Blow Trumpets
Songs of Praise
Opening Prayer
Morning Service
This Great Sabbath Day, the last one of the annual cycle, looks ahead to the final test of mankind at the end of the Millennium, the Last Judgement and then the joy when the Eternal Kingdom, including the New Jerusalem, is established.
The Last Great Day is linked to the week-long Feast of Booths, which in the Old Covenant is also a celebration held at the end of the year’s harvest. Leviticus speaks of this Day: (Leviticus 23:39)
“Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh new moon, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you will celebrate the Feast of Jehovah for seven days; on the first day there will be a Sabbath observance, and on the eighth day a Sabbath observance.”
This is the eighth day of the Feast—Eight stands for new beginnings. For example, the eighth day is first day of a new week. The day of circumcision for Israelites is also on their eighth day, marking a new relationship with God: (Genesis 17:10-13)
“This is My covenant which you will keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you will be circumcised; and you will be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
“He who is eight days old among you will be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
And even in Moses’ time, God made it clear that the real circumcision was that of the heart: (Deuteronomy 10:12-17)
But this eighth day of the Feast of Booths is remarkable in many special ways. The previous seven days all require everyone to live in temporary Booths. This requirement does NOT apply to the Last Great Day. As we will see, that is because this is the Day which marks the beginning of us residing permanently in God’s New Jerusalem.
But first: Should Christians keep these Annual Holy Days? What does Jeshua say? (John 7:37-39)
So we see that Jeshua kept the Last Great Day, and He spoke of living waters being given on it, and we are told to walk exactly as He walked: (1 John 2:6)
He who says “I am in Him.”, it is necessary for him to walk just like He walks.
Indeed, Jeshua performed a similar, but physical, version of providing living waters during the Exodus: (Exodus 17:6)
This Feast is to be kept during the Thousand Years of Peace: (Zechariah 14:16)
“On the fourteenth day of the first new moon, you will observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread will be eaten. . . .
“On the fifteenth day of the seventh new moon, at the Feast, he will do likewise for seven days, according to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”
Jeshua also talks of keeping the Annual Holy Days during the Kingdom of God: (Luke 22:14-16)
And when the time arrived, Jeshua came and sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
And He said to them, “I have greatly desired that I eat Passover with you before I suffer; but I say to you now, I will not eat of it from now until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
What does this Last Great Day represent in God’s Plan of Salvation? (Revelation 20:4-10)
And the devil, their seducer, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were cast, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
And so we see that Satan fails in his final attempt to overthrow God and will never deceive anyone again.
Mankind will be resurrected and judged, and those who reject Christ and His salvation will be entirely destroyed in the Lake of Fire: (Revelation 20:11-15)
Then I saw a great white throne and He who sat on top of it, He who earth and heaven fled away from before His face. And no place was found for them.
Then Death and Sheol were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
“When the Son of Mankind comes in His glory, and all His holy envoys with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep to His right, and the goats to His left.
“Then those righteous ones will say to Him, ‘Our Lord, when did we see that You were hungry and feed You, or that you were thirsty and gave drink to You? And when did we see that You were a stranger and take You in, or that You were naked and clothed You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You?’
“Then He will also say to those to His left, ‘Get away from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire which is prepared for the devil and his envoys: for I was hungry and you did not give Me food to eat; and I was thirsty and you did not give Me a drink; and I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, and I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they will also answer and say, ‘Our Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve You?’
Even death is to be destroyed; then Jeshua will give the Kingdom back to His Father: (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)
Then our old heavens and earth will be destroyed and replaced with new ones. This is such a momentous transformation that the Bible mentions it many times:
Psalm 102:24-28 I said, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your years are throughout all generations. Before time You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure. Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed.
Isaiah 34:4-5 All the host of heaven will be dissolved, and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll; all their host will fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. For My sword will be bathed in heaven; indeed it will come down on Edom, and on the people of My curse, for judgement.
Luke 21:33 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
And at last God’s New Jerusalem will come to earth. We will break for the Thanksgiving ceremony and lunch. We will learn more about that wonderful city and God’s everlasting Kingdom after that.
We will Break for the Eucharist (Thanksgiving) of Bread and Wine as Jeshua established at the Last Supper. Let us always remember what our Father Jehovah and His Son Jeshua have done for us, and the huge price that they paid to save us and give us everlasting life.
Matthew 26:26-29 And as they were eating, Jeshua took bread, and blessed and broke it, and He gave it to His disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Let us meditate upon these things and our readiness for taking the Bread and the Wine.
[Quiet time for personal reflection and prayer.]
Now we will take the Bread and then the Wine according to Luke 22:19 and 20 [—using unleavened bread and red wine (or red grape juice).]
And He took bread, and He gave thanks and He broke it and He gave it to them. And He said “This is My body which will be given for your sakes; you will do this for My memorial.” Luke 22:19
[Rise up and offer the unleavened bread to Jehovah and give thanks for it, using Jeshua’s words above. Then break the unleavened bread into pieces and pass them around. Wait for everyone to receive their bread and eat it.]
Then He also took the cup after they had dined. He said “This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which will be shed for your sakes. Luke 22:20
[Rise up and offer the wine to Jehovah and give thanks for it, using Jeshua’s words above. Then pour the wine into glasses and pass them around. Wait for everyone to receive their wine and drink it. Then thank Jeshua for offering us His body and blood for our healing, our salvation and our life, both for now and for everlasting life.]
Break for Lunch
Now, the New Jerusalem, which Jehovah God has made for us, descends onto the new Earth. Jeshua and Jehovah our God will live among us, giving us a river of living waters: (Revelation 21:2-22:21)
Then I walked and He who sat on the throne said to me, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
Then one of the seven envoys who had the seven vessels filled with the last seven plagues came and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending from heaven, from the presence of God. And it had the glory of God. And its light was like precious stones, like jasper, as clear as crystal. And it had a great and high wall with twelve gates in it, and twelve envoys at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve branches of Israel: three gates on the east, and three gates on the north, and three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
And the wall was constructed of jasper; and the city was pure gold, in the likeness of pure glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx and onyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh golden chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: one pearl for each, and every one of the gates was one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like it had glass in it.
“Behold, I am coming soon! Blessings to the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I am John, who saw and heard these things. And when I saw and I heard, I fell down to worship before the feet of the envoy who showed these things to me. Then he said to me, “Seer! No! I am your fellow servant, and one of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alap and I am the Tau, the First and the Last, the Origin and the Fulfilment.”
“I, Jeshua, have sent My envoy to testify these things among you in the assemblies. I AM! I am the Root and the Offspring of David, his companion and the bright Morning Star. And the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come and let him take the water of life freely.”
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: whoever adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and whoever takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the trees of life, and from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The grace of our Anointed Lord Jeshua be with all of His saints. Amen. Revelation 21:2-22:21
Indeed the entire universe will be changed, as Isaiah also prophesied: (Isaiah 51:6-8 and 66:22
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look to the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants will die in the same manner; but My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be broken.
Isaiah 66:22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make stand before Me,” says Jehovah, “So will your seed and your name stand.
And what about us? – We will become like Jeshua and His Father: (1 John 3:1-3)
Behold how greatly the love of the Father abounds to us, that He has called us and made us His children! Because of this, the world does not know us, because it does not know Him either.
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we are going to be, but we know that when He is revealed, we will be like Him, and we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
And this is what Jeshua is like now!! (Revelation 1:5-18)
Yes, we will be like Him in that we will also be spirit-based beings. However, we are only adopted children of God and we have not personally helped create the entire universe nor died to redeem all of mankind. Therefore we will be far less exalted than our Messiah Jeshua, but we will be granted the joy of living forever with Him.
Always remember this: (Revelation 21:3-5)
And I heard a great voice from heaven that said, “Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with the children of men, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and this same God will be with them and be their God. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will be no death from now on, nor grieving, nor trauma, nor will there be diseases again, for His sake.”
Then I walked and He who sat on the throne said to me, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
And what will it be like living with God forever? It will be like this:
Zephaniah 3:17 Jehovah your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
Psalm 16:11 You will show me the Way of Life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Amen! May it be soon!
Closing Prayer
Prepared by the Central Highlands Congregation of God
Revised 20 October, 2022
Permission is given to copy and distribute this service provided it is copied entirely and distributed without charge.
Scripture quotes are from the CHCoG translation, based on the Aramaic Peshitta New Covenant.
Endnotes
1 Mat 22:37, Luk 4:8
2 Luk 6:9
3 Eph 6:9
4 Neh 8:14-18. This is also where we derive the name for the Last Great Day.
5 Exo 17:6, Jer 2:13 and 17:13
6 Rev 21:6
7 The Hebrew is horeb, which literally means desert.
8 1Co 10:1-4, 1Pe 2:4
9 Mat 24:21-22
10 Note that chapters 36 to 48 of Ezekiel are all prophecy concerning the Great Tribulation and beyond.
11 As in the Peshitta, meaning that all who were killed for their faithfulness to God are included. The Greek instead (and incorrectly) has “beheaded”, restricting this group to only those who die from one unusual method of death.
12 Literally ‘on between their eyes’, suggesting the mark might be visible as well as internal.
13 This is the first general resurrection of the saints, after the small resurrection in Jerusalem when Jeshua was raised from the dead (Mat 27:52-53). This First Resurrection occurs at the Harvest in Rev 14:14-16. Many Greek manuscripts begin this verse with “But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.”
14 2Ti 4:8, Rev 5:10, Rev 11:11
15 From the Aramaic. The Greek translation uses gonia here, which usually means a corner, either open or concealed.
16 Eze 38:1-39:8
17 This is a ‘repeat’ of the harvest of the wicked shown in Mat 13:24-50 and Rev 14:17-20. This time they are consumed by fire. Also 2Pe 3:7
18 The Greek has ‘book of life’.
19 This prophecy is dual, in that it contains elements relating to when Jeshua returns at the start of the Millennium, and also to what happens at the White Throne judgement at the end of the Millennium.
20 Eph 1:4, Rev 14:14-16
21 Heb 13:3
22 The Aramaic says ‘everlasting torment’, not ‘everlasting tormenting’. This indicates that the torment is everlasting for them, in that it lasts until they are totally destroyed. The Greek says ‘to be cut off forever.’ -that is, eternal death.
23 Gen 2:16-3:19, 2Ti 2:18
24 This is the First Resurrection when Jeshua Returns: Rev 20:4-6
25 Psa 110:1
26 Rev 19:19-21, Heb 10:12-13
27 Psa 8:6
28 Heb 2:8
29 Rev 21:1-4
30 Heb 1:10-12
31 Gen 1:1-7
32 Gen 6:5-7:23, 2Ti 3:1-4
33 Rev 20:7-9, Isa 51:6-8, Psa 102:24-28
34 Psalm 90:4, Lord Jah as in the Peshitta.
35 As in Hab 2:2-3; Jehovah is rendered as Lord Jah (MarJah) in the Peshitta.
36 As in Joe 2:31, Zep 1:14, 2Th 1:8; Jehovah is rendered as Lord Jah (MarJah) in the Peshitta.
37 As in Joel 2:31, Zep 1:14; Jehovah is rendered as God in the Peshitta.
38 Rev 21:1-7
39 As in the Peshitta.
40 2Pe 3:13 It is unclear whether this means no physical seas at all, or no Mediterranean Sea, or no ‘sea’ composed of different nations of peoples. It may also refer to the original Sea which was beneath the Expanse (crust) at Creation, and will be completely gone by this time. Or it may refer to the ceremonial Sea used to cleanse the priests (2Ch 4:2-6), which will no longer be required, as there will be no more sin.
41 1Co 10:16
42 Isa 65:17-19 As in the Aramaic. Greek manuscripts replace ‘for His sake’ with ‘for the former things have passed away.’ Compare with Gen 3:17-19
43 In Greek this is ‘Alpha and the Omega’.—that is, the first and last letters of each language’s alphabet.
44 Jer 2:13, Joh 4:10-14, Joh 7:37-39
45 Over 2200 kilometers. As the city is also 2200 kilometers tall, it seems that the new earth may be very different to our current earth, as it is unlikely that such an enormous city could be supported by our present planet and atmosphere. If the city is pyramidal, and 150 billion people live in it, we will each average about 4,000 times the living space we now have in Australian suburbs.
46 Translated as temple in some versions. As in the Peshitta, also see Eze 37:26-28, Isa 60:5-7
47 The Greek adds “the nations of those who are saved”.
48 The Greek has “corruption” instead of “pollution”. It also adds “of Life” to the Lamb’s Book.
49 Gen 2:15-17 & Gen 3:22
50 Gen 3:14-19. At last the Curse is fully removed.
51 As in the Peshitta, also see Dan 7:18, Isa 60:19, Eze1:28, Joh 14:1-3, Heb 11:13-16
52As in the Peshitta, also see 2Ki 21:10, 2Ch 24:19, Jer 25:4, Amo 2:11
53 Unlike the Greek, the Aramaic still allows the possibility that sinners could repent even at this last moment.
54 Gen 2:9 & Gen 3:21-24. The Fall and Curse are finally undone.
55 This clearly means all ‘seers’ who work lies and do not obey God, as John is addressed as a ‘seer’ in vs 9 above.
56 As in the Peshitta.
57 1Pe 3:14
58 Dan 7:14
59 Based on Zec 12:10, which focuses on Israel. Revelation expands it to include the entire earth.
60 As in Isa 48:12, Exo 6:3; Jehovah is rendered as Lord Jah (MarJah) in the Peshitta.
61 That is, the first day of count towards Pentecost, which is the Day of the Wave Offering, which commemorates Jeshua’s resurrection and return to heaven with His Blood.
62 Exo 25:31-37: The menorah is a seven-branched lampstand that burns olive oil. It reminds us of God’s seven day Creation and His seven Spirits. The seven menorahs thus remind us of the 49 days leading up to Pentecost, in this scene represented by Jeshua.
63 Heb 13:8