The Last Great Day—Not the End of the Story!

How does the story end?

God’s plan of salvation can seem incomplete when looking at today’s world. Thousands of years have passed since Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, and the world is still broken. Billions have died without knowing the divine reason they were born.

But the Last Great Day—the fall festival that concludes the Holy Day calendar each year—reveals an awesome climax of what God is doing on Earth.

Bible prophecy shows that all the chaos, injustice and suffering in man’s history will finally be ended when God’s Plan is fulfilled. He has not forgotten anyone. What can now look like a delay is careful planning. What can feel unfinished is really God setting the stage for some of the most important world events yet to come.

Jesus Christ uttered a powerful statement in the first century on the day we are discussing, “the last day, that great day of the feast” (John 7:37). He said: “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (vs. 37-38).

When Jesus cried those words on the Last Great Day in Jerusalem, He was pointing to the real source of spiritual life. His voice echoed through the Temple courts, offering something far greater than mere physical water: access to “living water,” the Spirit of God.

In the next verse, John provides context to Jesus’ statement: “This spoke He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive” (vs. 39).

After Christ’s resurrection, that promise began to be fulfilled—believers could receive the Holy Spirit. Yet it was still only a small beginning. Most of the world has remained untouched by God’s Spirit over the centuries that have followed. The Spirit of God has not yet been freely offered to “any man”—but that day is coming.

This is the key: The Last Great Day does not mark the end of the story, but the turning of the page. It points to the moment when humanity’s spiritual thirst will finally be quenched.

Living Water for All

Christ’s prophecy in John 7 points to the very power of God Himself—His mind and nature placed within human beings. The Holy Spirit is not a fleeting emotion or an impersonal force. It is the power of God given to comfort, teach and change lives from the inside out. Read John 14:26, Romans 5:5 and II Timothy 1:7.

In the Old Testament, God’s Spirit was given only to a few individuals. These included Bible figures like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Deborah, Ruth and the prophets. These individuals were empowered for special purposes: to walk with God, to lead His people, to carry out special roles God had for them, and in some cases, to record Scripture. John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Christ’s ministry and can be seen as a bridge from the Old Testament to the New, was even filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb (Luke 1:15). But all of these were exceptions.

When Jesus spoke these words, the Spirit was not widely available. And even after the Spirit began to be given in New Testament times starting on Pentecost in AD 31, it was still only given to a relatively small group. It started with 3,000 on the day the Church was built (Acts 2:41; Matt. 16:18). From there, it continued with individuals whom God was specifically calling and adding to His Church (John 6:44, 65; Acts 2:47). That is how God works today.

Most people throughout history have not claimed God’s promise of His Spirit, not because they were unworthy, but because their time has not yet come. The vast majority of people lived and died without ever having the opportunity to be spiritually transformed.

Still, God has always left reminders of His presence, as seen in Creation and in the lives of His people. As Paul told the Athenians, God made the nations “that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27).

In this age, only a few answer the call to receive God’s Spirit. When the Last Great Day is fulfilled, there will be living water available to all.

Powerful Resistance

What keeps so many from truly seeking after God today?

The answer begins with deception. The Bible describes Satan the devil as a real, powerful spirit being who actively works to blind billions and shape the world around us. II Corinthians 4:4 reveals he is “the god of this world.” Through his power, Satan “has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ…should shine unto them.” Revelation 12:9 adds that the devil “deceives the whole world.”

Satan’s influence saturates the world’s culture, media, religion and politics. It is no wonder that so few can even recognize their spiritual thirst, much less seek after the true source of spiritual water.

But there is another layer. Scripture says God Himself has placed a “veil” over all nations (Isa. 25:7). For now, most cannot see clearly—not because God is deceiving them, but because He has chosen to reveal His truth in stages. That veil will one day be removed, at the moment God knows the majority of mankind will have the very best opportunity to succeed.

Yet even those who hear God’s call can still refuse to accept the offer. At this point, they are no longer blinded by Satan, and their sight is no longer obscured by God. They simply resist despite having the truth revealed to them. Every person makes their own choice.

God does not force anyone to change. He works through free moral agency—giving every person the right to decide. He wants sons and daughters who willingly respond, who choose to live the right way, not automatons who obey out of compulsion.

Right now, these three obstacles—Satan’s deception, the veil of timing and human rebellion—could be thought of as a spiritual dam holding back the rivers Jesus described.

God Breaks the Dam

The Last Great Day points to the time when God tears down every barrier between Himself and humanity. It will be a world-shaking reset. Scripture makes plain that before healing can begin, the world must be broken. That breaking culminates in the Day of the Lord.

Joel called it “a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness” (2:2). Zephaniah said it will be “a day of wrath…trouble and distress…wasteness and desolation…a day of the trumpet and alarm” (1:15-16). And Zechariah paints the dramatic scene of nations attacking Jerusalem—until “the Lord shall go forth, and fight against those nations” (14:2-3). The Mount of Olives will split in two. Healing waters will flow from the newly formed valley to cleanse the Earth. And “the Lord shall be King over all the earth” (vs. 4, 8-9).

The Day of the Lord is God’s judgment on rebellion, deception and false religion: “The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day…when He arises to shake terribly the earth” (Isa. 2:17, 19). The whole world will know: This is the one true God.

Satan will be removed. Revelation describes how an angel will lay “hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and [bind] him a thousand years…that he should deceive the nations no more” (20:2-3). This evil being who has ruled the world for millennia will be forcibly silenced.

With the adversary gone, God fulfills Isaiah’s promise: He “will destroy…the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations” (25:7). Deception will vanish. The fog will lift. And for the first time in history, all humanity will see clearly.

But the picture does not stop there. The Last Great Day also points to a time of mass resurrection. Jesus declared, “The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth…” (John 5:28-29). Daniel foresaw it too: “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake…” (12:2).

Ezekiel adds: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves…And shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live” (37:12-14).

Every person who has ever lived will stand before the same choice. Those who embrace the truth will flourish. Those who reject it—after full, fair opportunity—will face the consequences.

Yet through it all, the larger picture is hope. Christ’s cry on the Last Great Day—“If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink” (John 7:37)—will not be limited to a crowd in Jerusalem. It will thunder across the entire Earth.

A World Ready for Truth

After the Day of the Lord sweeps aside confusion and rebellion, it will usher in a Spirit-led society—peaceful, prosperous and ordered around God’s Law. This period is often referred to as the Millennium. It is 1,000 years of Jesus Christ reigning with the saints (Rev. 20:4).

The prophets describe this time. Isaiah 11 paints a picture of harmony in Creation itself: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb…and a little child shall lead them…They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (vs. 6-9). Amos adds another image of prosperity: “The plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sows seed” (9:13). A world once marked by hardship, toil and sorrow will overflow with abundance.

Education, leadership and daily life will all center around the revealed truth of God: “Your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers” (Isa. 30:20, New King James Version).

Jesus Christ will reign as King of kings, and with Him the saints—those who overcame in this age—will serve as rulers, counselors and guides (Rev. 5:10; Dan. 7:27). Isaiah continues, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk you in it” (30:21).

These are not just promises about the future world as a whole. They are about you. The saints pictured in these verses are those God is training now. That is another great purpose of the Last Great Day and all of God’s annual Holy Days: to help us see ourselves inside His Plan.

Not the End!

With so much meaning for us as Christians, is it any wonder God commanded His people to observe these Holy Days forever (Lev. 23:41)?

Each year, these festivals pull us out of our daily routines and refocus our eyes on His Plan. They remind us of the awesome future He has promised—and the roles for which He is already preparing us. The Feast of Tabernacles, followed by the Last Great Day, rehearse this reality every year: Christ reigning with His saints, truth filling the Earth, and righteousness embraced as the way of life.

If you have been called by God and have responded to that call, do not think only of future promises when you keep the Last Great Day. Remember that God has already begun His work in you. The same Spirit that will one day flow to all mankind is flowing in your life today, training you to think, act and lead as a firstfruit in His Family.

You were called before the veil was lifted. You are drinking in these rivers of living water in a world that is still parched. You are learning to overcome—not in a peaceful paradise, but in a time of confusion, opposition and spiritual warfare. Every lesson you learn today equips you to help someone else tomorrow.

This is God’s purpose now. He is not only saving people—He is preparing teachers and forming leaders who will one day guide others to the water of life. To lead then, we must first be faithful students now. For us, “now is the day of salvation” (II Cor. 6:2). That means redeeming the time even while “the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16).

One day soon, the dam will break for humanity. Living waters will flow: “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).

This verse is found at the end of Revelation and the entire Bible. But it is not the end of the story—it is the beginning of God working with all mankind through His Spirit.