Handwriting's on the Wall

I didn't marry her anyway. Well, it's good to be here. I remember when I looked around, it was like coming home again. I did talk to Leon, my friend over in the corner. He's supposed to be scared of me because when Christ came back home, people tried throwing him off a cliff. So I was hoping he would be more kind, and there is no cliff around here.

He could throw me in traffic. But I see how many more people are attending now that I'm been gone. So it is humbling. But I won't take up your time. I never like to go overtime. That's a good way to get on the bad side of everybody. But I do want to welcome the ceilings. And in the back, if you've not met Connie and Gerald, they were at the home office. They were the only people I called for 12 years until they decided to quit and retire.

Now I have to call four or five people to do their job. So it's great to have you in Murfreesboro, God's country, get you out of Ohio down in Tennessee. And this is beautiful weather. Have you ever been here before, Gerald? Oh, you have? Okay. Because this is like the weather every day here. 365. Would you believe that? I don't want to make that statement because it's not right.

All right. Let's go to the sermon. As you can see, the title is Handwritings on the Wall. Many of you have heard it. Perhaps you've even said it. And I hope you have read it because it is Scripture. It's an idiom, though, that's used often today and the dictionary defines it as a doom or misfortune that has come or will come, you might say, as a warning. I think all of us think about that because as I read this, and I'll go through some of the Scripture, but as I read this, I put it in my own words, it's, your time is up.

Many of us have faced that over the years, whether it's a job or even life itself, as we have had family and mates. That time is up. So I'd like to go to Daniel 5. If you will join me there, or you can just look up at the screen.

I believe we have that there. Daniel 5. In verse 5 here we know Belshazzar, who is King Babylon at the time, and he has a big party, more or less a drunken party, and he's using the vessels that came out of God's temple. And so, as we find in this writing, God's not too happy about it, so he decides to shake up Belshazzar. I'll join that in verse 4. It says, In the same hour the finger of a man's hands appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled, so that his joints of his knees were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. He got weak knees. And to put it politely, he needed pampers. He needed depends, because he lost control. He was that scared. I don't know if you've been that scared before. It's been quite a few years since I've been that scared. But it can happen, and it happened to him.

Let's go over then in verse 22, as he is then scared. What's this writing? This hand. I don't know what it is. He says, there's one man who does, Daniel. So he called Daniel, and Daniel told him what his father had learned from God. But Belshazzar didn't learn that lesson. And so in verse 22, he said, But you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. His father had told him. And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house, his house, before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them.

And if you know the history of Babylonians, even the Persians, when they drank, they drank. They drank a cup of wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know, and the God who holds your breath. Ever thought about that? Talk about time is up. He holds your breath in his hand and owns all your ways. Wake up, call. You have not glorified.

Then the fingers of the hand were sent from him. And this writing was written, and this is the inscription that is written in a minute, Tikhot, Tarsan. This is the interpretation of each word, in a means, and basically he's saying, Your days are numbered. I've weighed you, like scales, and you've come up short.

And I'm going to divide your kingdom. He just didn't tell him when. When was in about 12 hours. Was that short? His days were up. He was gone. His kingdom conquered. Handwriting was on the wall.

Maybe you've thought about handwriting. I just gave Suzanne something in my own handwriting. I hope she knows how to read Greek, Smith, or something, because most people can't read my handwriting. But I did accomplish something at a very young age. When I was about Jude's age, Jude, don't take this seriously. Don't follow this example. Follow your father and mother. But when I was growing up, and I don't know how to...where's Mark? In school, do you have report cards you send out now? Do they have to get them signed and bring them back? Yes, but they don't. Well, I wish it was that way when I was in school. When I was in school, you brought them and you had to make sure you had to bring them back. And you had to get them signed. In our house, my mother looks like a nice, kind woman, but when I was growing up in school, she made sure you better have grades. And the first two were okay. You weren't going to see her wrath or my father's wrath. My mother's wrath was a hand. My father's was a belt. I said, we don't want to see either one of them. And so, if you brought an A or a B home, that's okay. It's no problem on your report card. But you brought a C or a D. We saw the wrath. And so, for the first time when I was about 12 years old, I was bringing my report card home and I had a C. And I looked at that on that bus ride home. We used to have to ride an hour to get home from the bus. And I thought, how am I going to get out of this one? And then he came to me. There's a curve on that C at the top and the bottom. And if I practice enough, I can change that thing to a B. And I did. I must have practiced. And I couldn't tell my older sister she would have told on me. She wouldn't tell on me. She'd just make a deal. Okay, you wash and dry for the next month. And I won't tell mom and dad. So I figured out and practiced and practiced and turned that C into a B. My mother's just finding that information out right now.

And after that pass, I just thought, this is not going to be too easy to get it by my teacher. So I made sure three or four people were turning in their cards at the same time. I escaped by my handwriting. So handwriting is important. It was to me. And I found it's easier to just listen and study than to try to fake handwriting. But there's some important about handwriting. Handwriting.

God thinks it's so important that he actually says, Okay, my inspired word is 2 Timothy 3.16. He says it's not only his word, but he inspired everyone. It's God's breathe. He inspired that writing. And he wrote in Deuteronomy 4, and he wrote in Deuteronomy 12 and Revelation 22. Don't add or take away from my word.

That's how important that handwriting is. He said, don't do it. Don't add or take away. And yet, what do we find today in religion?

They've added and they've taken away. We'll touch a little bit on that today as we go through this. But it is important. It has been important, but times have changed. Life has changed, especially in this country. It's not the same as it used to be.

We all know that.

Mary, would you bring me my other Bible out of that? That's so important. I'll tell you how times have changed. Mary is bringing me up. I forgot to bring it. It's my mother's Bible, not the one she reads now. It's one handed down to her from her mother and from my grandmother's mother. Yes, too heavy for even Gary, right? Thank you, Chris. Appreciate that. As you can see, it's a little old. But in this Bible, it's a family Bible. This used to carry weight in this country. As a matter of fact, births were confirmed and legalized. If they were written in a Bible. The Bible was so important that people honored it. And you would have births, as my mother's family is listed in here. My grandmother said here, only Matrimonium, 14th day of October 1915. This should mean something to us. It does to my mother and it does to me. Because it's just part of who I am. And it's not just the writing that our family wrote in there. But this Bible defines who we are. It's the words that are written in there. Like God said, don't do it! No pluses, no minuses, no changing A, C to a B.

I find this very inspiring to me as I look at that.

And I'd like to go to Exodus 31. If you would join me in Exodus. Exodus 31, verse 18. Beautiful thing here that we're talking about. Children of Israel, what Moses was telling them. And in verse 18 from the New King James Version, it says, And when he had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, God gave Moses two tablets of testimony.

Tablets of stone written with the finger of God. Can you imagine? Wouldn't you love to see that? It's interesting that he says with stone. It makes for a wonderful Bible study. It wasn't just out of granite. It just wasn't out of limestone, but it was a certain stone that he wrote with his finger. The Ten Commandments. Incredible and even more impressive when you've studied that. I'd like to go to John. John 8.

Most of you know the story. John 8. Verse 6. As you know, the woman caught in adultery, brought before Christ at the end of a feast of tabernacles. And here it says in verse 6, they accused her and said, well, what are you going to do? They were trying to put him on the spot.

Learn a lesson from here. You don't put God on the spot. You don't try to put his word on the spot. So it says in verse 6, So they said this, testing him that they might have something of which to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger as though he did not hear. What did he write? Questions been asked many times. A lot of speculation. That, too, makes a great Bible study. What did he write? What did he know? Well, he knew everything. He was God.

But imagine seeing God's handwriting. Wow. That's something to think about. How important it was. Move on down. Verse 7. So when they continued asking him, he just acted like he didn't hear. Huh? He didn't go, huh? He just never answered. You know, they were getting irritated. They'd set this thing up. They were trying to accuse him. The plot wasn't working. He raised himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast. Let him cast. Use a new word there instead of throw. Let him cast. They stoned at her first. And again, he stooped down again and wrote on the ground the hand of God, the handwriting of God.

Pretty important. It should be important to us because we need to make sure we understand what is required of us. Because he has plans for us. And this is about you. I don't know about you, but sometimes I have written on my hand. Some people said it's a sign of being dumb. I didn't have paper and I had a pen. That's something I wanted to remember. So I wrote, write notes on my hand, wrote names, wrote phone numbers.

Handwriting is important. But God's even more. Jeremiah 31, 33, we all know it. It says that God put his law in our minds and writes them on our hearts. How's your heart? You had some handwriting on your heart? Think about it. He writes laws in our hearts. That's some holy ink he used. I believe it's probably read. Because it's important to him. But the thing that it isn't, as we've found out over the years, as God has found out, and he says that time and time in the Bible, it's not permanent ink.

Some people have lost God's law. Not only in their minds, but in their hearts. This never, ever was his intention. That it was temporary. I'm up here, not only to see my mother do a work, but I've been asked to officiate a wedding tomorrow. It's important because we're going to marry two wonderful people, Franklin, Tennessee, Garrett and Carly. But I have to sign a marriage certificate.

And without my signature, they're not really married in the eyes of the law. I remember Fred Keller's many years ago was performing a wedding I went to. And when he got done, he had to go somewhere else and he left. And as we were enjoying things, almost 40 minutes later he comes back and says, I forgot to sign. The marriage certificate. I drive all the way back. Why? Because he wanted it to be illegal. You see, God understands because that may be illegal in the eyes of the law.

But with him, when we kneel down to pray, and I put my hands on their hands and I ask God to bless this marriage, to ordain this marriage, that's what really matters. They're married in the eyes of God. It's an exciting time for them. It's big stuff. When I get married, on the 22nd of this month, I will celebrate 39. Some of you may have celebrated. Anybody have more than 39? How many, Gerald? 48. Barry? 50? Boy, you don't... wow. Wow. Yes. Whoops. You would have been? Would have been 55. Amazing. Time flies. We have some younger people here. Any people younger than I am is young.

Any people older than I am, you're old. That's the way I view it. But I want to talk about the big stuff, because there's... that handwriting's important. And I believe... my speculation here... I like to say that, so I won't get something off the Internet. You, false prophet? No. I believe that God has a family Bible. And I know one thing, for sure. He has a book of life. He has a book of the saints and the righteous people.

And not only is it called the book of life in the Bible, I like to refer it as the book of eternal life, because that's what it is, and the incredible names that are in there. I don't know, but I believe, from what Scripture tells us, that an angel didn't write those names. But the God Himself writes those names in that book of life.

And the Bible says that by the mouth of two or three witnesses is a matter established. That means you never see anything really, really, really, really, really important in the Bible that's written just one time.

It's written multiple times, at least two or three times. This is how important it is. The book of life is not written two or three times. It's written 14 times in the Scripture. Seven's number of completion. God said, I want to double it. I want to make sure it's in there 14 times. The book of life! So there's no way we can get around and go, well, I didn't know about that book. Yes, anybody who reads the Bible who knows the book of life.

And I want to talk about that today, not only because I have a wedding to do, but all of us are preparing for a wedding.

If you're here, this is all preparation for the wedding. As God describes Revelation 19 about the marriage supper. That He has been waiting millions of years to be at that wedding. And I know we will enjoy the wedding tomorrow, but it will pale in significance to the marriage of the Son of God and His Church. But I digress, because I like you. You usually don't use a lot of Scriptures. Usually if I have four, five, six, seven Scriptures, most time I ever use. Because there's so much in there. It's like pulling my eye. They're so rich. But today I want to go through the time I have left. Do you shut the mic off after an hour? No. Okay.

But I want to go through some of these examples so that we know. We know this is important to God when He puts it in there 14 times. And 14 times is about us. And how beautiful that is. So let's go, because Moses knew. And the very first time it's mentioned is by Moses. So he knew about the book of life. God obviously told him about it. And as we look at the very first time, if you believe in the law of first mention, as theologians use it, it sets the tone for all the other times in which that verse or scripture or topic is covered. So let's go. You will with me. Back to Exodus where we were. Exodus 32. Exodus 32. God was about fed up with children of Israel. Gave those beautiful set of stones, those two beautiful set of stones to Him. To Moses, He came down the mountain and the people were having an orgy. Yes, you got that right. He said, oh, I'm done with these. I'm going to start with you, Moses. I don't need this. We'll start with this. Moses, the caring person that he was, verse 32, chapter 32, said, Yet now, if you will forgive their sin, but if not, I pray, block me out of your book which you have written. It's the book of life, the book of eternal life. He was willing to give up His eternal life. Any wonder He was called the most humble man on earth at the time? Verse 33, And the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, I will block him out of my book.

He's talking about that sin, mass rebellion, the very first time. Follow me to Psalm 56, if you will.

Psalm 56, in verse 8, you're talking to David. So David, Moses knew, David knew about the book of life. And in verse 8, he says, You number my wonderings. In case you wonder, he knows where you are all the time.

You might even say, if you understand God, you're so important that He follows you all around. You can even call Him your personal stalker, because He does. He wants to know what you're doing. He wants to be involved in your life. That's why He wants us to pray.

And when we read His Word, He talks to us. Not just us talking to Him. It's a beautiful, beautiful plan that He has. But David knew that. You see, you number my wonderings. You put my tears into your bottle. Meaning, He contains them. When we cry, when we cry out to Him, when we go through sorrow, when we go through pain, it isn't something, I'll just get over it.

My father used to say, Grow up. Dry it up.

He usually had a reason for doing it. But God has this thing about He knows us.

Even our tears are kept. It's something that only David could use, phrase, a bottle. Are they not in your book? Book? The Book of Life? David knew that. So, so powerful.

Let's go over to another one from David, Psalm 69. Psalm 69, verse 27.

Add iniquity to their iniquity as David has faced persecution. He's being hunted. Everything's going wrong. He's going through trials, tribulations. And he has enemies all around, even those that he thought, like a Hithafel that he had counted on before. He's fine. Everywhere he turns, things are against him. And he said to these enemies, Add to their iniquity and let them not come into your righteousness.

Let them be blotted out of the Book of the Living and not written with the righteous.

Because, see, David was fooled many times by people who he thought was righteous. He thought they were righteous. He knows God knows. God knows our heart. You see, I just want to remind you, God, that book is for the righteous, not for the unrighteous. How about us? We think about that. Think about our name in the Book of Life. Have you thought about it?

See, your name is written in the Book of Life.

The day you were baptized and give yourself over to God. Always try to tell people, what's a date? Whenever we're baptized. What's a date today? I believe God remembers and puts down even the date. But your name is written in the Book of Life, the Book of Eternal Life. That's big, big stuff. And it should be to us. It should be a good reminder all the time. My name's in there. Many came before us. Their names are there. They will have eternal life.

Oh, what a gift! Because it is a gift. Romans tells us that. People in there, were they perfect? Nope. They were trying striving to be perfect. Aren't we all? Hopefully we are. That's why we repent. So I can be cleansed, clean, every morning, get my day started off right. Being pure again. That's what he gives us. A chance to do. That's why his son came and died. Let's look at an example of that. Philippians 4.

Philippians 4. Ah, the Philippian church. Ah, it was one of Paul's favorite churches. It was a strong church. He had mostly good things to say. But they weren't perfect yet. In chapter 4, verse 2, he said, I implore Yodia, I implore Sendai, to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yodia and Sendai were members of that church. God didn't say we had to like each other. He said we had to love each other. He said you have to love your enemies, and that may even be in the church. Because we're all working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. So here he had two women. Now, we're getting along. He said, work with them. Because he knew the value of each person. God knows the value of every person in here, even the smallest child that's in our mother's arms there. God knows the value of that child. That's why it's so important. But then let me go on, verse 3. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel with Clement also. These women were helped preaching the gospel, set up the church, formed the church, doing the work. And the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are written in the book of life. If we make it to the wedding supper, Yodia and Syntyke, they'll be there. Their names are here.

In that book of life. Because it happens at baptism. And sometimes we tell, that's why, as ministers, we never take baptism lightly. We always counsel. I have someone I counsel with now, but when I go to the feast, someone will baptize her in a Mediterranean sea, she wanted her.

So I look forward to having her name written in the book of life. You know many people whose names are written in the book of life, we get to spend eternity with.

The perfection. There's no gospel song. I played it this morning for my mother.

Some of the words write, some of it. They believe we go to heaven in their own way. But it's called, Johnny Cash sang it, listened to Stadler Brothers sing it this morning, when the roll is called up yonder. Anybody remember that song? And it talks about your name's written in heaven. And it was right.

And there's a wedding supper that's going to take place. It's a wonderful thing.

I guess you still do. I look at Mark. We have other teachers here, too. Our teachers used to take a roll. Do they still take a roll? You have to put it off and so forth. So you know who's there. And you have to check off these names. I have on different boards in the Caribbean for all the various churches and different nations all have boards. And we have to have board meetings and we have to have a quorum. Quorum means there's enough there for the people there that we can have the meeting. God has his quorum. He has enough, but he wants more. He wants more. He wants all to be a part.

So let's go to Revelation 20 as we finish up our study on this incredible subject. Revelation 20. In Revelation 20, verse 12. This is for...you're going to hear the rest of this, 30, next month. This is an October message. I'm just giving you a short version in September. Because all of you would hear about this during the Feast of Tabernacles. So Revelation 20, verse 12 says, And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before...what's your Bible say? Got it! Well, that's wrong. That was added. Nobody told you don't add or take away. That was added. The word God is not in the Greek. It's not in the majority of manuscripts. It's not anywhere. People put that in! Well, it's important to know. What's the real word? The throne. The throne. If you have a New King James that has a margin in the middle, you can see where they actually point that out.

I wouldn't want to be the person that did that. Because he said, don't add or take away. We're going to see later what happens if you do. Because whatever God inspired the handwriting, it's good enough for him. So let's go ahead. Read that. So I saw the dead, small and great standing before the throne. And the books were opened. What books?

Books of the Bible. That's what's going to be opened. This is a great light-thrown judgment. This is when all who never knew or had a chance will come before the throne of God.

And you will be judged by what's written in the pages of this Bible. That's why it's so important that it's not corrupted. Because you're going to have to give an account. The only thing is, if you're a first fruit, you don't have to because judgment is now on the house of God, as Peter tells us. But all those, the great and the small, everyone is going to come. And it says, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. So you have, he's going to have a book that we're all judged by, the same book, same rules, for everybody. And say, how'd you do? Well, he has another called the Book of Life.

And he's going to look in the Book of Life and he goes, you're not in there!

You will be judged.

And thankfully, there's a merciful God. And those who beg for mercy, whose hearts have changed at that time, which will be a lot of my relatives, a lot of my friends.

God will grant them mercy. That's why he's called a merciful God. Listen, another book was opened, which is a Book of Life, and the dead were judged according to their works by the things which are written in the books of the Bible. Why do we read it? Because we're to live by them now. Now. Our time is now. It's not down the road. All of us whose names are written in the Book of Life. That's how important it really is.

Go back with me to Luke 10.

Luke 10. Luke 10.

Luke 10. Verse 20. Here we have the story of Jesus sending out his disciples, and they were catching out demons, and they were performing all these works, and they come back, and they're just raving to God. Raving to Jesus is gone. Wow! You wouldn't believe what happened. You wouldn't believe that. What did he say to them? Well, that's all great, guys. When Luke 10, verse 20. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven. That's where the Book of Life is.

That's what you should get excited about. That's what we should be celebrating when we keep his holy days seven times a year. Keep the Sabbath, because our names are written in the Book of Life. Powerful as that. Go back with me to Daniel 12. I just have a few more of these. I have to look at my watch. Daniel.

Daniel 12, verse 1. I have to say that because wherever I go, and the men who serve with me through the Caribbean and in South Florida, I always give them time. You know, you quit on time. You don't go over time. God's always on time. Be on time. So I imagine if I ever went an hour and they saw it on the YouTube, I'm in trouble.

So, let's go to Daniel 12, verse 1. At that time, Michael shall stand up. The great prince who stands, watch over the sons of your people, over the church. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time, your people shall be delivered. Everyone who is found written in the Book.

Not most.

Not 80% that says all.

Got a nice insurance? Think so. I think that's a pretty powerful statement Daniel gave. Why? Because we're legal heirs. We're going to inherit everything God has. He says all. He's going to give it all to us. His heirs. Is that a promise? Wow. That's big stuff. Go with me to Revelation 3, verse 5, as he talks to the church in Sardis. Chapter 3. Chapter 3, verse 5 gives us such an incredible admonition here. Verse 5, New King James says, He who, what's the word, overcomes. Actually, I learned that definition almost 20 years ago from your pastor. I don't know if he likes to be called a preacher. I'll call him a preacher. He can correct me later, since he is my boss. I heard it from your preacher when he was a preacher in San Antonio. He taught me this all those times, that overcome the Greek word means to conquer.

It doesn't mean just, I overcome. I just crossed the line. I just made it. He said, no, you conquer. You cross that finish line strong. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. I will not block out his name from the Book of Life. He has the power to blotter me.

And he's had to do it, and he will have to do it again. Because we give up. People give up. We don't overcome. We don't conquer. He gives us the power to overcome. Oh, man, that feels good. No, I'm not fighting this world on my own.

I always have Mary with me, but she's not that big. And God's pretty big. She helps me fight the world, and God helps me even more. Like many of you. Go with me to Revelation 13.

Revelation 13.

Revelation 13, verse 7. He said in talking about the beast that will appear in the future, sometime down in the future. It was granted to him to make war with the saints. We are the saints of God. And to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. And awe. That's only three letters, but that's a big word. Awe. Did we get that? Awe, who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not, not, not been written in the book of life.

Pretty important statement that he makes. Go with me to Revelation. Revelation 21. Revelation 21, verse 27.

Talking about the kingdom of God. But there shall, by no means, enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination, or a lie. But only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Your name's there?

Can you get up in the morning?

And really celebrate that? Well, it's big. It's bigger than anything you're ever going to accomplish. It's eternal life. No more sorrow, no more death, no more pain.

These old knees will be replaced. My back will no longer be hurting and sore.

I will not be limited by time or space to be a part of the God family. Because my name is written in the book of life.

I think that's very, very important.

In the United Church of God.

I was here the first time, first service, held in Marfreesboro, Tennessee. We had some small group. Went from place to place, to place, trying to find a place we could hold services.

We showed up in my place for four or five years. Anybody remember Charlie? Remember that hot room? Got too many people. Burning up. Everybody sweated through, listening to us, Charlie.

They overcame.

But what a blessing it was with so many people. And over those years, the handwriting was on the wall.

Time was up.

You remember them? How can we forget? For those who are new, here in this Marfreesboro church, God's church in Marfreesboro, I want to bring back memory of so many of those people. Can you put my names up?

Mark Barrett.

Judy Bittner.

Everett Corbin. Nora Daniels. Joan Duffield.

Pauline Fritz. Preston Fritz. Jean Jones.

Lucretia Kellers. Bob Kuchel. Maimi Lee. Tim Lutz. Ellen McCourt. Karen Berryman.

Charles Smith. Don Smith. Don Todd. Gwen Whitaker. And Charles Williams.

Very important people.

They sat where you sat, where you sit now.

They believed in God. They weren't perfect. But their names are written in the Book of Life. They're waiting on us.

Waiting for us to fulfill our destiny like they fulfilled theirs.

Keep the faith to the end. And I don't have a slide for this, but what a beautiful group of people.

I'm sorry some of you never got to meet these people.

But I'm blessed that I have been able to know everyone.

I'll go to One Last Scripture. I didn't give it to the guys in the back. I appreciate their job today. I know it's light. But if you have your Bible, you'll join me for One Last Scripture.

It's in Hebrews. After the faith chapter, in verse 12, in verse 12, in verse 12, as it talks about what goes on in the people that meet God every week. It talks about the Sabbath day and where we're there. And it says in verse 22, as he's talking about, we no longer go to the mountain that they did. But he says, but you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly. It means festal gathering. And if you look at other Scriptures, it's ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands and thousands of angels come together on the Sabbath day. It actually means over a hundred million angels.

They come to be a part of God's church.

And we wanted to say, to the festal gathering and the church of the first born, remember that name? Remember those names? Who are registered in heaven to God? The judgeable, and to the spirits of just men and women made perfect.

I read about the heroes in chapter 11, the faith. Brethren, there's my heroes. My heroes. I knew them. And many of you did too.

So what should we celebrate?

We are in the Book of Life.

We'll be able to join those people. Those incredible giants, they came before us. They're on God's list. He said their time is up. And for all of us, thy kingdom come, so that we cannot only see them, but we can know. The handwriting is on the wall.