How Are We Preparing To Spiritually Grow?

Well, good afternoon again, brethren. It's always wonderful to be able to get back here and have my driving done for the day and be able to see all of you, be able to have church services here, and be able to worship and honor God. And all of us know we're preparing, you know, for a very joyous and wonderful fall festival here in just a few weeks. And of course it's good to be reminded that these Holy Days, as designated by God, are appointed convocations for us to appear before our Creator.

Now that's the reason why we would go to wherever God sets His name. That's the reason why we would come to services. That's the reason why we would gather together to praise God together and be able to honor God with our not only listening and learning, but with our whole attitude. I'd like for us to think about how can we prepare to grow here during this coming fall festival, during the whole the trumpets and atonement and the feast and the last day.

How are we preparing to do that? Now I know we're preparing, getting whatever suitcases, getting whatever clothes, getting whatever food, different things that we may need to do in order to travel. That's of course physical preparation. But how are we preparing spiritually to grow?

Now we went over last week the need for us to have the mind of Christ and how it is that we can go about having the mind that Jesus Christ had. There are some pretty simple things that we read and yet obviously he was much better at doing them than we sometimes are.

But in thinking about how we can prepare, I got to thinking what is Jesus' message to the church and then to each of us. What is Jesus' message to the church? The mission he's given us is to proclaim the gospel. That's our focus. That's our job. We proclaim the kingdom of God and we encourage people to understand the benefit of the kingdom and be able to celebrate that, of course, at the Feast of Tabernacles. But that's the mission. What is the message that Jesus gives to the church and then to each of us? I want us to go back to Revelation 1 and 2 and 3.

That's pretty well all together where you will need to turn, Revelation 1, 2, or 3. Because we find here in Revelation, the beginning of this book and this whole book was given to the Apostle John to write down.

It was given and it says in verse 1 that it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. So it's not something that John came up with. It's a message that Jesus was directed from the Father and from Him to give to John. And He said, I want you to write this down. And as all of us know, this is a conclusion to the New Testament. A conclusion, in a sense, to what's going to lead up to the coming of Christ, what's going to happen during the millennium, or at least gives the time frame, what's going to happen beyond that.

And even in the last couple of chapters in the book of Revelation, you have a description of new heavens, a new earth that's beyond even physical life, physical existence. What is it to have, eternal life? That's what we see described in this book. But in these first few chapters, you see in chapter 1, well, let's go ahead and read verse 3, blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy. And blessed are those who hear them and who keep what is written in them, the time is near.

See, now clearly, we're not going to go through all the Revelation. We'll go through some of that in trumpets and some of it may be in atonement because obviously those are mentioned there. But what I want to focus on is what we see here in chapter 2 and 3 because we see a message.

A message, verse 11 of chapter 1, I'll back up a little bit, chapter 1, John is told right in a book what you see and what I want you to send it to the churches, the seven churches in Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamos and Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea. Now, I know many of you are very familiar with this and I know it's pretty easy to read through chapter 2 and chapter 3.

You can read the whole thing. It doesn't take very long and we'll read some of it today. But I'd like for us to think about it maybe in a little different way. Those particular churches were on a male route that you could circle around if you were going on that male route. And I know that each one of these messages to Ephesus or to Smyrna and Pergamos, each one of those were directed to a certain congregation at the time. And yet, as the church has taught, there may be a connection here with eras of the church over the last 2,000 years.

I'm not going to say that there's any one thing that I could say that would be, this is what this means. But clearly, you know, the Ephesus description seems to be the very earliest people who were part of the church. And when you read in Philadelphia and Laodicea, lazy to see it, I'll say, you read those two, they seem to be much more toward the end.

So, you know, again, I'm not trying to go through specifics or details of that. What I'd like for us to see is that if we think about, well, what's the message for me? What's the message for each of us as members of the church? Well, we're told, you know, that we need to be reading all of these. It doesn't just say to read one of them, say, okay, this applies to me. What it says, it says this in many different places, say in chapter 2, verse 7, anyone who has an ear, listen to what the Spirit says, to everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life.

Okay, I'm not finding the right part of that one, so I'm sorry. Okay, well, yeah, I guess I did, and the first part of it, I focused on the second part. The first part of verse 7, let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. So it's not directed only at the church at Ephesus, but, and you see that same statement made in most of the others, not perhaps all of them, but in five or six of them, it says, you know, read the messages to the other churches as well.

Read, in a sense, heat. Now there's some specific things that I want to point out about, in a sense, the overview of chapter 2 and chapter 3 about these messages to these congregations, and they can be applied directly to each of us. The first thing that I want to mention is that this is coming from Jesus Christ. It comes from the Son of God. This is not only revealed in chapter 1, but it's also rehearsed in each one of the messages, as I will show you later.

So that's the first thing we want to cover, that Jesus is in the midst of what he says are the candlesticks. Here in chapter 1, in verse 20, the mystery of the seven stars that you saw, and the seven golden lampstands or candlesticks of the seven stars of the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands of the seven churches. And what it points out is that Jesus Christ is directing, he is leading, he is a part of, he is concerned about every one of these messages.

Now, I want to point out to you that you have, again, somewhat similarity in each of the messages, because you usually have some statements of encouragement. That's the first thing that often, you know, this is a part of what we've often taught in Spokesman's Club in the past.

If we're going to be doing an evaluation, you know, then we try to be encouraging, we try to find things that they're doing well, and then you bring up something they could work on, bring up something that they could improve on. And that's exactly what Jesus does. He gives encouragement. He also then gives correction. He gives the discipline that is needed. And then we'll read that he does also motivate each of the churches to continue to do well. And finally, you know, there's one message that is consistent through all of the eras. I think it's mentioned in six of them, and I'm going to say it would apply to the others. But I want us to think about what that one message would be, because I'm not going to say that one. I'm going to go through the others, but I do want us to think about the fact, you know, that Jesus Christ is the one, the Son of God, is in the midst of each of these churches. Here in chapter one, we can read this in verse 12.

When John turned around to see the voice that he had heard that was speaking and turned, when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, I saw one like the Son of Man. Clothed with a long rope and with the golden sash, across his chest and his head and his hair was white. They were white as white as wool and white as snow. His eyes were like the flame of fire and his feet were like burnished bronze, refining in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. And in his right hand, he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. See, this was a vision that John saw. He saw something, and he was able to write down, he was told to write down, what we're telling you. And yet, this vision, or this revelation, I guess, was from Jesus Christ.

It was from the description that we see here in chapter 1, verse 12, down through verse 16.

Now, to back up what I said that Jesus Christ is a part of, it's clear from this section, he's a part of each one of the messages to the churches. Let's read chapter 2, verse 1.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write, these are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden candlesticks.

Now, what you're going to find in each one of these, you've got the composite description here in chapter 1. Almost all of these things are mentioned. And then, in each of the messages, you see it starts off describing Christ just from using one or two of the descriptions.

Chapter 2, verse 8. To the angel of the church in Smyrna say, these are the words of the first and the last, the one who was dead and who came to life. Again, this is a talking about Jesus Christ.

It's talking about the Son of God. Chapter 2, verse 12. To the angel of the church in Pergamos write, these are the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. See, again, you read all of these in chapter 1, but then he points out a couple of the pertinent items throughout the rest of the message. Here in chapter 2, verse 18. To the angel of the church in Thyatira write, these are the words of the Son of God who has eyes like the flame of fire and whose feet are like marnish brass.

Chapter 3, verse 1. The angel of the church in Sardis, these are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Chapter 3, verse 7. The angel of the church of Philadelphia write, or to the angel, these are the words of the Holy One, the true one, the one who has the key of David who opens and no man shuts and shuts and no man opens. And then finally, in chapter 3, verse 14. To the angel of the church of Laodicea, the words of the Amen, the faithful and the true witness, the one who is the beginning and gave through God's direction the creation of God.

He was the one who created at the God's direction everything that was going to happen. So you see, all of these messages tied together and the fact that Jesus Christ is involved in each one of these, if this meant different segments throughout the years, over the last 2,000 years, well then Christ was a part of that. If it's directed only at a given congregation, or if it is as it says it is, read all of these because these messages are for you, well then that's part of what we need to take away from that as well.

I think it's interesting to see whenever you read through these messages, because they all describe the Church of God. They describe the Church that understands Jesus Christ to be the head of the Church. That's clearly not only what we've taught for 70 years, it's what we teach today, it's what we believe. And yet, which one of these churches is perfect?

Which one of them is flawless? Well, there aren't any. Actually, the Philadelphia era looks pretty good, and yet it does say, well, you only have a little power. You're not very big, and you've really been given a very big job, and so you do have a limitation as well. So, I want us to recognize this about the messages that we're going to read. As I said, what Jesus points out in each of these messages, he points out encouragement and then correction, and then motivates us. And so, let's go to the encouragement here in chapter two. What does he say to this first message in Ephesus?

Chapter two, verse two, he says, I know your works. I know your toil. I know your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evil doers. You have tested those who claim to be apostles but aren't, and have found them to be false. And I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary.

That's a pretty positive statement. You know, that they had begun to do the job, that they had been missioned to do. They had been actively doing it. They had been persevering. They were patient.

And even down in verse six, he says, yes, this is to your credit that you hate the work of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. This is dealing with the group that was promoting disobedience and sin. Again, I can't go through much about each one of these, but what's the encouragement? Well, he says, you've been doing well. Let's go down to chapter two, verse nine, about Smyrna. I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. And I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Christians, Jews, and yet are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. Now here, you know, he has given, in a sense, a commendation, and yet in dealing with this particular message to Smyrna, you know, Smyrna's message is a little bit different. It actually says, you know, you're going to be persecuted. And it would appear that that was a part of the message.

You need to understand that being a part of the Church of God might involve persecution. But he says, you know, you are, even though you're afflicted, even though you are in poverty, you are still rich spiritually. In chapter two, verse 13, chapter two, verse 13, about Pergamos. I know where you're living, where Satan's throne is, and yet you're holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Annapas, my witness, my faithful one who was killed among you, where Satan lives. Again, he was telling this Church that, well, you're living in a very difficult time, a very difficult place, and there's a great deal of pressure being put upon you, but you have been doing quite well. Chapter two, verse 19, he says, I know your works, your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance, and I know that your last works are greater than your first. And down in verse 24, he says to those in Thyatira, to the rest of you in Thyatira who do not hold this teaching, talking about a false teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan to you, I say, I do not lay on you any other burden, only hold fast to what you have until I come. See, that's a pretty, again, a great commendation. Chapter three, verse one, talking to the Church of Sardis, I know your works, you have a name of being alive. And so, you know, they did have life.

They had a knowledge of the truth. They had a knowledge of Jesus Christ.

But of course, he says, but you are dead. And in verse four, yet you have a still a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me dressed in white, for they are worthy.

And in Philadelphia, you have a very positive account here in verse eight of chapter three, of chapter three, I know your works. Look, I have said before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but a little power, little strength, and yet you have kept my word and you have not denied my name.

And in verse 10, because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I have, I will keep you from the hour of trial that's coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. And then finally, in chapter three, verse 15, the encouragement that he gives Laodicea in their letter, verse 15, I know your works, but you are neither cold or hot. I wish that you were either one or the other. See, again, he starts out in each of the messages, not only to addressing who he is and describing himself and his involvement, but he's very encouraging in the words that he's able to pass on to the churches.

Now let's come to see what the correction is. If we're looking for a message from Jesus Christ to us as we prepare to grow here at the feast, one of the areas of correction, chapter 2, verse 4, I have this against you that you have abandoned the love that you had at first.

This seemed to be what you would find in the apostolic era. You know, they certainly started out with a great fanfare, and as we read in the book of Acts, many people were drawn, thousands were drawn into the church, and over the course of the next decades, you know, they would continue to teach and preach, and yet they would be scattered. The Jews would suffer even from the hands of the Romans. The temple would be ransacked in 70 AD, and ultimately all of the apostles, as they continued to do their work, many of them would die and John would be left in the 90s to be writing this message that came from Jesus Christ. But he says in verse 4, what I have to say as far as a correction is that I have this against you that you have abandoned your first love. Now again, we can think about that as far as is that possibly a correction to us?

Is that do we have the type of zeal for God that we had initially, that we had maybe for the first five or ten or twenty years in our conversion? Let's drop on down to chapter 2 verse 10.

You actually say, or it says here, that this church in Smyrna was going to be persecuted.

They lived in poverty, they were distressed, and yet he says, I'm going to allow you to be persecuted. He says, verse 10, don't fear what you're about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction.

It would appear to be referring to ten years at some given point when we apply a day for a year principle here in the past. Again, I'm not wanting to do the details on all of this, but that particular church was told you're going to need to be willing to suffer. You're going to need to be willing to be persecuted because that's what I'm going to allow. Chapter 2 verse 14, talking about Pergamos, verse 15, you also have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Again, a reference to what he also said in the first message. See, what is his concern? What is his correction to the people there? Well, what we find when we read through this more is that they were compromising with the truth. They were not keeping their eyes on the goal. They were not focused on the truth of God, the purpose of human life, and they were compromising in areas that they should not. We drop down to chapter 2 verse 20 with Thyatira, I have this against you.

You tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Again, this was a description of a church who understood the truth and yet was corrupted. Not so much compromised as the other one was describing, but corrupted by offense as you would read through this more. In chapter 3, we already read this because it's so close together, but regarding in verse 1, the church at Sardis, I know your works. You have a name that you are alive, but unfortunately, as he describes it here, you're really dead. You're not alive spiritually. You may know the name of God. You may know the truth of God, but as it points out here, you know, that church was dead. And of course, he's going to write to try to stir them up. He's going to try to encourage them to do better.

Chapter 3, verse 8, I know your works about Philadelphia.

I've set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut, but I know you have just a little strength, a little power, and yet you have kept my word and not denied my name. So the correction there was simply that, well, you're not large. You're not the overpowering church that, you know, controls the, you know, church community around the world. You're very small. You're very tiny.

You don't, you have to rely, as we find with many other examples in the Old Testament, about people who are going to do the work of God. You know, many times, you know, they had to learn to rely on God to do it, not that they were going to do it, whether it was the rubbable or whether it was Gideon or what, no matter the different examples you could bring up, they had to learn to trust God. And that, of course, is the correction that we read here for Philadelphia.

It goes on in verse 11 to say, I'm coming soon. I want you to hold fast to what you have so that no one may take your crown. See, they were going to be living in a time where protection was going to be needed. And they were going to not only have little strength, but they were going to need to hold fast to what they understood to be the truth. And we might see an application to that in our own lives over the last 50 years that we want to maintain a closeness to God. And then finally, in chapter 3, verse 15, he says, I know your works in talking about this church of Laodicea. I know your works. You were neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one of the others because you are lukewarm. Neither cold nor hot, I'm about to spew you out of my mouth.

See, now, each one of those, after giving some encouragement to each of these messages and to each of these churches, he then gives some correction. He talks about losing your first love, talks about not understanding that persecution might be a part of what you do endure, talks about compromise, about being corrupted, about even being dead, having little power, needing to hold fast, and being lukewarm. You know, any of those characteristics could be analyzed as God encouraging us to be stirred up, to be excited about what, you know, when we examine ourselves, when we take a look at ourselves, I know we often talk about examining ourselves at the time of the Passover, and that, of course, is directed. It's very clear. I think we also should examine ourselves, even at the time toward the fall festivals, because as we go and as we meet together and as we interact, well, then we want to reflect the mind of Christ. We want to reflect looking at the message from Jesus Christ and how we ought to live. And each one of these corrections are given in a sense in a clear way to these churches, but have we ever thought about applying those since we are to read all of the messages and learn all of the lessons? Have we thought about applying those to ourselves? Finally, the motivation.

Obviously, the motivation for the Church of God is to be a part of the kingdom of God and have eternal life. You know, that's what our motivation is. We want not to die for all eternity, but to live. To live for all eternity, and certainly to look forward to the tree, to the kingdom of God. And this is described here in chapter 2, verse 7. This is described in somewhat a number of symbols.

You see here in chapter 2, verse 7, that anyone who has an ear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to these churches, to all of the churches, so we want to understand them. To everyone who conquers, to him who overcomes, to him who is changing, who is overcoming, is conquering to him who conquers. I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that's in the paradise of God.

Now, that's one description of what we would think of as being in God's family, being a part of God's kingdom, being allowed to rule and teach and serve others during the kingdom of God.

Chapter 2, verse 10, dealing with this second one, he says, don't fear. Let's just drop down to verse 11. Let me do 10. Do not fear for what you are about to suffer, but beware the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested for 10 days. You will have affliction, but be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. I will give you the crown of life. And in verse 11, whoever conquers, whoever overcomes will not be harmed by the second death. Now, see, that's the death you want to avoid. The first death we may not avoid. You know, we may die before Christ returns, but the second death, we don't want to be a part of that because that is permanent extinction.

So, in a sense, the motivation to program us, even though they were going to be persecuted, even though they were going to be tried in a what appears to be a very severe way, he says, I'll give you the crown of life, and you will not be harmed by the second death. There isn't much more that you could offer that you no longer, you know, are subject to the possibility of death, but that you've been given eternal life. Chapter 2, verse 17, to program us, he says, let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches to everyone who overcomes, to everyone who conquers his own nature, who conquers his own hostility toward God, who conquers his attitudes that are in conflict with God, to anyone who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone has written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it. Now, here in each one of these, this is a motivation. He's talked about giving them the tree of life, the crown of life, hidden manna.

Chapter 2, verse 23, with the next church, he says, I will end all the churches. We'll know that I'm the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.

And in verse 26, to everyone who conquers, to everyone who overcomes and continues to do my works to the end, I will give authority over the nations and rule them with the rod of iron, as when clay pots are shattered, even as I received authority from my father, to the one who overcomes, I will also give the morning star. Again, a lot of symbolic description here, but he's describing eternal life. He's describing how he wants us to be persevering. He wants us to be encouraged. He wants us to be corrected, and he wants us to be motivated. Here in chapter 3, verse 5, if you overcome, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot out your name out of the book of life. I will confess your name before my father and before his angels. Now, that's an incredible description of the type of blessing or honor that Jesus Christ would be willing to give to his brothers and sisters that are being given eternal life. In chapter 3, verse 12, regarding Philadelphia, if you conquer or overcome, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God. You will never go out of it. I will write on you a name of my God, the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven in my own new name. So again, another motivation. And then finally, here in chapter 3, chapter 3, verse 21, to the one who overcomes, I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. See, now again, each one of those are a description of the reward, a description of the goal, of the motivation that he holds out before us, and that are all a part of what we read about here in the message from Jesus Christ to the churches. So what part of that affects us the most? Many times we like to be encouraged, and so you can read through the verses that talk about encouragement, and that's uplifting.

And yet the areas of concern, the areas of discipline or correction, those are areas that we can certainly analyze. We could examine, you know, am I drifting into any one of those areas? And should I respond to God? And certainly, I want to be motivated by the gifts that he holds out before us. And so it's not just a describing of eternal life, but of the tree of life, and of the crown of life, and of the hidden manna, and that rulership with God, and again, the book of life, and being a pillar, and being given my throne. Those are all descriptions that we can keep in mind whenever we are trying to grow as Christians. Now, the last thing that I wanted to mention, I think again, if you read through chapter 2 and 3, you can put all of those together, and I think you can see how encouragement and then correction and then motivation is what Jesus was doing in these messages to the churches. And yet, what is it? That is a single, consistent message to many of these churches.

Well, if we go back to chapter 2, it says in verse 5, Remember from what you have fallen, n-r-e-p-e-n-t, Repent. Turn to God. Turn to God for help. Turn to God to turn away from things that you identify that are not as powerful or not as good as you would like in your life. He says, Repent, and do the works that you did at first. In chapter 2, verse 16, he says, Repent, then, if not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of my mouth. In chapter 2, verse 21, he says, in talking about Jezebel, who was troubling them and causing them to be corrupt, I gave her time to repent. But she refused to repent of her fornication.

Chapter 3, verse 3, to Sardis, he says, Remember then what you received and heard, obey it and repent. He says to wake up in verse 2, and then in verse 3, he says, You need to repent.

Chapter 3, verse 19.

Chapter 3, verse 19, of course, is talking about Laodicea, and he says, I reprove and discipline those whom I love. So he says, I'm not writing this out of disapproval.

I'm not writing this out of anger or hostility, but out of extreme love for you.

I reprove you. I discipline those whom I love. I want you to be earnest, therefore, and repent.

See, what is the message that Jesus consistently gives to every one of the churches?

Or at least most of them here. We could back up to verse 18. He says, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich in white robes to clothe you, and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you can see. I reprove and discipline those I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.

It's the understanding and living a life of repentance, a life of overcoming.

If we're going to be overcoming, if we're going to be conquering, as so many of the messages said we should do, well, that's what I mean. We recognize where we're wrong, and we repent.

We repent of that. We turn from that. We resist or turn from losing an excitement that we once had, or we turn from compromise, or corruption, or even being dead. See, what kind of a church would you describe as being dead? People just kind of get together, and they don't motivate each other. They're not encouraging. They're not uplifting.

They're just kind of going through the motions. He says, if that's the case, then you need to repent.

And, of course, the message is about being lukewarm. We could back up to verse 17 here in chapter three, where he talks about Laodicea, you're self-satisfied. You believe you already know everything. I'm rich. I'm increased with goods. I don't need anything else.

But he says in verse 17, you don't realize that you're wretched, and pitiable, and poor, and blind, and naked. See, that's a message that says you need to see yourself the way God does.

You need to see yourself the way God wants you to see yourself and to repent.

The repentance is a fabulous blessing. It's something that God brings us to an understanding of repentance when he begins working with us. But we never ever want to get away from the power of repentance, the power of seeing ourselves as God does, and seeing what his message is to us, and how it is that he wants us to live our lives in respect of his words. And so, if we think about a message from Jesus Christ to each of us, we can read through these messages to the churches. We can pick out the areas that might be of concern, and we can repent.

And as we do that, we can achieve what it says here in the very end of the book.

Here in chapter 22, and we'll conclude with this, in chapter 22, of course, starting in verse 8, John is kind of concluding the chapter or the book itself, the vision.

And he says, verse 8, I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.

And when I heard and saw them, I fell down at the feet of the angel, which showed them to me. But he said, don't do that. I'm simply a fellow servant with you and others of your comrades and the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book, what you need to do if you are repentant is worship God. And in verse 10, he said to me, don't seal up the words of the prophecy of this book. This is not a book that is mysteriously in understandable. This book is a lie. This book is a part of the inspired word of God. This book is a vision from Jesus Christ that John happened to write down before he died. I don't know how long it was before he would die, but he wrote it down shortly before he would ultimately die. And he says, don't seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near, but let the evildoers still do evil and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.

See, those who are going to fit into the categories of righteous and holy are going to be ones that fully understand the message from Jesus Christ. And that message, as we think about it in connection with our obedience to God in celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles and the Holy Days, is a thorough understanding of our personal need to repent.