…and see where it talks about “the rest of the dead who live not again till the thousand years were finished” (Rev. 20:5). Now remember, they cannot come out of the graves. They cannot be resurrected from the dead unless Jesus resurrects them. Now these are all the people who never had an opportunity for salvation. And I know there are a lot of hard shelled Baptists out there in the world who don’t want to give people a second opportunity. Well, what if they never had a first opportunity? What if they need a second life in the flesh (as we will see, this is in the flesh) for a first opportunity for salvation? If God is going to do as He wants to have them come to repentance and be saved, He’s got to do it someway, somehow, doesn’t He? This is how He’s going to do it.

Now, Revelation 20:11: “Then I saw a great white throne [that’s why this is called the Great White Throne Judgment Day] and the one Who was sitting on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and no place was found for them.” Billions, and billions, and billions, and billions of people. “And I saw the dead [Which dead? The rest of the dead who lived not again until the thousand years were finished.], small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life” (Rev. 20:11-12, FV). Now they’re going to have an opportunity for eternal life. Amazing, isn’t it? “And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works.” Now their first life surely couldn’t qualify them for salvation. And you can’t say because they are good sincere people, therefore they earned salvation a little differently than the rest. because Jesus said that He is the door, and if they come in any other way they are thieves and robbers. So it’s not going to be another way. It’s going to be according to God’s way, see. So here is how God is going to do it.

Now let’s see in the book of Ezekiel where it does talk about this. And then we’ll come back to the New Testament again. Let’s come to Ezekiel 37, and let’s see where there is a resurrection to a second physical life of those who were never called to receive salvation in their first physical life.

This is quite a long one here so we need to read all of this section in Ezekiel 37 because this is the meaning of this day – when the rest of the dead live again. And we’re going to see that it is a second life in the flesh. And as we will see, for a first opportunity for salvation, which they never had before, because number one: God didn’t call them. Number two: God blinded their eyes. Number three: they lived before Christ came. They were in other nations other then Israel. And of course this helps answer the question too. Look at all of the things that Israel went through. And this proves a point, which is this: There was not universal salvation granted to those under the Old Covenant. They were required to obey in the letter of the law. But there was no salvation granted to them. Only to the prophets and certain of the kings, and that was it.

Now Ezekiel 37:1: “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.” It was like looking out in a valley and all you see are bones. All human bones. “And He [that is the Lord] said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest” (Ezek. 37:1-3). He couldn’t tell Him whether they could live or not.

“Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live…” Now what kind of life? The answer’s right here. Verse 6: “And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you…” Let’s stop here for a minute before we go on and analyze this any further. First of all, if you see all these dry bones out there, what does it tell us? It tells us these were people who were alive once, correct? Otherwise how are you going to get the bones? It also tells us that it’s people who have died. So now here we have the details on how the rest of the dead are going to live after the millennium is finished. He says: “And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD” (verses 4-6). So here’s a group of people that didn’t know the Lord. Now then, if their eyes are blinded and if their ears are stopped, there is no way they could know the Lord, right? They lived and died without knowing God. Now then He’s going to give them a second physical life to what? To know God.

“So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them” (verses 7-8). So here they were. They look like human beings again, recreated in the flesh according to the genetics that God gave them when they were first conceived. Amazing, isn’t it? No breath in them.

“Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” Well the next question is: Who are they? Well it’s answered the next verse. “Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel…” (verses 9-11). And this tells the rest of the story that Paul was writing about there in Romans 11, that they were cut off – the whole house of Israel, all twelve tribes.

“Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.” They lived lives that were “the wages of sin is death and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” even though they may have tried to do the best that they could. “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD…” Now listen carefully to these next verses: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves…” Now it says graves four times, right? Yes. They were dead. They were in their graves. This is picturing the resurrection from the dead to a second life in the flesh. It has to be. But notice verse 14: “And shall put My spirit in you…” An opportunity for salvation. There you go. “…And ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD” (verses 11-14).

Now we come to the book of Matthew. We find something very interesting. Because this happens to Israel. Well, what happens to all the rest of the nations then? There’s a principle in the New Testament, as we are turning to Matthew 12 to understand this, which is this: to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. Or, to the Israelites first and then the Gentiles. What happens to Israel also happens to the Gentiles. Very important principle to remember.

Now here we have in Matthew 12:32. Here’s something to understand. This gives us a little definition of the unpardonable sin. Since we have covered that in the book of Hebrews, I’m not necessarily going to cover it here. But the unpardonable sin is the total rejection of God, total rejection of being led to repentance, a total rejection of the Spirit of God, total rejection of God’s way completely. Now that is the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit of God.

Now verse 32: “ ‘And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming age.’ ” Now we’re talking about the coming age – the Last Great Day. “ ‘Either make the tree good and the fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for a tree is known by its fruit. Offspring of vipers, how are you able to speak good things, being evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out good things; and the wicked man out of the wicked treasure brings out wicked things. But I say to you, for every idle word that men may speak, they shall be held accountable in the day of judgment.’ ” God is going to judge us by our words. That’s talking about the unpardonable sin here. “ ‘For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned’ ” (Matt. 13:32-37, FV). And then the Pharisees, they wanted to have a sign. And He said it would be the sign of Jonah three days and three nights and so forth.

Let’s come to verse 41: “ ‘The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment…’ ” Now isn’t that what we read in John 5? Some to a resurrection of life and some to a resurrection of judgment. The Last Great Day is called the Great White Throne Judgment, to be given an opportunity for salvation for those who have never had an opportunity, and they are given a second life in the flesh.

Now notice: “ ‘The men of Nineveh shall stand up [that means be resurrected] in the judgment with this generation [which shows that this is going to take place at the same time that Ezekiel 37 is fulfilled when all Israel is resurrected] and shall condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south [now removed by well over a thousand years from the men of Nineveh] shall rise up in the judgment [that is be resurrected] with this generation [that’s at the same time] and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here’ ” (verses 41-42, FV). So here we have right from the Scriptures a resurrection to life of Israel (all twelve tribes) and Gentile nations at the same time. Be resurrected and given an opportunity for salvation. Be brought back to life in the flesh, just like Lazarus and the saints were brought back to physical life so they could have an opportunity for salvation.

Now let’s see what kind of world that they are going to come back to. So what is the sum of this, brethren? Well, the sum of it is this: all those who have lived and died and have not committed the unpardonable sin are going to be raised to have an opportunity for salvation. And I think we can just refer to what we covered yesterday. They are going to live a hundred years. Now there are going to be some people who were righteous at the end of the millennium who are going to also live on through into that time.

Let’s come here to Revelation 20 and let’s see something that’s important for us to understand. Many people have misunderstood this, which is this: remember Revelation 10, it talks about that Satan the devil is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. He is put away. When these people are resurrected and stand in the judgment, and God is going to be fair in the judgment that He is giving them. That He is giving them an opportunity for salvation. And they are going to be judged just like we are today. What does it say of the church? “For judgment is upon the house of God. And if it begin with us, where will the sinner and the ungodly be?” (I Peter 4:17, paraphrased). So likewise they are going to be judged and have an opportunity to live. And in this second life Satan is not going to be anywhere around. Now let’s just stop and ask the question: Don’t you think that living one life under Satan the devil is quite sufficient? So, Satan is not going to be around. They’re going to have the opportunity for salvation. And this is when God is going to fulfill that He wants all men to come to repentance and be saved. And as Peter said, He wants all men to be saved. And this is how He’s going to do it.

And you see then we have the situation which comes with the unpardonable sin. Now then we have what is called the second death. Since all men who reject the salvation of God must die twice regardless of when they lived. Therefore there has to be another phase of this second resurrection, which is the resurrection of the wicked. Now it says here…

Let’s just continue the story before we get to that. Revelation 20:13: “And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the grave [hell] gave up the dead that were in them; and they were judged individually, according to their works.” Now that’s a very interesting situation here. Each one is judged individually. Now then, when they qualify for life what’s going to happen? They are going to enter into life just like those during the millennium. When it came the end of the hundred years they would enter into life. All of those who do not qualify for salvation, or at this time reject the salvation of God (which they have the choice to do), then there’s going to be something else that’s going to happen. All those who qualify will enter into the kingdom of God. All of those who do not qualify will be left standing waiting their fate. Because it is judgment. Judgment unto life or judgment unto the second death. So what’s going to happen is this: all of those who committed the unpardonable sin all the way down through history are all going to be resurrected and they are going to stand waiting their judgment to the lake of fire.

Verse 14: “And death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire” (verses 14-15, FV). And if they are cast into the lake of fire they are burned up, they are ashes, there is no more torment. And as it says concerning the wicked, that the righteous are going to walk on the ashes of the wicked in Malachi 4.

Now let’s look at a very interesting parable that Jesus gave in Luke 16 concerning Lazarus and the rich man. When you read this it looks like that people are tormented in hell forever. You see, and that’s part of the problem with the translation in the King James Version, because it says, “and in hell.” That’s not correct. The Greek word hades is “the grave.”

So let’s pick it up here Luke 16:19: “ ‘Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, and daily indulged himself in luxury. And there was a certain poor man named Lazarus, who was laid at his porch, full of sores. And he longed to be nourished with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table; and the dogs even came and licked his sores.’ ” No one to comfort him but a dog. That’s why God gave dogs – to comfort people when no one else will. “ ‘Now it came to pass that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom’ ” (Luke 16:19-22, FV). Now, when is he carried away? He dies. When is he carried by the angels? At the resurrection – Matthew 24. Into Abraham’s bosom because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are going to be in the kingdom of God. So this is the first resurrection.

“ ‘And the rich man also died and was buried. And in the grave he lifted up his eyes and was in torment…’ ” (verses 22-23, FV). Now when, because obviously this man had committed the unpardonable sin. Not just because he was rich. When is he going to lift up his eyes in the grave? See, that’s why it’s misleading where the King James says “and in hell.” And I just imagine there have been thousands and thousands of fire and brimstone preachers preaching this about being tormented in hell. Not so. “In the grave he lifted up his eyes.” When would that be? We just read it back there in Revelation 20. After the Great White Throne period of one hundred years. The second phase of the second resurrection takes place and the incorrigible wicked are raised to face their judgment of the second death. So this is what happened with the rich man. “And was in torment.” Why was he in torment? Because he could look out and see the lake of fire out there.

“ ‘…For he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, “Father Abraham, have compassion on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am suffering because of this flame” ’ ” (verses 23-24, FV), that is by seeing it. You’d be tormented too. How much fear would you have if you were standing on the edge of a volcano and you thought you were going in there? I mean you think about that the next time you watch Kilauea volcano in Hawaii blow up and all that lava is flowing down. “Because of this flame,” not in the flame. It’s a wrong translation.

“ ‘Then Abraham said, “Child, remember that in your lifetime you received good things to the full, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and you are suffering. And besides all these things, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed [The difference between physical life and spiritual life. That’s fixed]; so that those who desire to pass from here [facing the second death] to you are not able, nor can those from there pass to us [To go back and become a human being again. It’s not possible.].” And he said, “I beseech you then, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers; so that he may earnestly testify to them, in order that they also may not come to this place of torment.” Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them” ’ ” (verses 25-29, FV). Very important thing. Now are we talking about the difference between eternal life and eternal death? Yes, indeed. What is the difference? You must hear Moses. And as II Corinthians 3 has said, that in Christ the veil of the eyes is taken away at the reading of Moses when you have the Holy Spirit of God. So isn’t it interesting. Moses and the Prophets are necessary for salvation, are they not? Have to be.

“But he said, “No, Father Abraham, but if one from the dead would go to them, they would repent.” ’ ” No, you see, because people will not be convinced unless they choose to repent. Unless they are convicted in heart of their sins there is no way that they will repent. And besides you’re also dealing here with the unpardonable sin with the rich man. So notice verse 31: “ ‘And he said to him, “If they will not hear Moses and the prophets, they would not be persuaded even if one rose from the dead” ’ ” (verses 30-31, FV). So this parable of the rich man takes place when the dead, the incorrigible wicked who have committed the unpardonable sin, are raised from the dead to stand alongside the lake of fire with all of those who have committed the unpardonable sin, and they are all going to be cast alive into the lake of fire as God’s final judgment. See, God has told all the righteous down through time, “You will see the final judgment of God. You will see the vengeance of God.” And it’s necessary for a demonstration of the righteousness of God that all of the wicked die together just as all who are saved will live together.

And with this lake of fire God is going to do something. He is going to prepare the whole earth for the new heavens and the new earth. Let’s come to II Peter 3 again, and let’s see where it talks about the destruction of this earth in preparation for the new heaven and the new earth. Now the destruction of the earth is going to be that the lake of fire is going to envelop everything on the earth. And it will be a great renewing of the surface of the earth. Now as spirit beings, that will not affect us.

We’ll pick up where we left off with the verse about repentance there. II Peter 3:10: “However, the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night in which the heaven itself shall disappear…” Now Peter didn’t have all the knowledge and understanding that John did in Revelation. So his account here is a little deficient. But we put it together a line here, a line there, a little here, and a little there, precept upon precept and that gives us understanding. But notice: “…in which the heaven itself shall disappear [now that’s the heaven around the earth] with a mighty roar, and the elements shall pass away, burning with intense heat [and they will], and the earth and the works in it shall be burned up.” So when the wicked are cast into the lake of fire, like it says there in Revelation 12 “death and hell are cast into the lake of fire,” it envelops the whole earth. And when it does it destroys all the oceans. We’ll see that in just a minute.

Now verse 11: “Since all these things are going to be destroyed, what kind of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking forward to and striving for the coming of the day of God, during which the heavens, being on fire, shall be destroyed, and the elements, burning with intense heat, shall melt? But according to His promise, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (verses 11-13, FV).

Now let’s come back to Revelation 21 and let’s see the fulfillment of this that was given to John approximately thirty years after Peter wrote this, thereabouts. And here then it gives us a glimpse into the final fulfillment of the kingdom of God. Revelation 21:1: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea.” Now you see at that time, as spirit beings, we will no longer need oceans. We need them today as physical human beings to keep the temperature on the earth suitable for human life. So there’s no more sea.

Here’s the new earth. Now God is going to begin to replenish the new earth. Let’s see what He does. Verse 2: “And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from heaven say, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men [that is, all men now made perfect being born again into the kingdom of God]; and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people; and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall not be any more death, or sorrow, or crying; neither shall there be any more pain, because the former things have passed away’ ” (verses 2-4, FV). Now we enter into the glorious kingdom of God. We look forward to the new Jerusalem made by the very hands of God the Father and Jesus Christ and the angels prepared for His church.

Verse 5: “And He Who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Then He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful [It’s going to happen. It’s going to come to pass.].’ And He said to me, ‘It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.’ ” From the very beginning of the creation of Adam and Eve, clear down to the very end Christ is going to carry out and fulfill His plan as He has told us. Now then: “ ‘To the one who thirsts, I will give freely of the fountain of the water of life. The one who overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son’ ” (verses 5-7, FV).

Now then He gives a warning here which is very important for us to understand. “ ‘But the cowardly…’ ” Someone said, “Well the King James says “fearful.” Now aren’t we to fear God?” Well this is not the same kind of fear. This is that you don’t have enough courage to be a Christian the way you ought to be, and you give up on God. The cowardly. “ ‘But the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death’ ” (verse 8, FV). 

Then there is this great vision that he sees of new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. Fifteen hundred miles cubed. New Jerusalem: streets paved with gold, made with all of the most fine and precious stones. And I am sure that all of these, as it lists all of the stones, the wall, the gates, the pearls, and everything like that, I’m sure that he is seeing not just the physical thing of it but he is seeing that which is composed out of spirit but looks like these things. Because you see in verse 21 it says: “…and the street of the city was pure gold, as transparent as glass.” Well see, that has to be spiritual. We’re going to be spirit beings. Everything that we have will be made out of spirit, whether it be the clothes that we have, new Jerusalem that we dwell in, or whatever our place is. Remember Christ said in John 14 that He went away to prepare a place for us. So right now Jesus Christ is active, busy, preparing that place in new Jerusalem for us, looking forward to this day.

Now verse 22. Something very profound and important. “And I saw no temple in it; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Amazing thing to be in the family of God. We’re going to see God. We are going to see Jesus Christ. We’re going to live with Them, we’re going to dwell with Them. No need of a temple. “And the city has no need of the sun, or of the moon, that they should shine in it…” It doesn’t say that they aren’t there. It just says they have no need that they shine on it. “…Because the glory of God enlightens it, and the light of it is the Lamb” (verses 22-23, FV).

“And the nations that are saved…” So here, all the nations from the millennium, all of those through the Great White Throne Judgment, all of those of the saints down through time. But here all the nations that are saved shall walk in the light of it. See, those who are in the first resurrection are going to live and dwell in new Jerusalem. All of the rest who are saved are going to live outside of Jerusalem and they are going to come to new Jerusalem. These are the nations that are saved. “…Shall walk in its light; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it.” Yes, there’s going to be ruler ship. There are going to be kings. “And its gates shall never be shut by day; for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it” (verses 24-26, FV). So God is going to have us busy, producing, making, creating, doing. If God by Himself (with the help of the angels and the twenty-four elders and Jesus Christ) created all the heavens and the earth, I wonder what sort of thing He’s got planned for us. See, because this indicates there’s going to be a fantastic amount of things going on. We’re not going to be there humdy-dumdy strumming on harps, or as the beatific vision is: look at the face of God like you’re staring at some thing you never understand. No, this is real spiritual life, greater, better than the best of human life.

Now then he gives another warning: “And nothing that defiles shall ever enter into it, nor shall anyone who practices an abomination or devises a lie; but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (verse 27, FV).

Now then it concludes with one of the most tremendous chapters in the whole Bible – Revelation 22. Now let’s think on this for just a minute. You have seven plus one, don’t you, making eight? How many chapters do we have? We have three sections of seven in the book of Revelation. That makes twenty-one. Plus one is twenty-two. And moreover twenty-two is also the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. So here we have the eighth one again, don’t we? Showing the newness of God’s way and everything.

“Then he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” So through all eternity the righteousness and power of God’s Spirit is always going to be flowing. “And in the middle of the street, and on this side and that side of the river, was the tree of life…” Now I don’t quite understand all of this completely, but it says: “…the tree of life, producing twelve manner of fruits, each month yielding its fruit; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:1-2, FV). Now the Greek there is therapeian [therapeia], which could also mean “for the maintenance of the nations.” I don’t know exactly how this will fit in, but I’ll tell you how we will understand it. Be there in new Jerusalem and you will know.

And now this here’s a great thing, verse 3: “And there shall be no more curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face; and His name is in their foreheads” (verses 3-4, FV). Complete oneness with God. Here, everything that God has done in His plan has now all come together and we are ready in the family of God to begin to do the work of God which He has for us for the rest of eternity down through the ages of that eternity.

Now notice it says: “And there shall be no night there; for they have no need of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God enlightens them; and they shall reign into the ages of eternity” (verse 5, FV). For ever and ever and ever. And that’s the kind of life that God wants us to have. That’s how it’s going to be. That’s why it says that: “The eye has not seen and the ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (I Cor. 2:9, paraphrased). That’s why we need to love God with all our heart, and all our mind, and all our soul and being.

Now we come back to the closing part here, verse 6: “And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true [see, they’re going to happen]; and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things that must shortly come to pass.’ ” And that’s really true right now. It’s going to come to pass shortly. “ ‘Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book [meaning the whole Bible].’ Now I, John, was the one who saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who was showing me these things. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do this! For I am a fellow servant of yours, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.’ And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book because the time is near’ ” (verses 6-10, FV). In other words, when we come close to the time of the end we’re going to understand it. And I think today we understand the book of Revelation more than any other time in the history of the whole world. Because we are living in the times when we see these things coming to pass.

And then he says: “ ‘Let the one who is unrighteous be unrighteous still; and let the one who is filthy be filthy still; and let the one who is righteous be righteous still; and let the one who is holy be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly; and My reward is with Me, to render to each one according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ ” God’s plan has now been completed and then He’s going to open up the rest of it to our understanding. And he finalizes by this: “ ‘Blessed are those who keep His commandments, that they may have the right to eat of the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city’ ” (verses 11-14, FV). Now that’s the full meaning of this day, the holy day the Last Great Day. And you know why it is The Great Day.

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