The Annual Holy Days Are Celebrations of Triumph!

Brethren, as I was looking at the calendar and taking a look at where we are, the fall holy days are just around the corner, and I thought it'd be a good time for us to start preparing ourselves for those. We live in a frightening world. That's not a new slash to anybody in this room. We live in a world where the great majority of people live without any real hope for the future. The world's people fear crime. They fear violent crime against their person. They fear destructive crime against their property. They fear illness.

They fear war, terrorism. They fear perhaps the outbreak of biological or chemical or full nuclear war. And yet, despite all of that, God's people have tremendous hope for the future. And why is that? Well, there are a number of reasons. But one of the reasons is because unfolding before us, step by step, is God's master plan of salvation as revealed in the annual holy days. The annual holy days outline how God is going to accomplish His supreme purpose. The people of God, you and I, we have been blessed with increased awareness and spiritual perception as you and I have faithfully kept these holy days.

Should you and I fail to keep the holy days, our understanding will disappear. I was reminded of a time many years ago, back in the mid-60s, when God was working with me in a minister call. I asked for a visit. This was in 1967. I was 15 years old. When the minister called to set up the visit, he told me he would not be able to come to see me, but another minister would. As a 15-year-old, I received my first visit from one of God's ministers.

Later on, many years later, this minister had made that initial phone call and greeting to me, left the ministry, left the church. One of the holy days was during the days of Unleavened Bread. A number of our people, after services, went out for a meal.

They happened to see this particular individual there in the restaurant. It was during the days of Unleavened Bread. That particular minister, ex-minister, was sitting at his table, eating bread all around the table, asking our members, Hey, good to see you. I've not seen you in a long time. What's up? Why are you all here? It was the days of Unleavened Bread. He didn't know that any longer, because he was no longer faithfully keeping the days. Since these fall holy days are just around the corner, and since we want good news, I thought I would go through a review of the annual holy days, thumbnail style, keep it rather brief.

But there's a number of themes that you can use when you're covering a material like this. But if you like to take notes and you want to put something across the top of your paper, put down this sentence. The annual holy days are celebrations of triumph. The annual holy days are celebrations of triumph. I think it was the second song we sang this morning, talked about how through God we will triumph, how we have hope through God. So let's take a look at the annual festivals. We'll start with the Passover. And again, each of these high days, each of these festivals, there's any number of ways you can view them.

But as I was taking a look at this from this perspective, what I wrote down on my notes here, Passover represents triumph over sin and death. Passover represents triumph over sin and death.

When we take a look at the Passover in the three major areas that we cover on Passover evening, the foot washing, the bread and the wine, each of those areas, the foot washing, bread and wine, are symbolic of an aspect of God's triumphant victory over Satan and Satan in our lives. As an example for the foot washing, we see the triumph of humility over vanity, or the triumph of Christ's mind over Satan's mind. Tremendous victory there. I'm not going to have you turn there, but in your notes you might want to jot down Isaiah 14, verses 12-14.

I'll read it for you, Isaiah 14, verses 12-14, because this shows Satan's mind, his vain mind. Verse 12, How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, sun of the morning. How you are cut down to the ground, you who 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 on the mount of the congregation and afar the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. So here you see a being that is very vain and not humble at all. And yet, during the Passover service and during the course of the rest of the year, all of us are faithfully trying to practice the trait of humility.

Let's take a look at Philippians 2. Philippians 2.

Philippians 2, starting here in verse 5.

Philippians 2.5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider robbery to be equal with God. So we see here the stature of Jesus Christ, 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 as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So we see, rather, in two different mindsets, and the foot-washing shows a mindset that defeats Satan's mindset, defeats vanity.

Winston Churchill understood this to at least some degree. Winston Churchill knew that the public favor was no proof of real success. One time after he gave a speech in which 10,000 people came out, a friend said, Winston, aren't you impressed that 10,000 people came out to hear you speak? Churchill replied, not really.

100,000 would have come out to see me hang. So he had kind of a grip on who he was. The bread aspect of the Passover shows a total triumph in our commitment to God, where we are committed heart, mind, and body. And this is exemplified over here in 1 Peter, chapter 2, a scripture we read every year at the Passover, 1 Peter, chapter 2, starting here in verse 21, 1 Peter 2, 21, For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps.

Now, explicitly, the example is one of suffering. It's one of not giving in, knuckling under to Satan, even during the worst of circumstances. Who committed, talking about Christ, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth, who when He was reviled, did not revile in return, when He suffered, did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. So here we see a commitment of Jesus Christ, a commitment of the bread, who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. So notice in verse 23 it talks about how Christ committed Himself.

And in verse 24 where it talks about how He was going to live for righteousness, this is what He committed Himself to. That defeats Satan's way of life, a total commitment of heart, mind, and body to God's way. And of course, on Passover evening when you were handed that plate, it has the different little pieces of unleavened bread. And you take and you eat that little piece of unleavened bread.

You are basically saying you are going to ingest and have the part of Christ in you become a part of you in every way. And that shows a triumph over Satan and his way. You've got the wine service during the Passover, which certainly shows a triumph over sin.

1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter. 1 Corinthians 15. Starting here in verse 54. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 54. So when this corruptible is put on incorruption and this mortal is put on immortality, then shall we be brought to pass the same that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting?

O 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, who gives us the victory through that shed blood, through those sins being forgiven. Sin being forgiven, giving us the opportunity for eternal life. So Passover represents a triumph over sin and death. Let's move on to the Days of Unleavened Bread. The Days of Unleavened Bread represent a triumph over Satan's way of life. A triumph over Satan's way of life. I'm not going to turn there.

You might, in your notes, put down Proverbs 16, verse 25. Here are the fruits of Satan's leavened way of life. Proverbs 16, verse 25, where it says, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

No. Unleavened bread pitchers are a triumph over this way of death. John 10, verse 10.

John 10, verse 10, where it says, The thief does not come except to steal. The thief representing Satan. Satan doesn't come except to steal. He wants to steal every good thing, every godly thing away from us. All happiness, all peace of mind. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill, to destroy. But I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. So these days of unleavened bread, when we're looking at those days and keeping those days, they picture a triumph over Satan's way of life, Satan's way of sin. So many times during the days of unleavened bread, we talk about Israel and their exodus out of Egypt. And we see that God, through a series of miracles, delivered them. And yet once they were on their way out of Egypt, as they were approaching the Red Sea, we see where Pharaoh, who was a type of Satan, said, you know, I want them back. Just like as you were baptized and you began living this way of life, you know, even more strongly than before, Satan wants you back. He wants to pull you back into an old way of life. And of course, God had other ideas, didn't He? We see what happened at the Red Sea, where God delivered His people. We were baptized to a new and a different way of life. Romans 6, verse 22. Can you turn there, please? Romans 6, verse 22.

Romans 6, 22. But now, having been set free from sin. And notice how the holy days and the festivals of God, they interlock. We have been set free from sin through the Passover. Now, having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, we are slaves of God in the sense that we obey God, as shown during the days of unleavened bread. And as we obey God, says, you have your fruit to holiness and the end everlasting life. Total victory through the way of God, through doing. Yes, there's doing to be done. President Theodore Roosevelt once said this.

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man so stumbled, or where the doer of deeds couldn't 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 himself in a worthy cause.

Who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails, why, daring greatly, so that his place shall be never with those cold and timid souls who know neither defeat nor victory. Brethren, you're doers. As I mentioned to you in times past, over the years in my ministry, there have been so many people who have called and said, I'd like to talk about coming to services, and I would go out to meet folks in all the different states I've worked in.

And I'd have to say probably more than 90 percent of the people that I invited to services never came. They knew about the Sabbath. They knew about the Holy Days. They knew about the things we know and we observe and value. And yet, something held them back. Maybe they were afraid of losing their job or their mate or disappointing somebody. So they didn't come. You came. You came. That's evidence of your high calling. You not only heard and accepted, you did something. You did something. You are triumphantly over Satan's way of life. Let's turn to James 1. James 1.

James being the brother in the flesh of Jesus Christ. Headquarters, pastor and apostle James 1, verse 22. James 1, 22. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 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 and continues in it, who does it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work.

This one will be blessed in what he does. So, brethren, you and I are Christian soldiers. We are doers. We are achievers. We are overcomers. We are victors over Satan's way of life. And that's what the Days of 11 bread picture. We move on to Pentecost. Pentecost, as I made mention, we are going to do this in thumbnail version.

Pentecost, which shows a triumph over Satan's spirit. A triumph over Satan's spirit. You probably still have your Bibles open to James chapter 1, verse 22-25. Let's take a look at verse 25 again. James chapter 1, verse 25. But he who looks into the perfect law, why would God do away with something that's perfect? Something that Paul wrote in the book of Romans chapter 7, where it's holy, it's just, it's good, it's spiritual. Why do away with that? But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty, and this is God speaking here. Liberty, God's way, a good way, a beautiful way, a fruitful way.

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, not a forgetful here, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed, and what he does. So that is a victory over Satan's spirit of lawlessness. I'm going to read for you Romans chapter 6 in verse 19. You need not turn there if you don't want to. Romans 6, 19. Where Paul writes, I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, that's Satan's mind, the mind of lawlessness.

But Pentecost shows us that God gave his law in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament, his spirit, so he can better keep and better be equipped to keep that law. I want to have you turn to Ezekiel chapter 11. Ezekiel chapter 11.

Ezekiel chapter 11 verses 19 and 20. Ezekiel 11 verse 19. Then I will give them one heart and will put a new spirit within them. Well, they've already got the spirit of the man, so what new spirit is left to give them? God's Holy Spirit. I will put a new spirit within them and take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh 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 here we see a combining of the thoughts of God's law and God's spirit that we have on the day of Pentecost. And it is through that, through that tremendous combination, we have triumph over Satan's spirit. We move now to the Feast of Trumpets. Feast of Trumpets. Trumpets represent a triumph over Satan's system of government. A triumph over Satan's systems of government.

I don't know about you, but as I watch the news and I watch the political campaigns unfolding in this country, the presidential campaigns, I find that if I've got something in my hands, they get airmailed around the room.

I find myself getting quite upset about what I hear by both candidates and the pundits and their analysis and on and on it goes. And we recognize as God's people that we want the triumph of God and His government over Satan's systems of government. Now, truly, democracy is the best of what mankind can come up with, but we don't want to settle for that.

We want very much for God's system to take over, and we work toward that. We pray about that. Brethren, Satan and mankind have had 6,000 years. Talk about a time trial. Satan and mankind have 6,000 years of a time trial. Full of opportunities. Every race, white, black, yellow, red, every race has had its opportunity for at least regional dominance, regional rulership. What has that gotten any of the races?

Can we look at any of the races and say, boy, that race really has it. Really has it nailed down. Really doing a good job. No. Both sexes. We've had men rulers. We've had women rulers. Anybody have that nailed down? No. Don't have that. We've had various types of cultures, various types of cultures in mankind's history, through various time eras. Each, in turn, has failed miserably. Now it's time for Satan and his government to come to an end.

It's time for God's government to triumph. Let's look at Revelation 11. Revelation 11. Revelation 11, verse 15. Isn't that something of great beauty? We've got the resurrection of the saints. We've got the time for God's government to be reestablished on this earth. We've got time for something that you and I hold so dear. You know, we can quote 1 Corinthians chapter 15 about the resurrection. We can quote 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 about the first resurrection.

How many times have you taken a good look at Isaiah chapter 60 in terms of the first resurrection and your future? Let's take a look at that. Isaiah chapter 60. It was mentioned last week over in Beloit that at the feast, I feel kind of let down if the whole feast comes and goes, and there's not much quoted from the book of Isaiah. I really do. It's such an encouraging book. One year at the feast, I gave a sermon where I didn't quote anything else but the book of Isaiah. So let's take a look at Isaiah chapter 60 starting here in verse 1.

Isaiah 60, verse 1. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. This is talking about the first resurrection. This is talking about you being resurrected to glory. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people. So here we have a timeframe. It's the end of the age. We appreciate during the Feast of Trumpets all that the earth will be going through. I've not yet selected a topic for that day, but over the years, I've gone through various prophecies in Revelation, in Isaiah, in the Minor Prophets.

The one prophecy that talks about how the earth is going to teeter like a drunkard in Revelation, where it talks about, don't hurt the green things. Why? Because if you do any more destruction to those things that are green, people won't be able to breathe any more.

You know, the oceans and so forth, the fish and everything dying. Can you imagine the smell when everything in the ocean is dead and it bloats and rises to the surface? No wonder why people have a hard time getting a breath of fresh air. So as verse 2 says, it's a time of darkness. But in that time of darkness, there's light because it's the time of the Second Coming. It's a time of our resurrection. Arise, shine, verse 1, it says, you arise, you shine because your light has come. Time for you to come out of those graves.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, deep darkness to people, but the Lord will rise over you and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light and the kings to the brightness of your rising. So brethren, keep this in mind when you're thinking about the first resurrection and what's going to be happening in your life.

So, Trumpets pictures a triumph over Satan's system of government.

We now come to the Day of Atonement, showing a triumph over Satan himself. We've been dismantling him piecemeal, his way of thinking, his way of doing, his systems of government. Now we are taking him on altogether.

There's an old fable that I've heard. You may have heard this old fable as well. But I'm quoting you now as not Scripture. It's an old fable. There's an old fable that says, The Devil once held a sail and offered all the tools of his trade to anyone who would pay their price.

They were spread out on a table, and each one labeled, His various devices, his various tools, were labeled, Hatred, malice, envy, despair, sickness, sensuality, All the weapons everyone knows so well that he uses. But off to one side was another tool, well worn, had the highest price tag. That tool had the name tag on it, discouragement. It was old and worn looking, but its price was far above the rest. When asked the reason why, the devil replied, Because I can use discouragement when everybody else has those other tools, they've got it all nailed down so things aren't going to happen. I can't get in the door, but if I can get them discouraged, then I'm in and I can use those other tools.

Let's turn to 2 Corinthians 2. 2 Corinthians 2.

Kind of breaking into a thought here. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 11. Lest Satan should take advantage of us, we are not ignorant of his devices. We've labeled just a moment ago some of those devices, including discouragement.

Years ago, before I was in the full-time ministry, I was a member of the Detroit East congregation, and the pastor was a very interesting fellow, a unique way of kind of doing things. Remember one Sabbath service, he came to services, he got up in front of the group, and this was back in the early 80s, and the Detroit East Church was about 300, 350 somewhere in there, back in the worldwide days, and he said, you know, brethren, I just didn't know what to give you today. So I've got two sermons here. We're going to take a vote as to which sermon I'm going to give you today.

I've got one that deals with history. I've got another that deals with encouragement. Who wants the one dealing with encouragement? Boom. It wasn't even a close race, because I think so much of our life revolves around fighting the good fight and fighting when Satan wants us to become discouraged. So, brethren, we realize that Satan's days, they are numbered. God is going to triumph over Satan. He will no longer be able to deceive and blind people during the millennium, or the right, right, thrown judgment period. He will not be able to lead people into rebellion, to broadcast his ways. Now, I know that there is going to be, I should put an asterisk by that. We do know that shortly into the millennium, several generations probably into the millennium, there will be a rebellion. God is going to allow that. Mr. Petty, I think, is going to give a discussion about that and beyond today, either last week, this week, or sometime this month. I forget which week it's going to be. God will allow that rebellion to take place after the second coming of Jesus Christ. That's something we've, Mr. Armstrong, taught for years. So I will say that in relation to the other statement. But generally speaking, you know, he is not going to be allowed to do a lot of things. One of the reasons people will be rebelling Satan will be bound, let's be clear, Satan will be bound, but people who had Satan's way in their minds, that will still be there. That will still be there. And even though Satan is bound, people will still be living contrary to God's way, at least in those areas of God and may God. Let's turn to Revelation, Chapter 20.

Revelation, Chapter 20.

Revelation, Chapter 20.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit, and a grey chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old who was the devil in Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so he should deceive the nations no more, till a thousand years were finished. Again, a triumph over Satan. Now we can have rest. We come now to the Feast of Tabernacles, to the Feast, which pictures triumphant world civilization. Triumphant world civilization.

At the end of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur made these comments. And I quote, Today the guns are silent, the skies no longer rain death, the seas bear only commerce, men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace, a new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings profound concern for both our future security and the survival of civilization. The destructiveness of our war potential, through progressive advances in scientific discovery, has in fact now reached a point which revises the traditional concept of war. Men since the beginning of time have sought peace, but military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nation, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by the way of 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. Now, there is a man who knew war, a man who is very good at knowing war, and yet he realized it must be of the Spirit if we are to save the flesh. And certainly, brethren, it will be of God's Spirit, the triumphal return of Jesus Christ, the binding of Satan, that's going to allow for a wonderful world tomorrow. Here in Revelation 20, Revelation 20, verse 4.

Revelation 20, verse 4, And I saw thrones, and they that sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness of Christ, Jesus, and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark on their foreheads. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, one thousand years, the millennium. And that's not going to be because human beings want it. When Jesus Christ returns, human beings will fight Him, because they don't want Him to rule. They don't want as much as they think they want. They don't want a triumphant new world civilization. They want control.

They want control.

Micah, chapter 4. They're into minor prophets.

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, then Micah. Micah, chapter 4, verse 1.

Micah 4, 1, Now it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of the Lord's house, of course you understand that the mountain means a government. God's government shall be established on the top of the other governments. There will be other people who are ruling under God the Father and Jesus Christ and the saints. And shall be exalted above the hills, their lesser governments. And people shall flow to it. Notice they shall flow to it. After seeing what takes place at the end of the age of the carnage, Amos chapter 5 and verse 3, I'm not going to turn there, but Amos 5.3 indicates, indicates that maybe 90% of the world's population will perish at the end of the age.

There's an indication, like we can't speak dogmatically on that point. But Amos 5.3 shows an indication that maybe that will be the case. Verse 2, Many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways. We've had enough of our own ways. He will teach us His ways. And we shall walk in His paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples and rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nations. Neither shall they learn war anymore. But everyone shall sit under His vine and under His fig tree. So we see a time of plenty here, a time of beauty here. And no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

There's an interesting verse over here, a set of verses over here in Acts 3.

The talk about what we call the wonderful world tomorrow. Acts 3.

Starting here in verse 18. Acts 3.18.

But those things which to God has foretold by the mouth of all of His prophets, that Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. The times of refreshing, a time when God's government will take over.

A time of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. It doesn't come from the presence of mankind. It comes from the presence of the Lord.

That He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom the heavens must receive until a time of restoration of all things. A time of restoration of all things. Brethren, God has got a plan, as you're so well aware, and you and I rejoice over, of one thousand years. Now, it's going to take a thousand years to get the world in shape of what's coming next. Again, when you read the prophecies about what this world is like at the end of man's rule on earth, after the warfare and all the things that are happening, it's going to take a while to get this earth to the place where we can have a last great day, where we can have billions of people being resurrected all at the same time. And when that day comes, that last great day comes, this world better be one huge breadbasket.

And God's going to do just that. There are so many wonderful prophecies in the book of Isaiah. I don't have time to go through at this point. Isaiah 35 talks about water spring forth out of the wilderness, out of the deserts, flowers blooming and so forth. I was commenting last week over in Beloit that the BBC was reporting a number of years ago that beneath the Sahara Desert, it's about the same size as the continental United States. Beneath the Sahara Desert is more water than in all of the Great Lakes. Much more water, multiple times more water, below the Sahara Desert. But it's so far down, it's not economical for us to get at it to bring it to the surface. It's just too deep for us to get at economically, but it's there. And the scientists were just, a god got over the fact there's so much water down there. Well, brethren, God doesn't need drilling tools. He can bring that water up any time He wants to, and He'll do just that to water the earth. And it wasn't just under the Sahara. These aquifers are all over the place.

That leads us to the next and the last of the festivals, the last great day. The last great day, which is the triumph of all mankind. The triumph of all mankind.

We're in the book of Acts. Let's look at chapter 3. Let's go to chapter 4 of the book of Acts.

Acts chapter 4. And we're going to see a verse that just befuddles the people of the world. They don't know really what to do with this verse. They tend to try to ignore it, but you can't ignore any part of Scripture. We are to live by every word of God. Acts chapter 4 and 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.

For us to have salvation, we have to go through the door. We have to go through Jesus Christ. There is no other way. And yet the people of the world will say, well, God is fair if you were a good person and you never heard of Jesus Christ, you lived back in the days, you were an American Indian, and you never heard the name of Jesus Christ or saw a page of Scripture or whatever. If you were a good Indian or whatever, you're going to be in God's kingdom because God is fair. God is loving. And that's the rationale I've heard from a number of people. And yet the Bible is very clear. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved. We must be saved.

Now, I'm not going to take you there, but in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 4, Paul says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. And we realize when the Bible says all, we're talking in general terms. It doesn't mean each and every individual because there will be a lake of fire. Somebody will be in that lake of fire. But in general, God desires all men, wants all men. Now, some people won't take out up on this. That's why they'll be in that lake of fire. But God desires all to be saved. 2 Peter 3.9, again, I won't turn there. 2 Peter 3.9, that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's God's desire. This is God's overriding goal in dealing with all mankind. He wants everybody to have a real chance. And brethren, so many people who've lived in this world have never had a chance. We have never, in our church culture, we have never taught a second chance for anybody. We talk about one chance for everyone. One chance. One good chance. And for some people, they've never had it. They've lived, they've died, they've never had it. I don't care if some people knew the name Jesus Christ or read the Bible from cover to cover. If God did not open their hearts and minds, then they didn't have their chance yet. Let's turn to Ezekiel 37.

Ezekiel 37, verse 1.

We drop down now to verse 5.

What kind of breath are we talking about here? We're talking about the spirit in man here. Just as God breathed into Adam the breath of life. I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live. I will put sinews, I will put muscle on you and bring flesh upon you and cover you with skin. So obviously, this is not a spiritual resurrection. This is a physical resurrection. And put breath in you and you shall live, then you shall know that I am the Lord. People will have known they died, and then they realize that somehow they're alive again. And only a great God can do that. Verse 11.

Brethren, isn't that a statement that most mankind can make? Our bones are dry. We've been long dead. We're dust. Our hope is lost. Well, brethren, one of the whole themes behind today's sermon is mankind's hope is not lost. God's annual festivals and holidays represent celebrations of triumph, not defeat. And it says, we are cut off. No, God's not cutting off people who have not had the chance. Verse 12.

So there's going to be a process. They're going to be brought up to life. They're going to live their life. But God's going to do something else. He's going to be teaching them. We are going to be teaching them. Notice verse 14.

We're no longer talking about the spirit of man. This is another spirit. This is God's Holy Spirit. 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 have performed it, says the Lord. So everybody gets a chance, a real chance, a full chance. Nobody is forgotten before God. Our God is all-inclusive.

I don't care if your name was King Tut or you were one of King Tut's forgotten slaves of long, long ago. You are going to have, every human being is going to have, their opportunity at salvation.

So, brethren, God, in His loving mercy toward all of us, has revealed a wonderful and encouraging knowledge of His plan. It's a plan not only of salvation. It is every bit that. It's a plan of triumph. It is a plan of triumph for the whole of humanity. As you and I begin to walk into the fall Holy Day season, let's remember that. These fall Holy Days, they're bittersweet. They're bitter in the sense that there's a lot of bad times coming. You and I may live through those very bad times. As I have watched various news reels over the past, and you've watched them, the old black and white World at War series, maybe some of you have seen those, and you've seen just how desperate things were. Things are going to become even more desperate. But we do have the return of Jesus Christ. We do have Satan being bound. We do have the wonderful world tomorrow. We do have a time called the Last Great Day, in which everybody who never had an opportunity will have their opportunity. Let's take a look at Last Scripture today at Hebrews 2.

Hebrews 2, verse 10.

For it was spitting for Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, and bringing many sons to glory. Many sons to glory. We triumph. We are victors in Jesus Christ, and bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of our salvation perfect through sufferings. So, brethren, the annual Holy Days are celebrations of triumph.