Day of Atonement - 1994

Fred Coulter - September 15, 1994

This day is a tremendous and awesome day, and pictures that in God’s plan, God’s plan cannot be complete until the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. And we’re going to see that there were several fulfillment’s of the Day of Atonement. We will see that, number one was for the children of Israel. Number two is for the Church, and number three is for the world. And then we’re going to also see that right at the end there is a final fulfillment of the Day of Atonement because of what it pictures and what it means and the principle character involved.

Now let’s go to Leviticus 23:26 because here’s the beginning of the instructions for us for the Day of Atonement. And as you know, this is the one and only single place in the entirety of the Bible where all of the holy days are put together one right after the other. We have other places which list three seasons. We have other places which lists Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost, and Tabernacles, but nowhere do we have that it lists the Sabbath, Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Wave Sheaf Offering Day, the Day of Pentecost, the Day of Trumpets, and now we come to the Day of Atonement, which is a most important, and as a matter of fact one of the most critical feast days of God. And we are going to see the instructions here given to us are very important and are different than any other feast day.          

Well let’s pick it up here in verse 26. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls,…” Which we know means no food and no water. That means afflict in fasting. So that’s why we fast on this day, and it is a day of commanded fasting. “…And offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day:...” This is a day in which no work can be done. And we’re going to see that no work at all of any kind. Now on the other holy days we can do whatever work is necessary for the preparation of food, for the observing of the feast, and whatever. But we cannot do servile work, that is work for which we are paid. So this one is different. It says, “…you shall do no work in that day: for it is a day of atonement,…” Now atonement, as you know, if you take the word and separate it out it is at-one-ment with God. Also, atonement means “to cover for sin”, and in the Hebrew the day is called Yom Kippor. And you could probably even find that on the calendar that you have where it lists Yom Kippor. “…It is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God” (Lev. 23:26-28).

Now we will see there are some very similar things with the Day of Atonement that applies to the Passover. But let’s understand, the Passover is for the church when the sacrifice of Christ is applied to us. Atonement also has a special meaning for us in the church when we will be at-one with God. But Atonement is the day in which God is going to apply the sacrifice of Christ to the world. The sacrifice of Christ is not applied to the world yet, and cannot be applied to the world until the Day of Atonement is fulfilled.

“…To make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people” (vs. 29). So if you don’t fast then you’re going to be cut off. That’s how important this day is. And not only are we at-one with God, but there is a special significance in our fasting. And it shows that we cannot live forever in the flesh. And the only way that we will ever be at-one with God is to be as He is. And so anyone who will not afflict himself, then is not admitting those basic facts of life. So God shows it’s very important. He’ll be cut off from among his people. Well that’s pretty serious stuff.

Verse 30, “And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day,…” Now we will see that it’s very important that this day is clearly and specifically defined, which God does. He says it’s so important that you do no work, or you’re going to be cut off. And any soul “…that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy…” So it becomes very important for us to understand it. Now this is a double Sabbath, with double instructions concerning no work, anyone who does any work at all. So He’s covering both ends of it. No work. The question comes up, what is work? “Anyone who does any work” covers the question that you are not to do any of your work on that day, period! Now this is one of the reasons why the Day of Atonement never comes before a regular weekly Sabbath, or never follows a regular weekly Sabbath, because of this command right here.

Now let’s continue on. “…The same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work:…” It means no work of any kind. “…It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be a sabbath of rest,…” When it says a Sabbath of rest, it is sabbaton-sabbaton, it is a double Sabbath of rest for us, because we are afflicting our souls and God wants us to know that everything there is in the world comes from Him. Our life, our breath, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, everything that there is comes from God, and He alone can give it. It also shows that salvation comes from God, and it is spiritual, and He alone can give it. When we come to God in humbling ourselves, what we’re really doing in humbling ourselves, it is not to beat our flesh so we make ourselves humble, so we become acceptable to God because of what we do. It is in total worship and adoration of God, and acknowledgement that only He can make us at-one with Him, that only He can give us the things we need to sustain physical life, that only He can give us the things that will bring us eternal life and at-one-ment with God. And as we will see later in the Feast of Tabernacles, that we will see God face to face.

Now let’s continue on. “…And ye shall afflict your souls:…” It’s not an option. It’s not if you want to fast and be good. No, you shall. It’s a command. “…In the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath” (vs. 32). Now God is very specific. He doesn’t want someone saying, “Well, I’m going to start fasting earlier in the afternoon.” Now, God didn’t say do that. Another person is going to say, “Well, I don’t have to start fasting until it’s dark.” Now you’ve got about a six hour period between the middle of the afternoon and dark. So God is very specific, and this also tells us about every other Sabbath. This also tells us about when a day begins and when a day ends, very clearly.

Let’s read it again. “…In the ninth day of the month at even,…” The Hebrew there is ba erev, which means “at sunset”. Now ba erev is the period of time from when the sun appears to touch the horizon, until it’s gone below the horizon, of a period of about three to five minutes maximum. So there is no leeway of time, except those few minutes. That is ba erev. And as we know from the Passover, once the sun goes below the horizon, then that begins the new day. That, in this case, is the 10^th of the seventh month and begins the period that is called ben ha arbayim, or between the two evenings, or between sunset and dark. So God is very specific in this because He does not want people fasting starting too early, or fasting starting to late. He does not want someone quitting their work too early, or stopping their work too late. He wants you to know that when the sun hits the horizon that is the beginning of ba erev. When the sun is below the horizon after those three to five minutes, that is the new day, or the 10^th day of the seventh month. And there is tremendous significance for us in this. And we’re going to see that it has an awful lot to do with the one called Satan the devil, because we truly cannot have anything, any peace or harmony, or oneness with God as long as Satan the devil is around.

You can see now in this world that there is no way that the world can ever come to the knowledge of the truth. There is no way that the world can ever be truthful as long as there is Satan the devil around. And the church itself can never be perfected as long as Satan is there. Do you realize that? So let’s understand something about Satan the devil. He is always there in the important events. We’ll see that. We need to understand who Satan the devil is first. We need to realize his activities so we know why we can never be at-one with God until Satan the devil is removed.

Let’s go to 2 Corinthians 4. This tells us the status of Satan the devil. Now after Adam and Eve sinned and rejected God, Satan became the god of this world. And he is specifically called this in 2 Corinthians 4. And in verse 4 we find that he is called the god, theos of this world. So he is a false god. But he is spiritual, and he is powerful. And we’re going to see that Satan does a whole lot more than we give him credit for.

Now let’s pick it up here in 2 Corinthians 4:4. “In whom the god of this world…” Now it’s talking about those who are blinded. We’re going to see a little later that, yes Satan can take away. If you allow Satan to take it away, he will take it away. But you have to give him permission. It has to be your choice. “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,…” Now because Satan is still the god of this world, because he is still ruling on this earth and God has not removed him, God has used Satan to blind the world. That’s why God has to call each one of us, because He has to remove the blindness, He has to call us, He has to give us the understanding. And the world cannot be saved until Satan the devil is removed. See, he’s the god of this world, number one. That’s pretty profound.

Let’s go to 2 Corinthians 11 because we will see how he appears. Just like to Eve, he comes up and he challenges, and he says, “Well, has God said you can’t eat of every tree in the garden?” She said, “Oh no. We can freely eat of every tree of the garden, but the tree that’s in the midst of the garden we shall not eat of it or touch it lest we die.” And Satan says, “You shall not surely die. For God knows that the day that you eat thereof your eyes will be open.” The opening of the eyes, according to Satan is blinding their eyes to God, but opening their eyes to sin. That’s exactly how he comes in the church. And we’ve seen, how many times, he’s had his agents come into the church who then begin speaking evil of the truth. But they do it so nicely. They do it so logically. They do it so gently until they get their hooks in.

Now let’s read it. 2 Corinthians 11:13. “For such are false apostles,…” And believe me, wherever there are false apostles and false prophets just like it says in 1 John 1, there are false spirits. Because, as we will see, when Satan fell he took a third of the angels with him and they became demons. And they are active, and they are working, and they are wanting to come and destroy the church, and destroy the knowledge of the truth, destroy the plan of God. Satan’s name is diabolos, which means “the devil”, and Satan, which means “the adversary”. And how can you ever have peace, how can you ever have one-ment when you have an adversary between you and God? Cannot be. So therefore that’s why he wants to come into the church. That’s why he wants to send his ministers, who appear as apostles of knowledge and truth and understanding. And they’re not, they’re just plain not.

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers,…” And they are. They lie. They know they are lying. But they are “…transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.” And Christ never sent them. But they are effective, and they are powerful, and they are spiritual. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:13-14). He appears as an angel of light. But if that light is in you, how great is the darkness that is in you, as we will see. “Therefore it is no great thing [no wondrous or marvelous thing] if his ministers…” Now Satan has ministers who come in the name of Christ, who come and preach another gospel, who come and preach another doctrine. And one of the first things that they attack and like to change is to change the nature of God. And remember, and you’ll hear me say this time and time and time again, because the adversary who said this meant it: when you change the nature of God, you change all doctrine. Now that’s why you can’t have Satan the devil around. He has his ministers.

It says, “Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness;…” Now what does it mean, ministers of righteousness? Ministers to give you the right standing before God, which is called righteousness, coming bringing a wrong justification, which never justifies you with God. How can you take something which will never justify you with God and be justified to God, when God never intended that it be? Won’t happen. That’s what Paul is saying here, very clearly. “…Whose end shall be according to their works” (vs. 15). So Satan is the god of this world, he appears as an angel of light, and he has ministers.

Now let’s go to Revelation 12:9 and we will see that here in this case, as we’ve covered before, here is where Satan the devil is shown that when he rebelled he took a third of the angels with him. Let’s pick it up in verse 3. “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns,…” See, the seven is a counterfeit of God. That’s why he’s got seven heads and ten horns. “…And seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,…” (Rev. 12:3-4). The stars of heaven being the angels of God. So it can even affect the angels, right? How important is it to get rid of Satan then? How important then is this Day of Atonement? If he can take a third of the angels with him, and I’m sure he did it by placing himself between those angels and God, and he told them, “Trust me.” And they had to choose to do that. And when he drew them with him they fell to the earth and became the demons. They are called his angels in Matthew 25:41.

Now let’s continue reading here. “…And did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born” (vs. 4). Coming right after Christ. Was that not an important event? Yes. Satan was there at the creation. Satan was there with Adam and Eve. Satan was there to cause the world to fall with the flood. Satan was there at the tower of Babel. Satan was there to resist the children of Israel when they were coming out of the land of Egypt. Satan was there to resist David and Solomon. Satan was there to lead Jeroboam in all of his hedonistic heathen Babylonian religion. Satan was there when Christ was born. Satan was there to try and destroy Christ. Satan was there, as we will see, at the temptation. Satan was there at the last Passover Jesus had. And that’s why at the end, Satan is going to bring his grandest deception, and it’s going to be awesome, and it’s going to be great because the most important event is about ready to happen, the return of Jesus Christ.

“And she brought forth a man child, Who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days” (vs. 5-6). That’s already been fulfilled, and the church has been in hiding and scattered more than once, and what we’re going through today is just another one of those things that God is doing to protect and preserve the truth, and to build His church up in the end run. Everything that is happening, is happening for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. And God is going to expand His work, and God is going to expand His church, and God is going to increase it by scattering it and causing it to grow wherever He scatters it for those who are willing to follow Him. Those who don’t want to follow Him, when it’s scattered, they’re going to give up and quit, and they would have anyway. They will be tested to see whether they love God or not. They’re going to be tested to see whether they want to be at-one with God or not. So that’s why the church is scattered.

Now, we have not come to this point yet, and this is the next major event. “And there was war in heaven:…” And why was that war in heaven? To try and forestall the return of Christ. To try and go back and take over God’s throne again. “…Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels [the demons], and prevailed not; neither was their place found anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (vs. 7-9). Now, Satan wants to deceive the whole world because the return of Christ is imminent. Satan must be dealt with. He will.

Let’s go back to Luke 10. We will see where Jesus said He saw this event happen. Before He became a human being He saw the fall of Satan and the demons. Now this is when He sent out the seventy, two by two, and they returned. Luke 10:17, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the [demons] devils are subject unto us through Thy name.” Now let’s understand one thing. That’s not because of them. If the demons are subject to the name of Jesus Christ, that’s because of His name. That is not because of who we are. We need to understand that. You can verify that by reading Matthew 7 where Jesus said, “In that day many shall say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not cast out demons in Your name? Have we not done many wonderful works in Your name?’” And He’ll say, “I never knew you.” You see, it’s the name of Christ that does it. The person that does it cannot ascribe any power to himself. So Jesus went on to make that point. “And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy:…” That’s given to us today, brethren. Satan is the enemy. Death is the enemy. The demons are the enemies. All the false prophets are the enemy, and He gives us power over all of those. “…And nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not [don’t think that’s any big thing], that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:17-20). Because that’s the only way you’re going to be at-one with God.

Now let’s go to Isaiah 14 and see how this battle is going to come again. It’s going to come again. There is a duality in many prophecies. Now all prophecies are not dual. Many of them are. But when Satan rebelled and drew a third part of the angels with him, and fell to the earth, cast back to the earth, here’s what he said, verse 12. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” That’s why he appears as an angel of light. And part of the doctrine of Masonry is that Lucifer is the true God. So you know who they worship. “…How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Are not all of the nations weakened? Yes, through sickness, through disease, through famine, through merchandising, through wrong religion, wars, killing of each other, tribal hatred. You cannot have peace, you cannot have one-ment with God until Satan is removed because of what we’re going to read right here.

Always Satan is going to want to do this. Always Satan is going to try to do this. “For thou hast said in thine heart [it was his own choice], I will ascend into heaven,…” So this shows that they were on the earth originally, because he was cast back to the earth. It show there in Jude that the angels who kept not their habitation were given over to evil. He said, “…I will exalt my throne above the stars of God [take over all the angels]: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north [go right up to the throne of God and take it over]: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (vs. 13-14). But you see, he can’t be the most High. On earth, and among the demons, among the principalities of the seven and the ten, and among the earth to them he is like the most High because they’re blinded and deceived by the god of this world.

“Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the [one] man…” Now it says “man” here because it’s referring to the king of Babylon back there in verse 4, but, “…Is this the [one] man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms…” (vs. 15-16), because the final king of Babylon, as we saw for the Feast of Trumpets, as Babylon was destroyed, he was destroyed. But Satan possesses the beast.

Now let’s go to Ezekiel 28 for just a minute because there are some important things for us to understand here too. Now we’ve gone over these things quite a few times, and many of you have heard it over and over again, but I want you to know one thing that’s very clear. Many of the people that have heard these things over and over again have capitulated to the power of Satan of devil because they didn’t get it even though they heard it.

Now let’s pick it up here in verse 11. “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the King of Tyrus [who then was the beast after Babylon, you know], and say unto him, thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;…” Now let’s take that statement and understand that statement most clearly. There were four beings in Eden the garden of God. God, Adam, Eve, and Satan. The garden of Eden was cut off from man, and cherubim were put at the east entrance to the garden. When the flood came it destroyed the garden, destroyed everything that was there, and so the king of Tyrus could have not have, as a physical person in the time frame in history that this is, have ever had been in the garden of Eden. Complete impossibility. So this is talking about Satan the devil. “…Every precious stone was thy covering,…” Well, let’s come on down here, “…the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created” (Ezek. 28:11-13). Now, the king of Tyrus was a man who was born. This one was created.

“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth;…” No man is ever called a cherub. No man ever became a cherub to cover the throne of God. “…And I [God] have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” (vs. 14-15). And here is the prince of sin, here is the author of sin, here is the one who is now deceiving the world with this mechanism.

Verse 16. Is this how he corrupted the angels? By giving them more, and more, and more, and more and locking them into a merchandising system to where they were so dependent upon a merchandising system that they were no longer dependent upon God. That they were willing to compromise any of the truth of God, compromise any choice that they would make, believe any lie that was given to them so that they could have the things that they would receive by merchandising, like it is today? We’re going to see, brethren, that the one world government, and the one world religion is going to be established in merchandising. Merchandising of religion, and merchandising of goods, putting us all in the society where we must buy and sell. Where we must, in order to survive. That’s why this Day of Atonement is so important. And I would just have to venture to say this: that I do not believe that a person who does not keep the Day of Atonement will be able to resist the mark of the beast, truly.

Well, let’s go on. “By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou has sinned [sounds like the world, doesn’t it]: therefore I will cast thee as profane [no more a holy cherub, now profane] out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries [his religions, his businesses] by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee” (vs. 16-18). That’s what’s going to happen to the beast, and we’ll see that Satan the devil in the final fulfillment of the Day of Atonement is put away forever, cast into the lake of fire forever.

Now let’s go to Revelation 2 and let’s understand something else about Satan. Satan is the god of this world. Satan has his angels. He appears as an angel of light. He is a worker of deceit. He has his false prophets and false ministers. Satan has a throne. Satan has a headquarters. Satan has a place where he works. So it’s no great thing that the Vatican has been one his headquarters, and that the whole one world global government thing, one major branch of it was called the Club of Rome. You need to think on that.

Revelation 2:12, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith He with hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is:…” (Rev. 2:12-13). Now the word for seat is the same as throne. Here there was a church right in the same city of Pergamos, which was the capitol city of Satan the devil. And what happened? What happened? They absorbed the doctrine of Baalam, the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, and they got so bad that Christ said, “Unless you repent I’m going to take a sword and come after you.” So Satan is pretty powerful, isn’t he? So he has a throne.

Now let’s go to Matthew 12 and we’re going to see that he has a kingdom. And that kingdom right now is this world, as we will see. Now let’s pick it up here in verse 22. “Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil [or, demon],…” Whenever you see devil in the King James, it’s demon. “…Blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?” (Matt. 12:22-23). So they knew. They understood that the Messiah was coming at that time. This thing that the Jews did not reject Jesus is a complete falsehood. They totally rejected Him, and they knowingly rejected Him, and they did it with deliberation, and they did it with evil, and they did it with vengeance, and they did it under the hand of Satan the devil.

“But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils [demons], but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils [demons].” Well, they right well ought to know about that, because Jesus said that their father was Satan. “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:…” And that brethren, is why the biggest church of God that we know of is falling apart, because many of you have never realized within under the gloss and the veneer of all of the unity it was divided. That’s why God is scattering it. There were warring factions in there, and they’re still warring. They’re still fighting. And they haven’t learned the lesson yet that the greatest thing that they need to understand is, that they’ve got to love God with all their heart, and mind, and soul, and being. And I’m going to tell you one thing for sure right here just as clear as crystal. You’re never going to be at-one with God unless you love Him that way. Because God is love. Now after the Feast of Tabernacles I’m going to finish in the series of John, and I’m going to give a major sub-series, “The Love of God In The Bible”. And we’re going to learn that that is the key and the most important thing. And He goes on saying, “…Or [a] house divided against itself shall not stand: and if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?” (vs. 24-26). Satan has a kingdom. That’s why, brethren, Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Because if it were, He would have to co-exist with Satan. You think on that. And that isn’t going to happen. Nothing is going to happen until Satan is removed.

Let’s got to Luke 4 and let’s see this tremendous time of trial and fasting that Jesus went through. And let’s see the awesome power that Satan the devil had to offer to Jesus, and why this was such an important thing. “And Jesus being full of the Holy [Spirit] Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing [just like a type of Day of Atonement only it was for 40 days]: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered” (Luke 4:1-2). Now like us, some of us can hardly take one Day of Atonement. Well, try 40 days. Now Moses was up on the mountain 40 days and didn’t eat food and drink water. But just consider 40 days of this in the flesh, not in the presence of God, but in the presence of Satan. Isn’t that something. Forty days in the presence of Satan the devil to be weakened after fasting, to be physical in your total weakness, so weak that He had to have angels come and minister to Him when He was done.

So, afterwards He hungered. “And the devil said unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God,…” And they’re always going to challenge you. “If you’re a Christian, why don’t you count these Sunday-keepers over here as Christians?” Cause they aren’t keeping the commandments, that’s why. “…If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread” (vs. 3). And could He have done it? Yes. Did Jesus have the power to do it? Yes. Could He have chosen to do it? Yes. That’s why the temptation to see what Christ would choose. That’s why. And it was not impossible for Jesus to have sinned. It was improbable, but not impossible. And we will see exactly what Christ’s answer was to Satan’s challenge in this particular way. And what did Jesus rely upon?

Let’s see how Jesus endured this temptation of 40 days of Satan the devil, after He was tempted to make the stone into bread. “And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written,…” Now He didn’t say, “How dare you come and even tempt Me. Don’t you know that it’s impossible for Me to sin? Don’t you know that I am God in the flesh? How dare you have the presumption to come and even dare to tempt me.” No, because Jesus was a human being. Yes, He was the Son of God, but He also had human nature and He could be tempted. So this is why He answered the way that He did. “…It is written,…” And that’s the way we need to answer, brethren.

Part 2

Then we’re going to have to stand as a witness to God, and many will have to die. That’s just the way it is. No one loves to be a martyr. No one wants to be a martyr. No one chose to be a martyr. All the apostles were martyred. Christ was martyred. He was crucified. And so if it’s good enough for Christ, then..., brethren. Whatever we do, whenever we have any of these challenges come along, what does the word of God say. That’s what it needs to be. Not what we think, or what we do. Whether we be challenged by some doctrinal question just like Satan would say, “Well, if these days are holy unto God, why don’t other churches keep them? Why do you keep them? Only the Jews do.” You have to say, “…It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone,…” That’s why we fast on this day, brethren, so that we know we don’t live by bread or food or the physical things alone. “…But by every word of God” (vs. 4). Now I want everyone of those who are Sunday-keepers, or know Sunday-keepers, to read this and then you come and tell me or anyone else that you don’t have to keep the commandments of God, particularly the Sabbath and the holy days. Because you’ve already lost your case if you believe this. And if you don’t think that we should keep them, don’t come and tell me that you believe this, because you don’t. You may profess that you do, but in reality you don’t.

So then the temptation gets even greater. “And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” (vs. 5). Now Jesus knew that when He would come to the fullness of the kingdom He would rule the world, correct? Jesus knew that He was to have power over all the nations, right? Didn’t the prophecy that we just read, that He was born to rule them with a rod of iron, didn’t He know that? Sure He did. So Satan’s coming along and saying, “Hey, You can have it now. I will give it to You.”

“And the devil said unto Him, All this power…”, so Satan has power. “…All this [authority- Satan has authority] power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me;…”, he says. He owns it, he controls it. It’s owned by God, but God delivered it to him, because Adam and Eve fell and did not reject him. Now notice, “…and to whomsoever I will I give it” (vs. 6).

“Whomsoever I will, I desire, I choose”, Satan says, “I give it. And I’ll give it to You, and then I will present You right here. We’re at the temple, right. We’ll go to the temple next and I will present You as the Messiah.”

So Jesus had the choice of becoming the false messiah at this point, and misuse the power of God, break the prophecies which He Himself gave, and under the great duress of having fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and being tempted the whole time, there’s a catch. Verse 7, “If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.” Satan has a kingdom. Satan has a throne. Satan deceives the world. Satan has power. Satan has authority. Satan has demons, his own angels, and he rules this world.

Now then, if you want to know who’s worshipping Satan the devil, just check out the richest people in the world and you’ve got it, because he gave it to them. Because they worship him. And how do you think the beast power is going to come in.

Let’s go to Revelation 13, and we’ll come back here and finish. Because the beast power is going to accept all of these conditions. The beast power, yes, is not only going to accept them, but he is going to promulgate them. And the false prophet is not only going to accept them and worship him, he is going to build it up. I mean we are talking about some great and awesome times which are coming.

Revelation 13:1, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns [there it is, Satan’s system again], and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power…” That is, his dunamis, his great power. He’s going to be a powerful person. “…And his seat [throne]…” So he’s going to take over Satan’s throne. Just as Jesus said, “I overcame and am sat down in My Father’s throne”, so the beast is going to prevail with Satan and sit down with Satan in his throne. “…And [his] great authority” (Rev. 13:1-2). And that authority is going to be over all nations, and kingdoms, and kindreds, and tongues.

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;…”, because someone is going to rise up and say, “This is of the devil”, and seek to kill it. But it won’t happen. “…And his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon…” So there will be people that worship Satan. That’s what this is all going to involve at the end. God wants to know now, “Whom are you going to worship? Are you going to worship Me and be at-one with Me? Or are you going to worship Satan and be at-one with him?” “…They worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast: who is able to make war with him?” (vs. 3-4).

And when that deadly wound was healed “…there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,…” So you see, that choice is going to involve some pretty powerful things. And unless you are at-one with God, you are going to be in serious trouble. That’s why this world can never have peace, this world can never have salvation, and we as Christians can never have peace as long as Satan the devil is here. It won’t happen. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:…” He’s going to think that finally the victory is here. “…And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear” (vs. 5-9). Brethren, let us hear today. Let us hear today. We cannot play around with anything to do with Satan the devil. And we can never be fully at-one with God until he is put away.

Now let’s go back to Luke 4:9. “And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple,…” So here is Jesus and the devil, correct? Yes. Where? At the temple on one of the pinnacles. “…And said unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence:…” And if Jesus would have done that, I am sure that Satan would have been able to manifest himself in his full wicked glory and say, “Behold, the messiah.” And Jesus would have been the false messiah. The stakes were really great here, brethren.

He said, “…cast Thyself down from hence: for it is written [even quoting scripture and quoting it correctly], He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Now that is Christ referring to Himself. How dare he take the prerogatives that God has given the blessings, and tempt God to do something wrong to make God rescue Him from the evil. Now He’s not necessarily saying that Satan was tempting the Lord God, being in the person of Jesus Christ. But it’s possible to have that meaning.

“And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season” (vs. 10-13). Now we don’t know exactly how long that was, but we will see that Satan was there to bother Him all along. Let’s continue and see that.

Let’s go to Matthew 16. Let’s see how Satan was always there. Satan was always there in the person of Judas Iscariot, wasn’t he? Yes. He deliberately chose him, didn’t He? Yes. And didn’t Jesus say to the twelve when they said, “Where will we go?” And He said, “I have chosen the twelve of you, haven’t I, and one of you is a demon.” So He knew. Matthew 16, let’s see what happens. Satan the devil appeals to our human nature and to even to do things that appear good, that appear to be a righteous cause.

Matthew 16:21, “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciple, how that He must [that means ordained, obligatory] go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him,…” Now the implication is that he actually went up and put his hands on Jesus and looked Him straight in the eye, “…saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord;…” We’re going to keep this thing from You. We’re not going to let this happen Lord. “…This shall not be unto Thee” (Matt. 16:21-22).

“But He turned, and said unto Peter,…” Notice this. This wasn’t the first time that Satan was after Peter. Notice, He said, “…Get thee behind Me, Satan:…”, because it was ordained that He do this in order to pay for the sins of the world. It was ordained that He do this to overcome Satan. It was ordained this that He do this to bring salvation to those that He calls. It was ordained that He do this so that the world could receive forgiveness of their sins in God’s plan and time. He said, “Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (vs. 23). Isn’t it mans way to rise up and do something good? “Get you behind Me Satan.” So Satan was there dogging Jesus all of the time.

Let’s go to Mark 4 and let’s see that Satan can take away. Satan can take away, if you let him, that which is sown in your heart. Let’s pick it up in verse 15. The sower sows the word, verse 14. “And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.” So Satan can take it away. How can he take it away? By coming in with his little missiles of temptation. By coming in to put doubt in your mind. By coming in to take it away from you by deceitfully using the scriptures so that you can give up the word of God. So Satan can take it away if you let him do it. And he will.

Now, he can also put it into someones heart to do something. Just put in your notes here, Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira. “Why did you let Satan put it in your heart to lie.” So Satan can put in, Satan can take out. Satan can also enter into. Remember at the last Passover when they wanted to know who would betray Jesus. And John leaned back on Jesus chest and asked, “Who is it Lord?” And Jesus said, “The one to whom I dip the sop and give it.” So He dipped the sop and gave it to Judas, and immediately Satan entered into him and he departed and Jesus said, “Go do what you have to do. Do it quickly.” Who do you think was there stirring up the strife when they were striving as to who was to be the greatest? Do you think that was of the Spirit of God? No. That’s why Jesus said, “I want you to understand one thing, you’re not to be arguing who’s to be the greatest. You’re not to be like the great ones and the kings of the Gentiles to lord it over their subjects. But you are to be serving. And the greatest among you is the one who serves.” And may every minister burn that in their brain forever. Because if you don’t you’re taking Satan’s part in trying to administer the church.

Satan can come and destroy. Job 1. Satan can come before the presence of God, can’t he? Yes. Remember the account there where the sons of God, being the angels of God came before God, and Satan was there in their midst and God said, “Well, where have you been?” He said, “Oh, walking to and fro in the midst of the earth.” So Satan can come before God until that final war in heaven when he’s cast down to the earth. Now you see, that’s why another ritual with the Day of Atonement is so most important.

Let’s go to Leviticus 16. This is the most unusual ceremony and sacrifice, which is commanded to be on the Day of Atonement, of any that there is in the whole Bible. And in some ways this is also a bit enigmatic because some people think that both of these goats are for God. And we will see that it is not, because we need to understand that it’s impossible to do away with sin unless Satan is removed. You can never be at-one with God until Satan is removed. Look at what it was with the disciples where we just read it there with Peter coming to Jesus. Satan was right there. Ok.

Now let’s come to Leviticus 16. You can read the account of how the high priest was to make himself all cleansed, put on the white garments. And the high priest could go into the holy of holies. The only time he could be at-one with God was on the Day of Atonement, and he represented the whole people. But here is what he was to do in addition to his own sacrifices, which he offered for himself, for the nation, and for the priesthood.

Verse 5, “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.” And that ram was the normal sin offering, which they gave. “And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house” (Lev. 14:5-6). You see, the priest had to do this for himself because he was sinful too, so he had to be purified for himself and his house.

Then after he did that, verse 7, “And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” Now here is what has to happen. God has to make the choice. God has to show which one is His sin offering. Which one then was to be for the Lord. “And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat [azazel]” (vs. 7-8). Now Azazel is another name for Satan, and rightly applied so. Now, the two goats do not represent the sacrifice for God. One is for the LORD, the other is for Azazel. Now some people say, as we will come to it, that when Aaron confessed the sins over the head of the second goat to be sent out into the wilderness, that that was Christ bearing our sins and taking them away. No, no, no. Because you have to account for the author of sin. And the author of sin must be dealt with in a different way than the sins that we have forgiven. And Satan is the one who has the power to reach in, he has the power to influence us. And so we cannot truly be without sin until Satan is removed. And what he does to us, we cannot repent of because we are not Satan. And let’s understand something most clear, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ does not pay for the sins of Satan the devil. He bears those on his own head.

Now let’s read on. “And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the [azazel] scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness” (vs. 9-10).

Now let’s come over and see how these things were done. Verse 15, “Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people,…” He’s already taken care of himself, and the tabernacle, and everything. Now the only thing left is the congregation, the children of Israel, the people. “…And bring his blood within the veil [that’s Christ coming for the forgiveness of our sins], and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: 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:…” (vs. 15-16).

Now let’s go back and analyze this verse. 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. Now if they had all their sins forgiven, which they did, why then confess all the sins upon the goat that’s led away, unless this has another function entirely? All their sins are forgiven here. All their uncleanness, “…all the transgressions in all of their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel” (vs. 16).

Now, question: when you sin and you repent, is it forgiven? Yes. Do you cease sinning? No. When will you cease sinning? When you’re made a spirit being. Ok? When you have repented of your sins, and when it has been forgiven you, who is there to still tempt you? Satan, the devil. So you cannot, you cannot completely be at-one with God and get rid of sin until Satan is removed. That’s why the azazel ceremony. It is not two aspects to one atonement of Christ. It is the two aspects to removing of sin. Number one being the atonement of God, and number two to make the atonement complete by confessing all the sins over the head of the live goat and to send it away. And the wilderness, surely can never be likened unto God’s throne in heaven above. The wilderness, if you read Jeremiah 17… Here hold you place, let’s go to Jeremiah 17 for just a minute and let’s see who the wilderness is reserved for. That is not sending another aspect of Christ up to heaven to take away our sins. That is done in the first sacrifice in the sprinkling of the blood before the mercy seat.

Now let’s pick it up here in Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert [that’s the wilderness], and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited” (Jer. 17:5-6). That’s why the goat was sent out there. And that’s why it was sent out alive, because it’s removing the author of sin, who comes before the presence of God to accuse us day and night, just like in the book of Job. So sin must be accounted for. As I have said, Satan is there in all the important part. He was there to tempt Adam and Eve. He was there when they sinned, and now he must be removed. And all of the responsibility of everything that he has ever done in the temptations and sins that he has caused and perpetrated upon all people must be laid upon his head because he alone is responsible and there is no sacrifice for his sins. That’s why this goat is sent out alive bearing the sins of the children of Israel, which he was responsible for.

Now let’s pick it up here in Leviticus 16:20. “And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins,…” Remember they’ve already been atoned for by the goat that was sacrificed and the blood brought within the holy of holies. So here he is doing this to place it all upon the head of this goat. Isn’t it interesting, one of the symbols of Satan the devil is a goat. And isn’t it interesting that only God can reveal the true Savior and the false savior. That only God can reveal the true God and the false god. That’s why these two goats, when they were presented, they got two goats that looked nearly identical as possible. So the lot had to be cast so that God would choose His sacrifice, and God would choose which one was Satan to put the sins of all the people upon the head of the goat.

“…And all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited [away from human beings]: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness” (vs. 21-22). And then they have to come back and cleanse themselves, and so forth. And the man who would come back would cleanse himself.

And it says right here in verse 29, “And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:…” (vs. 29-32). And aren’t we to have linen clothes put on us, and isn’t Christ, isn’t He dressed with white linen clothes as our High Priest? Yes.

“And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses” (vs. 33-34).

Now then, there’s something else that’s very interesting with the sacrifice of Christ. And Ira Hatch mentioned this to me. And I think that there is something to it. I have not had time to study through to find out the substance of it. There may be something to it. I do not know. But we have to know this, that on the day that Jesus died the one who was let go, Barabbas, he was let go, wasn’t he? There was also another one that was possessed of Satan the devil that got off, and that was Judas Iscariot.

Now what happened to Judas Iscariot? He went to a place uninhabited. He went to a place over the valley of Hinnom where the fire of gehenna is going to be and hung himself and his bowels burst forth. Now many times when they would take the goat out into the wilderness, they would go ahead and push him over a cliff. Could that be symbolic of what happened to Judas Iscariot? I do not know, but I think that it is something that we need to at least consider in this whole situation concerning the sins that Satan caused, the sins that Judas Iscariot did when Satan entered into him to betray and to kill Christ.

Now let’s go on a little bit further. Let’s understand some things here. Let’s see the fulfillment of this spiritually. Let’s go to Revelation 20, because when Christ returns one of the first things He’s going to do is get rid of Satan the devil. He’s going to have an angel take him and bind him just exactly like the strong man who took the goat which was for azazel, led him off into the wilderness away from the people. So the angel is going to come and take Satan and bind him a thousand years, and he’s going to be put away from the people, because the kingdom of God cannot start until Satan is removed. You can’t have righteousness as long as Satan is there. You cannot have right government as long as Satan is there. You cannot have right religion universally for the whole world as long as Satan is there. Nothing can be done to implement the bringing of the kingdom of God until Babylon is destroyed, and Satan is removed. That’s why all of these movements of one-worlders, the kingdom now, and we’re going to make the kingdom now, just is not true. It isn’t going to happen that way at all. Just isn’t true whatsoever.

Now let’s pick it up here in Revelation 20:1. “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit…”, or the abyss - and that will be the wilderness during the millennium. And wherever the abyss is that’s where it’s going to be. “…And a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Rev. 20:1-3). Well we’ll cover that when we come to it on the Last Great Day.

However, we need to understand something here most important. That Satan has to be removed just like the goat for azazel has to be removed. Satan has to be removed. So I think that that is the proper and the true explanation, as a matter of fact, convinced beyond any shadow of doubt that that is the true explanation of Leviticus 16, that one goat is for the LORD, one goat is for azazel, and the fulfillment of that is in Revelation 20.

Now let’s go back to Psalm 109. This is quite a Psalm, and this talks about how, actually how Satan has ruled the world, as it were, and what he has done to this earth. “Hold not Thy peace, O God of my praise; for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me [and that’s what’s happening right today in this society]: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue” (Psa. 109:1-2). Now just picture not only this society, but picture this in the person of Jesus. All of these things happening to Jesus. And remember, Jesus was wholly alone. He put no trust in any man because he knew what was in them.

“They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.” Sure is of Christ, isn’t it? “For my love they are my adversaries:…” That is, for my love of God they are my adversaries. “…But I give myself unto prayer.” So just think of this as Christ and the battle against Satan and his forces. “And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Set Thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.” That’s exactly what happened. “When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.” That’s what happens to all of those who are professing all of these doctrines of Satan the devil. “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” A prophecy of what? Judas Iscariot, right? Yes, let another take his office, correct? Remember when they had to cast lots to see who would be the replacement for Judas Iscariot? This is what they quoted. “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour” (vs. 3-11). And on and on, all the things that God shows that’s going to happen to the wicked.

Now down here in verse 17. “As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.” Is this a prophecy of Judas Iscariot hanging himself and his bowels bursting open? Could very well be. Was he not possessed of Satan the devil? Yes. “Let it be unto him as a garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul” (vs. 17-20).

Now let’s come down here to verse 21. “But do Thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for Thy name’s sake: because Thy mercy is good, deliver Thou me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.” Did that not happen to Christ? Didn’t He say that “I am poor and needy and humble, and take upon my yolk and follow Me?” Yes, He did. “I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.” Could this also be of the prophecy of the 40 days and 40 nights when He was under this great temptation? “My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness. I became also a reproach unto them:…” So you see many of the Psalms blend in and out from one event to another event. It goes from part of the time from the crucifixion to another time when He was in the temptation, and part of the time the evil one, and part of the time to Satan, and part of the time to the evil people, and part of the time to Judas Iscariot. So, all of these Psalms blend in. “I am become a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.” And they say what? If God delighted in you, if you be the Son of God, come down off the cross and then we’ll believe you. “Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to Thy mercy:” (vs. 21-26).

Verse 29, “Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise Him among the multitude. For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul” (vs. 29-31). Was that not about Christ? Was He not saved from death? Yes. Doesn’t it say there in Hebrews 5 that He had to pray with cryings and tears, strong cryings and tears unto Him Who is able to save Him from death? Yes.

Now let’s go back to Psalm 108. Let’s see how Jesus kept Himself in the way that He ought to be. And here’s what we need to do, and here’s the ultimate of what we need to do to be at-one with God today. “O GOD, my heart is fixed;…” At-one with God, totally on God, loving God, serving God. “…I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.” Then he goes on saying here, verse 4. “For Thy mercy is great above the heavens: and Thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.” Let’s come on down here to verse 12. “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies” (Psa. 108:1, 4, 12-13).

Now let’s come over here to Psalm 110:1. “The LORD said unto my Lord [this is actually Jehovah said to Jehovah, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” And what is the last enemy which is to be destroyed? Death. Death is the last enemy. Sin is the last enemy. Getting rid of Satan is getting rid of the one who causes all of this, and causes all of the death.

Now let’s go to Revelation 20 and we will see the final fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, because there are two fulfillment’s of the Day of Atonement in Revelation 20. Verse 10. Here is the final fulfillment of the Day of Atonement when Satan will be destroyed, cast into the lake of fire. “Where he destroyed” can mean destroy him as a being, but also destroy everything that he does and stands for, and puts him in the lake of fire.

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are [were cast], and [they] shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” “They” refers to Satan and the demons. So before we can go into the second resurrection and the great white throne judgment, before we can go into New Jerusalem and God the Father coming on earth to be with His family, Satan has to be put away forever. And this is the final fulfillment of it in Revelation 20:10.

So that’s why, brethren, this Day of Atonement is so important, and why we fast and do no work at all on this day. We’ll see you at the feast. And if not, we’ll see you on video.