October 12, 2024

The Day of Atonement (Part 2)

God’s holy days were given to remind us how, step by step, God is working out his master plan. The first three festivals - Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost - picture God’s first spiritual harvest, during the spring season of the year, this is about the firstfruits - and their calling, preparation, and training before Christ’s return. We are the firstfruits. We have all been called and that is why we have been planted right here in this wonderful ISO church family. God is preparing and training us for our part in fulfilling the Great Commission before the Second Coming of Christ.

The last four festivals show God’s plan for making salvation available for all who have not yet been called. The Feast of Trumpets that began 10 days ago and ended at sunset just o few minutes ago pictures Christ’s Second Coming and intervention in human affairs to prevent man from annihilating the human race. Christ will be swift and firm in punishing those who are destroying the Earth.

The fifth annual Sabbath, the Day of Atonement, pictures the fifth step in God’s master plan, which is deposing Satan from his position as world ruler and removing him to a place completely away from mankind. Satan will be “bound” for 1,000 years, no longer able to deceive the nations or influence mankind to sin. Revelation 20:1-3 “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,”

The Day of Atonement is perhaps the most unusual holy day, for it is one day on which God has commanded His people to fast - to abstain from food and drink from sunset to sunset. The Day of Atonement for this year began at sunset, just a few minutes ago and it ends at sunset tomorrow.

The Day of Atonement also has deep a personal meaning for everyone God has called. When Satan and his demons are dethroned and removed from office, they must be replaced by qualified rulers. Satan will be replaced by Jesus Christ, and his demons will be replaced by those of us who have surrendered to God and been willing to obey and be trained by Him through the ages.

The fact is that none of us who are called have the power, ability, or capacity to rule the world now. No man is great enough to even begin to measure up to the standard necessary to bring peace and happiness to the nations. It takes the power of God - the life of God - the mind and nature of God. That is possible only through conversion. Through conversion, every single individual, great or small, can have God’s own power and nature added to him by receiving the Holy Spirit!

Most human beings cannot grasp this marvelous truth. Most are unwilling to HUMBLE THEMSELVES under the mighty hand of God and wait to be exalted in His due time. To qualify to rule , WE MUST BE HUMBLE AND SUBMISSIVE TO GOD!

Jesus Christ, the future ruler of Earth, qualified to rule by being completely submissive to the government of God and perfectly humble. One of His last acts with His disciples included washing their feet to picture humility. His suffering and death to pay the penalty of human sin was an act of extreme humility, of complete submission to His Father’s will, of perfect love for us. True Christians in like manner must become humble to rule with Christ. No ruler in God’s Kingdom can be arrogant or selfish. Mark 10:42–45 “But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Fasting on the Day of Atonement is a vivid reminder of the state of mind necessary for salvation - humility, godly sorrow, earnestly seeking God and His way.

Today. the world is filled with pride and does not realize that it is cut off from God because of sin. Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, And your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” This is talking about sin that has been inspired by Satan. Only those few whom God is calling are now reconciled to God. The vast majority must wait. After Satan’s imprisonment on a soon coming Day of Atonement, maybe even within the next 24 hours, all humanity will be reconciled with God, - made humble and at one with Him, as pictured by the Day of At-one-ment.

After Christ returns to restore to Earth the government of God, Satan will be completely restrained for 1,000 years . Let’s review from last week’s message how this fifth step in God’s master plan is pictured by a symbolic ceremony conducted in ancient Israel.

The 16th chapter of Leviticus details what God commanded the Levitical high priests to do on the Day of Atonement. These rituals, which are no longer performed, pictured the binding of Satan - the fifth step in God’s plan to restore His government on Earth and bring the knowledge of salvation to everyone.

The purpose of the rituals God gave His Levitical priests was to remind the Israelites of their sins, that the penalty for sin was death, and that they would need a Savior to pay their penalty for them. The symbolism of the sacrificial laws was fulfilled by Christ’s death in A.D. 31. Therefore, sacrifices need not be offered today.

Still, we can see their symbolic meanings. But we must first understand a few important details about God’s tabernacle and the Levitical priesthood.

Once the Israelites had agreed to worship the LORD, Exodus 24:3 “And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” , the One who became Jesus Christ, He then began to detail to them how He should be worshipped. The first instructions He gave were for His tabernacle as outlined in Exodus chapter 25, 26, 27 & 30. Aaron,who was Moses’ brother, and Aaron’s sons were divinely chosen as priests. God’s priests were divinely chosen, as priests. God’s priests were appointed, not elected. God was in charge.

The tabernacle included a courtyard enclosed by curtains. In the courtyard were an altar, a lavar, which is a bronze basin where the priests washed their hands and feet, Exodus 30:18–19 “Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:”

There was also a central tent. The tent was divided into two sections by a veil. The front section of the tent was the “holy place’” The section behind the veil was called the most holy place or the holiest of all. Hebrews 9:3 “And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;”

The most holy place in the tabernacle represented God’s throne room in heaven. The ark of the covenant, with the wings of the cherubim spread overhead, was in the most holy place. Inside the ark were tablets of stone on which God had written the Ten Commandments. The lid of the ark, which was called the mercy seat, was where the Eternal - the One who later became Jesus Christ - manifested Himself.

Only one person - the Levitical high priest - was ever allowed to enter the most holy place. He was allowed to enter it only once a year - on the Day of Atonement to perform a special ceremony depicting the binding of Satan. Aaron and every succeeding high priest were required to bathe and to dress in special priestly garment before entering the most holy place. The bathing represented a clean heart and a clean conscience. The special priestly garments represented righteousness.

When the High Priest entered the most holy place, he would start a fire on the altar and place finely ground incense on the hot coals. This incense pictured prayer. The priest would always use sweet incense; our prayers re pleasing to God. The incense was beaten fine; we should always be detailed in our prayers. Too many people pray for their own personal desires and then end quickly with a generalization like, “And bless everybody else, too.”As incense arise from hot coals, so prayers ascend from the righteous like a cloud bringing God’s people mercy and protection.

In Old Testament times, only one person could enter behind the veil once each year. But after Jesus’s death, the veil was supernaturally torn in two from top to bottom. This symbolically opened the way to God’s throne.

We are now allowed DIRECT CONTACT with God the Father through our prayers, needing no intermediary except Christ Himself. By using Christ’s name our prayers ascend to God’s heavenly throne by the permission and with the authority of our High Priest.

The High Priest would then sacrifice a young bull to make atonement for himself. Next, the High Priest would take two live goats from the congregation of Israel and cast lots to determine what each goat would represent. The one goat that was to represent the Lord, Jesus Christ, was sacrificed on the altar and the blood from that goat was sprinkled on the mercy seat on top of the ark of the covenant, for an atonement for all of Israel. The other goat, the Azazel goat, also known as the scapegoat, represented Satan and the High Priest would lay his hands upon the head of this goat to place the sins of the Israelites directly upon the head of the goat. The goat was then led into the wilderness by a fit man and then released out into the wilderness.

The killing of the LORD’s goat and sprinkling of blood on the mercy seat pictured the method by which humans can be reconciled to God - through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He voluntarily took our guilt with Him when He was crucified, paying the penalty in full. Our guilt is atoned for, it ceases to exist if we repent and accept Christ as Savior.

The sins of the people were borne by the goat even as Christ bore our sins at his crucifixion. That was the first step necessary in order for mankind to be atoned - made at one - with God.

But there is more. Christ rose from the dead, ascended to the throne of God in heaven and shall return. This too was represented within the Atonement ceremony.

The goat represented the mortal human Jesus Christ; its death represented Christ’s death. But, at that point within the ritual, the symbolism dramatically shifted. The high priest then came to personify the RESURRECTED Jesus Christ.

Both the high priest and the goat represented Christ. It was not possible for the high priest to die every year to picture Christ’s desth. That had to be symbolized by the goat. Nor could the goat - after it was killed - represent the risen Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest. Thus, after the death of the goat, the human high priest represented the living resurrected Christ. That is why he had to be symbolically cleaned so carefully before he could officiate.

The high priest, symbolically taking the atoning blood to God’s throne in the most holy place, represented and symbolically did the work of the risen Christ.

Christ is our living Savior. Christ’s death paid the penalty of all human sin. But in entering the most holy place, the high priest symbolized the second act necessary for our at-one-ment with God — Christ’s role as our advocate and intercessor in heaven for past nearly 2,000 years. Christ is always active on our behalf. Those called now could never overcome and endure to the end if not for Christ, who acts as an advocate on our behalf.

Yet, even Christ’s death and role as intercessor can not complete the job of making atonement for all humans. Satan still rules this world, influencing everyone, even those called into the Church today. And the vast majority do not believe in Christ’s sacrifice and do not obey God because they have been deceived by the devil.

How will the job of atonement be COMPLETED? How will all mankind eventually be made at one with God the Father? The answer is revealed through the symbolism of the live goat.

An unusual feature of the Day of Atonement rituals was the live goat that was led into the wilderness. Who or what did that goat represent? Why wasn’t is killed? What significance did the wilderness have?

Satan is the author of sin. When Jesus Christ returns, Satan’s part of the blame for mankind’s sin will be placed on him and he will be removed from the presence of man. The Azazel goat or the scapegoat represents Satan and the sins placed upon the head of the goat before being banished into the wilderness represents what Jesus will do upon his return to satan. Once jesus Christ returns, Satan will be prevented from exercising influence for 1,000 years. No longer will he be an adversary or an accuser of the brethen. Mankind as a whole CAN NOT BE FULLY ATONED , or “at one” with God - until this is done.