Day of Atonement

What do I have here? This is one of those old dollar coins that used to be quite popular, but they just gotten too big for the pockets. So now we've reduced everything. Of course, we've shrunk everything too, haven't we? Not much silver now in what is being produced, but this is a silver coin, and it's actually to celebrate the bicentennial year of the United States from 1776 to 1976. I like it in particular because in the back it shows the Liberty Bell. Now, I've always been impressed with this U.S. monument.

It was brought to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the 50 years after the death of William Penn, and in particular for his Bill of Rights, where Pennsylvania was able to have freedom, not only of speech, but also of religion. And it cracked in 1846 when it was celebrating Washington's birthday, same day that of course he had died before, but that was his national day. It was supposed to have been rung at the start of the War of Independence, and inscription reads, proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all its inhabitants thereof.

That was a time when you could place biblical quotes in national monuments. Now, they are systematically being taken down all across this nation, which is a very unfortunate thing. We're taking God not only out of the schools, but now even in our monuments, and many are under a filing suit to get rid of a lot of these monuments. But this Bible verse comes from Leviticus chapter 25 verse 10, which says proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all its inhabitants thereof. But let's read the verse before that in verse 9. It says, then you shall cause the trumpet of Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet sound throughout all your land, and you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land. So we see the day of Atonement is connected by God to the proclamation of freedom throughout the land. And of course, a lot of this is veiled throughout the Bible, but we can understand God makes the connections and slowly reveals them through the Scripture. We know that the day of Atonement symbolizes the freedom from Satan's influence.

Remember the famous speech by Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream, where he mentioned, free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last. Yes, there were civil liberties that were given more and more to the African-American people, as they should have been, but we are not free at last. Not totally, not by a long shot. We still have Satan to contend with, and as long as we have Satan around, there isn't going to be true freedom in this world. So I have a question. I know a lot of people have asked it. If the feast days are so important, why do such few people know about it? The Day of Atonement. It's not identified as a Christian festival. It's in the New Testament. The Christians kept it. The Apostle Paul kept it. Nothing was abolished during those 30 years through the Book of Acts. We have the mentioning of the Day of the Fast while Paul was traveling, and Luke brought it up as a day that they observed. They didn't throw it away. We also have other parts of the scriptures as we will see. But why is it that such wonderful news, the meaning behind the Day of Atonement, which the whole world should be celebrating today, but they aren't. They're running around doing their chores just like it's just a normal day when it isn't. Well, to answer that question, first of all, we have to understand God's way of doing things.

In a very humble manner. The way he carries out his plan of salvation is a very low-key way.

We read in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 26. Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 26 to answer why is it that the world has forgotten the importance of this day? Why has Christianity dropped this day from its celebrations, whereas it's keeping a lot of other days that are not even in the Bible, that are pagan-oriented and with a pagan origin. Those they celebrate. But today, today is a day that God has said it's commanded for his people in the Old and the New Testament.

Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 26. I'm sorry. Let's go. Yeah, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 26. It says, For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. So if you want to find God's church in the world, you're not going to find many mighty and noble and powerful because God's church doesn't compromise with the truth. It's not political. It's not wealthy. And yet it's composed of people that are willing to obey God and take God's word at its word.

Continuing on, it says, But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. That's just God's way of doing it. His modus operandi is, he's not going to do it without, you know, high view and everybody important to get involved. He doesn't do it that way. He calls the lowly, he calls the humble, he calls the average, and he continues on. And he says, And the base things of the world, and the things which are despised, God has chosen, and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are.

What are the things that are? Well, all of the luxury, all the power, all the might that we see around the world, all the people in palaces and mansions and high-powered jobs and all kinds of money. How many of them know about the truth that I know of not one?

All of the great college professors and the wise and the most brilliant and Nobel Prize winners? Where are they? God hasn't called them. And why does he do that? The answer is in verse 29, that no flesh should glory in his presence. Because if a person's filled with his own wisdom and power and wealth, they're going to be thinking about themselves normally. They're going to be thinking how important they are. And they would have boasted, yes, of course God had to call me because I was so brilliant or because I was so wealthy or I was so powerful or I'm the greatest administrator.

And so nobody's going to boast before God. And so he has called those that have nothing to boast about. Verse 30, but of him you are in Christ Jesus who became for us wisdom from God, not from yourselves and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that as it is written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. In other words, not in himself.

And when we come before God, we're not going to have anything to glory about, to give him the glory. He's the one that made it possible. Notice also God's way of doing things, the way he brought the Messiah, Jesus Christ. You would think he could have put them in a palace with all of the mighty and the noble, or at least he would have had them in Jerusalem, the great nation.

And there they had all the high priests. They had the temple! The Messiah could have been born right there. Where was he born? In a little town of Bethlehem, about six miles south of there. And probably, as we have talked about in the past, it was probably just a house where the animals were all on the bottom floor, and they had a manger.

And actually, it wasn't an inn and such, but actually a place, the guest room, and it was full. And so they just had to have Christ right there, probably in the terraced area, and then they came down and put them in a manger.

But whatever it was, it was a very humble abode. And whom did God call to celebrate such a great event? Well, first of all, shepherds. Shepherds who usually are not the most respected people, they usually don't smell too well because they have to be out there at night, and they're around sheep all the time. And so God called them to be the first ones to worship. Now, I wouldn't have done that. You wouldn't have done that. But God does that. Brought the Messiah, the one by whom God created all things. And yet, He dropped them here on the earth in the most humble place, and then grew up in Nazareth, a little backwoods area, pretty despised by the rest of Israel. So definitely God does not do things as we do. Notice in Matthew 11, verse 28 what Jesus Christ said about Himself. Matthew 11, verse 28, Jesus said, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle, the margin says, meek, and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. We have a humble God. We have a God that doesn't like to just splash all of His power and try to impress people. That's just His nature, and that's the way He has used His plan, the little mustard seed, so insignificant, yes, becomes the largest of the bushes. In Matthew 13, verse 16, Jesus told His disciples, But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. So we have the privilege. We understand the Day of Atonement not just in its physical dimension, but in its physical dimension, but in its spiritual dimension. That is a great privilege, and God is not revealing it to the high and the mighty. You might ask, well then, how can they be responsible if they don't have this knowledge? And the answer is that they are partly responsible. We know that in God's plan, after the thousand years is over, the small and the great will rise up, the books will be open, and the book of life will be there. And they will understand. They will have an opportunity to have their names in the book of life if they choose God's way. So yes, they're partly responsible today, although they don't know this wonderful knowledge. Also, you've had prophets throughout the centuries. You had men like Noah. They were witnesses, and there have always been witnesses throughout every generation of mankind that the truth was there if you sought it, if you look for it, if you were really wanting to find the truth, there were witnesses, there were people that could tell you, but the world is interested in other things, and so they don't pay attention.

Notice in Luke chapter 16 verse 24, Luke chapter 16 verse 24, this is talking about the rich man in Lazarus, and then the rich man cried and said here in verse 24, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. Certainly he's going to be cast into the lake of fire, and he just wanted to wet his lips because they had completely dried up.

But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, and you're tormented.

And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot nor can those from their paths to us. Then he said, I beg you therefore, Father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment. And he said, No, Father Abraham. And Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. Well, what is he talking about? Moses and the prophets. Throughout the New Testament, that is talking about the Bible. And specifically the Old Testament, but certainly the New Testament was going to be composed and be part of the Bible. And what he's saying is, they have the Bible. If they really seek the truth and to change their lives, the Bible will do it. It's the instruction book for repentance and conversion, if you really want to.

And then the rich man gave a typical answer. And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if one comes to them from the dead, they will repent. He says, Oh, no, the Bible is just there. They might not pay attention to it. But if I came back, they saw me dead and buried. I would tell them, you know, change your lives while you have time. Because where I'm going, you don't want to be. And you know what the answer is? But he said it to him, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rise from the dead. So that's the hardness of the man's heart. Oh, people might change for a while. But eventually, they're going to do what they want to do. And unfortunately, that is the condition. We have God's Word. If you really want to seek the truth, you can do so. But you will pay a price. You can't take your life and your former way of living with you. That has to be dropped. Or you might just find yourself in that same fate. Yeah, we have Moses and the prophets today. We have the Day of Atonement today.

And we have to learn what it's about. It's a wonderful day. It has tremendous spiritual meaning. And yet, so few know it. The true purpose of this day, the Jews don't know it. Let's turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 12. Paul is talking about why the Jewish people can't understand the Scriptures. He says in verse 12, Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded, for until this day the same veil remains un-lifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. You have to accept Jesus Christ. You have to be converted and have Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and his Spirit be there so that the veil will be lifted, so that you can understand spiritually what all of this means. This isn't based on some scholarly treaties that some few came up with. This is not rocket science. This is simply God lifting the veil, helping us understand what he said originally and what the meaning is afterwards. He says here, nevertheless, verse 15, but even to this day when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. So we have spiritual understanding. Now the Spirit, the Lord is the Spirit, and certainly he's the one that provides it, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Freedom from deception.

Freedom from falsehoods. That's when we can get to understand the Scriptures. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. So it's progressive. You don't receive the revelation just from one moment to the next. It's slowly, as you study, as you follow God more carefully, and you follow and you mature spiritually, more understanding. But that understanding has to come with humility. It's not ours. It's God's. We've got a privilege. We're thankful. But it doesn't make us any better. We just have to be very appreciative. So the Jews tripped up. They only keep it physically.

The rabbis give various opinions, and basically they're off because they don't have the New Testament. Remember the principle that the New Testament reveals what the Old Testament conceals.

What the Old Testament veils, the New Testament unveils. So let's go to Leviticus 16, verse 29, because we have this ceremony every day of atonement on the seventh month, the tenth day of the month. That's the biblical calendar. That's what God established. That's how He established His feast days, His Sabbaths. All of these are all interconnected. In Leviticus 16, verse 29, it says, 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 country or a stranger who dwells among you. So that's why we are fasting today. 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. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. So God establishes annual Sabbath days as well as He establishes weekly Sabbath days. This is a Sabbath, a day of rest, a day of holy convocation.

Verse 34, And this shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins once a year. Let's go now to verse 7 of this chapter.

Talking about the high priest and the ceremony, he says, He shall take two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. This comes from the Hebrew, Azazel, which means the expelled one. So one is to represent the one who dies for our sins, and the other one who is guilty. He is a perpetrator. He's the inducer of our sins. And notice the different fates of these two goats. It's interesting that you had to cast lots because they appeared similar. And the Bible tells us there in 2 Corinthians 11 that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. And he is very brilliant, and he's very clever, and he can pawn off his beliefs on people. But here, after each one is selected, verse 9, 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 shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement upon it and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. So notice two fates. One of them represents the Lord. He is slain. His blood is going to be sprinkled for purification. But the other one is not killed.

Notice, here, continuing on, in verse 15, it says, But 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. So you read that in Hebrews, chapters 7 through 9, about the sprinkling that it was Jesus Christ who was representing this bull. I'm sorry, this goat.

Verse 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.

And then drop down in verse 26, 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. Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over 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. And so he laid the gilt to the people on this goat, and then he sends it out and expels it to an uninhabited land, where he is released to wander there. So, Azazel represents Satan as he's the expelled one. He's the one that was expelled from God's presence. He's called the adversary, and he is the one responsible for the sins of mankind over anything else. Let's go to Revelation chapter 20, because when Jesus Christ comes back, we see in verses 1 through 3, after Jesus Christ comes back, he defeats the nations, and he reigns as king of kings. And then it says in verse 1, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. So we have in the Old Testament a suitable man, a man that can take a goat and drag it, if necessary, to its uninhabited place. And here we have an angel having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And of course, we're not talking here about metallic chains. We're talking about spiritual chains. This is something that's dealing in the spiritual world, but it is real. Just like Satan is real, well, this chain is something to confine him.

He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old who is the devil and Satan. So here he's ascribed in four different ways, so nobody confuses what he's talking about, and bound him for a thousand years. 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. But after these things he must be released for a little while. So what does this say? Well, it says obviously there are going to be nations on the face of the earth for a thousand years, and they won't have to worry about being deceived by Satan.

And then afterwards here it talks about the saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years, and then Satan is released for a short period of time afterwards. But we see here in the biblical chronology, each feast represents an act of Jesus Christ in world events, the first one being the Passover, where he died for our sins on the Passover day. And then afterwards the days of unleavened bread, which his disciples observed, and which meant the removing of leaven and sin from these people's lives through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And then we come to the day of Pentecost when Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit to the church not one day before, not one day after, but on the feast of Pentecost. He fulfills his plan. He does not miss a lick. And then we have the fourth feast, which is the Feast of Trumpets, which announces his coming. And then we have the fifth feast, which we are celebrating, which is the binding of Satan, the removal of Satan from the actions of human beings for a thousand years. And as Martin Luther King said, then we'll be free at last.

But that day still is in the future.

In this last Family Christian Club, we had a Sabbath evening. Carrie Heesch asked a question. She asked the people, she said, what do you most look forward to on this day of atonement? Now, what is it that you most want Satan to not be involved in anymore? And we had different people giving opinions about what they celebrated the most when Satan would finally be removed to no longer deceive the nations. When Satan will no longer be around, in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 7, it tells us that Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking to whom he can devour, seeking whom he can devour. And so what will be the things that will be removed and replaced? Let's count all the bad things that will be removed and those that will replace the good things that will replace the bad. Just like the things about love, let me count the ways. Well, let's count these wonderful ways. First of all, we saw the main one. Revelation 23, it says, no more deception, no one trying to deceive others. Imagine the difference that will have on human beings, no longer having Satan bombarding with his negative thoughts, with his negative attitudes, deceiving people, allowing people to be deceived because of different reasons, power, wealth, fear. All of these are factors into the deception that people fall into. Sometimes it's ignorance, too. People don't want to think outside their box. Think the differences in the actions. What about the business dealings, when nobody will try to deceive the others? Can you imagine how that's going to clean up, where people are going to do business and they're actually going to try to do the business for the best for the other person, not for themselves? How about marriages? No more deception. People that have all kinds of things that have happened because of deception. Broken hearts, broken minds. How about government, where the leaders are not going to say something to favor them. There will no longer be deception in government. What a difference that's going to be in the press. They won't have to be publishing all of these scandals and all of these things that finally are dug up and they can throw all that dirt. There won't be. The press will be there to edify, to announce, to better the person. In John chapter 8 verse 44, John chapter 8 verse 44, Jesus said of the Pharisees, the religious leaders of those days, he said, you are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.

When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. They're still deceived.

They've been deceived by a world full of deception.

Satan is the originator of lies, of deception, so he's also called here a murderer. He instilled upon Cain hate. How much hate is there in the world today? Satan is still broadcasting and he's winning more people over to his side than ever.

But when he is removed, there won't be any more violence. There won't be any more oppression. There will be freedom. No more locks on the doors. No more guns. No more robberies.

Each person will respect the other's property.

The third thing that will be removed, let's look in 1 John chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3 verse 8.

John says here, He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. That's even before man was created. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he has been born of God.

Not going to be part of Satan at all. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of the wicked one, and murdered his brother. So here we see how Satan induced Cain into killing his brother. He induced him with the attitude of hate, envy, jealousy. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. And so there won't be any more envy, jealousy, or hate. People will cooperate, cheer others on. Human nature will be changed. We won't have to worry about everybody thinking, I've got to be the number one. Instead, people are going to be thinking, we want you to be number one, not me. We're all going to be edifying each other. The rat race will be over. And there will be no more wars. In Isaiah chapter 2, Isaiah chapter 2, verse 1, it says, It says the word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. To the house of the God of Jacob, He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between nations, and rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Yes, there will be a time when Satan will not induce any more wars. Today we're still under a threat. Then the next threat we have has to do with Iran. They just launched another ballistic missile. They're trying it out. They're flaunting their noses, you know, faces to the rest of the world. What will happen? Will they back down? I hope so, but I'll tell you, Israel is watching. They already bombed Iraq one time when it was about ready to have nuclear weapons. And what's going to happen? Well, there'll be a time when Satan will no longer induce the world into these horrible wars. I was thinking this morning that what a difference between some of the most successful Hollywood movies that are out there. One of them was a series of six movies called Star Wars. And it went on for like 25 years from the first one. And I certainly loved the first movie. As a young student over here in Pasadena, they invited me over to Hollywood and never seen a screen this big. And I saw the Star Wars, the original one, as it came out. And I was awed by it. And of course, so many others have come through the years. Very well made. But I'm just thinking how ironic. Here you have all of this technology, all of these wonderful stories, some of the most brilliant people involved, and what is it called? Star Wars. You know, that's why God did not create us to go out into other areas and galaxies. If we could do it, we'd be blowing up other solar systems. You know, thankfully, we don't have the power. We're doing a pretty good job of destroying this little earth as it is. But how about the new movies that will be coming out in that world tomorrow? Star Peace.

Not Star Wars. Star Peace. What a difference. When everything across the solar system, there'll be peace, people at peace, welcoming, no guns, no laser, you know, tasers or anything else.

No rocket ships full of bombs and shooting. No more okay corrals out there in outer space. It'll just be, you know, happiness, peace, love, cherish each other, and no more temptations when Satan will be removed. I guess that's the biggest one for us today. No more temptations. Wouldn't that be great to have Satan removed? James chapter 1 verse 12. It says, Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone. So this is part of God's nature. He's not going to tempt anyone, and he doesn't want to be. He's not tempted himself. So if we take on God's nature, we're not going to want to tempt anyone, and we are not going to be tempted ourselves. We're not going to want to do evil, even if we have all of these wonderful powers that will never be used for evil. So how are we tempted? Verse 14, But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. So it's a process. It goes from the thought to the action. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren, about who is the author of temptation. It's Satan, because then he says this is about God. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. So we see the contrast. Satan takes advantage of the weakness that we have to tempt us and to let us follow the wrong way. But we can't blame God. We have to blame ourselves and Satan also for listening to him, for following him. So the Day of Atonement depicts that coming day when Satan will be removed from influencing mankind, and we can begin to create a new world with a new human nature, with one that is not going to want to do evil. In the meantime, we must resist him and overcome. We have so much to look forward to. And so I'll finish with this final phrase. Remember, brethren, almost as important as looking for the coming of Christ is the longing for Satan's going.

Have a wonderful feast and Godspeed.