Each year, as we look forward to the final four Holy Days in God’s annual cycle, it is natural to take stock of where we are, where we have been, and where we are going.
“Where we are going,” in the most superficial and physical sense, will be a Feast of Tabernacles site where God has placed His name, where we will rejoice and spend the tithe we have saved for that purpose (Deuteronomy 14:23–26). But we also know that the Feast pictures our promised destination in the Kingdom of God, when we will be resurrected and changed (1 Corinthians 15:51–52) and will perform our Millennial service as kings and priests under Jesus Christ, bringing peace and prosperity to a world that has gone far astray from God’s way.
Most of us can think of times when we have gone astray from our God. But if we are not actively “practicing” the way of sin—if we repent of our sins, and we change when we become aware of what we have done wrong—we know that, like the Apostle Paul, we have “fought the good fight” and that if we endure “to the end” we will receive our reward (2 Timothy 4:7; Matthew 24:13).
Fight Against God?
Scripture gives us a sobering example of a being who fought against God, and who has received a grave punishment as a result. Of the three archangels we find mentioned in Scripture—Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer—one became jealous of God and plotted to overthrow his Creator and take over His government.
Lucifer’s plotting, however, failed. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars [angels] of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High’” (Isaiah 14:12–14).
This vain being wanted to be “Number One” in the universe! He wanted this so badly that he was willing to rebel against the all-powerful Creator God. Through his deceptions he was able to draw a third of the angels with him to join in his rebellion. We read: “His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth” (Revelation 12:4). Because of his rebellion, Lucifer’s name was changed to “Satan”—which means adversary.
By contrast, Michael, Gabriel and two-thirds of the angelic host were not seduced by Lucifer’s attempt to displace God and wrest away the throne of heaven for himself. They have served loyally before the Father and the Word, and will be with Christ at His second coming. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory” (Matthew 25:31).
At One With God
On the Day of Atonement, the Israelites offered one goat as a sacrifice to God. They banished another goat into the wilderness, representing the “putting away” of the sins of the people. The slain goat was a “type” of Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice redeems mankind from its sins. The other goat, called the Azazel, pictures the banishment of Satan, who—after Christ returns—will be “put away” until the very end of the Millennium.
Satan has already lost his fight. As for us, beings of flesh rather than spirit, we know we will not suffer Satan’s fate, no matter how much the devil wants to convince us that a vengeful God would want us to suffer for eternity. That is Satan’s destiny, not ours. As fleshly beings, if we reject God, we will simply be burned up—become ashes—devoured, not eternally tormented, by the lake of fire. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26–27).
After we have lived and died, we will receive our reward—eternal life or eternal death. “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:2–3).
If God has opened your mind to His truth, and you have obeyed Him by repenting, being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit, you are being evaluated right now. “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now, ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’” (1 Peter 4:17–18).
However, for the vast majority of human beings, their time of judgment will come in the future, at the White Throne Judgment, pictured by the annual Holy Day known as the Last Great Day, which we keep on the day immediately after the Feast of Tabernacles. Immediately after the thousand-year Millennium, billions of human beings will be resurrected as flesh, to have their first and only opportunity to accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and practice His way of life. “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades [the grave] delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works” (Revelation 20:12–13).
The Church has generally understood from Scripture that the White Throne Judgment period will last for about a hundred years (Isaiah 65:20). Those in the White Throne Judgment who repent and accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice can become members of God’s Family. Those who refuse will be burned up, never again to be resurrected. “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14–15).
All human beings have an incredible potential ahead of them. We who are called in this age—the “firstfruits”—have an especially wonderful opportunity ahead of us, to obtain a “better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35). Why is our resurrection called “better”? In the Millennium and White Throne Judgment, human beings will have to overcome their carnal human nature, just as Christians do today, with the help of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Those called in this present age, however, must also fight against Satan and society. In the Millennium, Satan will be bound, unable to influence human beings. Society will be led directly by Jesus Christ. Those who overcome today are fighting a much more difficult fight than will be fought in the Millennium. In return, God promises a greater reward—that of becoming firstfruits and even of being Christ’s bride. God would not have called us now if He did not know that we could “make it”—so we should never become discouraged when we face a trial or temptation. We must know that—with God’s help—we can overcome the world, the devil and the flesh.
Fighting Wrong Impulses
Human beings have physical needs and desires. To survive, we must eat the food that comes from the same dirt of which our forefather Adam was made. Yet we must guard against gluttony in our eating. To propagate the human race—to “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28)—God has given us a sexual drive and the ability to enjoy pleasurable intimacy in a God-ordained marital union. Yet we must not misuse that drive by engaging in any sexual activity outside of marriage.
God created human beings in His image (Genesis 1:26). So, although we are flesh just like any animal, we also have something that sets us apart from the other animals—the “spirit in man” (Job 32:8). Through this spirit, we have emotional, intellectual and creative impulses similar to those of God Himself. Our challenge as human beings is to use those impulses to build in ourselves God’s own holy and righteous character, and not to use those abilities for sin and destruction.
One-third of the angels used their abilities for sin and destruction, and became demons through Satan’s rebellion. They will forever suffer Satan’s fate. We, however, will face utter extinction if we rebel against our Creator, since God in His mercy has made us to live as flesh for only a short span of time. “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:6–8). That is our fate, if we fail.
Thankfully, God has given us, His called and chosen firstfruits, the ability to succeed. We are meant to be the greatest of God’s creations. “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet” (Hebrews 2:6–8).
Subjugating the Flesh
When we are faced with temptation, we may recognize that all things are not yet in subjection under our feet. Yet even with nothing more than human will, many unconverted people are largely able to subdue and control the appetites and pulls of the human flesh. As Christians, with the added benefit of God’s own Holy Spirit, we have an even greater power to help us overcome.
We also have the example of holy men and women of God who have gone before us, who have overcome not only their carnal human nature, but also the opposition of Satan and society. Scripture reminds us: “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us” (Hebrews 11:32–40).
Scripture also tells us that, at the end of this age, when the Beast and the False Prophet appear on the world scene, true Christians will have to endure terrible persecutions. Many of those not protected in the Place of Safety will be martyred for their faith. Considering what is coming, and what many of God’s people have endured in the past, our sufferings and persecutions should generally seem mild by comparison. Remembering those heroes of the faith, and mindful of the reward ahead of us, we can have the confidence to fight the good fight—to run our race with endurance!
God Knows Our Suffering
The Logos—the Word or the Spokesman—came to earth in the flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, to save mankind from its sins. In doing so, He personally experienced the pains and temptations human beings endure under Satan’s evil rule. To become our High Priest, representing us before the throne of God, Jesus had to experience our sufferings and overcome the temptations put before Him.
Throughout Christ’s whole life on the earth, He rejected sin and lived God’s way. For 33½ years, He demonstrated by His example as a flesh-and-blood human being that it is possible for us to live a perfect life, with the perfect help of God, who makes available to us the gift of His Holy Spirit. By successfully overcoming, Jesus Christ became the captain of our salvation and the firstborn of many brethren: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:14–18).
How did Jesus come to understand what we are going through in the flesh? Because “in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest ‘according to the order of Melchizedek’” (Hebrews 5:7–9). We, too, must learn obedience and be brought to perfection through suffering in the flesh, just as Jesus did (Galatians 2:20). He set the example and has shown us the way to salvation.
Jesus Christ will soon return to this earth, as the Prince of Peace and King of kings. He will bring God’s way to the entire world. Satan will be bound, and society will be governed by God, not the devil. This is the time pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. We who are called in this age are preparing for our role in that soon-coming time.
We prepare for that time by fighting the good fight today. We are not fighting alone; we have the help of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit within us—and God the Father is cheering us on to finish the race! We can succeed if we love God with all our heart, mind and soul. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:31–37).
As we prepare to observe the final four Holy Days in God’s cycle of annual Sabbaths, let us be vigilant not to let down. We must continue to fight the good fight—to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). If we do, we will receive a reward so wonderful that it is beyond our present ability even to imagine it (1 Corinthians 2:9; 13:12).
—LCG Editorial Staff