The Last Day, That High Day of the Feast

One of the greatest blessings and encouragement that God does give us is the hope of His plan of salvation. And we just completed a whole year of festivals which are lighted to us, God's plan of salvation. Interesting enough, in the New Testament, Jesus Christ fold to the top. Not only the meaning of keeping God's commandments, but fold to the top, God's prophecies. Some people don't understand this. So I want to just briefly spend a bit of time first initially in Matthew 5.17, but I want to talk to you about the meaning today. My purpose is to talk to you a little bit more about the meaning of the last day of the feast. But I want to turn to Matthew 5.17. Matthew 5.17, as you know, the wall says, oh well, Christ has obeyed the law, He's fulfilled the law for us, so we don't have to do it because Christ has fulfilled it, which is the most ridiculous statement. It's like saying somebody has already crossed this traffic light here, green, and because they've done it, I don't have to cross it green anymore. I can cross it with red because they've done it. I mean, it's so ridiculous. I mean, how can people believe that? But it is important for us to actually read that carefully and get the full meaning of Matthew 5.17. Do not think that I come to destroy the law or the prophets. So, note, it's not just about the law. It's the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. What does it mean, for both? Now, we could say quite correctly that yes, it came to obey, to do, and therefore we need to follow this example. But there is more to it because the word fulfill is a Greek word, playrao, which means to fall to the top.

It's like when I go to the guest station, I say, fill up to the top, to the broom, fill up to the top. And obviously, it's talking about the law and the prophets. So, Christ gave a few examples of filling up the law in the next verses, filling up the law as far as, for instance, murder. Filling up the law as far as adultery. Filling up the law as far as being careful with yes, being yes and no, being no, and keeping your promises. Filling up the law as far as love towards your enemies. And we sang a song a little early on, just showing how by this shall all men know, because Christ gave us, quote unquote, a new commandment, which is not new, but he gave us a new standard. He raised the bar. He filled up the law to a higher standard by saying, don't just love others like you love yourself, but love others like I have loved you. So, he raised the bar as far as the law. But what about the prophets? See, because it says, I do not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill. So, quite often we only look at the law, but also the prophets. The prophets means the prophecies. It came to fill up the top, the meaning, the understanding of a number of prophecies.

You lift them up. For instance, he gave us certain understanding about judgment, which people do not have, which I'll show you a little later. He gave us additional understanding later on through the book of Revelation, because Christ filled up the prophets. And, as we know, for instance, Daniel said, Daniel says, explain to this. And Daniel said, wait, this is sealed till the time of the end. So, Christ has filled up this understanding of the prophets over a period of time. And one of them, that they did not have an understanding in Old Testament was the meaning of the eighth day. You see, in Old Testament, it's only talked about the eighth day. But you read Jewish writings, and they do not have a true complete understanding of the meaning of this annual holy day. They do not. And so, Jesus Christ came and followed the meaning to the top, gave us further understanding about the meaning of this day. And, in fact, in the New Testament, this day is not referred to as the eighth day, but it's referred as the lost day. And that's interesting, and we'll look at that. And so, to summarize very briefly, God's plan of salvation through the Holy Days, as we know, the first festival is the Passover. Passover, during the time of the Passover, the destroyer is going to destroy the first born. We read that in Exodus 12, 23. But the Lord passed over those houses that had the blood on their doors.

He passed over our sins. In other words, God passes over. It's as if He closes His eyes, passes over, covers our sins with the blood of Christ. Immediately after that, the second festival is the festival of the Days of Unleavened Bread, seven days. And there are two early days in that festival, which basically says that once God has passed over, as we're in the sermon, we have to repent. We have to commit to obey God. And that commitment is a complete commitment for seven days. It's a commitment that we have to obey God. We've got to keep God's laws. There's got to be a real change that we've said that is God.

But as time goes along, we realize we cannot do it by ourselves. Yes, we commit, but we're weak, and we frail, and realize we can't do it. So we need extra help. And so we get baptized, which symbolizes that commitment. And after the baptism, we receive through the laying on of hands, or at least ask through the laying of hands for God to baptize us with His Holy Spirit, representing Pentecost, representing the law and the ability and the help that is given to us to keep the law by giving us the seed, which is the Holy Spirit, but also that mindset, a spiritual mind, the mind of God, the mind of Jesus Christ, and it was the mental attitude.

It was God in us so that we can keep the law. He gives us that help, because otherwise we're caught. And then, so those are the first three Passover and Heaven, Glory, and Pentecost. Then we have to keep overcoming, overcoming till the end. At the end, we have the trumpets which symbolizing God's intervention and culminating at the end on the seventh trumpet with Jesus Christ's return, which includes events such as the resurrection, the beginning of the kingdom of God, and all other events. That series of events is followed by Satan being put away, the Atonement, which is the first holy day, which basically shows Satan is put away, the deceiver is put away, mankind is now can be at one in mindset with God without being deceived, and therefore mankind can now grow in this knowledge through the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days, in which people live in temporary dwellers, not permanent homes.

And during that, that represents the restoration of the earth for seven days. But the actual festival is for eight days. You see, there is an eighth day on the festival, so there's seven days and there's an eighth. The seven days are of tabernacles and in other words, the temporary dwellings, and the eighth day does not have to be. That represents the eighth day, which is not of tabernacles. There's seven days of tabernacles and there's the eighth day.

And the question is, what is the meaning of the eighth day of the feast? Yeah, because it's eighth day of the feast, but it's not a term of tabernacles. So the Old Testament talks about the eighth day, but does not explain the meaning. The meaning, in a sense, was hidden. Now, one of the things about a lot of the prophecies, not all, but a lot of the prophecies in the Old Testament are given, like, think of it like in a two-dimensional flat, without this third dimension of time.

A lot of the prophecies are given just in a flat way, not giving you a time dimension. So you can read it in appears that kind of, yeah, all these things happen sometime, but you don't have the understanding of time. You don't understand, well, these things happen and then there's a time gap for the Mexican things to happen. Let me give you an example in Deuteronomy 32.

I'll give you more examples of that a little later, but let's just give you one example just to show you what I mean by that. Deuteronomy 32. In Deuteronomy 32, if you start reading in verse 35, and it's saying Deuteronomy 32, and this is part of the song of Moses, it says, vengeance is mine and recompense. But when is that vengeance? It's not specified.

Their food shall slip in due time for the day of their calamities at hand, and things to come, haste them upon them. For the Lord will judge his people. But when is that judgment in verse 35 of Deuteronomy 32? And they have compassion on his servants. Does not say when, does not give you a time dimension. Just as well this happens. So from a time point of view, the prophet is not being full to the top with the understanding of the time dimension. And then a little later in verse 36, when he sees that their power is gone, and there is no one remaining bond or free, he'll say, so when is that?

We don't have that idea. Now with the understanding that we have about prophecy from the book of Revelation, that is we have a little bit more understanding of when that is. But that knowledge was not given in the Old Testament. Look a little bit further in verse 43. Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. When will that happen? It doesn't say when. For he will avenge the blood of his servants and rent avengeance. He will provide atonement for his land and his people. When? No understanding of any time frame. He just knows, well, that will happen, but that's not explained.

So those people of the Old Testament, they lived, they died, they did not have that time dimension in perspective as far as these prophets. So the understanding of this prophet was not fold to the top. Christ came to fold these prophecies, fold it to the top by explaining additional meaning on the prophecies.

And as I mentioned, for instance, the eighth day, all it's mentioned in the Old Testament, is mentioned five times. The first two times are in Leviticus 23. In Leviticus 23.

But it doesn't explain what the day means. Leviticus 23.

It starts reading in verse 33. So Leviticus 23 tells about all of God's holy days. And starting in verse 33, it talks about the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day.

And so the Lord spoke to Moses, speaking to the children of Israel, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days. So seven days will be Tabernacles. Seven days you'll offer an offering made by five Lord. On the eighth day. So this festival has actually eight days. So it's actually a festival of eight days. You know, we went to the feast for eight days. But for seven is what it's called, Feast of Tabernacles. But on the eighth day, you shall have a holy convocation. Yeah, it's a holy day. You shall have a holy convocation. You shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And we know the offerings were done in Old Testament. Now they symbolize Christ. So and it says, yeah, it is a sacred assembly.

Do you know this word sacred assembly is not used on the other holy days?

You go back, you read Leviticus 23. Sacred assembly, it says they are holy convocations on these last four, says they are Sabbath, rest pointing to Sabbath. But the word sacred assembly is only used on eighth day.

A sacred assembly, the word for that in Hebrew is ez-sarot.

And sacred assembly, as we study a bit more, and different study guides show, for instance, on Sino says, it's a closing ceremony. It's a closing ceremony, putting it in simple ways. It's the concluding day of the festival season. And so we had the eight days of the feast and the concluding day, the last day, you have a special closing ceremony. Or look at it another way, you had seven holy days throughout the festival season in God's plan. And this is the last one, and you have a closing ceremony. So it's a closing, solemn closing of God's festivals of several days over a time period. It closes. But it doesn't explain any more the meaning of the eighth day. There are two other places that talks about eighth day. Numbers 29.35 and 2nd Chronicles 7 verse 9. They also refer to the eighth day, just like in Leviticus 23, so we won't go to it. And the first place is in Nehemiah 8. Nehemiah 8 verse 14. That is Nehemiah 8 verse 14.

And so this is the time when the Jews had returned from Babylon, and then they realized they needed to keep the feast. And so Yahweh see on verse 14, Amiah 8, and they found written the book of the law, and they understood now they had to keep the feast on the seventh month. And then a little later, in verse 17 and 18, so it says, so the whole assembly of those who had returned from captivity made books, in other words, temporary dwellings, and stacked under the books, and that's during the feast, for since the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, until that day, the children of Israel had not done so. Now think about it. Since the days of Joshua, now who was Joshua? Joshua was the one after Moses.

These relights had not kept the feast since Joshua, not even during the times of David, not even during the times of Solomon, not even during the times of all the other kings, they had not kept the feast. It's mind-boggling. These relights had not kept the feast since the times of Joshua, had not done so, and there was great gladness because now they kept the feast. Now, in verse 18, it's interesting, it's one of those Hebrew poetry. You find that a lot in Proverbs, for instance. For instance, in Proverbs, it says, "'He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.'" For instance, in Proverbs 16, 32, for instance. But it's full of Proverbs like that. "'He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.'" And then it says, "'He that rules his spirit is better than he that takes the city.'" Can you see this parallelism? "'He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.'" "'He that rules his spirit takes the city.'" So, slow to anger compares to ruling his spirit. See? The mighty compares to taking the city. So, it says, "'He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.'" "'He that rules his spirit takes the city.'" So, there is this parallelism of thought that slow to anger, in other words, controls your spirit, rules your spirit. In other words, you've got self-control and the for you, and better than the mighty, and because the mighty is the one that takes over the city. So, you see this parallel thought. The same thing we find here in Nehemiah 18. It says, "'Also, day by day from the first day until the last.'" So, you see, "'day by day from the first day till the last.'" So, there's these two thoughts. "'Day by day they kept the feast from the first day till the last day.'" Right. See that? "'And it read from the book of the law of God.'" In other words, during the festival time, it read. But now, look at, again, the parallelism in the second half of this verse. "'And they kept the feast seven days.'" You know, from the first day, they kept the feast seven days. "'And on the eighth day.'" The eighth day before being the last, right? So, it says, "'From the first to the last, they kept the feast for seven days.'" "'And on the eighth day.'" That's the last. So, the eighth day. So, they knew that the last day was the eighth day. I don't think there's any revelation to any of us, but it's important to understand that. "'And there was a sacred assembly.'" When was the sacred assembly? The sacred assembly. Sacred assembly on the eighth day. The last day, as we saw in Leviticus 23. A sacred assembly. According to the prescribed manner, because he said he read from the book of the law, it was according to the prescribed manner. So, you see these three thoughts in parallel. The reason I say this is because some people say, oh well, the Jews thought that the seventh day or the feast was the last day. No, the eighth day was the last day. It's clearly evidenced, yeah. In fact, a number of Jewish writings, including the Mishnah in Sukkah 4a, including Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews, and a historian, writer of the first essentially called Phyllos, they all comment that the last day was the eighth day. So, that is a fact. But what we have here is reference to the last day, which is the eighth day, but no understanding of what it means. They don't understand, they don't get the spiritual intent of the meaning of the state. They didn't get it from the Old Testament. Christ had to come and to fold the prophets to give us that additional meaning of the state.

So, the eighth day, if you read various Jewish writings, they all over the floor trying to explain what the meaning of the eighth day is. But they don't understand it because prophecies in Old Testament, in many times, are, let's call it, flat as far as the time dimension. They don't give that time dimension to explain. I'll give you one other example showing that prophecies in Old Testament don't give that understanding of time dimension. Turn with me to Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61.

Isaiah 61.

And as I'm going to read this, you're going to remember that this is quoted in the New Testament. It says, Isaiah 61, I'm going to read from verse 1. The Spirit of the Lord, God, is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord common. And then Jesus Christ sat down. Remember that? That was a scripture quoted in Luke 4, verse 18 and 19, where Christ read the scripture, and then he sat down.

And everybody looked at him because he sat down after a common. He didn't even finish the sentence.

The reason being that Christ said, this has been fulfilled today. It was his first coming. But it did not continue with the seconds that says, and the day of vengeance of our God, because that's his second coming. But Isaiah 61, it's flat as far as the time dimension, does not show that part of the scripture was the first coming, and yet a part was like 2,000 years later. It didn't have the time dimension. But Christ came to fulfill the prophets, then to explain these time dimensions that they do not have in all testing. I mean, you've seen this Isaiah 61 many times, and you know that that scripture shows that first part there was Christ first coming, and then Christ sat down, and you read that often in Luke chapter 4, and you know, you are aware of that. There are other examples. For instance, look at Ezekiel 34. Ezekiel 34. Ezekiel 34. Let's start reading in a few bits. I'm not going to read everything, but just a few bits. You have to give you an example.

Ezekiel 34 verse 20. Therefore says the Lord, God to them, Behold, I myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. Well, now you know in Christ and what He's told, you start understanding there's a time when this will happen. But in Old Testament, you have no idea of this time line or when this will happen. Look a bit further in verse 24 and 25. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David, a prince among them. So David will be resurrected and he'll be a prince. When will that happen? The Jews, during the time of Christ and all those years, had no understanding when that would happen. Now you and I have a little bit of understanding that it will be at Christ, Second Coming. We still don't know the day or the hour because only the Father knows. So certain portions of the time line are still hidden from us. But it's being fulfilled and it's being filled up, that understanding by Christ. He has come and given us that understanding. Look at verse 25. I'll make a covenant of peace with them and cause wild beasts to cease from the land, and they'll dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. When will that be? They don't know when that will be. Now we understand it will be in the world tomorrow. It will be in the unique period that we symbolize the Feast of Tabernacles and things like that. So, and look at this, and it says in verse 26, it's called, Showers to come upon this season and showers of blessing. In other words, rain will be in the new season. We'll have seasons at the right time again. God will bless it that way. Look at verse 30 and 31. Thus, shall they know that I, the Lord their God, am with them.

And they, the House of Israel, are my people.

When will that happen? People don't understand. Now we start having an understanding when this will happen. You are my flock, the flock of my posture. You are man, and I am your God, says the Lord God. They don't know when this will happen. We have a better understanding when this is happening because Christ has given us a more of understanding of this time dimension. Therefore, Christ said to those people the following in Matthew 13. So turn with me to Matthew 13. Matthew 13.

Matthew 13.

Let's just read verse 16 and 17. Christ said to the people, He spoke in parables, and He said in verse 16 and 17, But blessed are your eyes, for they see. And your ears, for they hear. In other words, you have given understanding through these parables, and some of you, I'm explaining to you what the parables are, and therefore, blessed are you, because you can grasp it. You can see it. You can understand the meaning thereof. Verse 17, For I surely, I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men, that means obviously of the Old Testament, desire to see, in other words, desire to understand, to grasp, to comprehend, desire to see, and did not comprehend, and wanted to hear, and did not hear.

But you are blessed, because Christ is now you, and He's fulfilling the prophets, and explaining these meanings to us. And we are blessed, because some of those people, you know, was righteous men in Old Testament, desire to find things out, and they did not know, because they had to wait for Christ's first coming, for Him to reveal a number of those things to us, and He's been revealing to them, like He revealed a number of years afterwards, through the book of Revelation, and to John, and so He's been revealing to us.

Likewise, the meaning of the eighth day.

Even I know what the meaning is, that second resurrection, that's exciting! I did not understand that in Old Testament. So let's look at how Christ started to explain, and then explained, the meaning of the same. And where that is described is in the epistle of John. So let's turn to John chapter 5.

John chapter 5. Let's start in verse 25. John 5, 25.

And it says, Most surely I say to you, thou is coming, and now he is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so is granted the Son to have life in himself, and has given him authority, has given Jesus Christ authority, Christ as authority. They didn't know that in Old Testament. In fact, Jews kind of reject that and say, no. So that is something special for us to understand, to execute judgment also.

Because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel, for the hour is coming in which all, not just some, all, who are dead, who are in the graves, will hear his voice, and come forth. Those who have done right to the resurrection of life. So there will be a resurrection, which we know, you and I know, it's the first resurrection, resurrection of life, which is a better resurrection because it's direct to eternal life.

And those who have done evil, and who has not done evil, everybody's done evil. And if they haven't repented, they're still evil. So those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment, as it should be. Some Bibles have judgment, some versions have condemnation. It should be judgment. The Greek word is kriisis, which means judgment, the resurrection of judgment. And then you know, resurrection of judgment is the second resurrection, because there will be judgment that way, for a period, a resurrection of judgment. So, you start to explain certain meanings that they had, they had, no clue. So it's like filling up the prophets with more knowledge. But it doesn't explain all in one go. It starts explaining slowly. It's like if you're trying to explain something to your children, you start explaining a little bit, and then a few days later you explain a little bit more, and a few days later you explain a little bit more. And that's what Christ was doing, kind of teaching his disciples a little bit, and a little bit more as they went along, a little bit more as they went along. So, yeah, in John 5, he's given to them some new teaching they didn't have. That Christ has that authority. That's brand new. And number two, they're two resurrections. They don't understand that. At least two resurrections. Rightly, I subscribe two resurrections. One to life and one to judgment. But then look a little bit later, as the days go by, in John chapter 6 verse 39.

It says, For this is all of the Father who sent me, that of all he has given me, I shall lose nothing, but should raise up at the last day.

You can read those two ways. You can read those that are called now, but you could read, ultimately, everybody will be given to Christ.

Right? Everybody will be given to Christ, and Christ will raise them up at the last day. The Jews knew when the last day was. That was the eighth day.

So now, they start making the connection, the last day, the eighth day.

And here he goes on reading up, and looking in verse 40. And this is the will of him, who has sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him at the last day. Everyone. Ultimately, everyone will have the chance that they never had, and will have the chance to see Christ, and will have the chance to believe, and they'll be resurrected when? At the last day, at the second resurrection. You see how he's explaining to them slowly, there'll be eternal life for them on the last day, because yeah, it'll be judgment, but then they'll be given eternal life. They'll be given eternity. As you heard in the sermon during the feast from Mr. Cubic, you know, looking towards eternity. That's what we're looking for, eternity.

Let's read a bit further in verse 44. And there's a scripture we know, we quote quite often, no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws in, and I'll raise him up at the last day. So we're looking out towards that last day. But the whole world is going to be raised up. The whole world will be called up. A few of us are the first fruits, a little bit earlier, but the whole world will be raised up. Look a bit further in verse 54. Look at verse 54. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood as eternal life. In other words, whoever makes the commitment of the Passover, representing the body of Christ and the blood, the sacrifice of Christ, says as eternal life. And our world will raise him up at the last day. There will be the vast majority of mankind that will be raised up at the last day, except the few first fruits and except those that have actually rebelled. But the majority of people have not rebelled. So they'll be raised up at the last day. So eventually, everyone who ever lived will repent and will receive God's Holy Spirit. Because that is God's will. Now, if you go a little further, you go a little further, you go on to chapter 7, and then you read there, looking at verse 2, now the Jews, Feast of Tabernacles, was at hand. And so they asked Jesus, are you coming up? And he says, no, no, I'll make my way. So they went, but he went quietly, because this was on the year AD 30. The last festival of Jesus Christ before he was crucified, because he was crucified at the Passover of the falling year, before the next holiness. This was the last festival that he lived through, because the next one would be Passover, and he was going to die during that Passover on AD 31. So this was AD 30. So he went to the feast, and he looked in verse 10, but when his brothers had gone up, he also went up to the feast. So he went to the feast in verse 10. That is AD 30. That was that last festival on his third year, going on to his... Then he was three and a half years, as you know, his half year was towards Passover. And then he starts preaching there, during the halfway through the feast. Look at verse 14. Now, by the middle of the feast, Jesus went up to the temple and taught. So halfway through the feast, he starts teaching them. And as he teaches, he starts inciting people and getting people a little angry, you know, particularly the Jews.

So we can see that is coming. But now, as you move a bit further, so they went to the feast, that was during the feast. And then look at verse 37. He says, On the last day, that high day of the feast, now the word, I chose to use the other word high, because your Bible says great, but the actual Greek is mega. And it's the same word as used about the next festival, which is just before the first day of Unleavened Bread, when Christ had been crucified on the cross. And it says, we can't leave the bodies on the cross. They're going to be dead. We're going to take them out, because we have a high day the next day. And so they want to break the legs, but it didn't break Jesus' legs, because he was already dead. That, you can read that, that is in John 19.31. And it says, because it was a day of preparation, because the next day was a high day. In Greek, it's mega. It's a mega day. It's a great day. You know, mega, mega meridians, mega this, you know, mega, mega means great. In fact, in Spanish and in Portuguese, the word yah on John 7.37, and on John 19.31, is in both cases translate great. It's a great day. What we see as a high day, it's a Sabbath, annual Sabbath. So on the last day, that annual Sabbath of the feast, which you and I know is, but what we in the church been calling the last great day, but it's the last day, that annual Sabbath of the feast. That's what it is, that high day.

Jesus stood and cried out, saying, now what this happened is, was after sunset. After sunset, he then did this. And I know it's after sunset, because on verse 53, on verse 53, he says, and then after he did this in the evening, everybody went to his own house. Why? Because it was the eighth day. It was no more in tabernacles. They could go home. The first seven days, they had to be in temporary dwellings. The eighth day, which is after sunset, they could go to their home.

So after sunset, he said this, he says, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Now, you and I just read John 644, which says, nobody can come to me unless the Father draws him.

But now, on the last day, which represents the second resurrection, represents that spirit, everyone can come to me, because God is calling the whole world.

That's why the difference between John 644 and John 737. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water. In other words, they'll have gods of his birth. So, in the second resurrection, which is represented this day, this eighth day, everybody will be called, and will have an opportunity, provided they repent and change, as we heard in the sermon, that provided they will have the opportunity of having God's Holy Spirit. You know what's the tree of life? They will have the opportunity to have eternal life, eternity.

So, this eighth day also points to eternity for mankind.

So, and if you now go on at the next example, when it talks about the last days in John 12. John 12, verse 48. John 12, verse 48.

He who rejects me, and does not receive my words, has that which judges him. The word that I've spoken will judge him in the last day. In the last day. The judgment will be on that last day. The day of judgment. That's why it will be the resurrection of judgment. It will be the last day.

So, what do we have?

We have the other state of resurrection. Very clearly explained this judgment. So, when we put God's plan of salvation together, we know that the Feast of Tabernacles, for a thousand years, the earth is restored to a paradise. And then, when the earth has now been restored to a paradise, we're ready to receive those billions of people. They are resurrected on the eighth day, that last great day, that last high day of the feast. They're resurrected, and they will be judged. They'll have a period of reconciliation, of overcoming their problems, of overcoming till the end, of overcoming till the end.

And we know that's that period. We read that from Revelation 20. Revelation 20. We read about the Great White Throne Judgment, that they'll be resurrected, verses 11 and 12. And they'll be judged according to the books. The books were opened, and they'll be judged. We then also probably heard during the feast about Ezekiel 37, about the dry bones. They'll be resurrected during that period. And you also know scriptures like Matthew 10 and Matthew 11, that talks about the Queen of Sheba and other nations, they'll be resurrected at the same time. So it won't just be the Israelites, it'll be the whole world will be resurrected at the same time, all mankind. So that eighth day, that last day of the feast, that last high day, is the opportunity for the whole of mankind to be restored to God, to have the Tree of Life, as in the time of Adam and Eve, they had the opportunity of having the Tree of Life and it was rejected. That will be restored on the last day, that the whole mankind will now have access to the Tree of Life. In other words, eternal life for everyone.

Now, understanding this, let's now consider some of the teachings that Jesus Christ gave on this day. Now think about it. This is the eighth day. Just before, this was the last year before he died. And he gave some pertinent teachings on this last day.

And that is covered. So let's go back to John. We read John 37. We read that. We said, let everyone come.

John 7, 37. But let's look at some of the teachings he gave during this day. Because they went home. Look at verse 33. They went home. And chapter 8 verse 1. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. And now, early in the morning, that's the eighth day. The day begins at sunset. So early in the morning, that's the eighth day of the festival. This last festival, the last Holy Day, he came to the temple. Why did he come to the temple? Because it was a Holy Day.

He came to the temple. And all the people came to him. Why? Because it was a Holy Day.

And not only was it Holy Day, it was also a weekly Sabbath, as we'll see later on. But then, now think about it. This was on that day, which represents the Second Resurrection. Right? And what is the first example of teaching that he tells? That comes up to a woman that was caught up in adultery.

And everybody wants to stow her, because it says, she's a sinner.

And you know the story? Jesus kneels down and writes something on the floor. And then, one after another, they duck. Right?

And then, there's nobody left.

And then Jesus asks them, isn't there anyone accusing you? Where's your your accusers?

Nobody. And so Jesus said, I don't accuse you either. Just don't sin anymore. Right? You know that story of the woman caught in adultery. He says, Woman, where are your accusers? Says in verse 10. And she said, verse 11, she said, No, I'm Lord. And you said to her, neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Can you see our verse is significant to the time of the Second Resurrection? It's significant at the time of the Second Resurrection, because the whole world has sinned. And God is saying to the whole world after this teaching, just go and sin no more. Just repent. A very pertinent teaching for the lost day. So here's the first lesson that Jesus is teaching on John 8. Everyone in the Second Resurrection is in the same boat. It was all a sin, and they all better repent. Go and sin no more.

Beautiful story that it happened on this day. But you go on reading.

You go on reading. Look at chapter 9. Now, chapter 9 is on the same day. It's still the eighth day. It's still the last great day. It's still that day that represents the Second Resurrection.

Because look in verse 59 of chapter 8, it says, you know, they took up stones to kill him, and then he ducked out of their way, and so he passed by. And look at chapter 9, verse 1. As Jesus passed by, you see, it's continuing. It's the story of the same day as this thing. It's a continuing flow. He saw a man who was blind from birth.

Now, think about it.

A man that was blind from birth.

The whole of mankind is spiritually blind from birth today.

See the meaning of that last day pointing to the Second Resurrection? When the whole of mankind that is blind will be removed, that blindness, and the whole of mankind will be able to see. Isn't that beautiful? And then they accused him, and they said, hey, you sinned. And Jesus Christ says in verse 3, neither has this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. Wow! Do you get the depth of this? Maybe this man was blind to teach us the lesson of this day, the last day, the eighth day, the last high day of God's plan. Wow!

Verse 4, I must work the works of he who sent me while it's day. The night is coming when no one can work. And he shows I am the light of the world. But Yah is an example that this man was blind from birth. We all are spiritually blind, and he was given sight. Look at in verse 39.

Look at in verse 39.

And Jesus said, For judgment I came, I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may be made blind. If you think you know it, and you think you can see, and you're not doing anything about it, you are blind. But the majority of the world are actually blind, and they will be able to see in that last day, the second resurrection. Look how beautiful that is. And by the way, you can see that this was also a weekly Sabbath, because you can read that on verse 14 of the same chapter. Now this was a Sabbath, and they got really upset with Christ because he healed that person on the Sabbath. Obviously it was the annual Sabbath, but it was also the weekly Sabbath, because we look at verse 16, it says, He does not keep the Sabbath. Not just the annual Sabbath, the Sabbath day. So this was also a weekly Sabbath. The preposition, the very specific being a weekly Sabbath. So we have Yah on this year, that the last day of the East was also a weekly Sabbath, and it's very clear, Yah, that there is a second lesson, Yah, is that all mankind that is blind will see on that day. Beautiful teaching, appropriate for that day. And the teaching of this day continues until the end of verse 21 of chapter 10. Until the end of verse 21 in chapter 10. It's all about things that Christ did on that lost day of the feast. And the third lesson, Yah, in this is that it says, I am the door, I am the way. Christ is the only way for us.

Through which we can have life. He's the Good Shepherd. And so He makes that clear. And look at it in verse 16 of John 10. In verse 16 of John 10, He says, Another sheep I have, which are not of this fault. I have a lot of other Christians. They will become true Christians one day. Them I will also bring in time, when in the second resurrection, and they will hear my voice in the second resurrection, and there will be one flock, and one shepherd in the second resurrection. All those people will be together, a full restoration day on that high day.

Brethren, let's review this extra meaning fully to the top that Jesus Christ gave us about the prophets. Not just about the law, but about the prophets. And He gave us understanding. So now we can understand things like, God wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of His truth. How? When? On the last day.

God sent His beloved Son to save the world. When? At the last day. That is all mankind. And also, there is only one name through which all will be saved, that Jesus Christ. You can see how all these statements fit together.

So you can see the meaning of this day, which is beautiful. Another thing that is interesting, which day? Now ask, think about it, and write down which day? With the Jews circumcised. The eighth day. The eighth day. Symbolizing on the eighth day, they will be circumcised in the heart. Represented the last day. Isn't it so beautiful when everything fits together? Not only when they're circumcised, they were to be redeemed as well. Circumcised and redeemed. Initially, the redemption was that the Levites were appointed in place of the firstborn. But now, Jesus Christ is our firstborn that's redeeming us and redeeming the whole world when? On the eighth day. That is so beautiful. And we know that represents the Second Resurrection, that period in which people will be judged, and at the end of that period, if they're not repentant, that's when it says death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire. So, it is very significant how this day is meaning. Also, it's a day not of tabernacles. Why? Because the other days point a physical, temporary life. The eighth day points now to eternity. Because we're not in tabernacles, we have then, through the Tree of Life, through God's Holy Spirit, will be changed to spirit beings, and therefore will have eternity ahead of us. No more temporary residence. Brethren, God's plan of salvation is so great, is so encouraging. It is the greatest blessing to our minds and to our hearts to know there's a hope to holler mankind, to our relatives that are throwing and living the wrong way. Because as we read earlier on in Jeremiah 3 says, if you only come and repent, I will forgive you. And that will happen in the last day. I think it's so encouraging to us. And we can thank God that through Jesus Christ, this understanding has been filled to the top and is being filled to the top as God shows us different things. But it is beautiful understanding that the Church of God has that throughout the beginning. Since the day you came to the Church of God, it's understanding you and I of that. It's nothing new.

It's the understanding that God has blessed us in the Church of God, an understanding that was first delivered to the science. Thank God for that understanding.