Why Do We Keep the Day of Atonement?

I have scheduled myself to be in Waco for the Day of Atonement. Mr. Isaac will give the sermon here. So, I'm going to give you my Atonement message today, in preparation of the Day of Atonement, so that you can be thinking about this as we're going into that day. What is the Day of Atonement about? We often look at the Day of Atonement from either a personal point of view or a prophetic point of view. Today, I want to combine the two. Why do Christians keep the Day of Atonement? We already keep the Passover. The Passover is about the covering of our sins.

We remember the suffering of Jesus Christ at the Passover. We keep seven days of the Days of Atonement bread, where we're walking out of the sinful life. We turn around, and in the fall, we keep it all over again. We fast, as Mr. Stetter said so well. We afflict our souls, and as he read in Leviticus 16, for the cleansing of our sin. Wait a minute! We just did that! Why do we do it again? And what's the difference between the two?

You know, brethren, I did not understand this until about eleven years ago. When I heard my dad give this message, we were in Odessa, Texas. We were driving to the Feast of Tabernacles in Colorado, so we had to stop on the Day of Atonement in Odessa, and he spoke there. And he explained this there, and a light bulb went on. I thought it was an amazing point that he made.

And I'm going, you know, he's made it to you before. You may or may not remember. Some of you do, some of you don't. So, we're going to go through it again today. Why do we keep the Day of Atonement as Christians? The Day of Atonement is about the covering of sin. We already celebrated that. Do you know the answer? Do you remember the answer? Let's review that today. God's Holy Day plans are the outline for His redeeming of humanity from the entire curse of sin.

Sin is an absolute curse. And in that plan, the nation of Israel plays a central role. This day is about how God will prepare them for their greatest role. And a lot of us miss that when we keep the Day of Atonement. We look at prophecy and we look at things from an individual point of view, but we do not often put those two together and see how it's woven together in this neat little plan. How God is going to redeem the nation of Israel, the physical nation of Israel. And I'm not just talking about the Jews, as we will see in a moment. I am talking about the entire nation of Israel.

A lot of people who are doing the… I don't want to take too much time on this, but who are into those conspiracy theories now and the end-time prophecies, which I agree, we're in the end times. I've got no argument with that. Wow, are things getting bad. But they often miss the fact that the United States and Britain are the people of Israel. And the prophecies are about them as much as, if not more, than about the Jews.

When it's about the Jews, it says the Jews. But a lot of times it's talking about Israel. And we understand that. And when you don't understand that, you don't understand prophecy. But we keep the Holy Days. And this particular Holy Day helps us to understand that very point where Israel fits into prophecy. So God's Master Plan Passover reminds us of Christ's atoning sacrifice for sin.

The Days of Unleavened Bread reminds us that repentance and obedience must accompany our acceptance of that sacrifice. It's not just one saved, always saved. So we keep seven days of Unleavened Bread. And then Pentecost reminds us that that body of forgiven people, the church, is now being enabled by God's Spirit to become like God and to do His work. And then the Feast of Trumpets points out when the whole world will come under Jesus Christ's rule. And the saints will be resurrected. The world will come under the judgment of God, but we will have our reward. And then comes the Day of Atonement.

And not only is it the removing of Satan, but it's also the forgiving and restoration of the people of Israel, and making a new covenant with them spiritually enabling them, so that they will be a model to all nations. That's what the Day of Atonement is about. Can you go to the Scriptures and find that? Can you find how the Day of Atonement is about God bringing Israel back? You know it. You just may not remember it. So today, I want to help us all to remember what the Day of Atonement pictures prophetically so that we can draw the conclusion why we keep it personally.

Why do we need to fast? We already kept Passover. What's the difference? The Feast of Tabernacles follows the Day of Atonement. It points to a time when the whole world will come to repentance and conversion. And then the culmination, what we call the Last Great Day, which is the eighth day mentioned in Leviticus 23, pictures the resurrection and forgiveness and conversion of all who have died that they might come back to the Tree of Life.

So let's go back in history. Ancient Israel was scattered into two sections.

The northern ten tribes were conquered by a nation called Assyria. Assyria conquered them and took them off as slaves and put a new people in their place. Those new people are the people we call the Samaritans in the New Testament. So the ancient Israelites, those northern ten tribes, the vast majority of Israel was removed, but the Jews were left. And with the Jews were some of the tribe of Levi and the tribe of Benjamin, which was almost wiped out. So Judah, Levi, and Benjamin are left in the south. The northern ten tribes are taken away by Assyria. But not much long after that, the Babylonian Empire drove the Assyrian Empire to the north. They scattered up into Europe.

And then the Babylonians conquered the Jews. God had had his fill with the Jews. The Babylonians took them back. But then the Jews returned to the Promised Land. The northern ten tribes never returned. They were scattered and lost, and they forgot who they were. But the Jews remembered, and by doing so, they preserved the Word of God. A lot of people don't realize that we read 1st and 2nd Kings, and then you start and you read 1st and 2nd Chronicles. And it's a repeat of 1st and 2nd Kings, although it's not. But it seems to be. And what a lot of people don't realize is that Chronicles was written when the Jews came back. And it focused specifically on the line of King David, which is the Messiah, and the building of the temple, the work of that Messiah. So Chronicles shows how the Jews had preserved the Word of God throughout.

So the Jews came back. The ten tribes eventually forgot who they were.

But it was prophesied that God would one day bring them back to fulfill His promises.

And that has never happened. Never yet has that prophecy been fulfilled.

After the Tribulation and the great day of the Lord will be the resurrection of the saints.

And then God will bring the surviving children of Israel and Judah back to the promised land.

And this day, this coming up, the day of Atonement, pictures that event.

Let's look at that in prophecy. Let's build the case for that. Okay? Jeremiah chapter 23.

Jeremiah chapter 23. Once I learned this 11 years ago, the day of Atonement made so much more sense. Jeremiah chapter 23 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. Now, they still say that to this day. So this is talking about a time in the future, because there will come a day when they will not say, as the Lord brought us out of Egypt.

And the Jews are still saying that to this day. This is clearly something that hasn't happened yet.

But as the Lord lives, who brought us and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from the countries where I had driven them. What's north of the Middle East?

It's Europe. And the other countries where God had driven the peoples of Israel.

And they shall dwell in their own land. The bringing back of Israel is paired with the theme of covering of guilt, Yom Kippur. These two events are married to each other in prophecy.

And this is where we get the idea that the Day of Atonement is about God bringing the physical nation of Israel back to the Promised Land. Because when the prophecies talk about bringing them back, and it talks about this specific event, it mentions the covering of sin nearly every time.

Let's look in Jeremiah chapter 50. But I will bring Israel back to his own pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan. His appetite will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. That's significant.

The hills of Ephraim. Ephraim was the oldest son of Joseph. And ancient Israel in prophecy is often called Ephraim, not Judah. This is not talking about the Jews. This is talking about all of Israel. When it mentions Ephraim, it means the northern ten tribes, not the Jews.

In those days, verse 20, at that time declares the Lord, a search will be made for Israel's guilt. But there will be none. Day of Atonement. For the sins of Judah, but they will not be found. So both the northern ten tribes and Judah, their sins will be covered. Kippur, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. And I will forgive the remnant I spare. It will only be a few. It will only be the survivors after a terrible tribulation and the Great Day of the Lord. But when He brings them back, their sins will be covered. Kippur, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, will be accepted. And we'll literally, literally read that in just a moment. Paul talks about this time of Israel's restoration in conjunction with the Day of Atonement. Romans 11, verse 25. Notice how he combines the bringing back of Israel with the Day of Atonement. Verse 25 of Romans 11, I do not want you to be ignorant of the mystery brothers, so that you may not be conceited.

Israel has experienced a hardening, in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

I'm reading from the NIV, by the way. And so all of Israel will be saved. As it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion and will return the godless away from Jacob.

And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. So here it is again, the restoration of Israel with the taking away of sin. Verse 28. As far as the gospel is concerned, there are enemies on your account. But as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs for. The gifts and his call are irrevocable. What an amazing statement!

The Jewish community at the time was persecuting the Christians and trying to judoize the Christians, getting them back to the Pharisaical law, which Paul was saying, no, you cannot go back into that. Now, he wasn't saying you can't go back into the law of God. He was talking about the traditions of the Pharisees here. But don't discount Israel, Paul said. God's promise is irrevocable. Irrevocable means he's going to finish what he started. That is a key central theme to the Day of Atonement.

Verse 30. Just as you were at one time disobedient to God and have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too now have become disobedient in order that they too may receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. Interesting. They will receive mercy, but you, the church, are involved. You, the firstfruits, play a part in Israel's mercy. Amazing.

Verse 32. For God has bound all men over to disobedience, so that he may have mercy on them all.

And eventually that mercy leads to everybody. So let's jump over to Zechariah 12.

For time's sake, we won't read it all. So, the first eight verses talk about all nations gathering together against Jerusalem. The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of the Lord, the final battle. That's the setting of Zechariah 12.

But God defends Jerusalem. And this is pictured by the Feast of Trumpets. And then God shows how the sins of Israel will be covered. Let's pick it up in verse 9.

On that day, I will set out and destroy all the nations that attacked Jerusalem.

That's the Feast of Trumpets. What immediately follows the Feast of Trumpets?

The Day of Atonement. Reading on, verse 10. I will pour out on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me the one that they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one who mourns for an only child.

Judah will return to Jesus Christ. Specifically says it right there. And they will receive the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That was started way back when he was sacrificed in ancient times. What we celebrated at the Passover is now fulfilled in Israel.

So the Day of Atonement is about results of what the Passover began.

It's like the symmetry that Mr. Doug was talking about in that sermonette that he gave on the Holy Day, how there's perfect balance in the Holy Days. Well, this is another example of that.

The Day of Atonement actually pictures the end results of what is begun at the Passover. On that day, verse 11, the weeping in Jerusalem will be great like the weeping of Hadad-Rimon and the plain of Megiddo, where the battle just took place. The land will mourn each clan by itself with their wives by themselves, the clan of the house of David and with their wives, and the house of Nathan and their wives, and the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, and the clan of Shimei and their wives, and the rest of the clans and their wives.

And then skipping down to chapter 13, verse 1, on that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from impurity. Day of Atonement.

On that day I will banish the names of idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more, declares the Lord Almighty. And I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. If you have never been to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv today, if you go there, it's like visiting one of the states of the United States. It's like the 51st state, with all its immorality. The nightlife, the clubs, the drinking, the idolatry is there.

Exactly what's being described in Zechariah is in place in the land of Judah to this very day.

And that is what will be cleansed. That's what the Day of Atonement is all about. It's about God having mercy on the whole world, but that mercy is contingent on people turning completely away from their sin, just like you and I had to do when we were baptized. But the Day of Atonement picture is something bigger happening. It's not just with the church now. This is the beginning of what God will do, which ends up and culminates with the eighth day, actually. But this is the beginning, God working with Israel to become this model nation for all other nations to copy.

Where the people are concerned, God intends to cleanse them from sin and impurity, as we read in Zechariah. That turning from sin requires humility, and that's one of the reasons why we fast, and we heard that today in the Sermonet. But He also intends to remove the influence of mankind's chief enemy, Satan the Devil, and that is also pictured in the Day of Atonement.

God is going to remove the enemy away so that mass conversions can take place.

In Leviticus 16, a holy day drama is unfolded. The entire chapter of Leviticus 16 is about the Day of Atonement. In verses 2 through 5, the priests are commanded to select two goats as offering for sin. And in verses 7 through 10, one of those goats is slain, and the blood is shed. And that pictures Jesus Christ and what He did for us. And this is part of the Day of Atonement. This is not part of the Passover. So it's remembering or tying together the Passover with a huge event. But the second goat in verses 20 through 26 is a live offering.

That goat is taken and blood is sprinkled on its head. In other words, blame for all sin is put on that goat. And that goat is removed from the camp, permanently taken outside the camp.

And a goat alone outside a camp will get absolutely devoured.

In verses 29 through 31, it says, let's pick it up in verse 29.

It says, This shall be a statute forever for you. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day shall make atonement for you to cleanse you that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. So the Day of Atonement, this day of covering, that word to pour means to blot out with tar. But in this case, our sins are blotted out with blood. So I want to briefly go back and just touch on what Mr. Seder covered, just slightly. It says it's solemn rest and that you shall afflict your souls forever. And I have heard many discussions argue with what Mr. Seder said today. They argue and they say there's no direct statement in the Bible that says afflicting your soul is fasting. And that's because they don't speak Hebrew, and I don't speak Hebrew either, but they don't understand the Hebrew language.

And so they make these criticisms wild criticisms that the church is teaching these legalistic things, and it's just not true. There actually is. There are multiple statements in the Bible that afflicting your soul means fasting. If you understand Hebrewisms, which any grade school child that grows up in Israel would know automatically, but we don't because we speak English or Spanish. We don't speak Hebrew. And so when we read these things, we read right over them and don't realize it's saying that afflicting your soul is fasting. There actually is a direct statement in the Bible. It's in Isaiah 58. Mr. Seder alluded to it. Let's read it. Isaiah 58 verse 3.

Why have we fasted, they say, and you have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and you take no notice? Now, I know it's unfair of me to ask, but do you remember what Hebrew rule you should automatically pop into your head? I gave this sermon months ago, so if you're anything like me, you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. But I gave you this rule. I did.

You should have read that and immediately put an equal sign between those two sentences, because that's parallelism. Hebrew is a poetic language. It's poetry. It's not just technical, like English is. English is one of the easiest languages to spread around the world, because we have a word for everything. We don't just say flower and then describe the flower. We say rose or tulip or iris or orchid. We have all kinds of names. English is very technical. Hebrew, exactly the opposite, is very poetic. All right? So, to any first grade Hebrew student, any grammar student of Hebrew would read this and read it like this. We have fasted, they say, and you have not seen, which means why have we afflicted our souls and you have not taken notice. In other words, fasting is equated with afflicting your soul.

It's just the Hebrew language. That's the way it is. So, when people say, well, there's no direct statement in the Bible that you have to fast, well, every reason that Mr. Stetter gave this morning is absolutely true. But there it is right there, your direct statement that afflicting your soul is fasting. And then in verse 6, is this not the fast that I have chosen, says God? Specifically speaking of the Day of Atonement, which Mr. Stetter referred to. Okay. So, if Satan himself has to be removed, which he does, and we picked that up. You can read that in Ephesians chapter 2, and you can read that in Revelation chapter 20. We won't take the time to do that today. So, if Satan himself must be removed, his influence will cease. And that's part of the picture of the Day of Atonement. Not only is it the covering of sin, but these people are going to now get a break. They grew up in Satan's world. They will now get to learn God's way without Satan buffeting them constantly. But there's still more meaning to fasting on this day than just humbling ourselves. There's one more thing that it pictures. Remember, everything in the Old Testament points to Jesus Christ. Peter said that in the book of Acts. Fasting also pictures the suffering that Jesus Christ went through for our sin. Fasting pictures that sin produces suffering.

The consequences of sin are pain. If there is pain, there is sin.

It's not necessarily your sin, but sin caused it.

We'll cover that at another time, but you can read that in Isaiah chapter 53 and in Hebrews chapter 2, that Jesus Christ had to not just die for our sins. He had to be beaten also. He had to suffer a long time, showing that sin causes pain. And you know what? You have to be humble to accept that.

Fasting is the perfect object lesson for the Day of Atonement. It is absolutely perfect. You know, human beings try to give analogies, and they're never spot-on accurate. I mean, they work, but they're never 100% spot-on. God's analogies are 100% spot-on accurate.

Sin causes suffering. Jesus Christ had to suffer. In order to accept that suffering, you have to humble yourself. What better way to do that than to go without food for 24 hours?

And if you get sick, I sympathize with you. I have gotten sick before by fasting. Most of us don't.

Fasting is not a harsh thing at all. It's a simple object lesson. But you know, those last couple of hours, you feel like you're gonna die. And you don't. No harm comes to you is actually beneficial to your health. No harm comes to you by fasting, unless you are a very ill person, like super diabetic, where if your blood sugar crashes, you go into a coma. The church has always taught, ever since I was a boy, if that was the case, keep your blood sugar level up. Your soul is already pretty much afflicted. So don't go into a coma on the day of atonement. That's not the object lesson. Right? Fast and die. No. That's not it. So I remember diabetics would keep some orange juice with them or some saltine crackers, and they wouldn't eat a full meal. It's not like, oh, I'm diabetic, so I don't keep the day of atonement. No, they would just keep their blood sugar level from dropping to the point where they were going to shock. And they were very faithful people keeping the day of atonement. Some people would look at them and go, they're eating stone them. Take them out of the... No, they're not. So fasting reminds us of the suffering that Christ had to endure in order to atone for our sins. So how does the day of atonement differ from Passover? At the Passover, we gather to remember the actual event of Christ's death and how great His sacrifice was for us. On the day of atonement, we look at the blessings that result from the combination of two things. On the day of atonement, we look at the blessings that result from the combination of two things. One, Christ atoning sacrifice, and two, the removal of Satan and his influence over the thinking of humanity. And then we see Christ making a new covenant with Israel. Atonement is about the results. God achieves the results by restoring Israel and as a restored physical nation of one people, that's very much the focus of the day of atonement. Before God reconciles the entire world, He keeps His promise to Abraham. It's amazing to me. God is amazing. He predicts all of these things and then time goes on, millennia goes on.

People get scattered and they forget who they are. And God keeps it all, keeps track of it all. He doesn't lose one thing and He brings it all back together at the end so that everybody will go, wow, you are the one true God. And that's what we'll read in just a moment. But it takes me back how amazing God can plan things out and then make them come about, make them happen. Let's take a look at those prophecies and how they're tied into the atoning, covering sin. Let's focus in now and get very specific how God is going to bring Israel back on the day of atonement. Not necessarily literally on that day, but that's what this day represents. Ezekiel chapter 37.

Ezekiel was contemporary with Daniel. He was one of the young Jewish boys who was taken a slave out of the land of Judah and taken into Babylon. He wasn't in the capital city. He was out in the country with the rest of the slaves. And he was also made a prophet by God. And his prophecies about the restoration of Israel are where we really get our definition of the day of atonement.

Verses 15 through 28. He tells Ezekiel to write on two sticks. He takes two sticks, and on one stick he writes the name of Judah. And on the other stick he writes the name of Joseph, the head tribe of the northern ten tribes. Okay? So these two peoples have never come together before. They split, and then they were taken away by two different empires. They've never been reunited. In fact, the stick that represents Joseph, they don't even know who they are.

And then Ezekiel was to hold those sticks in his hand, and those sticks became one stick.

And that pictures Israel becoming one nation again, and living in their own land, never to be divided into two peoples again, but always to be one people. Why? To show how great God is. That's why. God made a promise to a man named Abraham, and his children and grandchildren messed up so badly that it appears from a human point of view, it can't be fixed. And God brings it all back together and fixes it. And in Ezekiel 37, verse 22, he says, And I will make them one nation in the land, and the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over them all. That's Jesus Christ. And they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. And they shall not defile themselves any more with idols, nor with detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions. Why do we fast humility and suffering? Because that's what it takes to get out of sin. Accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is not done through pride. But I will deliver them from their dwelling places in which they have sinned and will cleanse them. That which we read in Leviticus chapter 16 on the Day of Atonement takes place after Jesus Christ returns. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God. Then God will use Israel as a model nation. And these prophecies are easily forgotten. It's good to keep them in mind. It's good to keep the Day of Atonement every year.

Imagine if we didn't, and we would not have in mind how awesome God is to predict the end from the beginning. Let's look at how God will use the newly forgiven Israel. Jump over to Ezekiel chapter 39, and we'll pick it up in verse 21. Ezekiel 39, 21, I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment which I have executed, and my hand which I have laid on them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward.

The Gentiles shall know. Ah, so it expands. It's not just Israel. That the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity. Oh, they'll see. God punishes for sin because they were unfaithful to me. Therefore, I hid my face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they fell by the sword. According to their uncleanliness and their transgressions, I have dealt with them and hidden my face from them. Therefore, says the Lord, I will now bring back the captives of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel. And this is in front of all of the Gentiles. That's the context of Ezekiel 39. All of this takes place in the whole view of the world.

The Jews and Israelites get absolutely persecuted, almost decimated, in the Tribulation.

And then God brings them back. And everybody sees that. Verse 27, When I have brought them back from the peoples and have gathered them out of their enemies' lands, I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations. The Day of Atonement is about the results of Jesus Christ's sacrifice. Passover is about Jesus Christ's sacrifice. The Day of Atonement is about what happens as a result. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land and left none of them captive any longer. God's not going to lose one of them. He actually chooses which one survives. Those who are humble, those who follow Him, and I will hide my face from them no more.

For I shall have poured out my spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord God. Before the work of saving the world during the millennium begins, Israel will be forgiven and restored.

You know what? Anciently and interestingly enough, ancient Israel would gather on the Day of Atonement and they would celebrate the forgiveness of sins. And this day does picture that, but it pictures it on a grand scale.

They had no idea how extensive or far-reaching the symbolic events of the Day of Atonement ceremony actually were. God has given us an understanding of tremendous meaning of this day. It pictures the removal of Satan and the cleansing of all of the surviving descendants of Israel and Judah. God can then use them as a model nation to all peoples on the earth during the one thousand years that the Feast of Tabernacles pictures. God's Holy Days lays out His plan so that it shows how He's going to bring the children of Adam and Eve back to the Garden of Eden, back figuratively to the Tree of Life, where everybody will have life. The children of Adam and Eve, all of them, will have access once again to that Tree of Life. Atonement pictures that time right after the Day of the Lord when God will bring Israel back, and He will work with a humble and moldable people. God is going to humble a people and make them ready to receive His laws in their hearts, not just on their lips as they did in ancient times. But you know what, brethren?

God is going to use Jesus Christ and a bride to fulfill the Day of Atonement.

That bride are all of those who have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in this lifetime.

You are part of that, and therefore you have a personal part to play in the Day of Atonement.

Why do Christians keep the Day of Atonement? Why do we fast? We've already accepted.

We've already accepted the Passover, because, brethren, our time to be humble is now.

Our time to afflict our souls is today. If we're going to help ancient Israel to be a humble people, we cannot be a proud and conceited people. We must put the needs of others above ourselves. So every year, once a year, we are reminded by the Day of Atonement to fast. God is going to humble a people, and He's going to use you and me to be that instrument to help them learn the way.

Hey, brother. Hey, sister. This is the way walkie in it. So every year, we skip a few meals.

In relation to what it pictures, that's no big deal whatsoever. We should actually look forward to the Day of Atonement. As weird as that sounds, we should look forward to that feeling of emptiness that reminds us. Jesus Christ had to suffer for sins, and we have to be humble if we're going to accept that sacrifice. And we have to be humble if we're going to be the people of God, who are going to teach ancient Israel to be humble, who are going to teach the whole world to follow God. 2 Chronicles 7. I mentioned Chronicles at the beginning.

This was written at the end when the Jews came back from captivity.

And with that perspective in mind, 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 14. A song was written about this verse. I love that song. 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 14. If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my faith and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land. That is what the Day of Atonement pictures. The Passover, we stop every year and we look back and we remember what Jesus Christ did for us and we say thank you. On the Day of Atonement, we fast and we look forward to what Jesus Christ is going to do, the results of that sacrifice.

So Atonement completes Passover. It's not the same thing at all. It's not just a redo.

It's an amazing plan that God has in place. So as we go into the Day of Atonement, let's not fast with pride and let's not fast begrudgingly, like the Pharisees fasted with pride, but God wants a humble people. God can only work with a humble people. And let's look forward to that era that starts the reconciling of all mankind to God.

And it starts with the Day of Atonement when He reconciles the nation of Israel to each other and back to Him.