Atonement

Why are we here on a Thursday? Fasting! We're keeping a commanded Holy Day of Almighty God. Let's turn over to the book of Leviticus chapter 23. As we know, Leviticus 23 is the one chapter in the Bible that has all seven of the annual Holy Days. In fact, the only chapter in the Bible that does. Let's skip on down after it mentions Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Trumpets. In verse 26 we have the Day of Atonement. This day the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a Holy Convocation for you. That's what we're doing right now. We're having a Holy Convocation. You shall afflict your souls, which means fasting. And back then they offered an offering made by fire. In verse 28, you shall do no work on that same day. It is the Day of Atonement to make Atonement for you before the Lord your God. In verse 32, it shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict to your souls on the ninth day of the month at evening, that would be last night. From evening to evening you shall celebrate your Sabbath. So here we are in obedience to God's command. Should we be keeping this day? Is there any New Testament indication? Well, there is. There's a scripture over in the book of Acts. Let's turn to Acts 27 that mentions the Day of Atonement. Acts 27 and in verse 9. The Apostle Paul was on his journey to Rome, where he would be like a house imprisonment for two years. And it was a dangerous time of the year, actually, to be sailing. In verse 9, Acts 27 and verse 9, when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the fast was already over. Paul gave them some advice about maybe not continuing their journey any further, but they did not follow, and they did suffer shipwreck. But notice the word the fast. In my New King James translation, the word fast is capitalized, and also there's a marginal reference that says in the margin the Day of Atonement late September or early October. So this is commonly, since it uses the definite article, this is commonly understood the fast being the Day of Atonement, this very day that we are keeping. So here's a New Testament reference to this Day of Atonement. I'll always remember my first Day of Atonement, 1958, by quite a few years back, 63 years ago. I just learned about the Holy Days, and back then the Feast of Tabernacles was way over in Big Sandy, Texas. So we had left, so I had gone with some of the students. We had traveled to Phoenix for the Day of Atonement, then we would travel on to Big Sandy afterward for the Feast of Tabernacles. Back then we had two services on the Day of Atonement. How many of you remember, and a number of you do, old-timers, all these old-timers, they've been around a while. But we had two services, and I remember feeling rather puny and weak in the afternoon service especially. My wife's first Atonement was in 1961. She goes back quite a way. Her parents had just been baptized. There was no church near them, so they kept the Day of Atonement at home. They didn't fully know how to keep it, really. My wife fasted, but she went to school and drank some water before she realized she was fasting. So, you know, we all learn. We all grow. You probably have some interesting stories of your own.

But God is so good, isn't He? He gives us all these festivals that come up during the year here listed in Leviticus 23, and only one of them is a day of fasting. And that is this day, the Day of Atonement. So God is so good. He wants us to eat and to drink and to enjoy the holy days, the festival days. But this one day, He does restrict us from food and water, and is so good. This day—and I hope I can bring this out in a wonderful way—this day is a wonderful holy day. This day pictures the beautiful biblical doctrine of Atonement—Atonement with God.

I want to read just a little bit from our holy day booklet, God's Holy Day Plan, the promise of hope for all mankind.

The Day of Atonement means reconciliation, and we all have sinned. We all have let Satan influence us to some extent, and we all need forgiveness. We need Atonement. This day means reconciliation. The Day of Atonement symbolizes the reconciliation of God and all humanity.

The Day of Atonement involves not only forgiveness of sin, it pictures the removal of the primary cause of sin, Satan and his demons. Satan the Devil bears great responsibility for influencing mankind to disobey God. The Bible reveals Satan is a powerful, invisible being who can sway all mankind. Revelation 12 and verse 9 tells us that his influence is so great that he deceives the whole world. The Devil blinds people to the understanding of God's truth. So the Day of Atonement looks forward to the time during which Satan's deception will be removed, and he will no longer be free to influence and deceive mankind.

So we're celebrating something wonderful. God has allowed Satan, after he rebelled, he was cast back down to the earth. God has allowed him to be free to operate and to deceive mankind. He got through to the very first humans. He was able to sway and to influence them to disobey and be cast out of the garden. And of course, down through human history, Satan was still around in the time of Christ. He tried to get to Christ, but Christ resisted. And Satan is still around today. But his days are numbered. As we heard in the sermonette message, he's going to be bound. This day pictures that time when he will no longer be free to operate and deceive the nations and individuals as he does today. This day, then, there are two primary aspects as far as the meaning of this day. And could two goats reveal these two primary meanings? Two hard-headed goats? Yes. Let's go to a chapter which we should turn to always on the day of atonement. And that is Leviticus 16.

Leviticus 16. This chapter has something that was done in ancient Israel every day of atonement.

And we do want to first of all establish that this was done on the day of atonement. Of course, my New King James translation even has the heading, the day of atonement. But in verse 29, Leviticus 16, verse 29, this shall be a statue forever for you in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month. For that is this day, you shall afflict your souls and do no work. Verse 30, 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. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. In verse 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 so we have events then that happened on this day. The high priest would dress in his special holy garments. You can go back to verse 4 and notice that he had sacrifices to make that day for the children of Israel. There would be two kids of the goats that would be selected, and one ram as a burnt offering. And after offering the bull, verse 6, as a sin offering to make the atonement for himself in his house, in verse 7, he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat, says here the New King James translation. The Hebrew word is a zazel, a-z-a-z-e-l. We'll get back to that in just a few minutes.

Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell and offer it for a sin offering, 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 let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. So these two goats symbolize the very basic meaning of the day of atonement. In verse 13, the goat that is slain actually represents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and 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. 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. So this goat was slain, actually representing the atonement, the reconciliation that is possible for us through the blood of Jesus Christ. We all have sinned. And what do our sins do? They separate us. They put a wall of separation between us and our God.

And it is the sacrifice of Christ, then, that reconciles us, forgives us, justifies us, pays the debt and our stead. And so it is the sacrifice of Christ through which atonement is possible. But this other goat represents something also that has to be taken away.

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. And 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. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. So this goat is not slain, is led into the wilderness, having had the sins of Israel laid upon its head. Taken to the wilderness, turned loose and goes wandering off. We believe this is just an example, a type of what happens next after Jesus Christ returns as pictured by the Feast of Trumpets. The very next thing that is described as happening in Revelation is Satan being bound, no longer able to deceive the nations. Let's go read that. It was read in the sermonette, but I'd like to also refer back to the previous chapter briefly, Revelation chapter 19. And we read that on the Feast of Trumpets about the powerful Second Coming of Jesus Christ in chapter 19 and verse 15. Out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. So Jesus Christ then put him down the nations which have gathered at Jerusalem. Now first of all, they gather at Armageddon. That's described in Revelation 16. All the nations come together, and then they come on down to Jerusalem, and Zechariah 14 brings out that all nations will be gathered at Jerusalem. And in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, Joel brings out right outside of Jerusalem. And so that's where the final battle will take place.

Based in the false prophet or thrown into the lake of fire. We read that on the Feast of Trumpets in verse 20. And so Jesus Christ defeats all these nations that are gathered. And the very next thing that happens is Revelation 20 in verse 1. I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and 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 fulfilled when he is loosed for a very short season.

So verse 3 shows what Satan has been busy doing. He's been deceiving the nations.

He's been trying to deceive us as well, members of God's church. So this second goat was not killed, but was led into the wilderness and let loose, having had the sins of Israel confessed over his head.

I want to read again a little bit from our booklet. And by the way, if you want to have some good Bible study and have not done so, be sure to read this chapter this afternoon, Atonement, Removal of Sins, Cause, and Reconciliation to God, the chapter on Atonement in our Holy Day booklet.

It brings out in our booklet, the priest chose the lot by lot the scapegoat or the Azazel, as the word appears in the original Hebrew. Many scholars identify Azazel as the name of a demon inhabiting the wilderness. The Azazel goat represents Satan, who bears the responsibility for the sins of humanity because of the deception he has forced upon mankind. The high priest laid hands on this goat and confessed over it the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people. Why did he do that? As present ruler of the world, the devil bears responsibility for his perversity in beguiling and coercing mankind to sin.

The sin, the sinning of a sin-laden goat, signified the complete removal of the sins of the people and handing them over, as it were, to the evil spirit to whom they belonged. That's a quote from the one-volume Bible commentary. The symbolism of the live goat parallels the fate of Satan and his demons, who will be removed at the outset of Jesus' reign over the nations. And there's a quote here of Revelation 20 verses 1-3, as we just read. Thus the devil and his demons, who for thousands of years have led mankind into every evil deed imaginable, will be removed to a place of restraint.

Complete global reconciliation to God cannot occur until the source of so much sin and suffering is out of the picture. I'll tell you when we read some of the things happening in the world today, how horrible they are. Satan is involved. It's beyond even human beings to think up some of the horrible things that are being done.

So Satan will be removed, and the story of these two goats in Leviticus 16 is very important for us to understand if we are to understand the meaning of this day. The second goat is the removal of Satan, and for the whole world to be at one with God. One more thing is this is absolutely necessary that this evil spirit being is removed. Second Corinthians 4-4, Satan is called the God of this world. Revelation 12 and verse 9 says he has deceived the whole world. But where did Satan come from?

It would be good to also briefly cover that or review that. Where did this adversary come from? You know, God did not create a devil. The devil actually became that because of his rebellion toward God. Let's go to Isaiah 14. There are two chapters that describe how there came to be a devil. And in a way, this is important for the Day of Atonement because the Day of Atonement story does involve the removal of the devil, but where did the devil come from?

Well, the Bible gives us insight on that. And in a way, then, the Day of Atonement story begins anciently, maybe millions and millions of years ago, with the rebellion of Satan and the rebellious angels. Isaiah 14, verse 12, How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How are you 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 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. Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol to the lowest depths of the pit. This is talking about Lucifer's rebellion, and he was able to draw one-third of the angels with him.

There's a scripture in Revelation 12 that indicates that. We know there are other fallen angels other than Lucifer, but he began to get the big head. He was going to push God off of his throne. You know, many times employees think they would do a better job than the boss.

That idea came into Lucifer's mind. He began to think, I could do a better job than God is doing. I would do more. I would do this. I would do that. He began to think that he would do a better job than God, and he actually thought he would be able to push God off his throne.

But he grossly underestimated the boss. Just like sometimes in businesses, people that think they know more than the boss grossly underestimate their boss. The boss is boss because normally he's worked his way up through a lot of training and experience to be there and knows a lot about the position of being the boss. So Lucifer grossly underestimated God.

Jesus said he observed Satan cast down as lightning. Lucifer rose up and these rebellious angels. God saw the look of rebellion on their faces. Rebellion which had never been in the universe before. Never had there been lack of atonement before. Suddenly there was lack of atonement. Suddenly there was hostility. Suddenly there was an adversary. There was an accuser. And God looked, and here came Lucifer and those angels, and he thrust them right back down to the earth. Again, they grossly underestimated the great God. He created them. Did they somehow think they could push him off his throne? They did. But you see, the Day of Atonement story actually originates then with the sin of the angels. Because half of the Day of Atonement story is the removal of these fallen angels from being able to deceive mankind. Let's go to Ezekiel 28 and read that as well. So it's good that we review this. I think we're familiar with it, but maybe we've not reviewed it for a while. This is how there came to be a devil, an adversary. In Ezekiel 28 and verse 12, Son of Man took up a lamentation for the king of Tyre. The prince of Tyre, as mentioned earlier, for this king of Tyre, as we're going to see, is actually Satan, the one that became Satan.

Say to him, Thus says the Lord God. So this is God speaking here.

You were the seal of perfection. This is talking about more than human beings, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering. Sardius, Topaz, Diamond, Burrow, Onyx, Jasper, Sapphire, Turquoise, and Emerald with gold. The workmanship of your temples and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. Yes, angels are created beings. They did not always exist. There was a time there were no angels. There was no Lucifer that would later become Satan. Verse 14, You were the anointed carob. God gave him a very high position. Who covers? I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading, you became filled with violence within and you sinned. Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God and I destroyed you. God removed him, O covering carob, from the midst of the fiery stones. Verse 17 shows what had happened. Your heart was lifted up.

Was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor, pride.

You begin to think more highly of himself than he should. That's a dangerous thing. Don't ever begin to think more highly of yourself than you should. That is a satanic attitude. So here we have the Day of Atonement story in a way, the very beginning origin of it. There was now the lack of Atonement in the universe. There were angels that disagreed with God and rebelled against God, became accusers, adversaries, but God allowed them to remain on the earth.

And when he created mankind, they were here. When Jesus came, they were here. They're here today, but they're not here too much longer. Thank God for that. Satan is that unseen hand behind the evils in the world today. He uses and exploits man's human nature to do evil. Again, some of the things going on, many of the things going on, are so gross and so inhumane. It has to be more than just of human origin, but Satan influencing mankind to do such evils. So the azazel goat in Leviticus 16 shows God arresting Satan and the demons, locking them up. So the Day of Atonement pictures, actually, the coming official end of Satan's evil world and a day of retribution on Satan and the demons for all their evil. This is a day of retribution on Satan. Retribution means a deserved punishment for evil done.

And so the Day of Atonement shows that there's a retribution for Satan and the demons. They had no reason to rebel against God. God had created them. He gave them work to do. He gave them responsibility. They had a good life. They were happy. Everybody was working together. They had no reason, but pride crept into the heart of Lucifer. He was able to get through to one-third of the angels, and they rebelled against God. So right after the Feast of Trumpets pictures, the very next event is that Satan and the demons will be arrested and bound and locked up, no longer able to influence mankind. And after Satan has been bound, it's still going to take a little while before all of his influence is taken away. Some of the nations will say, we're not going to go to Jerusalem. Those keep the Feast of Tabernacles, but those old Jews, we're not going to do that. Zechariah 14 indicates that. Other nations will have to be rebuked. Some will not want to disarm. Some may not want to keep the Sabbath day, the other laws of God. They will not want to submit right away. Some of the nations will not. They will have to be corrected. But eventually, all nations will be at one. That's what this day pictures. All nations will come to be at one. Jesus Christ is going to gain control, will take a little time. Before too long, though, all nations will be at one and will enjoy one thousand years of peace and joy and salvation. Picture by the next Holy Day after this one, the Feast of Tabernacles. But you see, it's important for us not to just kind of go through this day lightly. You know, we don't look forward to this one too much because it's the day of fasting. We actually should think about this day very highly. This is one of the seven important Holy Days of God, the Day of Atonement. This is a wonderful Holy Day. It's a picturing a beautiful doctrine of the Bible. Reconciliation with God and Satan being removed. Both are very beautiful. Satan no longer able to influence mankind to do evil. I'll tell you, this is a wonderful day. I want to say more about that in just a few minutes, that it's good. And we're learning some things today that we would learn no other way except by fasting.

I want to just say a word or two about that actually, you know, this isn't just our day of Atonement. This is our day for reconciliation with God. We've all sinned, and we still do sin. When we sin, the Scriptures say we can come to God and we can be reconciled by the blood of Christ. We can continue being at one with God. If we're striving to live a holy and righteous life, guess what? We are at one with God, even though we stumble now and then. Even though we sin now and then, we do. But we don't want to, and we quickly ask God to forgive us. And so we continue. We maintain that condition of Atonement with God. And at the same time, what else are we doing? Aren't we doing the other side of Atonement? We're resisting the devil. The devil is not bound during our time of being a Christian and developing godly character. The devil is very free. He'd like to get to us more than anybody else on the earth. So what we have to do is to resist. He's trying to get to us, but we have to resist his influence. His influence is all around.

He's going to try to get to you and your weakest point. Maybe you do have pride. Maybe you do think too highly of yourself. Other weaknesses that you have. Satan will exploit our human nature. He's a master manipulator. He's been around a long time. We've got to continue to resist steadfast in the faith. Satan is very subtle. And so we have to be warned. The Apostle Paul, well let's read that scripture, 2 Corinthians. We have to, we are to be warned not to let Satan get to us through his subtlety. 2 Corinthians 11.

And in verse 3, but I fear the Apostle Paul was so concerned about this church, the Corinthian church. I fear lest somehow as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness. So your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you may well put up with it. Brother, we've got to be sharp then to Satan's attempts to get through to us, recognize it, resist it right away. The scriptures reveal that we are in a spiritual warfare, and there's not a day that goes by that there are not skirmishes and battles in this warfare.

I know that Satan has got through to me at times in my life, and I've got to keep resisting even much harder than ever before.

Satan tries to get through to us in evil thoughts, in negative moods.

Just wake up sometime feeling very negative. Where's that coming from? Wrong attitudes, accusations, justified or not justified. We still put things in their context. Lust, greed, pride, vanity.

You know, Satan tries to get through to us. Satan himself is full of pride, full of ego, full of self. He hates law and government. Very happy to see what's happening in the United States right now. Satan is very self-righteous, very self-righteous.

So we have to recognize Satan's spirit and resist. Let's go to a couple of verses in the General Epistles, James 4. So let us then, this day of atonement, underscore the need for us to continue resisting steadfast, not giving in to the adversary. This is our day of atonement. Our day of reconciliation. Our day for resisting Satan, putting him out of our lives as far as his influence. James 4 and verse 7, therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Well, you know, verse 7 again, resist the devil and he will flee from you. I had a member many years ago come to me and say, you know, I've been resisting these evil thoughts and I know it's coming from Satan, negative mood, and it just doesn't seem to go away. It's been, and I've been doing it now for several weeks. Well, you know, sometimes it takes more than just weeks. It says here to resist the, to resist the devil and what we have to do is to keep resisting until he does flee from us.

Let's read in 1 Peter chapter 5 also. You know, we have to keep resisting until he does flee.

Eventually he will. That's a promise there in James. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 5.

Be submissive to one another, be clothed with humility. God, resist the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary of the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. So we have to keep resisting until Satan does indeed go away. And he will. I've noticed in my own life there have been times I have felt stronger attempts on the part of the adversary to get through to me. And if I resist and keep resisting, there is at some point an easing up. And you suddenly realize that that evil influence has gone away. It's not, the pressure is not there like it has been. So we have to resist steadfast. And if we do, Satan will eventually leave us alone. But he'll come back later, we can be sure. Keep resisting.

Keep resisting. I want to say a few words about fasting now. Fasting on the day of atonement.

It's a vivid reminder of the state of mind that is necessary for salvation.

Okay, this day we feel kind of empty. We're going to feel much emptier before the day is up.

But this day tends toward humility. It tends toward godly sorrow.

It tends toward earnestly seeking God in His way. We know the world today is filled with pomp and pride. But this day of atonement shows that after Jesus Christ returns, the world is going to be humbled. And they're going to be, they have to be humbled before they will, they can be reconciled or at one with God. The world has to be made humble. This fasting that we're going through shows the whole world will be made humble. So they can be at one with God. So fasting on the day of atonement, pictures of day of humility. It's not easy. Fasting is not easy at all. Once again, from our Holy Day booklet, good section here. I've just about read all this chapter for you, so you won't need to read too much more. How do you afflict your soul this day? Afflict comes from the Hebrew word anah, which means to be afflicted, to be bowed down, to be humbled, to be meek. The same word is used in connection with fasting in Psalm 35, 13, Isaiah 58, a couple of verses. Fasting means abstaining from food and drink. So why does God tell us to fast during this specific 24 hours?

Fasting expresses our humble desire to draw closer to God. I hope we have that each of us today.

The day of atonement represents a coming time of reconciliation, during which with Satan banished and the world having been devastated by the horrific events leading up to this time. A humbled and repentant humanity will at last be reconciled to God.

Few people understand the proper reasons for fasting. Fasting is not to bend God to our will.

We don't fast or receive anything from God except His abundant mercy and forgiveness for our human weaknesses. Fasting helps us remember how temporary our physical existence is. Without food and water, we would soon perish. Fasting helps us realize just how much we need God as the giver and sustainer of life. We should always fast on the day of atonement in a repentant frame of mind.

So I hope we have that frame of mind. It is a repentant frame of mind.

Fasting knocks us down. It humbles us. We learn that God is great, but we're puny. We learn dependence on God, not on ourselves. Fasting goes against our very nature. It involves self-denial sacrifice, but it does draw us closer to God. But it does draw us closer to God. In 2 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul had this thorn in the flesh. He went to God three times to have it taken away.

You know what God told the Apostle? Remember these words here on the day of atonement. God told the Apostle Paul, my strength is made perfect in weakness.

My strength is made perfect in weakness. And the Apostle Paul said that he gladly accepted God's decree not to take the thorn away from him. And he ended that portion of Scripture by saying, when I am weak, then I am strong. I want you to think about that today. We are weak.

We are weak. But spiritually, I believe we are stronger than at other times because we realize how weak and puny we are. The Apostle said it so well, and we can agree with him this fast day, that when I am weak, then I am strong. And God truly has it right when he says, my strength is made perfect in weakness. My strength is made perfect in weakness. So this day, there can be a lot more perfection going on in our own lives as we deny the flesh and are weak. But we take in the Spirit and realize that man does not live by breath alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

So, brethren, what a good day this is. This is a day of rejoicing, and we realize that in our weakness we are being made strong spiritually.

We can rejoice. This day of atonement, picturing the whole world's reconciliation with God, picturing Satan being taken away, this day paves the way for the wonderful millennium, the picture by the next holy day, the Feast of Tabernacles. Let's not ever just kind of go through this day and hope to get it over with so we can go on to the Feast. Let's soak in this day of atonement. It's a beautiful—atonement is a beautiful doctrine, a beautiful doctrine, because God's ultimate goal is total atonement of everything. That's going to take some doing.

For God to bring everything existing today on the earth, everything that has existed in the past, and the final judgment of the fallen angels, whatever that is, however that might turn out.

For God to bring everything into atonement, that's a big undertaking. Is God up to it? Let's read from Ephesians chapter 1. Yes, He's up to it. There's a beautiful verse on atonement here. We might let this be our final verse. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 10. It talks about the wonderful choosing of the people of God, even being predestined to be brought to salvation, to be the first to come to Christ. In verse 9, have He made known to us the mystery of His will? That's what God has done. This is Ephesians 1 and verse 9. According to the good pleasure which He purposed in Himself. Verse 10 now. That's the verse I want us to think about. That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, that goes right on to where everything has been accomplished that needs to be accomplished, in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, He might gather together in one. That's what this day is all about, day of atonement. That He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. I've pondered this verse a lot. God's ultimately going to bring everything into atonement. It's all going to be worked out. It's all going to be reconciled, and we can move on into eternity and what God has beyond.

Brethren, isn't then atonement a beautiful doctrine?

We should ask how we're doing with it. Am I at one with God?

Am I deeds? Am I actions? Am I words? Am I thoughts? An attitude and spirit? So we should examine ourselves this day of atonement. We should grow in this beautiful doctrine of atonement with God. Do some further study and prayer. Reflection this afternoon. Read the chapter on atonement in our Holy Day booklet.

Well, this is the last service. We'll go on now to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Hope you'll have a wonderful Feast of Tabernacles in eighth day.

Travel safely. We'll see you back here after the feast.