At One with God

Yes, it is about us. It's about us being at one with God, at hundred at one with God.

But it's not just us. It's the whole mankind to be at one with God. And indeed, brethren, if you and I are at one with God, we are fasting with Him.

If you and I are not at one with God, we'll not be fasting with Him. Obviously, the Spirit being does not need to fast, but it's part of that meaning that we are fasting today. Now, why do you and I fast? Why do we fast?

Why is fasting important in Christian life? Is it a hunger strike?

You know, you've heard of people going on, hunger strikes says, I'm going to hunger strike to demand us. Is it a hunger strike to demand something from God? Obviously not. If you read Isaiah 58, and let's look at there very briefly, Isaiah 58, starting from verse 6, because the verses before it is saying, listen, you're not fasting to, and God says to the people, you are fasting, but you're fasting for the wrong reason. That's what he says from verse 4 and 5. He says, in fact, you're fasting for the wrong reason. You're fasting to make your voice heard. It was like a hunger strike to make your demands, to whatever it is, or to give people a hard time, or whatever. But then in verse 6 onwards, God says, why we should fast? Is this not the fast that I have chosen? You know, this is what God wants us to do. Isaiah 58 verse 6. To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to lift your praise for free, and that you break every yoke. You know, as we are fast, for us to look at ourselves, to analyze ourselves in humility, and say, I can't be a hard person to other people. I must be a soft, gentle, kind, loving person to other people. That's basically what God is saying. We are fasting to get closer to God and to become more like God.

And it goes on. And that you bring to your own house, to your house the poor, who are cost out, and when you see the naked that you cover him, and unhide yourself from your own flesh. In other words, you are doing this, not only, and think of it, don't think just physically, obviously physically is important, but think of it spiritually. Think of it spiritually. In other words, you are, look at the ones that are poor, the ones that emotionally poor, the ones that are struggling with different things, that don't have clothing, spiritual clothing. In other words, they feel naked in their lives, in the way they are. Look at it beyond the physical as well, please.

And don't hide yourself from your own flesh. In other words, you know, it says in Timothy 5, it says, if you neglect your own household, you worse than infidels. So don't neglect your own family, start with your own family. People in your family are struggling, having difficulties. That's where you want to start. You want to start in being a nice person, a good person, a godly person. Start from home, start with your husband and wife, to your children, and beyond that. It says, then, verse 6, then, in other words, when you do that, you fast for that reason, to actually change yourself to become more like God. Once you have changed, you have become more like that, then your light shall break forth like morning. Then you will be joyous, you'll be like light, like morning, you'll be bright and happy, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you. The glory of the Lord shall be your real God. Then, then, you shall call and the Lord will answer. Now, a lot of people say, well, I'm fasting because I have this trial, and therefore I'm going to fast so I can ask God this. I'm not saying that is wrong, but the first motivation of fasting is for us to get closer to God. Then, when we're closer to God and we're obedient to Him, it says, then you shall call. Then you will ask, God, please help me with this thing or this trial or whatever it is, and then the Lord will answer because we're close to Him. So, the first purpose of fasting is to get closer to God. And then, He will bless us and He will answer our prayer and our requests. So, it's not a hunger strike, but it's an opportunity to become more like God in humility. And when we are more like God in humility, we can then ask Him for our needs, for our problems, our difficulties, and He will answer them. He says, then He will say, and you shall cry, and God will say, here I am. You'll cry for help. And God says, here I am. You have to help.

What a beautiful, encouraging scripture it is, because when we fast, not to say that we better than others, but when we fast, we get closer to God, and then He asks us.

So, why are we fasting today?

Now, we know why we're fast, but why are we fasting today? Surely, because we'll get closer to God, and God will answer our prayers. Yes. But why today? Specifically, because elsewhere in the Bible, you say, if you choose one day, you know Paul in scripture says, if you choose one day or choose another day, that's okay. If you want to eat one day or if you don't want to eat another day, that's okay. It was if you choose to fast on a Tuesday or you choose to fast during the year or on a Thursday or on a Sunday or whatever day you choose, that's okay. But this specific day, why are we fasting? So, there is an additional meaning besides us fasting to be humble, to be close to God. And yes, today of atonement, to be close to God. But there is a special meaning, because it represents the time that Satan will be imprisoned at the coming of Christ, and it represents the role of the high priest. And so, we're going to look at that today in a little bit more detail. The holidays, God's holidays, show us God's plan. God's plan of salvation. In other words, they foreshadow things to come. You and I have read that before in Colossians 2, verse 16 and 17. We know that the post-alva pictured Christ.

Before Christ came, it was a shadow before it. Now, then, Christ has come, is a shadow after it. But it's a shadow. It's a representation of that day.

Then, we have a leavened bread, which is also a shadow of what we need to do to make a commitment to, oh, by God, to put sin away. You know, leavened during that period represents sin. And so, it represents us putting sin away. We've got to make that commitment. Then, when we make that commitment, we realize you and I cannot do it by ourselves. You and I do not have enough strength to do it. And therefore, we need God's Holy Spirit, which is Pentecost, which is the next holy day. And now, as the called ones that have been called out of the world, that have repented, that have accepted Christ's sacrifice, that have God's Holy Spirit to help us to overcome, we have to persevere till the end, which is either when you and I die, or when Christ comes. That's the end. When Christ comes, we'll be resurrected or changed, and Christ will come to rule. But before Christ can rule, He has to imprison Satan during that millennial period. And that's what today represents. represents that imprisonment of Satan during that millennial period, when he will be imprisoned.

So turn with me to Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19.

We're going to read verse 20, starting in reading verse 20. So Christ comes back to earth, and as He fights the nations that are fighting against Him, He punishes with death the beast and the false prophet. In the Lake of Fire, says, Then the beast was captured, and within the false prophet, who would sign in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast, and those who worshiped his image, these two, the beast and the false prophet, were cast alive into the Lake of Fire, burning with brimstone. And the rest of the armies that were fighting against Him were killed with the sword, which proceeds through the mouth of Him, who sat on the horse, and all the birds were full with their flesh. So after that rebellion is put out of the way, you read in the next verse, which happens to be the next chapter, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless spit, and a great shine in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, with the devil at Satan, and bound him for the millennium. This is what the Day of Atonement represents. This time, when Satan is then taken by this angel, and put into jail for a thousand years. Verse 3, and he was cast into the bottomless spit, and shut him up, and set the seal on him, so they should not deceive that niches. No more. You see, this is what Satan is. Let's call it his decree, his profession, his talent, is a deceiver, is a charlatan, is a deceiver, is a disguiser. A disguiser, a deceiver, is basically somebody that lies either through words or through appearances. You know, it's a liar. It deceives a liar, isn't it? It deceives a liar. And he says, deceives, you should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were finished. So, you will be put in little box in physical terms. Obviously, it's not physical, but just to give an answer, we put in a jail, obviously somewhere else, where it is, for a thousand years, and during that period he cannot perform his acts of disguise and deception and lying, which has deceived the nations. At the end of the thousand years, then he must be released briefly. So, the first part of the meaning of this holy day is that Satan is put away. This is the meaning of this day. This Satan, being put away, is represented in a special ceremony discussed in the Old Testament, which is in Leviticus 16.

It's discussed in that ceremony in the Old Testament, which we will look at in a moment.

And it's represented by what? It's called the Azazel goat, or some translations call it as the scapegoat, which is not a good translation, to be frank, but the Hebrew is the Azazel goat. And so, it's how this goat, the Azazel goat, which represents Satan, is put away for a thousand years. So, it's that time period that's snapped in time when he is put in jail. That's what this Day of Attowment represents. In other words, Satan has been involved in a war in a war of wills and deception.

In other words, a mental war of wills by deceiving you and saying this, whatever is more attractive, whatever it is, it's actually a mental war. It's a mental warfare against the will. Your will. What will or will you not do? And against, are you going to have the will to fight it or not? So, it's a war of wills and deceptions against us.

And during this period, he's put away temporarily for a thousand years. So, as I said, this event is represented by a ceremony in the Old Testament in the Autonomy 16. So, let's turn there. The Autonomy 16.

And we're going to start reading in verse 1.

I beg pardon, Leviticus 16. What am I saying? Sorry. Leviticus 16. You probably were there and I received you. And that was not, he thinks, so I apologize. Leviticus 16.

Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they offered profound fire before the Lord and died. And the Lord said to Moses, tell Aaron, your brother, not to come up at any time into the holy place inside a veil before the mercy seat which is in the heart, lest he die. So, he's not to come and do this ceremony just at any time that he pleases, only at a specific time.

In fact, that specific time is described in verse 29. If you just gloss your eyes through verse 29, he says, this shall be a statue forever for you in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month, which is today. The seventh month in God's calendar on the tenth day, which is today, which is the day of the tournament. You shall afflict your souls and do no work whether a native of your own country or a stranger dwells among you.

For in that day, the priest shall make a tournament for you. So today is the day of the tournament. So this is a ceremony for the day of the tournament. So we'll continue reading, therefore, in verse 2. He says, your brother Aaron will not to come at just any time into the holy place inside a veil. It was only to do it on the day of the tournament, inside a veil.

That means beyond the veil, which means into representing the holy of holies, which basically represents God's throne. Before the mercy seat, which is where God sits, which is on the ark, obviously God was not sitting on the physical mercy seat, because representation is a physical, let's call it, image or replica of what's in heaven.

So God sits on his mercy seat in heaven, his spiritual mercy seat, which is on and the physical one was on the ark. Let's see that. For all appear in the cloud before the mercy seat on the day of the tournament. Verse 3, Thus Aaron shall come into the holy place, and this is obviously on the day of the tournament, with the blood of a young bull as a stillness and offering, and a ram as a burnt offering. So he's got a bull and a ram.

And he shall put on the holy linen, and it was a special unique righteousness, representing righteousness, holy represented righteousness, and linen trousers on his body. He shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban, he shall be attired. These are holy garments before he shall wash his body and put them on. So he's not going to come out from working in a garden full of dust and dirt. You'll have to be nice and clean before he does that. Right? And he shall take on the, he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two thieves of goats.

So remember there's a bull, there's a sin offering, there's a ram, there's a burnt offering, and now there's two goats, there's a sin offering, and one ram has a burnt offering. So he has another ram. So he says, there's a bull, a ram, and then there's two goats and another ram. And Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself. So the first bull is to offer it for himself. Why? Because he's a sinner, he's a human being. And so he's got to offer that and get washed with that sacrifice and the blood of the bull to wash himself so that he can be a high priest representing Jesus Christ.

Because otherwise it's just a human high priest. So he's got to kind of, he's got to be washed so he will, for himself, and make a turn for himself and for his house. Then after that, and now it describes what is going to be done, he shall take two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the Tabernacle of Meeting, and then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for Azazel, or the scapegoat. The word Azazel means an evil demon, which is basically representing Satan. So, yeah, we have two goats, and you know what? You don't know which goat represents Christ for the Lord, and which goat represents Satan.

That is very interesting, isn't it? Think about it. That means that mankind cannot distinguish between Satan and Christ.

Why? Keep your fingers there, but so put a mark in there, because we're going to come back to it. But look at 2 Corinthians 11. 2 Corinthians 11. And yeah, it's talking about false prophets in verse 13. We're going to read 13 through 15. 2 Corinthians 11, 13 through 15. Do you know what? False ministers look like Christian ministers.

They really look like such nice Christian people, and you can't tell the difference. You've got to look deeper. Oh, they go around and talk about Christ, and they do miracles. You know, it says they will do miracles. You remember when Christ said, Who are you? But oh, we did miracles in your name and the same. And Christ says, I know you're not. Get away from me. You're not. You're not. You're not. You're not. You're not. You're not. You're not. You're not. I know you're not. Get away from me. You're workers of iniquity, right? So he's trying a false apostle. There was false ministers.

Deceitful workers. Deceitful. Remember? The profession, Satan's profession, deception, deceit.

Lie to people about who they really are. Transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. They appear ministers of Jesus Christ.

And you know what? The whole world will fall after it. Because it says the whole world, the whole world will come after it. But look at verse 14. That's really what I want to pay attention. And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

Now, if Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light, basically what it's saying is, he appears like Christ.

And therefore, these two gods, you can't distinguish which one is for God and which one is for Satan. You have to ask God to show you who is who in the zoo. Put it mildly that way. You've got to ask God who is who. And you know, brethren, you and I need to ask God for God's help to identify between true ministers and false ministers.

Mankind in general does not see the difference. Therefore, it is no great thing if he is ministers, that Satan's ministers will also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness. They transform themselves into ministers as if they appear God's ministers, whose end will be according to their works.

So, the reason I brought you here to Satan Corinthians is to show you that you and I, just with our normal human reasoning, cannot see this deception. The deception is so... where's the word? So powerful and so great, so insidious. I think that's the word. It's so strong that you and I cannot see the difference unless there's a miracle from God, a calling from God, to change our brains, to change our minds, to see it. It's a miracle!

In other words, it requires God to show us which one is which one. And that's why, let's go back to Leviticus 16. These two goats are presented, and Aaron, has to cost lots to these two goats to identify which one's which one.

That's why. You see, it's so meaningful. Once we start knowing the truth, and we start reading these scriptures, it's just such aha moments, you know, says, wow, aha, now I see it. It really is so encouraging to see that. So one law for the Lord, and then one for as a self. And Aaron shall bring the goat, which is for the Lord's, on which the Lord's law fell, and offered as a sin offering. It was the one that represents Christ will be killed.

Yes, Christ came as the Lamb of God, and he was killed. So this is pointing to the Lamb of God. So it's a goat, not the Lamb, but it's pointing to Christ. It's pointing to the one that died at the Passover.

And therefore, he was offered as a sin offering for us. Christ was offered as a sin offering for you and I.

All those offerings pointed to Christ.

So, but the goat, verse 10, on which the Lord fell, to be the scapegoat, in other words, as a self, shall be presented alive before the Lord. Yes, nowadays, he can still go to the throne of God and be alive.

And you know the story of Job. Job. The story of Job. He was still... to make atonement upon it and to let it go as a scapegoat in the wilderness. But then there will be a time that will be made atonement and will go into the wilderness.

So that is, from verse 6 to verse 10, is kind of an overview picture of what is to happen. So it's just an overview picture.

Now, from verse 11 onwards, it says, all right, that is the big picture. Now let me go through it again in detail.

See? So, from verse 6 to verse 10, it says, yeah, it's a big picture. This is what's going to happen. This is what. But from verse 11 onwards, let me now go through it in the how. How this will unroll or this will happen. So, starting in verse 11, it says, and Adam shall bring the bull, the son of, which is for himself. So, yes, that's what we saw. He had to do that after he had washed himself. He had to offer that for himself. So this is how he shall do that for himself in his house. He shall kill the bull as a son of. Yes. And he shall take a sensor full of burning gold. So it's explaining how to go about this with his full hands, full of sweet incense, beaten fun, which represents you reading other places, represents the prayers of the saints. Incense represents our prayers and our prayers beaten fun. In other words, when you pray, when we pray, that don't just say, oh, well, God help me. You say, God, help me beaten fun in detail or help this person. In detail, you don't just say, oh, God, heal that person. But you say, look, God, this person's got these problems. Like, doesn't God know? Yes, he does. He doesn't need to be told, but he appreciates you beating it's foul because it's fine, because it shows that you care and you remember and that you love that person and you're expressing that care and concern with the details about asking God to intervene for that person. That's why I say it's beaten fun. So that's what represents the place of the saints. You can read that in Psalm 140. One verse two and in Revelation 8, verse four, and other places that the incense is a prayer. And you bring it inside a veil. In other words, you bring the prayers of the people inside a veil. So God is listening to your prayers. Your prayers go inside a veil, which is where the Father is, and they carry through to the Father.

And then he goes on about explaining a little bit more about how these things are. And then verse 14, he shall take the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east and spring it before the rest of it and shall spring it some of the blood with his finger seven times. So he's doing this seven times means completely. And so that's to cleanse himself and his family so that he now can represent the high priest, which is Christ. So this is the how. So first is he offering the bull so he can be cleansed, so he can be representing Christ. So that's the then on verse 15, he goes on to the next sacrifice after he's done that. Then he shall kill the goat of the son of me, which is for the people. It was the one that was for the Lord. The one that was to die, the son of the God. Remember, there were two goats. One was for the Lord. The other one is for us as hell, represents Satan. So he brings them, then brings the goat that represents Christ and you kill that goat. So Christ died that representing what happened to Christ at the Passover, which is for the people. Yes, for us. Bring its blood, the blood of that goat, inside the veil. So you ought to bring the blood of the goat, which is representing the blood of Christ, inside the veil and do with it, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull. So what did he do with the blood of the bull? For one, he was to sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times. Right? That's what he did. You saw that in verse 14. So he did the same thing with the blood of the goat. To sprinkle it around the veil, around the throne, in that area of the mercy seat, seven times. That's what he says before the mercy seat. He shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. We saw that at the end of verse 14. So he does the same thing. We read here in verse 15. He says, with the blood of the goat. Do with the blood as he did with the blood of the bull. And sprinkle it on the mercy seat, many times, seven times. As he's longer than 14. And before the mercy seat. Why seven? Because it's complete. Seven means complete. So Christ's blood completely attumbs us. Completely forgives us. But remember, this is now the high priest doing it.

This is the high priest doing it. Now, the high priest has already washed himself, spiritually speaking, with the blood of the bull. So he now actually being washed, he now represents Christ. So this is now figuratively representing Christ, going behind the veil, using the blood of the goat, representing the blood of the lamb. And sprinkling the veil seven times. I mean, not the veil, the mercy seat seven times.

And then we continue. So he shall make a tournament for the holy place, because of the uncleanliness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions for all their servants. So he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting, which reminds among them in the Medso-Hed and cleanliness.

And so you can see, he's to do this to cleanse. So now we see the job of the high priest, which represents Jesus Christ.

So now we see two things, important things, that happen on the day of a tournament. Number one is Satan is being put away. Number two is the high priest representing Jesus Christ, with the blood going there and sprinkling the blood on the mercy seat for us.

This is after the lamb had been killed. See, because this is not a lamb, it's a goat. So it's to show this was not the lamb, this was a goat representing the lamb. So it's Christ now using that blood, representing his blood, and putting it there in the mercy seat. Now, remember, it's not physical blood that Christ is not taking to heaven. That's not what I'm referring to. This is a physical analogy or example of what Christ is doing in heaven. He's literally, spiritually speaking, in heaven. Christ is not taking blood and spreading it there in heaven, physical blood. What is this action of giving his life and his blood, this action being there and this blood having been shared, the Father accepts it. But it's not that he's having physical blood being poured now in heaven every time you sin. You know, it's not that. That's a physical thing. The heaven, the third heaven, is not physical. It's a spiritual environment. So it's an analogy. It's an example.

Okay. So what do we have? We have this. This is done. And we read the I in verse 16 and 17 and 18. And it says, there shall be no man in the tabernacle meeting when he goes out to make the appointment. Why? Because we're still physical. We're not resurrected yet. We have no capability to be spirit beings. You know, so there's no man there until he comes out to make a turn for himself and us all for assembly. And he shall go out and then he shall go out to the altar, which will be for the Lord and make a turn for it. And take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar. So he does that to the altar as well. Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his fingers seven times and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. Now, the interesting point here is verse 20. When he has made an end of atoning the Holy Place. When he's ended, finished doing this. You know, brethren, where he's ended, what does he do then? When he's finished making an end of atoning the Holy Place, the tabernacle meeting at the altar, he shall bring the life goat, which is the one for Eszal, which is the one for Satan. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the life goat, confess it, confess over it the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all the transgressions concerning all these sins, putting them on the head of the goat.

He's accountable. He's the deceiver. And he, through the deception, is the instigator of a lot of the sins, if not all. So he's the instigator, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.

And that's what we read in Revelation 20, remember? There's an angel that takes Satan and puts it into jail for a thousand years.

There is a symbolic event on the day of atonement, and when the high priest finished doing, as he says, when he's made an end of atoning the holy place, then it takes the life goat.

He says, yeah, by the hand of a suitable man. It was a special angel that has got that capability and puts him in jail, as we read that in Revelation. Verse 22, the goat shall bear on itself all iniquities to an uninhabited land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. So he's going to be there in an uninhabited land, as we saw in the book of Revelation for a thousand years.

Now, this happens on the day of atonement.

This is what they used to do. They don't do it today, because they don't have a temple. They don't have those things, but they used to do.

And when the high priest finished making an end of atoning the holy place, only then did he take the life goat.

So what do we have, yeah? Now, look at it at this spiritual meaning. What do we have here? Is Jesus Christ being the high priest, our high priest, which was represented by that physical priest, also yet being cleansed, going into the holy of holies, which is what Christ does for us today. Okay. With our prayers, cleansing our sins completely, because he's sprinkling his blood, symbolically, right, on the mercy seat and forgiving us.

And when this is finished, he says, and when he has made an end of atoning the holy place, and aren't we the temple of God?

And when he's finished preparing the bride and he comes to earth, then, when the bride is married, then he comes to earth. And one of the very first things he does, obviously, is put the beast and the false prophet out of the way, and then he takes Satan and puts him in jail for a thousand years. But it's after he has cleansed the first fruits, the bride, after you and I have been cleansed and made white and been resurrected.

And that's why he says in verse 20, when he has made an end of atoning the holy place, the tabernacle and the altar, he shall bring the life God. After that, which means he's after the resurrection, then Satan will be put away for a thousand years.

You see, brethren, Satan is guilty, guilty of affecting us, of influencing us, of deceiving us today. And he's around, still. He will only be put away after Christ comes back.

Around today, he is what the Bible calls it, the spirit of the power of the air. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2.

Starting in verse 1. And he knew he made a life who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which he once walked according to the course of the swole, according to the prince of the power of the air. It was that Satan. That he has these vibes, these airwaves, spiritual airwaves, like now, yeah, there's these waves in the air. You can't see it, but if you had a radio, you could pick up music. If you had a TV, you could pick up a TV station. And if you had a Wi-Fi, you could pick up an internet. It's an A. But so, in the spiritual environment, there is a spirit, Ephesians chapter 2. He says, who now works in the senses of the beaches, amongst whom also we all conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, and where by nature children of wrath. So we were under this influence of this broadcast.

When Christ comes back, he's going to put Satan in jail, so this broadcast will stop.

Radio, as a cell, number five. Now you listen to us as cell number five. And you go, no, no, oh, now you listen to us as cell number seven. Well, that broadcast will be God.

Now, I'm making a little bit of a joke out of it, but just trying to help you understand there's a spiritual broadcast that's affecting people. How many times you feel, ah, I've got up out of the wrong side of the bed today. I'm not kind of feeling a little bit grouchy. No, maybe, you know, these wrong thoughts kind of being broadcasting to you. I'm not saying demon possessed by no means. I'm not saying that at all, but there's these broadcasts affecting us.

Look at Ephesians chapter six. Look at Ephesians chapter six.

Starting in verse ten, he says, finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the of the devil. You see, Satan's got many tricks up his sleeves. Like the magicians, you know, you never know what's going to come out and you flick the hand and it's like this deck of carts and flick the hand as a bird or whatever it is, you know. Satan's got different tricks up his sleeves. You never know what's going to come out. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We don't wrestle against other people. When we hear about these trials, people having a lot of trials and being attacked, maybe somebody's attacking them or speaking back to them, etc., yeah, you could say, oh well, that person is giving me this trial. But you know, behind that, behind that is the spirit of the power of the air affecting that person and causing that person to say these things against maybe one of the brethren. And so this brethren, yeah, is having this attack from this person. But what Paul is saying, I says, you're not having attack from flesh and blood. You're having attack from a spirit being that is inspiring this person, flesh and blood, which is then attacking you. He says, yeah, therefore, he says, yeah, we wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age. Against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. In other words, you're actually wrestling in a war of wills and deception from Satan and his demons. That's what we're fighting.

And look at, for instance, in 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10.

Let's start reading in verse four. For the weapons of our warfare. So how are we going to fight this? With AK-47s and whatever it is? No! Oh, this other person is attacking us or speaking about of us. Are we going to take a gun and shoot at them? No! The weapons of warfare are not carnal, are not physical, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.

Do you know what a stronghold is? It's like you've got a castle and this castle is on top of a mountain where people can't get to it. It's like a stronghold.

It's a stronghold and it's costing down arguments. So these strongholds are arguments. And you know what? Sometimes people have really strong arguments that you kind of say, how can I? That sounds amazing argument, but they're wrong arguments. You know they're wrong, but sometimes you find it difficult to pierce it through. This is costing down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Now what is actually talking about you is that our strongholds in you and in me. They are little fortresses that you and I still have somewhere in a little corner in our brain. And sometimes these little fortresses, when we are challenged, these little fortresses, haha! And you know, and sometimes we have this little debacle inside of this little fortress that's still in there. And we need the weapons of God through God's Holy Spirit so that we bring down every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We've got those little thoughts that sometimes may say, oh well, and then you may say, where does this thought come from? Where does this little thought come from? Get out of here! You know, there's little strongholds in there in our brains and we only overcome them with the power of God's Holy Spirit, the weapons of our warfare, which are God's. They're not physical. That's what our fight is. It's against these philosophical arguments, against these vain thoughts. It's against sinful ideas, negative thoughts, negative thoughts. Do we get negative thoughts? Oh, we've got to fight that with the help of Christ. These thoughts are sometimes appear very logical, appear very logical, but in the end, they actually are excuses because we've got to fight them. We've got to fight them.

These are little forces that are in our mind that are tuned to those wrong frequencies and they get little extra vibes coming in there and those forces, those little fortresses, get reawakened. And that's what we've got to fight, brethren.

Why? Because Satan and his demons have not yet been put away. Look back to Leviticus 16. Back to Leviticus 16.

We're ready in verse 10. He said, But the goat, on which the lot felt to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord. This Satan is still being presented alive before the Lord until the time comes that he needs to be put away. Which means that you and I may do some little thing wrong. And he's the first one says, God, you see what George has done. Look at what he's done. Look at how bad he is. And then you realize that you've done wrong. You go on your knees and say, God, I've done this. God, I've done this. I was wrong. Or I thought this. I'm not saying I've done things wrong. I'm just saying, you know, I've got these wrong thoughts or whatever it is.

Which Satan is not accusing you.

And you come to God and say, Please forgive me. I really want to change. I don't know how come is this. It's not me. I don't want to be that way. But it happens. Help me. And then Christ, and you say in Jesus Christ's name. By the authority of Jesus Christ. So Christ, as your high priest in heaven, at that moment takes that blood, symbolically, off the goat and sprinkles it for you. In other words, says to the Father, My blood has paid for it. George is clean.

And you walk out of that pray and you've been cleaned. At that moment, you don't have to wait for the next boss over. You don't have to wait for the next day of atonement. You don't have to wait. At that moment, you've been cleaned.

Because the blood is sprinkled seven times, completely for you. The high priest is in heaven, which is Jesus Christ. He is now intervening for you.

Continue a little bit further.

In verse 20, And when, and when Christ has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place. Spiritually speaking, could mean the Holy Temple. And you and I are the temple of the Living God, if we have got Spiritiness. And so when He's finished cleansing or atoning this temple of ours.

And not just ours, all this mankind that He wants, or portion of mankind, which are the first fruits that He wants to be there, when the bride is ready, He's finished it. He's finished the toning of that when the bride is ready. When He's done that, then Christ comes, and then puts the beast and false prophet away, the killed, and then takes Satan and puts him in jail. And that's what we read here in verse 20. When He has made an end of atoning the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting and altar, He shall bring the life goat.

And we know then He's put in jail for a thousand years, as we read in Revelation 20.

Verse is done by the high priest, which is Jesus Christ. And He then sends, as it says, Yah, the hand of a suitable man, which we read in Revelation 19. He's a special angel, suitable for that role, and He takes him away.

So we see two major representations of the Day of Atonement. Yes, we fast to be close to God.

We fast to understand that Satan is put away on the Day of Atonement. But also on the Day of Atonement, we are reminded of the work of the high priest atoning us, making us at one with God on a daily basis, as and when we need it. And this is clearly explained by Paul in Hebrews. So let's go and look at Hebrews. And we start with Hebrews chapter 9.

This is clearly explained by Paul in Hebrews, and we're going to start in Hebrews chapter 9.

In Hebrews chapter 9, it's talking about this earthly temple and sanctuary and all that, and it says that these things are only a shadow of what's heavenly. Look at what he says in verse 9. Nine, verse 9.

When he says, this was symbolic for the present time.

This is symbolic. So it's talking about the temple and the earthly sanctuary. It's talking about they doing these things, and it shows, for instance, in verse 4, they had the Holiest of all there at the end of verse 3, and then the golden sensor and the ark and all that. And it says in verse 7, that the second part of the high priest went alone once a year. It was beyond the veil.

We're representing where God's throne is. He went once a year when? We saw in Leviticus 16 on the day of the Talmud. He went there once a year.

While he was not manifest, while in the first tabernacle was standing, it was symbolic. It's symbolic! All these things are symbolic! The blood is symbolic! All these things are symbolic of spiritual events, as I tried to relate to you as we went along.

And then let's come on reading a little further.

For instance, in verse 13. No, 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. You see, Christ entered not with the blood of the goat, which was the Lord, but once for all, he himself did that.

Verse 13. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of Aiphah, sprinkling them clean, 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 their works to serve the living God? The blood of Christ cleanses our conscience. Now, obviously, it's not the physical blood of Christ that's entering YAH into my conscience now and washing me. It's not the physical blood. It's symbolic. But it's the blood of Christ, symbolically, is doing that. That's what he does. And for this reason, verse 15, Christ is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgression under the first covenant that those who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. So he's talking about this was symbolic and represented Christ and what he's done for us. Now jump a little bit to verse 23.

Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in heaven should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. So the copies of the things in heaven, which was the physical, the temple and temple and altar, they were physical copies or replicas.

But the heavenly things themselves, that's God's throne and where God is, that is purified with better sacrifices than once they did here on earth. And what's the better sacrifice? Jesus Christ's sacrifice. Those sacrifices pointed to Christ.

Verse 24. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of true, but into heaven itself, not to appear in the presence of God for us.

Not that he should offer himself often, as I, Christ, enters the most holy place every year with the blood of another. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now, Christ, once at the end of the ages, that is when he came, at his first coming, he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

And as if he's appointed for man to die once after this judgment, so Christ was offered once to be the sins of many, to those who eagerly wait for him. He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. And so for us, that wait for him, he will come again. But he is now in heaven, doing that atoning. So let's look a little bit more at that atoning, in heaven, on chapter 10. Look at chapter 10. What he's doing now in heaven, which represented what we saw in Leviticus 16. And we're going to read from verse 12.

But this man, that's Christ, often have offered one sacrifice that was he himself, his body, offered one for sins forever, he sat down at the right hand of God. So he's right there at the throne of God, next to the throne of God. From that time, waiting till his enemies are made, he's put still. And it was waiting till the time that God says, okay, Christ, now you go. Only the Father knows, when the Father gives him the instruction to go, he will go. He's waiting for that instruction. Verse 14. For by one offering, he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. By one offering, that one offering is enough to perfect us, which are being sanctified.

We are being sanctified now.

We are the Holy Temple. We are not completely being sanctified. We, the bride, is not ready. So we are being sanctified. But by that one offering, he's able to perfect us forever.

Let's jump to verse 18. Now, where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, 19. This is very important. Brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

Therefore, brethren, when you and I pray, for now it is.

And when we pray, and when we pray, sometimes we pray and we're not on our knees. But when we pray to God, we enter into the holiest of all this.

We appear before the presence of the Father.

You physically can't see it. But your prayers are that incense, beaten small, and it's right there, being taken all the way to the throne, and God is here in it.

You have entered by the blood of Jesus.

Because Christ has forgiven us, and allows our prayers to go there. Verse 20. By a new and living way. This is a new and living way. It was not the way it was done in Old Testament. They didn't know about it.

So it's a new way. It's a living way. It's a living way. It's not something physical. It's a living way.

Which He consecrated for us through the veil. There is His flesh. And having a high priest over the house of God. So we have a high priest, which is Jesus Christ, which is symbolized by the high priest on Leviticus 16 that had been cleansed, and then He went into beyond the veil. So we have our high priest, which is Christ. Verse 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Full assurance of faith.

That means don't doubt.

Don't doubt.

Don't have negative thoughts. Don't doubt.

Having our hearts sprinkled from evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us all 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 same thing ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much more as we see the day approaching. So what have we seen that the day of atonement represents? Yes, represents Satan being put away for a thousand years.

Yes, it represents us being made at one with God on a daily basis through our praise, because we can go to Christ and we can approach the holiest of all years by the blood of Jesus Christ. And this is a new and living way that you don't know it.

It's a very special new and living way.

And so we affect us, we afflict ourselves, yes, to get closer to God, but we also afflict ourselves to remind on this specific day that Satan is put away, will be put away, so will not have his deception anymore for the world tomorrow. So the people living into the world tomorrow will not be deceived.

And we will then have an opportunity to rule under Christ, to guide and teach these people without any deception, showing people this is the way, walk in it. May I wish you all a lovely feast until we see you after the feast.