Atonement-2010

Wayne Matthews

September 18, 2010

Today is the 5th annual Sabbath; which is the Day of Atonement.  If you’d like to turn to Leviticus 23:26; the Day of Atonement has much more than what is revealed in Leviticus 23 but we will go through it and then we will proceed into other scriptures.  This is a very exciting day for those that are actually keeping the Day of Atonement as God instructs.

Leviticus 23:26 - And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a Day of Atonement: and that actually is ‘atonements’ because there is actually more than one atonement; there’s atonements.  And the word ‘atonement’ actually means ‘reconciliation, reconcile, forgive, purge away, merciful, cleansed’.  So in actual fact, it’s a day of reconciliation.  It’s a day to recognize the need to come into unity, oneness with God, which is an ongoing process of repentance.

Continuing on...  it shall be a holy convocation, in other words a commanded assembly before God, unto you; and you shall afflict, and that word ‘afflict’ means ‘oppress’ or ‘humble’ your souls, your life, and that is done by us accordingly and it’s accomplished by the fact that we have a total fast, abstinence from food and drink; and offer an offering made by fire to the Eternal.  So this offering that is made, we demonstrate it by a willingness to offer our life.  We are willing to sacrifice the self.  And that’s what the sacrifice is.  We are willing to sacrifice the self; we’re willing to fight the fight once we are called. Fire is symbolic of the tests and trials.  We simply have been called to fight, to offer ourselves against pride which is natural within us, our own desires.

Verse 28 - And you shall do no work, which is your occupation or your business, in that same day: for it is a Day of Atonement, to make an atonement for you, so it’s about atoning for us, before the Eternal your God. In the presence of God, that’s what we’re going to do.

Verse 29 - For any person who shall not be afflicted, so those that will not choose to oppress themselves, or submit themselves to God by fasting, in that same day, this day, the Day of Atonement, he, implying mankind, shall be cut off, cut off spiritually, from among His people.  Now of course we know that God dwells in His Church, and therefore a person who willingly today refuses to submit themselves to God, because it’s a personal choice to fast, commanded, but it’s still a choice we have – a person who willingly refuses to yield themselves to God is cut off spiritually.  There are legitimate reasons why people don’t fast on this day that are in the Body of Christ due to health reasons, etc...

So this refusal to humble the self, refusing to sacrifice, to oppress the self can be an issue in us spiritually.  We must be in a humble condition, a humble state of mind to first choose to afflict ourselves.  It requires a level of humility, understanding our true physical state, our true spiritual state.  So this ‘atoning’ really is about bringing or reconciling man into a relationship with God.  If we choose to yield ourselves we simply are choosing to submit to God’s will.  If pride exists in us we cannot be reconciled to God.  If pride exists in us we can’t be reconciled to God.  If we don’t humble ourselves we can’t be reconciled to God.  So they go together; pride and humility, two complete opposites.  So if we don’t have humility we have pride.

Verse 30 – If any person who does any work in that same day, the same person I will destroy from among his people.  So, if people choose to work today they virtually are saying to God, stating by their actions – not their words, by their actions, that they value something better or greater than God.  Because it’s by our actions we’re known...not just by what we say; because a lot of people can talk the talk, and today I noticed on a couple of programs where some of the Jewish community were going to ‘atone’ themselves as they were saying.  But of course, without the truth it’s a meaningless exercise, because (and we’ll get into that), of the deception that is in them.  They’re virtually having time off, afflicting themselves, but God is not there. God is not there because God hasn’t called them to be in the Church at this point in time.

We state by our choice that we prefer to have a relationship with God by being here today.  Now if we chose not to and not to afflict ourselves, our life, afflict our minds and our bodies today, we would be stating that our choice is that we would prefer to have a relationship with the world.  So it’s simply a matter of choice.

If we did not afflict our life, if we work today, we would be stating that we refuse to yield to God.  Now that’s almost unimaginable in our minds, I know, when we think how could we ever think about not yielding to God; but that’s the natural mind.  Isn’t it horrible to even think that?  And when I contemplated that thought, imagine the pride of not wishing or desiring to yield to God.  What a tragedy!  But that’s our natural state, that’s what we are.

You shall do no manner of work: so no preparation, it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.  It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, in other words, an annual Sabbath; and you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, beginning at sundown on the ninth day, from even unto even, so it’s observed from sundown to the next day; you shall celebrate/observe your Sabbath. So it’s the day.  It starts at the end of the 9th day and goes through the 10th day – from even to even.  Now that word ‘you shall celebrate’; the word is actually ‘it is observed by to cease, to desist, to rest’.  So it’s a time that’s observed by stopping, by resting.

So from the wording of this commandment to keep the Day of Atonement we do not see the deep spiritual meaning that it carries.  If we just focused on the wording alone we would simply fast and not work – straight forward.  But there’s much more to this day.  To understand the true meaning and to comprehend the beauty of the Day of Atonement we need to look at the events that the high priest carried out on this day and why he did them.  We’re going to look at the symbolism behind those events.  We also need to know who are the various personalities or beings involved in the Day of Atonement.

The main point of this day is about reconciliation, bringing together or being brought together by forgiveness.  We need our minds changed, we need to be reconciled.  And so the Day of Atonement goes through this reconciliation.  This day is about how we, mankind, can come into oneness, into unity, to be reconciled to be at one with God; because in our natural state we’re not, we’re the actual opposite, we’re against God.

This Day of Atonement is also about Government, High Priests, kings, princes and their positions of government and rulership.  So the key to understanding the spiritual depth of this day is to see how God has a plan.  And if we understand and see God’s plan we then can understand this day more fully.

God’s plan involves the development of a spiritual Family that will be in complete unity with Him.  Now of course, in our natural state we’re not in unity with God and therefore we need to be reconciled and that’s what this day is about.

To become a member of the God Family, God determined that everyone would be in the same mind as God Himself; and that’s something we know we’re not at the moment.  We don’t have God’s mind, but that’s something that needs to take place.  This spirit Family would be at one with Him, reconciled from mankind to Him. (So reconciled from what we are...)  Often people talk about separation in marriage; but the Bible is very clear about why people separate – once they’re married, if there are issues and people separate, what is the purpose of separation?  Reconciliation, to be brought back together.  Well, the Day of Atonement is about reconciling because we are separate from God, we do not have God in our thoughts every day.  We are not God-minded.  Those called, of course, can have God dwelling in them, but mankind needs to be reconciled.  So we need to be reconciled.

They, those that would enter God’s Family, would need to be in full agreement with His one and only true way of life, the way of peace, the way of love.  For this to be possible, there would need to be perfect unity of spirit, purpose in life, all being in one mind yet individual in personality and experiences.  So that’s the Day of Atonement; it’s about reconciliation.

The word ‘reconciliation’ means ‘to change, to exchange, to reconcile those that are at variance’.  So it’s about bringing something back, to bring something that is at variance, which we are, ‘to return to favour with, to be reconciled to one’, and that’s what that word actually means; to reconcile.  The reason why man needs to be reconciled is because man, by nature, is not in unity with God.  God is perfect, sinless – man is imperfect and dwells in sin, therefore there cannot be a relationship between the two parties.  There can’t be a relationship between God and man while they are apart; so this reconciliation must take place.

We are either for God, or against Him.  And you’ll see this theme running through the sermon because there’s no grey area between the two.  We’re either for God and God is in us, or we’re against God.  Now the natural mind, if we went out into the world and said, “By nature you are against God.” The people would say, “I’m not against God, I love God!”  Won’t do what He says and don’t believe what He says, but “I’m for God!”  No, man in his natural state is actually against God; hostile to God and the natural mind just can’t comprehend that.  It requires God’s spirit to begin to understand it where God reveals it in a progressive way so that we begin to see our natural condition... we are against God, we are hostile to God.

Angels were created with a mind that started out being for God.  So angels were created for God.  They weren’t created with a mind that was just at the beginning hostile to God – they were for God but they also were given a choice. Now we’re created the opposite.  We’re created against God, but when God calls us we still have a choice.  But angels were created for God and then had a choice to go against God.

So man was created with a mind against God; they could choose, with God’s calling, to be for God.  And those that are here, those that are around the world on the Day of Atonement in God’s Church have chosen to be for God because God enables it.  But it is a choice and we’re choosing to be for God, we’re not choosing to be against God.

Colossians 1:19 – so this is how God is going to achieve His plan in mankind. For it pleased the Father that in Him, in Christ, all the fullness should dwell; And by Him, talking about Christ, to reconcile all things to Himself, all things reconciled to God by Christ, by Him; whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His, Christ’s, death on a stake. Through Passover.

Verse 21 - And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind, the way we are, by wicked works, by sin, yet now He, Christ, has reconciled in the Body of His flesh through death, so this word ‘reconciled’ here is ‘to reconcile those that are at variance’, and here, of course, it says we need to be reconciled.  So God the Father is reconciling mankind to Himself, but it’s all done through Jesus Christ, that God appointed Jesus Christ as the one who would do the reconciling.  God would need to provide a way that man can be reconciled, atoned to Him.  Once reconciled there could be a relationship.  So outside of this reconciliation there is no relationship.

Romans 5:6 - For when we were still without strength, in other words weak with sin, in due time Christ, the anointed, died for the ungodly. He died for all mankind, for all those that resist God.  So Jesus Christ was appointed by God the Father as the Passover.

Verse 7 - For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. So this attitude of sacrifice. But God demonstrates/exhibits His own love towards us, in that while we were sinners, while we were enemies, while we were against Him, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified, and that means ‘to render righteous’, by His blood, by His sacrifice, we shall be saved from wrath, from the second death, through Him. So it’s all enabled through Jesus Christ.

Verse 10 - For if when we were enemies, in other words, if when we were against God, we were reconciled to God, returned to favour; that’s what it really means, returned to favour.  Because when you’re hostile to God, you’re an enemy to God, you can’t be in favour.  But it’s only through God the Father and His great plan of appointing Jesus Christ as our Passover, the means to be reconciled, that it’s achieved, by/through the death of His Son, much more having being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  So once the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Passover sacrifice, then the next step can take place which is the dwelling of God the Father and Jesus Christ in us – God living in us; and that’s how we’re saved.  We’re saved because Jesus Christ and God the Father live in us, dwell in us.

Verse 11 - And not only that, but we also rejoice, this is something to be thankful about;  we rejoice in God, so to truly rejoice and to be thankful God must be in us, must dwell in us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through/by whom we have now received the reconciliation. So we can be moved from being against God to being for God, and it is through this sacrifice.  Everything will be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ; and that is God’s plan – something to be thankful about.

It’s interesting when you look at being thankful, when you look at rejoicing, (which we’ll get in to at the Feast); it requires humility.  And if you look at just human nature, someone that’s not humble is not thankful because they’ve already taken a lot to themselves – so they’ve got pride. They’re not thankful for anything because pride dwells in them.  So to be truly thankful requires humility; to have humility we need God living and dwelling in us – it’s the only way to be humble.

II Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if anyone is in Christ, Christ dwells in them, he is a new creation: there’s a new mindset, a new mind dwelling there, a new way of thinking.  It’s a process, it’s begun; old things have passed away; this old nature is being replaced: behold, all things have become/are becoming new.  So a new way of thinking can take place because of this reconciliation.  We can now begin to live the truth because God places truth in the mind; we can believe God.  And without that we cannot believe God.  Without God dwelling in us, we can’t believe God.

Verse 18 – Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through/by Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; We now can give love and mercy to others because God lives in us and God’s spirit flows out through us. We can then be reconciled because of this acceptance of Jesus Christ as our High Priest, Passover sacrifice, and soon coming King.

Verse 19 – that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself; not imputing their trespasses/their sins to them; and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  So we’ve been shown the way to be reconciled. Forgiveness of sin upon repentance is part of the process of reconciliation.  Repentance is the start of this very reconciling, because unless we’re given the gift of repentance we cannot be reconciled or come at unity with God, it’s just impossible.  Without repentance and the gift of repentance from God, we cannot have a relationship with Him – we will continue to dwell in a mind that is against Him.  Repentance reveals the start of a relationship.

Verse 20 - Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, now, we’re only ambassadors for Christ IF God and Jesus Christ live in us, when we’re for God; and the moment we’re against God with our natural mind, we are no longer ambassadors because we no longer represent Jesus Christ; because we refuse to allow Jesus Christ and God the Father to live in us so that God’s spirit will flow out towards others.  So we’re ambassadors only if Christ lives in us.  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were pleading through us; we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

Verse 21 - For He, God, made Him, Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him/in Christ.

Proverbs 16:6 - In mercy, this is talking about God; In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity: In other words, in undeserved mercy that we get from God.  We don’t deserve mercy, But God in mercy, this great mercy toward mankind, and truth, which is the mind of God that He gives to us.  So in those two things; In His great mercy and in truth atonement, a reconciliation... that word actually there, ‘a covering, a cover, a way to reconcile’.  So a reconciliation means that sin has to be covered; it’s got to be covered and therefore we can be reconciled; and God provides it for sin, which is what we are.  We are sin.  And just continuing there... and by the fear of the LORD, respect for God, one departs from evil.  So God has to give us the gift of repentance to begin that departure from evil.

God has made a way for us to have a relationship with Him.  Now under the Old Testament the sacrifices were required, as they were the only way a person could be atoned or reconciled to God on a physical level.  So they had all these rituals and certain sacrifices that had to take place.  And that was only reconciling them back on a physical level; they still could not have a spiritual relationship with God.  If they sinned, they needed to be reconciled to reestablish the relationship on a physical level.  And that’s what the sacrifices were about.  They were reconciled, or atoned, by a sacrifice, something that they gave of themselves.

So the Day of Atonement also reveals the way we can be reconciled to God and begin this relationship.  So God set out to create a Family.  He set out by establishing man in the mindset that was against Him; and there’s a purpose for that.  To be reconciled required God’s power in the person so they could see the choice that would be needed.

So we understand that God is spirit and that He set in motion a plan that would take and proceed into all eternity.  And this was predetermined, that Jesus Christ would be the way of reconciliation.  He determined that His plan would be fulfilled.

Now a very interesting thing to dwell on... nothing can resist or destroy God’s plan.  So even though resistance can come up and we can be against God like Satan is against God (that’s what he chose), but God is ALL MIGHTY... ALL MIGHTY – NOTHING can stop God and His plan... NOTHING!  Nothing could stop the 144,000 being sealed!  NOTHING!   It was predetermined.  That’s why God IS ALL MIGHTY and our weak little minds that are against God... we’re puny!  And Satan in all his original beauty resisted God!  And when you contemplate that, its insanity!  To think that you can thwart and destroy God’s plan that He set in motion and He is ALL MIGHTY... and yet we would resist the Almighty God.  Incredible thinking!  But that’s our natural mind, that’s what we think; we resist God, we don’t agree with what God says, what God teaches on the Sabbath.  We think, “Oh no, hang on a minute...”  We analyze things.  We’re just simply resisting what God’s giving and we’re putting ourselves above God.  Incredible wrong thinking but that’s our capacity.

The Almighty God is the main Being to understand in the Day of Atonement because it’s about reconciling mankind into His Family, to be like God, but not to be all mighty.  We will be Elohim, but never the Almighty God that has existed for all eternity.

So God’s plan to create a spiritual family would be designed behind reconciling or bringing all to be at one with Him.  God created an angelic realm that in the beginning was for God.  They were for God!  Sin did not exist in the beginning of creation of the angels.  We’re the opposite – we’re created in sin, with sin.  But the angels also, because they are created with a capacity of free individual thought, they were created as individual free moral agents who could make choices and express individual personality through those choices.  They could choose to be for God or against God... a choice they were given.  This also meant they could choose not to follow God.

We know that God reveals that for a long period of time all the angelic realm chose to be for God, but they could chose another way.  God reveals that He created three main superior angels called cherubim.  They were more important in might, beauty, power and authority.  These three were named as Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer.  These were appointed to major roles of service in God’s government.  And it’s something we as humans forget – the role of why God appoints anybody to a role in the ministry, or a role of any type within the Church of God... is the role of service.  Now these three beings were created for the role of service, as all the angels were created for a role of administering God’s plan; that was their purpose.

In time God would create a physical universe so that He could place on the earth the main purpose of the creation, the physical creation.  Man.  And He would make man hostile to Him for the point of, and the reason of, reconciling him into His Family.  They would be created against God for the purpose of bringing them to be for God.  Through His great power only could that be achieved.

So in time God began to reveal more of His plan and purpose for His physical creation.  This progressive revelation was given: God revealed to the angels that all His physical creation, the universe, and His total plan would now be focused upon the earth.  God placed Lucifer on the earth along with much of the angelic realm to prepare for future events that He had predetermined long before.  Lucifer was placed in authority over the angels on the earth and they were to carry out the preparations for greater events in God’s overall plan.

So Satan, known then as Lucifer, had direction and had purpose; as did the other angels.  So we know in time that Satan, Lucifer, decided at some point to be against God.  He changed his thinking and set his mind against God.  Lucifer did not like what God was revealing – this progressive revelation; “You’re going to take these what?!”  Now, in Lucifer’s eyes man would be like, I reckon, cockroaches.  We’ll look, in a minute, at some of the scriptures that say how beautiful he was and how powerful this being is.

“You’re going to take beings that are hostile to You, that by nature hate You...”  Sounds like strong words, but we do, “...that enjoy evil... and You’re going to reconcile them to You to be at one with You and place them into Your Family as Elohim... and I’m going to be what?! ... lower?!  ...below?!  ...and You want me to serve them to bring them into God’s Family?? Your Family?!  .... Pshew!!!  I disagree with You God!  I disagree with what You’ve got planned!”  That’s the thinking.  Isn’t that incredible?  Lucifer didn’t like what God had planned so he rebelled.  He chose to believe that God’s way was not the best, that his way was better than God.

Lucifer actually became deceived into believing that he could rise up against the Almighty God.  Isaiah 14:12 – now this of course reveals Lucifer’s attitude. This is a change of thinking for being for God and God’s plan and purpose that he knew at that time to now being against, being adverse against God’s plan.  Now in saying this, we brethren have God dwelling in us, we should realize that when we talk about Lucifer being against God and against God’s plan he’s against you... because you are God’s plan.  You are God’s creation.  He is against you!  He hates you!  He desires with all his being to destroy you!  ...and often we just forget it, we just don’t even think of it, we’re not on guard to realize ‘he roams the earth seeking whom he may devour’.  Who’s he interested in devouring?  The undeceived.  The deceived of the world, they’re deceived; can’t devour them, what’s the point, they’re deceived, haven’t been called yet.  We who have been called are targets for the spirit world, so we ought to remember that then when we go through these scriptures – Satan is against you and against me; he’s against God’s people with a passion...all his being!  He is against God’s plan and we are God’s plan.

Isaiah 14:12 - How are you fallen/cast down from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Now that ‘son of the morning’ is ‘daystar’ or ‘light-bringer’.  And the word ‘light-bringer’, look at it – truth – the bringer of truth – it’s a role of bringing truth – a light-bringer... there’s more interpretation of that later.  But light-bringer, How are you cast down to the ground/to the earth, you who weaken the nations!  By deceit!  So Lucifer’s power is deceit, deception.  We are born into deception.  I was talking to someone before services... you know when you go your whole life deceived... we’re deceived.  Our whole life we are deceived at every level; of any knowledge of God deception reigns.  And then your called and you might be 20-30-40-50-60-70... you’re called... the battle is hard because you’ve got to come out of deception, out of deceit.  You’ve been trained, your whole mind, to think one way – the way of deception.  We’re deceived and yet we’re called to admit we’re deceived. By nature we’re deceived.  We don’t know anything about God until we’re called – nothing!  We might think we do... and the mind deceives itself.  People say, “I know God.”  Whew!  Big statement!  Haven’t got a clue!  Unless you’re called, you haven’t got a clue... haven’t got a clue – not really, not spiritually.

Verse 13 - For you have said in your heart, your intent, your mind, I will ascend, from the earth, into the heaven, I will be against God – this is a deliberate mindset, “I’m going to be against God on this!” I will exalt/lift up my throne, which is the seat of authority that God had given him, which he forgot, above the stars of God: the other angels; I will also sit, dwell and inhabit, on the mount of the congregation, on the furtherest sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like, and that word ‘like’ can be like ‘a similitude’ or ‘to be like’ or ‘resemble’; and it also is an expression of an action that is incomplete; in other words, it’s an ongoing action.  “That’s what I want to do, that’s what I’m going to continue to do...” I will be like the most High. “I’ll be like the Highest, the most High!  I’ll be God!” in other words. Lucifer intended to replace God.  He didn’t like God’s plan. He set his mind against God. Yet you shall be brought down to the sheol/to the pit, the lowest parts of the pit.  Lucifer is the next being to be aware of in the Day of Atonement.  So we know, God the Father, we’ve talked about Jesus Christ... and now we have Lucifer.

So over time Lucifer had planned and plotted; he began to dislike God’s plan.  They, (the other angels that were deceived), chose to be against God.  ALL deception comes from Satan.  ALL deception comes from Satan!  From this time forward Lucifer began to be known as Satan the great adversary of God.  And the word ‘Satan’ means ‘adversary, opponent’.  Satan chose to rebel against God to make himself an adversary to God and His plan and His purpose.  Now God’s purpose is us. We often live our lives and we’re not aware; when we should be a lot more aware of what really is going on around us – because we have opponents.  Can’t see them; but they’re there.  Now, they don’t have the strength... as long as we stay close to God and we stay reconciled to God Satan has no power of deception; but the moment we get cut off because of sin and become un-reconciled we’re going against God.  We then get in the mindset of a demonic world, a natural mind filled with pride, hostile to God.

God knew all along that some of the angels would make this free moral choice. Turning from God’s way of thinking results in evil, pride, vanity, deep selfishness that is inward in nature and filled with the way of get... while God’s perfect way is the way of give.  Satan can never be satisfied; and the reason is he desires to take everything to himself.  He has no desire to share anything at all!  He wants to take it to himself.  He desires all things, all power to himself.

Ezekiel 28:11 – Every time I turn to Ezekiel 28 I have a picture of Mr. Armstrong in my mind because he used to go to this often.  Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, (now verse 12) Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the LORD, now that word is not Yahweh Elohim, it’s Adonay GOD; You were the seal of perfection, now this is talking about Lucifer, You were the seal of perfection, now this is a sum, a measurement.  So there was a measurement given to Lucifer.  Now, he wasn’t given the complete mind of God but he was given a mind that was for God.  He was given that; it was a pattern, a way of thinking that was for God.  You seal up perfection, full of wisdom, so this is part of God’s mind, the ability to teach, to understand truth.  So he had this mindset which had truth in it to the point that it had been revealed.  He had the ways of God in his mind to the degree that God had given it, perfect in beauty.

Verse 13 - You were in Eden, now it’s talking about going back in the garden of God; talking about the time with Adam and Eve.  …every precious stone was your covering... I won’t go into all of those because there’s no real point.

Verse 14 - You were the anointed/appointed cherub, so he was the anointed, who covers; I established you: Now this is something that we should never forget.  God establishes everything.  Lucifer here forgot that he was established by God, he was created, been established; he was given the mind that he was given, but God did it all!  And yet he rose above that in pride.  I established you; something also which I’ve taken to my own being about being in the ministry.  The ministry doesn’t establish itself.  We were talking the other day I think at services about governments; the mind of man.  If you were to go out now and say to the world, “Listen, we’re not going to vote for anybody.  There’s no running for politics and there’s no voting.  We are just going to appoint somebody and you will respect that appointment.”  You would get laughed out of it!  God’s Government.  You can’t run for God’s Government, you can’t lobby for God’s Government – God will appoint who He wants to appoint into the roles that He sees fit and the duty of those that are appointed, that have been established by God is to serve, submit their wills to God’s authority.

Now that all sounds very simple, very plain…but in reality it’s not, it’s quite a complex spiritual position; that it takes God’s mind to understand because the carnal mind would never understand.  Because it would be like Satan, it would turn around and say, “YOU’RE NOT APPOINTING HIM!!  You’re joking!?  You’re ordaining THAT person?! I know things about… you’ve got to be crazy!  How can you put him into that role of authority?”  Because the natural mind is hostile, raises itself up, wants to pull down.  But that’s what the world’s facing: it’s going to have a new King of kings very shortly and there’ll be no voting!  There will be no elections!  We’ll rejoice I’ll tell you!  And 144,000 already chosen by God; reconciled through Jesus Christ to God the Father, set, no voting, no opinions.  If you don’t like one of the 144,000 you have a serious problem!  I think it’s beautiful myself.  I love it!  I love it!  I think because we just had elections and they drive me insane.

Continue in verse 14 – I establish you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. So here we have Lucifer actually at the mercy seat of God.  He was at and in the presence of God Himself.  He had a direct relationship with God; at this point in time he was actually for God.

Verse 15 – You, perfect in your ways from the day you were created, well, we were created, and from the day we were created we’ve been against God!  He was created for God; till/until iniquity, and that word there actually is ‘injustice, sin’ was found in you.  So it’s in the thinking… it’s in the thinking.

Verse 16 - By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, now, this is a choice.  …you became … you weren’t made this way, you chose this, you became this.  Now brethren, the same applies for us.  We’re created against God – we can become Godlike, we can become reconciled because the offer is there once called; but it’s a choice to be made.  Now that word ‘violence’ is quite interesting really because it carries a lot more, it carries the word ‘injustice, oppression, violence, violent, cruelty, false, missed the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit’; so it’s quite a broad word to realize that this was a choice to go against God ...and you sinned: you missed the mark; therefore I cast you as a profane/polluted thing out of the mount of God: I destroyed/removed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.

Verse 17 - Your heart/your mind was lifted up, self-exaltation, self-worth, taking to the self a better role than what was already given or established.  Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, he saw himself as better than others. He forgot God had given him everything; and when we do that, brethren, we become unthankful – because we just take things to ourselves.  We forget where we came from.

Humility is a gift from God, something that we should ask for, because if we have the gift of God, have humility, life is easy because we can see ourselves in our true spiritual condition, our true physical state – we’re created, we are hostile – and then we can be thankful for everything… and I mean everything!  …every single thing!

…you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour: I cast you to the ground, I lay you before kings, yet to have happened, yet to be fulfilled, that they may gaze upon you.

So holy righteous character cannot instantly be created in any being that is given independent thought and personage.  The way one lives life is always a matter of choice.  So here we see this angelic being choosing to go against God.  There is no way to reconcile this spiritual relationship of the angelic realm; so Satan and the demons cannot be reconciled because they’ve made free choices, they have set their mind and they have set it to be against God; so there is no reconciliation for them.  They were created for God, chose to go against: we are created against God but God has provided us a way of reconciliation.  Isn’t it a beautiful plan?  The Day of Atonement – a way of reconciling.  What great mercy for human beings worthy of nothing.

So there is no way to make them at one with God, those beings that have rebelled in the angelic realm.  God has given Satan authority and rulership on this earth.  Satan and his demons have been left on this earth for the purpose of supporting God’s plan for mankind – salvation.  He works against it, but in working against God’s plan he’s working for it, because it’s reconciling.  Isn’t it beautiful?  The fact that he can think that he’s against it and going to destroy it, but God uses that to reconcile, to bring us into His Family.  They in fact have been used to develop the very ones that will replace him and the other evil angels in authority and government on the earth – 144,000.  So for 6,000 years Satan has worked against God’s plan and God used that to reconcile 144,000 that are going to replace the very one that has been working against them.  Isn’t it a marvellous thing!  It is a beautiful thing when you understand that.

Satan will see the very thing he hates, that he despises; the 144,000 enter into God’s Family at Christ’s return.  He’s going to see it – what he’s worked against, what he’s tried to destroy.  He’s actually going to witness it, witness the resurrection of 144,000 when Jesus Christ returns to the earth.

So the next sequence in God’s plan of creation was that of mankind; after the rebellion.  God had refashioned the earth and placed physical life on it and placed man on it.  Man was created, of course, with a mind that was against God.  I won’t turn there, but I’ll refer to Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart, the mind of man, is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: now, I don’t advise you to go anywhere and tell anybody that.  You won’t get a good reaction!  …especially Catholics or Protestants or Hindu’s or Muslims… because what you’re really saying is that you’re against God.  They’re not going to accept it very well; and they can’t of course because God hasn’t called them to understand.  Because of this nature man would choose evil, or sin, as his way of being, his way of thinking.

Romans 8:7 – which clearly says, the mind is hostile to God.  Therefore mankind would need to be reconciled or atoned to God before he could enter God’s very Family.  God’s plan involves the very reconciliation of man, or reconciling of man, from one spiritual condition to another; from being against God, hostile to God, to a state of oneness, unity, atonement with God Himself.  God must reveal what His plan is through a calling. When humans see something that is spiritual... because to ‘see’ spiritually is about something that’s perceived in the mind.  It’s not to do with eyesight, it’s a perception in the mind.  We ‘see’ truth in the mind, not through our eyes.  We ‘see’ it in the mind.  The spirit of God connects with the spirit of man and we ‘see’ truth, we ‘see’ God’s plan.

So in seeing this we begin, once called, (repentance, received God’s spirit), Satan and the demons identify God’s people.  He knows that he has already deceived the world!  They’re already deceived.  But as we come out of deception Satan works hard to continue to deceive us; and he broadcasts to our weak human nature thoughts and attitudes so that we will then turn back to being against God.  And that is Satan’s great power – the power of deception; because he deceived a third of the other angels and they agreed with that deception.  So we are called out of that very deception.

The Day of Atonement is also about Government and the replacement of government, Satan and his demons.  The removal of Satan and his demons from an appointed role of the rulership of this earth.  Jesus Christ has been appointed to represent the Government of God as King of kings and Lord of lords.  Jesus Christ has been appointed as High Priest of God for the set purpose, that is, to be the sacrifice of reconciliation.  So that’s what Jesus Christ was appointed to, that was His role – Passover.  The Day of Atonement points to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ which enables us to be atoned/reconciled to God.

So there’s a lot more about the Day of Atonement than you first read.

I want to just quickly go into an aspect about the high priest.  Atonement is about Jesus Christ our High Priest spiritually removing Satan and his demons from the influence and control over man.  So we have a High Priest.  The Day of Atonement also pictures the final removal of Satan and reveals how mankind can be fully reconciled to God.  Part of God’s plan in saving mankind, reconciling him, was about setting up a physical high priest under the Levitical priesthood.  So the physical would point to the spiritual.  We know about Aaron.  This physical high priest, appointed by God (Aaron didn’t choose it – appointed by God); Moses was told, “Tell your brother Aaron, ‘This is what you’re going to do’…”  This physical high priest, Aaron, would carry out his duties on a physical plane, but in truth, these actions pointed to the greater, the spiritual that God’s Son Jesus Christ would fulfill.  Aaron was appointed by God as high priest of physical Israel.  He came from a single tribe/family, that being Levi.  So Levi was the priesthood – Aaron high priest.  Other family members, including two sons, were priests.  Jesus Christ has been and is appointed as High Priest of God after the order of Melchizedek, which we understand, (there’s sermons covering that), and He would carry out His duties on a spiritual plane.

From Levi, the same family as Aaron, priests of God on a physical level would fulfill the duties of the physical priesthood.  So there was other work to be done.  Okay?  Not in the Holiest of Holies, but other work the priests had to do.  They were servants of Israel, servants of God, had to carry out these duties of sacrifices.  They would serve God in a part of the physical tabernacle/temple when no one else was allowed to enter – only the Levites.  Aaron was only allowed to enter into the Holiest of all.

This points to the same event.  Jesus Christ as High Priest has entered into the Holiest of all.  He is with God the Father; but the other Family members, begotten sons of God, when they are changed to be in the Family of God will not enter into the Holiest of all, but they will fulfill the role of service the same as the family of Levi.  The 144,000 sons of God, as the same Family as Christ, from the same Family – Christ dwelling in them, would be like Aaron’s sons and fulfill the role of the spiritual priesthood.  Now the priesthood, priests, teach.  So the 144,000 under Jesus Christ as High Priest will teach; will serve.  They will assist reconciliation.  Isn’t it a beautiful picture?  The 144,000… because if you look at it, Jesus Christ for the last 2,000 years has been doing the work of Pentecost, reconciling 144,000 to be in God’s Family.  Then when the 144,000 enter into God’s Family, they then (once Satan is removed), can begin to reconcile the next group to be part of the second resurrection.  So the work continues, but it’s easier for the next group because the deceiver has been removed.  Truth can be taught and not the counter-action of deception.  So it’s going to be much easier for people born during the Millennium because the broadcasting of deception will cease; but the 144,000 can help assist Jesus Christ in the reconciliation.

Revelation 1:4 - John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you, and peace from Him, God the Father, who is, who was, and who is to come; and from the seven spirits who are before His throne; And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, the first to enter into God’s Family; the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

Verse 6 - And has made us kings and priests to His God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  So this work continues.  It is Jesus Christ, under the authority of God the Father that is making kings and priests – the 144,000; the work of Pentecost, priests to His God.  The 144,000 will serve God in the process of reconciling mankind.

Jesus Christ has been appointed to the role of saving mankind, reconciling them.  Jesus Christ has been appointed as the High Priest, the Head of God’s Church for the purpose of bringing those called to His Father into His Family, reconciling them to God.  It’s an ongoing process.

Hebrews 2:17 - Therefore in all things, He, Christ, had to be made like His brethren, human, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest. He was made human so that He would be our High Priest, so that He could be Passover, so that He could provide a way so that sins could be forgiven; and God the Father appointed Him to that role.  …That He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation/reconciliation for the sins of the people. So that was the purpose.

Hebrews 5:1 – Now this of course is covering the comparisons between Leviticus 16 and Jesus Christ as High Priest. Most of Hebrews is discussing temple sacrifices, the change from the physical to the spiritual, about the high priest and what role Jesus Christ fulfilled.  And there’s a lot of detail in there; and it covers it rather incredibly if you look at it from spiritual eyes, because you look at Leviticus 16 and all those physical aspects are pointing to spiritual, which here Paul reveals in Hebrews the explanation of them.  Hebrews 5:1 – Now he talks about physical referring to the spiritual - For every high priest taken from among men, Aaron onwards, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sin: so that’s the role of the priesthood, the high priest in particular. And no man takes this honour to himself, and it’s something we all can note; that the reality… this honour is not taken to ourselves, the ministry, but here Jesus Christ did not take this honour to Himself – He was appointed to this role; and no man takes this honour to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.  So it’s not a self-appointment like the governments of men; it is set up by God.  God sets up the structure.  God chose Jesus Christ as High Priest.

Verse 5 - So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest; but it was He/God who said to Him/Christ, You are My Son, today I have begotten you.

Verse 6 - As He also says in another place, You, talking about Messiah, are a Priest forever according to the order/manner of Melchizedek. This role of service to God.  Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with fervent cries and tears to Him, to God the Father, who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear; Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered;  And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him; so it is through Jesus Christ, who is the author of salvation… you know the purpose of life man doesn’t understand or know.  We sit here for the purpose of life, to be a dwelling place for God the Father and Jesus Christ.  And if we are not that purpose, there is no purpose in life; it’s all of vanity, a waste of time like Solomon said… just a waste of time!  Because if we’re not here for salvation, what’s the point?  No, we are here because God ordained we would be here for the purpose that He desires a Family; and He’s created a way that we can enter that Family.  And this is the only way!  There is no other way!  We need to be created with a mind hostile to God, that God would reconcile us through Jesus Christ…that is salvation!  We are here for the purpose of allowing, not resisting or being against God, but allowing God to live His life in us, through us; to allow God’s spirit to flow through us out to others, to benefit others…not for selfish gain.

Verse 6 – And He also says in another place, You Messiah are a priest forever after the order/manner of Melchizedek…

Verse 10 - Called by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.  So we see the physical pointing to the spiritual.

Hebrews 9:1 - Then indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service, had physical rituals, and the earthly sanctuary. Had the temple. For a temple was prepared, physical, the first part in which was the lamp stand, the table and the showbread; which is called the sanctuary.  That took up two thirds of the tabernacle; and outside of that is the altar where the sacrifices actually took place.  So the altar is outside, but inside this part, the lamp stand, the table and the showbread.

Verse 3 - And behind the second veil, because you needed to enter the first veil to get into the first two thirds where the priesthood could go, but Aaron was the only one, of course, who could go into the last third.  And behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;  or the Most Holy Place, which is the last third; symbolic of the very throne of God. …Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot which had the manna, the manna of course being symbolic of spiritual food, the truth, the word of God; Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; the 10 Commandments; And above it were the cherubim’s of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; so here we have the cherubim’s wings over the mercy seat, symbolic of course of cherubim over God’s throne…of these things we cannot now speak  in detail.  So Paul now is trying to get to the point, not dwelling on all the physical side of it but trying to point to the spiritual component of it.

Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, so this is symbolic, the 144,000 doing the work in the future – yet to happen, into the Holy Place preparing/performing services. So these priests did that. But into the second part, The Most Holy Place, the high priest went alone once a year, today, the Day of Atonement was that day - not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the peoples sins committed in ignorance: so it’s about making a covering, enabling a reconciliation. The holy spirit indicating/revealing this, that the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while the first tabernacle was standing: So mankind did not have access to God; mankind did not at this point have access to God because the sacrifice, the true spiritual sacrifice, hadn’t taken place yet.  So man did not have access to God at this point.  Mankind could not have a spiritual relationship with God.  They would still, in their mindset, be against God.

Verse 9 – It was symbolic/a type for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect, in regard to conscience; so sin was not actually forgiven at that point in time.  It couldn’t do it; the blood of bulls and goats couldn’t do it.

So we know from, (I’m not going to turn there), in Hebrews 10:19, we know that we now can enter with boldness into the very throne room of God when we pray.  We have access to God.

Verse 10 – Concerning only with foods and drinks, various washings and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

Verse 11 - But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation; Not with the blood of bulls and calves, but with His own blood He entered the most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.  So once this happened, through the death of Jesus Christ, He has entered the Most Holy Place, God’s very throne.  It only has to happen once.  We no longer have to sacrifice and have those rituals that the high priest had to perform.  Those are gone, they have been done away with.

Jesus Christ through this sacrifice has made way now, a way of reconciliation.  We have the opportunity to obtain eternal redemption.  It’s hard for man to understand we actually need redeeming.  Man in his pride can’t see that he’s really that bad.  “What do you mean I need redeeming?  I do all these things and I believe and obey God…”  That’s man’s mind.  But there’s only one way for eternal redemption.  Jesus Christ has obtained it; there’s only one way and it’s through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Passover and understanding the Day of Atonement, what it’s really about, about being reconciled.

Verse 13 - For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh:  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Our minds must be changed.

Verse 15 - And for this reason He is the mediator of the new covenant, the new agreement, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgression under the first covenant, that those who are called, the secret to it all that man rejects: those who are called, may receive the promise of eternal inheritance.  Salvation.  There have been a group, 144,000 that are called and have been sealed, and have completed, in God’s eyes, the reconciliation.  Some are alive today; but in God’s eyes they’ve been reconciled.  Once sealed it’s done – Nothing can resist God’s plan!  When God sets it, it’s set!  The Millennium will be ushered in exactly as God planned it.  Jesus Christ will return exactly as God has revealed to the Church.  Nothing can resist the return of Jesus Christ; it’s set!  God is ALL MIGHTY; we are like cockroaches in comparison to God, honestly, in our minds.  The fact that we have the capacity to take any type of credit or glory to ourselves is just so disgusting it really should appall us, it really should, and if we even begin to comprehend the Almighty God and the great love He has, how dare we even think about taking something to ourselves – any credit for anything!

It blows my mind that I do it!  I appall myself sometimes because, whew, it can happen so easily, out of the blue.  If there’s anything; we have the capacity as humans to take credit for anything… anything… not even if it’s connected to us.  I know often at work I used to work with a name dropper and he couldn’t see that dropping names was pride; because see, by dropping a name you’re taking something to yourself.  I’m elevating myself; see, because I know ‘Tom Jones’.  Have you actually met him?  I have.  And I could see what this was all about because I saw it in myself, the times that I had dropped names; and it appalled me so much so that when people drop names it scars my mind because I’ve done it and I see it in other people in the world and now I’ve been so burnt by it that as soon as somebody drops a name to elevate themselves I tell you, it’s like a shock of electricity in me because I go, “Whoa!  That’s me! I’ve done that!” We should take nothing to ourselves; and it’s because we do not compare ourselves to the Almighty God in a right way, we just forget how great God really is.

Now going back to the actual high priest, physically going through what was required of him on the Day of Atonement, this Day of Atonement so long ago.  This was required, pointing to the future, pointing to us really, and how we can be reconciled. Leviticus 16:1 - Now the LORD God spoke to Moses after the death of his two sons, the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; And the Eternal said to Moses, Tell Aaron, it was not a suggestion; listen, Tell Aaron, now the word ‘Aaron’ is interesting.  The word is ‘light bringer’.  The word Aaron means ‘light bringer’ which I haven’t got time to go into, in that aspect of it, but it’s rather interesting.  Tell Aaron your brother not to come just at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil before the mercy seat, which is on the ark; lest you die.  Now you better follow these instructions; this is straight forward.  The reasoning is because it it’s all pointing to something, it’s pointing to the spiritual for the future.  So do it this way because it then fulfills the symbolism of what is going to happen in the future – God the Father’s Son, Jesus Christ.  …for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.  So the instruction is you do it exactly as God desires it, not as we think it should be done.  We should not be presumptuous to think that we might even begin to think that we know better than God on any plane of the truth.  God reveals the truth; we don’t need to go rehash things in our own thinking.  We should accept what God gives and don’t be presumptuous to think that we might know a little bit more than what’s being revealed; very dangerous territory.

Verse 3 – Thus Aaron, symbolic of Christ, shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and a ram as a burnt offering. He, Aaron, shall put the holy linen tunic, put on the holy linen tunic – now this is symbolic of righteousness, the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash and with the linen turban he shall be attired. In other words, righteousness.  Sin can’t dwell with God, sin cannot enter the Most Holy Place; righteousness can.  Jesus Christ the righteous can.  …these are holy garments; which we’re required to put on, by the way, spiritually; therefore he shall wash his body with water, and put them on.  And of course that’s pointing, also symbolism toward baptism which is the washing away of our sin.

Verse 5 - And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house. And that, of course, is pointing to the Church.

Drop down to verse 11 because it’s continuing on with the bull offering - And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house, pointing to the Church… okay?  The Church, the sin offering for the Church, and shall kill the bull as a sin offering which is for himself: so the physical high priest could be atoned, be reconciled, be brought into atonement, at one with God.

Verse 12 - Then he shall take the censer full of burnt coals of fire from the altar before the Eternal, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil: and I won’t go into it but it’s symbolic, of course, of prayers.  Jesus Christ representing us symbolically before God the Father. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Eternal, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony, lest you die:

Verse 14 - He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. So this is inside the veil, inside the temple.

Back to verse 7 – now going back to the two goats - And he shall take the two goats, and present, and that word means ‘stand’ them before the Eternal at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.  So this is outside the tabernacle that it’s done.  The two goats were to stand there.

Verse 8 – Then Aaron shall cast lots, two pebbles were cast, a use of systematically making decisions; and this is, of course, a way that God makes the decision.  Man can’t make the decision, God makes this decision.  So here the high priest asks God to make the decision to choose which is which.  God must reveal which one is going to be the sacrifice for sin, Jesus Christ, and which one is the azazel goat, okay?  Which is symbolic of Satan.  God has to reveal it!  Because the world can’t see Jesus Christ!  When the world looks at Jesus Christ today, the long haired man, they’re looking at a deception from Satan.  They can’t even recognize it because God has hidden it from them for a purpose.  It’s not their time yet.  But also, the world can’t see the azazel goat.  They can’t see Satan.

If you were to go to the average person and say, “You love God...  You’re keeping God in your thoughts and you love God; but God requires you not to be deceived, therefore you’re to get rid of the Easter eggs and the bunnies and the chocolate; and you’re no longer to have the fat man in the red suit trying to get down the chimney with the beard that scares the children – because that’s satanic.”  Yeah, they would not… you wouldn’t even mention the word ‘satanic’; but it is, it’s of the azazel goat, it’s deception at its fullest, deception.  So, Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats; one lot for the Eternal, and the other for the azazel.  And that’s symbolic of Satan.  And azazel is ‘one to be separated’.  The word means ‘one to be separated’.

Verse 9 - And Aaron shall bring the goat, the type of Christ, on which the LORD'S lot fell, because God the Father appointed Jesus Christ, selected… “That’s what I want.  This is My plan; Jesus Christ to be the Passover sacrifice for mankind.”  ...and offer it as a sin offering.  So Christ willingly offered Himself for the sins of mankind to cover their sins.

Verse 10 - But the goat on which the lot fell to be the azazel shall be presented alive before the Eternal, to make an atonement, ‘to cover, to purge, to make reconciliation upon’ is what it really means; over him, and let it go, in other words send it away, as the azazel, the one to be separated, into the wilderness. Into the uninhabited land.  This pictures Jesus Christ as High Priest removing Satan from mankind after His return.  That’s what that actually points to.

Go down to verse 15 - Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, bring it’s blood inside the veil, do with that the blood as you did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, before the mercy seat: So here we see the fulfillment of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all mankind.

Verse 16 – So he shall make atonement/reconciliation for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins: and so he shall do with the tabernacle of meeting, which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanliness.

Verse 17 - There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting where he goes to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, so here, or course, we know that it’s about Jesus Christ entering into the very throne room of God making reconciliation for the 2,000 years until His very return; that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and that for all the assembly of Israel.

Drop down to verse 20 - And when he, Aaron, has made an end of offering/atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: the azazel. Aaron shall lay both hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man:

Verse 22 – The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquity to an uninhabited land and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.  So Satan will bear his responsibility for sin.  Satan carries the blame for his sin and what he has done in deceiving mankind.

This Day of Atonement pictures an atoning process; the process whereby everyone can be reconciled to God.  The firstfruits, the 144,000 of God, after all 7 Trumpets have sounded are then fully atoned, reconciled to God.  Although they’re sealed now, they will be fully reconciled when changed at a resurrection.  Although the complete process has not been accomplished in the firstfruits, billions remain who are yet to be atoned, reconciled to God.  Every human being must go through the same process as those called in the first 6,000 years, those that make up the 144,000.  There’s no other way to enter Elohim; there’s only one way through Jesus Christ.

The Day of Atonement pictures that entire process.  Everyone must come into unity and oneness, must be at one with God.  Once called by God we are given the choice, the choice to be for God, or to continue to resist and be against God.

Being reconciled to God the Father by the blood of Jesus Christ begins with Passover; it begins with a calling.  It begins with a calling, coming out of deception, the gift of repentance.  We must repent; an ongoing process, come out of spiritual Egypt, be baptized and receive the impregnation of God’s spirit.  As we grow spiritually and overcome our nature God can begin to transform the mind, the way we think, and bring us into unity and harmony with His one true way of life.  After someone has successfully gone through this entire process, they will be able to be made fully at one with God via a change from mortal to immortal, from physical to spiritual into the Kingdom of God.  And that’s what we desire, that’s what we seek.  We seek the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is the Family of God.  It is spiritual.  It is composed of spirit beings who were once physical.  They were once physical… Jesus Christ was once physical.  They can be at one with God now for all eternity.  That’s what we desire.  There is one great obstacle which still stands in the way of total peace and harmony; that obstacle is Satan and his demons, remember that… is Satan and his demons.

The Day of Atonement also pictures the removal of Satan and his demons from the presence of mankind for a thousand years and then for all eternity.

In closing we’ll just go through Revelation 20.  So this great obstacle still exists.  The great deceiver is out to destroy you!  You should never forget it!  The great deceiver who’s deceived the whole world.  Outside of the Church of God – PKG, deception is the rule because Satan has control; he has the ability to deceive.  He’s deceived the whole world, scripture says.

Revelation 20:1- Then I saw an angel, and symbolically, previously, you look in Leviticus 16, it talked about a ‘fit man’; well, symbolic here is an angel.  Then I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit, this place of restraint, and a great chain in his hand. Now it’s not physical because a physical chain can’t be bound to something that is spiritual.  This is talking symbolically about restraint; ...he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil, and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, so God has reconciled the 144,000.  Now Satan is removed and now the reconciliation can continue for man.  More can be added into the reconciliation, more can be called, more can be added into the God Family, but it’s going to take a period of a thousand years of more ongoing reconciliation.  Mankind will not have to fight the self in the same way as the 144,000.  And the reason is, although you have to fight self, we do now, we have an adversary trying to destroy us; and therefore it’s harder because of the temptation, because of the pictures, because of the TV, the music, because of the movies, because of thoughts, because of words and language that are used.  All that deception… because of the falsehood it’s harder; because we have to come out of so much deception.

But in the future, a child born in the Millennium… what a marvellous gift; because you’re not born into deception.  Still got the mind of man, hostile to God that needs to be reconciled, but it’s different, the battle is not the same.  The battle is not the same because the deception is not the same.  Mankind will not have to fight the same, but still has to fight; has to fight the fight to the end.

Verse 3 - And he cast him into the bottomless pit, this place of restraint, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished; but after these things he must be released a little while. So there’s a thousand years of peace, a thousand years of rest, a thousand years where deception is cut off; the prince of the power of the air is cut off from mankind; and then the reconciliation can continue.

Verse 6 - Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God, we’ve read that before, kings and priests; they’ll be priests of God, servants of God teaching God’s ways, and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Verse 7 - Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison, and go out to deceive... now I won’t go into the rest of that… but the purpose of Satan is deception.  So there’s a period where he is going to deceive again, but in the end God intervenes through Jesus Christ again and Satan will be removed from mankind so that the hundred years can take place as the thousand years did.  Deceit will not be around, truth will be broadcast.  More will have entered the God Family.  What a beautiful time!

So Satan is coming to his end, his ability to deceive is going to cease; but there is a time of release where he can do it again, but it’s only short.  It’s only short and it’s all done for the purpose of reconciling man into the God Family.

So Satan’s plan to be against God is not going to succeed because God predetermined that he wouldn’t and that he couldn’t.  And to be against God, in actual fact, is insanity.  To be against the Almighty God is insanity, because nothing can succeed against God and His great ways.

I Corinthians 15:24 - Then comes the end, and I’m going to substitute the words here because of the wording of ‘He’; when Christ delivers the Kingdom to God the Father; when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.  For Christ must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.  For He must put all things under His Feet; God must put all things under Christ’s feet; but when God says, All things are put under Christ, it is evident that God who put all things under Christ, is exempt, God is outside of this of course, Now when all things are made subject to Christ, then the Son Himself will also be subject to God who put all things under Christ that God may be all in all.  In other words, everything will have been reconciled, be at one with the Almighty God.

~~~end

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