Meaning of the Eighth Day of the Feast

Well, good morning, brethren. I certainly have to say we need to be extremely thankful to God for the musicians that have been provided for us here throughout the feast. I do want to thank not only our instrumentalists, but all of our choir members and choir director and his wife here for working so hard throughout the feast. The last 10 minutes or so have been really uplifting.

I don't know if the next hour, or I hope the next hour, will be as uplifting, but certainly the choir and all of the music has just been wonderful. And of course, brethren, that's a part of what we're here doing as we celebrate the feast. We're here worshiping God.

We are here because we love God, and we are grateful for everything He has done for us.

And it's fabulous. I should say happy Holy Day to you because this is a holy day and a holy convocation that God calls us to attend. And we're able to celebrate a special festival here at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles. One that I know that you know is very special.

It's special because it pictures something wonderful, absolutely fabulous in the plan of God.

And I want to be able to discuss that with you this morning. I hope, rehearse with many of you what it is that this pictures, but maybe more than that, be able to increase your understanding.

And certainly, as I've tried to study much of this in preparation for this, it increases my understanding of how great of a time of hope and mercy in the plan of God that this eighth day pictures. It really is amazing. I want us to begin in Matthew, Chapter 20.

I don't know with many of you having heard many sermons about the eighth day and about what we commonly call or have called the last great day. I don't know if you've ever read Matthew 20 in connection with this, but I want to do so today. And I want to go through because when we think about the Holy Days and what they reveal, we realize that they reveal the mind of God. They reveal something beyond what our normal, natural, human understanding would be.

They reveal a plan, a great plan of mercy and hope. It's a great plan for all of mankind.

And as all of us know, there have been many people, many people who have lived and died and who have not understood the plan or purpose of God. They've not understood Jesus Christ as their Savior. And so is there no hope for them? Well, clearly that is not the case when we do understand the meaning of this eighth day. But I want to start in Matthew, Chapter 20, actually with this parable from Jesus. Because actually Jesus has a lot to say about the plan, a lot to say about what this day pictures, which is a time at the end of the millennium, beginning at the end of the millennium, and then extending into a time of judgment for many people. But understanding that judgment is very important. Here in Matthew 20, verse 1, we see Jesus telling a parable. And of course, as all of us know, the parables were told by Jesus and they were not fully understood. In many cases they were not even understood by the disciples. And they would come and ask him, well, what does this mean? Can you explain it more clearly? Can you give us clarity on what you want us to know? And of course, you know, if we have the help from God and His Spirit, then we're going to gain insight into what His parables actually picture for us. But this parable is about, we can read it in verse 1, the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for the vineyard. But after agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, He sent them into the vineyard. And when He went out about nine o'clock, He saw others standing idle in the marketplace and He said to them, you also go into the vineyard and I will pay you what is right. So they went, in verse 5, when He went out again about noon and about three, and again in verse 6, about five o'clock He went out and found others standing around and He said to them, why are you standing here idle all day? And they said, well, no one has hired us.

Unfortunately, we can even run into that situation ourselves today. We may be wishing to be employed, but if we've not been hired, then we're not yet employed into the job. But what Jesus was speaking in this parable, He was talking to these different groupings of people at different times throughout the day, and they said, well, we're not hired because no one has hired us. And He said to them, you also go into the vineyard. And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, call the laborers and give them their pay beginning from the last to the first.

And when those hired, about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.

And so when the other workers saw what happened, when the first came, they thought that they would receive more. Maybe twice as much, maybe three or four times as much. When they saw what they were to receive, each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received that, this is kind of sad. In verse 11, when they received what they had agreed upon, they grumbled against the landowner. And they said, these last only worked an hour, and you have made us, them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day in the scorching heat. And He replied to one of them, friend, I am doing you no wrong.

Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? He says in verse 14, take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. He hired them at different times throughout the day, and yet He made it have different purposes. But He was going to extend to them a similar pay. And brethren, I know that this particular parable perhaps has maybe several meanings, some of them that might be connected to even our time today, whenever some of you have been laboring in the vineyard for 50 years, and some of you 40 and 30, some of us much less, some five, maybe some only a few weeks having been brought into the vineyard, and having been included in the work that Mr.

Pirwitz was talking about in our offering. And that's clearly an application of what this is talking about. And yet I'd like for us to think about this in regard to God's calling people, whether that calling involved those in the Old Testament, the few that we know that were dealt with by God in the Old Testament, some that were highlighted. It was very clear that God made a special calling or gave that calling to Abraham. And through his family and through the children of Jacob, he dealt with a group of people, a physical group of people, for a particular reason.

Now, it appears he gave very few of those individuals the Spirit of God. And yet when we come to the time of the New Testament, we have disciples learning from Jesus, and you find later, as you go into the day of Pentecost and then the New Testament Church, you find the beginning of that church, and the Spirit of God poured out again to some, not indefinitely and not to the entirety of the earth, not to the entirety of the world.

But see, as we know and as we've been celebrating, as soon as Jesus comes back, things are going to change. As soon as he comes back and sets up his kingdom, a thousand years will exist where Satan is restricted. See, all of us are laboring with Satan's world today, and the world tomorrow is going to be different. There's going to be a group of people that God will deal with during the millennium. What we would seem to think would be a different. It would be a different setting than what we have today. It's certainly going to be more blessed. Beyond that, at the end of the millennium, we find God's planning to draw billions, as we've had mentioned, billions of people in a physical resurrection to be able to offer them something that they have not yet had, a calling to know the truth of God, a calling to understand that.

And then ultimately, God will have worked with all of humanity in offering them salvation. But how he goes about doing that is really entirely up to him. I think this parable can apply to when God calls people, whether it was dealing with the few before the time of Jesus, dealing with some of us as firstfruits from the time of Jesus until his return, whether it's dealing with people during the millennium and causing them to thrive, or whether it is dealing with those that will rise in the second resurrection that we're going to review here today.

In verse 14, Jesus said, Take what belongs to you and go.

I choose to give to the last the same as I give to you. And he goes on to say, am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? All of us. We want to be a part of a divine family. We want to be glorified as the sons and daughters of God. But that should also and could also be the hope and we would hope the future for all of mankind. That's what God's heart is about. His heart is not about destruction. That's who the Satan is, the accuser. He's the one who is the destroyer. He wants to tear down. He wants to destroy things, but God is actually building up.

So as Jesus mentions here, he says, I need to be allowed to work with my project, my planning, as I choose. So no one of us should question God's generosity or his timing, the timing of our calling. He goes on here in verse 15, am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Are you envious? Because I'm generous. He even concludes this parable by saying, the last will be first, the first shall be last. And again, that statement may have many different possible meanings. And yet, I think we can clearly apply this parable to what God is doing.

Our service to God should not be compared to one another in a comparative way. Now, I know, as we've had explained even yesterday, that God has called us today for a wonderful purpose and reason to do a work at this time. And he's going to bless us and reward us for that.

But brethren, the offer of eternal life, the offer of being in the family of God, the offer of being enabled to understand the truth and to be led by the Holy Spirit, God is going to extend to everyone.

It's just a matter of His timing. So I hope that we can very much appreciate God's calling today.

We've been set on a narrow and straight path, and clearly God can add or He can hire others into the work right now, or He can choose to bring people to a closeness to Him during the millennium or during the timeframe following that. When we think about it, every one of us, if we were to get what we really deserve, then we would simply die. If we were to receive what we actually deserve, He would have to give us death. But see, we're being offered salvation, and not only just us, but others are going to be offered salvation. I don't know how many of you follow. Some of you may be familiar with some of the writings that Mr. Ken Murray does. Do any of you tell me you follow his blog? Ken Murray is one of our pastors. I know it doesn't look like anyone really does. Okay, we find one or two, so not too many people are familiar with what Mr. Murray does. But Mr. Murray, Ken Murray lives in Australia, and he travels to India. Clearly, he meets a diverse group of people, various different people in different countries or in different sectors of the country, many of them with differing beliefs and different backgrounds, but certainly many of them having lost other family members, children or parents or grandparents, and having a sense of despair about that. I want to read to you a little bit about what Mr. Murray, what he shares with those people, and I hope to help us realize just how hopeful the plan of God is, just how encouraging when we see what it is that God offers, not only to us, but what he will offer in his plan going forward. Mr. Murray, he sends this kind of a blog of his day-to-day activity, and if you have access to it and if you can read it, it's often made available to us through, I believe, the member site, but it's exciting for him to go and meet people, talk to them, and then how amazingly he just enlightens them about the plan of God. I want to read a part of this. He talks about meeting a man named Johnson, who used to be a security guard. He meets many, many people, and he actually just talks to people who are interested. He's actually going there to talk to some who are good news, subscribers, and they want to know more about the church or they want to know more about the plan of God. He said we share a good discussion about the Scriptures relating to the plan of God, and Jesus returned to the earth. See, that's a big part of his topic whenever he's talking to people.

Let me try to read this. Let me lead into it just by telling you how encouraging this seems to be to the people who are receiving that information. He says he's ushered into one location. Again, in India he may find some very relatively nice situations to stay, but then there also may be a pretty bad place to stay and situations that people are in that are very, very bad.

And he says that John, one of the people that he works with, ushered him into a main floor, and actually in that particular area it was very cool. And he introduced me, talking to Ken, he introduced me to Pastor Basker, who I discover is 100% blind. And as we talk, he tells me how he lost his brother Raja, who died from disease prematurely. And I encouraged him that he will see his brother come alive again in the second resurrection. We spent the next two hours discussing the three resurrections as a big smile of hope becomes bigger and bigger on Pastor Basker's face while he comes to hear in the scriptures that he will see his brother Raja once again. And he will have his first real opportunity there in the second resurrection to seek God and to live God's way of life. See, that's his discussion with people who are, in many ways, quite hopeless. They don't really know what the future holds. In some ways, they're very fearful of the future. And I hope that we are not, with an understanding of God's plan, we are not fearful, fearful of the future and what it might bring. He goes on, I'm going to read some of this just because he's very interesting in the way he writes up his travel. He says, just about time before sunset to enjoy a walk on the beach and to enjoy the cool, refreshing salt water and reflect on the many glories of God in God's creation. A busload of teenagers suddenly pulls up and there are many squeals and shouts of joy from these teenagers as they fully clothe, they hold hands and rush into the edge of the waves crushing into the seashore.

It is then that I realize that these teenagers have come on a long trip from inland India where, in all of their lives, so far they have never seen the sea. And he says, Sabbath evening comes as the sun goes down and while I stretch out relaxed on a comfy reclining chair besides the rolling waves of the sea with the refreshing, salty breeze in my hair. And while I'm relaxing, again John, someone who works with him, starts speaking to one of the resort guards who is still mourning the premature death of his lovely 21-year-old wife and son in 2010.

I begin giving him encouragement that he will see his wife and his son again in the second resurrection and they will be given a period of judgment or time of physical second life to live again. And as I cover and explain the scriptures, his face lights up with a fresh look of hope to dispel his mood of gloominess. It's amazing, brethren, this particular minister of ours is able to provide information to people. You know, he's really just preaching the gospel.

He is giving information to people in order to encourage them in so much of a hopeful way.

Again, he talks about meeting a couple. He said, I invite them to dinner and we share a wonderful, inspiring talk together and they let me know that their 12-year-old son prematurely died during some years ago, or quite some years ago, and they have only one daughter.

But we study the scriptures which show how his son will be raised again to physical human life and will enjoy years of living without sickness and disease with the opportunity to become a son of God. Jacob and his wife are greatly encouraged with fresh hope of the promises of God and they will see their lost son again. See, in each one of these accounts, each one of these descriptions of his interaction with people, it's encouraging to see him just sharing an understanding of God's plan and of God's purpose, and certainly what he is offering is hopeful assurance to these people.

So with this in mind, I think we ought to consider what we read here in Matthew about Jesus and his control of the timing of people coming to an understanding of the truth and actually being able to seek and pursue God. You know, who controls the timing of our calling, our hiring into the vineyard, our opportunity to know God and to seek his salvation? I think the better that we understand what this day pictures, the better we comprehend the fact. I know many of us are physically aware. We can read Revelation 20, and we can read other of the passages in the Bible.

We certainly have read church literature, but the better that we understand God's plan, his mind, his thought, and then his control of when he brings people to an awareness of their need for him, the better and the greater hope that we can actually have. There is great hope in knowing God's plan of salvation, which involves a series of resurrections where all will come to know God and to know Jesus Christ. Let's go to John chapter 7. John chapter 7, we again see Jesus speaking, and it's very good to stick with what Jesus says, because obviously he's the Son of God. He's going to be our returning King. He wrote, or he had recorded, his life and parables that are for our understanding. And here we find in John 7 Jesus observing the Feast of Tabernacles. And in verse 37, he actually even says that there's an order to what he and the Father are doing. He said, on the last day of the festival, in verse 37, the great day while Jesus was standing there, he cried out and said, let everyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. And he said, as the Scripture has said, out of the believers' hearts shall flow rivers of living water. Now clearly Jesus was making this statement in a projecting way. He was saying that there will come a time when the rivers of living water are going to be flowing out from many people.

But he doesn't say all of that's going to happen at once. He says it's going to happen over a period of time. He said, ultimately, if anyone is going to be a receiver, a receiver of that living water, and then a sharer, as all of us are to be, a sharer of the living water that comes from Jesus Christ, then we're going to have to come to the source of that water. And he says, as the Scriptures say, out of the believers' hearts shall flow rivers of living water. Now what I want to focus on is in verse 37, even though Jesus is the only one as the bread of life and the source of living water, he's the only one who can really provide a solution to spiritual hunger and spiritual thirst.

And yet in verse 39 he talks about in order. It says in verse 39, now he said this, and so he describes, in this case John describes what Jesus was talking about. He said this about the Holy Spirit, which believers in him were to receive. So of course, even at this point, they had not yet received it. The day of Pentecost was yet to come. There was yet to be a beginning of the New Testament church. There would yet be a millennium. There would yet be a time beyond the millennium. But it says he said this about the Holy Spirit, which believers in him were to receive for as yet there was no giving of the Holy Spirit. There was no Holy Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified. Even at this point, as this was recorded about him and his interactions with the disciples, and as John wrote this down, there were yet to be things that would happen according to the plan of God, some of them very familiar to us, ultimately Jesus' death, and ultimately then the beginning of the New Testament church. But what we see there in verse 39 is simply an order to what God is doing in calling people. And of course, later the Holy Spirit would be given to the church. Let's back up a couple of pages and look at John chapter 5.

You see what Jesus had to say about death and about the resurrection? And it's good for us to focus on what he has to say here in John 5. He says in verse 25, verily I tell you the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.

He said everyone, everyone who has ever lived, everyone who has lived and died will eventually be resurrected. And if we drop down to verse 28, it says, don't be astonished at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out.

Those who have done good are going to come out to a resurrection of life, a resurrection to eternal life. And as we would understand it, that refers to a first resurrection, a resurrection we want to be a part of, a resurrection that we can only be a part of because God has chosen to open our mind. He has chosen to call and to grant us the Holy Spirit of God. That is how we would be a part of that first resurrection. But as Jesus said, I'm going to draw those out of the grave. They're going to hear my voice. They'll come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, those who have done evil to a resurrection of condemnation. And so again, you see Jesus mentioning, actually you see him only mentioning a resurrection to eternal life and a resurrection to eternal death. That's all he's referring to here. He's referring to two of the three resurrections. And yet he does mention that there will be some who are a part of the family of God at his return. And unfortunately, he says there will be some who resist God, who refuse God, who wish to defy God. And of course, you know, the resurrection of condemnation or a resurrection to eternal death is mentioned here.

But as I said, there's only two of the resurrections mentioned, and yet three are very clearly pointed out in Revelation 20. But as I also said, there is an order in which these resurrections occur.

Let's look at 1 Corinthians chapter 50. I think most of us are familiar with the fact that Paul states this regarding how it is that the resurrections will come about in 1 Corinthians 15. Starting in verse 20, he gives a sequential order, and he does that saying, this is the plan of God. This is how God is going to lay things out. He didn't consult with me about this at all, nor did he consult with any of us. He is doing this at his discretion, at his choosing, and in his timing. So it says in verse 20, in fact, Jesus has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being. For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Jesus Christ. But in verse 23, each in his own order, Christ the first fruit, and then at his coming those who belong to Christ. And then, he says, comes the end. When he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and every power, he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. Now, that's a description, in a sense, kind of a summary of what's going to happen during the millennium and during the white throne judgment period that will occur right after the millennium.

And yet again, in verse 23, it's very clear that he's pointing out in order to how he chooses to deal with people. So let's go to Revelation 20 and easily go through the sequence that is here that also, in many ways, gives us the foundation.

Now, we read what Jesus said in a parable. We read what he said about the resurrection to all who die, who are in the grave and awaiting the resurrection from the dead.

But here in Revelation 20, we know that John is writing this, but again, be reminded that John was writing down what he was shown, and he was writing down the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So Jesus Christ is again saying what the plan of God holds before us.

Here in Revelation 20, John sees and vision these three resurrections. And starting in verse 4, I'm not reading the sections that talk about Satan's deception, as we know it very clearly, is affecting the entire world today. I'm not going to read the section in verse 7 about him being loosed and allowed to create havoc once again. We've covered those in some way, I'm sure, on the Day of Atonement. But in regard to the resurrection to eternal life, it says in verse 4, I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to judge, and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the Word of God. And they had not worshiped the beast or its image, they had not received his mark, but they came to life and they reigned with Jesus Christ for a thousand years.

And down in verse 6, he said, blessed, blessed and holy are those who share in that first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with Christ for a thousand years during the millennial rule of Jesus Christ on earth. Now, clearly, that's a category of folks that we want to be in.

And as we had mentioned to us in 1 Peter 4, verse 17, it says judgment is now upon the household of God. We need to think about, perhaps, a little bit about that judgment, because judgment is occurring on us today, and yet it is a period of time. Some of us have been under that period of judgment for 50 or 60 years, some of us a much shorter time, but nonetheless, we've been given a period of time to honor God with our lives. We've been given a period of time to serve God and to serve one another and to love God and love one another. That judgment is on upon us today, brethren, and that is, as we keep that in mind, it helps us in understanding this second resurrection.

This talks about the first resurrection to eternal life, and then the second resurrection is described in verse 5, and then on in verse 11. In verse 5, in parentheses in my Bible, it says, the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. Brethren, that's an amazing, amazing truth, an idea or a concept that clearly most people do not have today. They do not believe in a sense that God could actually do that, but clearly he's capable of doing that, and clearly he's going to bring that to pass. At the end of millennium, it says, the rest of the dead do not come to life until the thousand years are ended. But in verse 11, it then starts talking about that resurrection to physical life. It says, I saw a great white throne, and one who sat on at the earth, and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. But I saw the dead, great and small, that are mentioned in verse 5, those who are rising after the thousand years, I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, the Book of Life, and the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. Now this particular description of what we have as this physical resurrection describes, once again, a period of judgment, not just a flat sentence, as we might think of it, or as I think perhaps many who might read that might think, well, that sets a sentence for what I did or didn't do. No, the books are going to be opened. See, that's talking about an understanding of the books of the Bible, an understanding of the words of Jesus, an understanding of how we are to relate to the Father and given a period of time that we enjoy and that we actually grow in our love and our service toward God and toward one another. That's the type of a setting. Now we, I know, had said in the past that this could be a hundred-year period of time. I know that that's a, that is certainly something we've written. I don't know if we're directly writing that today, but whatever period of time it is, it's going to be a period of living, a period of physical life, where then judgment can be made for on people who have, have risen in this resurrection, this physical resurrection, where they can have an education in the books of the Bible, and then they can choose. Through a period of time of judgment, they can choose if they wish to embrace God or not. And actually, you know, all of us have a great deal to be thankful for as we realize that, you know, God has opened our understanding to the words that are in this book.

We can go back to Luke 24 just very briefly. I don't want to detract from the remainder of what I need to cover, but here in Luke 24, you see Jesus talking after he had been resurrected.

He was talking to disciples. And in verse 44, he said, These are my words. He was telling them, These are my words that I spoke to you. Luke 24 44. These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Luke 24 verse 45. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And of course, he was describing to them the Scriptures at that time, which were the Old Testament. And he was describing to them all of the prophetic statements about him that you can see in the Old Testament. And yet, what can we say? Well, we can only say that they didn't understand. They had the Scriptures and they saw what it said, but they didn't understand it.

That's what's going to be made available to people who have lived and died without a knowledge of the truth. They're going to be given a knowledge of the truth of God, a knowledge of the Bible, even as we're trying to acquire that today as we study the Word of God. We are growing.

In our understanding, and then we need to be applying with the help of the Spirit of God the message that God has for us. But to go back to Revelation 20 again, being granted in this second resurrection, this physical resurrection, a knowledge of the books of the Bible, and then living a period of judgment, you also see starting in verse 13 what would appear to describe another resurrection. A resurrection in verse 13, the sea gave up the dead, death and hell gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. And this is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. So here he's describing what Jesus earlier described in John 5 as a resurrection to condemnation, a resurrection to eternal death. So you have described here, again according to God, three different resurrections.

One to eternal life, one to physical life and knowledge of the plan of God, and finally one to simply eternal death. Well, it is described as a second death that we want to avoid because we want to choose to obey God. You know, this second death is going to involve those who choose to defy and reject God. I think in many ways, you know, we talk a lot about our first resurrection, the first resurrection, as we wish to be a part of that. And we can clearly see that, well, ultimately to reject God would cause us to cease to exist. But that physical resurrection, that physical life that is described in this great white throne judgment period is one that we may not have as much understanding of. Let's go back to Ezekiel 37, because here you see a description.

You find several references to rising in a physical resurrection and different groupings of people rising all at the same time. And you find Israel described as rising in a physical resurrection, and Jesus describing many of the cities around him as rising together with many of the cities of the ancient past that he was clearly aware of. See, all of these are going to fit into a category of this great white throne judgment period. But here in Ezekiel 37, we see a description of what Ezekiel was shown. And again, not something that he understood, I'm sure, as far as what it was referring to. But it clearly is referring to what we see described as a physical resurrection that occurs after the millennial thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ.

It says, The hand of the Lord, in verse 37, came upon me, and he brought me out of the spirit of the Lord, and set me in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. And he led me around them, and there were many lying in the valley. They were dry bones. They had been there a long time.

And he said to me, mortal, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord, you are the one who know.

You are the one who knows when and how you are going to give physical life back to these bones.

He says, You're the only one who would know. And 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, I'm going to cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I'm going to lay sin you on you, and I will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin. And I'll put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord. So he kind of summarizes what's going to happen. They're going to be revived. They're going to be revived to physical life, and then they're going to be educated and taught to truly know the plan of God, to truly know our Lord, Jesus Christ. And so Ezekiel says in verse 7, I prophesy, as I had been commanded and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bones, and I looked, and there were sinew on them, and flesh came upon them, and skin covered them.

And yet there was no breath in them. And they said to me, prophesy to the breath, say to the breath, thus says the Lord, come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. And so I prophesied as I commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and they stood on their feet, a vast multitude. And in verse 11, he said to me, immortal, do you know who these are? Do you know who I'm causing to rise in a physical resurrection?

He says, this is the whole house of Israel. These were some who died in the desert before we got into the Promised Land. These were many of the house of Israel who lived and died, essentially never having any understanding. We know a few that God specifically worked with and gave his spirit who knew about the plan of God. But clearly, he says, most did not. These bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, this is what they say and this is what they thought, our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off completely. See, that's the concept that again, many people who have lived and died, clearly without a close relationship to God, our Father, and to Jesus Christ, our Lord, and to the one who is working out a great plan here on Earth. See, this is talking about a tremendous amount of hope, a tremendous amount of being able to know the plan and the will and the truth of God. You know, that's going to be made available to them.

If we go on down, he says in verse 12, I'm going to open your graves and I'm going to bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I'll bring you back to the land of Israel, and you shall know that I'm the Lord. When I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and actually verse 14 is extremely, extremely important. He says, I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live. Brethren, do we realize how precious, how precious of a gift it is to be able to relate to the Father and the Son through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

You know, that spirit is what gives us life. That spirit is what empowers us. That spirit is what transforms our heart. That spirit is what enables us to be able to have the hope of being glorified as sons and daughters in the family of God. That's where we're headed, but it's going to be because, and that's what is pointed out here, that as these individuals rise from a hopeless grave, they're going to be given physical life, and they're going to be given the Spirit of God to come to truly relate to God the Father. He says, I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own soil, and then you shall know that I the Lord have spoken, and I will act. See, brethren, God's plan, His order, His choosing, His timing is perfect.

He knows how it is that He's going to deal with all of humanity. We might also look at what Jesus said in Matthew 12. You find Jesus referring to this period of judgment a couple of different places in Matthew 11 and in Matthew 12, but I want to focus on the one in Matthew 12, here in Matthew 12.

Jesus had mentioned in chapter 11 how many of the people that He came to didn't receive Him.

They didn't know who He was. They didn't understand why He could do what He did. They didn't understand His miraculous power. They clearly didn't understand the love and the compassion and care that He was able to extend virtually to everyone. Even in conflict with the Pharisees, He was always able to show them what the truth was, whether they wanted or received it or not.

And yet Jesus mentioned how some of the cities, this is in chapter 11, and I'll just refer to this in verse 20 through 24, He says, Some of you living around me who are seeing what I'm doing and who don't believe, you're going to rise in a resurrection with people from Tyre and Zayden and Sodom.

Cities long gone at that point. Clearly points that we read about in the Old Testament and points in the past where people had certain condemnation come upon them because of their interactions, in a sense, with the nation of Israel. But what I want to look at is in chapter 12.

Here in Matthew chapter 12, He says in verse 41, He says, The people of Nineveh will rise at the judgment with this generation. And so here He's talking about the people long ago who lived at the time when Jonah did and when Jonah was sent to them and when they listened to what He said, they actually changed. They actually repented. But Jesus said the people of Nineveh are going to rise in a time or period of judgment. This is talking about that physical resurrection that we read about with Israel and the Gentile world will also rise in that same period of time.

The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and they'll condemn it because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah. And see, something greater than Jonah is here. He goes on to say the Queen of the South is going to rise in a judgment with this generation and condemn it because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon and see something greater than Solomon is here. See, Jesus spoke about His planning and His timing of when people will be resurrected and when they will actually enter into a period of judgment.

And these are referring to the physical resurrection that we know as the second resurrection.

So I hope in looking at these verses that we can appreciate just how awesome our great God is, just how powerful He is in understanding what is best. You know, brethren, sometimes as we struggle with things that we do today and we certainly know the oppression that Satan extends into this world, you know, we can often feel weak. We can feel like we don't have the power. We don't have the strength to do what needs to be done. And yet God says He's with us. He's helping us. He's going to enable us if we rely on Him. He's going to enable us to be successful. But He also has an order and a time to when He's going to draw others to that same type of relationship. See, everyone needs what you and I enjoy. Everyone needs what we enjoy in a relationship with God that is one of love and mercy, one of appreciation and gratitude, and yet the timing of God bringing people to that knowledge and then empowering them to draw close to Him, that's entirely up to Him. I want to read here in closing a couple of other verses, but in 1 Timothy, we clearly see what God's intent is. He's the author of the resurrection, even as He is the author of eternal life. He's the author of physical life, and He's the author of a resurrection to physical life, should He choose. But here in 1 Timothy, chapter 2, starting in verse 1, it says, first of all, and Paul is telling Timothy, I urge that supplication and prayer and intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone and for kings and all who are in high position so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. He said, this is right and this is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who, in verse 4 is what I want to focus on, God our Savior who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For He says there's one God and one mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ Himself. See, the relationship that we have with Jesus Christ is very special. It's very important and it's empowered and it's guided as we yield to that.

It's guided by the Holy Spirit. But what it says in verse 4 is that God desires, He desires all to come to a knowledge of the truth and His plan of salvation will allow all men to come to that knowledge. But it's a matter of timing. It's a matter of the order. He's the one who controls the timing. And so I want to encourage all of us as we celebrate the feast, not only this year, but even as we look toward next year and any years beyond that we have before Jesus graciously intervenes in world affairs, we want to embrace our opportunity to serve in God's vineyard today.

He's the one who's called us into the vineyard. He's going to call others during the millennium, and He's going to call others in a physical resurrection during what we know as the great white throne judgment. He's going to do that, but that's going to be according to His order.

And I think we certainly want to thank Him that He will bring others into His family, again, as He chooses, as He chooses to bring them the knowledge and as He chooses to offer them understanding of His plan. And so He offers great hope, great hope for all of mankind to know Him and to have eternal life. And so in conclusion, let's go back to our parable in Matthew 20 again, because I think as we perhaps consider this parable and think about it in relationship to God's calling. Not only God's calling today, but God's calling and revealing knowledge in the future as He chooses. If we think about that, you know, we can go back to what Jesus stated in His parable here. He told them in verse 14, take what belongs to you and go, because I choose to give to the last the same as I choose to give to you. The eternal life is His gift. Eternal life, we can't earn it. We can receive it as His gift because we love Him and because we serve Him and because we are guided by His Spirit. But what He says in verse 15 is what I want to conclude with.

He says, am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?

Brethren, we can truly be thankful that God is totally fair. He is totally fair. He is totally just and He is totally good in His offer of salvation.