Atonement

Some ladies here have a diamond ring, maybe given to them during engagement with the marriage. And diamonds, when they are cut, usually have some 58, what they call, facets, which are the different cuts to make the light glean different colors. And this Day of Atonement, being part of the Bible, also has many facets to explore. I'd like to present five of those facets of this Day of Atonement, which God, the creator of all things, put in His word, and it's multifaceted. We can never exhaust all the different meanings from this day.

And one of the first facets that we're going to cover is a curious story in the Bible, because as God was giving the instructions about the Day of Atonement, something recently had happened, which was a great tragedy. And so when we studied the Day of Atonement, it's good for us to see how this chapter 16 doesn't begin explaining to us the Day of Atonement, but begins reminding of the deaths of two of the first priests that God had established. Why did this happen? Let's go to Leviticus 16.

Leviticus 16. This is the chapter that explains about the Day of Atonement. But notice how it begins.

Leviticus 16, verse 1, it says, This is a terrible thing. This had happened just recently, as everybody in Israel was so happy and celebrating the consecration of Aaron and his two sons. And yet, it didn't even last over a week because this celebration ended in a terrible tragedy. We can read about that. Let's begin in chapter 10 of Leviticus, verse 1. It talks about the two sons. Now, in chapter 9, all the ceremony and sacrifices had just been inaugurated. And it said in verse 24 of chapter 9, All the ceremony had taken place, and God put his stamp of approval on it. But then, something tragic occurs.

Chapter 10, verse 1, it says, So fire went out, this is the second time, the first one it was pleasing, the second time it was tragic. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. God is not a respecter of persons. Verse 3, And Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord spoke, saying. So God explained why this happened.

He says, By those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy, and before all the people I must be glorified. So what had happened was an act of disobedience, of disrespect, and of defiance. Because these two young men did not learn that you can't do things your own way before God. You have to do it God's way. They were representing the holy priesthood. These are the men that were going to teach Israel God's way of life, and they themselves violated it.

It's very sad. Immediately after this, in verse 8, God spoke to Aaron. Moses had been the mediator, the intercessor. God told Moses, Tell this to your brother. But now it was directly from God the instructions. And what did he say? He said, verse 9, Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons, with you. When you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.

This is the equivalent of having a minister get up here drunk and talking about the Word of God. And in this case, lightning did come, and it acted on these two young men, who did not esteem, they did not exalt God. They decided to present the incense in their own way. With strange fire, God had commanded them, you are to take only of the fire from the altar into the incense, incense. And there put the incense. Well, they offered the wrong type of fire before God. And if they were going to start with their left foot, if they were going to start with their innovations, and doing things on their own initiative, it wasn't going to work out. God wasn't going to put up with it. And we know God is a merciful God. People make mistakes in the Bible many times. Mistakes are made, but they're made out of good heart. It was something, a mistake that was not intentional. But here, God had to intervene. And so it was a very serious thing. So going now to chapter 16, we see, and God says, you're not going to present yourself before me into that Holy of Holies, except once a year. And it's Aaron, or whoever is the high priest, the one who's authorized to do so. So again, God is a God of order. He's not a God of confusion. Everything should be done decently and in order. And so this was very tragic. Now Aaron was left with only two sons left. That replaced the two sons.

And so in Leviticus 16, in verse 2, after he mentions about the death of Aaron's two sons, 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. Thus Aaron shall come into the holy place with the blood of a young bull and a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.

And so it's only on the day of atonement that God allowed someone to go in to the Holy of Holies. As you know, the tabernacle was constructed with two separations. One was a holy place. There the priest could come in daily. They would change the bread every week. They would put oil in the different lamps, do many different things. But there was a veil, and you weren't to go into that veil or through the veil except once a year on this day of atonement. So the first lesson we learned is that this priesthood from the very start showed a weakness. The human nature, people that still have a bit of disobedience, even from the best that God can choose. And so from feasting, it ended up and it turned to folly.

All in one day.

They foolishly took their own initiative and improvised.

So this was something God could not overlook. There was no other way to deal with it, but just very strictly, God was not going to put up with his own representatives doing their own things.

So the first lesson is do things God's way, not your way. And that deals with God's feasts as well. God sets up his calendar. We're supposed to keep the day of atonement today. We're supposed to keep the feasts of tabernacles on the seventh month from the fifteenth day on.

So that's the first lesson. Two men representing God here on earth as his representatives, and they failed to meet the test, to meet the challenge. So you can call this a tale of two men and the Messiah, because you were going to see that Christ was the one that was going to enter into the holy place in heaven, and that he was a high priest that never was going to fail us. So the second lesson we learn is that the Jewish people don't really understand the true meaning of either any of the feasts, but in particular the feasts of Passover and the day of atonement, because they rejected Jesus as the Messiah. And consequently, it was not revealed to them the spiritual dimension behind these feasts.

For them, atonement is the holiest day of the year. They call it Yom Kippur, the day of covering. And for them, it's a type of a confessional, where they are all beating their chests and saying how they are sinners, and please God forgive them, and oh, woe is me, and look what I did during this past year, and for God to be merciful on me. They mourn, they fast, as they feel sorry for their sins, but since they don't know the true meaning behind Passover or atonement, they don't understand the spiritual meaning. For Passover, they take up a lamb, they sacrifice a lamb. Nowadays, the Jews don't sacrifice a lamb, but they'll have some type of lamb portion that they eat. And for them, Passover means the death angel that passed over Israel and the exodus out of Egypt. For them, that's what it means. Well, yes, the lamb is important because you needed the blood on the dentals to put there on the door of posts, and so the death angel would go over. And then, of course, we know that the next day they left for what was then the Promised Lamb. But to us, we have a New Testament revelation of what Passover and atonement means. We have the spiritual dimension that the Jewish people lack today. Paul called it like they have a veil over their heads. They can't see through it. They can't see the spiritual meaning behind these days. Well, for us, the Messiah is the center of the Passover, and the Messiah is also the center of the day of atonement. Because it's not just a lamb that was sacrificed, it was symbolic of Christ's sacrifice for our sins and for the forgiveness of our sins. So for us, Passover has a greater meaning. That's why for us, we remember when we were baptized, when that sacrifice of Jesus Christ was applied in our lives, and the washing and the covering of all of our sins and coming out as a new person, not indebted to God through sin. We are free. We are now the debt has been paid. And so for us, the Passover has much more meaning as far as forgiveness of sins, because we understand the spiritual dimension. And of course, atonement now takes a far deeper meaning than any of the Jews would understand.

Christ would fulfill several roles in the symbolism of the day of atonement. So that takes us to the third lesson. So the second one has to do with understanding how we keep atonement very different than the Jewish people.

We're now concerned about confessing our sins before God on this day in particular. Why is that? Well, that takes us to the third lesson.

The New Testament meaning of atonement as revealed in the book of Hebrews. That explains to us how atonement now has taken on a far deeper meaning. It shows the Aaronic priesthood, the tabernacle, and sacrifices were only temporary. They were going to be superseded or replaced by Christ's priesthood, by the temple, which is in heaven, and by Christ's sacrifice. Once for all. Not on one day, but for all. It's a much better way than what was kept in the Old Testament. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9 helps us understand the symbolism behind the day of atonement. Notice in Hebrews chapter 9, in verse 6, he was describing the tabernacle and the different items in it. And then in verse 6, he says, Now when these things had been thus prepared in the tabernacle, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. We already talked about that. But into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year. So this is talking about the day of atonement. Here we have the day of atonement being mentioned in the New Testament.

Not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins, committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. You can see how restricted it was in the Old Testament. Nobody could even approach that tabernacle on the day of atonement. Only one person was designated to represent the people.

And he had to sacrifice for his own sins, for those of his household, and also for the rest of Israel. So there wasn't any direct talking with God. There was no access to God in a direct way. You had to go through all of these stages of all this ceremony, and the priest had to be dressed in a certain way, and sacrifice, and blood spilled, and offerings done. So it was showing us that there wasn't this direct access to God the Father and to Jesus Christ as we do today.

Notice it says that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience. You can't have an animal being killed after you've sinned. That you think because you killed an animal that means that now everything's forgiven.

No, it's a reminder of your sin, but your conscience is still dirty. Your conscience is not clean because animals with their blood cannot compensate or pay for a person's sins. It goes on to say, Verse 10, concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings and fleshly ordinances, which talked about the flesh that was offered in the altar, imposed until the time of Reformation.

There would be a second stage to this. This wasn't the final story. This wasn't the final part. There would be an additional one that God was going to add, which is the New Testament meaning behind these ceremonies and these days. In verse 11, it goes on to say, But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is not of this creation. He came from heaven.

God's temple is up there. He came from the real, the spiritual world, down here to the physical one. Verse 12, Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he entered the most holy place, once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. So here's the answer. Why? We don't have to, in particular, lament and be mourning, because Christ is there for us every day of the year. He is our high priest that is next to God the Father every day. That's why our sins, we don't have to wait once a year for them to all accumulate and to do all of these animal sacrifices.

No, we can go to God every day. And we know he listens. Christ is there. His sacrifice is applied. And we are forgiven. Verse 13 says, For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works, past sins, to serve the living God?

That is the true cleansing. That really is effective, not the animal sacrifices that could not clean a person's conscience. You can feel God has forgiven me. I've gone to God. I've repented. I've asked forgiveness. I've asked for Christ's sacrifice to be applied. And guess what? After you get up from having knelt, you feel clean. You don't have to be harassing and hounding God about that.

It's done. It's taken care of. How much superior is that sacrifice to anything that was done on the day of atonement? Then he goes on to say in verse 24 of this same chapter, For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the truth. They are physical types of spiritual realities.

But into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us, not that he should offer himself often as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with blood of another. Here it is again. This is a reference to the day of atonement. You can write it down in your margin. Day of atonement, because it's talking about that day when you could go into that holy of holies. Verse 26, he then would have to suffer often since the foundation of the world. If his sacrifice only lasted for a day, like in the day of atonement, people sinned that day in the next already. They've been forgiven, and by the next day, the sin has accumulated from the congregation. So he doesn't have to do that every day. He did it once and for all. But now, once at the end of the ages, he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. So they look forward to it. They've been forgiven. This day of atonement, we are celebrating Christ's sacrifice. As our high priest, that we don't have to just wait every year. That's why for the Jews, it's a great anticipation. See, they know how many times they've sinned. And now is the day where we can have our sins forgiven.

But for us, there's a superior method that Christ introduced. Since they rejected Christ, they still have the Old Testament system. They have the physical type. It goes on to say in chapter 10, verse 19, of Hebrews, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. Great encouragement to remain in the faith, to be faithful, to not let down our guards, to continue exhorting one another and congregating, assembling ourselves, not being caught up in different movements outside the Church or getting involved in the world and letting it absorb us.

So for this New Testament Day of Atonement, Christ is continually there as the High Priest and applies his mediation, which is how he intervenes. He applies his sacrifice, and he reconciles us to God the Father. And even further, his sacrifice has dealt Satan a long-lasting defeat which prepares for his removal, Satan's removal. In Hebrews 2, verse 14, Hebrews 2, verse 14, it says, As much 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. So yes, Christ now has disqualified Satan from his role. He hasn't been removed yet, but Christ has already dealt him a blow. And he's already authorized that he will be removed in the future from his present position, which takes us to the fourth lesson.

Atonement has to do with the removal of Satan as the ruler of this world, which is highlighted in God's fifth step of salvation. Remember, we have Passover as the first feast. That's the first step that God takes intervening in mankind with a Passover. Christ's coming. Then we have the days of Unleavened Bread, where he purifies the people that are unleavened before him, that are not filled with this world's false ways, that have been leavened by Satan and his deceits. And then Pentecost represents the sending forth of the Holy Spirit, which happened in Acts 2, shortly after the Passover, where Christ suffered and died. So now the Holy Spirit is available to those who subscribe and accept God's steps of salvation. So this is the third one, Pentecost. And then the fourth one, we just celebrated the Feast of Trumpets, the fourth step, which is announcing Christ's return. And after Christ's return, the first thing that is done, Satan is removed. And he's put in an abyss or a pit, where he is going to be confined with his angels for a thousand years. He's not going to have any influence upon world affairs. So let's look in Leviticus 16, this fourth lesson.

Leviticus 16, verse 29.

After explaining the ceremony of the Day of Atonement, verse 29, it says, Remember, God set up his calendar back in the book of Genesis. And it is a lunar calendar, based on approximately the thirty days that it takes the moon to change its different from being a new moon, all the way to disappearing again. It takes thirty days for the whole cycle. During the Feast of Tabernacles, we're in the full moon stage. So it has gone from zero to the crescent to the half moon, and then the full moon, and then it dwindles down to again disappearing.

And God set it up very carefully. That's why the term here in the seventh month, actually, the term yerah in Hebrew is related to the moon. In the seventh moon of the year, on the tenth day, you shall come and celebrate the Day of Atonement. He goes on to say, So you can't have somebody there doing anything he wants.

No, it's a day to be respected in your home. 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. We saw that this was a symbol of what eventually would be Christ's sacrifice, but it was something physical for Israel. Verse 31, It is a statute forever. God established it with his people. So going on, now in verse 7, talking about Aaron as a high priest of this chapter 16, he says, This was a separate ceremony that took place during the Day of Atonement.

The choosing of two goats. And it says in verse 8, And actually, this is an old King James vocabulary. It means the escape goat, the goat that is left to escape into the desert. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, the term in the Hebrew is azazel, which means the expelled one.

The expelled one shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement upon it and to go, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. In verse 20, it says, Now this is very interesting because symbolically, Christ represents three different roles in the Day of Atonement. He represents the high priest. He represents the offering, the sin offering, for Israel.

And he represents the one who authorizes the life goat to be expelled into the wilderness. So he's got three roles, functions to carry out. Verse 20, Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the life 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, a man that is strong, that's going to keep that goat from running away.

And so, just as the hands were laid on the first goat, confessing the sins, this goat represents the sacrifice. But this goat that represents Azazel, the expelled one, represents Satan and his influence in all the sins of mankind. So you see, the goats have a different function.

Some people say, no, the two goats mean Christ. Well, why use two of them? Doesn't make sense. Why cast lots if it's the same purpose? No, they have different purposes. The first goat is not called for Azazel. It's the lot for the Lord, Yahweh. That's the one represented there.

But the other one is Azazel, which has to do with the expelled one. So you see, the Day of Atonement in God's plan is after the Feast of Trumpets, because Trumpets represent when Christ comes back, is Satan going to be removed before Christ comes back? No, he's still going to have influence. He's still going to have his position. But once Christ comes, then Satan's turn is up, and he is going to be removed just as this goat was taken into the wilderness where he could have no influence on the congregation of Israel. He was expelled from there, so Satan will no longer have any influence upon this earth.

Notice in Revelation chapter 19, this is the chapter in the Bible that describes the return of Jesus Christ. It goes into detail about Christ's coming. Notice what it says here, verse 16, and he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. So Christ has come back to the earth. Notice verse 11, Now I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful, and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

Verse 13, He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood because of his sacrifice, and his name is called the Word of God. So we know the Word of God was made flesh, was Jesus Christ, and so he returns. But what happens after he returns? And of course, then he deals with those enemies on earth. And in verse 1 of chapter 20, it goes on to say, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Remember how in Leviticus, a designated man, he had to have a rope and be able to tie that goat very well and take him into the desert. Did the goat want to go? No! But he had no option. The man was stronger than the goat, and so the goat had to go.

Well, here there's a powerful angel that grabs Satan and thrusts him into this deep pit, which is going to be on the earth. It's going to be a prison where he is locked up with his angels. Verse 2, He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into the bottomless pit, which means a pit that you can't see the bottom.

It doesn't mean it doesn't have a bottom. It means you can't see it. 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.

But after these things, he must be released for a little while. So the Feast of Tabernacles has to do with the coming of the kingdom for a thousand years, as it mentions in verse 6, Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

So you see how everything fits in place, that the Day of Atonement, that second goat, symbolizes Satan being bound and expelled to a place that he can no longer influence, he no longer is involved in world affairs. And that takes us to the fifth lesson, which is the purpose of fasting on this day.

We already read in Leviticus 16, also Leviticus 23, where it talks about the Day of Atonement. At the time of fasting, let's read Leviticus 23. This is where all seven of God's holy feasts are commanded in the Bible to be kept. Leviticus 23.

In verse 27 of Leviticus 23, he says, Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for youth. That's why we're meeting today. You shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire, to the Lord used to be yet to bring an animal. Now you bring your offerings to him. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is a day of Atonement to make Atonement for you before the Lord your God.

For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. So here are three purposes for fasting today. The first one is for the purpose of purifying a people.

God doesn't want us to present ourselves today spiritually dirty. We should be afflicted, humbled, and repentant. He wants us to have that type of attitude before him.

After all, Satan is indicted on this day, and we were accomplices. We willingly listened to him, and we followed him. And so God says, you are going to be separate from what Satan is going to get. He is just desserts, but I want my people to be separate, to be holy before me.

The second purpose is drawing near to God so he can draw near to us. That is a biblical formula. You have to seek after God. God's not going to go after you. He's not going to interrupt your own lifestyle. But he's there. The door is open if you want to go through. But you have to seek him. He's not going to seek you.

This drawing near to us develops discipline. Remember, Christ fasted for 40 straight days. We were supposed to just fast one day. And some people said, oh, I can't do that. That's too much.

Notice James chapter 4 verses 8 and 9. I'll go ahead and read it. James 4, 8, and 9. It says, Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. The attitude that we should have. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. We should be serious about our sins. I shouldn't think they're just in a flippant manner, in a disrespectful manner. It doesn't mean that much. Everybody's doing it. I just read yesterday, you know that basically the population of the United States is about 320 million people. You know how many people are infected with sexually transmitted diseases, according to the Center of Disease Control? 110 million people have sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. Now, if you take away about half of that population, which are either small children or elderly people, you have 110 out of maybe 160 or 70 million people. That's more than half of the people. Do you think God looks down and is pleased with this? People are taking their sins very shallowly, not seriously. That's why He's going to shake this world up, and the way it looks, it's going to be sooner than later. So remember, when we are weak, our human nature has been weakened by fasting. We are spiritually stronger before God. Now, the third purpose is to prepare a proper frame of mind for the coming feast. God wants us to be together for eight days. He wants to see spiritual attitudes, spiritual deeds. He doesn't want to see sour faces. He doesn't want to see all these complainers and people that are envious and people that are just constantly having fits about this or that. No, He wants us to spiritually be mature. We're coming to a holy feast. It's a wonderful time. But He wants us to truly fellowship and show forth the fruits of God's Holy Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, patience, faith, meekness, gentleness, humility, and self-control. These are the attributes that God wants to see in us. To be close to God, to truly fellowship, to learn and to share. Learn to be loving, servicing, and generous. So we have learned five important lessons about this day of Atonement. It is a privilege to understand them. They come from God. God gives us the mind. He gives us inspiration. It's nothing a human being should boast or take credit for. God is the one that does it. We're nothing before Him. But we have the privilege to understand and apply these wonderful truths in our lives. And also, let's do it in this coming feast. Have a wonderful feast.