Day of Atonement - 2006

Fred R. Coulter – October 10, 2006

 - PDF | Audio | [Up]

And greetings brethren, welcome to the Day of Atonement 2006. As we have been discussing this year, especially ever since writing the book Occult Holidays or God’s Holy Days, Which?, it has become more and more evident that all of the Holy Days God uses to show not only His plan, but they are historical and epical, fantastic things that happened in prophecy and in history. And so this is why these days are so very important for us to know, and to keep and to keep them on time. And the time that God has given us to do it, is with the calculated Hebrew calendar. As we have seen every other plan, every other thing that is done by men who say that they have a better calendar plan than God, they're always off, they always miss the point, and they always have to postpone, regardless if they hate postponements. So, what we need to do is concentrate on the meaning of it, realize that God has given us the time, given us the day, given us the understanding of it, so we can keep it in the time that He has set, not the time that some other man has set.

So let’s, as we always do, begin here in Leviticus 23 for the Day of Atonement, and this is a special day with a great significance, not only for the church, but also for the world, and in God's plan it is one of the most fantastic things that is going to take place. Let's begin here in verse 26, Leviticus 23, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement:” Now the word Atonement, if you space it apart into three words, you have; at-one-ment. This is a time when we are really at one with God and at one with God because of a particular event that is going to happen. And we are going to see that the understanding, and the meaning of the Day of Atonement, cannot be fully understood outside of the book of Revelation and what that tells us. And many of the interpretations that have been given, not using the book of Revelation, miss the point entirely. Now let's continue on, “It shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls…” and that means your whole physical being, “and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.” And so we always have an offering, we take up the offering, and on this Day of Atonement, just let it be an offering according to the blessing of God that you give, and according as you purpose in your heart. And we just take a pause here now, and take up the offering.

(Pause – Offering)

Now let’s continue on in Leviticus 23, “And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.” Now this is for the children of Israel, and this is a very important thing for us also to realize because the way that we are at one with God—as we are going to see—is by being removed from the power of Satan the devil, unto God. Verse 29, “For whatsoever soul itbe that shall not be afflicted in that same day…” and we know that’s fasting, no food, no water. “He shall be cut off from among his people.” And this is an automatic operation that happens when people start to abandon the Sabbath, and abandon the Holy Days, they’re generally cut off from God step by step by step by step. “And whatsoever soul itbe that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work:” Now, there's no doubt that God doesn't want any work done on that day, correct? Yes. “It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even,” or sunset, “from even unto even,” or sunset to sunset, “shall ye celebrate your sabbath” (Lev. 23:26-32, KJV). And this is where we understand in addition with the other scriptures, that the days are reckoned from sunset to sunset for the Holy Days, and to be doing the things that need to be done on those days.

Now let’s have a little more understanding of the meaning of the Day of Atonement for the children of Israel. Let’s come to Leviticus 16. Now we want to cover this first, and then we will get into the New Testament meanings of it first, or after we get done with this first rather. And then we will see what a tremendous and important day this is. And we will understand that in the plan of God, and the setting up of the kingdom of God, the meaning of this day must be fulfilled in order for it to occur. Now let's begin here in Leviticus 16, and let's pick it up here in verse 1, so that we understand something very important—and this is also important for us to understand, brethren—and part of the way of the fulfillment of not only the Passover, but the Day of Atonement, that is, that we can have direct access to God the Father. Verse 1 now, “And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat…” that's the ark of the covenant, “which is upon the ark; that he died not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.” Then He gave specific instructions on what was to be done in order for Aaron to come in once a year, and subsequently the high priest would come in once a year, into the holy place. Now think about it, we have access to God the Father, and Jesus Christ in heaven above, and the holy of holy in heaven above, every single day, any time during the day. So the whole complexion of everything in the new covenant has drastically changed from what it was here in the covenant with the children of Israel. So this is how he is to come: “With a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. 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,” that is around his waist there, “And with the linen mitre…” he was to wear the proper attire, “shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel…” Now, here is a special ceremony, not done on any of the other offerings on any other day, in any other way, but only for the Day of Atonement. And this has great and significant meaning, when we see the fulfillment of it in the book of Revelation. “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 Aaron shall offer his bullock for the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” Now here's something that is a very different ceremony, and why would be done this way? Well you see, those two kid goats that they were to take for a sin offering, “take the two goats”, they were to be identical goats. And here was a special ceremony that was done because God was going to make the choice. Now this is very important for us to realize when we get into the types of what these two goats picture. So let's read on, “And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD…” and as we will see that became a sin offering, “The other lot for the…” King James says, “scapegoat,” But the Hebrew word is Azazel, and Azazel is another name for Satan the devil. Now why would God have Satan involved at the temple, and why would he be involved in making a choice between one kid of goat for the Lord, and one for Azazel? And the whole purpose we will see is in the spiritual meaning, and fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. “And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer them for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat [Azazel], shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with [upon] him,” not with him, but upon him. So there has to be something put upon this goat for Azazel that becomes very, very important. And we need to understand how that fits into all of the things in the Bible. “Into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the bullock…” Then it shows what he was to do; bring those in, and he was to put the blood on the mercy seat. The only time the blood was put on the mercy seat was on the Day of Atonement. All the other times all the blood for sin offering was poured out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings. Now then, here's what he was to do, verse 15, with the goat for sin offering. Now this is the one for the Lord, and we need to analyze what is said here, and how it is said, and then we'll look at the fulfillment a little later. And then we will look at the operation of how some of the meaning of this is for us. “Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people,” now this is the sin offering for forgiveness of sin. “And bring his blood within the vail, 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:” And so, all the sins that the children of Israel committed would then be put upon this goat. Same way that we have the type of this is Jesus, and we have a fulfillment of it with the Passover, don't we? But also, we need to understand, the Passover and the spring Feast Days are for the church. The fall Feast Days—beginning with Trumpets, and then Atonement, Tabernacles, and Last Great Day, are for the world. This is important. So not only—because you see—this is telling us that this atonement is going to be a special, and a different atonement, than was achieved by the Passover. As a matter of fact, the Passover, for Israel, was not a sin offering. So the things completely change when we get to the New Testament. So here was the day when it was applied to them in their carnal sins, and as a type, when the sacrifice of Christ will be made available to the world in general, as we will see a little later. “So shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.” Then he said no man shall go in there until all this be done.

Then we come down, after he has done that, verse 19, “And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” When he has made an end of reconciling the holy place, the tabernacle, the congregation, the altar, he shall bring the live goat. And we have a very unusual ceremony that takes place. Now you see, when a person brought a sin offering, he was to lay his hands on the sin offering—as we find there in the book of Leviticus in the first 7 chapters, whatever a sin offering was offered. Now we have here Aaron, who represents the people of Israel; represents God to the people of Israel; now he does something very unusual. He lays both hands on the head of the goat, and confesses over him all the sins of the children of Israel. Well all the sins of the children of Israel had already been forgiven by that sacrifice of the goat of the sin offering. So we have something else at work here that God is showing us; that God is teaching us with this. “And all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by hand of a fit man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited:” Into the wilderness. “And he shall let go the goat in the wilderness:” And the man who came back from taking the goat out there, he was to bathe himself and so forth and so on. Now, let's come down here to 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, whetherit 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.” Then it talks a more about what the priest would do, and then he said that this was to be done, verse 34, “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” (Lev. 16:1-11, 15-16, 19-22, 29-31, 34, KJV).

So, there's the ritual, there is the sacrifice. Now what can the meaning of this be? Now let's understand something that has to do with Satan and man, and Satan’s power over man. And also we’re going to see that it brings out a very important understanding that we need to realize, which is this, only God can get rid of Satan the devil, and He will do it in His time, and in His way, and the Day of Atonement as we will see, pictures that. But you see, what happened when Adam and Eve sinned, and listened to Satan the devil instead of God, and ate of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—what they did—they put themselves, by choice, under the authority of Satan the devil. They took themselves out from under the authority of God. And of course, when anyone does that—and it’s always true—Satan takes what ever power that men give to him. And Adam and Eve had been given by God what: every blessing, the whole earth, everything that there was. So now then, when they submitted themselves to Satan, and ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, then they submitted themselves to Satan as their god. So therefore, they were removed from the Garden of Eden, they were cut off from God, except whenever they could come to the east side of the Garden of Eden, where the two cherubim were, and there they could commune with God from time to time. However, from that day forward, look at what happened to the world before the flood. It became evil. Why? Because the way of Cain is following Satan the devil and his way, and the whole world followed it. Now we have a similar parallel and a statement by Satan because we're going to first of all, look and see what it was that Jesus had to do before He began His ministry. And then we’re going to look at some other things and see how that all comes together.

Let's come to Matthew the 4th chapter, Matthew 4, and this is a very important aspect of all the ministry of Jesus Christ. So here we have the confrontation, and there were other confrontations between Satan and Christ, and we'll look at that a little bit later too. Now, in order to overcome Satan, Jesus who was God before He became a human being, took on the form of a man, to overcome Satan, who has control over human beings. And we're going to see how that control is really just so predominant today, and it has been all the way down through time, but it is more magnified because of all of the things we have in the way of dispensing information, in technology, and television, and phones, and Internet, and all the things of we have today. Now let’s begin here in Matthew 4:1, “Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit in order to be tempted by the devil.” So He subjected Himself to the very same thing that Adam and Eve were, right? See Satan was already Satan when he entered the Garden of Eden. He fell long before the earth was renewed in the creation of Adam and Eve. So they were subjected to seeing whom they would choose; would it be God, or would it be Satan? So Christ came, now as a human being, and subjected Himself to exactly the same thing. Now He did it in a way, so that he would be guaranteed to have virtually no human effort left, because he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. So He did it in such a way that the very weakness of the flesh; the power of God—remember this—the Spirit of God always overcomes the weakness of the flesh. Now verse 2, “And when He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was famished. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ ” Which was something He surely could do, but you see here's another lesson; He was not going to misuse the power of God, and He was not going to obey the voice of Satan the devil. Because here's the thing, if you obey the voice of Satan the devil, you are what? You’re placing him before you, as God. So if Jesus would have done that, then He would have placed Himself under the authority of Satan. “But He answered…” and He answered on the human level, “and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” ’ ” Now, you can carry that from the beginning, all the way through the Old Testament, and to the time of Jesus, and all the way through the canonization of the New Testament. Those are the words of God, and we are to live by every word of God. “Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him upon the edge of the temple,” and when you understand how high that was, you realize it was about 600 and some feet to the valley floor, “And said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, “He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and they shall bear You up in their hands, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.” ’ ” Now, quoted scripture, fairly accurately—not altogether accurately—but nevertheless, to tempt Him to do something by making it appear that it was the will of God. Now you see angels did minister to Him right after the temptation, didn’t they? Yes, indeed. So He said, verse 7, “Jesus said to him, ‘Again, it is written, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” ’ After that, the devil took Him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said to Him, ‘All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me’ ” (Matt. 4:1-9, FV).

Now Luke the 4th chapter, in the same parallel account, shows that Satan said “all these have been given to me”. Not how have they been given to him? Let's go over there and read that, because I think that is very important for us to understand, because that’s what shows us that Satan is the god of this world. Luke the 4th chapter, alright, let's pick it up here in verse 6, Luke 4, “And the devil said to Him, ‘I will give You all this authority, and the glory of them all; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomsoever I desire. Therefore, if You will worship me in my presence, all things shall be Yours’ ” Very profound! We’re going to see in just a minute, Satan the devil is the god of this world. And then we will see how he acts, how he works in people’s lives. We’ll see how that not only is he deceiving the whole world, but also he has his time when he intervenes and he does things, and he comes at them, and especially those who know the truth of God. That's what we need to understand. So then, Satan was told by Jesus, “Get behind Me, Satan; for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve’ ” (Luke 4:6-8, FV). Well of course Satan won't do that. He wants everyone to worship him.

Alright, now let's come here to—let's see the power that he has. Now, we know in Revelation 12:9, it says he's deceiving the whole world, but let's come here to II Corinthians the 4th chapter, and let's see something very important that it says about Satan the devil, and we need to realize that in the Greek it says it very clearly. Now II Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe” (II Cor. 4:4, FV). Now, the Greek word for God is “theós”, same word that is used for God. So he is the god of this world. Why? Because of the sins of men and yielding to Satan the devil. Men have given their authority over to him, and they have accepted him as God, and every religion of the world goes right back to that deception. Now granted there are degrees of deception, there are degrees of interference. Now in John 12:21, Jesus called him the prince, or the ruler of this world. And He had to have that confrontation with him so that there would be nothing that Satan could have in Christ. He had to live perfectly. He had to live sinlessly.

Now let’s look at some other things here concerning how Satan works. Let's look at a couple instances, in the Old Testament, besides that of Adam and Eve, as we related earlier. Let's come here to I Chronicles 21, and we're going to see a pattern here. Satan is there to try and get those that are serving God to do things they ought not do, but make it sound like it's very important and good. I Chronicles 21, now this has to do with David, and this has to do with something that really took place—and we’re also going to see something here that's important—that whenever a leader submits himself to Satan the devil, the people under him suffer. And you can take any example that you want to, any dictatorial power in the world, did the people suffer under it? Yes. Now let's pick it up here, beginning I Chronicles 21:1, “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” Quite an interesting statement, isn't it? “Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked…” Now this sounded like a good thing to David. See, the thing that's important to understand, Satan begins to reach you at a level that you are at. If you're closer to God, then he will start off with something that appears good just like with David. “And David said to Joab and the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants?” In other words, aren't they all…what do you need to know the number of them? “Are they not all my lord’s servants? why then doth my Lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?” Now, David wouldn’t have any of that, “Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David” (I Chron. 21:1-5, KJV). And all of that, all that were there. Now we come down here to verse 7, “And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.” Because of what David did, the people suffered. Whenever the rulers do wrong, the people suffer. And that carries on into the church too. Whenever the ministers do wrong, the people suffer. And you can just take that principle through, and apply it wherever you desire. “And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing:” Well he was warned, but he didn't listen, “But now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. And the LORD spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying, Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee either three years’ famine;” and everybody's going to suffer three years, “or three months to be destroyed before thy foes,” that is to loose all the battles ands wars that you’re fighting, “while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land,” so there had to be a punishment. “And the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coast of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.” Now he was in a great strait, as it says, “And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man” (I Chron. 21:1-5, 7-13, KJV). So what happened? The destroyer came, and it destroyed 70,000 people. Let's get the correct number here, because you have numbered them, and yes, went forth and smote all of them, and it was 70,000 people died because of David’s sin.

Now, let's look at another instance. Now you see, one thing that Satan does—and here's what we need to always realize and keep in mind—since he's got the world, who’s he going to concentrate on? He’s going to concentrate on those that are serving God, and that means we're also all subject to having to be very careful in what we do. Let’s come to Zechariah the 3rd chapter, and let's see something here in the book of Zechariah. Now, Zechariah the 3rd chapter, and here it tells us about Joshua the high priest. Now let's begin right here, in verse 1, Zechariah 3:1, “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest…” So here, we had the king, first, David. Now we've got an example of Joshua the high priest, “standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at is right hand to resist him” (Zech. 3:1, KJV). Now that’s something, isn’t it? Right there. And then of course God intervened, put away his sin, so that he could do the work that he needed to do.

Now let’s come to the New Testament, and let's see how Satan intervenes. Even during the preaching of the gospel, Satan is right there. Let's come here to Mark the 4th chapter. Satan is right there, and he does not want people to know the truth. He wants to keep them bound and captive into his way. Now let’s pick it up here in Mark 4:14. This is the parable of the sower. “The sower sows the Word. Now the ones by the way, where the Word was sown, these are the ones who hear, but Satan comes at once and takes away the Word that was sown in their hearts.” Now we’re seeing that today. Satan has an all out blitz on the world, to take away what ever vestige of Jesus Christ there is in the world. And he also has an all out blitz upon the church, to take away the knowledge of the truth from those who know the truth. And he always comes, just like he did with David, with a good idea, but it fails. And they are, “…the ones which were in like manner sown upon the rocky places, these are the ones who when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with joy; but because they have no root in themselves, they do not endure; when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, they are quickly offended.” So, it's something, see, all of these things are there.

Now as we saw in the seven churches, what do we have? How Satan interferes with the seven churches, right? We’re going to see how Satan has been there busy and active in every thing that he can do. And living in the end-time, when the great and glorious civilization of Satan the Devil and mankind is going to come together, it's going to be something that we really need to be on top of it, and be aware of, and be aware of the devices of Satan the devil, and so forth.

Now then, he explains about those who were sown among the thorns, “And those which were sown among the thorns, these are the ones who hear the Word, but the cares of this life, in the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things that come into their lives choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful.” And I would say, we all need to take verse 19, and really apply it to ourselves because we have so many things going, we have so many things that are happening in our lives in the world and everything around us, and we're living in a Laodicean age where there's riches and increases in goods, and we are going to see the deceitfulness of that in the time down the road.

Now, let's go on, because there's hope, verse 20, “Now those which were sown upon the good ground…” and that has to be us, “…these are the ones who hear the Word, receive it, and bring forth fruit, one thirtyfold, and one sixtyfold, one a hundredfold” (Mark 4:14-20, FV). And so that's really quite a powerful and profound thing for us to see, and know and understand, and how these things work in our lives.

Let's look at another account here, in the book of Matthew, Matthew 16, and let's see an example of an attempt by this, of Satan trying to steal out of Peter’s heart what God put in there. Now, let's pick it up here in Matthew 16, and let's pick it up here in verse 13. Now let's follow this along, because there's a great lesson in it for us. Because you see, the adversary Satan the devil is still there, and he’s still going around, and he’s still seeking whom he may devour. And so right here—just picture this, Jesus is there, the apostles are there, and guess who is also there, invisible? As we will see, Satan.

Now let’s begin in verse 13, “Now after coming into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus questioned His disciples, saying, ‘Whom do men declare Me, the Son of man, to be? And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets’. He said to them, ‘But you, whom do you declare Me to be?’ ” Now notice, “Then Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona…’ ” which means the son of Jonah, “ ‘…for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father, Who is in heaven.’ ” Very interesting isn't it, here God the Father just revealed it to Him, that He was the Christ. Now, let’s come over here and see what happened, beginning in verse 21. Now, Satan can't let that go. So let's see what he does with Peter here, “From that time Jesus began to explain to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised the third day. But after taking Him aside, Peter personally began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God will be favorable to you, Lord. In no way shall this happen to You.’ ” Now here is a good cause, right? Here was something he was going to save Jesus from all the trouble and difficulty that he brought out here, that he was to suffer many things, that he was to be killed, and be raised the third day, and so Peter, he has a good cause. No, we’re not going to let this happen to you. Well, let's see what happened here, “Then He” that is Jesus “turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan!’ ” Right there, Satan, Johnny-on-the-spot, ready to thrust in his deception. And he does it under the guise that he always does, this is something good. Is that not what he told Adam and Eve? And also, appealing to Peter’s vanity, “Oh this will make you important, this will make you number one, you’re going to save Jesus.” Now He said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, because your thoughts are not in accord with the things of God, but the things of men.” Now notice what he says afterwards, because this is important, and this becomes one of the key things of our armor against Satan the devil. Now let's read it, “And Jesus said…” verse 24, “to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross and follow Me’ ” (Matt. 16:13-17, 21-24, FV).

Now that goes right back to where we read there, in Matthew the 4:4, that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4, FV). So we’re to follow Christ, we’re to follow God. Now notice, he draws his parallel here, “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall render to everyone according to his doings” (Matt 16:26-27, FV). So you see, again he pointed that Christ is going to take over the world. Now let's ask the question, is Satan the god of this world? Yes. What did it gain him to be the god of this world? Nothing, because it's all going to be taken from him, and he’s going to be removed forever.

Part 2

Now let’s take a look at another instance here with Peter. Let’s see what was said here. Let’s come to Luke 22, and again we’re going to see about Peter. We’re going to see his ambition, as it were, and let’s see what he said he was going to do. Let’s pick it up here, in Luke 22:31, “Then the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon, listen well. Satan has demanded to have you,” now that’s quite a statement. Just think, Satan has his plan here to make Peter the first pope at the get go. I think we need to understand that that’s why Peter was never the first pope. “…Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren. And He said to him, “ ‘Lord…’ ” and now notice his attitude. He really didn’t accept this. “ ‘Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death.’ ” It’s the same attitude that he had back there in Matthew 16. (Now we’re not going to let this happen, by force. We are going to get this thing done.) And who was it that took the sword and went for the head of the servant of the high priest? It was Peter. He ducked just in time and he got his ear. Now Jesus said, verse 34, “But He said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock shall in no wise crow today before you have denied knowing Me three times’ ” (Luke 22:31-34).

Now see, this is important for us to understand. A very key profound point, if I could put it that way. You cannot solve your problems yourself by your own means, by your own effort, by your own will. You’ve got to go to God and ask Him to help you solve those problems. Now you can solve them with God’s help. You can solve them through prayer and study, but not by just your own carnal human ability here. And so, that was quite a thing that he told Him.

Now, let’s see also how Jesus had to deal with Peter again just before He ascended to heaven. Let’s come to the very last chapter of the Gospel of John, John 21, and let’s see what Jesus had to say to Peter three times there. It was a little bit different. And I’m sure He did this knowing the proclivity of Peter, knowing that Peter was headstrong. So therefore He wanted to make sure. Now just as he denied Him three times, so then Jesus said this to him three times. Now let’s pick it up here in John 21:15, “Therefore, when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me more than these?’ ” (John 21:15, FV). Now you see, this is almost the same lesson that he taught right after Peter did his thing in Matthew 16:[24]. “If anyone desires to comes after Me, let him deny himself” (Matt.16:24, FV). So He’s saying to Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” That is the other the other apostles, “And he said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord. You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ ” Now this is a great and a tremendous thing for us understand, not only for Peter, but for whoever is going to be an elder, a minister, or teacher, to teach the people, “Feed the lambs of Christ.” They belong to Him. You’re not to exalt yourself over them. You’re not to make yourself the big important mucky muck. See, that’s all contained right in here, and who would be one of the first ones to exalt himself, carnally speaking, Peter. So that’s why this incident is given here. “He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord. You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Shepard My sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things. You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep.”

Then he told him something else, to show what it would be like at the end of his life. He was not going to be the big headstrong, courageous, “I’m going to fight for you Lord. I’ll never deny you Lord.” He was going to be old and feeble. So He said, “Truly, truly I say to you, since you were young, you have dressed yourself and walked wherever you have desired; but when you are old, you shall stretch out your hands, and another shall dress you and bring you where you do not desire to go. Now He said this to signify by what death he would glorify God. And after saying this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me’ ” (John 21:15-19). Very instructive. Now Peter did come through, because Jesus prayed for him, but nevertheless that’s how Satan works.

Now let’s see something else. Let’s come here to John 13, and of course, we’ve covered this before but let’s cover it here now. Satan likes to be right there in the middle of the action, so he can destroy it. And we’ve had many experiences where people have tried to come, under the guise of doing good, and doing this and that, and the other thing, and we have just had to turn them away, leave them alone. See, because unless we follow God, unless we follow Christ, Satan is going to be there, looking for every little opportunity that he can have. Now, we know that at the last Passover, unseen was Satan. He was there. Isn’t that interesting? You look at the thing concerning the “Da Vinci Code,” and the unseen disciple was Mary Magdalene, very interesting. No it wasn’t Magdalene; the unseen being was Satan the devil because he had already put in the mind of Judas Iscariot to betray Him. Now, let’s pick it up here, in verse 26, about the one who was to betray Him, “Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I shall give a sop after I have dipped it.’ And when He had dipped the sop, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son. And after the sop, Satan entered into him.” Right there, right there at the last Passover, “Then Jesus said to it to him, ‘What you do, do quickly’ ” (John 13:26-27, FV).

Now, Satan wants to be there all the time. Now, as I said, he’s got the whole world. Let’s come back here to Acts 26, and let’s see something concerning Satan, and how he works, and how he is, and why we need the gospel of God with the truth that only God can bring us, and also to show something very important too, that God is the one who can release people from that. God is the one who can take them out from under the authority of Satan the devil.

We have the account concerning Saul, as he was going up to Damascus. And lets pick it up here in verse nine, Acts 26, and let’s follow along with what Paul said and see the very commission that he was given. And of course, Paul to the Gentiles went out into the Greek world, didn’t he, which when you know and understand the truth of the Bible, they were all living the way of Cain in denying God, following the created thing, worshiping the serpent, worshiping Diana, worshiping Athena, worshiping Zeus, worshiping all of these gods, which then represented the agents of Satan the devil, going clear back to the time before, and just after the flood. So God calls Saul to go into this world, and preach Christ. Now lets pick it up here in verse 9, “For this very reason, I truly thought in myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus the Nazarean, which I also did in Jerusalem; and many of the saints I shut up in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my full consent against them. And by punishing them often in all the synagogues…” going into the synagogues, beatings them, scourging them, “…I compelled them to blaspheme…” Here Saul was an agent of Satan the devil, to do his work. “…And being exceedingly furious against them, I persecuted them even as far as foreign cities. During this time, I was journeying to Damascus with authorization and a commission from the chief priests, when I saw on the road at midday, O king, a light from heaven, surpassing the brightness of the sun, shine around me and those who were traveling with me. Then all of us fell to the ground; and I heard a voice speak to me, saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? Itis hard for you to kick against the pricks.’ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.’ ”

Now, let’s understand this, a very important point. Any persecution you have against you, they are persecuting Christ. You need to understand that, because Christ is in you. “Now arise, and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as a minister and a witness both of what you have seen and what I shall revealed to you. I am personally selecting you from among the people and the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light…” Because Christ is a light of the world, right. This is just as we covered in a sermon recently, about the light of God, “…and from the authority of Satan to God…” So you see, all the world—because he is deceiving the whole world—is under the authority of Satan the devil, every bit of it. Now, God still works in it. God works out His plan in it; God intervenes, just like He did in calling Saul; God reaches down and calls those whom He wants to, and so forth. But nevertheless, this is a key thing, “…from the authority of Satan to God, so that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified through faith in Me’ ” (Acts 26:9-18, FV). So that was his commission, what he was to do. So that was quite a thing, from the authority of Satan to the authority of God.

Now let’s understand that Satan is there with all of his lying things. Come back here to John 8, and let’s see something else concerning even the disciples who followed Jesus, and the priests and the Sadducees and Pharisees who were there, right at the temple. And again, to show the point, Satan likes to get right in the middle of the action at the highest level possible. Therefore, we need to understand, that’s one of his tactics, and not give him an opening, not give him a space. That’s why we’re told every day, we ask God, “deliver us from the evil one” because he is there with his treacherous lies, and the difficulties and problems, that he brings into our lives. Now, let’s pick it up here in John the 8th chapter, and let’s pick it up here in verse 31. It is quite a long discussion going on here. “Therefore, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him…” Now they believed in Him, “ ‘If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone…Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a servant of sin.’ ” And who is the master of sin but Satan the devil. And he gets into it here a little later on. Now these were the ones who believed in Him. See, so it’s possible to believe in Jesus, but still be run by Satan the Devil if you truly do not believe the truth. Now, let’s come down here, to read a little bit more of this. “Therefore…” verse 36, “if the Son shall set you free, you shall truly be free.” And have the Spirit of God. “I know that you are Abraham’s seed; but you are seeking to kill Me, because My words do not enter into your minds. I speak the things that I have seen from My Father, and you do the things that you have seen from your father.”

Now, what I want you to do is put in your notes there, and take some time, go back and read Ezekiel the 8th chapter, and all the satanic things that were going on right at the temple. Now, let me just mention something here that is important to understand. They have dug up some of the implements of the second temple; they found them out in the caves of letters. And they had an incense shovel, and they know the priest put it there, because the instructions were on a copper scroll where to find it, because they hid it. And on this incense shovel was a serpent, stamped into the bottom of the incense shovel. It was almost like a little dustpan, if we can put it that way. And here’s a serpent, and all the Jews were stunned; how could this be, how could the priests, all these good righteous priests, have something with a serpent on it. Well, the truth is, just like we read about Joshua, in Zechariah the 3rd chapter, Satan is standing right there. If he could get those at the temple to believe his lies, then the lies will be disseminated to all the people, right? That’s exactly what Satan is doing today. He is deceiving the rulers of this world and the rulers of the religions of this world, so that they will disseminate his lies. So we have the same thing here. Oh yes. And Jesus said, “…you are seeking to kill Me.” And they said “No we’re not.” Yes they were. Then He said “You are of your father the devil…” Now, let’s come down here, and let’s understand this. Verse 42, “…Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father…’ ” Which tells us something very important, doesn’t it? You either belong to God or you don’t belong to God, and those who are in between, they need to get off the dime, and go wholly God’s way, or wholly Satan’s way. Now that’s what Christ challenged to church back there, the church of the Laodecions. The ‘tweeners are the ones who are in trouble, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I proceeded forth and came from God. For I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why don’t you understand My speech? Because you cannot bear to hear My words. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you desire to practice. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he is speaking of his own self; for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me’ ” (John 8:31-38, 42-45, FV). You see that’s what cuts to the quick, isn’t it, the truth. Satan likes to come in and mix in the truth. Satan likes to come in and bring false doctrines.

Now, let’s see just a little bit about this. Let’s see what happened. Let’s come here to I Timothy, the first chapter, and let’s see how, even in Paul’s ministry, there were those who got in, who were twisting the doctrines, teaching other things. Now, let’s read about it here, let’s pick it up here in verse 3, ITimothy the first chapter: “When I was going to Macedonia, I exhorted you to remain in Ephesus, in order that you might solemnly charge some not to teach other doctrines;” And we have the same thing today, exactly the same thing today. People want other doctrines. They want it—and one of the things that you have—you have two thrust of Satan the devil coming against the church. One is the thrust from Judaism, to make you an Old Testament Jewish church, which then will lead you to denying Christ. And I’ve seen this happen during the time of my life, in the ministry. The other one is from the Protestant point of view, and Catholic point of view, that you do away with the laws of God, and you come over here and you accept this lawless grace. Now notice, “Nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which lead to empty speculations rather than to edification from God, which is in faith.”

Now, He gives the example of all of these things, and let’s come to the end of the chapter, because it is a very profound and important thing to understand. Now he says, let’s pick it up here in verse 18, “This charge I am personally committing to you, my son Timothy, in accordance with the prophecies that were made long ago concerning you; in order that by them you yourself might wage a good warfare, Holding to the faith and a good conscience. For some, having cast aside a good conscience, have made shipwreck in regard to the faith; Of whom are Hymeneus and Alexander, whom I turned over to Satan in order that they may learn not to blaspheme” (I Tim. 1:3-4, 18-20, FV). And it says there in II Timothy, that they were saying that the resurrection is all ready past. See, so our souls go to heaven.

Now, those who bring false doctrine can be turned over to Satan the devil. Those who have personal sins and will not repent can be turned over to Satan the devil, as we find in I Corinthian’s the 5th chapter. Now, the purpose of that is, so that through the trials and difficulties that you are destined to go through, if you turn your back on God, that maybe you will repent. But nevertheless, Satan is there continuously, continuously trying to come after people.

Now, he comes after ministers. Let’s come over here to I Timothy 3:6, while we’re right here. One who is an elder is “Not a novice, lest he become conceited and fall into thesame condemnation as the devil.” And be lifted up. Yes, in verse 7, “It is mandatory that he also have a good report from those whoare outside thechurch, lest he fall into reproaches and the snare of the devil” (I Tim. 3:6-7, FV). Well, I tell you, it’s something.

Let’s come over here to II Timothy the 2:22, let’s see what he says here, “But flee youthful lusts; and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who are calling on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and ignorant speculations reject, knowing that they engender arguments.” And arguments lead to vain speculation, and vain speculation leads to false doctrine. So that’s why I have my cowbell. When I do some speculating, I ring my cowbell, so you know that this is not dogma. Now verse 24, “Now it is obligatory that a servant of the Lord not be argumentative, but gentle toward all, competent to teach, forbearing, in meekness correcting those who set themselves in opposition; if perhaps God may grant them repentance unto acknowledging of the truth, and that they may wake up andescape from the devil’s snare, who have been taken captive by him to do his will” (II Tim. 2:22-26, FV).

And if Satan is deceiving the whole world, and I tell you, what the Day of Atonement ought do is make us alert to all of the wiles of the devil, and for us to understand, we must have the spirit of God, we must have the word of God, we must have the faith of God to fight Satan the devil. That’s what’s so important. And then we are going to see what is absolutely important, is this, only God will get rid of Satan the devil. That’s why the ceremony back in Leviticus 16. Many of the things that we covered here are portrayed in that example of selecting by lot the goat for the Lord and the goat for Azazel. To look at it on the surface, you can’t tell the difference. To hear the sound of something, which sounds almost right, it’s hard to distinguish the difference. So that’s why God has to make the choice.

Now, let’s see some other things, let’s come over here to I Peter the 5th chapter, and let’s see what we have concerning Peter’s talking about Satan, and of course, he had his experience with it, didn’t he? Yes he did. Now, let’s come down here to verse 6, I Peter 5:6. Now, after talking to the elders and telling them don’t be lifted up, don’t be lording it over the flock of God, he says here, verse 6, “Be humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God so that He may exalt you in due time; casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you.” Now you see, these things come upon us so that we then have an opportunity to come to God, and in a way God is testing us with it. And we need to look to the leading of God, you see, casting all of our cares upon Him. Now if we don’t; if we try and work out our own way, that’s exactly what Satan wants us to do, because he’s got you. We have to work it out God’s way. Ask for His help, His spirit, His guidance, His leading. So He says here, “Be sober! Be vigilant! For your adversary the devil is prowling about as a roaring lion, seeking anyone he may devour.” Now that’s anyone who believes the truth. That’s why when Satan is cast down, he begins to persecute the church and then makes war against the others who have the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. And we’re going to be facing a time when that is going to be a reality. Now he says “Whom resist, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are being fulfilled among your brethren who are in the world. Now may the God of all grace, Who has called his unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, Himself perfect you, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (I Peter 5:6-10, FV). Now that’s what God wants to do to lead us out of all of these trials.

Now let’s see what James has to say about this. Let’s come to James the 4th chapter. So the whole point we need to understand is this, Satan is out after his church, and in many cases to many people are falling for his spurious arguments. Too many people are overwhelmed in the trials, rather than coming to God in the trials. To many people get discouraged, and despondent, and have a guilty conscience because they’re trying to word it out their way, instead of God’s way. Now you see, we need to understand what it is saying here.

Let’s come back here to James 4:4. Now James was pretty strong here, he said, “You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?” See we are called out of the world. “Therefore, whosoever desires to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Now we’ve even seen how that has happened within the church, haven’t we? And what happens when you make yourself a friend of the world? You become an enemy of God. And what happens when you become an enemy of God? God has got to come and fight against you, right? He’s got to come and correct you, right? Yes indeed. “Or do you think that the scripture says in vain, ‘The spirit that dwells in us lusts with envy’? But He gives greater grace…” The help of God is greater, you see. That’s what He is saying. “This is the reason it says, ‘God sets Himself against the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore, submit yourselves to God.” So you resist the devil in faith, you submit yourself to God, you follow God’s way, and the devil will flee from you. Now notice, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” So even in the worst possible circumstances we can find ourselves in, God is there to help us. We need to realize that. “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded!” (James 4:4-8, FV). See because that’s what happens. When Satan comes along and bing, he throws one of those arrows of lust and temptation into your heart and mind, and you start entertaining sin, what happens? You’re double-minded.

Now, here’s what you need to do, if you have a problem that is really bothering you, ask God to lift it from you, and take it completely from you, and give you perfect forgetfullness of it. And He will. If you have something coming along in your mind all the time, popping up, popping up, popping up, you do that, you take it to God and ask Him to get rid of it that way.

Now, there are other places in the New Testament were it talks about how Satan had hindered Paul, kept him from doing the things that he needed to do. And he also understood that only God can get rid of Satan, that’s why we have all of this advice here, on how to fight him in this life. But, in the final analysis, only God can get rid of Satan.

Now, let’s come to the book of Revelation, and let’s see that, and let’s see the fulfillment of Leviticus 16, the doing away with Satan the devil, getting rid of him. Now, that’s why before the millennium begins the first part of Satan’s judgment must come upon him. Because in order for God to bring in the millennium and the kingdom of God, ruled with Christ and the saints, there’s no room for Satan the devil. He is put out as the ruler of this world. First he’s cast down, and then after he is cast down, he makes war against the church, then he raises up his great civilization to fight against Christ, and that fails, and then beginning in Revelation chapter 20, we see the fulfillment and the parallel of Leviticus 16. And the truth is, you cannot understand the spiritual significance of Leviticus 16, until you have Revelation 20. Very important to understand.

Now after the battle, the beast and false prophet are cast in the lake of fire, right? Who is the power behind them? Satan, the god of this world. So we have Revelation 20:1, “Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss…” And Satan is the king over the abyss. “…and a great chain in his hand. And he took hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” In order for the millennium to begin Satan must be removed, and he is, and he’s bound for a thousand years. “Then he cast him into the abyss…” Now the closest thing you can come to that, in type, with the sacrifices of Leviticus 16, was have the hand of the fit man, who was a type of the angel, and lead him into the wilderness, which had to be a type of the abyss. “…locked him up, and sealed the abyss over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were fulfilled; and after that it is ordained that he be loosed for a short time” (Rev. 20:1-3, FV). Now we’ll cover that when we get to that time. But the final judgment, against Satan the devil, is going to be, as we find, in the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. So that’s just a few days down the road for us, so we’ll pick up the rest of it there, the final judgment and removal of Satan the devil.

But this is why we have this day, a day of fasting and prayer, a of day of getting close to God, a day of realizing our physical weaknesses, our mental weaknesses, all the trials and troubles that we have, that we have an adversary we are fighting, and in order for us to overcome and be in the Kingdom of God, we must overcome Satan the devil, which we can through the blood of Jesus Christ. And then when we come back to this earth with Christ, we are going to see Satan bound, and then we will be given the authority to begin to repair the whole world, and began the millennium with the Kingdom of God.

Atonement – 2006

Scriptural Reference

• Leviticus 23:26-32, (KJV)
• Leviticus 16:1-11, 15-16, 19-22, 29-31, 34, (KJV)
• Matthew 4:1-9, (FV)
• Luke 4:1-9, (FV)
• II Corinthians 4:4, (FV)
• I Chronicles 21:1-5, 7-13, (KJV)
• Zechariah 3:1, (KJV)
• Mark 4:14-20, (FV)
• Matthew 16:13-17, 21-24, (FV)
• Matthew 4:4, (FV)
• Matthew 16:26-27, (FV)
• Luke 22.31-34, (FV)
• John 21:15, (FV)
• Mark 16:24, (FV)
• John 21:15-19, (FV)
• John 13:26-27, (FV)
• Acts 26:9-18, (FV)
• John 8:31-38, 42-45, (FV)
• I Timothy 1:3-4, 18-20, (FV)
• I Timothy 3:6-7, (FV)
• II Timothy 2:22-26, (FV)
• I Peter 5:6-10, (FV)
• James 4:4-8, (FV)
• Revelation 20:1-3, (FV)