An Outline of the Holy Days

Thank you, Mr. Patrick. Good afternoon, brethren. As always, happy Sabbath to all of you on this fall-ish day of 2008. As we all know, the fall Holy Day season is beginning in just a few weeks. The Feast of Trumpets will be here, as was announced on Tuesday, the 30th. The fall Holy Days are beginning after a long three- to four-month gap, which occurs every year between Pentecost, typically in the month of June, and the beginning of the fall Holy Days, which are usually either in September or October.

Today, I want to ask, is there a difference in emphasis and focus between the spring Holy Days and the fall Holy Days? By the way, the answer is yes. Is there a difference in the emphasis between what we learn from the spring Holy Days and what we learn from the fall Holy Days, and particularly regarding the fall Holy Days? What do they have to do with you? What role will you play in those tremendous prophetic events that are revealed in the fall Holy Days that are just going to begin in a short period of time? I thought that might be helpful for us to go through those events today, but you may recall a sermon I gave, I believe, around the day of Pentecost, in which I cautioned that it's usually not a good idea to just pluck one Holy Day out of nowhere, like they did in the beloved Methodist Church of my youth.

They practically would keep Pentecost, but they didn't understand that the Holy Days are a package. You just can't pluck out one and get its entire meaning from it, because it's interrelated with the other Holy Days. God has a plan that He's working out for mankind that are revealed in those days. I think it's important for us to go through the seven annual Holy Days today with a special emphasis on the ones that are coming up this fall, because they do relate to what you and I will be doing in the future.

They're very encouraging. Let's begin, as we always do, by going to the book of Leviticus 23, an area within the Old Testament that teaches us and outlines these days in the past. We've gone through the book of Acts, we've gone through the writings of Paul, and shown how every one of these Holy Days were observed by the early New Testament Church. That isn't my goal today, but what is my goal is that we remind ourselves of the tremendous meaning in the plan that God has revealed in these days.

So again, Leviticus 23, and we'll pick it up here in verse 1. It says, Before you can do something once a year, it's important to understand that there may be something that occurs once a week. So he begins, But the seventh day is the Sabbath of solemn rest, O holy convocation, you shall do no work in it. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. And we must never forget that in that same area that it outlines the seven annual Holy Days, that before they're given, God says, before we get to the annual festivals, don't forget that weekly festival that I have ordained.

So God announces to Moses a weekly feast before he even begins to reveal his plan, the mankind, because we need a weekly reminder. An annual Holy Days are wonderful things, but every week we need to be reminded as we rest that there is a world that will be established on this planet in which there will be no violence, in which there will be no anxiety, in which there will be no war. And we rest on the Sabbath day to reflect on the fact that the kingdom of God is an era of peace.

It's an era of tranquility. And God wanted that to be a weekly reminder to all of us, and that's why we get out of the rat race and we get off the merry-go-round of this world, even if it's popular or not, and we observe God's Sabbath day. Also, by resting on the weekly Sabbath, we also show that we believe salvation is not achieved by works or what we do. Have you ever considered that? The Sabbath day, of course, rest is reflective of peace, of salvation, of having a relationship with God.

And that's not based on works. It's not based on what we do. It's based on accepting the grace of God and the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The six days reflect the fact that we do everything we can to conform to the law of God, and we try to root sin out of our lives, and we're diligent to have a relationship with God.

But the Sabbath reminds us that by grace, we are saved, not by what we do. So God begins by revealing the weekly Sabbath, and then he begins to get into the annual festivals, which he calls holy convocations. Now, there are many, and sadly, some of my brethren in the past, who don't think that a holy convocation is something or a holy convention.

Is that important? Well, let me put it in a very worldly sense. I work for an employer, and I can tell you this. When my employer states that there's going to be a convention, if I don't show up, I'm in trouble. When there's a conference call, and I don't at least reply saying I'm able to make it, or I'm busy, or if I just ignore the request to join a conference call, I'm in trouble.

Now, how do you think God feels when he has gone to the effort to ordain certain days to reveal a plan, and certain individuals just choose not to participate? Something to think about. So now let's go to Leviticus, chapter 23, and we'll pick it up in verse 5, and we'll see the first event that is intimately tied in to the days of Unleavened Bread. You cannot separate the Passover from the days of Unleavened Bread. It says in verse 5, On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover.

Now, until the Exodus, the Hebrews began the sacred year in the fall, just like the Egyptians did. They had to relearn a lot of things that God intended. Many ancient calendars show that at times the Egyptians kept a ten-day week, not a seven-day week. So the Jews not only had to learn to turn the world upside down and start the year in the spring, but they also had to learn about a seven-day week, which was more common, I might add, among the Semitic peoples, of which Abraham had come from anyway.

But they had to relearn a lot of things about what God wanted them to understand. And He instructed them that the first month of the Hebrew calendar, which has come to be known as a bib, corresponds to the springtime in the Northern Hemisphere. And so the spring holy day season actually begins with the Passover. And it's very important because it teaches us that repentance and conversion are not even possible without reconciliation with God. Jesus Christ died for your sins and the sins of the whole world.

He died in our place and made it possible for everyone to be reconciled to God. The annual Passover, and this is important for us to understand, along with the other first three, all first three of the holy days, it's important for us to remember that what Christ did, He did individually for each and every sinner, no matter when they lived throughout human history. It doesn't matter whether you were born in Adam's lifetime or Abraham's lifetime, or whether you're the final generation of the millennium who was born during the kingdom of God.

Everyone, no exceptions, must come to the point where they accept Jesus Christ and acknowledge Him as their Savior. Every human being who has ever lived throughout history doesn't matter will need to accept the shed blood of the ultimate Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, for the remission of their sins upon repentance.

No exceptions, doesn't matter what lifetime they lived to receive salvation, that's an absolute necessity. Let's go to Acts 4 and verse 8 and see where Peter emphasized this very important point in context. He had healed a lame man, and the lame man kind of rubbed in it a little bit. He went to the temple and upset the Jews of the day. So Peter was being called under carpet, to use the modern term, because he dared preach the name of Jesus and actually heal somebody. Could you imagine his audacity? Acts 4 and verse 8, it says, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, speaking of that lame man that was healed, by what means has he been made well?

Well, if I'm nobody, Peter's saying, and if I'm a loser, then you tell me how this man got healed. They can't answer that. Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, by the name of Jesus Christ, of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands here before you, whole. This is the stone which was rejected by the builders, or by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.

In verse 12, So again, it doesn't matter when a human being is born throughout history. From the time of Adam to the last days of the millennium ending, when a child is born into the world, everyone must accept and acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Savior and accept his shed blood for the forgiveness of sin.

Now, I've read some of the writings of Buddha. Some of them are very wise, some of them are sage, but no one has ever been saved by understanding the writings or teachings of Buddha. In spite of the fact that many people honor the religion of Islam, the name of Muhammad has and will never save anyone. I've read some of the teachings of Confucius, the founder of a very large religious faith throughout many areas of Asia. Many of the things that he wrote are wise. Many of the statements that he made are brilliant and deep teachings, but no one ever has or will be saved by the teachings of Confucius, only by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Nothing else has any lasting value or meaning in life until we have access to our Creator. And it's what Jesus Christ did at the Passover, by being our Passover, that made it possible to be reconciled to God through his life and his sacrifice. That is why the Passover is so special. And since 99% of all human beings who have ever lived never even heard the name of Jesus, you might say, Thomas, where do you get this 99%?

Well, until the last couple of hundred years, think of the billions of children who died in childbirth. Think of the billions of children who lived through childbirth, but never lived to be an adult because of various diseases. Think of the major areas on the earth in Asia and the continent of Africa, where up until recently, missionaries, even if you want to give Protestant missionaries credit for preaching the gospel, until recently, many areas of the world were never even visited by missionary people, though the vast majority lived their entire lifetimes without ever hearing what Christianity was or even the name of Jesus Christ.

But you know something? He also died for them. They never heard of the name of Jesus, let alone accepted Him as their Savior. But it is ridiculous to think, as some teach, that the Passover is done away because it's now obsolete. Well, how can it be done away and obsolete if the overwhelming majority, people who ever lived and are in their graves, as we speak on this day, if the overwhelming majority never heard the name of Jesus Christ, let alone accepted His blood, how could that be obsolete?

How could that be done away? Let's take a look now at verse 6, Leviticus 23. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord. Seven days you must eat unleavened bread. And it tells us in verse 8 that the seventh day is also a holy day. We know from our examples and from our church understanding of the truth that for seven days we've taken leaven out of our homes and that picture's taking sin out of our lives.

The period of time between the first two annual holy days, the first day of unleavened bread, and the seventh, obviously are seven days long. That's the biblical number of perfection. And these days picture the progression of getting sin out of our lives, beginning with the day that we're called, and we come out of that baptismal tank and we have hands laid on us.

From that moment, the seven days, the perfect completion of those seven days, picture the period of time from our calling and conversion to a lifetime of growth, how many years God gives us prompted by the receiving of the Holy Spirit, all the way to the perfection that comes from Jesus Christ. So that's exactly what that seven-day period reflects. Let's go to Romans 5 and verse 17 and read about the contrast between Adam and what he brought to the world and Jesus Christ and what he brought to the world. Go to Paul's writing in Romans 5 and verse 17.

Paul writes here, he says, For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one Jesus Christ. So there's one contrast. Death on one hand, that's what Adam brought into the world, abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ is a contrast. Verse 18, That's Jesus Christ dying and bleeding on that stake, on that cross that was in the ground, shedding his blood. By one man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.

So are we righteous of ourselves? No. We can't be. It's impossible. We're human. We're carnal. We have flaws. But we work diligently to root out sin, totally and completely out of our lives in every way that we can. And Jesus Christ makes up the difference. He's the one who makes us righteous. Brethren, God is performing an international work, and He's also performing a work in us. We don't have to overcome sin alone. And God knows that we can't overcome sin alone. We're too weak. We're too incomplete. And that is why He begins to introduce from the days of Unleavened Bread the next Holy Day.

And that Holy Day is Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, that represent us receiving His Holy Spirit. I'm getting a little ahead of time, but again, as I mentioned earlier, all of these days are interconnected together. Just because we're saved by grace doesn't mean we should ignore or tolerate sin in our lives. Our lifelong commission is to reject sin, to root out, to tear out that sin in our lives and become more like God in every way.

Go to Romans 6 and verse 12. Let's read a few verses. Romans 6 and verse 12 should be one chapter behind what we had just read. Again, this emphasizes the important meaning of the days of Unleavened Bread. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lust, and do not present your members, that means any part of your body, do not present any part of your body as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead.

So we came out of that watery grave of baptism, a new creature to live a new life. And your members, that is, any part of your body, as instruments of righteousness to God. Verse 14, For sin shall not have dominion over you, but you are not under law, but under grace.

What then? And Paul, of course, jumps to the point because he knows immediately how some people would pervert that statement, that you're not under law, that you're under grace. He understands human carnality completely. So he says in verse 15, What then? Shall we sin? Because we are not under the law, or the penalty of the law, but under grace?

Certainly not. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or on the other hand of obedience leading to righteousness. But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart, that form of doctrine which you were delivered, having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. And that's what we are. We're living sacrifices. We have become a slave to Jesus Christ.

And the commission that he gives us each and every day is to become more righteous. Jesus says, as I reveal sin in your life, as I help you to understand the depths of your heart and your mind a little more deeply, as I pull that shade up ever so slowly so that you can stand it, so that you can comprehend what you really like, as I reveal that, then I want you to become a slave to righteousness and to root those areas out of your life.

Again, much like we mentioned in the Passover, no matter when a human being lives in history, whether it is now or in the kingdom of God or at the end of the millennium, everyone must experience the growth of character that can only come from resisting sin and evil. Character is very important to God. Every person needs to experience temptation and testing to develop commitment and faithfulness and integrity.

That is a universal need that God expects before he'll give anyone the gift of eternal life. So this particular holy day, the days of Unleavened Bread, the first day and the seventh day, which are the first two of the annual holy days, are for everyone. Everyone must come to that point. Everyone, no matter what period of time in history they live, must realize that it's very important for God the growth of character that comes from resisting sin and evil and trying to take it out of our lives.

But God doesn't expect us to do it alone in His great mercy. That's when we go to understand the third annual holy day, Leviticus 23 verse 15. So we'll go back there. Leviticus 23, 15. God commanded Moses, and he wrote it down, and you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, that's during the days of Unleavened Bread, what we've been discussing, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.

Seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then you will offer a new grain offering to the Lord. Verse 21, and you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. We know anciently that this was picturing the small first fruit harvest, and it was a celebration of the completion of that harvest.

But we know, because we're New Covenant Christians, that the feast celebrates as well. It magnifies that image and understanding, and celebrates the fact that the first fruits will receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that he would not leave his church an orphan. He said the Father would provide a helper to comfort the believers in their times of need.

And sure enough, on the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D., the Church of God in the first generation received God's Holy Spirit. Now, some might say, well, Pentecost is obsolete, or it's done away. Why would you keep that as a holy day?

The reason we continue to keep it as a holy day is because the complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ was accepted by the Father, and this made it possible for the first fruits to receive the Spirit. But you know what? The Holy Spirit is still being given the new believers. It didn't stop on the day of Pentecost. Every generation that arises as people, going through the holy day process that we explained, understand as they're called by God, and they understand and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, and accept His shed blood, and acknowledge Him as King of King and Lord of Lords.

And as they progress to the point where they're baptized and they receive God's Holy Spirit, that still continues. Generation after generation, the Holy Spirit is still being given today to newly baptized members who go through that process. So it's not something that's done away. It's not something that's obsolete. Indeed, it's something that continues today. Let's now go again to the book of Romans 8 and 9. See what Paul has to say about the Spirit of God. Romans 8 and 9. Paul writes, But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

That's God's Holy Spirit that began on the day of Pentecost. Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, He is none of His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin. But the Spirit is life because of righteousness. There's that word about the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Again, verse 11. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal body.

Hmm. I wonder what the next Holy Day is. He gives us a clue, doesn't he? It's going to be the Feast of Trumpets. It's going to be a Holy Day that, of course, celebrates the fact that Christ will give to the dead life to their mortal dead-rodded bodies.

Very interesting how Paul does that. He says that. Let's continue in verse 12.

Many, as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. Much like the previous two Holy Days that we mentioned, including the Passover tied into the Days of Unleavened Bread, this is yet another Holy Day that pictures something that every human being must experience. Again, being repetitive, no matter when one is resurrected, when they live in human history, to be a son of God, every one must receive the Spirit of God. No exceptions. This is an individual choice that each human being, whoever drew breath, must ultimately make. The first three Holy Days we just reviewed are the Days of Unleavened Bread, the first and seventh day, and Pentecost.

They occurred in the first and third months of the Hebrew calendar. What they have in common is that every human being throughout history, whenever they lived, must, number one, personally experience repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, pictured by the Passover.

No exceptions. That's an absolute must. Everyone. Number two, they must go through a period of physical life struggling against sin and their own carnal human nature to develop character and obedience, because God is not going to give anyone eternal life who is undisciplined, who is rebellious, and will not use the gift of the Holy Spirit in a beautiful and productive way throughout all eternity. And number three, as these days that we just outlined teach us, that everyone, no exceptions, must receive the Holy Spirit, the seed of God's mind that enters us upon conversion and helps us and guides us and directs us, that tremendous power of God to become more like God.

That's what the first three Holy Days picture and reflect, and it involves everyone. No exceptions. But then, there are no other Holy Days until the seventh month of the year, about a four-month gap between Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets. What does this period of time represent? Well, what the period of time represents is a prophetic message that we can either listen to or that we can ignore, and some ignored it to their own hurt. What this four-month gap in the Hebrew calendar, actually the longest gap that exists between any of the annual Holy Days, what it teaches us is that prophetically there would be a very long time span between Jesus leaving the earth in 31 A.D.

and coming back again in the year whenever that is. Many of the early disciples expected Christ to return in their lifetimes, but if they would have just paid attention to the spacing of the Holy Days, they would have figured out that Jesus would take over 2,000 years. He would take a long, long, long time revealed by that time span between when He left earth the first time and when He would return again.

And why? Well, it's because during those 2,000 years, God would call generation after generation after generation of firstfruits to be used by God. And they alone would participate in the following Holy Days with the soon-coming King. Because, brethren, there is a big difference between the emphasis, between the meaning of the spring Holy Days and what we're going to see about the fall Holy Days. Most of the people who have ever lived will not personally experience the events of the next three Holy Days.

Unlike the days that we just covered, to them, what I'm going to talk about will be history. They will not have been there. They will not have experienced it. For them, the following three events will be historical events, just like us Americans today. You know, I'm an American, and I read about what the Founding Fathers did, but I wasn't there. I should benefit from their effort. I benefit from their sacrifice. But it's history to me. I wasn't allowed to be involved.

I wasn't there to participate in those events. It's history. But it happened, and I benefit from that history. And, you know, the next three Holy Days that we will discuss, that will include the majority of mankind. You and I have been given an invitation to be part of history, to be there. We, in essence, will be considered the Founding Fathers of the Kingdom of God.

And just like we do today, as Americans and people in this world honor their war heroes, they honor those who made the sacrifices, they honor those who took the flack, they honor those who gave of themselves in the Kingdom of God, we will be considered the Founding Fathers and Mothers of the Kingdom of God, who were right there with Jesus Christ, who were His elect.

And future generations will look at us and consider the sacrifices that we make financially, and the sacrifices of time, and the persecution that we took, and the snide comments from our own families, or unbelievers, or former believers. And maybe the job promotions we were denied because we kept a Seventh-Day Sabbath, or we had integrity, and that wasn't part of the company culture, so it was time to pass you over for a promotion. Whatever we may go through in this life, what we do, in a righteous and godly way, will be admired and respected by those who survive the terrible times coming, the lead into the thousand years, and those that are born in the thousand years will look at us as the spiritual Founding Fathers of the Kingdom of God.

Now let's briefly review the Fall Holy Days and see their significance, and also review what our role will be in these Holy Days. These are prophetic events, and you and I have the privilege and absolute honor to be involved in these events. Only a very select few out of all humanity have been invited to participate in these with Jesus Christ. You are one of those who have received that invitation. We just read in Romans 8 and verse 11 where Paul said, But the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.

He who raised Christ from the dead will also give to your life mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in you. It should be no surprise that the next Holy Day in God's plan would be the Feast of Trumpets that's coming up on us. So let's go to Leviticus chapter 23 and 24. The first resurrection of resurrection of those who have been called and used and worked with by Jesus Christ throughout history. Leviticus 23 verse 24, God said to Moses, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, You shall have a Sabbath rest, a memorial, a blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation, you shall do no customary work on it.

And you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. Anciently, the blowing of trumpets sounded off various messages to ancient Israel. Some of the more prominent ones is what used to call everyone together for war. And I'm not going to go into the gory details, but when Jesus Christ returns to earth, they will not be throwing rose petals at his feet.

It will be war. And Jesus Christ and his saints will be involved in a battle that will change history forever. And as an old patriarch used to say, we win. But one of the things that trumpets were used were to call everyone together for war. Other times, they were blown to make an announcement of a significant event that was going to occur. In the New Testament theology, it's universally recognized that Jesus Christ will return to earth at the sound of a powerful heavenly trumpet blast.

Even many Protestant groups recognize and understand that the Feast of Trumpets directly ties into the return of Jesus Christ. It doesn't take rocket science to figure that out. Matthew 24, verse 30. It says, I'll give you a minute to turn there. It says, Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory.

And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. This event describes the first resurrection. If you've been watching the political conventions the last few weeks, you saw people who were screaming and shouting for their candidates. I'm here to tell you today that you ain't seen nothing yet. This, what you may have witnessed on television, is nothing compared to the screaming and joyful shouting of the multiple thousands of people who leave this earth and are transformed from the mortal to the immortal and rise to meet Jesus Christ arriving to this earth.

You talk about shouts of joy. You talk about the relief of people who gave their all and struggled with temptations and problems and persecution and health issues. And every kind of affliction you can imagine have just left all of that behind. The grasp eternity with Jesus Christ, there will be shouting and there will be joyful noise made like it has never been heard in human history.

And you, my friends, have been invited to participate in that event. Like Jesus, they'll be given great power and great glory at his return. Well, how do we know that, Mr. Thomas? Well, let's go to Romans, a book we've been at quite a bit already today, chapter 8 and verse 31. Romans chapter 8 verse 31. Paul writes, He who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all, How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? All things! Power, majesty, respect, glory, honor, eternal life, never being sleepy, never being sick, never feeling the physical weaknesses and infirmities that we have now.

Paul says he'll give us all things. So when Matthew 24 says that Jesus Christ is coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, he will be sharing that with his elect because Jesus Christ is a giver. He's not a taker. Verse 33, Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? If Christ has died and furthermore has also risen, who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession for us?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword, as it is written, For your sakes we are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. No matter what we're going through, no matter what we experience.

Paul continues, For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created things, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So, as he says here, who shall bring a charge against God's elect? There's going to be some terrible trembling on the judgment day. There are people that judge you harshly because you keep the holy days. And God will say to them, You know something? While you were waking up in the morning and thinking about me, they were on their knees praying for you.

When you were going through the entire day thinking about self and geth, geth, geth, they were making personal sacrifices so that other people could be blessed. And God will say, So who do you think I'm pleased with? Who do you think Jesus Christ makes intercession for? So there are going to be some pretty trembling knees on the judgment day from things that have been said about God's people and accusations made about them.

And even if they're true, he says in verse 34, that it is Christ who died and furthermore has also risen who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession for us. And God will say to anyone who judges his people or his church that Jesus Christ made intercession for them. No one has yet made intercession for you.

Let's again read verse 38. I think it's very powerful.

God gives us that love and that's the glue that holds us together as a people which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So brethren, at the return of Jesus Christ, power and great glory will be given to us by Christ. We celebrate the Feast of Trumpets knowing it looks forward to the actual physical return of Jesus Christ in this earth. Why is he coming? Well, after a brief, painful battle, that must occur in order for him to establish his legitimacy and to take his rightful place from the God of this world.

After that happens, Jesus is coming to earth to bring peace and justice and God's law and an everlasting kingdom. But he's not coming to do these things alone. And that's something that we need to remember. Throughout those 2,000 years of history, generation after generation of first fruits that he's called, each to live in their own time, he has prepared educators and administrators and managers and an elect group that has hundreds of different talents, all unique, but all conformed to contribute to the great cause of peace in the kingdom of God.

It's unbelievable to me that some would say that the Feast of Trumpets is obsolete or done away. Jesus Christ has not yet come back to this earth. How could anything that looks forward to that and pictures it, an event that has not occurred, be obsolete or done away? Now let's look at the 5th annual Holy Day, the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 23, verse 26.

Moses wrote at the commandment of God, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of atonement, it shall be a holy convocation for you. You shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, and you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the day of atonement to make atonement, or atonement, for you before the Lord your God.

For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that day shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work in that same day, that person, I will destroy among his people. The Day of Atonement looks forward to a time when the influence of Satan and his demons, and he presently is not only the prince of the power of the air, he is the God of this little ball hanging out there in the blackness of space that we know of as earth.

It's the only thing that he has left, but he is the God of this world. The good news is that after Jesus Christ returns, he and the angels and his elect will be involved in removing Satan, removing his influence from this world, and they'll be replaced by the loving rulership of Jesus Christ and his saints.

And that's the reason we fast. A couple of reasons, actually. Fasting reminds us of the fact that we're just mere mortal human beings. We need God not only for the next breath that we take, but we also need him every day to have his grace shining upon us. We need his mercy. We need his love. We need his influence rather than Satan's each and every day of our lives. Another reason that we afflict our souls is to remind ourselves that our brothers and sisters of this world still painfully suffer the ravages of sin.

War, disease, unhappy lives still permeate this world. Sin still reigns. In spite of that, God loves all his children, but most he has not yet called because it's not been part of his plan. Their suffering should be considered our suffering. I once read in a book that it said that the deepest, most intimate influence of a marriage relationship between a husband and a wife is revealed by the fact that when one spouse cries, the other tastes salt.

Do we care about the people outside of these doors? They're God's children, too. They're intended to be part of his plan, and many of them are hurting terribly. If not through physical depravity, through emotional or mental anguish, the problems that all human beings suffer from are reflected around us each and every day. But God loves his children. He hasn't called them yet. We're very fortunate. We've already been atoned for through the death of Jesus Christ, but most have not. We already live by the values of the New Testament, New Covenant, but most do not. Fasting reminds us that the world still needs God's healing spirit and his intervention, and they need Jesus Christ to remove the influence of Satan from this world.

Let's go to Revelation 20 and verse 1. Revelation 20 and verse 1, and look prophetically at this event.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil in Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into a bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he must be released for a little while. And then there's verse 4. As John gets a glimpse of the elect, of some of the things that those who were involved in the first resurrection, some of the things that Woody will be doing. He says, And I saw thrones, and they that sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And then he sees among this group something else. Then I saw the souls of those who had beheaded for their witness to Jesus, and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. I'm going to read verse 4 from the New Century Version. Follow along with me if you would once again in your Bible. Then I saw some thrones and people sitting on them who had been given the power to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been killed because they were faithful to the message of Jesus and the message from God. They had not worshipped the beast or his idol. They had not received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or in their hands. They came back to life and ruled with Christ for a thousand years. Brethren, those saints who have the privilege to be serving with Jesus Christ will have authority. And that authority is symbolized here by this revelation of thrones and the ability to judge evil. What a tremendous gift and opportunity that is to be able to serve all of humanity with righteous judgment and with compassion and mercy. The observance of the Day of Atonement, some say, is obsolete or done away. But of course, I say Balderdash because Satan still reigns as God of this world. How could a day that reflects and looks forward to a time when the influence of Satan will be removed and that he'll be in spiritual change for a thousand years and that hasn't occurred yet, how could that be obsolete or done away? To me, brethren, that's just totally unbelievable. Satan still reigns as the God of this world. But every church, every year, the Church of God fasts, and we fast to represent mankind's need to have Satan removed and for all people to be at one with God. Now we come to the sixth annual Holy Day known by us in our culture and tradition as the Feast of Tabernacles, Leviticus 23, verse 33. Leviticus 23, verse 33.

Now we no longer offer physical offerings at these holy days because we are living sacrifices. Our presence on God's holy days is the offering that we bring. Now we may also bring a financial offering, and that's a wonderful thing. But as far as the physical offering and sacrifices of animals, those, indeed, are obsolete and done away because the living, not the dead animals, the living sacrifices come in presence before God. Anciently, we know that the Israelites left their homes and built temporary tabernacles to dwell in during the eight days. These temporary dwellings were meant to remind them that there was something better for them planned in the future.

Earthly homes eventually decay and fall into disrepair. What the Feast of Tabernacles represents is the eternal home of the kingdom of God to be established on this earth that everyone will get to live in. Revelation 21, verse 3. Revelation 21, verse 3. The book of Revelation talks about this time. John wrote, and I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. The book of Revelation itself talks about that time when God will tabernacle among men with the Feast of Tabernacles, as always represented and symbolized from the time of Moses, when those words were first uttered.

Well, brethren, this holy day, along with the entire weekly festival, represents the one thousand year rule of Jesus Christ in this earth. Starting in Jerusalem, and much like the parable in the New Testament of the woman mixing the leaven in the loaf, much like that, starting in Jerusalem with the elect and with the return of Jesus Christ, the truth and the wisdom of God will begin to permeate slowly but surely the entire world throughout those thousand years. And all the nations are going to be able to experience healing and blessing given by God. The culture of God will replace the carnal culture of our world and its greed and selfishness, and a beautiful new world will replace the world we live in today.

And unlike what we read in the headlines of the Plain Dealer or see at the top of CNN headline news today, all hunger and disease and war and abuse and family dysfunctions and suicide bombers and all the other negative things that exist in this world will be replaced by love and a respect for others.

These beautiful qualities don't just occur. These will not occur because someone waves a magic wand. All of these things that I just discussed, rebuilding a world, overcoming hunger, disease, war, abuse, all of these things will be done by spirit beings who had been prepared to be part of the team to make this happen. God is not a genie.

He's a God. And though prophecy tells us that in some major ways He will shift the geography of the earth, creating land and seas where they don't exist, when the time comes for the grunt work, for the work to get this stuff done, He's going to rely on His saints, the new spiritual children of God, to help bring this about.

Let's go to Isaiah 61 and verse 1, and we'll see where some of this is in detail. This is an Isaiah that prophecy wrote, and it's interesting for the first couple of chapters that one time Jesus went into a synagogue, He opened up a book, and He read almost the first two chapters, and He closed it up. But you know something? We're going to read the rest of this prophecy today because it's talking about you. It's talking about no one else but you. Isaiah, as he goes on, comes to understand and begins to include himself in this. But the key to understanding before we start in verse 1, in context, I want you first to look at verse 10, and we'll go back and look at verse 1.

Verse 10, And I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, this is what Isaiah is writing, My soul shall be joyful in my God, for he has clothed me with garments of salvation. Who's that talking about? He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. Who's that talking about? As the bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as the bride adorns herself with jewels, who's the bride of Christ?

We know the book of Revelation. Who is that talking about? It's talking about you. Now let's go to verse 1, and we'll begin by reading what Jesus read, and then we'll continue. Jesus opened that book. He said, of course, he wasn't reading from the Mesorrhic text. He was reading from the wording would be a little different here. He says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to those who were bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And then, if I recall correctly, I think he closed the book. But we're going to read the rest of it, because this is a prophecy about the role that you and I have during the one thousand years. And the day of vengeance of our God, and we know the day of the Lord is coming, and we know those terrible events will occur, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion.

What people do you know that fast, the spiritual church, the spiritual Zion, what people do you know fast on the day of atonement? The day of the Lord is coming, because they haven't been eating, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called the trees of righteousness. Who is that referring to the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified?

And they shall rebuild the old ruins. Waiting of a magic wand? I think not. It's good old-fashioned elbow grease. It's good old-fashioned management, organizational, architectural skills, and a desire to do something beautiful and wonderful for the world. They shall raise up the former desolations. They shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand at your feet and your flocks, and the sons of the foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vine dressers. But you shall be named the priest of the Lord. Who could that possibly be speaking about? They shall call you the servants of our God.

You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame, you think maybe there's a little shame living today, being called a cult member? Being mocked at because of your religious beliefs, because you keep the Ten Commandments, because you keep those Old Testament Hebrew Holy Days? Instead of shame, you shall have double honor. In patriarchal times, it was the firstborn who received double honor.

And instead of confusion, they shall rejoice in their portion, because Jesus Christ, as we read earlier, is giving us all that He has. Therefore, in their land, they shall possess double everlasting joys. For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery for burnt offering. I direct their work in truth. So He'd be directing the work of those who will be rebuilding the world, not in a lie, but in truth. And with them an everlasting covenant, their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles. That means they'll have a great reputation. They'll be the celebrities of their day. And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge Him, that they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.

Let's say, weren't you one of the founding fathers or founding mothers? Weren't you one of those whose feet literally left the earth that day Jesus returned? What was it like to experience that? What was it like to be there and watch Satan to be put in a spiritual prison? What was it like when you first touched down in Jerusalem? You and the fellow believers throughout those two thousand years between when Christ left and He came back?

Tell us that story. You're a hero in our eyes. You're a war hero. Tell us about yourself. What was your life like when you were in the other world? What was your occupation those days? What were the problems and temptations you had when you were physical, when you were human? Verse 10 Now, unbelievably, some also say the Feast of Tabernacles has been done away, that it's obsolete. Well, brethren, the good news is that Jesus Christ will literally return to earth to establish the kingdom of God.

He wasn't kidding. Isaiah wasn't kidding. Jeremiah wasn't kidding. The minor prophets weren't kidding. John wasn't kidding. It's literally, absolutely going to happen. And there's a day that reminds us of that event yet to come.

Then there's the seventh annual Holy Day, one that is very beautiful in what it represents in pictures, Leviticus 23, 39. And on the 15th day of the seventh month, when you've gathered in the first fruit of the land, you shall keep the Feast of the Lord for seven days. And on the first day there shall be a Sabbath Rest. On the eighth day, a Sabbath Rest, we've come to, in our culture today, refer to it as the Last Great Day. And of course, the emphasis on this Holy Day is not about you and me, even though we will have worked very hard for a thousand years to prepare the world to be able to receive the billions and billions of people who are resurrected and need to go potty a few hours later and all expect to eat soon and have to have houses to live in and have to have schools to be educated in and have to have churches to worship in. All of that has to be done in advance because God is not using a magic wand. That's why He called you. You are the magic wand. I am the magic wand.

We will already be sons and daughters in God's family at that time. The emphasis on this Holy Day is in the multiple billions who never knew God and will be given their chance for salvation. After the thousand years have ended, an enormous resurrection will occur, and all those throughout human history who were never called yet lived their lives will be raised from the dead to receive the offer of salvation for the first time.

Revelation 20, verse 6. Revelation 20, verse 6. It's as blessed and holy as He who has the part in the first resurrection. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and go out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together the battle whose number is as a sand of the sea. They went up in the breath of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints. So these deluded people actually think they're going to overcome the saints of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem and overcome Christ. And fire came down from God, as you can see, he had a very warm reception planned for them.

And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. Well, end of story. Next. The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beasts and the false prophets are, and they would be tormented day and night forever and ever. Verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it and whose face the earth and heaven had fled away. And it was found no place for them.

And I saw the dead, small and great standing before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, the death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. In other words, there's no escape. If you were cremated and your ashes scattered over the sea, you will be resurrected.

No matter if there's one Adam left of what was your physical body, you will be resurrected and face God at this time of judgment. And they were judged. Each one, according to his works, then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.

This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So speaking of what we know of as the second resurrection, the great white throne judgment, and then the last sentence there, what we know of as what we traditionally call the third resurrection, if that bothers you, then look at it as the second resurrection, part B.

So what role will we have in serving those who are part of that massive second resurrection? Daniel gives us a hint. Daniel 2, beginning in verse 1. And again, I'm going to read this scripture from the New Century Version. Daniel 2, verse 1. At that time, Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will stand up. It will be a time of much trouble. The worst time since nations have been on earth.

But your people will be saved. Everyone whose name is written in God's book will be saved. Many people who have already died will live again. Some of these will wake up to have life forever and others, but some will wake up to find shame and disgrace forever. And then there's verse 3. The wise people. Those are those who accepted their calling. Those are those who decided they were going to live by the law of God. Those are those who decided that they were going to appreciate the invitation they were given.

And they kept the annual Holy Days because they reminded them of the plan of God. And they had decided to be faithful to the end, to endure into the end, and to take God's promises as if they're real and as if they're sure because they are. These were people with faith and belief. The wise people will shine like the brightness in the sky because they'll have eternal life, because they'll have glory that everyone in the world can look up and say, I know that being.

I've heard of that person up there. And those who teach others to live right. Those who live God's way of life. Those who throughout the thousand years and beyond are always teachers, are always encouragers. Look at themselves as coaches and mentors rather than being judgmental. Those who teach others to live right will shine like stars forever and ever. Brethren, very beautiful in what these days reflect and remind us of.

Let's look forward to the Fall Holy Days this year. And please remember that God loves you. And He loves not only you, His firstfruits, but He loves everyone who has ever lived. And He has a plan for them. Indeed, God hates sin, but He loves the sinner and He desires to redeem everyone judged guilty of sin. The world we live in today needs its loving Creator. And the Holy Days remind us very powerfully that God has not forgotten the world or His plan, and neither should we.

So in the meantime, the sum of my final remarks, I would like to encourage you to never forget that everything you experience in your life is for a purpose. Even the painful events. A while back, I was attending another congregation one day to give the sermon, and I made a comment similar to that.

And an elderly woman came up to me and she said, Mr. Thomas, I'd like to tell you about my first memory. I said, okay. She said, I came from Appalachia. My father was a mountain man, and my first memory as a little girl was the day that my father took my younger brother, who he didn't want, because he didn't want my mother to get pregnant again. He took my younger brother and drowned him in an oil tank. My earliest memories as a small child was my mother screaming out and crying, saying, You killed my baby!

You killed my baby! And my father saying, God brought him into the world, and I just sent him back. And if you ever tell anyone anything that I did, I'll do the same thing to her. Now, how do we find redemption in something, an event that horrible in life? Imagine experiencing that as a small child. And the only thing I could tell her was, A, I certainly don't speak for God, but I do believe in my heart that everything we experience is for a purpose.

I said, in your role throughout the kingdom of God and all eternity with what you've experienced could very well be, that you will personally make sure on your mission and on your personal crusade that no child who lives will ever be abused again. Maybe that's why God allowed you to experience something that terrible. But I really believe it, and I mean it when I say it, brethren, that everything you experience in your life is for a purpose, especially the painful events. Everything that occurs in your life is preparing you to serve in the kingdom of God.

Even the seemingly mundane things, washing dishes, changing diapers, vacuuming the house, whatever you do that may seem so mundane and repetitive over and over again, even those things are teaching you patience and consistency. I hope with the message that we've had today that you haven't said to yourself, Well, Mr. Thomas, you just don't get it. I have problems. I'm weak. I'm mortal. God can't use me in the way that he just explained in Scriptures. Good try, Mr. Thomas, but you don't just get it.

And my response to anyone who's thought of that in their head and their minds today is, No, I'm sorry. You don't get it. Because you see, Noah drank too much. Abraham was too old. Isaac was a daydreamer. Jacob was a liar. Leah was ugly. Joseph was abused by his family. Moses suffered from a stuttering problem. Gideon was afraid and cowardly. Samson had long hair and was a womanizer.

Timothy and Jeremiah were too young. David had an affair and was a murderer. Elijah was suicidal. Jonah ran from God. Naomi was a widow. Job went bankrupt. Peter denied Christ and was a hypocrite. The disciples fell asleep when they were supposed to be praying. Martha worried about everything. Zacchaeus was too small. Paul was too direct and sarcastic. And Timothy had an ulcer. And you know what? God worked through every one of those people. Some of them in very, very mighty ways. And most of them will be in that resurrection and will meet Jesus Christ before any of us who are still alive at that time when Jesus returns, because their crown is assured.

So remember that in spite of your personal weaknesses, God can use you to your full potential as long as you draw close to Him. You're that important to God. He has a huge investment in your life. Don't give that up.

Have a great Sabbath. Enjoy the Holy Day season. And hopefully we'll get a chance to see you soon.