FEAST OF TABERNACLES  - 2001

Day 4

Fred Coulter - October 5, 2001

Greetings, brethren. This is day four of the Feast of Tabernacles, 2001, and so here we are right exactly at the halfway point during the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day combined. So we’ve been having a wonderful feast. I hope that you have been. And we’re going to continue in the theme of the Feast of Tabernacles in the New Testament. You know it’s really amazing. And just putting together the different sermons, it is absolutely amazing that people would think that they can preach anything concerning the Bible, that they can understand or know God in the Bible and yet reject the Sabbath and holy days, and they really don’t understand anything, do they? See, because with that they think they’re going to heaven, and the Bible shows there’s a resurrection. And moreover the Bible shows there’s more than one resurrection, which we’ll see when we get to day seven and day eight. And the whole gospel talks about the Kingdom of God and the return of Christ. So it’s an amazing thing. Not only do we have the prophecies of the Old Testament, which tell us many things, but then we get more understanding of it as we come to the New Testament.

Now let’s begin by going back to the book of Daniel. So we’re going to start back there. And remember that the book of Daniel has to be basically understood in its time frame and the meaning of all the prophecies there, especially when we get to the prophecies in Daniel 2, and Daniel 7, and Daniel 12. You have to basically understand those before you can understand the book of Revelation, because the book of Revelation is the finishing of the whole Bible. And in order to understand the book of Revelation…now if you don’t have our series on Revelation, write for it. It’s an extended series going through verse by verse the whole book of Revelation. So if you don’t have it you write for it and go through it and you will see that it really requires a basic understanding of the whole Bible before you can really understand about the book of Revelation.

Now let’s go back to Daniel 2, and let’s see where the prophecy was given by God to Nebuchadnezzar, and then the interpretation of it to Daniel to tell Nebuchadnezzar. But what we want to do is look at this from the point of view of that the Kingdom of God is going to be established, and it’s going to be forever as we’ve seen in Isaiah 9, “of the increase of His government there is no end”, there will be no end. It will go constantly all into eternity. Now let’s go to Daniel 2 and let’s look at this and let’s understand that from this time forward everything that God does relates then to the Kingdom of God. As a matter of fact we can go clear back, as we saw yesterday, where Peter said that Christ was received into the heavens until the time of the restitution of all things. And that is bringing it back to the condition that it was when Adam and Eve were first created. So that’s really quite a thing that we can look forward to, and we’re going to have a part in doing that, as we know.

So let’s just pick it up here in Daniel 2:36 so that we’ll get the full flow of everything. And it’s very interesting that history from this point, from the Babylonian kingdom forward is very accurate and very well known. History going back beyond that is a little difficult and has many more problems. Ok, now let’s begin in verse 36. “This is the dream;…” Remember now, Nebuchadnezzar had the dream. He didn’t understand it. He wouldn’t tell anyone what it was. And all of his star gazers and prognosticators, and everybody said, “Tell us the dream and we’ll tell you the meaning.” And he said, “No, I want you to tell me the dream and the meaning.” And so God revealed it to Daniel.

“This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.” Now this symbolizes the greatness of man’s kingdoms. So at the end-time we have Babylon the Great, which then is the full expression of all the kingdoms, as we find, in the book of Daniel. So it’s really something. God is the One Who gives it. Understand that. “And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold” (Dan. 2:36-38). So we have this head of gold, and then silver, and then brass, and then we have legs of iron, and we have feet of iron and clay.

Verse 39, “And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided;…”, or that is, diverse, if we could use a modern term today. It will be diverse. “…But there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly [weak, or as the Hebrew is there: brittle, subject to breaking easily] broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay” (vs. 39-43). So they will build this whole system of Babylon the Great. It will come together and it will look like it’s really going to be a great and marvelous thing, but it’s going to fall apart. And of course we see in the book of Revelation that’s exactly what happens.

Now continuing on verse 44, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom…” Now this is the Kingdom that is talked about all through the New Testament. “…Which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people…”, we’ll see that it’s going to be left to the saints. And we also have seen in the series in Hebrews that God did not leave the world, whereof we are speaking of to the dominion of angels. So there’s quite a lesson there. “… But it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” And that’s the thing that’s important, brethren. God’s calling is eternal. God’s plan is forever. And what we are doing now is just the start. Just the beginning you see, to know, to understand God’s way. To be educated in God’s word. To live our lives through all the circumstances that we go through so that Christ in us, we can build the character of God. And character is what is the important thing. The love of God, the truth of God, the faith and hope of God. Those are the things in the character that we need to have so that we can rule in a right and a proper way that we’ll be able to serve Christ and serve all the people that we teach during the Millennium, in a way that will help lead them into the Kingdom of God so that they can have eternal life, you see.

Now verse 45, “Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands…” Now that stone is Christ. Christ is the chief corner stone. Christ is the Rock that followed them in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:4). Christ is the Rock that He said He would build His Church upon (Matt. 16:18). So here is the stone, was cut out of the mountain without hands, showing that it was supernatural. Showing that it is what God had done. Showing that it’s not what man has done at all, even though Christ was a man, became a man. This is by divine power of God. “…And that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Now this is why, brethren, it’s very important for us to understand: God’s word is true. God’s word cannot be broken. God’s word shows us what these things are going to be. And down through time, maybe we have misunderstood some of these things, but nevertheless they are going to take place because God is the One who holds the timetable and schedule for this. Ok, but the key is that it’s not going to be left to other people.

Now let’s come to Daniel 7. We’re not going to go through all of Daniel 7, I want to cover just a couple of parts here so that we know and understand the things that are going on. Now first of all let’s pick it up here in verse 8 because this ties in with 2 Thessalonians 2. Now there are a lot of people who claim and believe that the Beast who is going to rule the world is the Pope. No, that’s not true. The Beast who is going to rule the world is going to be the great king of the world. He’s going to be the great Beast. And as Revelation 13 shows there are two Beasts. One with seven heads and ten horns, and the other with two horns. So you have state and religion. And you just watch the news that’s taking place. Politics is getting more involved in religion, and religion more involved in politics, fulfilling the prophecies. And then out if it will come the man who will proclaim himself to be God.

Now let’s pick it up here in verse 8. “I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Just put in your margin, Revelation 13, and 2 Thessalonians 2.

Now verse 9, “I beheld till the thrones were [placed] cast down…” It says “cast down”, but “placed down”. Put in your margin there Revelation 20:4, because thrones were put down and judgment was given to them, and that is those who were in the first resurrection. “…And the Ancient of days did sit…” Now this is interesting. There is no reason at all…you just stop and think about it. Once we are resurrected and meet Christ in the air on the sea of glass. Once all the things that have taken place on the sea of glass are accomplished, there is no reason at all for us not to see God the Father. So it’s interesting that it talks about “the Ancient of days did sit.” “…Whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him [you can put in there Revelation 4 and Revelation 5], and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” Put in there Revelation 19, casting of the Beast and False Prophet into the lake of fire. “As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds…” Now we’re going to see that Jesus gave a direct reference to Himself as being the Son of man. Now notice, “…with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days…” So here is one of those few places in the Old Testament that shows God the Father, the Ancient of days, and the Son of man, the One who became Jesus Christ. “…And they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (vs. 9-14).

Now then let’s come over here to verse 21. “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them (Revelation 13); until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High…” We are going to judge the world. Paul even said in 1 Corinthians 6, he says, “Know ye not that we are going to judge angels” (1 Cor. 6:3). Now just what it means to judge angels, I don’t know, but we’ll find out when we’re spirit beings in the Kingdom of God. But that’s going to be an awesome task indeed, isn’t it, to judge angels? “…And the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom” (vs. 22-23). Now as I said yesterday, we are going to inherit it. We are going to own it. We are going to be the kings and priests, the teachers, administrators, and all of that for the whole world. Of course under Christ, under His direction.

Verse 23, “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” Now that’s Babylon the Great of Revelation 13, 17, and 18. And it’s going to be a worldwide one government, as we’ve covered many times before. “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings” (vs. 23-24). Now, there are many different interpretations as to what this means, but the one king, the little king that arises out of him and takes three kings from it. Now if it’s going to be, as we have seen in the past, as very strong possibility that there will be ten regions of the world which will be ruled over by one of these ten lesser kings. Then ten regions are going to be taken out. Now could that be the nations of Israel divided into thee sections? Now you just think on that because he is going to take out the nations of Israel. And God is going to send Israel into captivity, as we have seen, at the beginning of the Millennium what happens? They come out of captivity. So it’s very likely that it could be that when it refers to the end-time.

Now notice verse 25. It picks up where we began in verse 8. “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws…” And that is going to happen. As a matter of fact if you get a calendar from Europe, guess which day is the seventh day over there? Sunday. Now they haven’t changed the dates. They have just moved Sunday backward to give it the indication that it’s the seventh day. Now also please understand this, that all corporation calendars run on the same basis. Saturday they consider the sixth day, and Sunday they consider the seventh day. That’s why it’s important, brethren, that we maintain the calculated Hebrew calendar. That we maintain the understanding of when the Sabbath and holy days are, because they’re going to try and take it away from us. If they can’t take it away from us in actual deed by having us give up on the holy days, and commandments of God, and so join the great world religion, then they’re going to try and change it to confuse. And those new people who will be coming along, it will be very confusing to them because it will be said, “Well, you’re to keep the seventh day.” And they’ll look at their calendar and say, “Hey, that’s Sunday. Well, I’m going to church on Sunday now, so you know, I’m keeping the seventh day.” Has the world been deceived? Is it going to be even more deceived? No doubt about it, absolutely yes.

Now continuing on here, “…and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time [which then is 3 ½ years]. But the judgment shall sit [that is after that. Again put in Revelation 20:4], and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end” (vs. 25-26). And that’s why the whole world, as we saw at the beginning of the feast, has to end up in the condition that it is, because it’s all got to be destroyed. God is not going to do a patchwork quilt or a mosaic of putting things together by taking part of this, which was the best from men, part of that, which was the best over here in this field of men’s endeavors. He’s going to wipe the slate clean and it’s going to start all fresh and we’re going to begin on the foundation of Christ.

Now notice verse 27. I want you to understand you’re calling as pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom [which is the whole world, as we saw yesterday that Abraham knew that he was going to be heir of the world] under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”

Now, let’s come to the New Testament. Let’s see that the whole thing of the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven as Matthew writes it, is based upon these very prophecies here. Now let’s come to 2 Thessalonians and then we’ll get to the book of Matthew next. But here’s what Paul wrote. The epistle of 2 Thessalonians was the second epistle that he wrote. The first one was 1 Thessalonians. And the second one came right after that.

Let’s begin in 2 Thessalonians 1:1. “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Now you see that ties right back in with Daniel 7 about the Ancient of Days and the Son of man, correct? Yes. “Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is [proper] meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the [love] charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth” (2 Thess. 1:1-3). And of course you know, brethren, that’s the important thing. If we don’t love God and love each other, you know we need to understand something. Pretty much all bets are off in being in the Kingdom of God. You need to understand that. So that’s why we need to always put the love of God first, loving each other, and serving the brethren.

Verse 4, “So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure…” Now if you go back and read in the book of Acts what happened there in Thessalonia, boy, they had riots. The Jews were coming after them big time. Verse 5, “Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer.” Now we have to be counted worthy, but notice how the worthiness is counted. Not only by the love of God and loving each other, but also the worthiness is counted because of the things that they suffered.

“Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.” (vs. 6). Now that’s how you can love your enemies. You put them into God’s hands and you say, “God you know what to do with them.” Let your judgment be that you decided upon them. And you get your feelings and you get your emotions out of it. You see, because you can become so carnal and concentrated in trying to work things out yourself that you forget to put it in God’s hands. And I can tell you this from experience, God knows how to take care of the enemy. Without a doubt, He knows how to take care of it.

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels [so here we have the second return of Christ, coming of the Kingdom of God], in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:…” Quite a statement you see. Here we have the Kingdom of God and we know that the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the fulfilling of the Kingdom of God on earth, so again this ties right in with the prophecies going back to the book of Daniel. Now notice, “…who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;…” (vs. 7-9). Now this goes right on in to the lake of fire, which then is past the Millennium. So you see here it’s all together. It is amazing.

I do not know how Protestants can believe in the return of Christ and not believe in Trumpets, Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day, because all of those come in a package together in the fall. It’s amazing but they do. But you see, what they have is going to be taken from them. And what knowledge they understood will be diminished and removed because it’s going to come down to two ways: Either you repent and you are right with God, or you’re going right into the world. No two ways about it. It is going to be one or the other. And you wait and see, that has been happening, it will continue to happen, and it’s going to be the profound difference that is going to separate true Christians from the phony Christians and the false brethren, and the false ministers.

Now let’s go on. “…And from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy…” Now who makes you worthy? God the Father does with Christ in you by His Holy Spirit. “…Of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power: that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (vs. 10-12). So that’s quite a wonderful but short chapter, which has every one of the ingredients of God’s holy days in there. We have the calling, which then means that there was baptism, that they understood about the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Looking forward to being in the Kingdom of God, so that means Pentecost and the resurrection. Looking forward to the second return of Jesus Christ, Feast of Trumpets. Being at-one with God, Day of Atonement. And now ruling with Him, Feast of Tabernacles. All right there in that one chapter, you see. The New Testament is intrinsically bound around the meaning of the holy days, even though it doesn’t state the holy days in every instance. That’s why it’s important to know the meaning of the holy days so when you read and study these things you’ll know that it has reverence to them and comes from them.

Ok, now let’s go to the book of Matthew. We’ll look at certain scriptures in Matthew. Now Matthew calls the Kingdom of God the Kingdom of Heaven because it is the kingdom which comes from heaven, which Christ brings with Him. Now let’s come here to Matthew 4:23. “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching [now notice] the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” Now what is the Gospel of the Kingdom? Well, the Gospel of the Kingdom is: Christ is the King. He ascended up to heaven and He is coming back. He prepared the way for the saints by preaching the gospel. And it’s called the Gospel of the Kingdom. Now if you’re going to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom then you have to preach all the holy days that go with it.

Now let’s come over here to chapter 5 and let’s look at some examples here. Now verse 1, “And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: and He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:1-3). That’s part of the gospel. When He says, “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, He’s saying they’re going to inherit it.

Now notice, then He talks about all the experiences that we will go through. “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Now that means that they are going to inherit it right along with Abraham. And that means that they are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. Now you see this is fantastic how all this comes together. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (vs. 4-6). And brethren, let me just say something here right now. Now is the time to hunger and thirst. Now is the time when you have the full word of God available to you. Now is the time to study, to pray, to really work, to apply yourself. Because the time is going to come when that’s not going to be available for you to do.

Now I’ve been saying for several years I need to bring a sermon on the underground church. But I’ve got an article written by a man who was a Sabbath-keeper in the Soviet Union. And he was a prisoner and put into prison 30 feet under the ground. And he never saw the light of day for 3 years. Now let me tell you, if you find yourself in a circumstance like that you’re not going to have a Bible, you’re not going to be able to read. But you better have it right up here in your mind so that when you’re praying, and that’s about all you can do in that situation, is just pray and talk to God in your mind, quietly, silently, because if you said anything the guards would come in and beat you up, see. So now’s the time to hunger and thirst after righteousness and be filled now. Don’t wait for sometime down the road thinking that it’s going to be worked out.

Now let’s go on. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Remember that every time you want mercy. Have you been merciful? “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Now you can’t see God unless you’re a spirit being, which means this then is teaching about the resurrection, correct? Yes. “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” And that’s the right kind of peace making. This kind of peace making is making peace with God and then peace with each other. This is not talking about Ambassadors and politics going around working treaties and bringing people together, so called peacemakers. No. True peace making is turning people to repent to God. Receiving God’s Holy Spirit. Be at peace with God and then be at peace with one another. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (vs. 7-10). Now that’s a tremendous thing. Notice all the way through here the Kingdom of Heaven.

Let’s come over here and let’s read verse 19. “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” So there we go. Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. All of these things going on. It’s amazing isn’t it? Yes.

Now let’s come over here to Matthew 6:13. It says this is our daily prayer. Notice, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…”, or the evil one. And it’s absolutely true brethren. When you understand how absolutely this world has been deceived and is in the control of Satan the devil, and those that serve him, then you will understand why that second goat for Azazel for the Day of Atonement, has to be Satan the devil to remove the author of sin. And he is the one who has been responsible for inspiring all of these things to take place. Was he not the one who deceived Eve into sinning? Yes. “…Deliver us from [the evil one]: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.” So there we have the Kingdom again.

Now come over here to Matthew 6:33. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God…” Now how many times have we heard that? What are you seeking then? You are seeking that which is pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. “…And His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Now you stop and think, how many things are going to be added to us when we are resurrected and spirit beings, and we’re given our responsibilities wherever it may be. And we’re going to see a little bit later on some of these other things. Now the book of Matthew, as a matter of fact all the gospels are just full, just full of the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom of God is pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles.

Now let’s continue on. Let’s come to Mark 8. So it’s amazing. How can people study the Bible and pretend to know the word of God and yet not keep the holy days of God. Oh, they can get a little there, they can get a little there, they can get some platitudes, they can get some understanding, but they don’t have the true knowledge so therefore they don’t have true understanding.

Now let’s pick it up here in Mark 8:34. “And when He had called the people unto Him with His disciples also, He said unto them, Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s [sake], the same shall save it.” Now that shows what we need to be doing. It talks about being worthy to be in the Kingdom. That’s part of it, isn’t it? “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own [life] soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his [life] soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:34-38). Now we just read about that in Daniel 7 didn’t we? Look how all of this comes together.

And brethren, let me just encourage you. Never let anyone minimize the feasts of God to you, or begin to leverage against you in such a way that you doubt God. That you doubt that we ought to keep the feasts of God. See, because God gives us knowledge and understanding and wisdom and truth, and the closeness to Him. Now remember when it talks about those of the church of Philadelphia. Now there still have to be Philadelphians somewhere. Now I’m not saying that we’re Philadelphians, but we can certainly learn from that lesson that we faithfully and patiently kept the word of God. That’s what’s important.

Let’s come over here to Mark 10:28. Now everyone wants to know what are they going to get in the Kingdom. We’re going to be like Christ is, but I wonder what we’re really going to look like. I wonder what it’s going to be if we could step in front of a mirror…somehow, you know, you have to see yourself. I wonder what it’s going to be like to be a spirit being and to see yourself that way. And what kind of clothes that we will wear. I know that we’re going to have white garments that are like linen. But it also says that they are brilliant and bright white. So even the garments will be glorious.

Now verse 28, “Then Peter began to say unto Him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed Thee.” Now see, we have to give up everything. “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake, and the gospel’s, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” So there it is. There again we have all the holy days involved, don’t we? Quite a thing, isn’t it?

Now let’s go to the book of Luke. And what you might want to do is take your new Harmony Of The Gospels and go through and study these scriptures and then you’ll get all the parallels across as you go from scripture to scripture. Now Luke 9:1, “Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God, and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1-2). Now when you preach the Kingdom of God, unless you know and understand about the holy days you’re not going to be able to preach about the Kingdom of God. Now today there are people who believe that the Roman Catholic Church is the Kingdom of God. There are people who believe that they can set up the Kingdom of God here now. But as we saw yesterday flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. And Jesus also said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” So you see the impossibility of it. So I want you to understand the greatness of what it is of the blessing of being able to keep the feasts of God and how important the Feast of Tabernacles is and how it’s just all tied together and woven intrinsically into the gospel that Christ and the apostles preached.