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LAST GREAT DAY - 2000
Fred Coulter - October 21, 2000
And greetings, brethren. This is the Last Great Day for the year
2000. And I know every year it’s a wonderful feast. And I’m sure
you’ve had a wonderful feast, and I’m sure that it’s like everything else,
it goes too quickly and it’s over with. And in a way it’s just right
and God has the exact proper length of time so that we won’t wear out and
that we can learn as much as we can. And the thing about the Feast
ending in such a way is this, is that you’ll miss fellowshipping with the
brethren. And that is especially so when we understand that many of us
are scattered and some of us don’t even have a fellowship group to attend.
And we’ll try and do the best we can. Just pray about it and ask God
to raise up more people and always remember this: if you’re alone, someone
has to be first. And what we’ve been able to do with God’s help and
God’s inspiration down through the years, the knowledge that God has given
us has just been marvelous and fantastic, brethren
And so now we come to the time where we read the scriptures in Leviticus 23
concerning the Last Great Day. So let’s go ahead and to Leviticus 23.
And I think it’s really profound and interesting that God has put all the
holy days together there in Leviticus 23 so that only those who really
desire the truth, only those who really believe God, only those who really
truly love Him will understand that we are to keep these days today.
Especially when you consider the way that the world is going, and the way
that even some of the Churches of God are going. And it’s sad to see
the things go that way and what has happened to the Church. But
brethren, God is still there. God is right there with Christ at His
right hand and He is here to show us, to teach us, to lead us, and Christ is
the head of the Church. And so let’s always keep that in mind.
Now let’s begin here in Leviticus 23:33 again. “And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying…” So these are
instructions for all the children of Israel. These are not just
instructions for the priests alone. “…The fifteenth day of this
seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days
unto the LORD.” Now we’ve already had that. “On the first day
shall be a holy convocation [which we had]: ye shall do no servile work
therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire…”
(Lev. 23:33-36). Now we don’t make one every day of the Feast of
Tabernacles, the reason being is because those sacrifices were given then.
And some were on the first day and they would eat the first day, second day,
third day. Some would offer on the second day, and they would eat on
the second day, and the third day, and the fourth day. And some would
offer on the third day and they would eat on the third day, and the fourth
day, and the fifth day, so forth all the way down through the feast.
Now it says, “…on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you…”
And this is the eighth day. And as we will see number eight is the
number of new beginnings. Now that is true according to God’s word.
Now don’t be disturbed if some people come along, who are false prophets,
and they steal some of the information concerning numbers in the Bible and
cause you confusion. They’re just still the same false prophets though
they have that point of truth. “…And ye shall offer an offering made
by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall
do no servile work therein” (vs. 36). Now servile work is the
kind of work that you get paid for. Or that you do in the normal
course of your way of living. And so whatever is necessary for keeping
the Feast, that’s what we can do. And that is what makes it so
important concerning the holy days.
Now, verse 37, “These are
the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy
convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt
offering, and a [meal] meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings,
every thing upon his day: besides the sabbaths of the LORD…” Now let’s
understand something here very important. All of the holy days are
called sabbaths. And so if you believe in the seventh day Sabbath,
then you also have to believe in the rest of the Sabbaths because those
belong to God just like the seventh day Sabbath. “…And beside your
gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings,
which ye give unto the LORD. Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh
month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast
unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath [there
it is called a sabbath directly], and on the eighth day shall be a
sabbath [there it is, today is an annual sabbath]” (vs. 37-39).
“And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees,
branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the
brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days” (vs. 40).
Now this has been a really rejoicing feast for us. And I want you to
be uplifted and inspired so that you can face the things when you go back
home. And the feast being over, the Last Great Day being over, and you
go home and have to face the world, which is run by Satan the devil, have to
face all the trials and difficulties that you may go through, and just
remember the greatness of God and the purpose of His plan, and what He is
doing. And also, as we are going to be taking up an offering today,
let that be expressed in your offering. That you love God, that you serve
God, that you worship Him.
Now verse 41, “And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the
year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall
celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all
that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths” (vs. 41-42). Now what
they do in Jerusalem is this even to this day. And I’ve seen pictures
of the temple area, booths and dwellings that they make there. Most of
the homes in what we call Israel today, or Palestine as would be more
properly called because it’s not Israel, because only when God is there can
it be called Israel again. We need to understand that. An
Israeli means, Israel without God, when you truly understand the meaning of
the word.
But never the less when they have their Feast of Tabernacles they set up
these little booths. And they’re like tents. And then they
decorate the front of it and on the inside of it with all of these boughs.
And then what happens is those who come and travel to Jerusalem are able to
stay in the rooms of the people who now have the temporary dwelling out on
the top of their flat-top house. And so it makes a good feast that
way. Now today, it’s perfectly all right as we know to go ahead and
rent a motel room or a hotel room or to rent a house and stay there because
it’s a temporary dwelling. And when you really come to understand it
all, even our homes are temporary brethren. Because our hearts, as far
as our thoughts and our minds and what we are going to do are toward God the
Father and Jesus Christ at His right hand, which is in heaven where we look
for Christ to return and to bring the Kingdom. And so when we give the
offering here let’s just keep that in mind.
We’ve covered concerning the offering many, many times, and we know
brethren, that this is all a part of our worship and service of God on the
holy day, and so you give according to as you’ve proposed in your heart, and
you give with rejoicing before God to serve Him in love for all the good
things that He has done, and the things that come in the way of offerings
and tithes are all used to go back and serve the brethren. And so just
keep that in mind. So at this time we’ll take a pause and we’ll go
ahead and take up the offering.
(Pause)
Now if you caught me speaking a little bit as the pause went on and you
heard me say just in time. Well it was just in time, because there was
an airplane flying over and we didn’t want to get that on the tape.
[Laughter] So we have all these things we need to fight when we do it.
But anyway brethren, this is a great and a marvelous day, and a special holy
day for God. And it’s very interesting that the Bible says, as we
covered before, Christ said, “I’m the beginning and the ending, the first
and the last.” And the Last Great Day will be the greatest day because
there are so many things that are going to take place on this day, and this
knowledge is the knowledge that is hidden from the world. They don’t
know it. They don’t understand it. They don’t recognize it.
They don’t realize God’s plan because they don’t keep His holy days.
Now let’s just take a review of all the holy days beginning with the
Passover, which we know is not a holy day but it is a commanded convocation.
Now I’m going to break it down according to Israel, and the Church, and the
millennium. Now, I’m going to go quite rapidly on this so don’t worry
necessarily about taking notes on it. You can if you are a good speed
writer, but just listen to it and just see how that God’s plan is revealed
step by step by step, first to Israel, then to the Church, and then to all
the people during the millennium.
Now the Passover for Israel pictured the sparing of the firstborn of the
children of Israel. That means that God is Savior, He saved them.
And He destroyed all the firstborn, killed them, of the Egyptians both man
and beast. This also shows that God will fight for us. So this
shows that Christ is our Savior.
Now for the Church the Passover is that Jesus is the Passover Lamb of God,
who takes away the sins of the world. And we look to Christ for
forgiveness, for His mercy, for His kindness, or His love, for His grace.
It also pictures the institution of the New Covenant on the night of the 14th.
Jesus took the bread and broke it and said, “Take eat, this is My body,
which is broken for you.” And likewise He took the cup of the wine and
He gave it to them and said, “All of you drink of it for this is My blood in
the New Covenant.” And we are to do this as often as we do until
Christ returns. And likewise with the footwashing. And the
footwashing shows that we have part with Christ, and it shows also that it
renews our baptism. So the whole Passover for us is really a
tremendous time because of renewing of the Covenant and accepting the body
and the blood of Christ to cover our sins, and to renew the Covenant every
year.
Now in the millennium it will also picture the New Covenant during the
millennium, or we could call this the Millennium Covenant that God is going
to make with the children of Israel and the rest of the world. And
it’s going to show that only through Christ do they have forgiveness of sin.
And I’m sure some of the things that apply to the Church, such as a renewing
of the covenant, renewing of their baptism, accepting the truth and love of
God to overcome their sins. That will all be part of it for all the
people during the millennium.
Now the Days of Unleavened Bread. Of course you know we have two holy
days in this. That’s interesting. It’s the only feast where we
have two holy days. Now the Feast of Tabernacles is seven days, one
feast. And there is one holy day, which is the first day. And
the eighth day is a special separate feast. So we have seven plus one.
And when we come to the Passover, which is one day, which by the way also is
an unleavened bread day. Then we have plus seven days, so we have a
total of eight.
Now for Israel the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures the deliverance from
the bondage of Egypt. It also pictures the leaving of Egypt with the
night much to be remembered. And the last day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread they crossed the Red Sea. And it also shows in Exodus
13 that they are to keep this feast so that the commandments and laws of God
would always be before them. And so likewise some of these things
carry over for us.
For the Church the Days of Unleavened Bread picture that we are delivered
from the bondage of sin and Satan the devil. This also shows that we
have been given a new nature, which is putting out the sin, receiving the
Holy Spirit of God. That pictures the unleavened bread that we eat.
And it is that now we live in grace and we have access to God the Father.
We have justification from our sins. And also we have keeping the
commandments in the spirit of the law now, and we also our hearts and our
minds changed by the Spirit of God being converted and having the laws and
commandments of God written in our hearts and in our minds now. And
also that we are going to overcome and get rid of human nature. So
that’s quite a bit for the Church.
Now for the millennium. We will have some of the same things with it,
which is this: physical life is temporary, and that human nature is filled
with vanity. And that’s why they keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
to overcome the vanity that they have as we studied that part of it with the
book of Ecclesiastes. Now it shows also that Christ only can forgive
their sins. Salvation only is through Jesus Christ. And there is
also a great gulf fixed between those who are spiritual, those who are in
the first resurrection and serve as kings and priests and the bride of
Christ, between the flesh of the human beings then and the spirit beings who
will be ruling an controlling it. And during the millennium it’s going
to be where there is not going to be Satan at all. There is going to
be also a change even in human nature cause Satan won’t be there to tempt
them.
Now then let’s come to the Feast of Pentecost. Now here’s the meaning
for Israel. For Israel it’s a receiving of the Ten Commandment at Mt.
Sinai the very first Pentecost that the children of Israel kept after they
left Egypt. It also pictures when they entered into the land that they
would reap of the harvest and they would have the harvest of the
firstfruits. Now the harvest of the firstfruits ties in with the wave
sheaf offering that they did on the first day of the week after the regular
Sabbath during Unleavened Bread. That pictured the beginning of the
acceptance of God of the harvest and for the Church that pictures Christ
ascending to be the first of the firstfruits accepted by God the Father for
us for the offering of sin.
Now for the Church. Pentecost has greater meaning for the Church.
Receiving of the Holy Spirit, as we find there in Acts 2. The beginning of
the Church. It pictures the spiritual harvest of the firstfruits by
the first resurrection, and we are the Church of the Firstborn. It
also pictures the marriage of Christ and the bride. It also pictures
the saving of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude in Revelation
7, which happens on the day of Pentecost.
Now then, during the millennium the firstfruits in the first resurrection
will always be first. And they will always have a special and
different relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ than the rest of
the human beings who come into the Kingdom of God through the operation of
the millennium. And it will also picture, I am sure that it will be a
remembrance of what each one of them received the Holy Spirit whenever they
were baptized.
Now let’s come down to the Feast of Trumpets. Now the Feast of
Trumpets is a very interesting feast and one of the most important things it
does, it shows that God is King. God is warrior. He will fight
for us. And also it is the day which is the beginning of the
calculated Hebrew calendar.
And let me just say right here brethren, please do not let anyone lead you
astray with their own invention with their own calendar. God gave to
the Levites the method in operation of calculating the calendar. It is
valid going clear back to the 5th
and 6th century B.C., and all of those things follow right through
down on through our time. And please understand this, nowhere did God
give any authority to any other man to give the calendar, other than through
the Levites. So when we come down to the time of Hillel the second in
the 300’s A.D., please understand this, as a Levite he made it known to all
the world how that the holy days can be calculated with the method given to
the Levites and so in fact it has been perpetually proclaimed by the proper
Levitical authorities from that time unto this. And don’t let anyone
mislead you or deceive you on this. So the Feast of Trumpet pictures
the calculated Hebrew calendar for us.
Now also for the Church it pictures the first coming of Christ and the
second coming of Christ. And it pictures the beginning of the
destruction of Babylon the Great. And it is also the day in which God
is going to take vengeance upon the Beast and the false prophet, destroy
their armies, and cast them into the lake of fire. Now it also is the
installation of Christ as King, the beginning of the Kingdom of God on
earth, and the beginning of our reign as kings and priests with Christ.
Now for the millennium it’s going to always picture the proper calendar.
And of course there is probably going to be a restoration of all things and
at that time in the restoration of all things during the millennium, I am
sure that God is going to give us a 360 day calendar and a 30 day month, and
12 equal months so we won’t have to fight all the problems that we do today,
which by the way brethren is a result of sin. It’s also going to be a
continuous remembrance for them during the millennium of Christ’s return,
that Christ is King. And also a continuous remembrance to them that
the kings and priests of God reign and rule on the earth.
Now the Day of Atonement for Israel. It pictured a special day when
all of their sins were atoned for. And with the two goats, one for the
Lord and one for Azazel showing that in order to get rid of sin you have got
to remove the author of sin. Now the children of Israel didn’t quite
fully understand that but nevertheless it was there. And for them it
showed that as a nation and a people that they could be at one with God
through the covenant that God established with them at Mt. Sinai, and that
would be then in the letter of the law.
Now for the Church. It pictures the removal of Satan the devil and
binding him in the abyss. It pictures us being at one with God through
having received the Holy Spirit. And to be at one with God shows then
that we can have the mind of Christ. And that’s all pictured by the
day of Atonement. Plus there is something very important for the world
and that is the Day of Atonement pictures when God, after removing Satan the
devil, has the sacrifice of Christ then made available to the whole world.
Now for the millennium, the world will be living in a state of at-one-ment
with God, because Christ will be on the earth, the saints will be ruling,
and they will be at one with God. And as we have covered for the
meaning of the feast during the Feast of Tabernacles, and so forth, we’ll be
teaching them. And also there’s going to be a special thing that will
be for the millennium, which will be also for the Day of Atonement, which is
that Satan is bound, no longer influencing the world. And it will show
that the flesh must inherit eternal life, and there is no permanence in the
flesh.
Now the Feast of Tabernacles for Israel pictured, number one, living in the
land and dwelling in booths while they were on their way from Egypt to the
Promised Land. It was the great ingathering of the physical harvest of
all the crops that they had. And it also shows that God dwelling with
them dwelt in a tabernacle. And we also saw, as we did on the first
day of the Feast of Tabernacles, that God put His presence in the temple on
the first holy day of the Feast of Tabernacles.
For the Church it shows that Christ dwelt on earth in the flesh, and John
1:14 says, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”, and the word
there is “tabernacled”. And He did, He dwelt among us
temporarily. It is also a time where it is picturing for the Church
that Christ is dwelling in us by the power of His Holy Spirit. And
also it shows for the Church there in 2 Corinthians 5, that our bodies then
are temporary tabernacles for the housing of God’s Holy Spirit within us
that we may grow in character and grow to have the mind of Christ. Now
it also pictures for the Church when we will live with God. When we
will be dwelling with God. Now that’s a tremendous meaning. And
it also pictures Christ and God the Father living and dwelling in New
Jerusalem and we are dwelling there with them. And there will be no
more temple. Now we’ll see that a little bit later on.
For the millennium, for the people on the earth, they will know that they
are dwelling with the sons and daughters of God, who are also dwelling with
them as their teachers and leaders, and priests and kings. And also
pictures when we will be dwelling with men. Now, universal salvation
will be given to all who repent and come to desire it. It’s not going
to be given to everyone, but the vast majority during that time will choose
salvation. It shows for all the people during the millennium that this
physical life is temporary, and it is going to be the great spiritual
harvest for all the nations.
Now the Last Great Day. Now I don’t think Israel understood too much
about the Last Great Day because they did not understand about the first
resurrection, and they didn’t understand about the second resurrection.
But for Israel it pictures their day of salvation because God did not give
and grant salvation to the children of Israel when He brought them into the
Promised Land, or when He called them out of Egypt, and so forth.
Now for the Church. It pictures a time of the second resurrection,
God’s final judgment, and we will judge. And one of the first things
we are going to do on the Last Great Day when Satan is cast into the lake of
fire, we are going to judge the angels. Paul said, “Know you not that
we shall judge angels.” That’s when we will judge them, on the Last
Great Day. And then it also shows for all of the sinners, the lake of
fire because they will be judged, and cast into the lake of fire. And
then the whole earth will be burned up.
Now for the millennium, which will actually be the day after the
millennium, if we could put it that way. This brethren, will be the
greatest harvest of all which we will see. And it will undo all sins.
God is going to make right, or justify all sins. And at the end of it,
end of the meaning of the Last Great Day there will be a new heaven and a
new earth, a new Jerusalem, and then God will reveal His plan for all
mankind, now born into the Kingdom of God, now all spirit beings. And
what are we going to do for all eternity? And please understand this,
and just think on this. If God made this world so marvelous, and
wonderful, and beautiful, and fantastic, and how much it’s going to be
improved all during the millennium, don’t you think and know that God is
busy working and building and planning for the fulfillment of the Last Great
Day when New Jerusalem comes down, when the whole universe then will be
opened up to us? Yes, He will. So this is going to be really a
tremendous thing.
So just think how this comes down step-by-step all the way through.
And in bringing out these things in even just a summary, we are talking
about things that the world does not know and the world does not understand,
and cannot understand because they won’t yield and submit to God.
Now let’s come to John 7, and we will see that Jesus kept the Last Great
Day. Now one thing that’s interesting concerning the gospel of John is
that it’s centered all around the holy days. Now many people don’t
even catch that or even know that. And John is trying to tell us
something very important. Now we are to follow Christ’s example,
aren’t we? We are to do as He did, aren’t we? We are to keep the
days that Jesus kept. Yes.
Now here in John 7:37. Now it’s important that we understand the
timing of this because this was a special ceremony. This was called
the ceremony of water. And it was done right as the sun was setting
ending the last day of the feast, and beginning the Last Great Day of the
feast, which is today. So it carried over into the eighth day.
Now let’s pick it up here in verse 37, “In the last day, that great day
of the feast [this is today], Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man
thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” And yet this verse has never
been fulfilled. This is a prophecy of what’s going to happen during
the Last Great Day, and it is also for those who God calls that comes to Him
will receive the Holy Spirit, come and drink. “He that believeth on
Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water” (John 7:37-38). And brethren that’s also a prophecy for us too.
That when we are in the Kingdom of God and we are teaching the people who
are resurrected in the second resurrection for the Last Great Day.
Yes, that God’s Holy Spirit is going to be flowing out to all of them, and
it’s going to be a great and a marvelous harvest.
Now verse 39, “(But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on
Him should receive: for the Holy [Spirit] Ghost was not yet given;
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” Again, another point that
is true. God did not give the Holy Spirit to them back then under the
Old Covenant because it was not yet given. We find in 1 Peter 1 that
it was given to the prophets and to the kings, but not to the people in
general. And now during the Last Great Day, in order to undo
everything that has been done in this world by the way of Satan the devil
and human beings. Then there has to be the Holy Spirit of God to do
it. And it’s going to be the greatest time of the Holy Spirit of God,
even greater than the millennium. That’s why this is called the Last
Great Day. And we are going to have a profound part in it. And
God has called you to do this. And God has called you so that you
are going to take the place of all of these people that are running the
world today. Now I want you to think about that. And I want
you to remember that. And I want you to understand that God has called
us to teach us, to educate us, to prepare us for these things. And
brethren, the knowledge of the Last Great Day is such a marvelous and
fantastic thing, because it answers the question about how is God going to
save all people.
Now let’s go to 2 Peter 3, and let’s read that here. I remember one
man that I talked to the very first time. He said, “Now I want you to
answer me one thing. You say no one is saved now except those that God
calls. Well then, what about here in 2 Peter 3? Now what does
this mean?” Now let’s read it, verse 9, “The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.” And he said, “Now when I look out and I see this world I
see that it’s Satan’s world. Now how is God going to do this?”
Obviously then, if God hasn’t done this then Satan is more powerful than
God. And many people believe that. Because of all the things going on
in the world, that’s certainly not of God, is it? Well, you see, God
does not think as a man. God does not do things as a man does.
God has His plan and His purpose, and He is going to do it in His way, and
His time, and that’s what this Last Great Day pictures.
Now let’s go to Matthew 13, and I want you to understand how precious this
knowledge is. I want you to realize what a great thing that it has
been, as we started out with the Feast of Trumpets, that God has a purpose
that He’s working out on this earth. And brethren, God’s purpose is
being worked out on this earth and He has called you first to know, to
understand, to realize. And that began with the apostles and carries
right on down to this day. And we have the whole word of God, and we
have the knowledge of God, and we have the holy days of God. And
that’s why, because it’s so profound in understanding that God’s purpose and
how He lays it out step by step, that one of the first things that Satan
wants to do is to move you away from the holy days. To move you away
from the right and proper Passover. To move you away from the Sabbath.
To move you away to his way and to bring you back into darkness.
Now let’s understand how profound this is here in Matthew 13. And
let’s pick it up here in verse 9. He says, “Who hath ears to hear, let
him hear.” Now here is what the people didn’t understand because He
spoke to them in parables. “And the disciples came, and said unto Him,
why speakest Thou unto them in parables? He answered and said
unto them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matt. 13:9-11). So brethren
do you understand that the knowledge you have is what God has given you?
And the understanding that you have comes from His word through His Holy
Spirit so that you can know the things of God. Now that’s a tremendous
thing. That is an absolute marvelous blessing. And it’s one that
we have to continually grow in. One that we have to continually
exercise.
Now notice verse 12, “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given…” and God
wants to give us more. God wants to give us greater understanding.
God wants to give us greater faith, greater hope, greater love to fill us,
as we will see, with the fullness of God. That’s a tremendous calling.
“…And he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall
be taken away even that he hath.” And in the end it will be nothing
because they will be turned to ashes and dust. “Therefore speak I to
them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not,
neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of
[Isaiah] Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear and shall not
understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive…” (vs. 12-14).
And people can have their Bibles, they can study their Bibles… Now I
talked to a woman here this summer, who one of the most important things for
her was her Wednesday night Bible study. And I said, “Well, oh, what
church do you go to?” “Well,” she said, “we’re fundamentalists.”
“Oh,” and I said, “that means you keep the seventh-day Sabbath?”
“Oh, no.”
I said, “Well, you’re really not a fundamentalist or a scripturalist unless
you do.”
“Oh, well I don’t think God will hold me to that. We keep Sunday.”
And I looked her right in the eye and I said, “Do you think that God is
going to hold people responsible for murder, and adultery, and lying, and
thievery, and idolatry, and taking God’s name in vain, and having other
gods, and you don’t think that God is going to hold you responsible for the
fourth commandment to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy?”
And you talk about…it was something. She just bristled up just like
that. Brethren, I want you to understand how great it is that you have
the knowledge of God through the holy days.
Let’s continue on here. “For this people’s heart is waxed gross…” Oh
yes, they love to use the name of God. Oh yes, they love to tell God
what to do and think they are righteous, as we’ve seen with what we covered
with the mystery of lawlessness. Oh yes, yes. “…And their
ears are dull of hearing…” Just like this woman. She didn’t hear.
She had no ears for hearing. She already had her eyes closed and here
ears shut but just so she could look on the things that she wanted.
“…And their eyes they have closed…” Now it’s kind of a joint operation.
If you close your eyes and close your heart and mind, God will also close
them just like Pharaoh hardened his heart and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s
heart. So it’s a dual operation here, same thing. “…Lest at any
time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be
converted, and I should heal them” (vs. 15). Why if God wanted all of
them healed, now why didn’t He do it here? Because in God’s plan, now
is not the day of salvation for everyone. Now is the day of salvation
for His Church and those that God calls. Not for the world. The
world will have its day in this Last Great Day, as we will see. So that’s
why God did it, because God is able to undo it. And He will undo it.
Now notice verse 16, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and
your ears, for they hear.” And it’s very important that we always keep
our eyes open and our ears clean so we can hear, so we can see. And
that is a spiritual operation through prayer, through study, through
fasting, through yielding to God and loving God and maintaining that
relationship continuously day by day, and week by week, and month by month,
and year by year.
Now notice how profound this knowledge is that you have. “For verily
I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to
see those things
which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those
things
which ye hear, and have not heard them” (vs. 17). That’s how
wonderful and fantastic the holy days of God are brethren, because they
reveal these things to us.
Now let’s continue on here. Let’s come to Romans 11. Now
remember brethren, as we’re turning to the book of Romans, we are told by
Christ in John 6 that none come to Christ except the Father draw him.
And none come to the Father except through Christ. So it is a joint
operation, and it is a joint thing that God is doing. Ok, let’s come
to Romans 11 because this gives us further understanding about what happened
to Israel and about what is happened to the whole world here.
Now let’s pick it up here in verse 7, “What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for?” No, Israel did not attain under the
righteousness of God and salvation. “…But the election hath obtained
it…” And we are the election. That is we have been called, we have
been chosen, and few are chosen because many are called, so it actually ends
up that even though many are called few are really called because few
respond. “…But the election hath obtained it, and the rest were
blinded…” Now if God blinds them and yet He says He wants all to come to
repentance, how is God going to solve this problem? And the answer is
in the Last Great Day.
“(According as it is written, God hath given then the spirit of slumber…”
So we see how God has done it and they have done it, both. “…Eyes that
they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.”
And so that is a prophecy continuing down unto now. “And David said,
Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a
recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and
bow down their back always. I say then, Have they stumbled that they
should fall: God forbid...” (vs. 8-11). In other words,
has this happened to Israel, so that they are cast off forever and have no
salvation? Paul says, “God forbid: but rather through their fall
salvation is come
unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them
be
the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the
Gentiles; how much more their fulness? (vs. 11-12) And their fullness will
take place during the millennium, and during the Last Great Day. Both. How
much their fullness?
So he says, “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of
the Gentiles, I magnify mine office…” (vs. 13) Now then he says here, “If by
any means I may provoke to emulation them which are of my flesh, and
might save some of them...” (vs. 14) So, he was still interested in that,
brethren. That’s really tremendous. “For if the casting away of them be
the reconciling of the world, what shall
the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” (vs. 15) Now that’s
something.
Now, let’s continue on here to verse 21. “For if God spared not the natural
branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.” (vs 21) So you see,
God’s judgment falls on all alike. “Behold therefore the goodness and
severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if
thou continue in his
goodness…” (vs. 22) Did you catch that? If you continue. That’s why it’s
constantly emphasized all through the New Testament. “If ye love me, keep my
commandments.” (Jn. 14:15) If you do the things that I say. If you believe
me, Christ said. “…otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if
they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to
graff them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is
wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree:
how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed
into their own olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye should be
ignorant of this mystery…” (vs. 22-25) Which it is, which this Last Great
Day pictures. And brethren, let me just say this. The details of what Paul
gives here as an outline, we understand today and Paul did not understand it
back in his day. And isn’t that a marvelous thing? That’s something.
Here’s what he knew about it. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be
ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that
blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles
be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved…” (vs. 25-26) And
this Last Great Day answers when
shall they be saved; how shall they be saved. And that’s a tremendous
thing. “…as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and
shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto
them, when I shall take away their sins.” (vs. 26-27) And that’s when God is
going to remove it. Now we saw all that beginning with the millennium. All
the way down through the millennium that’s going to happen to Israel and
Judah. And all during the Last Great Day that’s going to happen to Israel
and Judah that were cut off for their parts; that were turned over to the
hardness of their hearts; that were cut off because they refused to see and
refused to hear. So this is a great and marvelous thing that God is doing.
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