart disease, and so forth. People are fearful regarding their economic situation. They're fearful about terrorism. A new study just came out this last week showing that more Americans are fearful about a terrorist attack now than ever before since 9-11. Yet despite all of these fears that the world has, in contrast to them, you and I, as members of God's church, have tremendous hope for the future. Why do we have such tremendous hope? We have tremendous hope because we know God has a plan of salvation. We know that plan of salvation step by step. The annual Holy Days outline how God is going to accomplish His supreme purpose. The people of God have been blessed with increased knowledge, spiritual perception, as you and I keep those days. If we forget those days, if we stop keeping those days, then that spiritual perception we've had will leave. I remember back in 1970, God was working with me since 1967, that my folks would not let me go to services, so I decided to keep the Sabbath at home. But in 1970, I was old enough to apply for Ambassador College. I was accepted to go to Ambassador College. The ministry was going to come out and discuss various issues with me. I got a phone call from one of our ministers. Years later, he left the church. Some brethren went out after the Days of Unleavened Bread for a meal. There that former minister was in the restaurant. He said to the folks, Hey, what are you all doing here? Why are you all together? They said, well, the Days of Unleavened Bread. Of course, on his table, he had all sorts of bread. He didn't know. He had forgotten. He didn't care. But you and I, thankfully, brethren, as we heard in today's sermonette, we do have a sense of urgency. We do keep our minds on the things they need to be keeping them on. And we've got the Holy Days of God, the annual festivals that are just around the... The fall Holy Days are just around the corner. So I thought today would be good for me to kind of give a thumbnail type of review of the Holy Days with a special theme in mind. The theme I have, the theme for today's sermon is this. The annual Holy Days are a celebration of triumph. The annual Holy Days are a celebration of triumph, of victory. They're positive. They're uplifting. They give us hope. Let's take a look at each one of these festivals and turn and just see just how we are victorious as a result of these festivals that God has blessed us with. The Passover. The Passover shows a triumph over sin and death. Over sin and death. And each element of the Passover service shows triumph. The foot washing does. The bread does. The wine does. All three elements of the Passover represent an aspect of God's triumphant victory over Satan in our lives. Foot washing shows the triumph of humility over vanity.

Or the triumph of Christ's mind over Satan's mind.

There's a lot there. But I'm sure that you can catch that and or listen to the tape message or go online and listen to that later on. Let's take a look at... I'm just going to quote here for you. If you want to put this in your notes. Isaiah 14, verses 12-14. I'll read it for you so you don't wear your hands out today. Don't have to anoint people with their fingers. Isaiah 14, verse 12. How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. How you are cut down to the ground. You weaken the nations. For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, above the angels of God. I will also sit in the mount of the congregation. On the farthest sides of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be the most high. So there we see a mind that's very vain on itself. And yet Passover, with our foot-washing service, shows the humility that we develop as Christians. And that humility defeats the mind of Satan. Philippians 2. Let's turn to that. Philippians 2, verses 5-8. And let's contrast this with what we just read from Isaiah 14. Here we have Christ's totally humble mind, which is triumphant over Satan's vain mind. Philippians 2, verse 5. But let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. So if anybody had a reason to be vain, it was Christ, but he certainly wasn't vain. But made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So here we have a supreme example of humility. In that supreme example, Trump's Satan's mind.

Regarding vanity, Winston Churchill knew that the public, in favor with the public, was no proof of success. Along those lines, he was not vain. Once, after he gave a speech for which 10,000 people came, a friend said, Winston, aren't you impressed that 10,000 people came to hear you speak? Winston Churchill replied, not really. 100,000 people would have come to see me hang.

Typical Winstonian humor there. So you've got the foot washing, which shows Christ and our victory over the mind of Satan. You've got the bread portion of the Passover service. The bread shows a total commitment to God. You know, a sense of urgency, a total commitment, a triumph of total commitment to God. Satan wasn't, Lucifer wasn't committed. You know, people today in the Church of God talk about, if we just had perfect government, we wouldn't have all these issues. Oh, really? Really? There was perfect government before there was ever a human being. God the Father was in charge. Jesus Christ was under God the Father. There was nothing but holy, righteous angels. The government was perfect. The environment was perfect. Everything was perfect. And Lucifer decided he wanted something different. So people who say we've got to have perfect government, eh, that's not an argument. What we need is total commitment to God. The bread ceremony shows that. The bread portion of the Passover shows that. 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. 21 For to this you were called, and explicitly this section of Scripture is talking about persecutions, for to this you were called, we were called as Christians to be persecuted, to go through trials and tests, challenges. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. I believe I've discussed the word picture with you that is here in verse 21. This is Christ left us in a template. He left us a template. In the word picture in the Greek here is very similar to what we all did, probably as kids. When we were in school, you know, we were given a piece of paper, a crayon or a pencil or something. We were told to trace our hand on that piece of paper. And to the degree we are able to do it correctly, we take our hand away, we see the human hand on that piece of paper. That's exactly what this phrase is talking about. Christ left us an example, left us a template. We are to trace our life around what we see in Him. And when we see, when we take what is left, we see Jesus Christ there. That we should follow His steps. Of course, you know the famous rendering where there are two sets of footprints. They go down to one set of footprints in the sand. We are to put our right foot where Christ's right foot was, our left foot where His left foot was. And just so that people would not know there's any difference in the path we walk. Follow His footsteps. That's what the Greek word pictures are in verse 21. Notice verse 22. Notice verse 22. Notice verse 22. Notice verse 22. Notice verse 22. Notice verse 22. Again, this is a victory over Satan. Lucifer was not committed to the great God. Satan was not committed. But we can be, and certainly Christ was, who is our example. Verse 24.

So in verse 22, talks about commitment. Verse 23 talks about commitment. And verse 24 talks about what we are committed to. We are committed to live for righteousness. That defeats Satan. That defeats Satan. In extreme suffering, Christ lived the way of love. He refused the carnal desire to fight back. He was totally committed. Passover pictures that total commitment and defeats Satan. Then you've got the wine portion of the Passover service. The wine portion showing the triumph over sin. The wine representing the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Because of Christ's shed blood and broken body as the bread pictures, because of the total sacrifice of Christ, our sins are forgiven. And because our sins are forgiven, death doesn't have sway over us eternally. We'll die into flesh. It's appointed to all men once to die. But we will be resurrected because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15 is resurrection chapter. Let's turn there. 1 Corinthians 15. At the time of your baptism, your name was written in the Lamb's book of life. And unless you walk away and disrespect the sacrifice of Christ and go back to your old way of living, if your name is in that book, you're going to be resurrected when the second coming of Christ occurs. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 54. So when this corruptible is put on incorruption and this mortal is put on immortality, then it shall be brought to pass the same that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. We have victory because sin has been remedied by the sacrifice of Christ. Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin. The strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So the Passover shows the triumph over sin and death. We move forward to the next festival, the Days of Unleavened Bread. The Days of Unleavened Bread show a triumph over Satan's way of life.

A triumph over Satan's way of life. This world is very familiar with Satan's way of life. I'm not going to turn there, but in your notes you might want to jot down Proverbs 16 verse 25. Proverbs 16, 25. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Satan's ways, Satan's leaven ways of life lead to death. But God gives us the Days of Unleavened Bread to show us that as we follow God in His righteousness, we triumph over Satan's way of life. John chapter 10. Let's turn there. John chapter 10. And in verse 10.

John 10, 10. The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. Let's talk about Satan. Satan comes to steal. He wants to steal your happiness. He wants to steal most of all your salvation. He wants to kill us. He wants to destroy us. He wants to sift us as wheat. That's what Satan does. Yet, the Scriptures say here in the end of John 10. 10, Christ says, I have come. Christ has come. That they may have life, and that they might have that life more abundantly. That's a victory over Satan's way of life. A great victory. You know, at the time of the Exodus that we talk about during the Days of Unleavened Bread, we see that Satan, and Pharaoh was a type of Satan, Pharaoh didn't want to let the children of Israel go.

Satan doesn't want to let God's children go. And so what did Pharaoh do? Pharaoh pursued Israel with the intent of bringing them back into slavery. Just as, you know, as you, people say, why have I gotten more troubles, more trials, since they came into the church? Have you thought that about yourself at times? I know it's occurred to me that, you know, of course, now I was pretty young when God brought me into the church. But many people who came into the church much later in life, you know, it just seems like since I've come into the church, things have become worse. Well, why? Because Satan doesn't want you in the church. Just as Pharaoh was chasing Israel, wanting to drag them back to the slavery of Egypt, Satan wants to grab you and drag you back to the world. But God has other plans. God's got other ideas, doesn't he? God called you. You accepted that calling. You were baptized. Your sins were forgiven. You had hands laid on you. You were given God's Holy Spirit. You were now a son or a daughter of God the Father and a sibling with Jesus Christ. We were resurrected from a watery grave to serve the great God.

Now, with that in mind, let's turn to Romans 6. Romans 6 is called a baptismal covenant chapter. Whenever I am counseling anybody for baptism, I make it a point to have them read and study Romans 6, to know that chapter inside out. Romans 6.

Verse 22. But now, having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit the holiness and the end everlasting life. That's victory. Let's take this verse apart a little bit. Romans 6.22. But now, having been set free from sin, here we see the interlocking structure of God's holy days. Having been set free from sin, because of Christ our Passover sacrifice, because Christ has set us free from sin because of His shed blood, His broken body. And, having become slaves of God. Well, that speaks to the days of a lump of bread, doesn't it? It speaks to us living a way of life, an unleavened way of life, that overcomes and triumphs over Satan's sinful way of life. And because of God's Passover service, because of Christ our Passover, because of the days of unleavened bread, we have fruit to holiness and, as a result, everlasting life. But the thing about the days of unleavened bread, brethren, is that it's for the doers. It's for the doers. It's not for the wishers or the hopers that don't want to put any effort into the things. It's the doer that God is going to bless.

President Teddy Roosevelt, and I didn't agree with everything that he ever did. He was a great president, but I wouldn't say I agreed with everything he ever did. But he made a very interesting comment, and I want to quote our former President Theodore Teddy Roosevelt, when he said this, and I quote, It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, but who knows that the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends themselves in a worthy cause.

Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither defeat nor victory. Teddy Roosevelt was talking about doers and overcomers, and you are a doer, and you are an overcomer.

You are not a victim. Maybe Satan has victimized you, but you're not going to go through life viewing yourself as a victim. Now, James, Jesus Christ's brother, said much along the same lines. Let's go to James 1. James 1. James 1, verse 22 through verse 25. James 1, verses 22 through 25. Verse 22, But be doers of the word, much like Teddy was talking about, how we are to be doers and actually be in the arena. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he's like a man observing his natural face in the mirror.

For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he looks into the perfect law of liberty, God's law, the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, does it, lives by it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work. This one will be blessed in what he does. So, brethren, we as Christian soldiers are doers, we're achievers, and we will know the ultimate victory in the kingdom of God, because we are doers and achievers through Christ who does strengthen us.

Again, as we heard in the sermon out today. Through Christ who strengthens us. We don't pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, but the days of Unleavened Bread show a triumph over Satan's way of life.

We move on to Pentecost. Pentecost shows a triumph over Satan's spirit. A triumph over Satan's spirit. Now, I quoted just a moment ago James chapter 1. This is a great segue to this particular point. James chapter 1, let's reread verse 25. We read it just a moment ago. Let's read it again. James 1, 25. But he looks into the perfect law of liberty that God gave to Old Testament Israel at Sinai, with thunderings and lightnings.

God had never before spoken to a whole nation at one time. God had spoken to individuals. But when God spoke to the people of Israel, He spoke to the entire nation, giving His law. There were thunderings, there were clouds, the earth shook. So much so that the people of Israel said, You know, Moses, this guy's a great God, he's powerful, and you know, we're kind of afraid of him. Now, God wanted them to have that experience.

He wanted them to have an awe of who He was. He wasn't some weakling little God someplace. He was a God of tremendous power. He was giving His law on Pentecost to the Old Covenant Church in the wilderness. The perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, is not a forgetful here, but a doer of the work, a doer, a keeper of the law.

That one will be blessed. We're blessed as we keep God's law. But, you know, the whole idea behind Pentecost is not just the fact that God gave His law, but that in Acts 2, when the New Testament Church was starting, God gave His Spirit. I'm not going to turn over there to Acts 2, but you can cite Acts 2. The devout Jewish folks from all over the region came to Jerusalem. And what did God do?

He gave His Spirit. And when you think about this happening on Pentecost, realizing that God gave His law, and God gave His Spirit on the same day, the same festival, same holy day, it shows that God gave them instruction, and then gave them the tool they needed to obey that instruction.

Now, Satan's Spirit is much different. I'm going to quote you Romans 6 and verse 19. You don't need to turn now. I'll read it for you. Romans 6 and 19, where it says, That's where Satan's coming from. That's his Spirit, the Spirit of lawlessness. But God defeats that through the Spirit, His Holy Spirit. Let's turn to Ezekiel 11.

Ezekiel 11, there is a very interesting couple of verses here that deal with Pentecost, the idea behind Pentecost. Ezekiel 11, verses 19 and 20.

Ezekiel 11, verses 19 and 20. Then I'll give them one heart, and I'll put a new Spirit within them. Now, they already have the Spirit in man. So the Spirit we're talking about here is God's Holy Spirit. I'll put a new Spirit within them and take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.

Why? That they may walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and do them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. So we need both. We need the law of God. We need the instruction, the direction, the guidelines. But we need God's Spirit to give us the proper heart, the proper insights, the proper frame of mind, and the proper power. So Pentecost shows God's triumph over Satan's Spirit. We move forward to the Day of Trumpets, the Feast of Trumpets.

Trumpets show triumph over Satan's system of government. Now, I don't know about you, but I get tired every four years, and years in between, but especially presidential election years. And I take a look at who's running for president, and I say, literally, Heaven help our nation. Heaven help our nation. Now, I don't know. Perhaps there are some of you out there who like to vote, and they're planning on voting for a Republican candidate or a Democratic candidate.

That's between you and God. But when I take a look at the Scriptures, I see that God Himself wants to, and will, triumph over Satan's system of government. And you know what's interesting, brethren, when you take a look at human history, God is giving all of us as human beings a tremendous lesson. He's telling us as human beings, look, every race has had its shot. White race, yellow race, black race, red race. They've all been regional powers, not necessarily world powers, but regional powers. How have they done? Can we take a look at any one race and say, boy, that race really has it together? No. Every race has failed. How about sex? You've had leadership in terms of men and women. How's that worked out? Has that been successful? No. Neither men nor women have a lock on success. Various cultures, ways of doing things, areas of the world. All have been tried, all have failed, and have failed over 6,000 years. God has given mankind a long test period, a long time trial. Each, in turn, has failed miserably. But now, let's turn our attention to Revelation 11.

By the way, after the feast, I intend to start a series going through the book of Daniel. I'll be going through that as a sermon once a month. I'll be here with you twice a month. One of those two times every month will be going verse by verse through the whole book of Daniel. So you can look forward to that after the feast. Revelation 11, Revelation 11, 15. Then the seventh angel sounded, and there was a loud voice in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. So here we see victory, here we see triumph over Satan's system of government. Democracy, socialism, communism, fascism, you name the ism. God's government will be victorious over them all. The twenty-four elders who sat before God on their throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty. Brethren, the people of the world do as well. How much suffering has this world done because of the government of mankind? Where one government decides, you know, we want more territory. And so war has started. And some of you have been in war. Some of you have known the horrors of war. And you know, the men and women I've known over the years who have been in a war and who've actually been in fighting, they're not the people who want to talk about it.

You know, you get people who were on the outskirts and they want to talk about war. Well, anyone who's really experienced war that I've known, now maybe you've known somebody different, but who've actually seen battle and what battle does to people, destroying lives, you know, we say the same thing here. We give you thanks, O God.

We don't want these governments to take our young men and women and who destroy their lives. We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was to come. Verse 17, because you have taken the great power and reigned. Verse 18, the nations were angry and your wrath has come. I mean, the nations simply don't know enough. God has got to come. Jesus Christ has got to return. And by force, by force, allow His government to take over the governments of the world.

Isaiah chapter 60. Interesting. I always enjoy Isaiah. One year at the feast, I gave a sermon in Wisconsin Dells. Maybe you, some of you were there that year, but one year at the Dells, I gave a sermon and every scripture in my sermon was out of the book of Isaiah. Not a single one outside of the book. I guess I feel in my life, and this is going to be true of the messages I've got prepared for the feast this year, if I don't hear some Isaiah during the feast, I feel like I've been shortchanged. I've been chipped. Where is Isaiah? You need to have some Isaiah in this feast. Isaiah chapter 60.

And you might want to put a little note in margins of your Bible or in your paper there about how this compares to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the resurrection chapter. Isaiah chapter 60 verse 1. Arise, shine, for your light has come. Brother, this is talking about you. This is talking about your resurrection. Arise from your drives. Shine because you are now fully the children of God. For your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Verse 2, for behold, the darkness shall cover the earth. So we're giving a time stamp here, an era. During a time when Satan's rule was running the world, there's a resurrection. The darkness shall cover the earth, the deep darkness of the people. But the Lord will rise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you as you are resurrected from the dead in glory. The Gentiles shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.

That's talking about our first resurrection, brethren.

That's a triumph over Satan's system of government. Why? Because you, along with Jesus Christ and God the Father, will be running the world. Running the world. The government of God will be reestablished like it once was prior to Lucifer's rebellion, Satan's rebellion.

So Trumpets pictures a triumph over Satan's system of government. Let's go now to the Day of Atonement. Day of Atonement. Atonement pictures triumph over Satan himself. Over Satan himself. Not just his governments or systems of government, but over Satan himself.

There's a fable I'd like to share with you. There's a fable that says the devil once had a sale and offered all the tools of his to anyone who would pay the right price. They were spread out on a table, each one labeled. There was the tool of hatred. There was the tool of malice, of envy, of despair, of sickness, of sensuality. All the weapons that Satan uses so effectively to try to destroy mankind. Off to one side lay a harmless-looking wood-shaped instrument. One of his tools, it was marked discouragement.

It was old and worn looking, but its price was priced above all the rest. When the devil was asked why that particular tool was priced above the rest, the devil responded, because I can use this one so much more easily than the others. No one knows that it belongs to me, so when I open doors with it that are tightly bolted against the others, once I get inside, I can use any of the other tools at my discretion.

In 2 Corinthians 2, we read, Lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. Certainly, discouragement is one of his devices. He's got many devices. Many devices. Doubt, fear, jealousies, a number of different devices. I don't know if we can begin to enumerate all of them. But today, the picture is an essential step in God's plan of salvation, God's plan of success, God's plan of triumph. And this step must take place before there can be the ultimate triumph. We saw it with trumpets that God's government is now in place. But the old regime, Satan and his demons, need to be displaced. If God were to leave them around, then we wouldn't have much of a millennium, would we? So they are going to be taken care of. God will not allow them to deceive and blind the people of the world. In your notes, you might want to jot down 2 Corinthians 4, verses 3 and 4, where it talks about Satan deceives and blinds people, so they won't understand the gospel of the kingdom of God. God's not going to allow Satan to be around the demons to rebel and continue an attitude and spirit of rebellion. We see that in Ephesians 2, verses 2. And God's not going to allow Satan to be around to broadcast a way of murder and untruth. We see that in John 8, verses 44. But let's do turn to Revelation 20.

Mr. Waterhouse, years ago, used to give an interesting, as he was going through the various prophecies, one of the prophecies he used to quote, and I was thinking of quoting it here. I didn't look it up, so I don't have a down memory, so don't ask me what it is after services. But one of the prophecies that Mr. Waterhouse used to use indicates, and I would just say this indicates, I don't know if it can be proven conclusively, but it seemed to indicate, and I would think that this would be the case, that God won't even allow any of the false ministers to live into the millennium. If Satan is going to be bound, if the demons are going to be bound, why allow these fellows who are preaching all this heresy, all this Bible untruth, when 90% of the world's population is gone as a result of everything that takes place prior to the coming of Jesus Christ, if 90% of the world's population is gone, why allow those ones who preach the things of Satan to be alive? Revelation 20, verse 1, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and the great chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil in Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. A thousand years. Here we see a triumph over Satan himself. He is not going to have an opportunity to do any damage during a thousand years. Now, those people who live from our age into the millennium are already damaged. Their minds have already been affected, but anybody who is born in the millennium will not be born having to fight Satan, because he will be bound, as demons will be bound. Verse 3, And there's a story all to itself. It's a story often, and I'll be discussing that to some degree in Oconomowoc. I've scheduled myself for the seventh day of the feast, which is a very interesting day. A very interesting day, a very end of the millennium.

We see people who only know about war as a result of history. They've had a thousand years of the rule of Jesus Christ and the saints. And after a thousand years of living in a garden of Eden, Satan is let loose, and a great innumerable multitude rebels and wants to go to war and march down to Jerusalem and take plunder. That's at the end of the millennium. Mr. Petty's got a broadcast. If you took a look at the September Beyond Today broadcast, he's got a broadcast dealing with that. And also, he will also deal with the fact that shortly after the return of Jesus Christ, I say shortly, there will be several generations, we believe, after the return of Jesus Christ, there's going to be rebellion by Gog and Magog inside of the millennium. Not just after the millennium, but inside the millennium. Again, he'll be talking about that. It's a teaching Mr. Armstrong taught for many, many years. So we have to have Satan bound. We have to have him bound. And here we see that now mankind can truly enjoy arrest. Satan will not be around during the millennium, or his demons, and he will not be around during the Great White Throne Judgment period.

He will be bound. He will not be allowed to affect people. So here we see triumph over Satan himself. We move down to the Feast of Tabernacles. Feast of Tabernacles showing a triumphant world civilization.

A triumphant world civilization.

One individual from history that I've always enjoyed reading about and had a great admiration for is General Douglas MacArthur. Douglas MacArthur said these words shortly after the end of the war. I think I forget if it was the end of the war, just after the war. I think it was after the war. But he said these words. And I quote General Douglas MacArthur. He says, Today the guns are silent, the skies no longer rain death, the seas bear only commerce, men everywhere walk up right in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace. The new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization. The destructiveness of war, war's potential, through progressive advances in scientific discovery, has in fact now reached a point which revises a traditional concept of war. Men since the beginning of time have sought peace, but military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn have failed, leaving the only path by the way of the crucible of war. We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem is basically theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character. It must be of the Spirit if we are to save the flesh. It must be of the Spirit if we are to save the flesh. And that is why Jesus Christ is returning triumphantly to establish a world civilization where there will be no more war. Isaiah 2 No more war, no more West Point, no more Naval Academy in Annapolis, no more Air Force there in Colorado training schools. Isaiah 2.2 And shall come to pass in the latter days at the mountain of the Lord's house, mountain being symbolic of a great government, God's government, the mountain of the Lord's house, shall be established on top of the mountains, God's government will be of all the other governments, and shall be exalted above the hills, the lesser, the smaller governments. And all nations shall flow to it. People will have learned when 90% of the world's population has been cut off through the chemical, biological, thermonuclear war, famine, and disease. You better believe people. Brethren, at the very beginning of the millennium, people who, just before all this Holocaust starts at the end of the age, will be people much like you and I. They'll be just average people. But by the time Christ returns, what is left of mankind, their spirits will be shattered. They will be highly dysfunctional because of what they've seen, what they've endured. And nations are going to flow to God because He's got the answers. And their minds will be opened and Satan will be bound, so they won't be deceived. Verse 3, many people shall come and say, Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. You know, it doesn't say there in verse 3, well, because God's law has been done away. We just don't know what we're going to do. No. God's law has not been done away. God's law is going to be the basis for the wonderful world tomorrow. Verse 4, He shall judge between nations and rebuke many people, and shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

So here we have the triumph of civilization. Let's take a look at the book of Micah. They're in the Minor Prophets.

You know, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah.

As you wade into these little books here. Micah chapter 4 is very similar. Micah and Isaiah were fellow prophets. What we're about to read sounds very much like Isaiah. But there's one addition I want to quote here. Micah chapter 4, verse 1. Now shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established, and on top of the mountains shall be exalted above the hills. People shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For, O Zion, the law shall go forth. Verse 3, He shall judge between nations and rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spirits into pruning hooks. Verse 4, I'm skipping around here a little bit, But everyone shall be under their own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. So verse 4 is a little bit of an addition to what Isaiah was saying. Now Isaiah said the same thing in other places, but the idea here is it's a world of plenty. It's not going to start off, the millennium is not going to start off that way. You know, one of the things I wish I could do, I can't do here like I've done in other areas, because I'm only here every other week. But in other areas where I was able to speak three times a month or four times a month, I went through the book of Revelation verse by verse. And when you go through that and you see what's there, and you see the understanding of how God is going to change the world, it's just amazing to see the world of plenty that we will have. But when you go through, and as I also went through back in my old area of the book of Isaiah, verse by verse, it took me two and a half years to do that. Two and a half years to go through the book of Isaiah. But you see the prophecy in Isaiah about how there's an indication that the earth might be knocked off its axis, and it's going to be tottering like a drunkard and it talks about all the death and destruction that's going to be taking place. So that's what we have at the very beginning of the millennium. Now you ask yourself, why is it you go through the trials you go through? Why through the heartache? Why through all the difficulty? Because, brethren, when you are resurrected to be a spirit being in fullness of glory, as we read about there in Isaiah chapter 60, you're going to be dealing with human beings who are shattered human beings. And they don't want to come to somebody who's going to quote theory to them. You'll be able to come and talk to them about their broken bodies and minds because you've had a broken body, you've had physical illnesses, you've dealt with depression, you've dealt with a lot of things in your life, and you know about the ways of God, and you know how they work. And so that's why, brethren, we go through what we go through in life. But the feast represents a tremendous triumph over Satan's world. Which leads us now to the very last festival, the last great day. Last great day.

Why a millennium? Why, you know, God can do things so quickly. God created a universe so quickly. Why does God need 1,000 years? Well, God doesn't need 1,000 years, but God gives it 1,000 years. Because at the end of the 1,000 years, you've got a period of time where all the people who never understood about the truth of God are going to be resurrected. I don't know how God's going to do that. I know God's going to do that. But I just can't envision in my mind, all at one time, at least that's what we think of how it's going to happen, all at one time you've got billions of people all of a sudden standing on the face of the earth.

And some of those people will be just like me, just like you. And after a while, they're going to have to, you know, want to eat something. They're going to want to lay down someplace. They're going to need to use a restroom. You know, things human beings need, but billions all at one time. And so what God does through the course of the millennium is reshapes. You know, during the end of the age, we see where islands are being moved here and there, and mountains are being lowered. Why is God doing that? God's doing that. He's reshaping the surface of the earth for weather reasons. So that during the course of the millennium, you'll have the tremendous weather. And at the end of one thousand years, the whole world is like a big Garden of Eden.

And it's going to need to be a tremendous breadbasket for the billions of people are going to be resurrected all at one time. You know, you've got the Sahara Desert. Totally unusable right now. I understand the Sahara Desert to be the size roughly of continental United States. Now, you may not know this, but under the Sahara Desert, there is an aquifer down there that holds more water than the Great Lakes, under the Sahara. But it's so far down, it's not economically feasible to tap it. But they know there's a tremendous body of water way down underneath all that sand. Well, when you read in the Scriptures about how waters are bubbling up all over the place, you know, Isaiah chapter 35, and you read some of those wonderful prophecies, and you see where God, you know, rain into season, the springs of the earth, where is some of that water coming from? Places we can't get to it economically, but God certainly can.

God doesn't have to call, you know, what's the name of that place you call Angie's List? I want an excavator here. I want to go down three miles and get some of that water. You know, he just thinks about it. He breathes with his nostrils. It's done. Now, let's take a look at Acts chapter 4 for a moment. Acts chapter 4, because this confounds a lot of people, but you know the answer to this.

God has opened up your mind in a tremendous way. Acts chapter 4 and verse 12.

Acts 4 verse 12, Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved.

Now, the world looks at that, and they don't know what to make of that Scripture. The only way of salvation is through Christ, and yet how many people have not heard of Christ, even today? Not even heard of His name. Or people who lived in past ages not have heard of His name. And yet, the world wants to say, well, some are going to heaven and some are going to hell.

Well, how can you go to, quote-unquote, heaven if that was the destination, which it is not? How could you if you don't even know His name, know Christ's name? Well, you know the answer to that. The last great day shows the triumph of all mankind. The last great day shows the triumph of all mankind.

What do we know about God?

And you know what you might want to jot down 1 Timothy 2 for? 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 4. That God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Now, when it says, all men, that doesn't mean everybody, because there is a lake of fire, not everybody, but in general terms, God wants all to be saved. In your notes, you might jot down 2 Peter 3.9, where it says, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Again, we're talking in general terms there. And so we see God wanting all of mankind to triumph, because there comes a time when God is going to open up people's hearts and minds. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter 37.

I've used this chapter on several occasions at funerals. For somebody, you know, there'll be times when people in church say, well, my uncle Harry or my aunt Bessie or whatever died, would you please do their funeral?

And you know, you want to encourage people at a time like that. And so you want to talk about the resurrection of the dead. Well, you don't want to confuse the brethren by just always using 1 Corinthians 15 when the person never came to church. But here we've got something that you can read, that you can discuss. I can, and if you know, you can with people that you know about a resurrection.

Ezekiel chapter 37, verse 5. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, Surely I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. Now, what breath are we talking about here? We're talking about the spirit of man. Much like Adam had breath breathed into him. So here we've got the spirit of man being breathed into these dead people. I will put sinews, I will put muscle on you and bring flesh upon you. So we see a resurrection here to a physical life. So if you wear your skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, then you shall know that I am the Lord. Why would they know that? Because they knew they died. They knew they died some time ago.

Notice verse 2, the same chapter. Then he caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open field, talking about bones. And indeed, they were very dry. The bones were very dry. Talking about how they had been dead for a long time. So God's going to resurrect these people to physical life. Verse 11, same chapter, chapter 37. Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off.

Isn't that the way the world, without God, feels about themselves? You know, just live this life to the full, because that's all we've got. Therefore, verse 12, prophecy and Satan, and thus says the Lord God, behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. Now, God is no respecter of persons. What he's going to do for Israel, he's going to do for the rest of the world. Verse 13, 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 think it gets a person's attention when they know they've died and now they're living.

I don't think people are going to say, you know, I just don't believe in God. I don't think that's going to happen.

Now, verse 14, I will put my spirit in you. Ah! This is not the breath. This is not the spirit in man. This is the Holy Spirit. I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I'll place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it, and have performed it, says the Lord. So here we see people who are brought up in a general resurrection, the second resurrection. They're given physical life. As they live and learn and become converted, you know, God opens up their hearts and minds, gives them upon their repentance, their baptism, gives them His Holy Spirit.

Revelation chapter 20 also talks about the same thing.

Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation 20, verse 5.

Revelation 20, verse 5. Verse 4 talks about the millennium. Verse 5, But the rest of the dead did not live again until a thousand years were finished. So after the millennium, you've got another period of time, which we call the Great White Throne Judgment, where people will live for a period of time. We don't know how long that period is, but for a period of time, God will give them enough time so they can be properly tested. We drop down to verse 11 of Revelation chapter 20. Then they saw a great white throne, and that's why we call it the Great White Throne Judgment period. And he was sat upon it, whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great. The dead, small and great. You know, our God is an all-inclusive God. There have been plenty of mighty people in history who have died. History records them, but history doesn't record every last slave, man-slave, woman-slave, little baby who died. But they're not lost to God. None of us who've ever lived are lost to God. I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened. What books? The books of the Bible. They were not opened to these people before. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. They never had an opportunity for salvation before. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. Just like you, just like me. We are judged according to things written in the Bible. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the Hades delivered them up. And they were judged, each one, according to their works. Verse 15, anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So they can reject things, too. And if they do, they'll be in the lake of fire. But if not, their name will be written in the Lamb's book of life, just like yours is right now. So, brethren, today I want... I know I've given you an awful lot. I know we covered a lot of territory. You know, those of you who like to take notes, probably I'll have to anoint your fingers after services.

But I felt just a compulsion to go through... And there's so much to say about each one of these festivals of God, but... To my way of thinking, with all that we see in the world and all the things that are happening in our lives, it's so encouraging to know that God has a plan of salvation, it's a plan of triumph. It's a plan of victory. And you're very much a part of that. So, let each and every one of us be encouraged as each one of these Holy Days, each one of these festivals, especially this coming fall, as they come to us, let's enjoy them and understand that they are celebrations of triumph.