Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land

As has already been mentioned, in the first message today is the Day of Atonement, and it's the fifth holy day out of the seven holy days that outline God's plan of salvation for all of mankind. And Atonement is essentially a transition point in the future of mankind. It's a bridge to a better age. Before the Day of Atonement is the Feast of Trumpets. We walked through that just a little over a week ago. The Feast of Trumpets portrays God's intervention into the affairs of this world, so that the kingdom of God and its presence will be established and dominate this world.

And what a blessing that will be! On that day, God the Father will send His Son, Jesus Christ, to usher in that kingdom. He will come as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the saints will be resurrected to eternal life, to reign with Him as well. Now, the Feast of Tabernacles comes after this Day of Atonement, and it portrays the thousand-year millennial reign of Jesus Christ and the saints over the earth. And it represents a time of peace and tranquility and prosperity. And we're going to go to the Feast this year, and we're going to have all throughout that week we're going to have scriptures read about the abundance and the joy and the blessing that will be of that age.

And it will be a blessing that will come as a result of people of this earth living under the reign of the kingdom of God. And the fact that the kingdom of God is the force that will dominate their life in this world for the good.

And so we have the trumpets, the removal of this age, as we know it by and large. We have the Feast of Tabernacles, the ushering in and the thousand years of the kingdom of God's reign over mankind. And tucked right in between the two major events of those days is this day, again the Day of Atonement.

And as I mentioned, it is a bridge. It's a bridge of connection, a bridge of transition that bind these days together. What we're going to see today in the sermon is that the events that take place on the Day of Atonement open the door to the blessings we see pour out during the millennium. And it's interesting because in the Bible the Day of Atonement is referenced in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant.

We understand the symbolism that it then points to as well. It takes place under the New Covenant. But the Day of Atonement as well as it is lined out in God's plan of salvation, again fifth of seven after trumpets, actually has a rather large and dramatic future portrayal as well. And so, with the Bible it's not all disconnected. It ties all these things together. And what we're going to see is the blessings and the door of blessings that this day opens for all of mankind.

Today I do want to begin by acknowledging the instruction to observe this holy day in Leviticus chapter 23. So if you'll follow me there, please. Leviticus chapter 23. These are instructions that God gave to Moses to deliver to his people Israel, who were his covenant people, and they're instructions for how they would worship God and how they would live in obedience to Him. In Leviticus chapter 23 verse 26 we find the instructions now for the day of atonement. Verse 26, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Also, the tenth day of the seventh month shall be the day of atonement.

It shall be a day of holy convocation for you. You shall afflict your souls, which means you're going to fast, reserve yourself from partaking of food, of drink during that time, and fasting, which draws us close to God. It afflicts our souls and reminds us of the awesome dependence that we have on God and what He gives us physically and spiritually. You're going to afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. Verse 28, You shall do no work on that same day, for it is the day of atonement, to make atonement before the Lord your God.

And he says that atonement is actually very specifically for you. He says it's going to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. The word atone essentially means to make amends or to cover over. An atonement, as it is portrayed by this day, is a sacrificial cleansing. It's wrapped up in the concept of the sacrifice that was offered up on the account of sins of mankind, the perfect sacrifice, as it points to, which Jesus Christ made for the remission of sins.

And it points to as well the reconciliation in relationship to God, because we understand that we cannot be reconciled to God apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And so this is a sacrificial cleansing or atonement that this day portrays, and not only for us today, but ultimately for all of mankind. Verse 29, any person who is not afflicted and soul in that day, the same shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.

I'll just mention for those that set up the hall here today, temple service is exempted on this day. Alright? So verse 31, you shall do no manner of work. It shall be a statute for you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest. You shall afflict your souls on the ninth day of the month at even from evening to evening. You shall celebrate your Sabbath. And so this is what we have indeed been called to do today as the people of God. This is not just an Old Covenant command. It is a command for the people of God that transcends time.

But what we'll see, the observance of it has a difference in terms of one was a type and the latter is the fulfillment that the type points to. But the command to keep these days is continual and ongoing for the people of God. And the Old Testament rituals surrounding the Day of Atonement carry with them a very rich and important symbolism. I'm not going to spend a lot of time necessarily walking through those today because I've done so in past years, but I do just at least want to remind us briefly of what that symbolism is because it's a springboard for where we'll go in the message today.

Leviticus 16, if you were to read through that chapter, you would see that the main features of the Day of Atonement ceremonies under the Old Covenant revolved around the selection of two goats. The first goat was to serve as an atoning sacrifice for the cleansing of Israel's sins committed in ignorance. This first goat was offered up as a sacrifice, which means it was slaughtered, its blood was shed, and then the blood of that goat was taken into the Holy of Holies, and it was sprinkled upon the mercy sleep, upon the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, in order to offer atonement for the sins of the people.

We understand that this goat was a type of Jesus Christ and His ultimate sacrifice for the sins of humanity. Now, the second goat, the Azazel, as the Bible calls it, represented the removal of the instigator of sin. And so it was different than the sacrifice. That second goat was not killed. It was preserved alive. The sins of the people were confessed over that goat, and it was banished, sent outside the camp to wander in the wilderness, away from access to the people of God.

And that goat, as we understand, represented a type of Satan the Devil, again, the instigator of the sins of mankind, the originator of sin in the world. And so the David and Toman actually reminds us why there is evil in the world and what the source of that evil is, but it points to the remedy as well. It shows the solution. It shows that mankind can go from one point and have a route back to God in reconciliation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

And so from that perspective, this is an incredibly important day and an important step in God's plan of salvation. Now, additionally, the role that the high priest played in the ceremonies on the Day of Atonement is important as well, because his role and his actions typified the intercessory work of Jesus Christ, our spiritual high priest. As the one who actually took the blood into the Holy of Holies, which was a very sacred place behind the veil, into the presence of God to offer it on the behalf of the people, this high priest, this physical high priest, pointed to Jesus Christ as the one who ever lives to make intercession for us.

The first goat, this billing of blood for sin, portrayed Christ. And yet the added element of this day as well is the high priest and the ritual that he went through points to Jesus, who ever lives to make intercession before us, or for us, at the throne of his Father.

And so today he's not only our Savior by sacrifice, but he is also our high priest, our mediator, our intercessor. As mediator, he is mediator of the New Covenant, which is the one who, in that sense, is the go-between that helps to facilitate this relationship between us and the one we have in the Covenant with our Father in Heaven. And so the symbolism of all these things is very rich in their literal function and fulfillment unto salvation.

It was rehearsed in the Old Testament and under the Old Covenant in many ways, almost like a play, and the people receive ceremonial cleansing, but it pointed to the future fulfillment in reality in Jesus Christ. Now, the David Atonement is not just another Passover service, and it's important for us to understand that as well. Although there are similarities between the two observances, again, namely the shedding of blood of Jesus Christ, both the services and the observance of them are actually quite different.

The Passover observance pictures our individual reconciliation with God. Again, it's made possible by the blood of Jesus Christ, but it's those God has now called out of the world we come under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and it portrays our individual reconciliation. David Atonement pictures a time when the invitation to be reconciled to God will be extended to all of mankind. You see, it's not extended to all of mankind today. God has a group that He calls the firstfruits—firstfruits that He has called out of the world, and it is a small harvest compared to the great harvest that will come.

The reconciliation that we have to God through Christ and the Passover is magnified. It's multiplied, I'll say, multiplied on a global scale at the fulfillment of this Day of Atonement. It's another step in God's plan of salvation altogether. And so, brother, from that perspective, this Day of Atonement represents liberty. It represents liberty. It represents freedom, and it's a freedom that mankind as a whole has never truly experienced before, but it points to a freedom and a liberty that this world one day will enjoy under the reign of the kingdom of God.

You and I today, as the Church of God, those called out of the world, experience that liberty on an ongoing basis now, because we have had our sins forgiven. We have been reconciled to our Heavenly Father, and we walk in unity with Him, and it is liberty that is given to us through this way of life that we've been called to. And one day, the rest of the world will understand the blessing of this liberty as well. The remainder of the message, we're going to look at three liberties.

I'm trying to be forward-focused as much as possible in this message. How does the Day of Atonement fit after the Feast of Trumpets and before the Feast of Tabernacles? And in doing that, we're going to look at three liberties that are represented by the future fulfillment of this Day of Atonement. And as we walk through them, we'll come to understand how this day opens the door to the Millennial Blessings that we see poured out during the Feast of Tabernacles.

So, three liberties. First liberty I'd like to examine, and I appreciate Mr. Oliver walking through this and laying groundwork here in the first message. First liberty, this world will receive liberty through the binding of Satan the Devil. This is one of the great portrayals of this Day of Atonement. This world will receive liberty through the binding of Satan the Devil. Recall I said that the second goat, the Azazel, that had the sins of the people laid upon it and was sent out of the camp during the Day of Atonement, that action is literally going to be fulfilled in the future.

It's going to be fulfilled in the binding of Satan the Devil. Let's go to Revelation chapter 20 as we see the description of this laid out for us. Revelation chapter 20, on the Feast of Trumpets, we read right up to the brink of this. We read through the end of Revelation 19, and that encompassed the return of Jesus Christ and the putting down of the satanic oppositions that were standing against the kingdom of God. But now we come to Revelation 20, and it brings us to a major event portrayed by, again, this Day of Atonement.

Revelation chapter 20 and verse 1. Remember, this is a vision from God the Father given to Christ. It wasn't originally a vision, but that's how John received it, but it's the message from the Father to Christ through his angel delivered to John for us today. And John says, I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having a key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He cast him into the bottomless pit, shut him up, 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. The millennium, which is what this word means, thousand year means millennium. You know, a hundred years is a century, a thousand years is a millennium. The millennium begins with the binding of Satan and his rebellious influence. Satan and his demons will be put away. Their influence will be restrained from access to mankind on this earth, just as that azazel goat was cast out of the camp. Made to wander in the wilderness apart from the people of God, Satan will be banished from the presence of humanity, or he cannot do any harm during this period of time. Verse 4 says, and I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them, and I saw the souls of those who have been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. And so this is talking about, again, the millennium. It's the same thousand-year period that Satan will be bound, and it is a time where the saints will reign alongside Jesus Christ over an earth that now has the opportunity to experience a completely different way of life, and a different experience. It will be a liberated way of life because this influence is bound, and will no longer be provoking and pushing and prodding. And Satan goes about seeking to provoke rebellion against God and against his kingdom, and as the people of God, we fight against this every day. And the world around us is submersed in the provocation of Satan the devil. This will be a time where that will be removed. It will be a point of liberty where now people will be free without the encumbrance of that influence to learn of God's way and to apply it in their lives. Carrying on in verse 5, it says, but the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. And so the rest of the dead that are mentioned here include all of those apart from the resurrected saints who have ever lived and died. They're in their graves, and they will remain there until the thousand years are finished.

And so it's not like there are multiple resurrections that take place at this time. The saints are raised at the return of Jesus Christ, and the rest of the dead remain until the thousand years are finished. There's not an additional one, two, three resurrections during the millennium. It is the rest of the dead that we see here. Verse 5, the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part of the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and Christ and shall reign with him for a thousand years. And again, that's the millennium. It's the reign of the saints and Jesus Christ over the earth, and there will be such a liberty that will spring forth, because you see now the kingdom of God will be the prevailing influence over the earth. Satan's influence, Satan the god of this age, God with a small g, his influence will not be what prevails. It will be the kingdom of God.

Now, as Mr. Oliver mentioned earlier, human beings, we have the ability to light that flame of sin on our own. You know, apart from the deception of Satan, we have carnal human nature, and the carnal mind is in opposition to God, okay? It's not reconciled, which is what needs to happen, but we can light that flame of sin. But you see, Satan the devil is like the accelerant on the fire.

He's like taking and dumping a can of gas on it until it's just explosive, and the results are explosive. But the fact is, man will have to learn to deal with their carnal nature, and God will help them in that. But having the accelerant, the one who provokes, the one who prods in opposition to God, having him banished will create a liberty and a freedom to learn truly of God's way of life.

Let's take a few moments and just quickly look at three scriptures that remind us of the bondage that the world is currently under. Because, you see, if we understand the bondage today, it will help us to understand the liberty that will be once this influence is removed.

Revelation 12 and verse 9. Revelation 12 verse 9, jumping into the context here, it says, So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, that serpent of old is a reference back to the garden, right? The serpent who beguiled Eve in the garden. And he's been up to the same process all along. The great dragon was cast out, the serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. And he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. This is prior to the return of Jesus Christ and the binding of Satan.

But here he's identified as the one who deceives the whole world, which means his influence is everywhere. And all of mankind lives under the oppression of his influence, under the bondage that he has created, except for those who have come under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, those whom God has called out of this world into relationship with him. You have the liberty today to bind Satan's influence in your life, because you have God's Spirit. You're reconciled with your Father in heaven. And that blood was placed before the throne of grace on your behalf. You walk in liberty, and you have the ability to bind Satan today. Not that we can place him into a place of restraint like the bottom of this pit, but we can restrain his influence in our life today, because of the liberty that we live under. I won't turn there, but Ephesians chapter 2 verse 2, the apostle Paul identifies the devil as the prince of the power of the air, as the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. And so from that perspective, again, his influence is everywhere. As the prince of the power of the air. Churches long time use the analogy of Satan's influence being like radio waves that just kind of go out the broadcast over the air, and you can't see them, you can't touch them, but you can see their effect. And mankind has somehow tuned in or dialed in to Satan's wavelength, and they receive Satan broadcasts and attitudes and influences and impulses, and they receive those. And again, they may be bent in a certain way because of the carnal nature, but Satan is always prodding. He's always poking. What God has allowed us to do by his spirit is, if we can use the analogy, change the channel, right? To tune out to a different frequency, be tuned in to God, and resist the devil, and he will flee. Just as the Azaza will go to the old covenant ceremony, bears on its head the sins of the people, Satan bears the responsibility for provoking sin and evil in this world. And that's why the Bible calls him the adversary. He's the opponent, and he's the one who stands in an adversarial position to God, right? He looked to dethrone God. I will become as the Most High. Well, that failed, but he is still the adversary, and he seeks to derail the plan of God and the people of God. So he's your my adversary, and he's the adversary of the people of this world as well, and he must be bound.

2 Corinthians chapter 4. We will go there.

2 Corinthians chapter 4. Let's see how the Apostle Paul identifies Satan's work in the world today.

Again, just imagine when all of this is removed. The blessing, the freedom, the opportunity to grow under a much better system than this world today. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 3, near the Apostle Paul, he says, "...even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing." He says, "...for whose minds the God of this age has blinded." Notice God, right?

small g, Satan the devil. He's the God of this age. God the Father has allowed that for a time.

"...whose mind the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is in the image of God, should shine on them." And so it's saying that there is a veil that is in place on the earth right now. There's a darkness. There's a deception that Satan the devil casts over mankind, and as it says, those who do not believe.

And why would he cast that veil? Well, it says, "...lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is in the image of God, should shine on them." Satan doesn't want the gospel of truth to shine upon those who are deceived, and he seeks to blind the world. And he doesn't want the world to respond to the gospel message. And we might say, well, okay, tell me something I don't know. Well, why does Satan not want the world to respond to the gospel message? We all know this, but it's an important point. We don't ever want to miss it. Satan doesn't want the world to respond to the message because contained in the gospel message is the defeat of his influence and his power. And so he hates that message. He'll destroy that message any way he can. He'll destroy the people who deliver it. He'll shatter them, keep them from speaking with the unified voice, whatever tool he can use. If the message does go out, he blinds the world. The blinders are on, the veil's in place, because contained in the gospel message is the defeat of his influence and his power. And he hates that message, and he hates what it represents, but it actually points to this very day.

When Jesus Christ walked the earth, he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God.

He preached succinctly, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That's the gospel message. If you want to sum it up into simplistic, basic terms, it goes beyond that, but I'm saying there's so much contained in that he boiled it into such a brilliant summary. It is repent, for the kingdom is at hand. And so it's a message of repentance and turning away from the cause of sin, right? Turning away from the originator and the instigator of sin. You know what? Satan the devil doesn't like that message. He doesn't want people to repent and turn. The gospel message is a message about coming under the blood of Jesus Christ so that the death penalty will be removed from you and you will live. And Satan doesn't want that gospel message taught. And he will stand as an adversary to it any way that he can. It's a message of being reconciled into a covenant relationship with God the Father. And guess what? Satan doesn't want that message taught either. Again, it's a message of God's kingdom and the kingdom that it is coming and that it will reign and that you can be a part of it. Satan doesn't like that message either. And he will do all that he can to stand in opposition to the truth of God, the people of God, and the gospel, which is to be proclaimed. Brethren, Satan knows that his defeat and the defeat of his influence and his power is tied up in this day and it is tied up in the gospel of the kingdom of God. And he will stand against it in any way. And so I would just caution all of us not to let anyone talk you out of the importance of preaching the gospel message. Don't let anyone convince you that it's done, it's done away. No longer do we continue to do it. Don't let anyone seek to convince you that God the Father doesn't want us to preach the gospel message today. You know, I've looked this book over cover to cover a number of times and I see the instruction in the example of preaching the gospel. I don't see anywhere the instruction in the example where it is to cease until God would allow and cause it to cease. But there is an adversary who stands against the gospel. That is written, again, 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 3 and 4. Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. It is Satan the devil that doesn't want us to preach the gospel today because his defeat is encompassed in that message.

But it's a message of hope. It's a message of liberty. It's a message of the truth of the kingdom of God and the part that we have to play. And so what we come to see about this day is that there is a God of this age and mankind cannot be truly liberated until the source of so much pain and sin and suffering is put away. And it is a great portion of this day of atonement, the removal of the bondage of Satan the devil, and it points to the liberty that will take place in the future, again, once his influence is completely bound.

Second liberty, portrayed by this day, that is future focus, second liberty, is the liberty that comes through a reconciled relationship with God. Again, this was this was past focused as well. It is present focused, but we want to remember the place of this holy day in the thread of God's plan of salvation. This reconciliation and liberty is future focused as well. The liberty that comes through a reconciled relationship with God. Isaiah chapter 59 describes the effect of not being in this kind of a relationship, and the contrast is dramatic, frankly.

Isaiah chapter 59 verse 1.

Isaiah chapter 59 and verse 1 says, Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. You know, there's nothing impossible for God. There's no intervention that, you know, he just didn't get there quick enough or he didn't know what was going on. No, the point is God is all-powerful, but there are things that actually come between us and God, and is a threat to a reconciled relationship. Verse 2, he says, But your iniquities, your sins, your falling short of the way of God, your iniquities have separated you from your God, your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear. And so this is the human condition apart from the atonement, apart from the reconciliation that this day portrays.

It's the sins of mankind building a wall of separation between them and their God, cutting them off from him, distancing them from a reconciled relationship, and it's the condition that most of this world currently lives under today. But you see, there's been the intercessory work of Jesus Christ. It has happened. It has been fulfilled. And now the opportunity and the route back to God through his sacrifice is available. All of mankind can have their sins forgiven. They can have that wall of separation removed. They can be granted direct access to a personal relationship with God, and it is what he desires. And it's what he desires not only for us today, but for all of mankind. That's what this day of atonement points to, is the intercessory work of Jesus Christ, his mediation, and the reconciliation of a relationship between us and God. The fact that the stumbling blocks to that separation are being removed. Sin is being removed. Satan is being removed. Self is hopefully being removed. That's what this day of atonement points to, a time in the future when God will begin working to reconcile all humanity to himself on a global scale. And so his intent isn't just going to be to call a small group of people at that time, like he has today. Right? The church is a group of people called out of this world. That's what church means. It's it's ecclesia. It's the assembly called out of the world, called into assembly. And so where the firstfruits were a portion, a small portion, of those called out of this world. But that's not what God is going to do in that age, because you see at the return of Jesus Christ, the church age will be over. Right? The called out of the world age will be over. We will be the saints with God and Christ, and what will happen is the calling then will be extended to all of mankind on a global scale. God will be calling all into reconciliation with him.

It's going to begin with the nation of Israel first as the model nation to the world, but then it's going to spread out to the entire world as the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth, as the waters cover the sea. It's a selection of firstfruits today in the church, but all of humanity will have access to this liberating relationship with God, its purpose and his plan, and the establishment of his kingdom. Jeremiah chapter 31 highlights this reconciliation process as it will begin for Israel and Judah, and it highlights as well the reconciliation we're under today. Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 31 oftentimes will read this in reference to the fact that we're under the new covenant today, and it does apply, but the the full literal application of it is yet future. Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 31, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in that day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant, which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. He says, But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. This is a millennial prophecy in its ultimate fulfillment.

We're talking about a relationship. It's a covenant relationship. It's a reconciled relationship that God intends to start again first with his people Israel and Judah, and it will eventually encompass the entire world. What we come to understand is that those who once stood in opposition to God will begin to walk in harmony with him. As their mind is open, as they come under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the influence of Satan is bound, once in opposition they will now walk in harmony. And what a liberating effect that will have on the whole world. It's a relationship that God the Father has with us today through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And you and I have been freed, and today we celebrate the fact that the world as a whole one day will be free, and they will live under the glorious liberty of the kingdom of God as you and I do today. When this day of atonement and reconciliation takes place, then liberty from the death penalty is the result. Right? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life and Christ Jesus our Lord. And even when we live in the flesh before our change, we have liberty. Liberty from sin and the consequences of sin.

Liberty from all the bad decisions that come as a result of living in opposition to God's way.

The world will come to understand what the truth is and how to make life work.

When mankind is reconciled to their Creator, then everything will begin to change for the better.

You know, peace and prosperity will break out on the earth because God's ways are being practiced. You're loving your neighbor as yourself. Right? You're loving the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and your neighbor as yourself, and this world as a whole will be practicing these things. And peace will be the result. It'll literally break out on the earth.

As a result of God's way in action, healing will be the result. Both physical healing and spiritual healing. The blind will have their eyes open. Physically, they'll be healed, but they'll understand the light of God's truth as well.

All those wonderful millennial prophecies that we read about during the millennium.

You know, the plowman overtaking the reaper, the desert blossoming like a rose. All the abundance and all the blessings that we see. It's all dependent on the significance of this day.

A day of transition, a day of building the bridge to a better age.

The opposition is bound and reconciliation with God is reality.

David Tomit, brethren, is such an exciting day. And, you know, we may be a little weak right now because we've been fasting and we're weak in the flesh. But what did the apostle Paul say? He said, well, when I'm weak, then I'm strong. And when we are humbled through fasting, even for a day, it helps us to understand our dependence on God and the strength that we have as we rely on Him.

Tomit is such an exciting day. It's a day of liberty. Liberty number three, final point of liberty I'd like to cover today that is recognized by this day, is the liberty of the Jubilee. The liberty of the Jubilee. And again, I'm trying to turn this into a forward-looking focus. The liberty of the Jubilee. There's another specific event that took place historically on the day of atonement and occasionally. I'll say occasionally because it didn't happen every year. But there is future significance tied to this event. Let's go to Leviticus chapter 25 in verse 8.

Leviticus chapter 25 and verse 8. Look at a portion of the instructions concerning the Jubilee. Leviticus chapter 25 and verse 8. Here it says, And you shall count seven Sabbaths of years for yourself. Seven times seven years, and the time of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. You recall that in Israel, God had these seven-year time cycles, and every seventh year was a Sabbath year unto the Lord. The land rested, people were freed, other things took place during that Sabbath. But it says, you count seven of those now. Seven cycles of those seven years, up to forty-nine. Verse 9. And 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 to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. On this day of atonement in ancient Israel, in the forty-ninth year, the trumpet was blown, the Jubilee was proclaimed, and it was a year, a Jubilee year. It was a period of time then allowing the people to return to the land of their possession and to their family. And that reality, that Jubilee, was life-altering. And you can bet, brethren, it was liberating. It was liberating. If at any time, during this fifty-year cycle, because Israel, all the tribes had their portion of inheritance in the land, and each family had their portion of that inheritance among their tribe, so any time that an individual or a family lost the family land through maybe a bad business decision or some misstep in their life, and it was gone, say, year twenty, you had to sell it to get out of debt, and now you looked across the valley and you looked at your family land from a distance, and you yearned to have that again. Once in your lifetime, you and your children would not be cut off from ever from your inheritance in Israel. There was the Jubilee, the trumpet sounded, and you were restored. It was part of God's economic system to keep balance in the land and to give people opportunity to, shall we say, repent and walk forward in newness of behavior again.

When the trumpet sounded on the forty-ninth year, on the day of atonement, there was another opportunity to recover from past mistakes and to be restored as landowners and good standing into Israel again. And just as the day of atonement symbolizes the reconciliation that will be extended between God and man in the future time, this day also pictures the clean slate that will be given to people to rise above their past failures, to not be bogged down in the mire of what they once were, but to now move forward new in a newness of life and to be restored.

There's a very beautiful line in the passage that I just read to you, and it states, proclaim liberty throughout all the land and to all the inhabitants. And that's my title today, proclaim liberty throughout the land. Because the Bible shows that in the likeness of the Jubilee Restoration, there will once again take place a, shall we say, Jubilee type regathering at the beginning of the millennium. The remnant of the people of Israel that I spoke about a couple of months ago whom God always preserves. You always preserve a remnant. He'll bring them through the great tribulation through the day of the Lord. That remnant will be regathered from the ends of the earth where they have been driven. They will be freed from their captivity, and they will be resettled back into the Promised Land. But not only that, they will be resettled into their inheritance.

It'll be freedom. It'll be Jubilee for the people, the physical people of God. And in that, liberty will be the proclamation. Let's notice a few passages focusing on this regathering, on this Jubilee-style liberty that will take place. Isaiah 11, verse 11.

Isaiah 11, verse 11. You know, we look over at what is called the nation of Israel today, and the Jews that occupy that region, and we say, well, they have their land. Well, that's only a sliver of the people and of the land. And since the time of Israel's dispersion, since the time of Judah's captivity, and what we see is that the vast majority have been gone for millennia, from the land of their inheritance. God will bring them back. Isaiah 11, verse 11. It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people who are left, from Assyria in Egypt, from Pathros and Kush, from Elam and Shainar, from Hamath, and the islands of the sea. First time God set his hand to gather Israel to himself was when they came out of Egypt. And this is describing now a second exodus to the Promised Land following the return of Jesus Christ. Verse 12, he will set up a banner for the nations, and he will assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. God is going to recover the remnant of those who are left. Right? He always brings that remnant through, this remnant which will come through the great tribulation, through the day of the Lord. Wherever they may be, he's going to regather them. He's going to settle them in the Promised Land so that they may repent, so that they may learn from him, and they may become the shining example that he intends them to be to the rest of the world. Verse 15, still in Isaiah 11, verse 15, the Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt. With his mighty wind, he will shake his fist over the river, and he will strike it in the seven streams and make men cross over Drieshad. There will be a highway for the remnant of his people, who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt. God will create the highway, so the remnant of his people will be able to simply flow into the land from wherever they will be scattered.

They will be assembled once again. This is a jubilee-like restoration on a grand scale, and it will dwarf the exodus from Egypt. God will bring this multitude back, settle them in their portions, in their inheritance in the land, and no one will ever remove them again. Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 3. Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 3. I hope this is exciting to you. It's exciting to me, and it's exciting the concept that we will be there to see it and have a part to play in what God is doing in this age. Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 3 says, but I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their folds, and they shall be fruitful, and they shall increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed. Nor shall they be lacking, says the Lord. Verse 5, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise up to David a branch of righteousness. A king shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. Of course, we know this is Jesus Christ. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. Now this is a name by which he will be called the Lord our righteousness. Verse 7, Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that they shall no longer say, as the Lord lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, but as the Lord lives, who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land.

Rather than this is describing the opportunity, another opportunity, okay, a restoration for the people of God to recover from their past mistakes, to be restored in good standing in the land of Israel again. The Jeremiah chapter 31, 31 promise of the covenant that we read will apply at this time as God brings his people back, as he establishes them now as the model nation to the world, and he will be their God. They will be his people. Isaiah chapter 60, verse 1, Isaiah chapter 60 and verse 1 says, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, the deep darkness, the people, but the Lord will arise over you, and his glory will be seen upon you. Verse 3, the Gentiles shall come to your light, and the kings to the brightness of your shining. Lift up your eyes all around and see. They all gather together. They come to you. Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. He's talking about, again, that regathering of the people of Israel and the blessings of liberty that will come as a result of their the reconciliation to God. But it's not only that as well, because all throughout this we see the fact now the nations will see what this reconciled relationship looks like, and they'll see the blessing of it, and they'll want to come and see and partake for themselves. Verse 9, Isaiah 60 verse 9, Surely the coastlands shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish will come first, to bring your sons from afar, the silver and their gold with them, to the name of the Lord your God. You know, they're going to say, you're one of God's people. You're one of these covenant people, one of these Israelites. They'll actually bring them to the land, resettle them, bring them back to God.

To bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, to the name of the Lord your God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. Verse 10, The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, and their king shall minister to you, for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy upon you. Verse 14, Also the sons of those who afflicted you, so come bowing to you, and all those who despise you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet, and they shall call you the city of the Lord, Zion, the Holy One of Israel.

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations. You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles, and the milk of the breasts of kings. You shall know that I am the Lord your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob. Again, it's talking here about the restoration that will come in the nation of Israel, in the light that they will be to the world, in the desire of the world, then to experience that reconciliation for themselves.

I don't have it in my notes, but there's a millennial prophecy that I'm going to read during the Feast of Tabernacles, and it basically says that in that day, that 10 Gentiles will grab the sleeve of a Jewish man and say, take us with you. You're one of God's people. You're going to worship God. Take us with you. We want to learn about Him. We want your God to be our God.

It's the example that Israel will be set to reflect as the model nation, but again, it's pivotal to this day. It's pivotal to them coming back in restoration and reconciliation with God. Isaiah chapter 61 and verse 1. We'll recognize this as a prophecy of Jesus Christ, some fulfilled during His first coming, some after His return. Isaiah 61.1, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor, the gospel. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim notice liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prisons of those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord in the day of the vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. It all comes back to the glory of God. Verse 4, it says, And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vine dressers, but you shall be named the priests of the Lord. And they shall call you the servants of our God, and shall eat of the riches of the Gentiles. And in their glory you shall boast. It's talking, again, primarily about the physical descendants of Israel. And I understand this is now stretching. It's bleeding into what we call the Feast of Tabernacles in the millennium, but this is what sets the stage. This is what God is doing to bring the peace and the liberty to the entire world. Isaiah chapter 62, in verse 2. Isaiah 62 verse 2 says, And the Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and they shall call you by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give.

All right, verse 10 says, Go, go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people, build up, build up the highway, take out the stones, lift up the banner for the people. So it's like, make the way clear, remove the obstacles, right, fill in the potholes, roll the boulders aside, set up the banner, the people will find their God. Verse 11, Indeed the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world, say to the daughter of Zion, Surely your salvation is coming. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him, and they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and you shall be called sought out, a city not forsaken.

Again, brethren, this is a description that will apply to the physical Israelites, but not completely to them alone. It will also in part apply to those of the resurrection, at the return of Jesus Christ, the saints of God, because we too will be called the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. But that's what this Day of Atonement points to, right? Leaving sin behind, banishing the cause of sin, becoming the holy people of God and his redeemed.

Just as the Jubilee that was sounded on the Day of Atonement goes forth, this event pictures the clean slate that the people will be given to rise above their past failures and be restored. You know, sin is a past failure. The inability of ancient Israel to fulfill the covenant they made with God was a past failure. But the symbolism of the Jubilee and what will again take place in the regathering will allow people to rise above those past failures and to be restored.

Israel will become the model nation that God intended them to be from the beginning, and out of Zion the law will go forth in the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Liberty will be proclaimed throughout the land, to all the inhabitants thereof, and ultimately to the entire world. Brethren, the events which take place on the Day of Atonement open the door to the great blessings we see poured out during the millennium. The binding of Satan the devil will lead the world to liberty. The reconciliation that will take place to God the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will lead the world to liberty. And the restoration of Israel as the model nation for God will lead ultimately to the liberty that this whole world will so desperately need.

Brethren, in light of these things, in light of the symbolism that starts in Leviticus and is carried all the way through Revelation, won't you join me as we prepare to leave now for the Feast of Tabernacles, having come through the Feast of Trumpets, won't you join me in praying a prayer that Jesus Christ said must be our focus and the blessing for this whole world, thy kingdom come.