Herbert W Armstrong

   I'm sure a lot of you're really anxious to get on your way back home again. What happened to that holy water they had up here? Somebody said they're gonna take that holy water and freeze it and make popsicles out of it, but I don't know.

   You know, on the last day, after a service like we had this morning and a big meal and being the last service and everything, you want to try to get something that will really send everybody back home with a enthusiasm and vigor and determination to come back the next year.

   There are a number of things that you're expected to cover on the last holy day, which I want to cover today. First of all though, I'd like to make a few comments about Ambassador College. Mr. Ted Armstrong was over in Big Sandy within the last year, and he was talking how he hoped that as many of the young people as possible in church areas would have the opportunity to have the experience of going to Ambassador College.

   I'm sure some of you in years past, no of students in your area that applied and were rejected and applied a second time and rejected, maybe a third time and were rejected, and some a fourth time. A lot of those we have in colleges, either Big Sandy or out here now.

   Mr. Ted Armstrong said he hoped that everyone who wanted to go to Ambassador College, whether it's for a year or two, to be there for the experience of being with other young people, being in that atmosphere, soaking up that kind of an atmosphere, maybe even meeting the right person for themselves, going back to the church area after a year or two or three or four, that he would consider that a successful conclusion. And he wanted us more and more to have more and more young people have that opportunity.

   So I hope a lot of you who are young people will think about what it would be like after you graduate out of high school. Real key years in your life, to spend a year or two or three or four in an atmosphere such as the one you've been in here for eight days, or the more rural atmosphere down in Big Sandy, because you get the same kind of training at one college.

   This is home college to me. I've been in Big Sandy going on five years, but this is still home when I come out here, coming back home again. Because all the valuable teaching I've gained on having a happy marriage and all the laws and proofs I know I received after I came out here and lived on this campus. As far as I'm concerned, the greatest thing any young person can do to spend a year or two of their lives, and preferably even three or four years, in that kind of an atmosphere with all the fun that those years include with the very helpful training, instruction.

   You know, these aren't schools for training ministers. They're not an atmosphere of a Pharisaical holy Joe atmosphere at all. In the last summer we had sixteen YOU groups down in Big Sandy. They spent either a week to ten days, some two weeks. And just to be there that length of time, they were surprised because for some reason they didn't really see what they expected. Maybe they found out everybody there was just regular, average, likable, everyday Joe, that they enjoyed the atmosphere. And a lot of them turned right around and said, "Well, you know, I want to come back here for college."

   We had students come in for summer school, and I'd say three-fourths of them decided, "You know, I'm gonna just see if I can't get back in next fall and stay on." They liked it so well.

   But I really hope that all the young people can recognize the fantastic opportunity they have. You know, when I watched the feast talent show the other night — that's what you'd have to call it too, a feast talent shows — because when you heard the voices, you saw the instruction, you saw the perfectionism, it really thrilled me to no end because it's very high caliber, high quality. Really a lot of fun though. And those are really fun years of your life.

   But I hope a lot of the young people will think about going to Ambassador College, whichever, either here or in Big Sandy, whichever would benefit you the most, because it is a great opportunity. I have some cards for catalogs from Big Sandy, so if any of you are interested, I'd be glad to give you a card after services and you can write out for a catalog and send in an application.

   You know, we have some of our best students down there, our students that are balanced, that have to study hard to make a C. But they're balanced because they've got personality, they've got leadership, they've got good character, they've got a lot of vigor and enthusiasm. And it's really exciting to me to see the young people come in and then the growth and change that comes over them by them being there.

   Back in Exodus 23, we find one of the chapters referring to the holy days that isn't one we generally turn to, but I want to turn there for a specific reason. Exodus 23. It sounds a great deal like Deuteronomy 16, the first part of it. Three times, verse 14 (Exodus 23:14-16), "You shall keep a feast unto me in the year." "You shall keep the feast of Unleavened Bread," and of course these are the seasons that they come in. We know Passover is the first, Unleavened Bread the next seven days following Passover day. Then of course you have fifty days from the Sabbath during that Unleavened Bread week until the next feast of Pentecost, as we generally call it. It actually gets a lot more meaning across if you call it the Feast of First Fruits, because the word Pentecost really doesn't relate to the meaning of the day. It just means fifth.

   He says, "Keep the feast of Unleavened Bread." Then He says in verse 16, "And the feast of harvest," the feast of the first harvest, the feast of the first fruits. So you notice a person looking at this might tend to think, "Oh, these are agricultural holy days. I see they tie right in with your harvest seasons, so they're just kind of like a fall Thanksgiving harvest festival."

   But most people don't bother to check it through a little more thoroughly and find out that God was actually outlining the spiritual harvest by these harvests of the firstfruits. And notice what He calls the second harvest. The first harvest is just called the firstfruits of your labors which you've sown in the field. Of course that comes fifty days after the part of Unleavened Bread. And then the great giant harvest that comes in the fall of the year is called the Feast of Ingathering, which is in the end of the year when you've gathered in your labors out of your fields. Three times in the year all thy males appear before the Lord Eternal.

   So you actually get a lot more of the duality or a picture of the feast and what they portrayed when you think of them in this way of a harvest. So the first harvest time, is firstfruits, Pentecost, the feast of harvest — that's when the harvest spiritually began on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. And yet the greatest harvest of all is yet to come, the Feast of Ingathering in the end of the year.

   Now you might notice in Exodus 34, Exodus 34, kind of a parallel with what we read, in verse 22 (Exodus 34:22), "And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks of the firstfruits." And that's really more the word and the term we should use for the day of Pentecost. It's the word that's used far more often in the New Testament. You know, the word Pentecost is only in the New Testament three times, but the word firstfruits is there many times. And it keeps your mind on the different harvest.

   The fact that Mr. Armstrong was saying today, Christ did not come to save the world back in His day. He did not send the disciples out to save the world. God's church has not been trying to save the world. God is going to save the world during this Feast of Tabernacles when it's fulfilled. That's the big harvest. That's the Feast of Ingathering. And any kind of a harvest that happens up until then is just firstfruits, a much smaller harvest.

   "Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks of the firstfruits of wheat harvest," and the winter wheat that is harvested in the early spring, "and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end" in the fall season when the big harvest comes around.

   I'm sure most of us are aware of the use of the word firstfruits in the New Testament. We might turn and just look at a couple of examples of this to get our minds again on the fact that salvation, by God's very plan, was going to be spaced out over a time period, and that the day of salvation that began with the New Testament church with that original day of Pentecost in the New Testament church, that firstfruit is still going on and will continue to go on down until the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles after Christ returns, after the devil is bound.

   So you find here in the first chapter of James, James 1:18, James says, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." So any of us who's been begotten by the word of truth since the day of Pentecost, "that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." We just have the opportunity by grace to be privileged to know God's truth as firstfruits. And the great harvest is yet in the future.

   Now in the fifth chapter of James, you find the same facts related again. James 5:7, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."

   And even the rain that got these harvests ready for their final harvesting parallel the harvest season. So you have the rain that got the early harvest ready, and then you got the rains that came later that got the big fall harvest ready. So James likens that to the salvation that's going to come after Christ's advent.

   "Be patient, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord." Everybody that's going to be harvested before that coming, is firstfruits. Everybody harvested after that coming is the great ingathering harvest. So he says, "Be ye patient, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience until he receive the early and latter rain."

   Now you might notice back in Revelation chapter 14. Revelation 14. Here you see when Christ returns. Revelation 14:1, "And I looked, and, lo, the Lamb stood on the mount Sion." So here is Christ that is coming. "The Lamb stood on Mount Zion." It's the definite article there, not a lamb, but the Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, "and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads."

   So these are people who are already born of the spirit, who are spirit sons of God, who have God's very name. "I heard a voice from heaven. I heard the voice of harpers harping." They sang a new song. "No man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth."

   Notice up until the Lamb stands on the Mount Zion, the people who've been redeemed from the earth up until that time, He says verse 4, "These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he gos. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb."

   So you notice very plainly He says then, the virgins at Christ coming, the ones who followed the Lamb wherever He goes, the ones who've been redeemed from among men up until that time, are firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

   You know, you take the term lamb. Why would you come up with the word lamb, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, unless you recognize the Passover lamb actually foretold the Christ, that Christ is our Passover lamb? Christ is the lamb that took the place of that Old Testament Passover lamb, and Christ is referred to many times in the New Testament as the Lamb, the Passover lamb, the Lamb of God.

   You know, people say, "Well, the holy days are only referred to in the New Testament seven times." Ridiculous! What on earth are they looking at? You know, they got the same Bible we do. I was reading one publication trying to get around the holy days. They skip totally over Acts 2 as one of the places the holy days are referred to.

   But you know what's happened? The biggest references to God's holy days in the New Testament is actually under a different word than the words that we're going by. People say, "Well, Pentecost is only mentioned three times in the New Testament." Oh, the Greek word Pentecost, true. The firstfruits, we can't even take the time to turn to all the places firstfruit, Lamb of God, the holy days are referred to in the New Testament.

   And people say, "Well, the Day of Atonement is only referred to one time." That's not true either, because the word Atonement and the word reconcile are one and the same word. And how many times do you run across reconcile? You know that this church is given the ministry of reconciliation. That's what Mr. Armstrong is referring to this morning. God has not restored all things yet. Things have not been reconciled to God yet. The devil hasn't been bound and put aside yet, the very meaning of the day of Atonement. Hasn't happened yet, but it's pictured in Revelation 20.

   Now there are many other places you find the people who are converted during this New Testament church era being called firstfruits. Now I'd like to go on and show you what Mr. Armstrong was saying this morning about the references in the Bible to what Christ really came to do and what Christ's job was while He was here on this earth. And in order to do this, I want to just scan through a few verses in the Gospel of Mark since it's the shortest of the gospels and notice the fact that Christ did not come to save the world, that only people who were called, only people who were chosen, other people weren't approached. It wasn't the purpose of the New Testament church to go about and see how many people they could save.

   Mark the first chapter. Of course here it talks about, verse 14 (Mark 1:14), after John was put in prison, Christ came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom. You know, I hope that during this next year a lot of us will go on a real spiritual rejuvenation as far as Bible study and prayer.

   I know I really appreciated what Mr. Armstrong had to say this morning about the need for real effectual fervent prayers and how many of us have actually allowed ourselves after 1972 to think, either by habit or without really knowing it, that our Lord delays His coming, and we began to eat and drink and, you know, kind of take it easy and enjoy life, and we haven't really been single-minded in getting the work done the way we should.

   But you know you need to be really studying in your Bible and knowing what the gospel is. You know, not too many months ago, one of the persons who'd gotten misled and dropped out of the church said, "You know, I'm not even sure I know what the gospel is anymore."

   One of the ways we go through comparative religion down in Big Sandy, I take the word gospel. I take every verse in the New Testament that uses the word gospel. We put it up on the blackboard. One place that says the gospel of grace, one place that says the gospel of the kingdom or the gospel of salvation, one place that says the gospel of the uncircumcision. And then we put down the places that says the gospel of the kingdom.

   You know one thing I learned years ago in Ambassador College, that is that you add the Bible together. Now never forget the instructor saying, "What was written on the stake when Christ was crucified?" You read in one gospel it maybe says "This is the King of the Jews." One says "Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews." Another says "The King of the Jews." You know, none of the four repeat identically what one of the others says.

   So how do you know what was written there on the stake? And I'll never forget how it got through my English skull and I've never forgotten that lesson. He wrote out what Matthew said, wrote out what Mark said, wrote out what Luke said, wrote out what John said, drew a line under it, added it all up. That's what it said. I thought, "How about that? Look at that, isn't that something!" You just take all those verses and add them together and that's what the Bible says then. And then you can be quite dogmatic that you know and you know that you know.

   And we do that with the word gospel. We take gospel of God, of Christ, of grace, of salvation, of the uncircumcision, of the kingdom of God. There's only one gospel. Just add it all up. All those are actually parts relating to the kingdom of God. How do you get into the kingdom of God? By grace. You know who's going to be in the kingdom of God? Well, yeah, the uncircumcised too. You add it all up.

   So I would suggest a lot of us really get down to some Bible study where we can mark in our Bible. I started marking the word kingdom. I took a blue hexagon and marked everywhere in the New Testament that it talks about the kingdom, the gospel of the kingdom, the kingdom, the gospel of the kingdom. You know there are pages that look like they got the German measles. They're just blue hexagons all over the pages. And some of those, maybe you can see all those blue hexagons there. Well, that's the gospel of the kingdom, everywhere it refers to the kingdom.

   You know, someone comes up to me and says, "Well, I'm not so sure I know what the gospel is." I just take my Bible and start thumbing through it. You know, by the time you get through about forty pages, they say, "Well, yeah, I think I got it. The gospel of the kingdom." That's what it's all about.

   But notice here again in Mark 1, Christ's preaching the gospel of the kingdom, not the gospel of salvation. Some people will be saved as you go preaching it. God adds to the church. It's automatic that some people will be converted, but you know some people say, "Well, Mr. Armstrong, how many people are you converting with those trips you're making?" Some people say, "Well, how many people are added to the church with those Garner Ted Armstrong campaigns?"

   Now what's that got to do with it really? Is that why we have them? Is that the big reason for them? Seems we never get that through our heads. And I think having been in the Baptist church for over twenty years, I can be one that can admit and recognize that you get a deep Protestant background approach and it's hard to get through your head that we're not supposed to go out preaching a gospel to see how many people we can get saved. That's not the purpose of the Garner Ted Armstrong campaigns. That's not the purpose of Mr. Armstrong going around the world with the gospel of the kingdom as a witness. Now inevitably there will be those who will believe and they will be converted. But if we go with that gospel of the kingdom...

   You might notice back here in Matthew 24. Mr. Armstrong touched on Matthew 24 this morning. You know, the only way, if you go down this chapter, it's quite an outline Christ gives you here because He'll take one thing and says "now the end," and yet...

   You notice He said, they came and asked Him what would be the sign of His coming, verse 3 (Matthew 24:3), and of the end of the age. Well Jesus said, "Take heed that no man deceive you." They come in preaching the Christ of Christ and deceive. You'll hear of wars, rumors of wars. Don't be troubled by that. That has to come to pass, but the end...

   You know that's what you need to circle there and keep your mind on. That's the emphasized statement in this chapter. The end isn't yet. You can't tell the end by false teachers going around deceiving. You can't tell the end by wars and rumors of wars. You shouldn't let yourselves be overly troubled about wars and rumors of wars and false teachers going around. That's all prophesied, it's bound to happen. You can't tell the end by that.

   It'll get worse and worse, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom. And that's going to lead to famines and pestilences and earthquakes. What does He call those? The beginning of sorrows. The beginning of sorrows. Well if that's the beginning of sorrows, what's going to be progression and worsening of sorrows? That's the beginning of sorrows.

   Well then comes religious persecution of being hated by nations. Now, can you imagine why the disciples would be hated of all nations? Must be what they're telling. Must be the fact that they thought they should go out and preach the gospel of the kingdom to them as a witness. Why else would the disciples be hated of all the nations unless they're doing that?

   Then you're gonna be persecuted. You'll be offended and betrayed and hated, and false prophets shall arise. Iniquity is going to break out of control and the love of many is going to wax cold. You got to endure through all of that until the end. That isn't the end either though. You've got to endure through those things to the end.

   "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the world for a witness." Doesn't say to save everybody again, doesn't say to make a giant church, doesn't say to get everybody ready to rule and reign with Christ or to get everybody into the kingdom. As a witness unto all nations, "and then shall the end come."

   You know that's the highlight verse of the chapter. That's the answer to the question they asked. They wanted to know the sign of His coming and the end of the age, and He said that isn't the end. This is the beginning of sorrows. You've got to endure through this to the end. Then He highlights verse 14, and I'll guarantee you if you get your eyes off the gospel of the kingdom going around the world as a witness, you're not gonna be able to tell the end. You're not going to know the end. That's the key verse. You've got to watch the kingdom, the gospel of the kingdom being preached in all the world for a witness.

   There again people take exception to preaching the gospel as a witness. When you look through the New Testament and see what the disciples did — and here again we get confused because the translators have taken the word witness and translated it testimony. They translated it martyrs, and it is the Greek word martyr, where we get our English word martyr, and this Greek word witness, one and the same word. But the gospel has to go as a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come.

   And you know some people get that mixed up with Matthew 28. There's no reason to — you add them together. You add them together. They're not, one isn't the great commission and the other not. They're all added together.

   Matthew 28, the eleven disciples, Christ calls to Him. He says in verse 18 (Matthew 28:18), "All authority" — that's the word power is in this case — "all authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

   Now notice this is a progressive job here that's listed. We've been told already in Matthew 24:14 that we're to go with the gospel of the kingdom as a witness and we're gonna be hated of all nations because we're doing that. There's gonna come a martyrdom again on God's people because we're doing that. And as we go, some people are going to believe. So we do baptize.

   "Now teaching them," those whom you baptize, "to observe all things." You know this doesn't say go out and tell communist Chinese, tell Buddhists and Hindus to wash feet, put leaven out of their houses. That isn't what that says. Look what it does say: those you're baptizing, teach them that you baptize to observe Passover, to observe the Sabbath, to observe the holy days. This doesn't say go around and preach to the whole world about the Sabbath and holy days.

   And yet you know some people in the past said, "I wish Brother Armstrong would get back preaching the gospel. I wish Garner Ted would get back there and start preaching about the Passover and foot washing and the Sabbath and holy days. I wish he'd get back to the gospel again." Just because we've had our background steeped in Protestantism where we think we're supposed to just go through and kind of explain the Bible and have a Sunday school class for the year or something. Well, that's really ridiculous.

   God says, as we're going and teaching, some will want to be baptized. Baptize them. And then teach those that you baptized to observe all the things whatsoever I've commanded you. You know, one of those things He commanded them was to go and preach the gospel of the kingdom as a witness. So the very people you baptize, you teach them to observe the commands to go with the gospel around the world as a witness.

   And then He says, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." That's a lot stronger in the Greek language than it is there because what He really says is, as you go and baptize and teach members, as you go with the gospel around the world as a witness, "I'm with you every day, all the days, to the end of the days."

   That's where Christ is. You know, you're not gonna find Christ apart from His body, His church. He said as His church goes, He'll be with them. You gotta find the church before you find Christ. You know, as a part of finding Christ, you find the church. And I think most of us when we look back and we see how we were converted, we found out God brought us to the church. And the church began to teach us to observe things after we were baptized. We didn't find Christ just totally separately without ever finding the church. It was all together.

   Now I hope we can get the distinction between the job we've got there. Now come back to Mark, the first chapter, and notice Christ comes into Galilee preaching the good news, the gospel of the kingdom of God. Now, for what reason? To see how many people He could get saved? No, to tell them the time is fulfilled. Those years of allowing man to go his own way without the gospel warning being there is over. The time of that is up. The kingdom of God is at hand. So it's time to begin to preach repentance and believe the gospel.

   Well, He walked by the Sea of Galilee. Now you might notice coming on over to verse 35. Well, let's notice a couple of things. Verse 23 (Mark 1:23), "There was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Hold thy peace" — other words, be quiet, be still — "don't be uttering out loud who I am."

   Now you know why did Christ do that? Yes, because of the embarrassment of having a demon be the ones to point out who you are? Or because He didn't want people to know this early in His job who He was? You're gonna notice as you go on, He continually did that. He said, "Don't tell anyone, be still, hold your peace, be quiet."

   Now skipping down to verse 32 (Mark 1:32), "And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased." The city was gathered together at the door. He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, cast out demons, "and suffered not the demons to speak, because they knew him."

   So continually you see Him keeping things quiet, keeping spirits from speaking. In the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, departed into a solitary place. Simon and they that were with him followed after Him. When they had found Him, they said unto Him, "All speak for you."

   Well, here's a great chance now. Everybody's looking for Christ, so He says, "Well, good, this is a chance to save a lot of people." So then, that isn't what happened. Look at the next verse. He said unto them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also."

   You know that? Do you notice that? Does that register with you? That isn't what I was told for twenty years as a Baptist. You know that isn't what people tell you about the holy days mentioned in the book of Acts. You know people that don't want to keep the holy days say, "Well, those holy days in the book of Acts, the disciples just went there because they could catch a big crowd there and try to get them saved."

   And yet one of the cases I remember very well, it says Paul was preaching to them. It says the Jews besought him to stay longer and preach, and he said, "I can't do it. I gotta get out of here. I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem."

   Now can you imagine that? Here is a whole crowd of people wanted him to stay there. They besought him to tarry awhile yet and preach to them, and he said, "I can't do it at all. I've got to go on up to Jerusalem for this feast that comes there." Now why do you say that? Because he'd get a bigger crowd up there? Was that just a Protestant excuse?

   Notice what happened here. They said, "All seek for you." He said, "Well, I've got to get out of here then and go on into the next town, that I may preach there also, for therefore came I forth." And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

   Now notice on down in verse 42 (Mark 1:42). "And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straitly charged him" — now what, what did He charge him? — "and forthwith sent him away; And saith unto him, See you say nothing to any man."

   You know, that's just not what you hear. Why was Christ always straitly charging them, "Be still, don't broadcast it, don't magnify it. Don't tell everybody about it. See you say nothing to any man. But go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony" — and there again the word witness — "for a witness unto them." But he went out, and began to publish it much anyway.

   Now was that just reverse psychology? Did Christ say, "Now don't do that," knowing that, you know, he'd just do that much more vigorously to do it? If people get around everything you read, they won't take it for what it says. They'll say, "Well, He just knew if He told him not to that he'd just be that much more vigorous to do it, so Christ just used reverse psychology here." And that isn't true at all. You can't explain it away with all the other places you find this referred to.

   Notice in chapter 3, verse 10 (Mark 3:10). Christ "healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, You are the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known."

   Now there again, is that just to avoid having the embarrassment of the spirits being the one to tell people who you were? Now notice in chapter 5, and it goes on the same way all the way through. We finally realize that Christ wasn't trying to save the world. He was trying to teach and train disciples.

   You know, the biggest part of the message, if you note, if you have a red letter Bible, and you note the black parts that the people involved in the different episodes, the biggest part of it happened with Christ and the disciples. And not only that, most people aren't aware of the fact that the biggest part of Christ's life recorded in the Gospels didn't even happen in the capital of Judah, didn't happen down in Judea, didn't happen in Jerusalem. Very little of it did. The biggest part of it happened either up in Galilee primarily or in Samaria. If He was out trying to get everybody saved, looks like He'd have been in the capital city a good part of the time, the biggest city. Looks like He would have spent a lot of time in a lot of the other part of the area, but He didn't.

   Now noticing here in Mark chapter 5. I've got this marked in my Bible everywhere. I just write the word "crowd" across the verse to show how Christ avoided crowds. He got away from crowds. He wasn't trying to gather crowds and get everybody He could to preach to.

   Well, here's another healing. "And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat."

   Now why was that? You know, if a great miracle like that had been done and you wanted everybody to know that you're the great healer and then have everybody come so you can heal everybody. But did you ever notice how many times any healing Christ did was just because of His compassion?

   You know the story about the woman that came and asked for healing and He said, "Well, you know, the bread has to be first to be given to the children." She said, "Well, yeah, but the dogs under the table eat the crumbs that fall off the table." You know, that sounds like Christ wasn't out to see how many people He could heal, that He wasn't just trying to get everybody to come to Him to be saved and healed and recognize He was the savior of the world.

   Now, noticing in chapter 7 here in Mark. Christ didn't come to save the world back then. There hadn't been some great controversy going on between Christ and the devil. And the devil's got most of the world lost in Hinduism, Buddhism, atheism, all kinds of isms, and then the few are being saved.

   Mark 7:24-31. "And from there he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid."

   Now why is that? "He entered into the house, would have no man know it," but He couldn't be hid because "a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet." The woman was a Greek, by nation; "and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil."

   But Jesus said unto her, "Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs." And she answered and said, "Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs." Well He said to her, "For this saying go your’re way; the devil is gone out of your daughter." And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

   Well then verse 31, departing from the coasts of Tyre and came to the Sea of Galilee. They bring to Him one that was deaf, had an impediment in his speech; they besought Him to put His hand upon him. He took him aside from the multitude.

   Notice that. And you know what this is going to lead the disciples to say? You're gonna see a little later the disciples say, "Lord, no man seeks to be known openly and does all these things in secret like you're doing." He wasn't trying to be known openly. He didn't come to save the world. He had a great chance to get all kinds of people awed and just filled with reverence because of a great healing, and what does He do? Takes him aside from the multitude, put His fingers into his ears, and looking up to heaven, He sighed, and saith unto him, "Be opened." And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And He charged them that they should tell no man.

   More reverse psychology, I guess? No. "But the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it."

   Chapter 8, the multitude being very great, having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciple. "I have compassion on the multitude." You know, a lot of things Christ did, He wasn't really commissioned to do. It wasn't really the purpose for His coming, but He couldn't help Himself. He was moved with pity and compassion because they'd been with Him these days and hadn't eaten.

   Now over in verse 22, He cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town. Now, you know, always getting away from the crowd. Verse 26, He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town."

   Now in Mark chapter 10, this will be the last one we'll take the time to turn through here, but I'd like to have you when you're reading through one of the gospels, make a specific point of noticing how Christ was either teaching the disciples individually, warning the false religionists of that area. He was not out to see how many people He could save.

   Mark chapter 10. Here He says, verse 31 (Mark 10:31), after the examples above this, "But many that are first shall be last; and the last first." In other words, a lot of those people that were God's people, so-called Israel and Judah, they should have been first, but they're gonna be last. And a lot of those that seem to be last as far as the time element are ending up being called first. Some Gentiles are ending up being first when they would have been last, and some of the Israelites and Jews that would have been first are going to end up being behind some of the Gentiles being converted.

   Now you might notice in John chapter 7 (John 7:1), because here is a chapter that talks about this very day, this very Feast of Tabernacles. And notice what it says. The Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brethren said to him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that your disciples also may see the works that you do."

   What these things you're doing, see, they weren't expecting Him to do it the way He was doing it. They expected Him to come as a great king and restore power to the nation of Judah. So His brothers, His brethren say, "Go into Judea. Why are you spending all this time up here in Galilee and down there in Samaria? Judea is the capital of the country, the biggest populace. Go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that thou do. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret."

   See, they admitted that so many of these things He did, He would be away from the crowd, seeing the crowd coming and healing right quick and got it over with before they got there. "There is no man that dos any thing in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world."

   So even they wanted Him to be more trying to save the world or showing Himself to the world or getting the world's attention or making the world realize all the things they were doing. I think some of us in the past have had the same impatience the disciples had. Say, "You know, so far God's just kind of doing these healings and doing these works and all, not openly to show to the world to get the world's attention."

   Well, neither did He here. Notice the reason He gives for that, verse 5. "For neither did his brethren believe in him." They didn't really get why He came. They didn't really understand what kind of a Messiah He was going to be, what He had come for, His intent and purpose.

   Then Jesus said unto them, "My time is not yet come." Now what does He mean by that? Not time for Him to be known to the world, not time for Him to try to save the world. It's not time yet. "But your time is alway ready. The world cannot hate you; you go up to this feast: I don’t go up yet; then they went up and about the middle of the feast he goes up.

   Now notice verse 37, "In the last day, that great day of the feast." And I say you can tell even in the New Testament on these feast days by the message Christ gives what these days refer to. You notice here when it's talking about the Feast of Tabernacles, He talks about the Sabbath, verses 21 to 24, and the Sabbath day and the Feast of Tabernacles picture the same thing, the millennium, the kingdom of God, the thousand years. So when the Feast of Tabernacles is there, Christ's message related to what the day pictures. Then when the last great day comes, His message is different.

   You look at the message beginning in verse 37 (John 7:37). "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink."

   Now when this last eighth great day is being accomplished, that's true. All beings who want to know God's way can just come and drink. But that's not so today. "No man can come except the Father draw him." Jesus told the disciples, "You haven’t chosen me, I have chosen you."

   Yet for twenty-five years as a Baptist, they were always saying, "Won't you accept the Lord? Won't you choose the Lord? Why don't you make the Lord your choice?" And you know, you choose the Lord. Christ said to the disciples, "You have not chosen me." That was a real eye-opener to me when I first heard it.

   Predestination is one of the real great truths God's church has that so many people who died without really knowing God's way and God's truth, this day pictures a great hope for them. You know, we're gonna see men like Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington. We're going to see a lot of the great men of the history of man's six thousand years when this day is fulfilled. Those people didn't understand. They were blinded. They haven't known God's way.

   In the last day though, that great day of the feast, when this eighth day is being fulfilled, any man who thirst can come and drink. And anyone at that day that believes, he's going to have the rivers of living water flowing out of him too, not just the people God calls, not just the elect, not just the firstfruits, not just the ones that God chooses as it is in our day.

   You know, you ought to take the Concordance, look up the word "choose," " elect," "call." Your New Testament is just saturated with predestination terms like that. You know, as Mr. Armstrong said, predestination has to do with when your day of salvation is, not with whether you're going to be saved or not. The word in the sense is in this moment because it almost sounds like your destination is predetermined. That isn't true. But when you define your destination, that's what predestination relates to.

   If God doesn't call you today, then you know this isn't your day of salvation. If God waits to call you in the millennium, then that's your day of salvation. If you've lived and died and you aren't raised till after the thousand years, then that's your day of salvation. So that relates to when you're called, when your day of salvation is, not whether you're gonna make it or not. But notice this message on this last great day. It's a day when if any man thirst, he can come and drink and have the Holy Spirit pouring out of them.

   Now, if you want to notice back here in Revelation 20. Here again this day is pictured. Notice how carefully Revelation 19, the second coming of Christ is pictured there riding on the white horse. Chapter 20 pictures the millennium. Here's the angel with the key of the abyss, laid hold on the dragon, puts him in the abyss that He can't deceive the nations till the thousand years are fulfilled. And after that he's gonna be loosed a little season.

   Now he sees thrones, and beings are sitting on thrones, and judgment was given to thee. It doesn't say they have executed judgment on them; they are given the job of exercising judgment. Judgment's given to them. They are given the job of making judgment. And the souls of those who’ve been beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and the word of God. The ones that haven’t worshipped the beast, or the image, or had the mark on their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

   So Christ comes back in chapter 19, the devil's bound, the dead in Christ resurrected. They're sitting on thrones, ruling and reigning a thousand years. But notice verse 5: "But the rest of the dead."

   And you know if you've got the dead in Christ and you've got the rest of the dead, gotta be dead obviously that are. One is the dead in Christ, the other is the dead out of Christ. You know you're either in or out, and if you're not in then you're out. So if you're not dead in Christ, it's the dead out of Christ.

   "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Of course that's a parenthetical statement. The last part of verse 5 is says "This is the first resurrection" actually goes right on with verse 4. It isn't the first resurrection, the dead living after the thousand years are finished.

   But you know, here's the truth that no other church on earth understands. They refer to it as Armstrong's second chance doctrine. That's ridiculous. We believe in everybody having a chance, having a fair chance, having an equal chance.

   You know how many places in your Bible can you find where it says "if you sin willfully after you've received the knowledge of the truth"? What about people who never received the knowledge of the truth, people who sin in ignorance? They had it, that's their only day of salvation? Not if you go by the Bible it didn't.

   "You know how many verses? 'He that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.' 'He that knew his master's will, and did it not, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.'

   You know, the Bible says if you're once enlightened, then you fall away, it's impossible to renew you again unto repentance. It says if you come out of the world and then you again get entangled and overcome, your latter end is worse with you than the first. You know, all those verses show that people who have never known, they haven't had it. They're not gonna be wiped out. They're not going to be destroyed. They're the rest of the dead. They're gonna live after the millennium, after the Feast of Tabernacles, after the thousand years, after the Sabbath.

   'The rest of the dead lived not again after the thousand years were finished.' Those reigning with Christ a thousand years are only the first resurrection. Notice the distinction in verse 6: ‘He that hath part in the first resurrection.' He's gotten his blessing. He's holy, verse 6 says. Well then people in the next resurrection must not be.

   Well, you might say, 'Now that's not necessarily so.' Well, we'll prove it with Ezekiel along with it, but notice this does say then if you're in that first resurrection, blessed and holy, is he. They're spirit beings in the first resurrection. They're born again sons of God with His name written on their forehead as we read in verse 4. Those from the first resurrection are blessed and holy. 'On such the second death hath no power.'

   But you know people after the thousand years aren't raised with their blessing. They're not holy, and the second death could still have power over them. But distinguishing from that, if you're in the first resurrection, the second death won't have any power over you. You're blessed and holy. 'They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.'

   Now when the thousand years are expired, Satan loosed as we already read that he would be, and then he goes to lead these rebels that are still rebellious after a thousand years. And then verse 11, the devil in verse 10 is dealt with again, restrained, put aside.

   Then he says, 'And I saw a great white throne.' Now we've already read from verse 5 that the rest of the dead have to live after the thousand years are finished. But we read before that that Satan's loosed for a little season after the thousand years. So as soon as the thousand years are over, the devil's loosed for a little season, then the rest of the dead are going to live again. So the devil's loosing is in verse 7, and then you've got the rest of the dead mentioned to come, so it's verse 11. The great white throne deals with verse 5, the rest of the dead living again.

   'And him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.' The heavens and the earth. 'And I saw the dead, small and great, stand.'

   Now if you've got dead standing, that's a resurrection. Well, it must be the rest of the dead then. And it is the rest of the dead. And yet people scratch their heads and said, 'I never could figure out where that Armstrong's...' That's that second chance doctrine. I never understand how anybody can't read Revelation 20. You know, Revelation is a time clock, a sequence, a beautiful story flow, and this chapter 20 is a gem.

   So here's the great white throne. The dead, small and great, standing before God, 'and the books were opened.' Books that had been closed to them before, the books of the Bible they hadn't understood and had been blinded to. Now they're open to them. 'And another book was opened, which is the book of life.'

   But you know it doesn't say it looked in the book of life to see if their names were written there. This book of life is open so they can have their names written in there. So at this time people can have their names written in still. But by the time you get to the last resurrection, too late then if your name isn't in there, off into the lake of fire you go.

   But these people at this time, they can still get their names in the book of life. So he sees the dead stand before God, and the books were opened, another book was opened, the book of life, 'and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books.'

   Now you know good and well what books we're talking about there. What books are going to be used in judging you? The Bible, the books of the Bible. That's what you're gonna be judged by, the word of God, the sword, the word of God. So that's what the dead are going to be judged out of, those things written in Genesis to Malachi, or Genesis to Revelation, 'according to their works.'

   So they live a time in order to have works, to have their name written in the book. The second death can have power over them. They're not blessed and holy yet. They can get their names in the book of life yet. 'And the sea gave up the dead in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead in it. They’re judged every man according to their works.'

   Now after this, everybody's had a chance. So then 'death and hell were cast into the lake of fire and that is the second death.' And by this time, 'anybody that is not written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.' So there's no other chance after that to get your name written in the book of life, but you can in this great white throne judgment time.

   And you know, for me to stand there and bury my dad in a casket, the only thing I couldn't get out of my mind is, 'God, why do I have to wait a thousand years? I don't want to wait a thousand years to see my dad again. A thousand years, that's a long time.'

   My dad died not in the church, although a real good friend of the church and real close to it in a lot of ways, but he died without knowing God's truth, without being baptized, without having God's Holy Spirit.

   Just a couple of years after that, his mom, who was a ninety-two-year-old lady, and I promised my dad before he died that I would see that she was taken care of the same way she was while he was alive. And later I could stand on her grave as she was being buried and be glad that I'd lived up to my word I gave to my dad.

   But you know my grandmother had just started tithing, occasionally went to church, was beginning to realize that there was more to this church than just a couple of her rattlebrain grandsons getting mixed up in it. And all of a sudden, you know, I just couldn’t imagine here's this little old ninety-two-year-old lovable grandmother, beat the socks off you in forty-two even, right down in the last few weeks before she died.

   A thousand years, God, why does it have to be so long? Why, God, do we have to wait a thousand years? You know, some of you have had little babies you've buried. Some of you have relatives that died. You had kinfolks that died in alcoholism or automobile accidents. They weren't converted, they didn't have God's spirit, they weren't Christian. Why do we have to wait a thousand years?

   Surely God wouldn't want us to wait that long unless there's a real reason for it. You know, maybe we just assumed that we're gonna kind of go around like spiritual magicians in the kingdom and just zap and do away with the smog and zap, do away with all the pollution and zap, do away with all the polluted air. No, no, we're not. We're not going to do that.

   I've read in a lot of scriptures I've got marked in my Bible with a one thousand written across it, verses dealing with the millennium. So we're going to rebuild the old places. We're going to build on the heaps of the old. We're going to make up for the pollution of the soil, the pollution of the air and the waters. Man's taken six thousand years to make a mess out of the things God created, and we're not going to just wave a magic wand and get rid of it. It's going to take a thousand years. It has to take a thousand years.

   Why else would God make all of us wait a thousand years to get to see all our dead relatives we're just longing to see raised and see know God's truth and to see them know the true God and the true truth right out of the Bible? Why would we have to wait a thousand years? Well, it has to be a real reason. That's because it's going to take that long to get things back, the restoration of all things.

   Well, here's one example. Ezekiel 37. 'The hand of the LORD was upon Ezekiel, and carried him out in the spirit, set him down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones.'

   All of us in the time we were little kids have heard the song, 'Them bones, them bones, them dry bones. Ezekiel connected them dry bones.' Well he didn't really do it. God did it. But, you know, just one bone came on this bone, and maybe you've even seen skeletons where the bones come together as they sing that old song. And yey, I never really knew what that's all about. That's just some kind of a Bible comic book section or something.

   But notice what happens. 'He passes by round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.' Been dead a long time. You know, the longer a skeleton sits there, the drier it gets. So the fact that they were very dry, they've been dead a long time. About six thousand years, some of them. Five thousand years, four thousand.

   'And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord Eternal, you know. Again he said to me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say to them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Eternal. Thus saith the Lord Eternal unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you.'

   That doesn't sound like born again sons of God, spirit beings. It isn't. This is not Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and David. These aren't sons of God he's talking about. These are bones that are going to be brought back to physical life. Breath comes into them. You don't need breath when you're a spirit being.

   'To enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you.' See that shows they're mortal, they're physical. They're still brought back to a physical resurrection — flesh, breath. 'And you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Eternal.'

   Now, you see, they didn't know that when they died. But when they're brought back in that resurrection, they're going to know God. They're going to be saved. They're going to be taught God's truth. They're going to be aware of God and God's plan.

   'So Ezekiel prophesied as commanded: there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: there was no breath in them.'

   'Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord Eternal; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.'

   Really, you know, imagine how many people that's going to be.

   'Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.' And you know that shows at that time when this physical resurrection happens, that those dead living after the thousand years are finished, the houses of Israel have still been two separate houses. And these are still brought back finally together into the whole house of Israel.

   And you know all the prophecies at Christ's second coming show Israel and Judah still two separate peoples, two separate nations, two separate things that happened to them. They're not just one little nation over in Palestine today.

   So this valley of dry bones, these are the whole house of Israel. 'Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost.' You see, when they died they had no hope of eternal life. They had no hope of the resurrection. They had no hope of salvation. When they died, it was with the attitude that our hope is lost. So the first thing when they're resurrected is going to be a surprise. Like, 'Well, look at that! God's great plan!'

   All of those people who died without knowing God aren't dead forever. They're not hopeless. They're not lost. God blinded those people. God allowed in His plan for them to be blinded so more of them would end up being saved later on.

   But you notice they say, 'Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus saith the Lord Eternal; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.'

   So again they were human, physical, mortal Israelites raised after the thousand years, put right back in Palestine or right in the lands of Israel where they died. 'And you shall know that I am the Eternal, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you.'

   They are converted! They're converted as Israelites, physically resurrected. Now you tell me when in the world otherwise could this ever happen except when we read there in Revelation 20, after the thousand years is finished?

   And I hope we can understand the plan of God, what this great feast pictures. In a way this feast, this day ought to be the greatest of all the feast days. Because what does it picture? The majority of all humans who've ever lived and died without ever really knowing God and God's word in the Bible are going to be resurrected as physical beings after that thousand years, the rest of the dead. And then they're going to be taught, they're going to be converted, they're gonna have God's spirit. They're gonna be back in their land. And then they're going to know what their life has been all about, whereas they died thinking there's no hope. That's what they thought.

   You know, not too long ago I had the sad job of preaching a funeral for one of my uncle's boys. He died in an automobile accident, too much to drink. Came down a hill, didn't see the dead end and the stream at the end of the hill, just crushed the motor right back into him and killed him on the spot.

   So you know my aunt and uncle had been brought up in one of the Protestant churches and they were heartbroken because they were just sure the very next instant their son would be roasting in hell, burning and burning and burning and burning and they were never able to burn up, blood boiling and flesh burning and yet never able to burn up, just on and on burning and burning and burning forever and ever and ever.

   Can you realize the greatness of this day then? You know, when I talked to my uncle and aunt, I said, 'No, no, that's not so. The Bible says if we sin willfully after we receive the knowledge of the truth. But he didn't sin willfully after he received the knowledge of the truth. This is not the only day of salvation.'

   I mean, surely we all realize that's totally mistranslated from the Old Testament. You read back where that verse in II Corinthians is quoted from, it says 'now is a day of salvation,' doesn’t say 'the only day of salvation.'

   You know, just think about what this day means for all people that have ever died — Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, atheists, skeptics, agnostics, critics. People are going to have a chance to be raised and be shown what they are and why they're here and what their life is for, and then they're going to have a chance to know God, be converted, have God's spirit.

   So I really hope we can highlight this feast by the meaning of this day and go away with our minds off ourselves. Isn't it kind of interesting that the last holy day God has isn't for you at all? Your holy days passed, last night, yesterday, that thousand-year reign with Christ. This day today pictures the hope for everybody who died without any hope.

   Of course, we'll be sons of God to get to enjoy them. I'm really looking forward to sitting down and chatting with Abraham Lincoln and Ben Franklin and, you know, lying there on the beach there talking to George Washington. And that's what this day pictures.

   So I hope we can go away and think about that on your way home. Think about the great truth. I'd say this is in a sense the greatest truth of all the truths God's church knows: that there isn't just one day of salvation. The people who died without knowing the truth, we know the day is coming when they're going to be resurrected and the books of the Bible are gonna be open to them. God's spirit is going to be available to them, and that's when 'whosoever will, let him come and drink of the water of life freely.' That's the greatest day of salvation the world will ever have.

   Well, let's really rejoice in this last great day and what it pictures and keep our minds on it on the way home and on your driving as well. And whatever happens, don't let anything happen to you this year. We would like to just see everybody without exception back to the feast again next year. Don't let any man rob you of your crown and deceive you. We'll see all of you again next year, and take care of yourselves."