Herbert W Armstrong

   The Feast of Tabernacles is a very interesting feast. We are told that we were to keep a feast for seven days, and then that it was eight days. It's a funny way it's explained. If you'd turn to Leviticus 23, verses 33 through 36 and verse 39. Leviticus 23:33-36, 39. Leviticus 23, 33 through 36 and verse 39.

   And it says, "The Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, the fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day there is to be a holy convocation, and you shall do no servile work.'" However, in other scriptures we find that we are entitled to prepare food. "And seven days they would offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord," which the Apostle Paul explained that the offering part of the originally the Old Testament had been superseded by Christ's offering, so we don't do that.

   And then at the end of verse 36, or the middle of it, it says, "On the eighth day there will be a holy convocation unto you." Now, you know, that's a funny thing to say, isn't it? Keep a feast for seven days, and then on the eighth day have a holy convocation. And you begin to wonder whether you should send an abacus to the person in order that they may figure it out. Who knows? Gordon grins from ear to ear. He knows what an abacus is — a little thing the Chinese use with little round things that slide along to count up with.

   "And you can do no servile work on that eighth day." And then in verse 39, it says, "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land..." Now, that is an important statement in the understanding of the Feast of Tabernacles. After the large autumn harvest period, they were to keep a harvest festival, as it were. They were to keep a feast under the Lord seven days. "On the first day there shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day there shall be a Sabbath."

   And so you get this strange explanation repeated twice: that a feast shall be kept for seven days, or two holy days — one on the first day and one on the eighth day. And the sort of the mind goes into a blocked gear trying to figure out, well, how could you ever have a feast for seven days like that?

   Well, I think we understand why it is that the feast is tied together in this way, with a seven-day period picturing one period of time, and then another day tacked on to the end, also a holy day, picturing another period of time. It is, of course, the great harvest festival, and it's said, "when you have gathered in the fruit of the land." It's the harvest festival picturing the time of the great harvest of ingathering in God's plan — the period of time when God is going to set His hand to the salvation of all who have ever lived, at least the vast majority. Everybody who wants to have a part in God's family will by then be able to.

   Now, the reason that it's divided into seven days and then one day, and explained in this rather peculiar fashion, is that the first seven days picture a thousand-year period of time. Seven days is a complete week. A thousand years is a complete block of time, which the Apostle Peter said was like a day to God. And we understand that there have been 6,000 of God's days — six of God's days, I mean, 6,000 years. And then we come into the seventh day of God, which is pictured by the week of the Feast of Tabernacles.

   And then the eighth day, which is the Last Great Day — and it really is, as we will find out — the Last Great Day is so much more exciting and challenging and has an enormously greater meaning even than the Feast of Tabernacles itself, because it's just an unbelievably greater event that it pictures. So we have the eighth day picturing the final completion of God's salvation plan. The seven days picture the millennium, the thousand years, and then the eighth day pictures the final completion of the harvest, or the salvation plan.

   The Last Great Day pictures the period outside of the thousand years, beyond the end of it. That's why it's tacked on after the seven days and isn't the last of the seven days — the final part of God's great harvest. So the whole eight days is a picture of harvest. It's a harvest festival, if you want to put it that way. The first seven picture the millennium; the last day is beyond the millennium, outside the millennium, and it's the final great harvest of God.

   And brethren, when we keep these feast days, we are picturing the events, especially in these days, which are the very reason that God has called us. He has called all of the people in His church, right back as I said from Abel, because of the events which lie ahead, which are pictured in this festival's period of time.

   Mr. Armstrong mentioned on the first — on the, I think it was the first night, or certainly on the first holy day — that God has not just called us to receive eternal life. Now, he was talking about the fact that God has called us also to this work which we have to do. But even when we receive eternal life, we have not just been called to receive eternal life. God has not called us simply to keep Christ company in case He should get lonely.

   You know, a lot of us have our minds fixed on the receiving of eternal life, and we think, "Well, that's it. That's what we're here for — to receive eternal life." But it isn't. The receiving of eternal life is simply the beginning of the reason for what we have been called, or for which we have been called.

   And we have been called and should be preparing now — and I want to make this point a few times during this sermon. Mr. Lindoff, at the beginning of the feast, brought up this very important parable about the fact that we have been given talents, and that we should be developing our talents now. And I hope that in the process of what I have to say, you will reflect upon that fact.

   But whoever you are, however you might feel that God has given you just one talent — that might be that if you really made an effort, you could talk to somebody on the Sabbath services. Now, that for some is incredibly hard, and — but that might be the only thing you could do, is to branch out and develop the ability to talk to some other brother or sister at Sabbath services.

   What I'm trying to say is that however tiny you might feel you are, there are things that you can do to prepare yourself. And I hope as I go through you'll realize, boy, if you can just prepare yourself that little bit more than you otherwise might, the future for you could be that much greater, that much more incredible in the potential of what God has for you to do.

   So we should be preparing ourselves now for the awesome responsibilities in reaping the great main harvest of human lives into the family of God. Because as I said, we have not been called to keep Christ company because He might get lonely as He reaps the great end-time harvest. We have been called for that responsibility. We have been called to work with Him and for Him, and I hope that I'll be able to show you a little bit about that.

   Because before us, brethren, lies a task of such magnitude, of such unbelievable challenge and excitement, but our minds can scarcely encompass it. We can hardly understand what it is that God has for us. Even if we sit back and really try to understand it, it's very hard for us. How can we understand the responsibility and the challenge of the work that lies ahead of us?

   I'll tell you one thing: we'll need to be spirit beings by then. Because the work we have to do will be, you know, totally outside of the scope of our ability as human beings. So we'll need to be spirit beings by then, and we will need the power of the living God, which we shall be — not which we shall have, but which we shall be. And the same power that is God will be us, and we will have enormously more power than we have now. We'll need that. We'll need to be spirit, and we'll need to have power to complete the work that we'll have by then to do.

   And that, you know — I realized that the bigger I paint the picture, the more some of you are going to shrink back and say, "Well, I don't really want to do that. If I'd have known I had to do that, I wouldn't have started." That's why I'm emphasizing from the start that you will be spirit, and you will have power, and you will have the mind and attitude of God. But where you begin will depend very largely on what you do now.

   Now, Christ is working out a plan, and He is looking for people to use. He's looking for people who want to help Him. The Father and Christ are actively working toward the fulfillment of their salvation plan, and He is looking to you and to me, brethren, to help Him. He has enormous responsibility. He has an enormous job to do, and He has called you and me to help Him.

   And some of us say, "Well, I don't know, you know, it's a bit more than I bargained for." Well, I hope we can catch the challenge that lies ahead of us and realize that God has called us because we're the ones He wants to use. We're the ones that He wants to use. He wouldn't have bothered to call you if He didn't want to use you. He said He picked all the miserable ones, all the weak ones, all the ones that didn't have anything, and said, "Well, now with you lot, I'm going to show the world what I can do."

   So He'll help you. But we need to realize what lies ahead of us because we should be getting ready now for that period of time.

   So what does Christ have in mind for us, brethren? What are we preparing for now? Why did Jesus Christ call you now, before Christ returns? What did He have in mind when He selected you out of this world for this — at this time — to struggle and fight against Satan, against the world, against yourself, with everything against you?

   Sometimes you — you know, if you're anything like me — you're down on the edge of the bed with your, you know, almost with your hands in the air, but you, you know, with the blood dripping off your fingernails, figuratively speaking, hanging on to the edge of this way of life because you just about feel like you're being dragged right out of it. But, uh, you know, it's worth it. You get over those sort of things.

   Why did God call us now to struggle and fight the way that we have to in order to make it into His kingdom? Well, God is involved in working out a plan that will bring almost every human being who has ever lived into His family. He's involved in a plan. He planned it all from the beginning, and He is gradually and carefully working towards that goal. He's working out a way whereby the majority who have ever lived may become spirit beings, may live forever, and may, you know, get into that glorious plane of being a spirit and having the tremendous challenge and excitement of what all that offers to them. And we have been called to help Him. We have been called to work with Him in that responsibility.

   Let's first of all look at I Timothy 2, verses 3 and 4. I Timothy 2:3-4.

   I've often wondered what it would be like to be a missionary in Africa or India or someplace like that. I just pick those at random, you know, working away all your life with about 15 people that have come to your little mission hut school or whatever it is, and the day you leave, they go back to the paganism that they had before when the free feed ends. You know, now I'm taking an extreme, but I, you know, I can't imagine anything more frustrating than the desire to save the world now and having the concept that what you don't do now will never be done. Because it must really blow the mind, especially in some countries where people struggle away, and when they finally are kicked out by the government that may come in at some stage of the game, everybody just forgets about what they ever learned in many, many cases.

   But God is not setting His hands to save the world now, as well we know. In I Timothy 2, it says — and verse 3 — he says, "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior," reflecting on to the first two verses. And then there's a statement that I wanted to get to: that God our Savior "will have all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth."

   Brethren — it is God's purpose, His plan, to reveal the truth to everybody who has ever lived. He hasn't forgotten the millions and billions who have lived down through the years. He hasn't forgotten the people who will live in the future years. He has a plan which will bring the salvation opportunity to everybody who ever lived. And the only people who won't be in the kingdom of God are those who willfully and of their own desire turn the offer down. There won't be anybody who didn't know. There won't be anybody who was deceived by the time the plan is all over.

   And we have been called and are being prepared to play a tremendously responsible role in the fulfillment of this great salvation plan. Christ is not going to do the job Himself. He is going to delegate enormous responsibility and accountability.

   So when Christ returns to the earth in the very near future with the sound of the last great trumpet, we are going to be resurrected. And we are going — or else we're going to be changed. Some of us, you know — I can't imagine what it'd be like to be still alive and suddenly to become a spirit being. I reckon as you went sort of floating up into the air — because gravity didn't have any sort of hold on you any longer — you'd be dancing and kicking and hooting and hollering and jumping up and down. And every time you jumped up, you'd sort of go another hundred feet into the air. I'm not sure what it would be like.

   All I know is we'll be floating around trying to get used to it, and the angels will come and gather us up and take us to where Christ is. And then all the whole structure of His plan will be explained, and our part in it will be explained.

   But we'll have glorious power by then, brethren. We'll be spirit beings. We won't be limited like we are now. We'll have enormous ability and capacity. But at the same time, the place that Christ can first use us in will depend on what we do now. And the amount of work we start with will have a very great bearing on the amount that we finish with as the years go by. I think that's obvious — that if you can get into a higher position now, then you'll be in a higher position then, you know, within what you do. Now, that doesn't mean that the actual position is so important; it's what you do with yourself, how much you have prepared yourself within what you have. That seems to be the important thing.

   All right, I John 3:2, just to firstly mention that there is a plan for the salvation of all mankind, and secondly, to show that we are to become spirit beings as Christ and God are spirit. You know, I — whenever I prepare a sermon like this, I realize that I could pass all these steps without looking some of them up. But on the other hand, there might be somebody here who doesn't really believe me. And if you don't believe me and you see it in the Bible, well, you've got the problem, and I haven't. If I just say it and you don't believe me, well then I guess we've both got the problem, so...

   I John 3:2, it says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God." Those of you who have the Spirit of God in you are already the sons of God. "And it does not yet appear what we shall be." You can't see it, and I guess you can't really even understand it. I guess some of you lie awake at night trying to figure out what it would be like to have a glorious body composed of spirit, so that your face shone like the sun and your voice boomed like great waves lashing against the sea wall, and you had all this power, and you could, you know — and you kind of think, "Well, I think I'll wait and see," you know. It's impossible to really grasp as a human being.

   So he said, "It doesn't yet appear what we shall be, but we know this: that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, and we shall see Him as He is." And we shall be like Him.

   So we know that, brethren, that when Christ shall appear, those who are resurrected at the last trumpet will be like Him. And I didn't write that. That's just there. That's what it says.

   So we are to become glorious, powerful spirit beings at the time of Christ's return. But what are we to do after that? Keep Christ company? Maybe we shall go in for harp playing in a big way, and we shall have a banquet every day, and wherever Christ is and entertain Him so that He doesn't get lonely, He'll have more brothers and sisters. Maybe that's the idea.

   Why have we been called ahead of time to be prepared? You know, I'm asking these questions again and again, but they're important.

   Daniel 7:13-14 gives us an idea of what we're supposed to be preparing ourselves for. Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 and 14.

   Daniel 7 talks about the great empires of men who have tried to rule the world. And I don't need to repeat them. Mr. McCullough told us about them when he was here, and we've heard the various things, I'm sure, from different booklets and articles about these animals that represented great nations of men who tried to rule the world.

   And then it says in Daniel 7 and 13, he said, "I saw in the night visions, and behold, I saw one who was like the Son of Man, and He came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of Days." Now, on this particular occasion, because the two are mentioned, you know straight away that the Son of Man is Christ and the Ancient of Days is God the Father. Just for the record, sometimes Christ is called the Ancient of Days, and you get confused. But in this case, there's no confusion because both are mentioned, and you know quite well who's being talked about.

   And it says that Christ came before God the Father, "and they brought Him near before Him, and there was given to Christ" — there was given to the Son of Man — "dominion and glory and a kingdom, and all people and all nations and all languages should serve Him. And His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom is that which shall not be destroyed."

   That is a description, although it doesn't give you all the details, of the magnificent coronation of Jesus Christ to be King of kings and Lord of lords. And after He's been crowned by God the Father to take over His role, then He will return and take the rule of this world. He's already qualified for it. It's just a matter of the time being right.

   And so Christ is going to be crowned as the King over all other kings on earth, and He is going to wrest control of the whole earth from Satan and his earthly leaders. And Satan has his leaders in control of the earth now. Some of them don't know that. They don't realize that. Some of them do know that, I might add, and some of them do realize that and have given themselves more wholeheartedly than others to Satan's control and Satan's power.

   But He'll take control of Satan, the demons, and the worldly leaders that Satan has put there, and He'll take control to Himself, having been given that by God the Father. And the earth is going to be restored to the rule of God. Christ will rule, and He will restore the earth to the law of God, to the government of God, to the ways of God, and He will gradually bring the entire earth into the knowledge of the truth.

   But brethren, Christ is not going to rule by Himself. He's not going to take that enormous responsibility just by Himself.

   Let's read Daniel 7:27, skipping down. And it says, "The kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High."

   Now, I'd like to read that again out of the New International Version, which I have marked down here, because it just gives it a wee bit more. You'll be able to follow it right, but it just explains it a little bit clearer. It says, "Then at that time, the sovereignty and power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High."

   Brethren, Christ has called you to rule on this earth — in positions of power, in positions of responsibility, in positions not like a king or a queen in this world where all you are is a figurehead, and if the prime minister doesn't agree with you, well, it's too bad for you. In this particular case, we will rule, and we will have the authority under Jesus Christ.

   I wonder if you can imagine what that means, brethren, to you personally. What kind of leadership will it take to inspire a city of people — and perhaps, if you have qualified sufficiently, even a whole nation of people — to abandon their ingrained and deeply embedded pagan customs and come around and begin to obey the way of God?

   What kind of leadership will it take to go to a group of people who have never heard, who have just come through one of the most incredible holocausts of earthquakes, of trouble, of war, of death? And finally, having realized that something terrible has taken place, as the nations begin to regroup and find their new leaders, you show up as the one who is to convince them that they should begin to obey God.

   And you have to change the leaders. You have to take control. You have to begin to rule from the top down. You'd have to dismiss many people who, of their own vanity and their own natural leadership, had become the leaders of the community because their attitudes might not be the ones that you wanted. And you would have to have the discernment and the understanding to know people sufficiently and to judge righteous judgment and to pick the people who would serve God over a period of time.

   You have to find that out. You know, you're not just going to walk in there and "There's another city, God. I've done it. I walked in and I snapped my fingers, and it's all done." Because all those people will still have free will. They'll still be individuals. They'll have deeply ingrained pagan customs and habits. It'll be a very huge responsibility to teach them in the way that they should go.

   And we have to learn to discern character and leadership as the millennium unfolds and as our responsibilities are given to us. And of course, we can begin to do these things now. We have to learn to inspire confidence in our leadership. We'll have to do that when the time comes.

   They won't have any clue who you are when you show up — knock on the door, you know, or walk through it, whichever you choose — and say, "I have come to rule you." And you will be told in a few words you haven't heard for a few years what you can do and how quickly.

   Now, you don't think the people who have established control over these towns are going to hand it over to you, do you? You might even have to be very hard-nosed about some of them and have them removed forcibly. Because they won't like you for a while, and it'll take a lot of leadership to convince people to follow you.

   That'll be your responsibility. Christ will say, "Well, you go to it. That's what I've given you. That's your first job. It's that town down there. You go down there and work with them." Maybe depending on how you've qualified.

   And we have to learn to make some pretty tough decisions by that period of time. And we'll have to learn to be responsible for our actions and our choices. And you know, I've noticed one thing being in God's church: that the longer you're in the church, the more God holds you responsible for the actions and the choices that you make. Because He wants you to learn to be responsible for your decisions.

   When you first come into the church, He picks you up out of every little trouble spot you get into — or it seems like it. But the longer you're around, the more He leaves you in the troubles you get yourself into, so that you can learn that what you do is going to have a comeback, and you'd better be responsible for your actions and your decisions and what you think about and what you decide to do.

   So we are going to have enormous responsibility and enormous accountability to Christ for what we do. And we may well appoint some of our children — having removed the leaders that are already there — we may make the decision to appoint some of our children.

   And I just noticed this when Mr. Kelly read it. I'm gonna read the verse again because it says a little bit something that suits me as well as what it says that suited him. Let's turn over to Psalm 45:16.

   Now, we'll have to make some pretty tough decisions there too, because not all of our kids will have prepared themselves for leadership. Not all of our children will have proved their loyalty to God's government. Not all of them will be ready to take great responsibility. But some of them will. Some of them will have reached out toward the opportunity which has been set before them and will have realized that before them lies the exciting challenge that blows the mind. And they won't be prepared to give it up for a quick thrill. They'll be looking out for something that is so magnificent as to be unbelievable.

   And we will have to make the decisions as to who among them is put where, if I read this correctly. In verse 16 of Psalm 45, it says, "Instead of your fathers will be your children, whom you may make princes in all of the earth."

   You may have the opportunity — if you discern that they have the leadership, if you discern that they are ready to take that responsibility, if you discern that they will be loyal to your government under Christ, that they will not try to knife you in the back, that they will do things the way that you want them to do it — then you may appoint them to be princes. You may have to check with Christ: "Is it OK?" But basically, Christ will leave the thing to you. And you'll have to, as you get more and more responsibility, you'll be making some enormous decisions as time goes on, brethren, even about your own children.

   Now, where they go, it's up to them to a certain extent. But part of it will be our decisions as to who the real leaders are and who the people are who will do the job.

   Brethren, Christ will not be making the decisions for the entire earth. I wonder if you can realize that. Christ is going to be King over kings and Lord of lords, but He has called us so that the load can be spread over many, many people — thousands and hundreds of thousands who have been called. You know, at least I guess a couple of hundred thousand. I don't know exactly how many. Probably three thousand at least. I don't know.

   But those people called and prepared by Christ are going to rule with Him. They're not going to be just sort of pencil sharpeners and stamp lickers and running around stamping things that Christ tells them. "Well, here are a heap of papers. I have made the decision; you can stamp them." No. You will have to make incredible decisions as time goes along — great responsibility. And I keep saying "and accountability" because if you have to make the decisions, what happens is up to you, and you'll be responsible and accountable for what happens when you're given the job to do. And that'll be placed on your shoulders under Christ's overall direction and control. And Christ will make the laws and sort of set the direction, but we'll have an enormous responsibility under that.

   Revelation 20, verses 1 through 6. Anybody who says we didn't have a sermon on the feast didn't wait till the Last Great Day. So far we're still talking about the period covered by the feast. Revelation 20:1-6.

   I'm reading the first two or three verses simply to cover the period pictured by the Day of Atonement and bring us up into the period of the feast. Says, "I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having a key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss" — or bottomless pit — "and shut him up, set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he would be loosed again for a little while."

   And then in verse 4, once Satan is removed and locked up for a thousand years, he said, "I saw thrones, and they sat upon them." Who sat upon them? The saints, brethren. You and I and the other of our brothers and sisters down through the years — the prophets, the patriarchs, the ones that God called and used and trained and prepared down through history for this responsibility. We're going to sit on thrones.

   "And judgment was given to them." They had to make decisions, brethren. They had to judge matters. And I'll show you later on that it may even mean more than that. But enormous decision-making as rulers over areas of the world — perhaps beginning quite small as we just get used to the whole idea. But what we do now will depend on where we start as we go along, you know.

   And I think it's very important that we work hard now, because Christ said that in a couple of three different occasions. Well, we have great decisions to make, enormous personal responsibility — always, of course, within the policies and laws that Christ sets, that He will be the supreme ruler of the earth.

   Some will receive greater power and responsibility because of what they have been chosen for and qualified for. And I guess the two things go hand in hand. God Himself chose certain people for positions of great responsibility and prepared them accordingly. But He has also left us with the idea that we can do better by working harder. He's made that quite clear.

   Luke 22:28-30 shows that not everybody is going to begin with a town. It talks about in the parable that Mr. Lindoff mentioned about some people getting one town or city and some people getting a few cities in a group. These individuals who were prepared for great responsibility, striving and struggling in their lives to overcome Satan and to be great leaders — are going to have great responsibility.

   Luke 22, and verse 28 through 30. This is talking to the apostles. And in verse 28, He says, "You are those which have continued with Me in My trials. And I appoint you a kingdom, as My Father has appointed to Me." He said, "I'm going to give you a kingdom to rule over, just in the same way that My Father has given Me a great kingdom to rule over, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

   The apostles are going to be leaders over entire nations right from the start. I wonder what they'll be doing by the end of the millennium. And I wonder where they'll be in a couple of billion years' time, you know, as God begins to extend the plan way on out. But they're going to start over nations, because they worked hard, some of those fellows. And most of them gave up their lives in the cause of the gospel, and they became great leaders, and they learned the lessons of God's way, and they learned to rule God's way.

   But we can have opportunities just to develop whatever talents we have in order that we may have greater responsibility and help Christ more. And I want to make that point, brethren: that the more you can do for Christ, the more you'll be able to help Him. Because He's looking for people to help Him. That's why He called us. He wants people to shoulder the burden with Him. He wants people who He can trust, who have proved their loyalty and who have developed themselves as best they possibly can to do the job that He has for us all to do.

   But brethren, our responsibility doesn't end with government and leadership. Surely that ought to be enough, you know. Here we are — we've got to sit on thrones and rule over the earth. We've got to bring the earth into God's way of life. We've got to bring the nations gradually into God's law so that finally the knowledge of God covers the earth like the water covers the sea. That's our job. That's our responsibility.

   But it doesn't end there. That's just the start. That's the easy part. Well, maybe it isn't. I don't know. I guess it depends on who does what. But we have another even greater responsibility set before us in the challenging future that Christ has.

   Revelation 20, verse 6. Revelation 20:6. We — I only got partway through verse 4, as I recall. I mentioned the judgment was given to us, the saints. "And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years," it says at the bottom. They lived with Him, they ruled with Him on the earth, as it says in other scriptures. But it says, "The rest of the dead didn't live again until the thousand years were finished." That should be in brackets because it's just a thought there.

   And then going back to the verse 4, it says, "This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that has a part in the first resurrection." You might have been called when it's tough, brethren, but you have the greatest blessing that God could ever bestow upon a human being when you were called now. You have challenge and opportunity. You have glory and power. You have an opportunity to be in the very royal ruling family of God for all eternity because Christ called you now. You may have to fight hard now, but boy, I'll tell you, when the rewards start rolling in, you won't know what to do with them — if you've been faithful and loyal and prepared yourself.

   And then it goes on and says, "So blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection. On such the second death has no power." You'll be immortal. There'll be no way that you will die. "But they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him for a thousand years."

   Now, this time it's not talking about ruling as a king; it's talking about being a priest. Because there is another side to our responsibility — not just to rule, but also to preach and to teach and to convert the world in that great time of harvest which Christ is preparing for.

   The great purpose of God is not only to restore God's government, but also to bring the majority of people to salvation. His great purpose is to bring people to the knowledge of the truth, to see them converted, to see them repent, to see them get His Spirit, and to see them changed into spirit beings and become a part of His family. That's the great purpose, the great salvation plan that God has. And our responsibility will also involve worldwide evangelism.

   I wonder if you've ever shut your eyes and tried to imagine yourself preaching a powerful, emotional, converting sermon to 10,000 people. You. With all your little ability that you think you have. When Christ changes you into a spirit and uses the abilities that you've prepared yourself for with, you know, and then changes you and magnifies what you've got, and then you go out and you begin to preach — maybe 10,000. What about 100,000? What about a half a million, if you really worked and you qualified and you grew as a member of the family of God and were a powerful speaker, and God would send you out?

   Because we're going into the time of the converting of the world. Somebody's got to preach the gospel message. Somebody has to bring the truth. Somebody has to get up there and preach to the people and convert them and convict them of this way of life, which is totally the opposite and totally different to the things that most of them have understood over the years.

   But brethren, with God's power, you'll be able to do those things. You know, you — a lot of you sit there thinking, "Well, you know, those young jokers, they got all the fun. They can sit up there and make us feel small." I don't know whether that's the case. I'm not sure who feels the smallest some days. But anyway, regardless of that, you are the ones that Christ is preparing. We are all being prepared for this great conversion of mankind throughout the millennium.

   And you might begin quite small. That's always been God's way — to give people what they can do and let them work with what they can do, and then give them a bit more to see what they'll do with that, and give them a bit more, and gradually extend the responsibility from one area to another. And we grow and develop as we go along.

   But beginning quite small, you'll be responsible for the converting of those who survived through the holocaust into the millennium. So there'll be millions, I suppose, who survive, who are alive. And beginning with them, we will go out to take the gospel message in the way of God and to preach to those people and convict them and offer them the opportunity of God's Spirit and a place in God's family.

   And you may have the responsibility to choose. And then, having checked back, to appoint and ordain human ministers to look after the churches. You know, you may well have to make the decisions as to who the minister should be, what their area should be — you know, all that, the things that are done in your area among the human side of things. But you will be the religious leaders as well as the physical rulers — priests of God and of Christ.

   But even that's not all that you'll have to do. Not only will you have to rule and bring the world into God's way and restore the government of God, and then go out to preach, to convert, and to, you know, get people to believe — because that's the time when they won't be blinded anymore. That's the time when they can understand. It'll probably depend a wee bit on just what you're able to do, how many of them are converted, believe it or not. It may well depend on just how much you do, just how many of them are finally converted.

   But that's not all. We are also going to be involved, if I understand it correctly, in the ultimate decision for the destiny of the humans that we are responsible for.

   Revelation 20:4, which we read — I just want to draw out this one phrase or word that really, when you think about it, shows an even greater responsibility that we might have. In verse 4, he says, "I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them."

   Now, brethren, I wonder if you ever stop to think about what does it mean that Christ has said that judgment is to be given to you. Daniel 7:22 says the same thing. I think it's perhaps worthwhile turning over to get two scriptures saying exactly the same thing so that we are not in doubt about the matter. Just breaking in again to this story about Christ being coronated and crowned as King of kings and so on. In verse 22 of Daniel 7, it says, "Until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High."

   Now, what does it mean to judge the people at that time? Brethren, it says that judgment is now on the household of God. Now, what does that mean to you? That means that you are being judged by Christ as to whether or not you are going to be in His family and whether or not you are going to have eternal life. Doesn't it? Isn't that what it means when it says judgment is now on the household of God? Or when judgment is upon the whole earth and you and I are given the judgment?

   That means that it's not Christ who will make all the decisions about everybody. It means that we will also be involved in counseling with Christ, in talking with Christ, and deciding among the various ones involved as to who it is that should have eternal life and who it is that has not qualified and is not suited and just doesn't want to be involved and still has a chip on their shoulder and shouldn't, you know, hasn't proved any loyalty to God's way of life.

   The judgment that we are involved with now, which is now in the household of God, is whether or not we shall inherit eternal life, and also what our responsibility will be when we get there. It's a twofold sort of a judgment: shall we going to be in the resurrection, and what will we get them to do? You know, what have they achieved? Where have they gone? What have they developed in the way of their talents and abilities?

   Well, of course, those decisions will have to be made by us in the future. At the moment, of course, Christ is making those decisions about us. It says that in John 5:22. It's not God the Father making those decisions now, but Christ, as far as we are concerned.

   John 5:22. You see, when God in His system of government delegates responsibility, He really delegates the whole thing, brethren. When He wants you to do a job, He just doesn't send you out to do exactly what He says — every comma, every full stop, every everything. He gives you the job once He's prepared you for it and once you've proved that you can do it. Then gradually He gives more and more and more responsibility.

   Now, when Christ proved His absolute loyalty, even to death, in totally fulfilling God's will during His ministry on earth — not doing anything that He wasn't told, you know, He had to qualify, prove Himself — but when He had finally done that, it says in verse 22 of John chapter 5, "The Father doesn't judge anybody but has committed all judgment unto the Son."

   So all of the decisions about our lives are being made by Christ. He's the one who's going to decide. But He's the one who's been down here and had to suffer and knows what it's like to be a human being. And so you can be nice and grateful that He's the one making the decisions. But on the other hand, He was loyal, and He expects us to be loyal and to do our part.

   So we can see that by now the Father has delegated enormous responsibility to Christ — enormous responsibility. The people that God called — you — and gave you to Christ, and Christ is then responsible to keep you and to work with you and to train you and to judge you and to bring you into the family of God, making the decisions relative to your life and your position within His family.

   But as the plan expands to its next phase, which begins with Christ's return and the setting up of the millennium and so on, we are to be involved in these kind of awesome decisions that Christ is now involved in regarding us.

   I Corinthians 6, verses 2 and 3. I Corinthians 6:2-3. This is just in the midst of a discussion on whether or not it's right for a member of God's church to go to a court of law with another member of God's church to get a decision made. And in verse one, he starts off, "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?"

   Now, brethren, if Christ is judging us, then that means that He is going to delegate — in whatever way and to whomever among us He chooses — varying degrees of responsibility in the judgment of the brethren and the people in the world tomorrow. You know, we are not going into that kingdom to be Mickey Mouse or to strum harps. We are going into that age to have enormous responsibility placed on us — to rule, to make decisions, to appoint executive people, to gradually take more and more responsibility and extend the government of God out, and then finally even preach to the people, bring them into the truth, delegate the responsibility of the ministry in our area, and then finally discuss with Christ and with the others involved as to who shall have eternal life and what their positions will be. The entire judgment gradually devolving upon us as it has upon Christ.

   You think Christ called you for nothing? You think He said in vain that you ought to prepare yourself now to get ready for what He has in mind for you and develop whatever little bits of talent and ability you might have and just make the effort to change and to grow and to extend in your ability?

   And so for a thousand years, brethren, the population will expand. And I suppose by the end of a thousand years of God's kind of rule, it will explode, and there'll be enormous populations. The little village that you started with when you first trotted out as a new spirit being to take control — rather tentatively — will probably be millions of people. And you'll be still in charge, I guess, unless you've been given greater responsibility somewhere, somehow, as the plan extended. And maybe you started with a village, and then somebody who had five villages was needed in another country, so you get the six villages, and the whole thing grows. And by the end of the millennium, you'll have enormous responsibility, and you'll know how to handle it.

   Christ is not going to give you anything to do you can't do. But I tell you what: He really wants you to do the best you can, and He wants to give you the most that He possibly can. And He wants you to work now to get ready for it, because He's working hard towards that day, and He is putting everything into it. And we're worried about whether or not, you know, we should get five- or ten-speed bikes. But, uh, there we are.

   Then we will grow in capacity. We will learn. We will accomplish. We will bring the majority of people on the whole earth into harmony with God's law and God's great plan. And all that will take place during the period pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles — the thousand years of the millennial reign.

   And as our children grow up in ability — those of them who yield to God's way... You know, God pictured a very sad event between two brothers, one called Esau and one called Jacob. And Esau, who was the one who had the blessing, sold it. Couldn't care less. Stomped off, more worried about his belly than he was about the enormous future that he had. And some of our kids do the same thing. You don't believe it? Don't worry, friends. It'll happen.

   And then some of you kids who have been really faithful — just ordinary kids, not, you know, not the tough ones necessarily, not the ones with the great big flair, but just the ordinary kids who hang in there — will have power so great and challenge and excitement and the privilege.

   And then, when they've yielded to God and grown in ability and had God's Spirit and been able to achieve and grow, then at the time that is right, when Christ is ready, He'll change you into spirit beings. And then you'll be added to the family of God, and you'll be the first line of princes underneath those in the first resurrection who are in that royal family. And you'll be the next in line in the entire future of God's plan. And God says He's going to bless to a thousand generations the children of those who serve Him.

   You'd better believe that your children and your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren and your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren, right down through the history of mankind, are going to have a blessing because of who you are, brethren, and the fact that Christ chose to call you now and to give you this opportunity.

   So our children — you kids who really want to follow God... I was asked the other day, "Well, what happens when our life comes to an end? Do we die?" No, you don't die. You become, at the time that is right as far as Christ is concerned, you become spirit beings as well. And I guess there'll be other people who will also become spirit beings throughout the course of the millennium — that's what Mr. Armstrong said in his book — but not into the royal family. Only those whose parents are in the royal family can be princes and princesses in the royal family. So many others, of course, will qualify to cross the gulf and become spirit beings during the millennium.

   Then, after the thousand years has ended, Satan is to be released for a very short time to test the final generation of people. Now, I don't quite understand how or why, but it says it's going to happen. That's all I know. And then we come into the next incredible step in God's great plan. Satan is then taken away again. Lots of people will get sucked up in Satan's deception at that end time, but then they will die, and Satan will be taken again. And we come into the final great part of God's plan for humanity.

   Back to Revelation 20, this time verses 7 through 12. Revelation 20:7-12. It says when the thousand years are expired. So now I've talked about what we'll do during the millennium. Now we've come to the end of the millennium. The thousand years are over. There'll be many, many physical human beings on the face of the earth, having been involved in a thousand years of no war, no famine, no drought, no disease — you know, imagine the population. I guess the earth will have been restructured somewhat by Christ, and everything will be going along.

   And Satan is to be loosed out of his prison. Now, all of these people will have been told about Satan by us, and they all know he's there. But a lot of them won't believe you. And they'll be sucked into the whole thing again. And he'll go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth — a type of Gog and Magog, a type of atheistic communism as we have it on the earth today. And he'll gather them together to battle, the number of whom as the sand of the sea.

   I think that's terribly sad — that people even then can be taken in by Satan. But that's what it says. "They went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints about and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown" — it is translated in the New International Version, just to let you know that it is also accurate in that place. It had been thrown — they are not still alive. Being physical, they died when they were chucked in there. But Satan is to be thrown in there, and he is the one who is to be tormented day and night forever and ever. He won't like that constant restraint forever and ever, but that's his destiny.

   And then in verse 11, it says, the next event after that: "I saw a great white throne and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was no place for them."

   Now is the time when Christ is preparing the final phase of His great salvation plan for all of mankind. He said, "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God."

   Now, I don't have time to go back into Ezekiel. All I can remind you is of the Negro spiritual about "them bones, them dry bones, we're gonna walk about again." And we could have Mr. Goff sing it to us in the suitable times, but we won't. But I'm sure we're aware that there is going to be a great resurrection back to physical life of all who have ever lived.

   And you talk about a sudden magnification of responsibility! I mean, we will have learned and grown through a thousand years, and then all of a sudden, everybody who ever lived is going to be resurrected. And Christ and the saints and those who have been added to the family during the millennium then have a greater responsibility still — an unbelievable challenge to govern, to bring under God's law, to rule, to preach to, to convert, to bring into the family the majority of all of those people.

   And brethren, how successful — how many come in — will very likely depend, as I said, on how successful we are, on how much we have learned, on how much we have dedicated ourselves to the job. You've got free will. You'll always have free will. You'll always be able to do more or less. You'll always be able to either really involve yourself or else sit on the fringe and just do the minimum, always. You know, that's the way it is. That's the way it is with people with free will.

   He said, "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened." The book in Greek is the "biblos" — the Bible, the books that we have that we're being judged out of. "And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

   Now, who judges them? Well, we do, under Christ. Christ is given the ultimate responsibility, but it says that judgment is going to be given to the saints of the Most High. And we will have learned and grown in our ability, and we will have all of that responsibility coming on us as we get more and more to do and to be responsible for and to be accountable for in the ever-growing plan of God.

   You know, our lives are like little peas inside a matchbox now, but they're not going to stay that way, brethren. The challenge, the excitement, the thrill, the unbelievable destiny that Christ has called us for is absolutely incredible.

   So now the plan of God is opening out to encompass everybody who ever lived. No wonder He calls this the Last Great Day. This is what Christ and God have been working for and working towards down through history. This will be the purpose of the preparation of the millennial years. This is the reason, you know, why right at the end, when we're all prepared and ready and have the capacity, He can resurrect the whole lot of them.

   I wonder how many there'll be. Wouldn't have the faintest idea. You know, billions and billions of people to be organized, to be fed, to be housed. But most importantly, to be taught and to be converted and to be encouraged to repent and to be brought into the family of God and to be taught the way of God, to receive the Spirit of God, and to be brought into the family of God over a lifetime — probably of a hundred years — which we'll have to work with them.

   So that's the last great, exciting, awesome step in the converting of most of the people who have ever lived into God's plan.

   John 7:37 through 39. John 7:37-39. I wonder if you've ever wondered why it was that Christ particularly quoted the thing that He did on that Last Great Day at the feast. It seems a strange thing to say, but it's absolutely appropriate to what will take place.

   It says, "In the last day, that great day of the feast" — and this is that day, that Last Great Day of the feast — "Jesus stood and He really cried out and powerfully preached to the people and said, 'If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.'"

   Now, brethren, at that time what He said was not true. At that time, any man who wanted to come could not come. Because Christ had said that only those that the Father draws could come, and the rest were blinded and could not come. But on the Last Great Day, He stood up to talk about the thing that would happen on the last great stage of the master plan of God.

   On that day, at that time, after the great general resurrection, we will be able to say, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink" — relating back to Christ. "He that believes on Me, as the scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water."

   We will be able to offer the people eternal life. People won't be blinded then, brethren. They won't be unable to see. The shutters will be removed, and you and I will have the opportunity as evangelists before millions and sometimes billions of people to stand and to preach the word of God and to convert people and to have others that work with you to counsel them and help them and encourage them and bring them into the family of God and baptize them and see them receive the Holy Spirit and help them to grow and bring them to the stage where they too can be changed into spirit beings as a part of the family.

   And we have that challenge, that opportunity to work with Christ in that unbelievable opportunity. And you know, we really are going to be involved. To go to Revelation 22 in verse 17 — it's not just Christ who is going to stand up and say, "If any man comes, thirst, let him come." Revelation 22:17.

   It says there, brethren, that "the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.'" Not only Christ, not only the outpouring of the Spirit of God, but also those who are the bride are going to have the responsibility of going out to the entire population who have ever lived, who have been resurrected, and saying, "Come. If any man thirsts, come and drink freely of the water of life and live forever." And take the word of God and preach it powerfully, and people will be able to see and know from you that it really is true. And you will have the ability to inspire and to lift up people and to really help them. And you'll have had a thousand years to get ready, and you will have been preaching all through the thousand years.

   And so it says — what does it say? Verse 17: "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' Let him that hears say, 'Come.' And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

   We don't live that day now, brethren, but we're going to begin in the millennium in a period of time when the blinders will be removed. People will understand. And by the time of the Last Great Day, we will have the opportunity of completing the plan of God and working with Christ — totally involved with absolutely incredible responsibility, exciting, challenging, you know, just totally absorbing of all of our energies — to bring the plan of God to completion.

   Does Christ have any purpose in calling and preparing you now? If only we could understand. If only we could understand. The purpose of our lives, brethren, is not to earn a living. It's not to buy a home. It's not to develop an interesting career. It's not to iron the clothes or sweep the floor. All of these things we have to do, and all of these things we can even use as means to the very real reason of our lives.

   The transcendent purpose of our lives now is to prepare ourselves just as much as we possibly can for the great work that lies ahead of us — to develop the talents that we have, as Mr. Lindoff said we should, to use any opportunity we can to develop our abilities for Christ to use.

   Now, some of us don't get many opportunities, but we all get some. We all get some opportunities. And I don't have time to sort of, you know, go into what that means for you personally.

   But brethren, Christ is faced with the responsibility of bringing the entire earth into harmony with God's government and seeking to convert and to save as many as possible and bring them to eternal life. Christ has enormous responsibility. The judgment now of the whole millennial age and the whole thing right to the end of humankind's existence has been delegated to Christ because He is qualified and has prepared Himself.

   And brethren, He wants you and me to help Him. That's why He called us. That's why He's preparing us. Before us in God's church lie many trials, many tests, persecution — preparation for the future. It won't be easy. I can promise you that. The one thing I can promise you is that it will be worth it.

   Don't let somebody else take your crown.