The Last Great Day

Wayne Matthews

October 1, 2018

Last Great Day Sermon – 2018

Welcome, everybody, to this eighth day, the Last Great Day of the Feast.

We know there are seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles and then in scripture it mentions the eighth day, which is a holy convocation. We can find that in Leviticus 23, which we have read at the Feast.

We really hope that you’ve had a great time of rejoicing during the Feast, the spiritual food that God has provided over the last seven days of the Tabernacles.

The title of today’s sermon is The Last Great Day.

If you’d like to turn to Hebrews 9:27. Now, Hebrews 9:27 just makes a straight statement about God’s purpose for creating mankind. We understand the first 6,000 years was given over to man’s self-rule, and therefore, man has made his own decisions about what he considers right and wrong within his own thinking, from his own thinking, no regard to what God really says about it, and during that period of 6,000 years God worked to develop a part of His spiritual family called the 144,000. Then we see a 1,000 year period of the rule of Joshua the Christ, Joshua the Messiah, who with 144,000 will rule for a period of time called a thousand years. Then we have a hundred year period called the Last Great Day.

Well, Hebrews 9:27 makes it quite clear what is for the majority of mankind, not all, but for the majority. Hebrews 9:27—And as it is appointed, now, that is “reserved,” for men, which is “for mankind” to die once, which means a physical death for the majority of mankind, but after this, after this death, the judgment. We understand that the majority of mankind looks at this differently. They believe that “it is appointed men to die once.” Yes, they all know that. They’ll acknowledge that man dies. Then they think the judgment is about the life that they lived before, which means they’ve gone to heaven and they’ll go to the judgment seat, and at the pearly gates, so to speak, you have Peter and others there and you’ll be judged and a decision is made. I don’t know what happens but you go either up or down, something. But they say it’s a judgment; the judgment now is on mankind. Well, that’s not true. We know that’s not true.

We understand this scripture, “but after this,” after this death, dying once, a person will be resurrected back to a physical life to be judged, not the execution of the judgment but a judgment. Just like judgement now is on the house of God because we’re under judgment because it’s a spiritual matter. Well, mankind knows nothing about this judgment period of a hundred years but there is a period of a 100 years where man now will be given a choice to choose good or evil. They’ve lived evil; they know what evil is. They’ve been resurrected to that. They got a hundred years now to prove a point. What do you want?

So those in the first 6,000 years, you can imagine their thinking; when the majority are resurrected they’ll think they’re in heaven, because the majority thought they were going somewhere. If you look at the Egyptians, the Pharaohs and all that, they were all buried and often families were killed or servants were killed to go with them. So they went to this so-called afterlife with all their physical possessions. None of that’s true. They’ll be resurrected and they’ll be standing next to people that were so-called their servants and lots of others and go, “Hang on a minute. This is not what I thought. This is not what I planned in my burial.”

Well, you imagine all the different ages. All of those that lived 300, 400, 500, 600 years in the beginning before God changed the time, 300 down to 120, now three score and ten, 70 years. So you can see all the difference of everyone that is resurrected. Those that had the opportunity to live in the Millennium who died because of various reasons will be resurrected during this hundred year period for judgment. They may have started a process of conversion, but maybe it wasn’t completed. We don’t know all the elements of who will be successful in entering Elohim at the end of the thousand years, but there’s going to be a big group from that period.

Also, if you set that time up there’s going to be millions of people that live on, just like what we’re facing, that are going to live on to a period of time. At the end of the Millennium there’ll be thousands of people, millions of people, families that will live through that period into the hundred years, physical humans ready to accept and to work with those that are resurrected from a 7,000 year period. The majority are going to come out of that 6,000 years – are going to know nothing, nothing at all.

I often think about this period of judgment and many of the religions. Because most of the religion came out of 325 A.D., so they come from Catholics who believed they were going to heaven or hell and the death bed repentance. But look at all the Muslim religions where people are blowing themselves up thinking they’re going to get 30 virgins or your 13 virgins. I don’t know how many it is, but they’re getting virgins. It’s perversion of the mind. But they’re going to be resurrected and, “Hang on a minute! What are all these other people doing here?” Like, it’s going to be really weird for them because they died in a belief.

So all of those people are going to be resurrected and then they have to deal with something. It’s called their mind. It’s going to take a hundred years to deal with their mind and all the garbage. Just like what I learned right up until the day that I was called, all the garbage and the misconception, the error, the deception of Satan that I learned has to be unlearned. It doesn’t happen instantly, I can assure you. There is many a thing in my personality that’s going to take years to overcome. I can fight it, but it doesn’t mean to say I’m going to conquer it in a lifetime. But they are given a judgment period.

So after this first death, a physical death, “but after this the judgment.” It’s called a second life. We were talking the other day about people say, “You only live once.” That’s a lie! You live twice. The majority live twice. Our goal is not to live twice.

So after this first physical life, then death, the majority of humans will be resurrected back to a physical life. That’s what this Last Great Day is about. The majority of mankind will have to live twice. This last day, this eighth day, lasts 100 years. This is a time for personal judgment which is a spiritual matter.

So no one is going to be able to turn around and say, “Well, they made me do it,” or take no personal responsibility. No, judgment has begun at the House of God, which is the Church now, well, that judgment continues into this period. Because coming into the Body of Christ, having God’s spirit, this is about judgment. Well, here people are going to be given the opportunity to either choose one way or the other in, a 100-year period of doing it.

Now, I know that a hundred years sounds like a long time, but in reality when you get to a certain age, you look back, 30, 40 years is nothing. It just goes so quickly. So you can imagine in a world that is totally different, and we’ll get to that, a world that’s totally different, it’ll go quite quickly in some ways. But every thought, word, and action has to be brought into judgment by the person because they are being measured by God. They’re being measured by God to see what a person really wants to choose.

The main point of a resurrection is what will people choose once shown the truth and the truth is placed before them? So here we see millions of millions of people that are resurrected, have never known anything about God. Everything that they believed is wrong. They thought they knew God. They blew themselves up “because of God.” They went to war. If you look at all the crusades, Catholic versus the Muslims or the Arab nations, and you look at all the different things, Catholic killing Protestant, Church of England, if you look at all that period of time, what was going on? Once Catholic, then became Protestant. Division, a house divided falls. There was just people killing people, torturing people. Horrendous things! All are going to be resurrected, both sides, and they’re going to be told, “You’re wrong. Here is the truth.” Some of what we have. “Here is the truth; now make a choice.” It’s going to be difficult. It’s not going to be easy to be resurrected.

The big advantage in one way of being resurrected in the hundred years is that they will know something is different. “Hello! Hang on! I used to have a bad leg and I used to have deformed arm.” Or, “My sight was going and now everything is so this is different. But I’m physical. But this is different.” It’s an exciting time – exciting for the mind and exciting for those that are going to live in the end of the Millennium, to live into that period, just to see people, to help them, because it is all about helping others.

We’re going to look at a spiritual principle found in Exodus 12:12. This spiritual principle is something that everybody in the hundred year period, the Last Great Day, this eighth day, is going to have to come to realize and make a choice on it.

Exodus 12:12—For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn of the land of Egypt, both man and beast. Now, we understand this is Passover, which is about the passing over. ...and against all the gods of Egypt I (God) will execute judgment. I am the Eternal. So life is about judgment, but there is an end result. It’s called the execution of judgment because God provided ten plagues for Egypt, which Israel witnessed, for a reason. But the end of that was an execution of judgment. And what was it? It was called death, death of the firstborn. So the execution of judgment has not happened.

We’re going to enter a time of judgment during this Last Great Day, the eighth day, but the execution of the judgment will happen at the end of the hundred years. We know what that is – it’s called death. It’s the outcome of the judgment. Choosing good/choosing evil, the outcome is judgment. This is it, made it, now you have to execute the judgment.

We understand that Satan has been judged, but the execution of the judgment, the outcome of the judgment hasn’t happened yet. It’s yet to come. We know the day that it’s going to happen. It’s going to happen at the end of the hundred year period. There’s going to be an outcome delivered.

So this principle of judgment is about God will execute the judgment. He has the power to do it. Nobody else has the power to do it. We see that a person is given a period of time of judgment, then an outcome.

Verse 13—Now the blood shall be a sign for you... Now, that blood points to something. It’s the acceptance of Christ’s Passover sacrifice is a sign. So everybody in the hundred year period, the Last Great Day, has to accept Joshua the Christ as their Passover sacrifice which God provided. Now, if they don’t they’re going to earn the outcome of a judgment because everyone has to do it. Everybody’s got to do it. In this period it’s going to be taught even more so about this period, which a lot of people resurrected in this period are going to have no idea about Joshua the Messiah. None. They just won’t. They believe in something false. That’s all they’ve known. It’s going to be a bit of a shock to them.

Passover, in itself, is going to be a bit of a shock to them, when they are given the spiritual sight to see and can see what a deception they have lived in. Now this opportunity to see. Now this opportunity to accept Christ’s Passover sacrifice.

It says, Now the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. Well, this is talking physical. We know that really it’s about our mind. It has to be accepted in the mind. We have to come to understand it, and it takes years and years to fully grasp what God did for us through Christ.

And when I (God) see the blood... He is exploring our thinking, which we’ve covered sermons about that looking at that. Well, the reality is it comes to the point, “Well, now I know you, what you accept, that you are who you really are, that what your mind really is.” So once God knows what we accept, I will pass over you. We won’t earn the second death. The plague, which is the death, which is the second death, shall not be on you to destroy you. So if we look at this from the hundred year period this principle applies, that there is a possibility of a passing over because we’ve accepted Christ as our Passover sacrifice.

...when I strike the land of Egypt: “When I destroy all that reject the truth and have chosen sin of selfishness,” which means they want to stay where they were – captivity in Egypt. They’re going to stay in their selfishness. Well, we can be captive to Egypt, Satan’s system, but we still could be captive to our natural carnal mind as well.

The Last Great Day is about a hundred year period of mankind being judged, measured, based on their choices, what they’re going to choose. Then at the end of the hundred years God will execute judgment, life or death, which is what life is about. Make a choice and if you make the right choices, choose the good, life, life as a spirit being; or death, never to have life again. The choice, as God says, the choice is yours. The choice is ours. The choice is mine. Just got to make a choice.

Now, I found understanding this principle more so about choosing good and choosing evil and looking at what Joshua said in relation to, “As for my house.” I found that very helpful for me personally whenever I get into a situation where I do have a choice between sin and not. You know, when you’re overwhelmed with certain thoughts you have to make a choice. I found this very motivating for me and it’s helped me a lot. Because in my mind I say, “No, I choose God. I want to choose God. I want to choose good.” It makes the decision quite easy. Because, really, what we’re saying is good and life, evil and death. Wayne – choose. It’s much easier to fight the battle in the mind when you’re tempted with various things. You say, “No! As for me and my house, I choose God.” I’ve found that in the middle of it I go, “No! I want to choose the good. I want to choose God.” The overcoming is very quick. It’s easier because it’s a black and white decision. I’m black and white, as you may know. So it makes it easy because I go, “No! That’s stupid. I choose good. I choose life.”

Well, the hundred years is about the same thing, coming to understand a choice has to be made. Then once the choice is known by God, God says, “Now I know you.” We might have to live a bit longer during that period, but God knows what He’s going to do. He’s going to give us life because we decided to choose good. We reject selfishness. We don’t want it. We’re rejecting death is what we’re really doing, and choosing life.

This execution of judgment will give some everlasting life with God while others will be provided what they have chosen. I think that’s a key point – what they have chosen, because God doesn’t make us do anything. God doesn’t control us. God puts before us a choice, life and death, good and evil, and then it’s whatever we choose, but people will choose something different. “The wages of sin is everlasting death.” It will last forever, never, ever to have life again, just gone as if they never existed.

Revelation 20:11, which is about the Great White Throne judgment. This is talking in symbolic language, as much as Revelation does, but we can understand much of it because we have God’s holy spirit. Without God’s holy spirit we cannot understand what it’s talking about.

So, we’ve been given truth of the annual holy days so we understand what the Millennium is about, the 100 years. We understand the eighth day. Because when you look in scripture about how God says that seven days you’ll keep the Feast of Tabernacles, and on the eighth day it’s a holy convocation, it’s the last of the annual holy days, how does anybody get judgment out of the eighth day? God’s spirit through Isaiah was revealed to Mr. Armstrong so that we know what this eighth day pictures. Why are we resting on this seventh annual holy day called the eighth day? Why? Because God revealed what it’s about – the Great White Throne Judgment.

Symbolic language being used, Revelation 20:11—Then I saw a great white throne, now, this is where this comes from, the word the “Great White throne,” the “Last Great Day,” because it’s a great time. It’s an incredible time where mankind is given an opportunity to make a choice. Because right now during the first 6,000 years the truth is that mankind really couldn’t choose between good and evil. He could only choose evil because he is selfish. He never knew good, so he couldn’t choose good. He might choose good in what he thinks is good, but he can’t choose. Now they can.

We in this room have power as God’s Church with God’s holy spirit, have the power to choose good or choose evil. God says, “But the choice is yours.” That’s what He says. It’s incredible. It’s so simple for us. Mankind knows nothing.

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

Verse 12—Then I saw the dead... Now, this is referring to “the rest of the dead,” going back to verse 5 of this chapter, small and great, standing before God, which means they’re resurrected back to a physical life so they now can be judged spiritually. Whereas they can’t be judged spiritually because they’ve never had God’s holy spirit, the vast majority. Some have because there are some that lived with God’s spirit and were not chosen as part of the 144,000. So it’s not everybody. So some did. There’s not a lot, but there are some. There’s probably more than we think because we really don’t know how many came through the first era of God’s Church. Once Christ died and was resurrected and the twelve apostles were there and then you had Paul, how many were really of God and how many were chosen? We have no idea. Some of them will be resurrected as a witness to what they did and witness in time.

So you can imagine the conversations that are going to take place during this resurrected period, this time when they’re given life again. It’s going to be fascinating what people did and the regret that they’re going to have of the life that they led. But they’ll come to understand that it can all be wiped clean and forgiven based on repentance. Everything! Doesn’t matter what happened, it can all be wiped clean. Start again, make a new choice. Some will make the right choice and some will make the wrong choice.

So they’re resurrected back to physical life so they can be judged spiritually. ...and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. Now, to have the Book of Life opened, which we have, means they’ve received God’s holy spirit and now they can have access to God because of God’s holy spirit, and now they can see the truth and see spiritually. So this book is opened, which is the Bible, and you open it and go, “Wow! Look at all this!” There’s a lot in that book. There’s a lot we don’t understand yet. But there’s a lot in that book that they’re going to be able to now see and it’s going to be an exciting, wonderful time.

Can you imagine that all of these people, including my parents, are resurrected and taught the Sabbath? It’s not going to be magic wand and all of a sudden everyone believes the Sabbath. To understand the Sabbath, to be taught about the Sabbath, and to believe the Sabbath and nothing is opened because we’ve had a thousand years of change and now everything is about the Sabbath. The seventh day is a day of rest and everyone else is resting. Everything’s changed! Everything’s changed! It’s going to be an exciting time, great time for those people to make a choice in. God is giving them every opportunity to make the right choice, every opportunity. Why? Because they’ve lived before. And the evidence alone of being resurrected back to a physical life and realizing that everything you learned was garbage, absolute garbage, the majority.

The dead will be judged according to their works, at that time. Not the old works, because the deceived world thinks they’re judged according to the works of their first life. Not true. They’ve got a lot of habits to overcome. They’re now judged because of this hundred year period of making choices. Now they can see spiritually. Now they can be judged on a spiritual level. ...according to their works, what they have chosen over the hundred years, by the things which were written in the books.

So God’s word is now open to their mind. They now can work out with God’s mind, what is good and evil, what is right and wrong, and it’s based on the 10 Commandments, based on the 10 Commandments! The Sabbath isn’t done away. You’re not allowed to have other things before God. You’re not allowed to use that language that you’ve been using. There is so much change. You’re not allowed to hold ill will to your neighbor. You’re not allowed to lie or exaggerate. It’s just incredible. Your lifestyle has to change. Well, now they’re given the opportunity to see and understand.

Verse 13—The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and hades, which is the grave, delivered up the dead. So this is everybody is coming up, who were in them, so they were in these various locations. They were judged, each one according to his works over a hundred year period.

Verse 14. Now we get to a period where there is an end to it all. Then death and hades, which is the grave, those who have chosen selfishness and rejected God were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. So they’ve died once, now they’re given an opportunity, well, now they can die again. This time they’re cast into what is called “gehenna,” a fire that destroys. It’s total destruction, never to have life again. They’ll be turned to ashes. There is nothing, no consciousness. The only thing remaining will be good – God’s family and spirit beings that support God’s purpose.

Then we don’t know all the things after that. That’s exciting in itself. We know little bits and pieces of what the future is, but we’re going to live forever from that point. Forever is a long time. It’s not like the manmade concept of going up to heaven and floating around on a cloud and all that. This is exciting – thinking one particular way only, and there’s going to be great purposes that God has for us that we know nothing about. It hasn’t been taught yet. It’s coming. It’s going to be exciting. That in itself, imagine those truths being revealed to the mind. “This is what you’re going to do.”

And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire, a punishment that destroys so that they can never have life again. It is an eternal death, lasts forever.

So the choice is eternal death or eternal life. The choice is ours.

Matthew 11:22. This is Christ speaking, and it goes into this judgment period about how Christ was there, which means the truth was there, the mind of God was there, and yet people rejected it. Well, now he’s referring to something, which is about this hundred year period, the Last Great Day.

Matthew 11:22—But I (Christ) say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, during this hundred year period. So these people, they’re going to be better off, in a way, because of where they are, their foundation, than for you. Why? Because here is Christ preaching the truth to them as a witness—it’s evident that he’s different—but they rejected it. Well, therefore, it’s more tolerable because these other people never had that advantage, whereas these people are going to hang their head in shame and go, “Oh, I was there. I didn’t even take any notice at all because of my natural carnal mind.” The other people heard nothing! They knew nothing about God. These people should have known better. Just as on a physical level they should have known better.

Verse 23—And you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven... Now, what is that saying? Well, that’s because their pride, their pride has exalted themselves to be so self-righteous, and know-alls, you know, they’re above everybody, they’re exalted in their pride, will be brought down to hades, to the grave. You will die. You might think you’re good and all the rest of it. You’re not. You’re going to die and you’re going to be resurrected.

...for if the mighty works which were done in you, Christ being there and doing these things, God doing miracles through Christ, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. Isn’t this an incredible statement? If what had been done in Sodom – Sodom, which was evil, we know that, Sodom and Gomorrah was evil, well, it wouldn’t have been destroyed if they had had an opportunity with Christ in their midst. It wouldn’t have happened because some would have repented, some would have changed. But these people didn’t repent and change, not even on a physical level, because they were so exalted in their self-righteousness, in their pride.

Verse 24—But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable, and that word is “bearable, endurable,” so it’s going to be difficult, for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. So it’s going to be more bearable for others than these people where Christ was because of what goes with it – hearing the truth and rejecting it.

Now, these people are going to have more to overcome. That’s what it’s really saying. These people that were in the time of Christ are going to have more to overcome. They lived at that time of Christ and yet they rejected the truth. Well, now they’re going to be given this opportunity in the day of judgment to now accept the truth. There’ll be some that won’t. It’s hard to believe in some ways, but there will be some that won’t.

Now, the effect of pride, when it talks about “Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven,” the pride, the effect of pride is that a person is unteachable. We call them “know-alls.” They know everything. They’re know-alls. Their pride is so much they know everything. You can’t talk to them. There’s no use trying to teach them anything. Well, that’s the problem, these people were unteachable. Well, now it’s going to be difficult for them because they were so unteachable, now that they’re into this period of a resurrection it’s still going to be difficult.

Now, one of the things that comes up in the reality of life is that we as the Church are tested. We’re tested. God wants to know what’s in our mind, what we will choose. Well, tests will happen in the Millennium, but tests will happen in the 100 years. We don’t exactly know, but scripture talks about something that’s built on gold and silver, you know, something that will endure versus something of straw or stubble, which won’t. The same principle is going to apply. People have to be tested.

People in the hundred years have to be tested to know what they think. God wants to know, search the heart. So here it’s saying, well, it’s going to be easier for some than others because of our backgrounds or what we learned or what we’ve already rejected. These people rejected Christ who came with the truth. They rejected God, really, because the mind of God was being rejected.

Luke 11:29-32. We’re focusing in on this time of 100 years that is mentioned in the Bible often but people know nothing about it because of this misconception about you being judged on this physical life now. No, only the Church of God is being judged. Those that have God’s holy spirit are being judged, the world is not being judged now at all.

Luke 11:29. Now, they were seeking a sign. They were asking, “Are you the Messiah?” They were virtually saying to Christ, “Well, are you the Messiah?” Now, if he did say, “Yes, I am,” which he did many of time indirectly they still didn’t believe him. Because of pride, they’re just not going to.

Verse 29—And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, he (Christ) began to say, This is an evil generation. So this is an evil generation that he’s in. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet, which we know about. For as Jonah became a sign, which was three days and three nights, to the Ninevites... So Jonah was a sign to them and what did they do? They repented on a physical level. They changed. Well, that’s what it’s about, change, got to make a choice to change. ...so also the Son of Man will be to this generation, which is Christ.

Verse 31—The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment, now this word is (in the Greek), it points to a decision, a time of decision, really. So “in the time of judgment,” which is a time for a decision, now, whose decision is it? It’s the individuals. The decision is to choose good or choose evil, and then there’s an outcome for that choice. Because, really, there’s the execution of judgment that’s got to take place at the end.

The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn it, they’re going to condemn the generation that were with Christ, for she came to the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now, we understand the wisdom of Solomon was from God. It was God’s thinking that Solomon placed down in writing. How much of it he understood, we don’t know. He understood some. A lot of it he looked at, would have looked at on a physical level but it’s spiritual. All of the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are all spiritual in nature. They have a physical ramification—talks about your friends—but there’s spiritual components to all of those things.

Well, the queen of the south travelled all that way to talk to Solomon because she realized that there was something different. She wouldn’t have known that it was the mind of God being revealed, and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. So all of that was there, the mind of God was there. All the wisdom was there. It was in Christ.

The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment, in that hundred year period, with this generation and condemn it. They’ll look down on it and go, “You rejected that, that knowledge of God and God’s way? You rejected the Messiah?” which they did. ...for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. So here we have Jonah coming along and preaching and Nineveh repents physically. Well, here we have Christ preaching, no one repented, not even on a physical level...not even on a physical level. ...and indeed greater than Jonah is here. Now, in repentance it’s about change. We know the word repent means “think differently.” It’s about change, change the way you think.

Now, Nineveh will be an example of making evil more evident, because here we have a group that were godless, Jonah turns up, preaches, they repent on a physical level and change a lot of things. Well, it’s now evident at what they did, so it makes it more obvious what this group of people are like. They didn’t change at all. So it’s making something evident. It’s a comparison or it’s an example of what will happen or what has happened yet people rejected the Messiah.

John 5:24. This is about a time of judgment which is ahead of us. Not us, but mankind, because we’re in a time of judgment. John 5:24—Most assuredly, I (Christ) say to you, he who hears my word, now, that word is logos. We understand the logos is the mind of God. We have to hear it. We can only hear it if we have God’s spirit. ...and believes in Him, God, not in Christ, but believes in Him, God, who sent me (Christ) has everlasting life, God dwells in them, and shall not come into judgment. So here we see that a person living at that time, the beginning of the Church, and those that believed God, believed the words of Christ, were not going to come up in the judgment because they had the opportunity to be judged there, part of the Church. So they won’t. They’ll have everlasting life because God dwelt in them. So they don’t come into this judgment or condemnation at the end because they have the opportunity of spirit life.

...but have passed from death, which is the wages of sin, into life, because God’s spirit dwelt in them. They have been changed to spirit. So if a person has God’s holy spirit they believe or they hear the logos, the words of God, and they believe what they hear, which we know can only happen with God’s holy spirit living and dwelling in a person.

Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. They will be given life. So the purpose of life is to make a decision. Well, they’re resurrected for a purpose.

Now, we can look at this on a physical level, but we can also look at it as a spiritual component. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming,” we’re going to hear spiritually, “and now is, when the dead,” we were once dead. Not physically, spiritually dead. “...and hear the voice of the Son of God,” because we have God’s holy spirit we can hear what is being said on a spiritual level, “and those who  hear,” which should be us, “will live,” because we’re willing to continue to believe God. So there are two components to that.

Verse 26—For as the Father has life in Himself, and He’s the only one with life in Himself, so He has granted the Son (Christ) to have life in himself. Isn’t it a wonderful scripture? That’s our potential, to have life, true life, God living and dwelling in us forever.

Verse 27—and has given him (Christ) authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man, which is, this execution of judgment, to deliver an outcome...to deliver an outcome. So Christ has now been given the authority to execute the judgment, to deliver an outcome after a decision is made, after a hundred years of people making choices. Then there’s a judgment, decision to be made, and then there’s an execution of that judgment.

Verse 28—Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear, which is “to give audience,” His voice. Now, we understand that those in the graves now cannot hear anything. They can’t hear voices. This is talking about a resurrection. It’s the end of 7,000 years, and then we have this hundred year period. But everybody that’s died in that period will hear His voice, they’ll be resurrected. Now, some will be resurrected to life and some will be resurrected to live on in a physical life. Spirit life and a physical life, which one? Well, God makes those decisions.

Verse 29—and come forth—then those who do good, now, that is “to make or abide or agree.” So to do good means we have God in us, dwelling in us, because we know of and by ourselves there is no good in us. Only God is good; we can’t do good. So it’s those that do good in this period, God living and dwelling in them that does the good. Well, if they choose that and they desire it and they live it, well, they are going to be given the choice during this hundred years to do good or evil – that’s the choice – to the resurrection of life. So at the end of it there’s a choice, one or the other, life or death. They’ll be made spirit beings.

And those who do evil, those who practice evil during the hundred years by a choice, choices powered by selfishness... And there’s a clear distinction. We know our selfishness, whether we will choose to satisfy self or whether we’re going to choose to satisfy God, please God. That’s what it is. Do we allow God to live and dwell in us? That’s what it’s about. Do we allow God to live and dwell in us? We can have God’s holy spirit and quench the flow of the spirit because we make selfish choices.

Well, mankind in this hundred year period are going to have this choice. They’re going to make a choice. Well, those that choose the evil will be to a condemnation or damnation, about justice being provided for their choices. So at the end of the hundred years is a decision that’s been made because of judgment, now one or the other, life or death, but the choice is ours.

Verse 30—I (Joshua the Messiah) can of myself do nothing. So all the credit is going back to God. Good works come from God, powered by God’s holy spirit in us. As I hear, he’s talking about what he hears, I judge, I decide. Because he’s got a different mind, he knows what is good and evil. Because if you really know good, you’ll know anything contrary to that is evil. So he knows it. He judges. My judgment, or my decision making is righteous, because he had the mind of God, the Word made flesh, because I do not seek my own will, he didn’t have selfishness, no selfishness, but the will of the Father who sent me.

So I look forward, and I know you do, to the day where we turn around and we can’t sin, where we can’t think evil. We will be good. We will know good. But we do know what is evil because we know that truth—evil was created because God gave choice to angels, choice to us. If anyone over that hundred years seeks their own will, sets their mind in that evil attitude, they will die a second death.

Now, it’s interesting to look back, and you think, well, you think the world would know about this time of judgment because the apostle, Paul, makes it very clear what he talked about. Acts 24. Now, Paul here is under a lot of pressure of mankind and he’s now brought before Felix, who was the governor if I remember rightly. So Acts 24:14. We’re looking at this because Paul preached judgment. He talked about this time of judgment.

Acts 24:14—But I say, Paul says, I confess to you, that according to the way, which is what we do, which they call a sect... I love that because people look at this way and say, “You’re just part of a cult.” It’s the same thing. “You’re part of a sect.” “You’re a division of something.” Well, it’s a great blessing that we are. It’s a blessing from God that we’re called a cult and we’re called a sect. Because we’re different. We know being different is a wonderful blessing.

Well, he’s saying to Felix here, according to the way which they call a sect, which is what he belonged to it, so I worship (I serve), the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. Hang on a minute! Christ has already died. This is years later. Paul’s preaching and he’s saying he believes all the things written in the law and the prophets? I though the law was done away? You’d think people would read that and say, “Something is wrong here. Paul was obviously deceived and that Christ didn’t do away with the law.” Surely. Logic. (Shouldn’t use the word logic because it’s the carnal mind.) But, just, doesn’t that tell you everything? It’s not done away. Paul is now preaching everything that is written in the law and the prophets, the minor prophets. That’s what he’s out there talking about.

Verse 15—I have hope in God, which we do, which they, the prophets, themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of dead. It says “the dead” in some Bibles but the word “the” has been added. But the resurrection of dead, both of just, to spirit, and unjust, to physical life. So there is a resurrection. There’s a time where people are going to be resurrected.

So, being so, I myself also serve [strive] to have a conscience, which is moral thinking, without offense towards God and men. So to strive is to exercise. Now, that’s what we do. That’s what people are going to do in the Last Great Day. They’re going to have to exercise, strive to control self, got to exercise moral thinking. So we don’t want to offend God, disobey God, but we don’t want to offend man, others, by our selfishness. So that’s the battle.

Acts 24:24—And after some days, dropping further down. And after some days then Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, which means of Judah, he (Felix) sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith of Christ, what Paul believed.

Verse 25—Now as he, Paul, reasoned about—now, what did he reason about?—righteousness. Righteousness is Gods thinking. Its God’s thinking. He reasoned about it. ...self-control... so he’s talking about this need for self-control, which is to master one’s desires. Another word is temperance. Now, he’s reasoning with someone that’s unconverted (Felix), but Felix was interested, and Paul is telling him about what righteousness is and he’s telling about self-control, the need to control self. You can imagine the response. People thinking, “Control self?” Don’t even know what they’re talking about. But people understand what self-control really is on a different level, not spiritually.

...and the judgment to come. He’s talking about the Last Great Day. He’s telling Felix there is a time where people will be resurrected to a judgment, a hundred year period, a separation from Satan. So this is why it’s so much easier for those in this Last Great Day, this hundred year period, because they are separated from Satan. They’ve experienced Satan, most, not all, and now they are now in this time where there is no Satan and the world is different.

Felix was afraid and answered, Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call you. You can understand. He was afraid, all right. Why would you be afraid? Because here you’re seeing what righteousness is considered (God’s thinking), self-control and a judgment to come. “And I’m the governor?” It’s a bit scary for him.

Well, we understand further down it talks about that really Felix’s motive was that he had hoped that Paul would give him money and then Felix would be able to let him go. He was thinking, “Well, if I wait long enough he’ll come back with a bribe,” because that’s the culture. You buy your way out of everything. Now, we understand that two years later Felix was replaced by Festus, therefore, things changed as life does.

I want to read the 13th Truth, the resurrection to judgment, which God revealed to Mr. Armstrong about this judgment, which is an exciting, exciting time, that it’s not all over for those that died in the wars and those that have died of cancer when they’re 4 or 5 or 6, all these deaths that take place, all these children that are dying, all these adults that are dying, all the stupidity of war, all the millions of people that have died because of war, and are still dying in Syria and all these different places. It’s horrendous what’s really going on. They have no idea about this, this great act of mercy.

Because the Last Great Day is truly an incredible act of mercy towards mankind. Why? Because God desires a family and it’s done through mankind, it’s done through humans, a family from humans. Now, this is why this Last Great Day is so incredible. This is the greatest potential for mankind out of mainly 6,000 years and then some out of the 1,000 years to be given this opportunity to enter Elohim. It will be much easier than what it is now with the 144,000 (nearly sealed to that point), that have been worked with because they’ve had Satan in their life. It’s difficult. This is much easier when things are different.

13 (10) The resurrection to judgment. The resurrection to judgment is the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20). This period of judgment covers 100 years and follows the time of the Millennial reign of Christ on earth. God has not been trying to “save” the world over the past 6,000 years... That’s not what man thinks. It’s not what all the religions think. They think you die and go somewhere, where reality is you die and you go to the dust of the ground waiting for a resurrection. ...and billions who have not had the opportunity for salvation during that time will have it at this coming time of judgment. A time to make a choice between good and evil.  Their time for salvation is coming. Over this time of judgment, those resurrected to a second physical life will have to prove (by a choice) that they want to live different than they did in their first life.

It is a time to choose good or evil. It’s a beautiful truth that we have, the world doesn’t have. This time of the Last Great Day is covered in a resurrection. It starts with a resurrection. Before we get into that you can be turning to Ezekiel 37, which the vast majority understand that Ezekiel 37 is talking about a resurrection, describing a physical thing, to a resurrection to a second life.

But I want to set a scene first. There is a resurrection first of all of millions to spirit on this day. Now, we’re not sure of all the timing, whether its spirit, physical, physical, we’re not sure. God hasn’t revealed that yet. But there is a physical resurrection, which we’re going to cover, but there is a spiritual one because more are added to Christ and the 144,000 for a purpose – to work with this great group of people. Millions will still remain physical from the end of the 7,000 years period. So there are millions.

Now, they would have been taught about this resurrection. The purpose of the Millennium is to get ready for this day. So there is a 1,000 year period of re-education, which is the most important thing, massive physical change that’s going to take place, ready for this one day. This is going to be so exciting in so many ways.

As a spirit being knowing what God is doing over this hundred year period, and for those that live on that have made the earth ready, from the housing and many other things we know nothing really about. But you imagine it? That the excitement, saying, this day is coming, this Last Great Day that we understand, that we’ve been celebrating in the seventh month, that we understand it, it’s about to come. It’s coming next year!

Can you imagine the excitement? Can you imagine the preaching and the organization that has to take place for all this to take place? Because millions of people from all different cultures and all different languages and different understanding, different concepts, different pollutions of the mind are going to be resurrected. Millions of people! Incredible!

So that’s the scene that we’re entering. Then this takes place. Ezekiel is in a vision, in some ways, because, again, there’s a lot of symbolic language used here. It’s called, “The dry bones live,” which we know only God can do.

Ezekiel 37:1—The hand of the Eternal came upon me and brought me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones, which are all these dry bones. Now, this is, we understand, that there are people all over the earth in graves, in the bottom of the sea. They’re everywhere, as it talks about in Revelation 20. So this is symbolic and it’s pointing to something. Dry bones means they’ve been there a long time. Some of them have been there for over 6,000 years, been there. But they’re going to be resurrected. So it’s been a long period of time.

We understand that it’s just not one little location, but this is pointing to a valley of dry bones. Well, we know there’s not just one valley of dry bones, that it’s all over the world there are dead people.

And He caused me to pass by them and all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. They’d been there a long, long time; we understand 7,000 years. And He said to me, Son of man, how can these bones live? Well, you think of that, human, well, they can’t really, can they? It requires God. They can’t do anything about it themselves. So I answered, O LORD God, You know. Because God knows. Because He’s got a plan. We know. We know. Isn’t that an incredible blessing? We know.

Again He said to me, Prophesy, which is “tell” to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Eternal! Remember what Christ said? It’s what he said. “One day, don’t be surprised, those in the graves will hear his voice,” which is what God is saying. Thus says the LORD God (Yahweh Elohim) to these bones: Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Eternal.

Just place yourself there. You’ve lived thousands of years ago, whatever it is, you’ve lived. Now you’re resurrected and it says, “Now you will know that I am the Eternal.” Well, you would, because you’re going to turn around and go, “Hang on a minute!” You’ve got a mirror. “Something is wrong! I died when I was eighty-five. I had arthritis,” or “I had no teeth left and I’m whole, no illness, don’t feel any pain? All those aches and pains I had, that’s all gone?” You will know. Beautiful thing that now you will know. Because you will know, “Ah, something is wrong.” There has to be a God, obviously. “It’s not my God that I worship.” There’s got to be something wrong because they don’t know anything about a resurrection to life, not to physical life. You go, “Hang on a minute! The ground, the birds...” It’s going to be incredible! They will know. They’ll know because of this resurrection and they will come to know (over time), the truth of God, which we understand part of it.

So I (Ezekiel) prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; now, this is symbolic, talking about leading to a concept, and the bones came together, bone to bone. And indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. So there is no spirit of man in them. They’re basically dead. But there’s still no spirit of man, there’s no life in them. They’re just dead like they were when they died. They died.

Verse 9—So He said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the LORD God, who has the power. That’s what this really boils down to. It’s God that has the power to do this. He is the author of life and death. Come from the four winds, and breathe the breath on these slain, that they may live. It’s a beautiful thing. So I prophesied as He commanded and breath (life) came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

You’re talking about billions of people from every tribe and every nation, not resurrected in confusion but in order. Now, we know that it’s not possible to resurrect millions and billions of people in one little area. Everyone would be standing on top of each other. God’s not the author of confusion. It’s going to be done in an orderly manner. We don’t even know exactly yet. It hasn’t been told to us exactly how, the order, how it all happens. We know there is a resurrection on a day where people will be given life, have the opportunity to then know the truth. That is the main point, to know the truth, to have an opportunity to enter Elohim, because prior to that the majority have been in deception.

Verse 11—Then He said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel, remember, it’s symbolic talking about everybody. They indeed say, Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, which is true. They have no hope. As people get older in this world and they see and experience the evil of the world, the majority, this is what they come to, “Our hope is lost. There is no hope.”

My father was an atheist, and when he died he had fear in his mind that is hard to describe to you. I could see it. Because, you see, hope is lost. If you’re an atheist that’s it, it’s all over. Well, I knew, that I think he was hoping that there was more, because his hope was totally lost. If you’re an atheist and don’t believe in a God your hope is lost. It’s all over. And it happens quickly, all of a sudden you’re seventy and you’re very ill and you can’t move. You know you’re pointless, it’s pointless life and everything’s pointless and then you’ve got time to what? Think. If you’re bed ridden, and he was bed ridden for seven or eight years in total, what do you think he could do most days? Think. It’s torture of the mind. “Maybe there’s something more... But, no, there’s not.” He is what he is and he is who he is and he’ll be resurrected and, “Now I know there is a God!” He doesn’t know now.

The other side of it, my mother believed in a God, the false one. Didn’t understand. Being resurrected, she’s going to say, “Now I know there is a God,” because she’s not in heaven; she’s on earth physical. It’s marvelous! It’s a wonderful thing that we know. What a peace of mind it gives us.

So they all say, “Our hope is lost.” There is nothing in life at all without the knowledge of the truth. What’s the point of life, this physical life, if you look at it, if this is all there is, without the truth? We have the truth, they don’t. Well, people come to that conclusion, many come to that conclusion in the end that it was all a bit of a wasted exercise. All those that die with a lot of money, in the end they know they’ve got all this money and they’ve got all this family and people that are going to fight over their wealth. You think, “Well, maybe you’re better off without it.” But they’ve lived the life of (so-called) luxury, which is not luxury, really, at all. It’s just selfishness, pleasing self, satisfying, you know, make yourself more comfortable.

Well, we have something. We have the truth. Well, now they’re going to have the opportunity to have the truth.

...and we ourselves are cut off! They’ve come to the point of humility. So they’re resurrected, and now humility kicks in because if a person doesn’t have humility you can’t teach them anything because of pride. Remember, we read before where Christ said you’ve got your pride so high it’s reached heaven. Because you’re unteachable, totally unteachable.

Well, now people are going to be humble because they know they’re different. The soldier that lost his leg in the war and the last thing he looked down and saw was his knee, down to the knee and blood pumping out. All of a sudden it’s back: “How did that happen?” They’ll know.

Verse 12—Therefore, prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Eternal God, Behold, O My people... Now, they have never been God’s people. And we know that this is talking about Israel because now these people have the chance to enter spiritual Israel, which is where we are. We’re spiritual Israel. Have an opportunity to see the truth once God provides them the gift of His holy spirit.

“O My people,” because everybody is God’s people when you look at it. We’re humans and we have the potential to enter Elohim, but we’re still people of God. Now they have this opportunity, they’re resurrected, and death separates. So it’s a brand new start, brand new start, and now they are God’s people because they have this opportunity. They have never known God but now they have this opportunity.

I will open your grave and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Now, we know spiritually this points to the Church, spiritual Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Eternal. The only way somebody can know that God is God on a spiritual level is to be called and given God’s holy spirit. It’s the only way to know God. Other than that it’s just physical knowledge. Physical knowledge is useless, really is. Spiritual knowledge is everything. Well, now these people have been given this opportunity, Then you shall know I am the Eternal, when I have opened your graves. They’re going to know it.

O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My spirit in you – that’s the big difference. That’s the beauty of this hundred year period. The Last Great Day is about God’s spirit, which makes the difference. Otherwise it’s just a hundred years of physical life and then death again. What’s the point? None. God is not like that. God is merciful. God wants a family. God will have a family. Whether we’re in it and whether others are in it, it’s a personal choice by decisions we make, choosing good or choosing evil. Choice is ours. No different for them.

I will put My spirit in you and you shall live. It’s beautiful. And I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Eternal, have spoken it and performed it, says the Eternal. So without placing God’s holy spirit in them there is no change, really, they’re just back to physical life. The most important thing is this transformation that must take place in the mind. We need God’s spirit to transform the mind.

If you’d like to turn to Isaiah 65, which is truth that Mr. Armstrong saw about this period. This is also written in a way of a rhyme, in some ways, when you read it. When we read it we can understand what God is talking about. He’s pointing to a time where there’s a resurrection to life, which Christ talked about, a time of judgment.

Isaiah 65:20—No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days. Now, if you look at the first part of that, “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,” and then if you drop one down it says, For the child shall die one hundred years old, because that’s the connection. That’s why, if you see, there’s a split in it.

Then you go back and say, “Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days,” But the sinner one hundred years old shall be accursed. There’s an outcome. At the end of it if a person wants to sin they will face (they are many accursed), you’re going to face the second death. So there’s an outcome. This is “set aside for destruction,” based on a personal choice. Everyone’s got to choose.

Now, just something because I’m mathematically inclined: If you look at it you see the Millennium is a thousand years, and then the hundred years is the Last Great Day. You’ve got this thousand years where Christ and the 144,000 are, which is 1,000, then you get a tithe, which is all the people. It’s a time for God. A tithe, 1st tithe belongs to God. 100 years is a tithe. It belongs to God.

So this is about what God is doing in creating a family. It’s set aside as a special time. A tithe is set aside for God, for God’s work. Well, here we see this time is like a tithe – it’s like a tithe – that is set aside for God to do a work. There’s a lot to help. There’s Christ, 144,000, and others that have been given spirit life to help. What a perfect environment for these people because we know there’s a lot of change that is going to take place.

This is a time of protection and security, a guarantee of a hundred years. They shall build houses and inhabit them. Why? Because previously (drop down to verse 22), “they shall not build and another inhabit,” like what happened previously. In the first 6,000 years guess what people did? They built a house and someone else inhabited it. They died. Someone else took it over or someone took it from them. Now a days we’d call it banks repossessing. But that’s not going to happen. It won’t happen. This is about a family, it’s about cooperation, different attitude that’s taking place all around the world.

They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Prosperity is going to be given. All a promise from God. That’s a promise from God. That’s what’s going to happen. It will happen. It will happen.

They shall not build and another inhabit, like what has happened before. They shall not plant and another eat. No, this is about family and sharing. For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people. There won’t be any more war. So things are going to be totally different.

And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. Their labor, whatever they do, it’s going to be given blessings from God because God is the one that can bless and pour our blessings.

Verse 23—They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble. There will be no more children born in this time because it’s got to come to an end. We’ve had 7,000 years, well, that’s the end of it. Now we’ve got a period of time where people are resurrected to have an opportunity to live a hundred years, to have a life, to make a choice. It’s got to stop somewhere. This is where it stops, the hundred years – no more children will be born.

For they, the descendants of the blessed of the Eternal, which the word “shall be” is added there. But you can see it. You’re talking about generations of families. Now, genealogy, you can imagine that. Imagine if you were in the hundred years and you were resurrected and people that were before you, you’d be able to trace your genealogy by talking to people, and you might be shocked about what you find as you go along, what people did and where you really came from. You’ll end up with Adam and Eve. That’s where everyone ends up or you’ll end back with Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and the wives. That’s where we all came from, somewhere.

Well, also you look at all that and all the young children and all the adults and everybody is of a main age, and then there are children. Families. There is going to have to be organization. Things are worked out. God has already worked it all out. It’s all ready. It’s all going to be prepared, and therefore, it’ll be provided for them. It won’t be done in confusion. But it’ll be an exciting time, hearing other people’s stories. It’ll be an exciting time talking about the future knowing that you’ve got a hundred years to choose good, choose the right thing, hundred years. The encouragement that’s going to come from the God Family walking the earth, helping, encouraging, and the blessings that God is going to pour out on people in that time, things that we can’t fully comprehend. We live it or we’re there to see it. Fantastic!

Continuing on verse 23—For they, the descendents of the blessed of the Eternal, and their offspring with them. Many generations living at the same time, family being reunited; relations are now possible based on God’s spirit. Family. We’re family. We think differently about each other than what we would have someone in the world. It’s because we’re family. Here we have this opportunity. These people have an opportunity to build really strong relationships based on God’s holy spirit.

Verse 24—It shall come to pass that before they call, I answer. Well, that’s not really just saying that God’s going to give all the answers. No, on a spiritual level, if you look at it, we have questions. Well, the answer will come. God says He’s going to provide answers because we have a lot of the answers. That’s why we should be at peace. We have a lot of the answers. When people talk about things and people have movies and see things appearing and rattling chains, we know the answer. There is a spirit world out there who is about deception. They can manifest certain things at certain times and do different things to affect the human and laugh. I’m sure they laugh a lot because we’re stupid as humans. Well, the answer has been given to us. How blessed are we?

We know about truth, all the truths that we have. Well, God says He’s going to provide answers for people. So they’ll come up with questions, well, God will provide answers for them through a structured way.

And while they are still speaking, I will hear. So spiritual answers will be given in a timely manner; God knows what to give and when. Now, that is something for us as well, that God knows what to give and when. It’s no different in the thousand years, no different in the hundred years. God knows what to give to who and when. That’s how it’s done. God knows these things.

Verse 25—The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion eat straw like the ox. Now, this is a big change, big change in nature where you see lions eating grass. Like, this is a big change. The dust of the serpent... It can also refer to Satan. They, the animals, which is Satan has no power, shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain. So we know it’s a physical thing, but we know it can be spiritual because Satan is not there anymore. He has no power to hurt anymore because he’s taken away. What a blessing that Satan’s being removed.

Now, this is a guarantee. He says, Says the Eternal. So there’s no destruction. There is no deception. There is no evil spirits. There is no corruption taking place. There is the truth being taught. This is a guarantee of peace and safety.

Isaiah 11:6—The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.  The cow and the bear shall graze; they’re going to eat grass. Their young ones shall lie down with them; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Isn’t this incredible?

Now, people in times past said they wanted to have a pet lion. Well, not as simple as what you might think, because now a days if you’ve got a pet dog you have to walk around with a doggy bag, otherwise you get in trouble. Well, if you’ve got a pet lion and you’re taking it for a walk you’re going to have to have a big doggy bag, a big lion bag or a wheelbarrow. So not that simple! I have a son that has cats, more than one, and the furniture doesn’t last long because of cats. Well, the lion in the house could be a big problem with the big claws down your couch or the walls or the paint. So it’s not that simple.

This is really talking about God intervening to create peace for mankind. It’s a different world. Not that we’re all going to have lions as pets, by any means, but you can see the difference. This is about no destruction, no deception; a change is taking place – a great opportunity for humans to make a right choice.

Verse 8—The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s den, the snake’s den, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. So the nature’s changed. They, the animals, shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain. So we’ve got a hundred year period where there is peace, great peace for humans and for animals. No more destruction.

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Eternal as the waters cover the sea. Everybody will know that God exists and that God has great power. They now have access to God’s holy spirit, which is the big change. Because changing animals is one thing, a great thing God can do, but this human mind being changed is a really difficult thing because it’s about choice. The person has to want to choose it. God won’t force us, whereas the animals are going to be changed - automatic. We’re different. We’re going to be given a choice to change. Opportunity is there, what will we choose? Now everyone will have access to God’s thinking but it’s still going to require a choice individually.

Verse 10—And in that day, that hundred year period, there shall be that Root of Jesse, Joshua the Christ, who shall stand as a banner to the people. Because this, remember, is about a King of kings. Christ is now a banner. What’s a banner? If you look back in history with the British (careful the words I use here), but a lot of people would say its stupidity. But they would have the banner and they would have a row of drummers going boom and you walk into battle. Yeah. The first thing you do is you shoot down the banner because they would follow the banner and the drummers. Like, I wouldn’t want to go into war with a drum. No thanks. I don’t want to be carrying the banner either because you’re a target because the opposition knew you’ve got to bring down the banner. That’s what they did. They tried to shoot the person with the banner and get to where the banner is and then you hoist it up, the opposition, and you break it because everyone becomes demoralized. Think, “Oh, we’ve lost!”

So here we see a banner, which is this is where you go. This is someone to look to for the future. We look to Joshua the Messiah. Who shall stand as a banner for the people, for the gentiles shall seek him, they’ll enquire after him, and his resting place shall be glorious. Well, we know. What’s his resting place? We are. We are God’s resting place. We are the resting place of Joshua the Messiah.

We, once called, then repent (by choice), then baptized and had the hands layed on us by a true minister of God and received God’s holy spirit, become His resting place. It will be the same in the future. A choice has to be made. It won’t be easy. Billions of people who will now have the opportunity to have God and Christ dwell in them, they will be glorious because of it.

You look and it and it says here, “and his resting place shall be glorious.” Well, of and by ourselves we’re not glorious, but with God living and dwelling in us we are glorious to God because of God in us. That’s what makes us glorious. Of and by ourselves we’re nothing.

Verse 11—It shall come to pass in that day, the hundred years, the Eternal shall set His hand again a second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, to bring them from spiritual captivity. So it’s a period of time of education. “You were wrong once; now this is the way. Follow this way.” (I won’t continue with the rest of that scripture.) But everyone in the hundred years has to make this choice.

Everyone has had the experience of evil, the majority, and even those in the thousand years have experienced evil because of their own selfishness. They now have the opportunity to exercise good. We can only exercise good by choosing what God dwells in us (as He does), and lives out to the benefit of others.

The only way a person can experience good is if they have God’s holy spirit in them and they have had personal contact with someone that has God’s holy spirit. I understand they won’t understand. But we can experience good by choosing good, which is God’s way.

Here today we’ve chosen good. Fact. The sabbath is good. God created it; He created it good for our benefit. Well, we’ve chosen good. It’s a good choice...a good choice. This hundred years is a time of choice, one way or the other.

I’ll refer to only, during the hundred years, which is in Deuteronomy. “See, I have set before you life and good, death and evil, therefore, choose life.” That’s what God says. They have a choice to make same as during the thousand years, same as we have today.

John 7:37. Now, this is Christ speaking, But on the (it says “in” but it’s “on”) the last day, that great of the Feast, Joshua stood and cried saying, If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink. The banner – come to him. The only way we can receive God’s holy spirit is through accepting, which we’ve read, the sacrifice of Joshua the Messiah. It’s the only way. Passover, the execution of judgment, that period. We’ve got to accept that we have a way to cover sin. God covers it for us through that death.

Here we have Christ saying, verse 38—he who believes in me, has faith in what has taken place, as the scripture has said, Out of His mind, out of His thinking, will flow rivers of living water. Now, that’s only done by the power of God’s holy spirit. God will do the work in and through the person, by accepting Christ as our Passover sacrifice.

Verse 37—But this is spoke concerning the spirit, talking about God’s holy spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive, which we have received, for the holy spirit was not yet given. So here is Christ saying something that refers to a period of the Last Great Day. It’s about this access to God’s holy spirit because that’s the big difference. The holy spirit had not been given because Joshua the Christ was not yet glorified. So he hadn’t been put to death yet. But it was a promise that the Father was to give.

Isaiah 12:1—And in that day you will say, O Eternal, I will praise You. Though You were angry with me, because of sin, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. The comfort comes from God’s holy spirit which enables us to know the truth. So we’re comforted by that.

Verse 2. We should have great confidence in this. Behold, God (El) my salvation. It is God that is saving us through Christ. I will trust and not be afraid; For Yah, which is “Yahweh”, the Eternal, the Self Existing One, the LORD, same word “Yah,” “Yahweh,” my strength and song. Now, we know He’s our strength because having God in us is the opportunity, how we do good. “My song,” which is giving credit. We glorify God for what He’s doing for us.

Well, in the hundred years, exactly the same, the credit will go to God. They will know. Having physical life again, living twice and knowing it’s going to be a hundred years, they know that God is the only one who could have done this. So they’re going to sing a song. The glory is going to go to God. “Look what God’s doing for me, individually, based on my choices.”

He also has become my salvation. Because before they never had an opportunity for salvation, but now “He has become my salvation.” The only way I can be saved is because God has called me and placed me in the hands of Joshua the Messiah. It’s the only way. The head of the Church, my High Priest, that’s the only way that I can be saved. They’re going to know this same thing, very same thing. “He,” God, “has become my salvation.” No one else can save us. No matter what there’s nothing else that can save us but God through Christ.

Verse 3—Therefore, with joy you will draw water, which is we need God’s holy spirit. We have to draw on that, on that in us, we have to draw on it, which means use it. Let God live through us. It has to happen to us. We do it with joy. ...from the wells of salvation. The only way to be saved is having God’s holy spirit, is another way to put it.

Verse 4—And in that day, the Last Great Day, you will say, Praise the Eternal, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted. So now they’re resurrected they will give all the credit to God. It will be burned in people’s brains. If something like this happened to us we would give all the credit to God because we know there’s something different. Whether it’s eyesight or whatever it is, we’d go, “Ah, something’s happened.” Well, only God can do that.

Verse 5—Sing to the Eternal, for He has done excellent things. Yep! He’s resurrected me, provided me a way for sin to be forgiven, made us as humans with the potential for a future life in Elohim.

This is known in all the earth. So everybody is going to know about it. Everyone is going to know about God and God’s ways because everyone’s got to make a choice with what they want to do.

Verse 6—Cry out and shout, O inhabitants of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst! God in us. It’s great. It’s a wonderful thing. Mankind knows nothing about it.

Better work towards a conclusion. I haven’t got as far as I thought.

Isaiah 55:1—Ho! (Listen!) Everyone who thirsts, for God’s way, come to the water; and you who have no money, come, buy, and eat. Spiritual things cannot be purchased so no matter what money we have or we don’t have this is saying, well, you can’t purchase it, you can’t buy this, so just come, come as it is, come as you are and be changed, have access to God. You can’t buy it. Your money is not going to do anything. It’s a spiritual purchase that does not require physical money. It’s a spiritual thing. Well, we know we’ve been purchased. We’re actually owned by someone else – Joshua the Messiah. We’ve been purchased. We’re a purchased possession. We’ve been bought. But fortunately God has called us, now we know that, therefore, our loyalties belong to God and to Christ because we’re a purchased possession. God purchased us through Christ.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money, without price. Because the truth is freely given by God. We don’t have to buy it or have money. Whether we have money, in the Church or not, all irrelevant, God’s going to provide truth, but it is based on our choices. He will give more if we choose that way. We can go against it.

Verse 2—Why do you spend money for what is not bread, so all this physical stuff, it’s a waste of time. It’s not spiritual food, in other words. ...and your wages for that which does not satisfy? It’s not spiritual. Listen carefully to Me, says the Eternal, and eat what is good, spiritual food, and let your life delight in its abundance. So this is what’s going to take place during the Last Great Day. “Listen to Me,” listen to God, what God’s got to say. The rest of the physical things don’t matter. The purpose of life is going to be very obvious to those in that period, very, very, very obvious. They’ll know they’ve been guaranteed a hundred years. It’s obvious there are choices to be made. What great encouragement to do the right thing and to choose the right thing.

“Listen to Me,” listen carefully to Me, “and eat what is good,” spiritual food, “and let your life delight itself in abundance,” the abundance of the truth. Incline your ear, and come to Me.

Hear, and your life shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant/agreement with you—

The sure mercies of David, because David will be king over Israel. We know that. It’s written in scripture that David was a physical king, well, he’s going to be a spiritual king as well.

Indeed I have given him (David) as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. We know it was physical, but it’s going to be spiritual as well. Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you, talking about David. So David is going to be glorified and made a spirit being and going to be king.

Seek the Eternal while He may be found. Now, this is a great scripture for the hundred years. “Seek the Eternal while He may be found.” Because when the hundred years is up – one way or the other there’s no more finding God; it’s over, the choice has been given, a hundred year period. What a great blessing a hundred year period is.

Call upon Him while He is near. While He’s there, the truth is there, there’s Joshua the Messiah, 144,000, and thousands of others, well, you’d best now seek it now while it’s here. Don’t become complacent, which is the biggest test. Laodicea is the biggest test for everybody, become complacent. This is the norm! After a hundred years you can imagine some of the thinking? Because after thirty years it’s all normal – the lions walking around eating grass, and people getting older, and everyone’s got housing, and there’s big fruit, and the weather’s changed, and this is the norm. Just like Laodicea, this is the norm. All the truth? It’s just the norm. Doesn’t everyone think this way? And you become complacent; it’s no longer seeking God.

Well, God says in verse 6, “Seek the Eternal while He may be found,” while He is there. Call upon Him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way (repent), and the unrighteous man his thoughts. It’s time to think differently. Let him return to the Eternal. Now, that word “return” is “go back to the starting point.” Now, when you’re resurrected and you’re given a hundred years of life you go back to the starting point. The starting point is a new life, starting point. Well, let’s go to there and let’s start and move forward from there. ...and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

Verse 8—For My thoughts are not your thoughts. So when we’re resurrected, or those that are resurrected at that time – I don’t really want to be in that resurrection so I hope I’m not there, but, hey. For My thoughts are not your thoughts. Well, we know that now. We know our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. ...nor are your ways My ways, says the Eternal. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways (good) higher than your ways (evil)—they’re totally different—and My thoughts (love) than your thoughts (selfishness). Totally different. There is no comparison. They’re not connected. You know, they’re just so far apart you can’t see either, they’re far apart.

So we will conclude on this sermon of the Last Great Day.

Millions will enter this incredible time period where they must make a personal choice to go one way or the other. They’re either going to be under God’s government or under their own rule. Satan and his demons are not around to deceive. What a great blessing. What a wonderful time.

This future time period, the Last Great Day, is about a time of personal choice. Those in this hundred years must come to see or know good and evil. They’re going to have to work it out. It’s here. It’s a spiritual matter. Those that choose good will be changed to spirit and those that choose evil will be destroyed.

Then comes this execution of judgment, which is the second death. Revelation 21:3—And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them and they shall be His people. God Himself will be in or with them, which is in them, and be their God, which is the end result. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, because it’s done away. With no more death there’s no more sin. ...nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain. For the former things have passed away. There are no more battles within the mind. None. Isn’t that a great thing? Imagine no more battles about selfishness. No more having to choose good or evil. No choice; we’re set in God’s way because we’ve entered Elohim.

Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write these things; these words are true and faithful. And He said to me, It is done, which means God’s plan in creating His spirit family to be like Himself is now finished – God dwells in them. That’s it; God dwells in them. They think one way. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I give the fountain of water of life freely to him who thirsts. It will never be cut off, never stop. There is now a new purpose revealed for His family, which we only know little bits of. But there’s a future for all of those in God’s family.

We are no longer begotten sons of God because we’ve been born of God. We are no longer heirs but we have inherited. No longer any physical or selfish mind. No longer made of the dust of the ground, but now spirit with a mind of love in complete unity with our Father, Yahweh Elohim.

I think it’s just incredible and I look forward to that day, as you do. Well, the Last Great Day covers this opportunity for mankind to make a choice. We’ve got a choice now.

Revelation 21:8, a final scripture. But, there’s a “but” because we’ve looked at all the positive part of it, but there is an outcome, there is an execution of this judgment. But the cowardly, those who will not fight the battle in their mind during that hundred year period, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars... because when we act out a role, we pretend we’re part of the Church and we’re acting out a role, we are liars and there is a consequence for lying ...shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death, which is the end of the Last Great Day.

There is a time where judgment, there’s a final outcome, the execution of it. Just like when you look back at Egypt there was, here is all this, but in the end there’s an outcome. Bang! It was called death of the firstborn. Well, here we see the death of those that do not want God’s way, who do not want to be part of a family, and it was because of their choice.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1