The Meaning of the 8th Day

The United Church of God presents Anthony Waslkoff with a sermon titled, The Meaning of the Eighth Day. It was recorded October 8, 2012, in Branson, Missouri. A is for alibi. B is for burglar. C is for corpse. D is for deadbeat. E is for evidence. F is for fugitive. How many of you are aware of what this is about, these letters? If you look around and see who's raised their hands, that would indicate that they read a certain series of books by Sue Grafton, a New York Times bestselling author of the Kinsey Milhone, M-I-L-L-H-O-M-E, mystery series. And Sue Grafton is so good that when you are immersed in one of her books, even afterward, you believe or begin to believe there really is a Kinsey Milhone in Santa Teresa, California, who is a private eye, private investigator, that she lives in a refurbished or remodeled garage and dines too often on Big Mac burgers. I've never read one. But my daughter reads them, and a close relative of hers reads them. Who's here at the face, but I cannot identify who she is.

It seems virtually everyone loves a mystery. In one of the most popular TV shows some years ago was Murder, She Wrote, featured on CBS, and it's still running, I believe, as a rerun on the PBS network.

As the camera would roll, Angela Lansbury would be riding her bicycle along a path with an air of eager anticipation, and she in this role was Jessica Fletcher, the famous mystery story writer and detective who solved every single crime she came across in one hour. But that's typical of all mystery writers, and as they've been serialized in television, some of you probably enjoy reading Agatha Christie novels, and you may be intrigued by the mind and manner of Miss Jane Marple, or you may admire the skills and antics of Monsieur-Écois-Puaro, the Belgian, not French, the Belgian detective who uses his little gray cells to solve mysteries and murders. You probably heard of whodunit, such as Murder on the Orient Express, turned into a movie, Ten Little Indians, and then there were 39 Steps by John Buchan, or Buchanan. As a child, I used to read, dare I say it, Hardy Boy Books, with titles such as The Secret of the Old Mill, The Tower Treasure, The House on the Cliff. My intent, even as a youth, was to read a chapter and then stop. But the author, usually in the last page and the very last paragraph of the last page, would put in something that would prompt my curiosity and suspense, and I had to know what would happen next, and so I would read just one more chapter, and then on the last page and the last paragraph, last few sentences, the author would create another hook, and then I'd have to read one more chapter, and so on. As a child, I also read, and once again, I hesitate even more to admit it, Nancy Drew Books. Hardy Boy's not so bad to admit to that, but Nancy Drew Books, and they too were intriguing. The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, The Clue in the Diary, The Crooked Bannister, and many, many more titles, and the titles alone would compel you to get those books, and I could borrow them as a youth and read them and return them. Virtually everyone loves a mystery. Which book is the greatest mystery book ever written? Well, I'm sure you're way ahead of me.

Significantly, it is the Holy Bible. It's the greatest mystery book ever written. It addresses the greatest mysteries of all, and yet it remains a largely unread book, but within its pages are incredible secrets that are waiting to be unlocked by most. Within its chapters and verses are unparalleled mysteries. On the very verge of being unraveled, it's been said that truth is stranger than fiction. Where can you find the truth about the most basic subjects of all? Of course, none other than in the Holy Scriptures, in the Holy Writ. Open your Bible, please, now at this point in today's afternoon service for the sermon, Matthew 13. Matthew chapter 13. He said the parables, of course, and we'll start in verse 1.

On the same day, on the same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea or the seaside. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, enjoyed and appreciated the outdoors nature and took advantage of it as he had opportunity to do so. On the same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to him so that he got into a boat and he sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

This is what you call improvisation. The boat became a stage and the audience remained on the shore facing the boat and he spoke to them from that particular vantage point. And if you are aware of sound and how well sound carries over water, you know that acoustically that was very effective. If ever you've camped along a lake, and in some instances we've been on a lake camping situation, it may be two or three miles across the lake and a person at that other end or other shore may think, no one can hear me, but sound carries over water extremely well and they can be conversing and you can hear them from that remarkable distance.

Verse 3, he spoke many things to them in parables and he said, red letter version, we'll put this in red, behold a sower went out to sow. And you perhaps have seen how this is depicted where a sower is walking and he has a bag of seed and he is throwing the seed, reaching into the bag and throwing the seed by hand and he's sowing through this method and that method is called broadcasting.

That's the terminology used for sowing by hand, carrying a bag. Interestingly, this is what we refer to or the term we use to talk about radio broadcasting and television broadcasting, although it's become more narrow casting of late. Behold, a sower went out to sow and as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside and the birds came and devoured that seed.

Some fell on stony ground where they did not have much earth. They immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth, but when the sun was up, they were scorched. We saw a lot of scorching this past summer, didn't we not? And because they had no root, they withered away and some fell among thorns and the thorns sprang up and choked them. We have a garden at home. The vegetables don't like to grow, but the thorns do really well. And I wonder why is that? Well, it goes back to the Adamic curse.

But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And we don't have a description of the multitude, audience response, but no doubt many were listening and nodding their heads, knowingly feigning understanding or hoping they understood or that the understanding might come later.

Verse 10, And the disciples came and said to him, asking this question, Why do you speak to them in parables? What's the purpose? What is the modus operandi for doing it this way? And his answer, verse 11, so highly instructive and germane then to today's afternoon sermon, because he answered and said to them, verse 11, Matthew 13, Because it's been given to you to know, to know the mysteries, notice it's plural, mysteries of the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God.

But to them, but to them at large, it has not been given, not yet. Matters related to the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven are not easily understood. As a matter of fact, they appear by and large, cryptic, enigmatic, baffling. And they were to us for so many years until God called us and stripped the scale from our eyes, and then we began to comprehend.

Ever wonder why, talking about mysteries and things mysterious, ever wonder why the sun lightens our hair but darkens our skin?

Ever wonder why you never see a headline in the newspaper, psychic wins lottery. Ever wonder why it's mysterious? Why abbreviated is such a long word? Have you ever wondered why doctors, lawyers, other practitioners of healing arts are called, or the businesses are called, a practice? Ever wonder why lemon juice is made with artificial flavor while dishwashing liquid is made with real lemons? It's mysterious. Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? Why, if you ever wondered why, it's still mysterious why there isn't mouse-flavored cat food?

Ever wonder why and who tastes dog food when it has a new and improved flavor?

Why don't they make, if you ever wondered why, why don't they make whole planes out of the same material used for the indestructible black box? And my favorite one, if you ever wondered why, because this is mysterious, why are sheep don't shrink when it rains?

Because if you've got a wool sweater, you know what'll happen.

There are mysteries all around us. They do abound. Before I was called into the church, having a father who was an devout atheist and a mother who was a Christian, although she didn't attend church, but she did read her Bible, and I did see her reading it from time to time. And as a youth, probably six, seven, eight, nine years old, I prayed for a Bible. I wanted to have my own Bible, not just borrow hers. And for some reason, I suppose God would have put it in my mind. I prayed for a, not just a Bible, but a small Bible. I wanted to have a little Bible. And then in fifth grade, some of you went through this, we received a Gideon Bible. The whole class received courtesy of the Gideons who went forward with that seed to sow, using that as a logo, in fact. And each one of us in fifth grade received a New Testament Psalms and Proverbs Gideon Bible. And I signed it beautifully, took it home, elated. This was an answered prayer, and I began to read it, King James Version, and couldn't understand it. And was so disappointed that it didn't make sense. But nevertheless, I had it, and so treasured it, still have it to this day. I understand it now, but then it was a mystery. I was yet to be called, and then, of course, it began to make sense. First Corinthians chapter 4, please. Let's turn there for the second passage for this afternoon sermon. First Corinthians chapter 4. Let's actually begin reading a few verses before that, because it leads in topically to what we find in chapter 4. Chapter 3 verse 21. Therefore, let no one boast in men, that no one boast in man, for all things are yours. Let no one boast about human leaders. Let's not say, well, our church has more former evangelists than your church, or our church has more whatever kind of leader you may want to typify in such a way. Therefore, let no one boast in men, for all things are yours. And notice what it says in verse 22. What kinds of things are ours? All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or to come, all are yours. It indicates here that even life and death are our servants. In other words, the experience of life and death were given to us by the great Creator God as part of our curriculum to benefit us, even as human leaders are given to us to benefit us. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. We don't belong to ourselves. We belong to Jesus as He belongs to God the Father. Then verse 1, chapter 4, let a man so consider us. Let a man so consider us, verse 1, chapter 4, as servants of Christ, not leaders of parties, religious or political parties, but servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now, we used to have planes that would carry stewards and stewardesses. They're called the flight attendants now, but they're still stewards and stewardesses, even as, say, a ship would have a steward on it, and they're there to serve the passengers to apportion food and drink, although that's not such an experience anymore these days. And I've heard of one passenger who was flying and asked when a stewardess, a flight attendant, said, sir, would you like to have something to eat? And he said to her, well, what are my choices? And she said, yes or no. That's pretty much how it is these days in commercial travel. As you can imagine, we think back to the times when you had surprisingly good fare even on an airplane.

Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ in stewards, managers, authorized to distribute the secret truths of God, as another version of Scripture puts it. Stewards of the mysteries—notice the plural—the mysteries of God. It is significant that one of the titles of the books Mr. Armstrong wrote some years ago was, is, Mystery of the Ages.

And it was printed beautifully, bound beautifully, and distributed in mass to so many readers.

Some of you, I'm sure, still have your copy. But notice that the term here is plural, mysteries of God. We have had the experience, as it has been referred to already by others, of this past Feast of Tabernacles, including this morning's service. We've had a lot of things happening through the entire Feast where we have said, we have reacted, we have responded, and said to others and to ourselves, I never knew that before. Or I didn't understand it quite that way before. Or for the first time, I understand it more fully, where various mysteries of God have been explained to us by stewards, by ministers and elders from near and far who have spoken at this feast site and others. And it's been illuminating. We've gained more understanding of God's wonderful, precious, priceless mysteries. 1 Timothy chapter 3.

1 Timothy chapter 3, turning from where we were in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 to 1 Timothy chapter 3. And we'll begin reading in verse 14. 1 Timothy chapter 3, turning from where we were in 1 Timothy chapter 3. These things are right to you, these things are right to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. Paul was hoping, the apostle Paul, to visit Timothy the evangelist very, very soon, so he was writing to him. But if I am delayed, and he realized he could be, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. There is certain behavior that is appropriate in the house of God, certain standards of conduct. There is such a thing as propriety on the Sabbath and on high holy days whenever we go to worship before God at our local church service locations. How you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth. Promoting that truth, publishing it, advocating it, as we heard, on Beyond a Day television. Other means we've been blessed with. Verse 16, and without controversy, great, great is the mystery of godliness. Look at these wonderful words. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. The mystery of godliness is something that baffles mankind in general, and we've been there ourselves. And listen to and read with me what it says in the balance of verse 16. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up in glory. That's talking about God's wonderful plan of salvation. As a child, and I guess I was a serious child to some degree, and I suppose many of you were too, I remember walking home from school one day and thinking, I wonder if after we die we'll become angels. And I didn't go to church, or I had never heard that posed before. Wouldn't that be interesting to become an angel after one's tenure on earth? Nah, that can't be true, and I dismissed it. And then eventually wrote in for a booklet as 18, because I began hearing the World Tomorrow program at age 13, and eventually wrote in for the booklet, many of you will remember it, Why Were You Born? The pamphlet-type booklet with the black stripe, and reading it, and finding the wonderful truth of what our destiny is. What is our purpose? What is going to happen? It's an amazing thing. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. Year one, Whistler, United Church of God, Feast of Tabernacles. What a wonderful year that was. Many of us remember when the Good News magazine was being distributed the premier issue, how much it meant to receive a copy. There was an instance at that feast location in Whistler where someone, not part of our group, observed during the week that there were these hundreds and hundreds of people all dressed up carrying briefcases and satchels with booklets and writing instruments going to church. And he thought, this isn't Sunday, it's midweek, and all these people are dressed up going to church. We can't get this many people on a Sunday. They can midweek. They must know something. And so he came to church that day and sat in with everybody else, impressed by what he saw. Not sure if he came back, but he did come that one day.

Now, it's baffling to people why we wouldn't work on Saturdays. Your neighbors maybe have gotten to know you, but at first if you were new or you began this new behavior of getting all dressed up and taking a briefcase or loading hymnals into the trunk of your car or coffee pots into the trunk of your car and driving somewhere on Saturdays. Getting time off for a vacation in October, going somewhere for the Feast of Tabernacles. And if you live outside of Missouri, that's reasonable. But if you live in Springfield and you're asking for a week and a half, two weeks off, and your boss says, where are you going? Somewhere warm, I imagine. No, I'm going to Branson.

Don't you go to Branson all year round? Well, yes. Why are you going again? Church Convention.

We remember an occasion where we were at a Holy Day meal, Dr. and Mrs. Hay were in town.

I forget now which Holy Day it was. There were maybe 12 of us and we were in a steakhouse, lovely place. And it was one of those instances where the meal is served en masse and everyone's dish is brought covered with a silver dome. And each is placed in front of the person who has ordered the meal. A waiter or waitress stands behind each person and on the count of three, everyone has the dome removed off the plate at the same time. And it's a remarkable effect. I've only experienced it twice. Once with the Hayes and once more recently, Mrs. Hay had ordered a steak. And she was really looking forward to it. And when the waiter removed the dome off her plate, she screamed. It was not the effect desired by the restaurant because they had gone above and beyond the call of duty and put a little lobster beside the steak for her to enjoy. It's a mystery. Why do these people not enjoy lobster or other kinds of foods that perhaps are so yummy and maybe were at one time to us great as the mystery of godliness in many ways as it is manifested? 2 Samuel 12.

Let's look here at the enigmatic behavior of King David. We're familiar with this and we'll take it from a slightly different vantage point. The enigmatic behavior of King David. 2 Samuel 12. And beginning to read in verse 15. You'll remember that David and Bathsheba together produced an infant child and that this innocent, delightful, lovely child became ill.

2 Samuel 12.15. Then Nathan departed to his house and the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David and it became ill. One thing that's very worrisome to us is his parents is for a child to become ill. And it takes a surprisingly well-trained physician to look after babies because babies can't tell their parents or physicians where they hurt. And we become really concerned for infants when they are ill. David therefore, verse 16, pleaded with God for the child. And David fasted and he went in and he lay all night on the ground. He was so serious about what had happened. He besought God with all of his might. And so the elders of his house arose and they went to him to raise him up from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. And then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm. He may hurt himself. And when David saw that his servants were whispering, even after seven days of fasting, he still had discernment and presence of mind, he perceived that the child was dead. And therefore David said to his servants, is the child dead? And they said, he is dead. And so David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself. And this is instructive. Once he found out, the infant had died. What he did and the order in which he did it, David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went into the house of the Lord and worshipped. Then he went to his own house and when he requested, they said food before him. And finally, the last thing on the list is that he ate and he'd been fasting for seven days. Then his servant said to him, what is this that you've done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive. And when the child died, you arose and ate food. And he said, well, the child was alive. I fasted and wept. For I said, who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me that the child may live? But now he's dead. And we'll stop reading in verse 23. Now he's dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him. He shall not return to me.

And that has been fulfilled, hasn't it? David has gone to him. The child has not returned to David.

I recall in my own experience, and you will have had experiences like this, that when our first child was born, he was four pounds, 13 ounces, six weeks premature. We'd taken one or two prenatal classes, and then it was indicative that the baby was coming ahead of schedule. And I tried to convince my spouse that this was an imaginative situation. It wasn't. She said, get in the car and drive me to the hospital. And he was born four pounds, 13 ounces, which is not tiny anymore in today's situation, but it was then. And it was touch and go for a number of days, a week or two, where they put him in a little aquarium incubator. Incubator with oxygen and lights because of lungs being not developed and him needing extra air and liver not being developed, him needing the lighting for jaundice. And I was amazed in hearing that first cry that he cried and how urgently I wanted him to live. One of the things we have in this feast site among us are beautiful infants and children. We've seen them carrying those lovely stuffed animals. But most interesting or intriguing to me are the newborns, who are just starting out life and they have that newborn cry that they lose after they get old. But that newborn cry is distinctive and you can always identify, oh, that's a newborn, because of the way they cry. When he cried his first cry, urgently, urgently wanted him to live. And I wondered why that I wanted so badly for him to live. He was a stranger. I barely knew him.

But you connect, you bond with an infant so quickly with your own children and grandchildren. It's an amazing thing. What is conspicuous about this chapter we have read is the absence of Bathsheba. Where was she through all of this? Read about David and his reaction and his response and his actions. But what about Bathsheba? Well, she hears mention, but not until verse 24.

We learn early in life, or should learn early in life, from parents about the tenuousness of life. And one of the instructions we receive is, experientially, is the loss of a pet. You may remember you had to deal with a kitten that may have died, or a puppy that may have died, or a budgie that may have died, or a gerbil that may have died, and how you had to, or a goldfish, goldie, that may have died. And it's a teaching opportunity for parents with little children.

And I was nine when my puppy died, and I had to bury him. Little did I know that was a first in a series of funerals I would be conducting. But it's instructive to teach children when a pet dies to do it with a certain awareness of what this means, and what we can learn from it. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

You've probably heard of the Emperor's Terracotta army.

It's been touring various major cities of the world. There was an emperor in China who was very powerful, who had conquered the then-known world, and was afraid of nothing except for his own death. And then he had a mausoleum built, a massive mausoleum, and in addition to that, he had built by artisan 7,500 life-size soldiers and horses, sculpted in clay, equipped with real chariots and real bronze weapons, and buried with him to accompany him into the afterlife. And they were then excavated, and they're magnificently detailed and beautiful, and now they're traveling around the world to be beheld. He was afraid of nothing in this life, afraid of death in the next. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Let's begin reading in verse 47. The first man was of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. We are merely physical human beings, made of the earth, earthy. Verse 48.

As was the man of dust, so also were those who were made of dust, and as is the heavenly man, so also were those who were heavenly. And then verse 49. And as we bore the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man. But for the moment, we are only dust.

Those of us who conduct funeral services, and there are quite a few elders who are here, the funeral director will usually ask us, do you use ashes in the funeral service? Do you use dust in the funeral service? And we'll say, well, no, we don't. But there are some denominations that do that, and it reminds us, nevertheless, that we came from dust and are returning to dust. We have various reminders as we look in the mirror that we're wearing out, running down.

The comic strip, Hagar the Horrible. If you're familiar with it, Hagar is talking to his doctor. Hagar wears a helmet with horns sticking out at the top, and he says to his doctor, what shape am I in, Dr. Zuk? And the doctor says, you have the body? You have the body of a 25-year-old overweight grizzly bear. He goes back home, and Helga asks his wife, who also wears a hat with horns sticking out of it, what did the doctor say? And the reply from her husband is, he said, I have the body of a 25-year-old. He forgot the part about the overweight grizzly bear.

We find that we lose our battle of the bulge. We try hard to keep it contained. Very hard to do that. As we get older, it becomes such a battle. Look at verse 50. Now, this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. Everyone loves a mystery. And the greatest mystery of all is what happens to human beings when they die. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. That indeed is the greatest mystery. What happens to human beings when they die? Some think you go to heaven when you die. Others think you come back in another life form. That's reincarnation. Others feel you simply cease to exist. All kinds of thoughts, all kinds of ideas. The Scripture, however, is plain on what happens. Do you remember? Did you hear about? Did you learn about what the beliefs were of Steve Jobs, who not so long ago died? He would have been one of the most successful entrepreneurs on the planet.

Highly skilled, very wealthy. He could buy the best medical help available. He was interviewed by Walter Isaacson many, many times, 40 times before his death. And then the interviewer was interviewed on 60 Minutes. And he was asked, what did Steve Jobs believe about his own future?

And Walter Isaacson said, I remember sitting in his backyard in his garden one day, and he started, Steve Jobs started talking about God. And he said, sometimes I believe in God, sometimes I don't. I think maybe it's 50-50. But ever since I've had cancer, I've been thinking about it more. And I find myself believing a bit more. I kind of, maybe it's cause I want to believe in an afterlife. Then when you die, it doesn't all just disappear. Steve Jobs went on, the wisdom you've accumulated, somehow it lives on. And then he passed for a second, and he said, yeah, but sometimes I think it's just like an on-off switch. Click, and you're gone. He said, and he paused again, and he said, and that's why I don't like putting on-off switches on Apple devices.

Isn't that interesting? Isn't that instructive? You know what he did not know, in spite of his wealth, in spite of his brilliance. John chapter 5. John chapter 5 tells us where those who are deceased are, what is their state.

John chapter 5 verse 26, For as the Father has life in Himself, so has He granted the Son to have life in Himself. Both have life inherent. All we have, all you and I have, are a chemical existence. Verse 27, And has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of God. Do not marvel at this, and most people do, sometimes you and I do, do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice. Every single human being who has ever died and been buried will hear the voice of the Son of Man, and will come forth. Verse 29 tells us, Those who've done good to the resurrection of life, and those who've done evil to the resurrection of condemnation, and so on. All of those loved ones we've had in the past will come forward. My grandparents came to Saskatchewan, Canada in the early 1900s, 1905. They were homesteaders from Eastern Europe. They were a young couple with three little children, and they came all the way from Eastern Europe, across the ocean by railway, through to Winnipeg, then by wagon, through to the area north of Saskatoon, and were given a homestead, 160 acres in an area called Petrovka, Saskatchewan. They raised a big family. They prospered. All I have that ever belonged to my grandfather was his Bible. It's a Ukrainian Bible, and it has his handwriting in the column, and he underlined it, but little notations. I never met him. Never met my grandmother or grandfather. Never met any grandparent, and those who have grandparents and great-grandparents are very, very blessed, and I look forward to seeing them in the resurrection. I'd learned from a cousin that my grandmother, Antonia, used to on Saturdays, and they had a big brood of kids. You had to have them there for farm labor, and they were good company because neighbors were so far away, she used to make all the kids be quiet on Saturdays so she could wind up the gramophone and put on her opera records and listen to the opera. I had no idea that my grandmother enjoyed opera. I didn't know what opera was until I was 25, maybe 19, but she enjoyed opera records. We, many of us, have certain gaps in our lives where we haven't met certain relatives, or we have, and we'd like to see them again and how wonderful it will be to reconnect with the Museum.

Museum 37, we read this passage traditionally on the last great day, and today will not be an exception. It's a wonderful, wonderful chapter of Scripture that is so meaningful and certainly applicable to the meaning of the day. Isaiah 37, is it an accident that shortly after we get home from the Feast of Tabernacles, we usually have to contend with Halloween?

Is it an accident that we get back, having had this wonderful, uplifting, inspiring feast experience, Feast of Tabernacles, last great day, and then in a week or two, we have to contend with all the trappings of Halloween, of ghouls and goblins and witches and skeletons and orange and black?

I don't think that's an accident. I think the adversary knows what he's doing and wants to detract from the experience that we will have had.

Chapter 37, verse 1, The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out of the, in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones.

And He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, Son of Man, can these bones live? And so I answered, Lord God, you know. That's a very good answer, where someone asks us and we say, you know. I don't know. Again He said to me, prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live, and I will put sinews on you. You can count in verse 6 the different steps. I will put one sinews on you, bring two flesh upon you, cover you with skin, three, put breath in you, four, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord. People are reconstructed. How remarkable that will be. And so I prophesied, as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. And indeed, as I looked the sinews, and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over, but there was no breath in them. Just could ever. And He said to me, prophesy to the breath, prophesy, Son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, breathe on thee, slain, that they may live. Recently, I had heard, and I forget now where the source was, and if you did, then see me after church, and I'll all be in a hurry after services. I had heard somewhere, and I think it was officially on a documentary-type program, that there's no such thing as bad CPR. That if someone has fallen, and they've had some kind of a failure in their breathing or heart situation, that what a little CPR, you know, administer it, because it could make all the difference in that person's longevity. No such thing as bad CPR. So, breath is given, as we read here in verse 9, verse 10. So I prophesied, as He commanded, and breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army. There were so many of them, it seemed like an army of people. And He said to me, Son of Man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off. It's hopeless, allegorically.

And therefore prophesied, and say to them, Thus says the Lord of all, behold, Lord God, behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. That will be stupendous. Then you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put my Spirit in you, and you shall live. I will place you in your own land. You shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it, and performed it, says the Lord. We so look forward to these things happening, to seeing loved ones who have died in recent times and in ancient times, to come back to life in a much, much better world. I was watching a PBS documentary about Auschwitz, maybe you saw it as well, where they showed the number of people who were gassed to death, mostly Jewish people, but not exclusively Jewish people, other people too who resisted Nazi occupation. And they showed certain monuments or shrines to those who had been systematically put to death. They were mountains of confiscated eyeglasses, mountains of confiscated shoes, children's shoes, women's shoes, men's shoes. It was a stark reminder that these were used by real people, worn by real people, needed by real people. Very sobering to watch that, sobering to be reminded of what had happened to them. Why did it have to happen? Well, we know why. One of the experiences...

I'll leave that for a little later. Let me interrupt myself. Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 11, I should say. Romans chapter 11, moving along. Mr. Dobson mentioned there are certain time requirements here, so I'll try to be responsive. Now, I will be responsive to that. Romans chapter 11.

Romans chapter 11 and verse 24.

Talking here about horticulture, referred to earlier today, for if you were cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, Romans chapter 11 verse 24, if you were cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will those who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? I would imagine in the audience here this afternoon that there are any number of us here who have trees, fruit trees, and that part of your horticultural tending of those trees, that you will prune them, and you will graft some of them. And you know that it is possible to buy an apple tree with five different varieties of apples on that one tree, because you've had five different varieties grafted into the trunk of the tree, and you can have this wonderful crop of different varieties of apples from one stalk, as it were, or one trunk. It's remarkable what can happen. Verse 25, For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, ignorant of what mystery? Lest you should be wise in your own opinions, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And then verse 26, this terrifically inspiring statement, And so all Israel will be saved as it is written.

The deliverer will come out of Zion, he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins. The vast majority of mankind.

What has happened to them? Have they lost or are they saved? Neither. They're neither saved, nor lost. The vast majority of mankind are just deceased. They just died. But they will be given an opportunity for salvation in the resurrection, an opportunity to repent and believe and overcome.

Flip Wilson once had an expression that I've written down for future reference. Flip Wilson said, if I had to live my life over again, I doubt I'd have the strength. He said, you get tired after a while. Ask someone who were in their 70s and 80s and 90s. Ask someone like, are any number of non-agenarians here with us? I remember Mr. Armstrong saying in his 90s, even the simple things are not easy anymore. And he was asked, what are those simple things?

Answer, getting out of bed, getting dressed. And it's true. Once you get into your 70s, 80s, 90s, it is very, very challenging. I conducted a funeral a few weeks ago for one of our long-time members. When we were first sent to Ontario in 1972, 73, 74, 75, that segment of time, she was already elderly. And she died just a few weeks ago, maybe about a month ago. I conducted her funeral. She was 99. And we would see her regularly, and she mentioned how difficult it was for her just to get from her room to the cafeteria to have lunch and get back to her room, how challenging it was. Revelation 20 will review this passage we had it covered this morning.

Effectively, we'll just touch on it ever so briefly here in this afternoon message.

Chapter 20, verse 4, I saw thrones and they sat on them, judgment was committed to them. I saw the souls of those that had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God.

Who had not worshiped the beast or his image, nor received this mark in their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. And that's what we're looking at today. What will become of those who are called here in this verse, the rest of the dead. Verse 11, I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. There was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened and another book was open, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. God's plan is wonderful. It's stunningly meaningful. One of the opportunities I like to take advantage of in going to different church areas is to go to an attraction that usually doesn't appear on the map. And I looked at all the maps that we have here in Branson, and there are beautiful maps, but this attraction wasn't there. I looked it up on the internet, and even so, it was hard to find. But eventually, with some help from the internet, able to find where in Branson the cemetery is located. And in preparation for this service today, the sermon this afternoon had an opportunity of going to the corner of Oklahoma and commercial, I think it is, in the downtown Branson area and seeing the cemetery. It's there. As a student and ambassador some years ago, one of the creative dates we had, another couple, and my date and I, is we went to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles for a date. You think, why would you do that? It's interesting to go to Forest Lawn because many, many cemeteries these days are designed by, by right, purposely designed would be a better way of expressing it, should not look like cemeteries. If you go to an old-fashioned cemetery, there's no doubt that you are looking at and are about to enter into a cemetery. The modern view is denial. We don't want to acknowledge that cemeteries are real, and so they're made to look like parks. So if you go to Forest Lawn, it's like going to a park. Flowers and trees and lawns. We brought a picnic lunch. We had a picnic.

We toured the the premises. We saw the mausoleums. First year young, and death seems far away.

The cemetery in Branson is worth seeing. One of the first headstones we saw was a child that lived maybe four months, not that long ago. And the testimony there, the monument was from grandmother and grandfather. There was another monument on behalf of a pioneer couple. And then there was a monument for the Wilson family. It's the longest inscription I've ever seen and had it took a picture of it, had it written down. I wanted to share with you because if you think you've seen everything in Branson, you may not have quite seen everything. And I think there's another cemetery in Hollister. It's always instructive to do this. And I might say as we were there, there was another family there who were standing in front of one headstone in particular, paying their respects. They had their heads bowed. They were praying. My wife and I were there with our granddaughter, who of course was not aware of what the setting was. But nevertheless, we were teaching her to be respectful of the monuments and so on. But the following inscription was on one of the prominent headstones entitled, When I am gone. When I come to the end of my journey and I travel my last weary mile, just forget, if you will, that I ever frown and remember only the smile.

Forget unkind words I have spoken. Remember some good I have done. Forget that I have been sorry, forget that I've had heartache and remember I had lots of fun. Remember that I've fought some good battles in one ear the close of the day. Then forget to grieve for my going. I would not have you sad for a day. But in summer, just get some flowers and remember the place where I lay. And come in the evening when the sun paints the sky in the west. Stand for a few minutes beside me and remember only my best. It's interesting to read monuments. They are instructive of the people who were there. I went with my brother to my grandmother and grandfather's burial spot.

And where they were buried in 1938, 1942, respectively, I was born in 1948. It's a pioneer cemetery in rural Saskatchewan. Even yet, probably two dozen monuments there. Hard to find. And there they are. And the script on the markers is in Ukrainian, which I can read. And it says, here rests Karela Haidekevic and his wife. Separate monuments here rests.

Even the Prime Minister of Canada. He's buried in the Kingston, Ontario cemetery, where we had the feast one year. I went there to pay my respects. And it says, at rest, John A. McDonald. It doesn't say, gone to heaven, see you soon.

Cemeteries and days gone by would have wrought iron fences and entranceways, and they would have at the top, at rest, interestingly. Significantly, instructively. Matthew 12. Matthew 12 and verse 38, please.

Matthew 12, beginning in verse 38.

Matthew 12 and verse 38.

Then some of the scribes in Pharesys answered, saying, Teacher, we want to see a sign from you. He answered and said to them, An evil and an adulterous generation seeks after a sign.

Now, if they were evil and adulterous back then, what are we like today, societally? Much worse. No sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. First, Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fierce. So will the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Verse 41 and 42, then we'll stop.

The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. When will the non-Israelites be resurrected? According to verse 41, at the same time that the Israelites will be.

The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it because they didn't repent at the preaching of Jonah, and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

At this time, being described in Matthew 12, in Revelation 20, which was read this morning, also read here just a few moments ago, at this time, billions and billions and billions of people are going to come up out of the graves from all kinds of cemeteries such as we have right here in Branson and wherever else you may be from and live. What are we going to do with all of them as they come up? These billions and billions of people, as we read in Ezekiel. This is going to be a real event. The logistical problems will be real. Union soldiers rise up over there and Confederate soldiers over yonder. Hutus rise up in one area, and Tutsi's not too far away from them. Vegetarians rise over here, and cannibals rise over there. Hatfields rise over here, and McCoys rise over there.

You suspect we'll need some kind of a police force to keep them on friendly terms? They'll have on their minds the very last thoughts they had before they died. Some will be moaning and groaning from terrible diseases and illnesses. Others will be wondering where their swords went and spears and shields. Yet others will be concerned about those screeching tires and blinding headlights.

There'll be those who died peacefully in their sleep. There'll be those who went down to borrow the Titanic. There'll be those who were torn apart by lines in the Roman Colosseum. There'll be those who died on board the space shuttle and other such accidents. You know what? One of the first things we'll have to do is, as we look at the logistics of this very real event, we'll need to clothe them.

The cannibal will come up and start looking for someone to eat until he realizes, yikes, I don't have any clothes on. That should slow them down some. Do you know what the second thing is? It will have to do? We'll have to feed them.

Some of them will be very, very hungry. They will not have eaten for thousands of years.

Remember the little girl that Jesus resurrected? And when he resurrected her, what did he say thereafter to her parents? Give her something to eat. Some will be very, very hungry. Thousands of years they've been without food. Some will ask for a hamburger. Others will ask for a pork chop.

You'll have to correct that. They'll be thirsty. Thirsty, too. And, of course, thirdly, they'll need teaching and will begin to teach them about God's laws and his wonderful way of life. How to live in peace and harmony and to love their neighbors. How to dress properly, how to eat properly. And for a hundred years, they'll have an opportunity to repent and accept Christ as personal Savior and to overcome. There's so much that we'll be a part of that we can look forward to. Seeing our loved ones again, meeting them for the first time. Perhaps Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 7.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. God is very generous with His grace, but there is no such thing as cheap grace. It did require the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ under the most horrific circumstances and conditions. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Verse 8, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Verse 9, having made known to us the mystery of His will. The reference to the revelation of, the opening to our understanding of His plan of salvation, which will include understanding what will happen to those who have died without having yet been saved. Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to the good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself, according to His plan of salvation. There was a pastor some years ago who tells a story of getting a phone call from a senior member of his congregation. Her name was Martha. The children called her Aunt Marty, and she's one of those members, and we have them in our various congregations. I'm sure you have someone like this in your congregation, that she just oozes faith and love and care and concern. And she said to her pastor, preacher, could you stop by this afternoon? I need to talk with you. And he responded and said, of course, I can be there with three o'clock this afternoon, be okay. And she said, fine, that'll work. And he arrived at her home, small but comfortable. And she shared with him, with her pastor, that she just learned from her physician, from her GP, her medical doctor, that she had been diagnosed with an undetected tumor, and that her physician had told her in no uncertain terms that she probably had no more than six months left to live.

And he said to her, her pastor said to her, I'm so sorry to hear that. And she replied, don't be.

The Lord has been good to me. I've lived a long life. I'm ready to go. You know that. I know, the pastor replied. But I do want you to explain, I want to talk to you about the funeral. And some people do this. They meet with their pastor, and they sense that it's time to make certain arrangements. And she thought, I want to talk to you about what I want done and what I want not done. So they spent quite a bit of time that afternoon talking about her favorite hymns, her favorite scriptures, the good times they'd shared in that congregation, wonderful memories that they created together. One more thing, preacher. She said, Pastor, when you bury me, I want you to be sure that I have in one hand my old Bible and in the other hand a fork. You may have heard this story, but it bears repeating. A fork, her pastor asked. I can understand why you'd want your old Bible included with you in the casket, but why a fork? She said, I've been thinking about all those wonderful potlucks we've had in church. And through the years, we've had remarkably delicious potlucks. But not all potlucks are the same. There are those, there were those instances where when the staff came through, the serving people, and cleared the dishes, the worker would whisper, keep your fork. And I knew what that meant, that a special dessert was coming. Not jello or pudding, not even ice cream. A spoon would be sufficient for that, but we'd have the really good stuff, chocolate cake and cherry pie. I knew the best was yet to come. And she explained to her pastor, that's exactly what I want people to see and to have impressed upon their minds when they see me lying in my favorite blue dress in the casket. My old Bible in one hand and a fork in the other, and they'll wonder, what is that all about? And you will tell them the best is yet to come.

And so it is with God's plan of salvation. We've kept this year's Feast of Tabernacles, the series of the Holy Days, as we heard in this morning's sermon at the last great day has come, and the concluding service is nearly come and gone too. And we're sad to leave, but we came knowing that we needed to come and go, return to our own home areas, start meeting on the Sabbath, look forward to the fulfillment of God's wonderful plan, knowing full well, no matter what happens, the best is yet to come.