The Final Feast of Salvation - The Eighth Day
Billions of people have lived and died without hearing the true proclamation of the coming kingdom of God. Neither have they heard the path to personal salvation as marked out by the Creator of all things. They have never had access to the bible which contains all that important information. Nor have they had anyone to teach them.
Some have heard or read the words contained in scripture but have not understood. They have many teachers yet they teach without understanding. They have knowledge of language, history, and human reasoning... but the truth is not with them.
What is to become of all these people?
Are they condemned and doomed, to either an eternity of torment, or destruction in a lake of fire? Some people say yes... that's exactly what God intends to do. Others hear that and reject the God of the bible as mean and unfair. It is not a satisfying answer... people can point to certain scriptures to try and prove it... but their interpretation is without understanding.
God has given us His word in a way that allows humans to hear and read the plain truth but not understand it.
A Fundamental Truth Hidden in Plain Sight
There is a resurrection for the rest of the dead who are not in Christ at His return. They rise again to life following the 1,000 year rule of Christ on earth. So we also have a final holy day following the 7 day Feast of Tabernacles... the eighth day... the final feast... the final step in God's plan to bring many children to glorious everlasting life.
Leviticus 23:34-36, 39 the final biblical festival comes immediately after the 7 day festival... there is no gap between the two. You could easily think of the eighth day as simply the conclusion of the feast of tabernacles... but it signifies a unique event that comes after the FOT is complete.
Revelation 20:5 those who were not raised at Christ's return are raised to life after the 1,000 years. They are the "rest of the dead".
Revelation 20:11-13 following the 1,000 years of God's rule on earth there is a time of judgment. This cannot include those who were raised at Christ's return. Those people have already been judged resurrected and given their reward. So, judgment does not happen all at once as so many false prophets teach.
Matthew 11:21-24, 12:41-42 Jesus is referring to this time of judgment that takes place after the 1,000 years. The resurrection of the “rest of the dead”… those who never received the enlightenment that leads to repentance.
· The people of Tyre, Ninepin, Ethiopia, Sodom are used to indicate that all people of all epochs of history and various races will rise. From babies who died after only a few hours to people who lived to a ripe old age.
· People of the past rise at the same time as people of the present. They are not judged immediately following their physical death. They remain dead and rise up for judgment only at this future time.
· People from out of these nations would have responded to God's calling... but they did not... because they did not have opportunity to hear the truth.... God never sent Jesus to them.
· The simple Jews of Chorazin and the learned Pharisees and scribes… indicate all those who had God’s truth in their hands but did not understand it will rise up at that time as well
Consider what Jesus said to the people of Capernum and the Pharisees... "it will be more tolerable for the evil people of Sodom in the resurrection than it will be for you" [because they rejected and opposed Jesus when He was standing right in front of them]... there will be people in the second resurrection who considered themselves as workers of Christ who vehemently opposed the teaching of the truth...
To many the Sabbath, the holy days, Christ's coming rule on earth, the mortality of the soul are heresy... people who in ignorance oppose the truth could have a more difficult time in the resurrection and judgment than those who never even had that option.
What Will They Experience When Resurrected?
1. Raised to Flesh & Blood
Ezekiel 16:53-58 a) Israel and Sodom will rise together [at the same time] b) they will be restored to their former state [flesh and blood] c) Israel will be especially ashamed of themselves because [unlike Sodom] they had God's word of truth but did not understand it.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 using Israel as an example scripture indicates that: a) there will be a resurrection back to physical life in bodies made of flesh and bone. b) people resurrected to flesh and blood will be given the vital missing ingredient - the holy spirit of God.
2. Remembrance of Their Past
Those who rise up at that time will have a lot of baggage... bad habits, bad attitudes, horrible memories. They will retain thought patterns will be based on dead end philosophies, false religious ideas... otherwise, how could it be harder for one group than another? Many people will be very surprised to learn that most of what they thought was true was a deception. BUT, now the shroud of blindness will be lifted.
3. A New World
The rule of God on earth will have been in place 1,000 years. The results will be amazing, it will have been a 1,000 year long demonstration of how God's laws, statutes, and regulations were designed to work.
l They will be able to compare what life was like when humanity was allowed to make up their own rules with the results of the millennium.
l They will be able to compare what life was like when Satan operated and the prince of the world to the results of Christs rule.
4. Access to Truth
The books will be opened... they will have the help of the holy spirit which imparts understanding of God's word... they will have righteous spiritual guidance from Christ Himself and the resurrected saints [who they will be able to see and hear].
It's at this time, and under these circumstances… the “rest of the dead” will enter into judgment with God.
How Does God Judge?
The best model for how God judges is the example of the Church 1 Peter 4:17.
We are judged now in this flesh and blood life… the verdict on us is made known when Christ returns. We are already judged and not subject to the judgment following the 1,000 years.
God judges His Church by how they live compared to His revealed word. He gives them every tools they need to succeed: 1) information [the scriptures] 2) the holy spirit [to cut through the cloud of deception and give understanding] 3) instruction [through appointed and trained teachers] 4) encouragement and fellowship of fellow believers [to provide living examples and strength of solidarity].
Judgment is a process that requires a lifetime... Godliness is learned step-by-step... knowledge--> application --> error --> repentance --> greater knowledge... then the cycle repeats.
The rest of the dead will be judged the same way. They will have access to God's word that was never available for most [the books will be opened]... they will receive the holy spirit that imparts understanding and cuts through the fog of deception they have been in all their lives... they will have spirit born teachers whom they can see and interact with and be encouraged by.
Many will have negative thought patterns they need to overcome...
But, those who are raised with the rest of the dead will be given time to grow... they will be given time to prove that they want to live God's way. The book of life will be opened so their name can be written in it... until that time the book of life had been closed to them.
As part of their judgment they will have to: 1) be convicted of sin 2) repent 3) die to the flesh and receive the seed of eternal life [that's baptism!] 4) grow in Godly character [act on what they now know] 5) those who choose God's way will receive the gift of everlasting life and be changed from mortal to immortal.
This will be their time of salvation... just as your time is now. Judgment takes place in the flesh not upon resurrected spirits.
They Will Receive Righteous Judgment
John 5:21-23 the judge who sits upon that throne is the resurrected Christ Himself.
Daniel 7:9-10 Christ is the head of the court... but there are others with Him
1 Corinthians 6:2-3 those who were part of the first resurrection will be seated with Christ... we sit with Him as kings/rulers, priests/teachers, and as judges.
Jesus life in the flesh helped him to be an even better judge… who is merciful… since He knows what fleshly life is like. You too are being prepared to judge through what you suffered in the flesh when tempted [Heb 2].
God Wants All People to Be Saved
l 1 Timothy 2:4 God wants all people to be saved through hearing and understanding the truth.
l 2 Peter 3:9 God wants everyone to be saved through coming to repentance
l John 3:16-17 God wants everyone to be saved through accepting Christ's sacrifice for their sins
Many people think they are doing this... but they are not… because they disobey and do not repent. They are like the spiritually blinded Israel of old. Hearing the words but not understanding them because God has allowed a cloud of deception to cover their eyes.
Romans 11:25-27 Israel were spiritually blinded but Paul know they had a future!
This is the resurrection of the "rest of the dead" that comes after the millennium. This is the last great day of the biblical festival cycle... which comes after the feast of tabernacles.
John 7:37-39a
It is God's fervent desire that all people be saved... but By God's decree there is an order 1 Corinthians 15:22-24... as all have died all can be made alive through Christ... Christ is raised... then the saints... then the rest of the dead... and then the end when death is no more.
At that point people will have come to know Christ... with no veil of deception covering their eyes... with full access to the power of the holy spirit. All will have made their fully informed decision: to choose life everlasting... or death everlasting.
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