The earlier appointed times of God, the spring Holy Days, picture a smaller, early harvest—one that has taken place during the first 6,000 years of mankind’s existence. During that period, God has produced the firstfruits, a limited number whom He has specifically called, molded, and prepared according to His purpose.
The final phase of God’s plan unfolds during the next 1,000 years of His 7,000-year design. It is during this time that the world will be prepared for salvation to be extended to the vast majority of all mankind.
Yet the fall Holy Days do not begin by picturing the harvest itself. Instead, they first reveal a profound and necessary transition—from a world ruled by mankind to a world governed by the Kingdom of God. Before that great harvest can occur, the environment in which it grows must be changed. The present age of human self-rule cannot produce the spiritual fruit God intends. Therefore, a new government must first be established. This new government prepares the way for a far greater number of people to receive salvation than ever before—allowing for a much greater spiritual harvest.
The Feast of Trumpets, the first Holy Day of the fall season, pictures momentous events that bring about this change in rulership.
A Final Era for God’s Salvation
Throughout the past 6,000 years, God has not been striving to save the masses as many believe. Instead, He has been preparing a small early harvest—144,000 firstfruits—during a time when the world itself has been hostile to true spiritual growth.
Mankind’s long history of self-rule has produced religious division, governmental corruption, and deep spiritual confusion. This environment has resisted the kind of humility, repentance, and transformation required for entry into the Kingdom of God. Because of this, God’s calling during this age has been limited by necessity and design.
God’s purpose to change that environment begins with the return of the Messiah. At that time, the firstfruits will rule as kings and priests with Him, as God’s government is established on Earth. What follows will be the far greater fall harvest—a period in which salvation is extended to all mankind under conditions that at last foster genuine spiritual growth.
The earlier appointed times revealed the process of conversion that every individual must eventually experience: accepting Joshua the Christ as the Passover, repenting of sin, being baptized, and receiving the begettal of God’s spirit. That same process will also apply to everyone during this final stage of God’s plan.
The rejection of Passover—through altering its commanded timing and replacing it with practices such as the Eucharist and Communion—did more than obscure the identity of Joshua as the true Passover of all mankind. It also hid the future hope embedded within God’s appointed times. When the foundation was altered, the blueprint that revealed the full plan of salvation was buried with it.
FEAST OF TRUMPETS
The fourth annual Holy Day is the first appointed time in the autumn season in the Northern Hemisphere. On the Roman Calendar, the Feast of Trumpets generally falls in September or early October.
In Judaism, this day is commonly called Rosh Hashanah, meaning the head—beginning—of the year. However, that title is not the biblical name for the Feast of Trumpets and reflects later religious tradition rather than God’s original instruction. This is just another example of how far Judaism has wandered from what God initially commanded and why truth that has been buried must be uncovered.
Instead, God clearly establishes that the year begins with the month in which Passover is observed. By this measure, the Feast of Trumpets falls not at the beginning of the year, but in the seventh month, exactly as God appointed.
“Then the Eternal spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying, “In the seventh month [of God’s calendar], in the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial [a yearly observance] of trumpeting, a holy convocation”’” (Lev. 23:23-24).
The Hebrew word translated as “trumpeting” can refer to shouting, the blowing of a single trumpet, or the blowing of multiple trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets actually includes the use of all three kinds of “trumpeting”—blowing, shouting, and the sounding of many trumpets.
Joshua’s Deliverance of Israel to an Inheritance in the Promised Land
There is an incredible parallel of profound prophetic symbolism contained in the Old Testament story of Joshua, the son of Nun, who led the Israelites into the land God promised them. After Moses’ death, God appointed Joshua to lead the Israelites out of the wilderness, where they had wandered for forty years, living in temporary dwellings. Being led out of the wilderness marked the Israelites’ transition from slavery in Egypt to their inheritance in the Promised Land. This was a transition from bondage to freedom.
From the beginning, God’s purpose was to offer the Israelites a physical salvation by freeing them from the bondage of Egypt. That deliverance included being brought into a land of abundance, described as flowing with milk and honey—a physical inheritance.
It should not escape notice that the man chosen to lead them into that inheritance was named Joshua. The same name was given by God to His Son—Joshua the Christ. The name means “God Is Salvation,” or “God’s Salvation.” What Joshua accomplished physically in leading Israel into their inheritance foreshadowed what Joshua the Christ would accomplish spiritually—leading mankind into a far greater inheritance.
That spiritual inheritance concerns salvation from the bondage of carnal human nature. It involves a journey through a spiritual wilderness while living temporarily in physical bodies. God has given to Joshua the Christ the responsibility of leading mankind from this temporary physical existence into everlasting spirit life within God’s Kingdon. It is about God’s salvation offered to mankind. The process of this transformation was primarily pictured in the previous Holy Day—Pentecost.
Yet the story of Joshua contains further symbolism directly connected to the Feast of Trumpets. It illustrates a transition from mankind’s rule to God’s rule.
When Joshua led Israel across the Jordan River, the first objective was to conquer the city of Jericho. In the opening chapters of the Book of Joshua, the account describes how God stopped the flooding Jordan River by causing its waters to stand up in a heap upstream like a dam, allowing Israel to cross on dry ground. After they crossed, God enabled them to conquer Jericho by bringing down the city’s fortified walls. This event carried great prophetic symbolism for the future and holds meaning in the Feast of Trumpets. It was the beginning of a process to bring down the entrenched governments of the existing nations in the promised land that stood in opposition to God’s rule.
Joshua gave God’s instruction to Israel regarding how they were to conquer Jericho. The priesthood and army of Isreal were to march around the city for seven consecutive days—one time around the city for the first six days while keeping silent, and then on the seventh day, seven times around the city.
On the seventh day, after marching around the city seven times, the people were no longer to remain silent. When the trumpets sounded, they were to shout. At that moment, the walls of Jericho came crashing down. This reminds us of the importance of timing and of carefully following God’s instructions exactly as He gives them.
The precision of timing and counting was essential. Israel had to follow God’s instructions exactly. What began that day was a prophetic type of what will occur at Joshua the Christ’s second coming. The events surrounding His return are reflected in the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets. Overthrowing the nations and governments in the promised land prefigures what Joshua the Christ will accomplish on a far greater scale at His return when He brings an end to the governments of mankind and establishes God’s rule on Earth.
The fall of Jericho represented the beginning of removing entrenched governments that opposed God’s rule. In the same way, Christ’s return will not coexist with mankind’s systems of governance. It will replace them. God’s Kingdom is not established alongside human rule—it overthrows it.
The Feast of Trumpets Announces the Second Coming of Joshua
The Feast of Trumpets focuses on events that unfold in the world and lead up to and include Christ’s coming to establish God’s government on Earth. As Israel experienced physical deliverance, this Holy Day pictures a far greater deliverance—the end of 6,000 years of human self-rule and the beginning of the Messiah’s reign for 1,000 years.
It marks the time when the world will most desperately need intervention. Humanity will be on the brink of total self-annihilation in a great and final world war. Scripture reveals that unless God intervenes, all life would be destroyed.
Christ is not returning as a Lamb, as He did the first time when He humbled Himself and did not resist being beaten and then killed in order to become the Passover for all. This time He is returning as a great King—the Lion of God—and He will begin His reign by attacking and conquering those who refuse to stop destroying mankind and the life God created to exist on the earth.
This transition from mankind’s self-rule to God’s rule on Earth is marked by the sounding of trumpets—specifically, the Seven Trumpets described in the Book of Revelation. These prophetic trumpets announce very specific, escalating events among the nations that ultimately erupt, plunging them into a final world war.
It is at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet (on a Pentecost) that Joshua the Christ returns, accompanied by the 144,000 who will reign with Him.
As stated in the previous chapter, the number seven is used in the seven-day week to represent a period of time that is “complete.” The number seven is also used extensively in the Book of Revelation, just as it was in the story of Joshua leading the Israelites against Jericho. This number is used because God has set specific events to take place throughout this great transition in time. It signifies the “completeness” of each prophetic phase that will be fulfilled.
The Book of Revelation describes Seven Seals that are part of a prophetic vision given to John the Apostle. In the vision, a scroll sealed with seven seals is held by God, and only Joshua the Christ—described as the Lamb—is worthy to open it. As each seal is opened, a new judgment unfolds. The first six pertain to events that primarily concerned God’s own end-time Church during the past forty years. These events are all part of a countdown to Christ’s actual second coming, and they have already taken place.
Then the Seventh Seal, which is fast approaching its time to be fulfilled, is itself divided into seven specific segments described as Seven Trumpets that announce catastrophic events to follow. These trumpet blasts lead directly into WWIII and conclude with Christ’s return to put an end to that war.
These trumpet events are explored in depth in the earlier book, The Fall of the United States, which focuses on what God revealed would happen to the wealthiest and most powerful nation the world has ever known toward the end of this current age of mankind’s self-rule.
The Feast of Trumpets pictures these events that lead to the coming of the Messiah. His coming fulfills the very purpose for which He was given the name Messiah—the “Anointed One”—who will become King of kings at His second coming.
At that moment, the 144,000 will be resurrected and enter God’s Kingdom with Joshua who will then fully manifest His role as Messiah and establish God’s rule over all nations. It is at that time that the self-rule of mankind will fall, and God’s Kingdom will be established. Just as the walls of Jericho fell after the blast of trumpets in the time of Joshua, so the systems of human rule will fall at the sounding of the final trumpet, making way for the reign of Joshua the Christ as King of kings.
This transition marks the beginning of a new era—an age in which mankind will experience salvation on a scale never before possible. The reign of Christ during this 1,000-year period is further revealed in the meaning of the next annual Holy Day.
ATONEMENT
The fifth annual Sabbath is the Day of Atonement. In Judaism it is called Yom Kippur, and the correct day for its observance is generally recorded on the Roman Calendar by that same name. While Judaism observes this day at the correct time, it lacks understanding of what true atonement means and how it is actually accomplished.
Yom Kippur is regarded in Judaism as the holiest day of the year—a time of solemn reflection, repentance, and seeking forgiveness for sins committed against God and others. Yet Judaism rejected the only means by which forgiveness can truly be granted because it rejected Joshua as the Passover and the true Messiah.
The Book of Hebrews makes it clear that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin. Furthermore, there is no Levitical or sacrificial system exercised by Judaism today anyway. Without a sacrifice, forgiveness cannot occur, and the only means of forgiveness is through the Passover. Without Him, there is no reconciliation to God.
“The Eternal spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation [commanded assembly] unto you, and you shall afflict your souls [accomplished by complete fasting from food and drink during that entire day], and offer an offering made by fire unto the Eternal. You shall do no work in that same day for it is a Day of Atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Eternal your God’” (Leviticus 23:26-28).
“You shall do no manner of work. This shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest [an annual Sabbath], and you shall afflict your souls in the ninth day of the month at even [beginning from sundown of the ninth day], from even unto even [observed until sundown of the 10th], you shall keep your Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:31-32).
Rather than growing in understanding of God’s purpose of salvation revealed in Atonement, Judaism became stuck in the physical observances of the Old Testament. Yet physical observance alone never provided forgiveness of sin. Only the New Testament reveals the complete atoning process made possible through Joshua the Christ.
The Day of Atonement is about becoming atoned to God. But what does that mean? A basic definition is reconciliation—the making or strengthening of a right relationship—between sinful humanity and a holy God. That reconciliation begins with repentance and acknowledgment of sin, and it is made possible by the acceptable payment of sin through the shed blood of Joshua the Christ as the Passover.
Atonement is not a one-time event; it is an ongoing process throughout human life. It involves a humble, continual desire, to grow into unity with God—to become “at one” with Him. The word itself captures that meaning: at-one-ment.
This Holy Day pictures the complete atoning process whereby mankind can become fully reconciled to God. The firstfruits, pictured in Pentecost, become fully atoned—reconciled to God—in that first resurrection at Christ’s coming once they are made spirit in everlasting life. The entire process revealed through Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Trumpets shows how those firstfruits are brought into God’s Family—into His Kingdom.
The Day of Atonement pictures the entire process of reconciliation. Just as with that earlier harvest, all who become part of the greater fall harvest must also come into unity and oneness with God—to become “at one” with Him in order to enter into His Kingdom. All must accept Passover, repent, receive God’s spirit, and grow into unity with Him.
The commanded fast on this day reflects humility before God. Fasting is a physical expression of dependence. It acknowledges that human strength is insufficient. Repentance requires humility—the willingness to choose God’s ways over one’s own. Year by year, one must continue striving and fighting against sin while seeking agreement with God in all things—”at one” with God.
As a person grows spiritually over time and works to overcome their nature, God transforms the mind itself. Through His spirit, He brings the individual into increasing unity and harmony with His one true way of life. When that process is complete, the individual can be fully at one with God—changed from mortal to immortal, from physical to spirit—just as the 144,000 will be at Christ’s coming.
A Giant Step Forward in Becoming Atoned to God
Although Christ’s return will open salvation to all mankind, it will still remain an individual choice whether to live according to God’s will. Yet obedience—choosing to live God’s way—will become far more attainable than during the previous 6,000 years. This is because a major obstacle will be removed that is yet revealed in this annual Holy Day.
At Christ’s return, as God’s government is established, one great hinderance to reconciliation will be taken away—the presence of Satan and the demonic world that has been harassing and negatively influencing mankind for the previous 6,000 years. Paul described this influence when he referred to Satan as “the prince of the power of the air” and “the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).
John likewise wrote of Satan as one who deceives the entire whole world:
“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth, and his angels [those who rebelled with him known as demons] were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9).
This verse is in reference to a moment in time when God cast him out of heaven forever to this earth.
Throughout human history, Satan and the demonic realm have worked to oppose God’s plan and purpose. More about Satan and that evil spirit world will be discussed later, but it is through the Day of Atonement that God reveals how He will ultimately deal with this influence.
At Christ’s second coming, He and the 144,000 will bring WWIII to an end. Those who refuse to cease using weapons of mass destruction will be stopped by overwhelming power. Christ will establish God’s government over all nations.
At that same time, Satan and those angels that rebelled with him—demons—will be removed from mankind’s presence during Christ’s millennial reign:
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit abyss [symbolic of a place of spirit confinement] and a great chain in his hand [symbolic of complete restraint]. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and he cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while” (Revelation 20:1-3).
The Day of Atonement pictures this removal. With Satan restrained from the presence of God and mankind, humanity will no longer be subjected to his pervasive deception during the millennial reign of Christ (the Millennium). This creates the environment necessary for a far greater atoning process to unfold.
Later, as revealed in the seventh and final annual Holy Day, Satan will be released briefly and then permanently removed—for all eternity.
THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES
As with all of God’s annual Holy Days, each one connects to the other in an orderly, deliberate, sequence. From the first observance to the last, they unfold with structure and precision. Just as a blueprint provides a plan that guides construction toward a finished result, God’s appointed times function as a carefully designed framework that reveals His unified plan for the salvation of mankind.
Each Holy Day builds upon the one before it, revealing step-by-step how God works with mankind. None stands alone. Together, they form a progressive revelation of God’s purpose—a complete design rather than isolated rituals.
Each stage reveals how God brings mankind from bondage to salvation. The Feast of Tabernacles represents one of the final and climactic phases of that plan.
The Feast of Tabernacles in God’s Holy Day Cycle
In Leviticus 23, the final two annual Holy Days are described as the concluding observances of the year. Together they span eight days. The first seven days are called the Feast of Tabernacles, with the first day designated as an annual Sabbath. The eighth day is also an annual Holy Day and is referred to simply as the Last Great Day.
These two observances portray the final phases of God’s work with mankind. The Feast of Tabernacles pictures a defined era in God’s plan, while the Last Great Day reveals what follows immediately afterward.
God commanded this observance clearly:
“Also, in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land you shall keep a Feast unto the Eternal seven days. On the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. Even you shall take to yourselves on the first day the boughs [mistranslated Hebrew word—instead of “boughs,” it should be “fruit”] fruit of good trees, palms of palm trees, and the branches of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Eternal your God seven days. So you shall keep it a Feast unto the Eternal seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths seven days. All who are born Israelite shall dwell in booths so that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Eternal your God” (Leviticus 23:39-43).
This Feast was observed after the larger fall harvest had been gathered. It was a time of rejoicing before God—celebrating abundance, provision, and deliverance. The Israelites were instructed to gather fruit and branches and construct booths. God declared this observance to be a statute forever throughout their generations.
The Meaning of the Feast for Ancient Israel
The Feast of Tabernacles derives its name from the Hebrew for booths, which can also mean tabernacles or temporary dwellings. It could just as accurately be called the Feast of Booths, and some refer to it in that manner.
These booths were not permanent structures for habitation. They were intentionally small and simple. The command to “dwell” in booths did not imply full-time living within them, but rather purposeful time spent inside them.
They were constructed without solid surrounding walls and were designed primarily for sitting. A bench-like seating area was built within the frame, with two sides arching overhead—either in a curved or squared shape. Palm branches were placed over the top as covering.
The Hebrew word translated as “dwell” carries the meaning of sitting, remaining, or abiding within. This clarifies that God was not commanding full habitation, but purposeful time to be spent within these temporary structures.
Building the booths and sitting in them each day served as a physical reminder of Israel’s past deliverance. It prompted reflection on how God led Israel out of Egypt and sustained them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness, living in temporary dwellings before bringing them into the promised land. The fruit gathered during the Feast symbolized God’s blessings and faithfulness in providing abundance year by year.
The Deeper Spiritual Meaning of the Feast
For Israel in Old Testament times, this observance was carried out physically, exactly as God commanded. However, once the Church was established in AD 31, God began to reveal the deeper spiritual meaning of what the Feast of Tabernacles portrays.
The booths, the fruit, and the act of dwelling in temporary structures were types—physical representations of a far greater spiritual reality.
Israel’s deliverance from Egypt became a picture of how salvation is offered to mankind. Just as the Israelites were delivered from Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, God also delivers individuals from the bondage of spiritual Egypt—sin. Once God begins to lead someone out of sin, that person begins a journey through a world that does not live by God’s laws. And, as with the Israelites, that journey is impossible without God’s help—without His spirit dwelling in one’s life.
Human life itself is temporary. We exist for a limited time in physical bodies—temporary “booths.” Once someone receives God’s spirit, they begin their own journey out of spiritual Egypt—out of sin—during this temporary existence.
God offers His Spirit to dwell within us while we dwell in temporary bodies. Through this relationship, transformation becomes possible. Spiritual fruit can begin to grow.
In the Bible, spiritual fruit refers to the qualities and behaviors that grow in a person’s life when they are guided by God’s holy spirit. In the book of Galatians, the apostle Paul lists the qualities produced by God’s spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control. These qualities are called “fruit” because they are the natural result of God’s spirit working within someone, much like fruit grows naturally from a healthy tree.
Christ used a metaphor from agriculture to describe this spiritual growth:
“Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide [Gk- to dwell, to continue] in the vine. No more can you, except you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in them, the same brings forth much fruit, for without me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).
By abiding in Christ and having God’s spirit dwelling within us, spiritual fruit is produced. Through this, we can begin making the kind of changes needed in how we live, so that even our thinking—our very mind—can begin to be freed from the bondage of selfish human nature. Such fruit is necessary to enter God’s Kingdom and inherit everlasting life—the true promised land.
The Feast of Tabernacles and the Upcoming Millennium Reign of Christ
As the Israelites sat in their booths during the Feast of Tabernacles, they reflected on their deliverance from Egypt and on how God led them into the promised land. In the same way, God’s people should reflect on the works He has accomplished throughout the ages to bring humanity to this present stage of His plan.
Yet at the same time the Feast looks forward. It points to a future fulfillment—a time when God’s plan reaches a major turning point and salvation is offered on a scale never before seen. The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the 1,000-year reign of God’s government on Earth. Once Christ returns, that new era begins.
The Bible speaks most directly about the 1,000-year reign of Christ—the Millennium—in the Book of Revelation, specifically in Revelation 20:1-6.
Only 144,000 will have received salvation during the previous 6,000 years. After Christ’s return, the opportunity for billions more to receive salvation will unfold during the Millennium. This period corresponds to the greater fall harvest represented in this final cycle in God’s Holy Days.
As already explained, the 144,000 will come with Christ at His return. They are described as blessed because the second death has no power over them. They died once as human beings and were resurrected into everlasting spirit life. They will never die again.
“Blessed and holy are they who have part in the first resurrection. On such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).
An Exciting Age for Mankind
At the beginning of this reign, Satan and the demonic world will be removed from influencing humanity, as pictured in the Day of Atonement. The deception that dominated the previous 6,000 years will cease. Their evil influence will no longer be around.
The 144,000 will be present on Earth with Christ. They will teach God’s ways throughout the world, and all false religious systems will be exposed. As Christ manifested Himself physically after His resurrection—eating with, visiting with, and teaching the disciples for forty days—so too these spirit rulers will be able to manifest themselves within human life. They will be seen, known, and heard.
Nevertheless, just because truth will fill the earth and all things false are fully exposed, not everyone will choose to live by what is revealed and taught. The millennial reign of Christ and the 144,000 does not produce a utopia on Earth. Mankind will still possess carnal nature. Each person will have to decide whether they are willing to resist their human nature and turn from a selfish way of life to God’s way. Not all will make that choice.
The depths of resistance in carnal human nature are captured well by the apostle Paul:
“For to be carnally minded is death [that is where it leads], but to be spiritually minded [seeking to be at one with God] is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be [of itself]” (Roman 8:6-7).
Zechariah prophesied about this future period following the establishment of God’s Kingdom and revealed that some will still resist obedience:
“Now it shall come to pass, that everyone who is left [still alive after WWIII] of all the nations which came against Jerusalem [meaning “city of peace”—a metaphor for God’s Kingdom] shall even go up from year to year to worship the King of the Eternal of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles” (Zechariah 14:16).
Yet some will refuse:
“Then it will be, that whoever will not come up [to celebrate the Feast] of all the families of the Earth to Jerusalem to worship the King of the Eternal of hosts, even upon them there will be no rain [symbolizing that whatever they strive to produce will suffer loss because they refuse to keep the Feast]. Then if that family of Egypt [‘Egypt’ represents those who choose to remain in sin], who have had no rain [those who persist in sin and therefore unable to receive spiritual blessings], still will not go up and enter in, there will be a plague wherewith the Eternal will strike down those people who will not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt [those who choose to live in sin], and the punishment of all nations that will not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles” (Zechariah 14:17-19).
Despite the persistence of human resistance, life during the Millennium will be enriched far beyond anything mankind has ever experienced or dreamed possible.
Although there will still be those among mankind who will not want God’s way of life, as time continues into the Millennium, increasingly more will embrace God’s ways. The hostile spiritual environment of the previous 6,000 years will be gone, and a new world order under Christ’s rule will allow humanity to flourish in ways previously impossible.
The first act of Christ and the 144,000 will be to end WWIII. All war will cease permanently. Nations will no longer divert vast resources into weapons and military power. It will be a time of peace and fullness for human life.
God will give to mankind what it could never accomplish by itself—peace forevermore. Human efforts to secure peace have repeatedly failed—from the League of Nations to the United Nations. Even the statue outside the United Nations building, depicting a man beating a sword into a farming tool, is drawn from Isaiah’s prophecy—yet it is a prophecy mankind could never fulfill on its own.
“He [God] will judge between the nations and rebuke many people [at Christ’s coming]. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).
Under Christ’s reign, that prophecy will finally be fulfilled.
The uniqueness of this rule will quickly become evident. Christ and the 144,000, as spirit beings, will possess power far greater than that of angels. They will be able to enforce peace swiftly and decisively. No democracy, dictatorship, communism, oligarchy, or other human system will remain. There will be only one government—God’s government.
Not only will there be only one government over all nations, but there will only be one Church—God’s Church. All false religious institutions and teachers will no longer exist. Truth about God, His Son, and the 144,000 will flourish. There will never be widespread religious confusion again.
Yet even then, some will cling to their own ideas and will believe human systems are superior. Carnal human nature that refuses to obey God will continue to resist as long as physical life exists.
God does not force obedience. Instead, He allows choice. It ultimately comes down to choosing life or choosing death. Only God’s way leads to everlasting life.
The establishment of Christ’s reign is the only means by which mankind can begin experiencing an advanced level of maturity for humanity, the opportunity for equitable prosperity, and the exercise of the right use of highly advanced technology far beyond what is known today.
The Greater Fall Harvest of Humanity: An Opportunity for Salvation
The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the time when the firstfruits—the 144,000—are established to reign with Christ for the purpose of a far greater harvest.
Together with the Last Great Day, the final Holy Day in God’s plan, this Feast reveals the time God has appointed for mankind to receive salvation—extended to all who are willing to seek and accept it. Both Holy Days picture the great fall harvest of humanity, showing how God provides the opportunity for life to be gathered on the largest scale possible. The Millennial period provides the conditions that ensure the maximum possible harvest of life.
God’s government, prepared over 6,000 years, will establish a world in which peace, justice, order, prosperity, and truth flourish. Those who compose the 144,000 were drawn from across that long span of time and have been molded and prepared for this role.
These include faithful individuals listed in the Old Testament, such as Abel, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Deborah, David, the prophets, and many others. Then, during the nearly 2,000 years following Christ’s first coming, many more were molded and refined within God’s Church. This includes figures widely known such as Peter, John, Paul and the other apostles, along with countless others whose names are unknown to history but known to God. It is during these past 2,000 years that the greater portion of the spring harvest has been gathered, completing the full number of the 144,000.
These rulers will not be inexperienced leaders. They will have been tested, corrected, refined, and trained through a lifetime of struggle and growth. Having conquered self and learned obedience, they will be fully prepared to guide mankind during the Millennium.
God’s government will be unlike anything mankind has ever experienced. Under its rule, millions upon millions will be led toward salvation in an environment radically different from the hostile world that existed under human self-rule.
When this 1,000-year reign concludes, God’s 7,000-year plan will have reached its completion. The period allotted for human reproduction will come to an end. Yet the Feast of Tabernacles does not mark finality. It transitions to a phase of God’s plan that surpasses anything mankind has yet imagined.
THE LAST GREAT DAY
This seventh and final annual Holy Day follows immediately after the seven-day observance of the Feast of Tabernacles. It marks the next distinct phase in God’s plan—a phase that begins only after the Millennial reign of the Messiah has been fully completed.
The Last Great Day is fulfilled in what follows over a period of 100 years. This final era completes Christ’s total reign over physical mankind. Its meaning and purpose unfold as we consider what remains yet unfinished in God’s plan of salvation.
All who lived and died during the first 6,000 years—those who never truly had the opportunity to know God—will then be given that incredible blessing and opportunity. To understand why this is necessary, we must first recognize why God has called only a limited number of people throughout human history.
As stated previously, that period was not a time for salvation when God was striving to save all mankind. By design, God’s Church has always been small because He never intended it to be large. His purpose was to prepare and train a specific number—144,000—to form the governing body of His Kingdom. These will rule alongside Christ throughout the entire 1,100 years of His reign over mankind.
Understanding this framework is essential to grasp the purpose of the Millennium. The Millennial reign of God’s Kingdom on earth is the time when salvation will be offered more broadly—but even then, it applies only to those who survive the final world war and to those born during the following 1,000 years.
With Christ and the 144,000 reigning in God’s government for 1,000 years, and with only one Church—God’s Church—teaching His true way of life, many millions will go through the same process of salvation as the 144,000 did. However, God has not yet revealed whether those who have successfully prepared for entrance into God’s Family, Elohim, will be resurrected at the end of this 1,000-year rule or at the end of the final 100-year period of mankind’s existence.
Nevertheless, during the Millennium there will also be vast numbers who will not attain the potential to be born into Elohim. People will still die at various ages from accidents and other causes during this time.
This reality leads to unavoidable questions within God’s plan: What about the billions who lived and died during the previous 6,000 years, without ever being called? And what about those who die prematurely during the Millennium? What about those who never truly knew God or understood the truth about Him and His Son, Joshua, or those who never had sufficient time for spiritual growth and maturity to be born into Elohim?
The Last Great Day answers these questions. This Holy Day reveals that opportunity has not been denied to them. It has been delayed according to God’s design.
The Judgment of God
Contrary to the widely accepted teaching that people go immediately to heaven or to a place of eternal torment at death, scripture consistently teaches that the dead are still dead! The good news proclaimed by Christ centers on a future resurrection to judgment—not immediate reward or punishment at death.
When it comes to salvation, mankind as a whole has not yet come under judgment. The only ones who have entered such judgment are those whom God called during the first 6,000 years to become His firstfruits—the 144,000 who will rule in His Kingdom. That is why the Church in the New Testament time was told that “judgment now is upon the house of God.” That judgment applied to the Church, not to the world at large.
This means that salvation for the rest of mankind has been intentionally postponed within God’s plan. Those who lived and died during the first 6,000 years were not yet under judgment for salvation and there will be those during the Millennium who will not have had sufficient time for spiritual growth to complete the process of salvation in their lives.
The Last Great Day reveals that all who lived and died without receiving that calling, or without sufficient time for spiritual growth, will be resurrected to physical life in a massive resurrection. At that time, they will be given the opportunity to come to know God. Those who have never begun will enter into that process of salvation, while those whose lives were cut short will resume that process, and all will have the opportunity to complete it.
A Second Physical Life
The outline of this period is revealed primarily in Revelation 20. The chapter begins with the establishment of Christ’s Millennial reign alongside the 144,000 and then it moves forward to describe a far greater resurrection that follows.
This is not a resurrection to spirit life like that received by the 144,000 at Christ’s return. Instead, it is a resurrection to a second physical life—given to those who will then receive their first genuine calling to salvation.
Throughout the Millennium and into most of this final 100-year period, Satan and the demonic world remain restrained and separated from mankind. This absence of deception will be even more essential for those resurrected into this second physical life.
The first three verses previously quoted in the discussion of the meaning of Atonement should be repeated here. This account begins with the return of Christ and the resurrection of the 144,000.
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the abyss [symbolic of a place of spirit confinement] and a great chain in his hand [symbolic of complete restraint]. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and he cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while” (Revelation 20:1-3).
Satan remains confined for the entire 1,000-year reign and through most all of the final 100-year period. Only at the end of that final era is he released briefly, for a purpose that will be addressed later.
John continues:
“Then I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. Then I saw the lives of those who were cut off for the witness of Joshua, and for the word of God…”
This passage refers to the firstfruits—the 144,000—who were “cut off.” They were cut off from the world because the world rejected them, just as it rejected Joshua as the Passover.
“…and who had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands…”
Those who refused to worship the beast rejected the false religious system devised by Satan. Receiving the mark on the forehead symbolizes what a person accepts in their mind—how they think and what they believe. The 144,000 rejected these false systems and remained faithful to God’s appointed times, setting themselves apart from those who worshiped the beast.
Receiving the mark on their hands symbolizes a person’s actions or works, since work is done with the hands. This highlights the difference between those who obey God’s appointed times and those who follow false religious practices.
“…and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:4-5).
These are the firstfruits—the 144,000—who remained faithful during the first 6,000 years. This passage makes clear that they are the only ones resurrected to spirit life to return with the King of kings, ruling with Him. They are given thrones and authority to carry out God’s judgment. This is what is meant by the first resurrection.
This passage also reveals a profound truth:
“But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.”
This clarifies that no others are raised to life during that thousand-year reign. Only after it is completed will the rest of the dead be brought back to life, marking a separate and later resurrection.
But who are the “rest of the dead”? The answer should be self-evident. They are everyone else—every human being who lived and died during the previous 6,000 years and was not part of the 144,000. They remain dead throughout the Millennium.
At the conclusion of the 1,000-year reign—pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles—the period represented by the Last Great Day begins. This final 100-year era opens with a massive resurrection back to physical life.
Those resurrected are not brought back weak, sick, or broken. They are restored whole, healthy, and strong. God reveals that He will grant them a full 100 years of physical life. That time is guaranteed—promised by God.
No one who died during the first 6,000 years went to heaven. As already shown, even King David—whom God Himself declared, through Joshua and later affirmed by the apostle Peter, to be a man after His own heart—remained dead and in his tomb long after his death. It has never been God’s purpose that people go to heaven. Instead, Christ returns to establish God’s Kingdom on Earth—and beyond that, to fulfill purposes even greater.
The Last Great Day reveals that God’s justice includes opportunity for all. Judgment for salvation begins for the vast remainder of mankind only after they are resurrected into this second physical life.
A Second Death Possible Only with a Second Life
A remarkable statement follows in Revelation—one that traditional Christianity never addresses because it does not fit within the framework of going immediately to heaven at death. They have no sound answer for their false belief.
“Blessed and holy are they who have part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).
If this is read exactly as it is written, there should be no confusion. Only preconceived ideas and false beliefs can interfere, clouding one’s ability to see what is plainly set before them.
The previous verse established that “the rest of the dead” do not live again until after the 1,000-year reign is completed. That timing is precise. The 144,000 alone are part of the first resurrection. They are resurrected to spirit life at Christ’s return and reign with Him during the Millennium.
Those in the first resurrection are described as blessed because they can never die again. They are raised into everlasting spirit life. The second death has no power over them.
But that very statement implies something critical. If the second death has no power over the first resurrection, then it must apply to others.
When the rest of the dead are resurrected after the Millennium, they are not resurrected as spirit beings. They are raised back to physical life. Because they already experienced physical death once during the first 6,000 years, they now face the possibility of a second death.
A second death is only possible if there has been a second life.
A Final Time for Salvation
This final 100-year period for human life on earth—beginning with a great resurrection to physical life—marks the last opportunity for the rest of mankind to receive their calling to salvation, with the potential to become part of the Kingdom of God, the Family of God.
The Last Great Day pictures a time of judgment—not immediate sentencing, but evaluation. Each person will be judged according to the decisions they make during this second life. For the vast majority it will be their first genuine opportunity to choose whether they want God’s way.
Those who choose God and His ways and seek to grow spiritually will have the opportunity to be born into God’s Family as spirit beings, receiving everlasting life.
However, God also reveals that vast numbers will refuse. His way of life is not forced upon anyone. It is offered freely, but it must be chosen.
Satan and a third of the angelic realm that followed him made their choice long ago. They rejected God’s way. For 1,100 years—through the Millennium and nearly all of this final 100-year period—they remain restrained, separated from mankind. But at the end of this era, they are released briefly from their confinement from the spirit abyss:
“Now when the thousand years were finished, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog [symbolic of those who refuse God spiritually], to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:7-8).
This release serves a final purpose. It exposes the true choice of those who still resist God, even in an environment of truth and peace. Rather than exploring every detail at this point, it is enough to understand that this brief release leads to the final separation between those who desire God’s way and those who refuse it.
The End of Mankind’s Existence
At the end of this final 100-year period, all of humanity will have lived out their full opportunity to choose.
Those who choose God and grow spiritually during this time will enter the greatest resurrection yet. Countless millions will be changed from mortal to immortal, from physical life into everlasting spirit life within the Family of God. This fulfills the purpose for which mankind was created.
Those who refuse God’s way will experience the second death—the final and complete end of existence.
This judgment also applies to Satan and the rebellious angelic realm, whose lives will cease forever. Neither angels nor human beings possess inherent immortality. Only God possesses eternal life within Himself, and only He can grant everlasting life to others.
With this, God’s 7,100-year plan for human existence reaches completion.
What follows for those who are resurrected into spirit life extends beyond human comprehension. Truth will no longer be resisted or hidden. It will flourish fully and permanently throughout creation.
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