Good morning. This morning we'll be reading Hebrews chapter two. Let's have a brief word of prayer before we do that though. Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning and we want to thank you for the new day that you've given us. Thank you for the breath that is in our lungs, Father. Pray that you would forgive us for our sinfulness, our shortcomings, both intentional and known to us and those which we are ignorant of. And we thank you that we can have forgiveness through our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that he would be exalted today in this assembly, that he would be lifted up in the songs, in the preaching of your word, in the fellowship, and in the heart of each person here. I pray that we would do the work of plowing up the fallow ground of our hearts to receive what you would have for us today that might fall on well-plowed soil and bring forth fruit for your cause and to your glory. I pray that the reading of your word would be helpful to that end. In Jesus' name, amen. In the letter to the Hebrews, which I did not get to read, chapter 1, last week because I was not here. Paul, I'm going to assume, was the author. We can disagree at another time if you take a different position. But Paul is writing to these Hebrews essentially encouraging them to continue in the faith of Jesus Christ, and he does that by a means that is very beneficial to all of us, by simply showing how Christ is exalted and superior to everything else in the world, basically. The Mosaic Law, the priesthood there, angels, the sacrifices maintained there, all of it. Christ is better than. And so in chapter one he pointed out how Christ is superior to the angels in being the son of God in contrast to the angels who are merely ministers of God. And so that brings us then to chapter two where we pick up today. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels. Thou crown'st him with glory and honor, and did set him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the church while I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, behold, I and the children which God hath given me. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. Now we have one more lesson on the month of Tishri here with three holy days. And this is the last of the holy days of the seventh month. And so it's appropriate to blow the shofar since this is the month of the blasting of the trumpets by the master blaster. You won't have to hear that again for a while. It's all right. The Feast of In-Gathering is what's taking place right now, and we're in the middle of that in the seventh month of the biblical calendar, and it's recognized by Orthodox Jews and in the scriptures. God gave Israel a calendar with specific holidays, seven in total. to preach the gospel every year over and over and over again. The Feast of Ingathering begins with a Sabbath day and ends eight days later, which is different than the Feast of Unleavened Bread that kicks off the brand new year in the spring. Seven days. You got a Sabbath on day one and on day seven, but in this case, you have a Sabbath on the first day and the eighth day, and I'll explain the significance of that in a minute. But the Feast of Ingathering, happening in the seventh month of 12 months out of the year, is also a kickoff for the second half, in which there's nothing going on. Why? Hey, you end up with the Sabbath on the eighth day, and it's a rest of God for eternity. Isn't that exciting? Next slide, please. In Ezekiel chapter 23, 14 through 17, Israel is told three times, thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread. Thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days as I commanded thee in the time appointed of the month Abib. For in it thou camest out of Egypt and none shall appear before me empty. and the harvest, the feast of harvest, the first fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field, and number three, the third feast, the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year. when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God. There's a lot of significance in this, but this is the end of the year, the final harvest. It's a warning and a reminding that there is a final day coming. Next slide, please. In, is that the next slide? Did we go back? Okay. Oh, I see, it's been, looks like the slides have been cut off. I'm using a 16 by 9 and the projector is 3 by 4. All right, in the biblical calendar, the cycle, the cycle of the annual feast is coming to an end. God gave Israel a calendar of annual feasts to observe every year. There are seven holy days, as I mentioned, grouped together into three harvest seasonal feasts. The feasts correspond with the spring harvest, the summer harvest, and the fall harvest in each of those three seasons. The final feast of the year in God's biblical calendar is also called Sukkot. It's the feast of ingathering for the final crops of the last season of the year. The feast lasts for eight days beginning the 15th day of Tishri and is the seventh month of the biblical calendar. This year it began at sunset on October 16 and ends at nightfall Wednesday, this coming Wednesday, October 23rd. The significance of the feast of harvest is that it reminds us that there will be a final harvest of souls. That's why I like the term of the various terms that are used to refer to it. There's a feast of tabernacles, the feast of in-gathering. I like the feast of in-gathering just to emphasize the fact that, hey, this is a final gathering. There's a harvest going on. The spring feast is the first feast every year and begins with the feast of unleavened bread in the first month of the new year according to the biblical calendar, then 50 days later, let's see, do we have a, well, when the, okay, nope. Brother Ron, we have the wrong slides. That's the problem, it should have been They probably have another one in there that's named 7 Succo. Because that's the old one. I can tell because that's very colorful. I took the colors out. Emphasizing something else. Oh, well. We'll make do. 50 days later or seven weeks plus one day. which is interesting to take note of. After the offering of the first fruit of the spring harvest, the Feast of Weeks occurs. That is, Pentecost, Feast of Weeks, because the emphasis and focus was on the completion of seven weeks. And that's observed on the first fruits of, or offering the first fruits of the summer crop harvest. The third and last feast for the year occurs in the seventh month of the biblical year, and is called the Feast of Ingathering. The first feast of the year, going back to spring, is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which represents the perfect work of Christ, the sinless Lamb of God who was sacrificed to pay for our sins. His sacrifice and resurrection make all the other harvests possible. And that's why the new year begins with the Passover, because there is nothing else to celebrate if there's no Passover. And in fact, the dependence of the first harvest is depicted by setting the summer feast of weeks 50 days after the offering of the first fruits of the spring harvest. That is, the second harvest, when it was observed on Pentecost, depended on when it was when First Fruit Sunday occurred. This means Pentecost occurs 50 days after the first fruit offering of the spring harvest, regardless of the date of the calendar. Doesn't matter. The 50 days is the completion of seven weeks of seven days. The 50th day is Pentecost and is also on a Sunday, just as the first fruit's offering in the spring harvest. Both are offered on the first day of the week. It was not a Sabbath day. And the bread eaten was leavened for Pentecost. Leviticus chapter 23 verse 17 says of Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, you shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven. They are the first fruits to the Lord. The final harvest of the year, which brings us into the fall now, which we're observing, represents the final harvest of souls on earth. It occurs in the seventh month, which represents the completion of all the harvest seasons. There's also a deadline to take note of because there's a deadline for souls to be saved. There's a line being drawn in the sand after which there's no turning back. For this reason, Christ's admonition in 2 Corinthians 6 is, behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. You don't have to wait for Armageddon to come to bring your life to an end. Your life and chance to choose Christ could end today with illness, heart attack, accident. Let's see what the next slide is. I just want to see what happened. Okay, okay, we'll use that one. Not surprising, God has scripted into the calendar year with the seven holidays or holy days. He scripted the gospel message into the annual feasts. Just as the tabernacle and the priestly duties were scripted in such a way to present the gospel message, so too the calendar given to Israel also presents the gospel. In God's calendar, there are seven holy days that memorialize the gospel message of salvation. And it surprises people, a lot of people. who believe in progressive revelation that the gospel message has been preached since the foundation of the world. The same message. Yep, there it is in the calendar given to Israel in the days of Moses. But God doesn't use a progressive revelation of truth. He fulfills which has been revealed since the foundation of the world. And that means this is fulfilled revelation, not progressive revelation. Luke chapter 1 verses 68 through 70 says, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets. which have been since the world began. You know what that means. Adam and Eve knew the gospel, Abraham knew the gospel, Moses knew the gospel, Joshua and the prophets and King David and the priests knew the gospel. They didn't know who the Messiah would be, but they did know that he was coming and they knew why he was coming. So the Gospel message is memorialized and presented in the seven annual Holy Days that God gave to Israel. The first three Holy Days were grouped together for the Spring Harvest. Then you have the Passover, which includes the Passover, the Feast, the Unleavened Bread, and the First Fruit Offerings. So the first Holy Day there mentioned, Passover. This is the first holy day of the first month of the biblical calendar year in the spring. And that begins with Passover. Just as God took the first step to provide his son as a sacrifice for our sins, Israel was instructed to begin their new year with a sacrificial lamb. God offered his son as the unblemished, sinless sacrifice for sins. Israel was instructed to sacrifice an unblemished lamb. And just as God was separated from the fellowship of his son, the lamb was kept in the fellowship of each home, living with them before it was sacrificed. Now the second holy day of the year is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This is observed for seven days beginning the day after Passover, which was on the 14th of Abib. And then the Feast of Unleavened Bread started on the 15th of Abib. The seven days of the feast represent the completion of the feast. And just as the Lamb of God was perfect and sinless, the feast was observed with unleavened bread, no sin. The third holy day of the year is the offering of the first fruits of the spring harvest. We call it Resurrection Sunday around here because Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday. And it's always been a Sunday, the beginning of a new week. Just as the Lamb of God was the first fruit offering to begin a new life as the risen Savior to memorialize the way of salvation and that it was a success, Israel offered the first fruits of the spring harvest on the first day of the week to begin a new week of life. And just as Christ was a sinless offering, Israel was instructed to eat only unleavened bread on this day to symbolize the sinlessness of God's sacrifice and the divine righteousness he would impute to all those who believe in him. Also, just as Christ is the beginning of eternal rest for our souls, the first and last days of the seven week were Sabbath days of no work. This represents the complete rest that is found in Christ. The fourth holy day, jumping into the second harvest season in the summer now. This is called the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. This was a time to offer the first fruits of the summer harvest. Just as Christ made possible the salvation of souls, came to save lost souls, and commissioned his church to win souls and save disciples, Israel was instructed to go into the harvest and reap a second season of fruit. Also, just as salvation hinges on the work of God, Israel was instructed to observe Pentecost on the 50th day, the seventh Sunday, seven weeks after the first fruit Sunday in the spring, regardless of the date of that Sunday. The day of Pentecost was determined by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, just like our days, our lives are determined by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not the date of a calendar. And just as God's gift of salvation is for sinners, Israel was instructed to eat leavened bread to memorialize God's commission to win the lost. for the final harvest. The fifth holy day of the year is the first day of the seventh month called the Day of the Trumpets or Yom Terorah. So now we're advancing into the third and final harvest season, which is now. Just as God's angels will sound the trumpets in the last days to announce the last call for repentance, Israel was instructed to blow the trumpets to announce the last days of the harvest seasons. And just as the end of the world completes all the works to be done in the world, Israel was instructed to observe the day as a Sabbath where no work was to be done. The sixth holy day of the year is the second holy day of the seventh month of the tenth day of that month, Tishri. This is the day of atonement known as Yom Kippur. Just as God calls everyone to repent and reconcile with Him, Israel was instructed to reconcile with God on this day. And to this day, it's considered the most holy day of the year. And just as God does all the work to save our souls and offer salvation as a gift to us, Israel was instructed to observe the Day of Atonement as a Sabbath day of rest. The penalty for working and or not demonstrating humility was death. Because relying on any work other than humbly relying on God's work will result in death, not eternal life. The seventh holy day of the year is an eight-day feast called the Feast of Ingathering, which is being celebrated and observed right now. The Feast of Ingathering, or Sukkot. It begins on the 15th day of the seventh month and ends on the 21st day. Just as there's a final day for harvesting souls to salvation, Israel was instructed to observe the final harvest for the year with a feast. Just as salvation is the gift of God without works, the Feast of Ingathering begins with a Sabbath day of no work. And just as salvation brings the hope of a new life beginning in heaven with eternal peace and rest, the eighth day of the feast is observed as a Sabbath day of rest. After this Sabbath, there are no other other harvest to be observed or holy days to keep until the new year begins all over again in the spring with the Passover to begin another presentation of the gospel message for the year. I guess, let's see what comes up next on that slide. Okay, advance backwards two slides. Okay, we'll go back to the count. Here's the gospel written in the calendar. Jesus left his throne in the fellowship with his father in order to be sacrificed for our sins. He suffered humiliation and a cruel death physically. He suffered the equivalent of eternal death spiritually. Being God, he reached the end of eternity and paid for all sins in full in an instant of time. He didn't have to be in the grave for three days, taking three days, 72 hours to pay for sins. Being God, he could do it like that. It was done. Being God, he reached the end of eternity and paid for all sins in full, in an instant. His sacrifice was sufficient as a perfect, sinless offering for sins. While still on the cross, he said, it is finished. before he even was taken into heaven. He then dismissed himself into the hands of his father, restored fellowship with his father. The graves were opened, the veil in the temple was rent in two, signifying the way to God had been made. Not waiting for three more days, it was done on the cross. He restored fellowship with his father and Christ's body was resurrected three days later. Fifty days after his resurrection, he empowered his church to go, teach all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and to teach those to do likewise. That's what we observe, and that's what was encoded in Pentecost. The church continues to harvest souls for Christ and will continue to do so until the last day. Jesus said in Matthew 28, 18 through 20, and Jesus came and spake unto them saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost. teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Church is not going to disappear because God's work doesn't end until we come to the end. When the angels of God blow the trumpets, the beginning of the end starts the countdown to judgment day. Some will be judged from the book of life and others from the books of works. Those in the book of life will be shown mercy and grace with the gift of salvation because they trusted in Christ to save them. Those trusting in themselves and their own efforts will be judged out of the books They'll discover their good works were not good enough. They'll learn they should have trusted in Jesus and not in themselves. They should have relied on being God's, being saved God's way rather than their own way. But as the book of Revelation records, they're not going to repent and they never will. Instead, they will forever blame God for being unjust and unfair to them because he didn't do it their way. Only those whose names are written in the book of life will enter into the kingdom of heaven and enjoy the new beginning of eternal life, rest, peace, and joy. This is the final month of harvest. And just as there is a final month of harvest, there's a final day of harvest for souls. For you, it could be today. People die every day and more will die before the trumpets of God sound. We don't have to wait to hear the trumpets. Could you be next? Many people die unexpectedly due to an illness or an accident. Will your soul end up in the heavenly harvest of eternal life or in the grim harvest of eternal death? Look at Revelation chapter 14 verses 13 through 20. It describes the final harvest. Now, if you'd like to hear a full lesson on chapter 14, Revelation 14, I've got this titled Harvesting Humanity. It's on my YouTube channel and on Sermon Audio. And I go through the whole chapter, but I'm just going to focus on a couple points here. In Revelation 14, 13, John declared, And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. The scene of a final harvest combined with God's calling to come to him are sobering reminders that we must be saved to be harvested for eternal life. And it says, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. If you died right now, would you die in the Lord or in your sins? Those who die in the Lord rest from their labors, their works, and their sincere efforts. They rest because they rely totally on the work of Jesus Christ to be sufficient. Those who rely on their own works do not rest. They can't rest. They're always in a state of tension, wondering if it was good enough. They don't believe the work of Christ is sufficient to save their souls and that His mercy and grace are sufficient to save them without some sort of effort on their part. Romans chapter 6 verse 11 says, and if by grace, then is it no more of works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. And if it be of works, then is it no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more work. You have to make a choice to be saved one way or the other. It's all or nothing. It's either all grace 100% or all works 100%. It's not a blending together as most like to think. Revelation 14, 14 continues and says, And I looked, and behold, a white cloud. And upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. This is what Revelation 14 is all about, the final harvest of the human vine. And it says, And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap. For the harvest of the earth is ripe. Isn't that amazing? Here, God has used the harvest season in Israel to script out the gospel message. And then in the very end, he says, there's a harvest coming and I'm going to harvest the human vine. I'm going to harvest souls. And just like there is a last harvest of the year, there is a last harvest on earth. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, he also having a sharpsicle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire, and cried with a loud voice to him that had the sharpsicle, saying, thrust in thy sharpsicle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth. for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." And like I said, if you want to get a full description of these things, you can go find it in my messages online. But the point here is, this is the message of the Feast of Ingathering. There is a final harvest of souls about to take place. And unless you trust Christ and trust in his works, resting with the peace of mind that his work is completely and totally sufficient to save your soul. Unless you rest, you will die in your unrest. And that will only get worse as eternity goes on. The question asked then is, if I died right now, where would I spend eternity? Amen.