Atonement 2011

Ron Weinland

October 8, 2011

The Passover period and Atonement period are two biggies when it comes to having to deal with various kinds of problems and powers that exist in this world out there.  So, I don’t know how easy it was for all of you to get here today – hopefully it went well – because sometimes occasions like this (I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced it before Passover period or before a period like this), and even the Feast obviously at times... but God has blessed us with a day like this.  It means a great deal to have the Day of Atonement and all that’s pictured in it, but there is a being out there who does not like it one iota.

The Holy Days we are observing this year are most unique since this is the last they are being observed during this age of man’s self-rule.  And when Atonement is next observed a major portion of the meaning of this very day will have finally been fulfilled.  And so as with Passover services, again, just like with Passover there are a specific set of scriptures that we go through and it’s very similar year to year.  There’s very little deviation whatsoever.  A lot of times individuals could use the same recording and they’re going to hear the same scriptures.  Only on occasion will something be said in a different manner on Passover service – and the same thing is very true about Atonement.  A lot of the things we go through are very similar, especially as far as I’m concerned in going through it, because there’s one area of scripture that talks about this particular day, explains it in a very powerful way, and that’s in Leviticus 16.

Before we go there though I’m going to turn to Leviticus 23 to read the command of what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and so forth.  All of the Holy Days are listed here in Leviticus 23, and I know I didn’t mention it before services here, but everyone should be familiar with the Holy Day offerings and remember those.  You have different systems in every area of taking care of that.

Leviticus 23:27 - Also on the tenth day of the seventh month, which is today, there shall be a Day of Atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls; of course that expression there having to do with fasting and what it means to afflict our souls in the Old Testament, understanding what that means, a time that we don’t drink water (no liquid, in other words); we eat no food for the full 24 hour period.  And sometimes this is so ingrained in our mind that when people have other days of fasting they tend to think of it like Atonement in the sense that you have to do it from sundown to sundown.  You can fast at other times any time you want; for a partial day, for a full day, for more than that, or whatever it might be.  But with the Day of Atonement it is very specific; there’s a time you’re to start it exactly the way God says to do it and a time that it ends.

And again, it goes on to say...you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Eternal.  Again, all these verses, because of God’s plan, when it talks about making an offering, or offer an offering made by fire, we understand what that means for us spiritually.  Always, when you see that explained, for us spiritually it is what we are doing in our lives.  We understand that when we begin this process of being called into God’s Church, of conquering and overcoming, that we have to go through trials.  We’re willing to offer ourselves, whatever it is we have to go through we’re willing to fight the battle, to conquer, to overcome, to enter into that battle – that God makes it possible, but we have to be willing to do it.  And so this is a part of that: you have to be willing to offer yourself, to offer your life, to understand that things are not going to go well all the time, they’re not going to go easily.  God didn’t call us into a ‘cakewalk’.  He called us to change our nature, and that’s a hard thing to do.  (You may not be familiar with a ‘cakewalk’, maybe I shouldn’t have used that expression.)  It’s something that each individual has to do, has to decide, has to determine to do as they enter into baptism even, because from that point on you’re going to be tried.  You’re going to begin seeing things in your nature that are not easy and you have to enter into a battle that is not easy.  But it’s your willingness to do so.

Sometimes as time goes along, if we’re not careful, we begin to think that things should be going better in our life and why isn’t God doing this for me, and why isn’t God intervening here for me, and why do I have to carry this burden, why do I have to carry this trial?  Because there are things that God is moulding and fashioning in us that can be developed in no other way except through trial, fire!  It is not meant to be easy!  Because the reality is, because of your human nature, because of my human nature, there’s going to be some fire, there’s going to be some trial, over and over again, especially if you understand the importance of what God is moulding and fashioning in each and every one of us.  And the only way it can be moulded and fashioned is that we be brought to a point to see things that are not pleasant, and that means trial, that means hardship.  And so we go through a lot of hardship, we go through a lot of battles that we fight.

I think of the battle here just trying to get on the internet. There are things we constantly fight against and try to work with in life.  This is a small one, but it’s an aggravation.  There are a lot of things that aggravate in life that we have to fight against and we have to be careful of our attitude and our spirit as we go through those times that are not convenient, that are not pleasant.  Things don’t always run smoothly, and so we have to, again, bring our nature into subjection to a plan that God has, and that means change.  And that cannot happen without fire.

So again, this day pictures our willingness to fight our own human nature.  What an awesome thing!  ...in humility! Because that’s what fasting is about; it’s about humbling ourselves before God, a willingness to humble ourselves before God.  That’s why we don’t eat and that’s why we don’t drink anything, because we willingly cry out to God, we have a desire to God, to let God know we are willing to do whatever is needed in life.  We want to do that, we want to do what is right and most assuredly we want to fight against our pride and yield to humility.  Humility doesn’t come natural for us, it’s very unnatural.  And so God gives us an exercise like this, an opportunity like this that He puts power into, and it shows an attitude of whether we’re willing to fight that battle, and whether we’re willing to go through the trials that are before us, in humility.  Because it’s always a matter of fighting against pride, our nature that is filled with pride and haughtiness, of things that are so hard to see, and that we really can’t even begin to see them until we go through some fire.

We’re going to cover some things in the Feast this year, especially by the time we get to the 6th sermon that I’ll be giving at the Feast that’s going to put you to the test; and maybe even the 7th one will as well  - because there are things we have to look at in our life and realize we have a long way to go!  As long as you’re in this human body you have a long way to go.  We’re a long way from being godlike, in the sense of being in God’s Family.  There’s a gigantic difference being in this human body and being in the body that God’s going to give us.  And so it’s always working toward that goal, that desire of being a part of God’s Family, and then He gives us the blessing of the change to enable us once we’ve been tried, once He can look upon us and say, “Now I know you.” And we’ve been tried and we go through things necessary that He can make that type of comment, if you will, in spirit, that we can come to that point where we can be changed through a resurrection.

But as long as you’re in this human body you have to battle your human nature, and you will grow spiritually through time, so there’s going to be a great difference between the time you are baptized to the time it’s all finished.  And if there isn’t a great difference then such a person is in heap big trouble because it requires a huge difference in one’s life, and it doesn’t come about overnight.

This matter of fighting pride is something that’s so deep inside of us that God continually blesses us to help bring it to the surface. This thing of trial by fire, gold has to be heated up for the impurities to rise to the surface so that you can see them.  And so when you go through trials, and sometimes it’s just a matter, again, of our human reaction to things, it doesn’t take a whole lot to bring the impurities to the surface.  But a lot of times we don’t address them, we don’t face them, and so God will allow or even help us by bringing things to our attention, to bring things to the surface that we do have to address.  And that’s a blessing, because then we can seek to change in humility.

So this thing of fasting is a very powerful tool and a very powerful tool in the meaning of this particular day, one of humility, accepting and receiving God’s way of life and recognizing our way is just wrong.  Our ways are just wrong!  Man’s ways, they’re not good!  God’s way is the only way that’s good.  And the more we come in oneness... At-one with God – I love the word Atonement and how it’s spelled - at-one-ment; at one with God in essence, becoming at one with God.  It’s a process of fighting against pride, of yielding to humility, of yielding to God’s spirit working in our minds to change us from what we are to something different. The beautiful verses there in Romans 12 of this, of a mind that’s being transformed.  It’s a beautiful thing!  It’s a beautiful process that the mind, the very thinking process that we have can actually change through time; and it does.  But even though it changes and you become more at one with God you still have the human nature.  Human nature is always going to be a part of us because of being human, and so Paul goes on in Romans 7 and 8 and in through there and talks about this battle that we have.  But it’s our willingness to admit that and accept that whereby change is made possible.

So again here, Leviticus 23:28 - And you shall do no work in the same day: for it is the Day of Atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Eternal your God.  And Hebrews literally means here; ‘before the face of’ or better ‘in the presence of’. We come before the presence of God Almighty.  We are in His presence always anyway but there are times when that becomes more pronounced – when you pray, when you do various things, when you come together in a holy convocation you’re coming far more into His presence at that time because He is communicating with you in a very powerful way.  He hears us at other times, He works with us, He communicates, He helps us at other times in our life as well, in the mind, helps us to grow and conquer and overcome.  But at times like this, on Holy Days, on Sabbaths and so forth, that’s magnified many times over.  And in this day it’s magnified many times over.  It’s a very special day to God that He gave to mankind.  It’s an awesome day.  It’s an awesome Holy Day.  It’s not one that we generally in a physical way look forward to, but spiritually we should look forward to it, truly, because of all the meaning that’s contained in it, because of all that it means to God and having given it to us and the process that He’s going through to accomplish that.

Verse 29 - For whatever soul that shall not be afflicted, in other words, an individual who would not do so, and there are other words, to refuse to humble one’s self, and that’s a lesson too.  It’s not just during Atonement, it’s a matter of a willingness to humble ourselves before God in a continuing basis, a desire we have.  It’s a matter of spirit and attitude again and a willingness to sacrifice ourselves in trial, again, that comes out over and over.

So again, Whosoever should not be afflicted, not enter into that, in that same day he shall be cut off from among his people.

And then verse 30 - And whatever soul who does any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. You shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month, from even unto even shall you celebrate your Sabbath. And so, literally the words have to do with (and speaking of other locations as well), literally at the moment on the 9th day, at the end of the 9th day...  it’s like Friday, on the 6th day when sunset comes, from that very moment to the very end of the 10th; ...from even unto even you shall celebrate your Sabbath.

Let’s turn over to Leviticus 16 now because it is the story flow of Atonement and the great meaning that’s contained in this particular day.  Let’s go to the end of the chapter though first so that we know where all this is taking us; Leviticus 16:29 –it gives guidelines and direction to the high priest, to Aaron in this particular case, but to every high priest, what his duties are and what this particular day pictures.  And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, just what we read in chapter 23; and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourns among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, has tremendously powerful meaning because it’s about Jesus Christ, it’s about His work and what He’s been doing for 2,000 years concerning the Church.  ...and he shall make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that’s His desire!  That’s His desire; to bless us, to cleanse us, to help us to become clean, to get rid of the things that are unclean in our life, to make us presentable before our God, to help us so that we can be prepared for and be prepared for the time, when it comes, to be changed from mortal to immortal.

...to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Eternal.  And so this is a process that goes on, year by year, and candidly, day by day.  It’s an ongoing work through Jesus Christ, through what He has done for us, what He’s made available to us, and how He works with us in our life as well.  And it’s a desire He has, it’s the desire His Father has, and it’s the desire we should have, obviously, to be cleaned, because when we’re not God will not accept us, He will not receive us.  We have to be cleaned from our sin when we go before God.  That’s why so often when I mention about prayer I mention about how so often I begin my prayers – because I want it right up front, I want to be heard by God, I want to repent of sin, I want to repent of whatever I’ve done, said, thought wrong in any fashion or form, before I come into God’s presence at the time I’m coming into God’s presence.  I don’t want to wait until the end of the prayer because the petition, the prayer I have before God, I want to be heard.  And the reality is in our lives that it’s a reminder and it’s something we need to grasp and comprehend, that our sins cut us off from the flow of God’s spirit.  God will not be around sin!  He will not dwell in sin!  It’s an incredible thing to understand, and yet He does dwell within us because it’s because of our Passover and our spirit and our attitude toward God and our desire, that willingness, that desire.

It doesn’t take very long sometimes, you can leave prayer and it doesn’t take very long sometimes before you have said something or done something or whatever already.  Doesn’t take very long.  You might be quitting work or something and here you’ve found a few moments in your office by yourself, or wherever it is, or gone into the janitors closet before you take off to go home, and as soon as you get out there on the highway, sometimes it doesn’t take very long, attitude comes up, someone cut right in front of you....  Someone cut right in front of me today on the way here, coming down...you know how these two... I don’t know what it is like out here on this one main road that comes in off the freeway, but every once in a while you have two lanes, but then you get cars that are parked on the left side, so it really isn’t two lanes all the way.  It’s legal here to be able to park out there on that street, and so cars will whip up there and try to get in front of you.  Well, there wasn’t even any parked cars for him to avoid to want to turn into my lane so quickly.  Now, I don’t know if he looked in the mirror and just didn’t see me or what, but if I hadn’t been watching and if I had been going faster to pass or something, we would have had a crash right there today, coming here today.  And my thoughts weren’t real pleasant toward him – just to be real candid – I think I even said something.  It wasn’t cursing or anything of that nature but it wasn’t a kind thing about him, you know.  And those are the kinds of things, small that that may be, it’s still an attitude, and we have big attitude oftentimes, not just small things like that that happen on occasion.  And if you drive a lot it may happen on a lot of occasions because these things are constant out there in the world.

I’ve often talked about one of my pet peeves – walking – it doesn’t matter where I am it’s just getting worse and worse and worse.  I think with population, with cities that are growing like they are, and how we were walking down a sidewalk just yesterday.  We were walking in downtown Melbourne behind these four young guys and they’re taking up the whole sidewalk, and it’s busy, busy, busy, and all these people coming toward them, but will they, any one of them, move?  Finally one of them got over behind the third one.  And you think, “What’s wrong with you people?  You think...”  There’s such selfishness!  People don’t care about anyone else.  They don’t get out of the way of anyone else.  And because of that sometimes I have to watch my attitude toward people, toward selfishness, toward the way they act toward others; and it’s in society, it’s in the world.

And these are rather small things compared to things that happen within God’s Church that come to my attention over and over again, sometimes day by day, sometimes when my phone isn’t working well it doesn’t come that often...because that’s the way we are.  We’re human beings and we have problems, we have battles, we have difficulties, and it’s just the way it is!  And that’s fine, I understand, but sometimes we don’t see ourselves like we need to, we don’t grasp the importance, the magnitude, and how dangerous it is that we can cut ourselves off from the flow of God’s spirit and that He won’t dwell in us then, or He won’t answer our petition.

Verse 31 - It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and you shall afflict your souls, by a statute forever. Again, it is a very physical thing we do but it pictures a spiritual thing that we should do all the time; a willingness to afflict our souls.  It’s a matter of fighting against our normal human nature; because your normal human nature is not one that wants to go without food all day, that wants to go without drink all day.  I would loved to have had a drink of water when I woke up this morning.  It was dry in the air and my throat is dry and so my carnal human nature has been... normally I would have... but I willingly entered into a fast, with great desire on this particular day.  And so it doesn’t mean as much not to have it.

But that’s not our normal nature, is it?  To go without food all day and to go without liquid all day.  And it’s not our normal nature either to be humble, to seek humility day by day by day, to learn to loathe, to pray about, to seek out pride, to desire to conquer and overcome it so that we can indeed come before God on a continuing basis, so that we can interact with people on a continuing basis in a spirit of humility.  Because if humility prevails you will treat people differently, you will act differently toward one another. You will act differently toward one another in a family if humility can prevail.  Humility doesn’t always prevail; sometimes it doesn’t prevail very long at all, but that’s the battle we’re in, a willingness to fight such a fight.

Let’s go back here now to the beginning of chapter 16 and go through the flow of this.  Leviticus 16:1 - And the Eternal spoke unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Eternal, and died; And the Eternal said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron your brother, that he not come at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; so that he does not die: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. So God says He’s going to appear in a cloud upon the mercy seat at this particular time, on the Day of Atonement, once a year, and he has a specific job to do, a specific duty to do and certainly moved to do so now in a more meaningful way because it starts out the chapter talking about two who died because they didn’t serve God with the right spirit and a right attitude and a right mind, felt that they could do things kind of their own way, that some things perhaps that aren’t recognized or seen by others and they could have a short cut or whatever it might be to do things.  No, when it comes to God’s way there’s just one way of doing it – anything else is our way!  Anything else is our way!  And we have a lot of our way in our mind that has to be gotten rid of indeed.

So again, it was something that was to take place once a year.  It’d be good to pause here and just go over to Hebrews.  We’ll come back here in a moment; you want to hold your place here.  Hebrews 9:  because it discusses this in Hebrews 9 in a very powerful way in what Paul is covering here.

Hebrews 9:1 - Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances, in other words, ceremonies is what it’s talking about, various ceremonies of divine service, in other words, rites, rituals and the like, and a worldly sanctuary. So, we’re talking about the tabernacle. We’re talking about the work of the Levitical system here.  We’re talking about all the things having to do with the work that went by day by day and on Holy Days and on Sabbath and everything else that was given there, of things that they were to carry out in the priesthood.

For there was a tabernacle made; and it says, the first, in other words, the first area, wherein the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the sanctuary/the holy.  And so again here, it is a holy place.  The first section here is referred to as it’s a holy place and the work here that was taking place.

Verse 3 - And after the second veil, so there’s this veil within the temple here, the first two-thirds portion of it is this place here where this work was done day by day, but there was another section, one more third farther into it, and this is a part it’s going to describe now.  And it says, And after the second veil the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; or the Holiest of Holies; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubim’s of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. And so again here, it’s talking about this work that was done on the day we’re in today, the Day of Atonement.  That’s when he went in to accomplish this particular work.

And again here, all these things picturing, physically, God’s very throne where God’s presence is.  And so they went through physical rituals and physical ceremonies in a service to God and the high priest was able to go there.  But it pictured something far greater on a spiritual plan in the plan of God – of the High Priest.  It’s Jesus Christ!  The high priest had things in a very physical way that he pictured concerning the work of Jesus Christ; and it’s talking about Jesus Christ who was to go in before the presence of God for all mankind.  Here the high priest went in year by year, in the presence of God, for all of Israel, to make an atonement for all of Israel once a year.

Verse 7 - But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and He offered His own blood, the High Priest, Jesus Christ.  Says, ‘who became our High Priest’.  ...and for the errors of the people:  The holy spirit thus signifying that the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest, they went through something year by year, symbolically so, through a routine foreshadowing something that had not yet taken place.  And as it says here, signifying that the way into the Holiest of Holies...well, the way into the Holiest of Holies, into God’s presence, on a continuing basis is through Jesus Christ, through the blood of Christ, through His sacrifice, that we’re able to come before God, each one of us!  What an awesome thing to know that every time you pray you come in before God’s presence, that His desire is that you do so, His desire is to hear you, His desire is to work with you, to mould and fashion you, to teach you.  It’s an awesome process that we go through as we grow year by year by year, of things we learn and things we come to see in a greater way and its God that’s doing it all the time!  He’s the one that’s giving of His spirit in your mind to help you to become more at-one with Him, to have more of the same mind.

I think of that word in 1 John that has to do with ‘homologues – of the same mind’, of the same Word, in essence.  That’s what we’re talking about, coming into the unity and oneness with God.  It’s a beautiful process that takes a long time but we’re always dealing with this carnal nature along the way.

... while as yet the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; there was nothing happening with their minds.  God was not working with them.  God, only through time, in essence, working with people, the conscience and the mind – that’s what it’s talking about here - that before this God wasn’t working with them.  There were only a few in the first 4,000 years that God worked with, and then after the time of Christ when the Church began, because it has to do with working with the mind, moulding and fashioning the mind, the changes that have to take place in the mind.  But it has to go through a process of forgiveness of sin.  That wasn’t offered to the Israelites.  It’s an awesome story that we’re going to focus a little bit more on at the Feast this year, the Israelites and how God worked with them and why it was different and what it was never meant to be and all that it was meant to be.  It had limitations on it for reasons and for purpose; which I know we understand.  But there are things we’re going to focus in on, to grasp that in a deeper way, how God works with us and what His purpose is and what He’s doing, and why He’s doing it.

Verse 10 - Which stood only in meats and drinks, and different washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come a High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, the Body of Christ, what an awesome thing!  The Body of Christ, the Temple of God, that which God could begin to dwell in in a greater and more perfect way that was revealed after the time of Christ in the sense of working with the Church, an ongoing process there of building and construction that was taking place...by a more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; So again here, God is building that which has to do with the spirit, not that which is physical at all.

Neither by the blood of goats and of calves, but by His own blood He entered in once, once!  The high priest had to go in every year, Jesus Christ did it once.  It says, He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. You know when that was?  It was before anyone could touch Him after His resurrection.  It has to do with that moment in time when He was able to go before God, present Himself for what He had done, the sacrifice for all of mankind, the Passover lamb for all of mankind.  And so this is the occasion here where He entered in once on this particular moment in time for all mankind – both past and future as we’ve talked about, as we talked about even during Pentecost.  ...having obtained eternal redemption for us. Beautiful verses here.  Says a lot more when you continue on there but again, what an awesome process.

When I go through things like this they’re so deeply inspiring.  Every year!  Every year I go through Passover and the same verses, the same things we focus upon, but the meaning contained in them should be very moving to us indeed.  And going through a story like this in Leviticus 16, the plan of God and how He works with us and how He’s bringing all this about should be a very moving thing to us, indeed.  And if it isn’t, if it ever gets to a point where it’s not, we’re in big trouble spiritually, we truly are.  Because every year these things should mean more and more...because every year you should have grown more and more and more; and the more you grow the more meaningful, the more fulfilling, the more inspiring, the more exciting these things become.  It’s an awesome thing, because of God’s spirit!  How do you describe it?  How do you explain it?  It’s something you live.  It’s something you grow in.  And the more you grow the more you experience this, the more exciting.  For me, this Day of Atonement is more exciting than last year – that’s how it works.  The meaning of it becomes greater in your mind.  Why?  Because of this atoning process, becoming more at one with God.  The more you become at one with God the more filled, the more fulfilled your life is, the more inspiring life becomes.  It truly is!  It’s not a matter of something that’s repeated!

We can go through things and yet God says, “Repeat this!  Every year repeat it - repeat it - go through it again and again and again!”  Why?  Because you grow; you grow in it.  It becomes greater to you!  Something that comes to mind...I think of individuals that got tired of hearing Mr. Armstrong.  I heard the comments that people would make – Mr. Armstrong starting out in a sermon about two trees as an example, and people would start getting sleepy.  You’d see it!  “Here we go again...”  I heard that comment!  “Here he goes again; he’s going to talk about those two trees again!”  And so people just shut him out!  And what God was giving, truly, if people could see it, was a greater understanding of those two trees, of understanding why God gave it, what it all meant.  And he would magnify it then!  Through God’s spirit working in him, he would magnify and add more to the story.  That’s what we do.

That’s why when I speak about certain things at times and we go through certain Holy Days, we all receive different things because of where we are spiritually!  We can’t all receive the same thing!  That’s a reality!  And so you’re going to receive things at different levels and different places because of where we are.  This is just a real fact of life - it’s the same thing as with a physical life; a one year old is a one year old and you can communicate with them on a certain level.  A one year old in the Church doesn’t think they’re a one year old in the Church, they think they’re older!  It’s a common flaw, a common weakness of the human mind, but it’s something you have to go through.  I was that way; you are that way whether you know it or not!  That’s the way we all are.  You. Can’t. Help. It.  It is the way it is.  And you can’t be three until you’re three, you can’t be ten until you’re ten, you can’t be a teenager until you’re a teenager.  And the difference in the way you think during that process is different.  It’s not a fault, it’s not a weakness, it’s a reality of a growing process.  So we accept that and understand that; and if you really understand that there’s another sermon at the Feast that’s going to help you to understand more.

That’s an exciting process to me because I’ve been blessed to live it.  I’ve been blessed to go through things and see things and learn about how we are and how change comes about and how going through these things makes it greater and greater.  I am sometimes just dumbfounded how that you can go through certain scriptures, read them, and all of a sudden there’s something new that God adds to it because of something else in the Bible that He’s magnified and made clearer.  And it just continues to add to it making it greater and greater and greater, and if we understand that that never ends.  Life becomes more inspiring the farther along you go.  Being in God’s Family is something we can’t even begin to grasp the fullness, the excitement that’s coming.  We can in part the longer we’re in God’s Church and the more we’ve experienced that in our physical life.

Verse 4 – And he shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. So everything was very orderly, very meticulous.  It has to do with an attitude of mind; of how do we go before God?  How do we think about God and coming into God’s presence on a Holy Day, on the Sabbath?  When we come before God, do we think about those things? Do we pray about those things?  Do we look forward to those things and pray that God be with us and strengthen us in mind and spirit, and to bless us with what we receive?  And so it has to do with an attitude of mind, of wanting to do things God’s way, meticulously so, in our life.  And yet we look at our lives and realize we fall so short of that, but thankfully we can fight that fight and ask God for the help and the trials necessary to change, to grow, to become more at one with Him, and always ask for that in mercy.

And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. So again here, all these things having meaning and purpose in what they pictured.

And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. To be at one.  You know, Jesus Christ was at one with His Father in an awesome way from the beginning, as He grew and matured as a young man until the time He finally began His ministry and the things that God gave Him to do.  He lived a perfect life concerning the law and concerning how to live.  He had a mind of obedience to God that is difficult for us to grasp and comprehend, that was with Him from the very beginning in very powerful terms, of things He could see, of things He knew, of things that were just in Him.  And He lived and responded accordingly, by choice, by great desire, not just choice, a burning desire within Him.  He knew who He was.

And so again here, Aaron was to go through very specific things to picture something that has been done for us, because it says here, in essence, he lived a certain kind of life; or the high priest here had to do certain things to atone for himself.  Jesus Christ lived that right life to be our Passover and to give of Himself, and yet being in a human body still cried out, “Father, if there be any other way take this cup from Me.”  Says a lot.  It wasn’t easy.  Because He knew and He could see things in a way, in scripture, in the word of God, that we can’t.  It was so real to Him in ways that we cannot grasp because it goes far beyond what we’re able to acquire or come to, if you will, in this human body in our human life.  We experience things at different times, in essence, a spiritual closeness with God, filled with God’s spirit, the blessing of being able to see things that are inspiring and exciting to us at various times, but Jesus Christ had this continually.  And when He knew of scriptures, when He read of scriptures, He knew; He knew what they were.  When it talks about the various things He had to go through in Isaiah, He knew what He was coming up to, but it was so real in His mind it was like experiencing it already.  It was so real in His mind, what He was going to go through, that it said He perspired and blood came through it because of what He could see, because of what was in His mind, because of the reality and the realness of it.

And so again here, “Father, if there’s any other way, take this cup from Me.”  What we go through isn’t always pleasant, but we go through it.  As we go forward in the next few months we really have no concept of what it’s going to be like, but I know it’s going to be much greater and far more difficult than what you can comprehend – no matter what happens you are going to be tried to the depth of your being!  Do not think that you won’t be!  No matter what happens in this world, no matter how bad things are, you’re going to be tried.

And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Eternal at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Going through a process of doing it exactly the way God said to do it, and making, as I said here before – Christ lived that way of life – to do it for Himself but to do it for His House, the Church, the Body of Christ that was to come later.  All these things are contained in this as we go through it.

And so the high priest took these two goats, because these have representation as well, because one is about Jesus Christ again.  There are several things pictured in the high priest and in the offerings that are about Jesus Christ, and also another being, we understand, concerning Satan.

Verse 8 - And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Eternal, and the other for the azazael. I hate the word ‘scapegoat’ and how that it’s put into scripture here.  Satan’s a very cunning being, makes it sound like...you know, here’s somebody that got the blame that shouldn’t have all the blame.  That’s kind of the way I think of the word ‘scapegoat’.  Maybe you don’t think of it the same way.  It’s like somebody’s pinned something on him for us to get by, or get away from it.  And you think, “What a sick thing!”  He’s perverted, twisted so many things.  He’s been instrumental in twisting and distorting scripture and things that have happened through time, and here’s another example of it because this is about him, the azazael, ‘the one that’s to be separated’.  That’s what it means in Hebrew, ‘the one of separation’ or ‘one to be separated’; and so it’s the azazael which is about Satan.

And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Eternal’s lot fell, all awesome here.  Aaron shall cast two lots on the two goats, one lot to the Eternal and one for the azazael; What an incredible story!  Everything that God puts in here, everything He has given to us describes things so awesomely so.  Here’s an example now of lots that are being cast because it’s a matter that God’s going to show which is which, who is the azazael and who is Christ, which one is which.  You don’t know!  And so they had to cast lots, which goat was to represent which one. And the reality is true in life – until God gives you the ability to see, to know who Christ is you can’t know Him.  We have a whole world of around two billion people that profess Christianity in one degree or another and they don’t know who the true Christ is because God hasn’t shown it to them yet.  And the reality is they have the wrong one, they have the azazael.  That’s what they’ve accepted; they’ve accepted that which is false and they don’t understand that, they don’t know that until God gives it to them.  The reality being, until God gives it to you you can’t know it, and that’s what is taking place here.  The casting of lots had to do with asking God to intervene, to cause them to fall, to cause them to be in such a way to know which was which, which one is the azazael and which one is supposed to be the other that pictures Jesus Christ.  Satan’s a powerful being, done a great deal of deception on this earth, truly has.

And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Eternal’s lot fell, it’s His Son, it’s about His Son.  ...upon which the Eternal’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. The willingness of what God was willing to do with His own Son who lived a perfect life, His own Son who is begotten directly by Him, of Him, of His mind, of His being in ways we’ll learn more about in the future, of some things we can’t fully grasp until we are literally in God’s Family, to be candid, because we are limited, truly limited as a human being with a human mind even with the impregnation of God’s spirit, no matter how many years of growth we might have in time.  ...and offer him for a sin offering. Again, representing Christ.

But the goat, on which the lot fell for the azazael, shall be presented alive before the Eternal to make an atonement ‘over’ him, as the word is, and to let him go as one of separation, which is what it means, one to be separated into the wilderness.  And so one is to be offered up, His blood spilled, and the other one is to be let go in the wilderness.  The one’s bloods spilled for a purpose and for a reason – speaking of Jesus Christ.

This is beginning to be broken down into further details now.  It goes back and refers to verse 6 here in verse 11.  It says, And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, so we’re going back up, it’s talking about this part of the verse now, which is for himself, and he shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, beautiful verses here of what Jesus Christ went through in order for what God was going to build upon Him and give to Him, in and through Him, the Body of Christ, the Church of God that was going to be established that had to do with, again here, the Body of Christ; and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Eternal, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, again here, beautiful picture; incense always used...talks about in Revelation the incense that is there, that goes up before God – they’re the prayers of the saints, that pictures the prayers of the saints.  We understand that incense is about prayers and that the aroma, that smell, that perfume, that kind of scent that came up from it when it was cast there and this cloud of smoke that formed, and it was picturing something that went up before God that was sweet smelling.  That’s what the scriptures talk about; and so it’s something that God enjoys receiving from us, the prayers.  As we grow and He sees us struggle and He works with us and has compassion on us and yet at times chastens us for our own good to help us and corrects us and leads us and guides us and directs us and helps us to grow in a spirit of humility and helps us combat the spirit of pride and helps bring those things to the surface and yet has great compassion on us through the process and gives us incredible mercy.  God is so merciful to us, truly is.  The more we grow in that, the more we understand that, the more blessed we truly are.  Mercy, mercy, mercy – how important it is; that we not just receive it but that we give it as well.

And he shall take a censer, again, full of coals from the fire off the altar and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil: so again, that example of beating them small, of not just having a general prayer.  That’s why I do not like, have not liked most of my life, prayers having to do with a meal morning, noon and night, because they’re repetitious, they’re not beaten small, they just become generalities and if you’re not careful what happens is you get into that habit in the rest of your prayers in life and you go through a repetition.  Now, we’re going to repeat some things, obviously, in our prayers in our life, but to get into something where you could write it on a piece of paper and just go before God...it’s kind of like the wheel thing, you just spin this wheel and it’s prayers going up before God.  There they go again – shooom... same thing, same thing...there you go... beads; there you go, they’re saying these beads again, going around the chain of beads and saying the same thing.  Doesn’t mean a hill of beans on the beads.

No, we’re to cry out to God and we’re to open up.  That’s a hard thing sometimes for human beings to do, to open up.  God knows you, so open up!  But sometimes it’s just hard for people to open up, and that opening up has to do sometimes with just being honest, being truthful, and sometimes it’s difficult for us to be able to be truthful; but God knows you inside and out.  He knows the deepest things in your mind of why you do the things you do that you don’t even understand why you do it, but He knows.  But He desires that you do that so He can work with you through the power of His spirit to change you.  It’s a beautiful process!

And so through that process, the more we’re able to do that, the more we’re able to open ourselves up before God, the more He can work with us.  And God loves that because that’s His desire, to change us into His Family, to help mould and fashion something within us to come into His Family.  Everything from the very beginning of time has been about His Family and His great love and His great desire to bring you into it.  And sometimes we just don’t grasp the magnitude of God’s love for us, for each and every one of us, how much He loves us.  And the reason being is because we limit that by our own human understanding.  But as we grow He helps us to grow in understanding His love and it becomes greater and greater and richer and richer; and a lot of it is accomplished, the relationship there, is accomplished through beating small your prayers, refining them, and that what you say and what you talk about and what you pray about before Him.

And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Eternal, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, so that he doesn’t die; that he die not: What an incredible picture here.  ...so that he doesn’t die; showing that there had better be a relationship with God or the reality is what happens to us is we can die spiritually.  We must have a relationship with God.  We must have a prayer life with God.  There must be communication with God, indeed, in our lives, and we must go before Him, before the mercy seat of God.  He is very merciful, but there are things that are expected of us in life if we want to grow and if we’re going to be of a humble spirit and exercise humility before God.

And he shall take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Mercy seat, mercy seat, mercy seat... what it’s called, how it’s referred to again and again.  God wants us to understand where He sits; it’s one of mercy.  It’s important to understand, it’s important to grasp.  I understand it now in a magnified way because of what we’ve gone through already at this end-time, and it’s a deeper appreciation of it than ever before, and I’m starting to get more why and the picture of it, why, and how we think differently as human beings so often and what God wants us to come to grasp about Him in a far greater way.

Verse 15 - Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, and so now coming back to that which represents Jesus Christ.  Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring the blood within the veil, again here, these things are beginning to picture a work that Jesus Christ has been doing for 2,000 years, because this is what we do when we go before God and ask for forgiveness; it’s about this blood that is there for us, that was shed for us.  It’s about an atonement and a reconciling process that takes place in our lives that we have because of Jesus Christ.

...and bring his blood within the veil, and do with the blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: That’s God’s great desire toward us, to give us mercy.  It’s to be merciful to us; we just have to open up before Him so that He can work a work in us.  We have to be truthful with Him so that He can work a work in us. The ability to be truthful?  An awesome thing, an awesome thing to grow in – truth, being truthful, being truthful to yourself, being truthful with what you know.

Verse 16 – And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: it has to be there because the reality is we have sins.  We have sin in our life that we have to fight and conquer and overcome on a continuing basis, and God knows that, He understands that.  It’s our willingness to do that and not give up the fight.  Oftentimes people talk to me about various battles they’re going through and so forth, and the main thing I tell them is to keep up the fight.  Because what I’ve seen in God’s Church so often is that people quit fighting.  When you quit fighting, when you let down in your fighting against your own human nature, that’s when you’re in big trouble, when you no longer want to see what needs to be changed in your life and a willingness to admit it and acknowledge it before God, “This needs to be changed.”  Because what’s down deep inside of us as human beings oftentimes is that we kind of want to level out and be who we are, where we are, because the change is hard.  When you have to acknowledge certain things of how you talk, how you treat people, how you think, what you do, and you realize those things have to be changed, you have to keep fighting...you just do it.  You have to humble yourself before God and desire that in every way.  Anything less and you’ll fall away – and I’ve seen that to where I ache because of it.  Still do – of all the people who’ve gone by the wayside, of all the people who quit the fight, quit the battle; and the bottom line knowing I’m not one lick, in a sense, different from them except for God has a purpose and a calling that He gives to us and has been merciful for a purpose in what He’s given to me and what He’s given to you.  Otherwise we wouldn’t even be here.

...and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, What an awesome thing!  ...there shall no man be in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement for the holy place until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for the congregation of Israel.  It truly is a full picture, because the Day of Atonement is about the first great phase of God’s plan that’s pictured in Pentecost, if you will, in the firstfruits, and it continues on in the Millennium and in the Great White Throne, but the first phase of it is pictured right here, until He returns/until He comes back out, from the tabernacle.  He’s been there for nearly 2,000 years now and He’s been working with the Church, with the Body of Christ.  And there’s that process He’s going through until He finally comes to this earth to fulfill the job of Messiah, to be King of kings.  And so this is a part of that process of Atonement that we’re covering right now, that we’re almost there.  This day of Atonement is so close to being fulfilled now in what is being discussed right here, of an atoning process that there will have been by this time now, 144,000 who have been fully atoned to God that will be coming back with Him and returning with Him.  Those were human beings on this earth – mankind - and now He’s able to be with them again, but now in a different form; and with the rest of mankind who will have the opportunity of becoming a part of the Body, the Church.  And then this process starts in for them just like it does when we’re called and it continues on until it’s complete, until it’s all finished.  But this is a beautiful phase of it right here on the Day of Atonement.  It brings that into the picture here.

And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and has made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. Again, the first phase of God’s plan when He returns to this earth as King of kings.

And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Eternal, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. Again, an ongoing process of the need for cleansing that continues on, because the process isn’t over yet.  Now it begins to work with the entire world and finally in the time of a great resurrection.

Verse 20 – symbolizing the return of Christ to earth.  And when he has made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: and so candidly this goes forward in time because it’s a process that goes beyond.  It’s the work that continues on, it’s not just a work of 2,000 years, it’s a continuing work, and when he has made an end, it says, of the reconciling of the holy place, because again here, it’s explaining something that happened, that He was inside, He did His work, the role, the responsibility that God gave to Him, then He came back out of the Holiest of Holy’s and He did the sprinkling of the blood, the seven times and so forth; and so God’s work continues on and we see it, the things that take place during the Millennium then, and again here, the work that has to be done on earth and the work that was done for the last 6,000 years is now a period of 7,000 years.  And when he has made an end of the reconciling of the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat; the azazael.

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat/upon the azazael, and confess over him the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, and all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and he shall send him away, talks about here, sending him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: This is picturing a very specific thing that takes place here, of what God is going to do through Jesus Christ with Satan.

And I do need to make a correction here; the first phase of this takes place at the beginning of the Millennium, obviously, because it does refer specifically here to the reconciling of the holy place and preparing that which has to take place on into the thousand years.  But this specific thing here is something that is acted upon now because this is the timing of it, this is when it has to take place, after Jesus Christ has returned, and it says at that time he brings the live goat and at this point here confesses over him the sins...  It’s not a matter that he is responsible for their sins, that he did the sin, but he is responsible for leading mankind into sin, to stirring up mankind, for continually fermenting these things and deceiving mankind and the things that he has been responsible for, and indeed because of all of God’s plan as we talked about in last year’s Feast, because of everything that has taken place through time; it being necessary that there be a being like this and the things that he has done and because of what he did that God is able to work with mankind to bring them into His Family.  But again, this being chose these things on his own as all human beings have chosen and are responsible for their sins.  So it’s not a matter that people aren’t responsible for their own sin, but it shows his responsibility too in what he did.

So it says, and they shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness; And the goat shall bear upon him/shall carry upon itself, as the word is here, all the iniquities into a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.  The word is azazael, ‘one to be separated’.  He’s to be separated from all mankind; and there are some things we’re going to touch upon at the Feast this year that’ll even add to some of this in a greater way. This being has done what he’s done for so, so long.

This pictures a separation, it doesn’t picture what we looked at at the Feast last year, which I think is good that we look at again here in Ezekiel 28, because he is not a happy being.  He’s about to be separated for a thousand years from all human life, in the sense that he can no longer broadcast.  The demons can no longer broadcast.  They can no longer influence people in a wrong way.  I can’t even begin to comprehend how great that’s going to be for this earth, that those broadcastings aren’t even going to be around anymore.  And so that picture there of separating this goat in the wilderness to wander...he’s going to wander, in essence, in a spiritual way that we can’t fully grasp and comprehend, of something that is a torment to him, of not being able to torment others, of not being able to influence others.  He isn’t going to have that ability, and perhaps even within that spirit realm.

I don’t understand that angelic part of that realm that sinned and they became demons.  He became Satan, Lucifer did.  We can’t understand some of those things, God hasn’t given those things to us to be able to fully comprehend and grasp what happens there.  Perhaps amongst themselves no influence.  Don’t know – sounds like it, we just don’t fully understand how that works.  But he is tormented because he cannot harass, broadcast, deceive, twist, distort, nor possess in human life as these beings like to do.  That’s what they like to do, they like to possess the thoughts, the ideas; they like to be able to manipulate, perversely so, human life, to tinker with, to toy with.  It’s some kind of perverted, sick game with them, whatever it is they do in all the disturbed, sick things that they do.  Thank God that’s all going to come to an end!

That’s why I love these verses over here in Ezekiel 28, because Atonement’s going to be accomplished without him being around.  Atonement during the thousand years when he’s not around is an awesome process of what mankind is able to go through at that time.  Now they have 6,000 years of human history and we’re living the last part of it, and it wraps everything up in a short period of time.  That’s why this era, this period of time, this short period of time is going to be one of the greatest examples and lessons of what mankind has been like, a great witness of what 6,000 years has been on this earth with mankind – it is being lived in our lives within the Church right now and what we’re getting ready to go through as well.

That’s why I talk about Laodicea as often as I do, because it’s going to be talked about a lot during the Millennium!  Just the period of Laodicea, to remind people, because now they have that history.  Look at the first 4,000 years!  Before Jesus Christ came along there wasn’t a whole lot of history.  There were things written, but not on a spiritual plane for those who were being worked with. God worked with them in a unique individual way.  But by the time that Jesus Christ came along, all those things took on a greater purpose and meaning and light was shed upon them in a way that had never been there before.  Jesus Christ illuminated those things.  He talked to the disciples about it but the disciples didn’t understand it all until finally the day came, on Pentecost they received God’s spirit and now they were able to see things in a way in the Old Testament they never grasped the magnitude of before.  It’s that building process that becomes more exciting as you go along.  Even though Christ was with them and talked to them about those things they understood only to a very low menial level, not on a high spiritual plane in any fashion or form until the Day of Pentecost.  Then all of a sudden these things came flooding upon them!  And you read about what Peter said.

You can go through and read those things and you think about the transition that took place at that moment!  All of a sudden he’s going back into talking about scriptures in the Old Testament, of everything that’s been fulfilled he gives, through inspiration, an incredible story here of what just took place with Jesus Christ and that it wasn’t about King David, because the Jews were confused in those things, they didn’t understand the scriptures.  And all of a sudden things took on a new light and a new meaning.  And what did this mean for the Church?  Well, a quantum leap forward for the Church; an ability to come together now in an organized fashion with more people being taught every Sabbath through the power of God’s spirit, everyone having God’s spirit, being able to be worked with, moulded and fashioned.  What an awesome thing that took place back there!  And finally, books began to be written, added to the Old Testament books.  Finally there were other things that the disciples were able to use and others in the Church were able to use to teach.  What a jump forward though!  You start going through some of the books here. You have the book of Acts that Paul writes and then he begins to write many letters like to the Corinthians, and to the Romans, all these things that are continually being added to it.

And so as people came along the more there was, the more opportunity they had, the greater benefit they had, the easier it was made for them!  Those who went before didn’t have the same benefit, didn’t have the same things!  And so we’ve gone through 2,000 years, 7 era’s of God’s Church now and all these things that are written in the history of it.  When I go through the history of the Church and think of things that people went through – when I go through Thyatira and see that long period of time that by the time you came to Sardis...and what that means spiritually – what can happen to human life the longer people are around and go through the motion of various things and the world is pulling away at you, tremendously powerful spiritual lessons there.  And especially then Philadelphia, and then Laodicea.  I’ve given sermon after sermon after sermon on those things, but these sermons aren’t going to quit; they take on a stronger light in the future, in the Millennium here - and Laodicea is one of the big ones.  For human beings to grasp, to comprehend – because no one ever had that experience before.  That experience wasn’t in Philadelphia; there was nothing in history you could look back at.

And now all of a sudden you can look back and you see the evidence of what happened to ninety-some thousand baptized members, all a part of the Body of Christ, and you see what human beings can do who have God’s spirit dwelling in them – it’s going to be a great teaching tool because they’re going to be warned over and over again.  Your common knowledge today is Jesus Christ is here on earth and 144,000 of the God Family are here on earth and the battle you’re going to go through is that it is going to be a common thing for you, but it should not be taken in a common manner.  And that’s going to be their battle, that they don’t take on a spirit of Laodicea, rich and increased with goods.  And so those things will be reminded over and over.

Satan won’t be around to twist and distort and to cause ministers to go off on different tangents, because any time someone starts to go off on a different tangent there are a lot of individuals out there in the God Family who can help them and keep things on a right track.  That’s another awesome lesson to have learned.  Mr. Armstrong, a very powerful personality, very strong in his preaching, that’s the only way to describe it – powerful, when he preached.  ...was not able of himself to control a Church of ninety-some thousand people, of hundreds of ministers.  You can’t do it!  It’s a matter of conversion.  It’s a matter of each individual’s relationship to God, of whether they are going to remain faithful to God or not.

And so it showed the shortcoming of that.  It showed a greater need for the very thing that God is bringing – 144,000 to govern the Church and the world.  The Church must have that because those things have to be taken care of quickly and speedily when someone comes along and some minister gets the idea that he’s going to preach something different, or whatever it might be, and it’s not going to be allowed.  To me that’s a beautiful thing.  So what happened during Laodicea is not going to be allowed to happen in the future.  What happened toward the end of Philadelphia is not going to be allowed to happen in the future. Some of the battles Mr. Armstrong went through are not going to be allowed to happen in the future. So people are going to have every benefit to grow, to mature, and to overcome.

And this being can’t be a part of it and he’s not very happy about it right now; he hasn’t been for some time.  We haven’t seen the end of that because there’s some nasty things coming when he gets stirred up, when he’s given power once again in a greater way, because he doesn’t have it yet, to do some of the things he’s going to do.  He has enough, in so many ways, but...

I’m glad to be able to read scriptures like this today; Ezekiel 28 on a day like the Day of Atonement, with joy, with thankfulness, with gratitude, knowing what this being has done.

Ezekiel 28:18 - You have defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your traffic/your trading/your merchandise, will mention a couple of those things at the Feast as well; going on... therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of you, it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold you. What an incredible thing that God has reserved, has saved until this time here, for a period of time; and candidly a part of it has to do with this being’s reaction to it.  Satan doesn’t know everything.  He hasn’t known everything in God’s plan of what God is going to do and how He’s going to do it.  There are certain things that have been given through time and have been given in the Church, and whatever’s been given to the Church he is able to know by knowledge.  He doesn’t grasp it spiritually, that’s why he continues to do some of the things he does.  And so his rage is being fuelled right now.  He has a perverted and sick mind and the reality is when people are of that kind of a mind and they have something to fuel them like this – this is a fuel that stirs him up – that will bring about greater things.

Verse 19 - All they that know you among the people shall be astonished at you:  amazed, an amazement, you shall be a terror, as it says here, but again, because of what he has done and what he has become and what he’s going to become now even more so, but there are going to be those that look upon him and even wonder about that, as it talks about in other verses.  To be in amazement that such a being could have done what he did, when they see him in his condition, when God brings him to what he’s going to bring him to before he’s finally destroyed.  And finally it says, and never shall you be anymore.

Well, again, that isn’t fully in the meaning of the Day of Atonement because the Day of Atonement is about the time of separation, and atonement’s going to take place without this being and yet this being must account for, or be dealt with, according to judgment that God gave a long, long time ago, a judgment that Satan has never really understood until the last couple of years here.

And so with that we’ll conclude the day in this area. Leviticus 16:29 - because this is what it’s all been about.  This shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, to humble yourselves before God, to understand the importance of humility, and above all things to take that with you – that this is what this day is about.  To be atoned to God you must be of a humble spirit, you must humble yourself before God.  We willingly enter into a very physical form of it to reflect something on a spiritual plane.  It has to do with attitude.  It has to do with the way we think.  It has to do with the way we think toward God and it has to do with the way we think toward each other.  Because how we think toward each other has everything to do with being atoned to God, for being of the same mind. And we have battles there, we have things we must grow in, and in God’s Church there is always a need to draw closer together. And especially for this Feast of Tabernacles that’s coming up, to look to it as an opportunity to be with brethren, to be in fellowship, to take that fellowship seriously and to love each other, to care for each other and to do so with a humble spirit, to not let anything get in the way to spoil this Feast above all Feasts of Tabernacles and all that it pictures.

...and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourns among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, that’s what Jesus Christ has been doing.  He’s made an atonement for us, continues to do so, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Eternal.  What a beautiful picture, to be clean before God.

~~~end

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