Atonement today we gather together on this Day of Atonement. This is my 37th year in the church and for some, that is not a big number. All of these years keeping the Holy Days that God gave to remind us of His plan for mankind; as you look back at so many years of keeping this Day of Atonement what memories come to mind? Obviously, we share memories of Fasting and worshiping together right before the Feast of Tabernacles. If we had any distance at all to drive to the feast, I remember Atonement being the last day we spent at home before we left. Growing up in Washington I remember leaving after Atonement to drive to Tucson to keep the feast with 8 thousand people under one roof. We would count the feast stickers on the cars as we drove. But what memories of Atonement do I have from those days?

Mostly it was about my experience fasting and struggle to draw near to God. I remember sermons about goats, the Holy of Holies, and that in the future Satan would be locked away for a thousand years. But if someone was to ask me at 16 years old what the Day of Atonement was all about I wouldn’t have been able to string all of these things together. So what is Atonement and how should it affect our daily life? How do those strange rituals in the Old Testament apply to what we understand today and is it really important to even read that stuff to understand that God is going to put Satan away? But then again, if that is all there is to it why do we need to fast on this day? The title for the sermon today is: An Atoning Sacrifice once and for all If you notice on your calendars today you will find it says Yom Kippur. On my Desk Calendar at home, it is listed on Tuesday with the note that Yom Kippur Begins at sundown. To the Jewish community, Yom Kippur is the Holiest Day on their calendar.

They mark the day with 25 hours of Fasting and spending most of the day in the Synagogue in worship, reflection, and prayer. Their focus of this day is on Atoning and repentance. A few years ago I went through the story of Jonah as it is also a tradition in Judaism to read this story each year on this day. At the end of the story of Jonah, the reader was left to ponder how he has listened to God in his Life; how has he responded to God in his life and what kind of relationship did he really have with God. But when you study the Jewish perspective on Atonement you find many of the same themes that we focus on at Passover and Days of Unleavened bread. This is mainly due to the fact that they are still waiting on the Messiah and therefore do not understand the forward looking of these days. For us to really understand Atonement we need to look back at what this day meant to those of Ancient Israel, and then, with that as a back drop, we can truly understand its New Covenant meaning for us today. Now for us today, this day starts with Fasting and prayer. We study to draw close to God to try to build a stronger personal relationship. We understand that in the plan of God, He will be eventually be reconciled to the creation.

This process begins with the Return of Jesus Christ as pictured by the Feast of Trumpets and next Satan will be put away as pictured by Atonement. Revelation 20:1-3 NKJ Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. God’s truth will be poured out on all of the earth and then Christ will begin to Rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords as represented by the Feast of Tabernacles and those people that live through the Great tribulation will start that process we went through. Starting with Baptism and reflected in Passover and the other Holy days.

Their relationship with God will begin they will be given the opportunity that we have now. So why do we Fast? And what does all those stories of Goats, and animal sacrifices have to do with the story I just told? To understand this we have to go back. Back to where it began and then look at their meaning and then the understanding we have will take on a whole new dimension. So let’s turn back to the Old Testament to Lev. 23:27 NKJ Leviticus 23:27 "Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. So why do the Jews call this day Yom Kippur? In Hebrew Yom Means Day. And here in Verse 27, the Word Atonement is Kippur. So Yom Kippur is simply Day of Atonement in Hebrew. 3725 rPuKi kippur {kip-poor'} Meaning: 1) Atonement Origin: from 03722; TWOT - 1023b; n m pl Usage: AV - atonement 8; 8 In the New Testament you find the word Atonement in very few places depending on the version. 1 in the KJV, 3 NIV, 1 NLT. Looking in Romans 5:11 in the King James version. KJV Romans 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. {NKJ - reconciliation} 2643 katallagh, katallage {kat-al-lag-ay'} Meaning: 1) exchange 1a) of the business of money changers, exchanging equivalent values 2) adjustment of a difference, reconciliation, restoration to favor Origin: from 2644; Usage: AV - reconciliation 2, atonement 1, reconciling 1; 4 So what does Atonement mean and what should we be thinking about on this day when we afflict our souls. The world atonement is mainly in the Old Testament and in the NKJ version it is found 99 times. As we go through some of these passages we will be able to derive its meaning and bring us to a fuller understanding of this day.

Some simply take the world Atonement and break it into pieces to say At-One-Ment. The problem with doing this as a definition is that this is a rather complex word and simply saying it means we are growing close to God leaves too much meaning out. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia puts it this way The English Word: Atonement It is obvious that the English word "atonement" does not correspond etymologically with any Hebrew or Greek word which it translates. Furthermore, the Greek words in both Septuagint(Greek Translation of the Old Testament) and New Testament do not correspond exactly to the Hebrew words; especially is it true that the root idea of the most frequently employed Hebrew word, "cover," is not found in any of the Greek words employed. The English word is derived from the phrase "at one," and signifies harmony of relationship or unity of life, etc. Not only was no effort made to convey the original Hebrew and Greek meanings by means of English words, but no effort was made toward uniformity in translating of Hebrew and Greek words by their English equivalents.

1. Hebrew Word: Kippur gets its meaning from root word “kaphar” The root meanings of the Hebrew words, taking them in the order cited above, are, to "cover," hence to put an end to, condone, cancel, placate; to "offer," or "receive a sin offering," hence, make atonement, appease, propitiate; "effect reconciliation," i.e. by some conduct, or course of action. Think about someone in a restaurant that is given the bill but cannot pay. A dispute breaks out because there is an impasse. It is like someone coming in and paying the bill on behalf of someone else. It is not the same as saying, you don’t have to pay, and your bill is forgiven. The debt has to be covered. 2. Greek Word: Of the Greek words the meanings, in order, are "to be," or "cause to be, friendly"; "to render other," hence to restore; "to leave" and with preposition to leave off, i.e. enmity, or evil, etc.; "to render holy," "to set apart for"; hence, of the Deity, to appropriate or accept for Himself. Think about the phrase taking lemons and making Lemonade. This is taking a bad situation and removing all of the negative elements until what you have is wonderful. So we have many definitions here. What I have learned from Hebrew is that often times the many meanings of a word can be used to emphasize a different aspect but usually the whole meaning will incorporate all of the definitions. In English, we take the definition that suits us and discards the others. This is the reason it is so hard for many to understand the Holy Days. Each of them has intense meaning to God. Each of them is extremely personal to Him. And if we are really keep them we want to understand their meaning and make them as personal to us as they are to God. So let’s look at some of these meanings and how they are used in our bibles.

Turn over to Exodus 25:17 Let’s read this first in the New King James version. NKJ Exodus 25:17 "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. Now this sounds like one of those Home Improvement shows where the host tells you how to build something like a window seat. But when you read the New Living translation you can see this is no window seat. NLT Exodus 25:17 "Then make the Ark's cover-- the place of atonement-- out of pure gold. It must be 3-3/4 feet long and 2-1/4 feet wide. So were talking about the Ark of the Covenant. Now let’s read the NIV version. NIV Exodus 25:17 "Make an atonement cover of pure gold-- two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. mercy seat - cover - atonement 3727 tr,PoK; kapporeth {kap-po'-reth} Meaning: 1) mercy-seat, place of atonement 1a) the golden plate of propitiation on which the High Priest sprinkled the seat 7 times on the Day of Atonement symbolically reconciling YHWH and His chosen people 1a1) the slab of gold on top of the ark of the covenant which measured 2.5 by 1.5 cubits; on it and part of it were the two golden cherubim facing each other whose outstretched wings came together above and constituted the throne of God So when we go to the Mercy Seat, we are going into the very Throne of God.

Origin: from 03722; TWOT - 1023c; n f Usage: AV - mercy seat 26, mercy seatward 1; 27 3722 rp;K' kaphar {kaw-far'} Meaning: 1) to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch 1a) to coat or cover with pitch 1b) 1b1) to cover over, pacify, propitiate, atone for sin and persons by legal rites Origin: a primitive root; TWOT - 1023,1024,1025,1026; v Usage: AV - atonement 71, purge 7, reconciliation 4, reconcile 3, forgive 3, purge away 2, pacify 2, atonement...made 2, merciful 2, cleansed 1, disannulled 1, appease 1, put off 1, pardon 1, pitch 1; 102 The definition about Pitch may seem strange. But when you think about a tree limb being damaged, you find that part of the tree will die because nutrients cannot flow through the damaged section. But the Pitch goes and covers over the bad part and then the tree can continue to grow with this patch over the wound. But what may seem even stranger is this word Propitiate. What does that mean? 7069 Propitiation : 1. Terms and Meaning: The word is Latin and brings into its English use the atmosphere of heathen rites for winning the favor, or averting the anger, of the gods. In the Old Testament it represents an aspect of ATONEMENT. Think about a dispute between two people. One has caused irreparable harm to the other. The one cannot fix what they did to the other.

A third party comes in with the unique ability to replace what is lost. In the movie the Sandlot. A kid unknowing takes his dad’s priceless baseball signed by Babe Ruth and uses it to play ball and it is destroyed by the neighbor’s dog. The ball could never be replaced. Babe Ruth is dead so he could never sign a replacement. But the owner of the dog new Babe Ruth and had another Baseball signed by all the members of the Yankees including Ruth. – It paid the debt. Propitiation needs to be studied in connection with reconciliation, which is used frequently in some of the most strategic sentences of the New Testament, especially in the newer versions In Heb 2:17. NKJ Hebrews 2:17 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. KJV Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. NIV Hebrews 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. In Ancient Israel, People would offer up a prized animal of theirs to be sacrificed for the Atonement of their sin.

This was meant to appease God for the harm they caused him for disrespecting His Law and by extension God Himself. We can read about this in Lev. 1: starting in Verse 3 Leviticus 1:3-5 3 ' If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD. This is not like a fine. This is like when you are cutting your bushes on the property line and carelessly cut your neighbors prize rose bush. You can’t just give him $20 as a fine and go on. You have to make amends. 4 'Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5 'He shall kill the bull before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Leviticus 5:5-6 5 'And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; 6 'and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin. When you study these many sacrifices that are mentioned they teach us something very crucial to understanding Atonement.

That is, Sin destroys. We think in terms of rules and fines. We step out of line and we have to pay a price. Rules, rules, rules. But that is not what it really is. When we sin we do much more than simply error. We destroy the harmony and love that we come in contact with. We harm God’s way of life. We put others at risk of following suit and thus we are doubly guilty of destroying the community and family which God is building. Now, to make amends, God requires something of equal value to take its place. That is why they gave the best of the flock or herd. It was the best they could do. Because we have done grievous harm to His way of Life, we will have to pay dearly to make amends. If you carelessly drive over your neighbors rose bush you don’t just pay a fine. You bring a new plant to your neighbor and personally help plant it. You let him know how sorry you are and you want to repair more than his yard. That is how you make amends. This was very affective at teaching Ancient Israel that sin came at a high price. Forgiveness was not a simple thing. You simply didn’t just say, sorry and all was forgiven. When David Love recently spoke on the need for death and blood to pay for sin in his sermon “Why was Christ’s sacrifice necessary?” he made it clear that sacrifice is needed as payment for sin.

So let’s read from Leviticus 16 about the rituals that they went through on the Day of Atonement. Now we read earlier how if you sinned you could make an offering for your sin to make atonement for it. But on Atonement, the sacrifices that were made were for the entire nation. Now there is a lot to take in as we will read all of Leviticus 16 so we can get the weight of this very elaborate and meaningful ceremony. Leviticus 16:1-34 NKJ Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; 2 and the LORD said to Moses: "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. 3 "Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. 4 "He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on. 5 "And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. 6 " Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 "He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 8 "Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 "And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 "But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. 11 " And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself.

12 "Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. 13 "And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die. 14 "He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. 15 " Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 "So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 "There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 "And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 "Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. 20 " And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 21 "Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.

22 "The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. 23 " Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 "And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 "The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26 "And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 "The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal. 28 "Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 29 " This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. 30 "For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31 "It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.

32 "And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father's place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; 33 "then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 "This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year." And he did as the LORD commanded Moses. So how important is it for our sins to be atoned for? More than this world has ever dreamed of. God built this world perfect – mankind has wrecked it. God made harmony – mankind destroyed it. God is love – man is selfish. So I could have summed this passage up but I thought it important to go through it. You can see how God taught them the high price had to be paid because of the sins of the nation. If you went through this each and every year I guarantee you this would have a tremendous effect on you. You would really internalize how much damage is caused by Sin. Now does God really like to see animals sacrificed to appease our sins?

When Christ came to the earth he taught us what was really required to pay for sin. Now we know that no animal sacrifice can really pay the penalty for sin as we read in Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10:3-10 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. 7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come -- In the volume of the book it is written of Me -- To do Your will, O God.' " 8 Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. So Jesus Christ was the All Atoning Sacrifice, once and For all. When we study the Old Testament and see the history of the truths that God has revealed to us. They take on so much meaning. So God has accepted the ultimate sacrifice of His Son to pay once and for all this tremendous penalty not just for individuals, but for the whole world.

John 3:16-17 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Most of the people that have lived and died in this world never had this chance. They never knew Him and therefore the only way that John 3:16-17 can be true, is if God has a plan for all of those people who have died. A plan for each of them can have a chance to know Him. The Day of Atonement is ripe with symbolism. Everything about it has meaning. Trying to sum it up in one or two sentences is impossible. Remember when Christ Died what happened in the Temple. Matthew 27:50-53 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Raising of the saints to physical life foreshadows what will happen at the return of Christ when the saints are raised to incorruptible life. It is very important to understand the symbolism here.

Aaron was representing Christ Role of High Priest over God’s People and was the only one allowed in before God’s Presence. Separating the people from God was a veil, a curtain that kept all the people out of God’s presence. The only one allowed at the throne of God. To the Mercy Seat was the High Priest which represented Christ. When the veil was torn, it was torn from top to bottom making an opening; a doorway in which we can enter into the Father’s presence to His very throne. Christ then becomes that doorway that leads into that chamber through the opening in the veil. John 10:9 9 "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 14:6 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. We know that the veil represents a separation between the Holy of Holies and God’s People. This being torn meant that we have access to the Holy of Holies; to the mercy seat; to the very throne of God to plead our case to him directly. This is what is symbolized by the veil being rent. The Veil that had such a prominent role on the Day of Atonement. But we are grateful that Christ is that door because he is our High Priest and makes intercession for us to the father. He understands us and helps us as we approach the mercy seat to ask for mercy.

Hebrews 4:15-16 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Going back to Hebrews 10 and starting in verse 19 we see this whole ceremony of Atonement summed up but from the New Covenant perspective. I will read it from the NLT as the symbols are clearly described in how they relate to us today. This is why we study the Old so we can really understand the New. Hebrews 10:19-25 NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's people, 22 let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.

How can you sum up that with one sentence? What Atonement means is this world has access to eternal life. It means that Satan will get the blame he deserves and will be held accountable for his role in the sins of mankind. He will be removed to allow the world to finally get to know God and the process of reconciliation can begin. We can have access to God the father that was never possible before. All things will be made right. Sin created a debt that could never be paid by carnal man. But Jesus paid that debt with his death, his blood shed in sacrifice for us. The debt is now paid and offenses covered like Pitch over a broken limb. Peace can finally take hold. The promise for all of mankind that never really knew God or His way of life can now be possible. The Last Great day after the Feast of Tabernacles promises that this will indeed happen and a new world will emerge that will solve every problem. Every broken heart healed. 1 Corinthians 15 speaks of this wonderful time to come.

1 Corinthians 15:24-26 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. No more sacrifice is needed because the last enemy that will be vanquished will be death itself. As the sermon title states, An atoning sacrifice once and for all. I am going to close by reading from Habakkuk. The Minor Prophets are steeped in prophecy and hope for the world tomorrow. We can take comfort in their words and look forward to their fulfillment. Habakkuk 2:2-3 2 Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:14 14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.