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AT-ONE with God
God reveals His plan to rid the world of Satan the devil
Fred R. Coulter—October 12, 2016
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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the Day of Atonement! Time marches on! Here we are now getting ready for the Feast of Tabernacles, and in order to do that we have to have at-one-ment with God.
Actually, that’s what the Feast of Tabernacles shows; that we’ll be dwelling with God! You can’t dwell with God unless you are first at one with God!
This is the absolute genius of God’s hiding in plain sight His very plan, because it has to be put together rightly; rightly dividing the Scriptures, and understanding them. That cannot come unless we keep His commandments, love God’s Sabbath and His Holy Days. Then the understanding begins to come. Then we realize God’s great plan:
Why we are here
where we’re going
why He created the world
why the world is in such a mess today
how God is going to handle that
how it is all going to be solved
That’s what we’re going to cover in the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.
Leviticus 23:26: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying.” As I’ve emphasized many times, everything that Moses wrote was what God told him to write. There is no such thing as the Law of Moses independent from God. So, that eliminates all of the traditions of Judaism.
There may be some few that adhere to the Word of God, so Moses only wrote and spoke what God told him to do. Remember the one time when he made the mistake? God told Moses to speak to the rock and he got angry because of the children of Israel and beat it with his rod! What did that cost him? He could not go into the ‘promised land’! He could only see it.
It’s very interesting when we look at those things that way. That is especially so concerning the Day of Atonement.
Verse 27: “Also, on the tenth day of this seventh month, is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a Holy convocation to you. And you shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.”
Today we don’t make offerings by fire, because there is no temple or priesthood and we worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Christ is the Head of the Church. However, we are to give offerings to God. We are to give them when we come before God, especially on this Day of Atonement. This pictures, as we will see, getting rid of Satan the devil! After all, who has caused all the problems in this world? Satan the devil, indeed!
Verse 27: “Also, on the tenth day of this seventh month…” This is God speaking to Moses; remember Moses didn’t write a single thing on his own. If you think that that is wrong, go read the account where God instructed Moses to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water. The first time that happened, God said to ‘strike the rock’ and water will come forth. This time He said, the second time, ‘speak to the rock’ and it will bring forth water.
Well, Moses was so upset with the children of Israel harassing him, demanding of him, that he got angry and he struck the rock. The water came, but God said, ‘Because you didn’t believe Me and you struck the rock instead of speaking to it, you shall not go into the promised land.’
With that in mind, I challenge any doubter to search Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and find out any law whatsoever that Moses wrote. So, when the New Testament talks about the Law of Moses, it’s talking about the Law of God that God gave through Moses. The Hebrew is that ‘he spoke by the mouth of Moses.’ They’re God’s words.
Verse 27: “Also, on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a Holy convocation to you. And you shall afflict your souls… [your physical body] …and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.”
So, we take up an offering the Holy Day of the Day of Atonement. We have a command right here: you shall “…offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.” You might figure that your job is kind of like under the fire, but at this time we’ll take up the offering. Thank you for it and for your faithfulness in serving and loving God.
(pause for the offering)
I want you understand what God is saying here, because three times He emphasizes no work!
Verse 28: “And you shall do no work in that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, in order to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God, for whoever is not afflicted…” (vs 28-29). In Psa. 37 and in Ezra that means fasting without food or water.
“…in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people” (v 29). How does God cut off people from among the people? You don’t have the blessing of God that goes to His people, even though you’re dwelling in the midst of them! And generally, as we have seen in the Church, sooner or later they leave.
Verse 30: “And whoever does any work in that same day, the same one will I destroy from among his people.” Likewise that can be physical destruction or it can be ruin, even though they may still be alive.
Verse 31: “You shall do no manner of work. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict yourselves….” (vs 31-32).
Next is how a Sabbath Day is defined. From sunset on one day, which begins the Sabbath, to sunset of the next day at the end of it, which is the ending of the day and the beginning of the new day.
“…In the ninth day of the month at sunset, from sunset to sunset, you shall keep your Sabbath” (v 32).
God made it very particular there, because he didn’t want anyone to be in any doubt as to when the day began, and when the day ended. That applies to all Sabbaths; all days in the Bible end at sunset and as soon as the sun goes below the horizon, the new day has begun.
People ask: Why did God do that? Does God do things that we don’t understand? Yes! To our human minds, because we are so logical and know more than God (most people think) morning would be better because that’s when we get up. That’s not what God says. It’s the same thing with His Word, because God says so it is so! It does happen!
On this particular day there was a very special ceremony for the priests, Levities and the people, for the temple and all the land of Israel. Let’s understand something very important: whenever Satan is around there is sin. This is a special offering on this Day of Atonement, for the forgiveness of the sins and uncleanness of all the children of Israel, for the priests, all the priests and all the Levites.
Remember that the high priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year, and that was on this Day of Atonement, to bring in the blood and incense and sprinkle it upon and around the Ark of the Covenant, as well as around the base of the altar, etc.
Then we find that there was a special offering that was made. The spiritual understanding of this today, with the understanding of the New Testament and what we understand in the Old Testament, as well, is that Satan the devil—the archangel who rebelled—as we will see when we get to the Feast of Tabernacles. Why did Solomon go wrong? Because he got his mind on himself!
That’s exactly what the archangel did —whom a lot of people refer to as Lucifer—when he got ‘lifted up in pride.’ He thought his glory was as good as God’s. He thought he was God. He led a rebellion of a third of the angels (Rev. 12). They came to assault the throne of God in the sides of the North, because he wanted to sit down on the throne of God and say, ‘I am God.’
Needless to say, he failed! Everything that Satan does, though it is something that is accomplished, it always ends in death, destruction and wretchedness.
Everything that God does, if people would respond… Because as we know, we all have free moral agency, and that is so powerful that God tells everyone of us that we must choose whether we will
love God
keep His commandments
or
serve Satan the devil
Because Adam and Eve chose the wrong way, Satan became ‘the god of this world’ as Paul writes in 2-Cor. 4. As ‘god of this world’ he has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.
This is the way that the world is: walking in darkness and blindness! Jesus said of those unconverted, ‘Let the blind lead the blind, and let the dead bury the dead.’
So, here on this Day of Atonement, it’s a very important thing. God has concealed the beginning of this truth and how He’s going to take care of Satan the devil, and what is going to happen to him. He began revealing it here in Lev. 16. However, some 1800 years later, when the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation, it could not be understood how God was going to take care of it. So, let’s read about this special offering:
Leviticus 16:7: And he shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats; one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel…. [another name for Satan the devil] … And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer it for a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement upon it…” (vs 7-10). So, we have a two-way atonement here:
for the forgiveness of the children of Israel for the uncleanness and all their sins
That’s the goat that is sacrificed and the blood is sprinkled on the burnt altar and also on the altar of the Holy of Holies. The one that is alive, we will see:
is for Azazel, which is for Satan
We will see that it is kept alive because God is not going to destroy Satan. There are some people who think they’re better than God and say, ‘Are all things are possible with God?’ The answer is yes!
Here’s a good example of human philosophical reasoning. Just because God can do anything and all things are possible for God, and nothing is impossible for Him, doesn’t mean that your idea of what God should do with Satan the devil has any bearing on what God Himself is going to do. That’s the reason why this goat is left alive!
“…and sent away into the wilderness for Azazel” (v 10)—removed forever!
It tells what he should do with the blood of all the different animals and the incense, and so forth.
Verse 16: “And he shall make an atonement for the sanctuary because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel and because of their transgressions in all their sins. And so he shall do for the tabernacle of the congregation, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the sanctuary until he comes out and has made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make an atonement for it. And he shall take of the blood of the young bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. And he shall sprinkle of the blood on it with his finger seven times and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel” (vs 16-19).
That was for the goat, which was for the sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. This was a foretype of Christ. He’s also called the Lamb of God. But, in this case, this is a good goat. The other one, for Satan/Azazel, God had to do something entirely different. Let’s see what happened:
Verse 20: And when he has made an end of reconciling the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the sins of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away by the hand of a chosen man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities to a land in which no one lives. And he shall let the goat go in the wilderness” (vs 20-22).
Has heaven ever been pictured as a wilderness? No! There are some people who say, because the sins are confessed over this live goat, that this is a type of Christ ascending to heaven for the forgiveness of our sins. However, the goat was led away by the hand of a ‘fit man.’ Was Christ taken up to heaven by angels? or Did He ascend because He was God? Obviously, because He was God!
Why have the sins been put on the head of the live goat?
Were they not already all forgiven with the sacrifice of the first goat?
The one to God?
And if He forgives the sin, they are forgiven!
Why? It doesn’t matter how perfect you may be in the flesh!
Were Adam and Eve perfect? Yes!
In the flesh? Yes!
What happened when the serpent was loosed upon them? They sinned!
Who was the author of those sins? Satan the devil!
As long as Satan is around, there will never be perfect righteousness! There will always be sin! He has to be removed. But in type, since he is spirit he cannot die, because God decreed that He would not kill him.
We find that on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles, it pictures Satan and the demons cast into the Lake of Fire. At the beginning of the Millennium they were put in prison, then let loose for a short season and then cast into the Lake of Fire.
We will see that that Lake of Fire will consume the whole earth and everything. We’ll have to wait for the Last Great Day to get to that. But it says in Jude that the ‘wandering stars—Satan and the demons—for them is reserved the blackest darkness forever!
This is what that wilderness pictures. Satan and the demons will be bound there forever, so that everyone in the Kingdom of God and the Family of God will know and understand forever that in order for God’s magnificent plan to be carried out in the way that he wants it carried out, there cannot be sin and rebellion against God. That’s the long and short of the whole thing!
That’s why all the sins are confessed upon the head of the goat that is for Azazel, because Satan is responsible for all human sin.
Verse 22: “And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities to a land in which no one lives. And he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.” We will see something about the wilderness in just a little bit.
Verse 23: “And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall strip off the linen garments… [v 24]: And he shall wash his flesh with water in the Holy place…and make an atonement for himself and for the people.”
Verse 26: “And he that let go the goat for Azazel… [this is a type of the angel who casts Satan into the prison (Rev. 20)] …shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. and the young bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy place, shall they carry forth outside the camp….” (vs 26-27).
This was everything that was left of the sin offering and taken out to what is called the Miphkad Altar, which is up on the side of the Mt. of Olives. There’s they burned all the sin offerings to ashes. Very interesting, isn’t it?
What’s going to happen to those people who commit the unpardonable sin and don’t repent? They are burned to ashes in the Lake of Fire! Is that not true? Here’s the parallel, getting rid of all the sin, burning it up.
Then it says, v 28: “And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp…. [outside the camp] …And it shall be a statute forever to you: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country or a stranger who is living among you, for on that day an atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you, so that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls, by a statute forever” (vs 28-31)—of ridged obedience!
It’s not a matter of ridge obedience that God wants no more sin. It’s a matter of love. Love is going to be the whole foundation of everything that God does for eternity, because God is love.
The man who took the goat out in the wilderness will wash his clothes and cleanse his flesh and so forth.
Verse 29: “And it shall be a statute forever to you: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country or a stranger who is living among you, for on that day an atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you, so that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls, by a statute forever” (vs 29-31). There are the instructions for it.
Let’s see some other things concerning this Day of Atonement. We know the account in Gen. 3; it’s good for us to go back and review these things even though we understand what is there. We learn every time we go over the Word of God, we learn more again.
Let’s understand something about Satan the devil. Satan has a very convincing sweet side, or gentle side to him, because he is the master deceiver! That’s what it means here in Gen. 3. When you watch all the documentaries on how people ‘got religion’ it all comes back to the serpent, and that’s none other than Satan the devil!
Genesis 3:1: “Now, the serpent was more cunning than any creature of the field, which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Is it true that God has said… [an innocent-sounding question] …“You shall not eat of any tree of the garden”?’” God didn’t say that! God said just the opposite: ‘You may eat of every tree that’s in the Garden.’
Isn’t it interesting that every idea to add to or take away from the Word of God, where did it originate? From Satan the devil!
Verse 2: “And the woman said… [she gave the right answer] …to the serpent, ‘We may freely eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has indeed said… [there is added instruction that God gave] …“You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”’ And the serpent said to the woman, ‘In dying, you shall not surely die!’” (vs 2-4).
Let’s think about this for just a minute.
How did Jesus appear to the disciples after He was resurrected from the dead? He appeared as flesh and bone, not flesh and blood. He shed His blood for the sins!
How did He enter the room? He walked through the wall or door!
Was He a spirit being? Yes!
But He appeared to the disciples as flesh and bone!
Why? Because no man can be in the presence of God and see His glory, or see His face, and live!
Let’s come back to the Garden of Eden.
How did God appear to Adam and Eve? He couldn’t appear to them in His glorified form, because they would die! So, He appeared as flesh and bone.
Now, newly created by God, and being the best and most perfect human being ever, ever, ever! They had a language already programmed into their brain, they could talk with each other. We don’t know how long that they were there with God, but we know that they would walk with God in the ‘cool of the evening’ and talk with God. So, God would have had to appear to them as flesh and bone.
When Satan brings up this statement ‘you shall not surely die’… Now, they were closer, they thought, to what God actually was, because He looked like them; they were made in His image.
So, when the serpent says, 5: “‘For God knows that…[He’s hiding something from you, He’s not telling you something] …in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like God….’” That seemed like a logical step to take, to them, at that point. Don’t you want to be like God?
So, they thought about it, and here’s what they could do; they could not be like God in any other way than this, and they had to exercise they’re free moral agency—independent free moral agency (IFMA)—to choose whether they would obey God or not. So, as soon as Satan comes on the scene, sin is there! Also, Jesus said that Satan the devil—whom the ‘religious’ leaders of His day were serving instead of God—was the ‘father of lies!’ and ‘A murderer from the beginning.’
Here’s the only way that they could be like God, after a fashion: “‘…deciding good and evil’” (v 5)—whether what God said, what they said, ‘We’ll decide good and evil. We’ll make the decision.’ They made the wrong decision and sin entered into the world and passed on to all of us!
Here’s another thing concerning sin: Sin can appear to be very attractive! Can appear to give you a great benefit! That’s how people get hooked on sin; that’s how they get hooked on drugs; precisely like this:
it’ll never happen to you
you’re smart and intelligent
you can handle it
you won’t become an addict
try some of this ‘pot’ it’s really good stuff
it will make you feel good
you can relax
you can just kind of lay back and just cool out
Won’t that be nice? And they know that marijuana is a ‘gateway’ drug to other drugs. So, what comes a little later? Cocaine, heroin and meth! What happens? In dying you shall surely die! Exactly as God said!
Satan comes along to give a benefit! His benefit is an unlawful benefit, but it is very enticing. How many people fall for it? Oh, it will make you feel good! The German soldiers took Pervitin, which was crystal meth, during WWII (watch that on American Heroes channel). Quite a thing!
Verse 6: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes… [very attractive, wonderful] …and a tree to be desired to make one wise…”
Doesn’t everyone want to be smart and intelligent? Look at the vanity of the elite! How smug they are in their satanic deception of atheism and evolution. ‘Why, you poor little crumbs down here who believe in God.’ Just wait! Just wait! God has a surprise for you! When He resurrects us, we’ll look at them and say, ‘Remember when you thought you were so smart?’
“…she took of its fruit and ate….” (v 6). Took a bite and probably said, ‘Why, that tastes wonderful; that’s sweet, that’s nice. Why would God say not to eat this? Maybe the serpent is right.’
“…She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened… [actually shut; shut to righteousness, but opened to sin] …and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Then Adam and his wife hid themselves…” (vs 6-7).
God knew where they were; God knew what they had done, but He wanted find out from them! So, you know what happened: All mankind from that time forth was cutoff from any access to the Tree of Life, any access to salvation. They still may have had some contact with God at the east entrance of the Garden of Eden, but they couldn’t go into the Garden of Eden any longer, and they received in themselves ‘the law of sin and death’ and ‘in dying you shall surely die.’
The New Testament tells us that ‘as in Adam all die.’ Isn’t that something? All die! The only one to overcome death was Jesus Christ. He declared to John in the Rev. 1, ‘Behold, I was dead, but now I am alive for evermore! I, Jesus, have the keys to death and the grave.’
So, Satan didn’t accomplish anything here in the garden his way. But Adam and Eve chose the wrong way, and you know the rest of the story.
Satan is deceiving the whole world! Now at the end-time look at the sins that are happening. Look at the way that the world is, and all because of Satan the devil! That’s why he has to be removed forever.
Let’s see that Satan and the demons still have limited access to God, and God uses them to carryout different things that God wants done. We find that Satan said to God, concerning Job, ‘You put a hedge around him,’ meaning that God didn’t allow Satan to get to Job. So, everything was fine! Job thought it was wonderful! Job thought it was great!
But Job could see that his sons were sinning, so he made burnt offerings and prayed for them everyday, lest they sin against God.
Job 1:6: “Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD. And Satan also came among them.” He could come before God on periodic occasions.
Verse 7: “And the LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.’” Why? Because he’s ‘the god of this world’! It says in 1-John 5 that the ‘whole world is under the power of the evil one. So, he has that power!
Verse 8: “And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil?’ And Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’” (vs 8-9).
Why do you love and fear God with all your heart, mind, soul and being? If it’s only because He’s going to give you eternal life… God wants that permanent connection with Him spiritually! Not like Job just because there are some benefits that are given. This shows that using Satan the devil, God can take them away just like that!
We won’t go through the book of Job, you can do that by getting our sermon series Why God Hates Religion!
We also know that in 1-Chron. 21 that Satan tempted David, and he fell for the temptation and numbered the children of Israel.
We also find that in Zech. 3 that Satan is standing there right alongside the high priest Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, to resist him. And, of course, it shows that the final one will be one of the two witnesses.
Then an angel came and rebuked Satan, saying, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’
(go to the next track)
Let’s find out a little bit more why this day is so important. God’s plan could never, never, never be fulfilled without the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement and the removal of Satan the devil!
Let’s talk about independent free moral agency (IFMA). God has given that to every one of us as human beings. We must choose!
For salvation, before Jesus came the only ones would be the patriarchs and some of the kings of Judah. Remember, not one king of the ten northern tribes was ever righteous. It’s so important that God, to demonstrate to all the righteous angels, to Satan the devil and all of the demons, to all of mankind that sin and rebellion always leads to death and destruction.
Just to prove a point, Rev. 18:24 is talking about Babylon the Great and that her sins have reached to ‘high heaven.’ How did it get that way?
through Satan the devil
through his setup
through his governments
through the human beings whom he controls
Revelation 18:24: “And in her the blood of prophets and saints was found, and the blood of all those who were slain on the earth.” Think on that statement! Tie that together with what Jesus said, that Satan was ‘a liar and a murder from the beginning.’
That’s why Azazel has to be completely removed! Whenever he is around, there is sin! He must be removed, but not destroyed.
Let’s look at some other things concerning Satan the devil. We find that before Jesus could begin His ministry He had to overcome Satan the devil. This was quite a spiritual battle that was going on.
When you understand the chronology correctly, Jesus began His ministry here. This was the beginning of it. This day, the day He began the 40-day temptation, was the Day of Atonement in the middle of the week—fourth day of the week. When was Jesus crucified? On the fourth day of the week! So, Jesus began His ministry on the fourth day of the week and ended His physical ministry on the fourth day of the week.
Let’s think about something else; in Luke 3 we find that Jesus was baptized and went into the wilderness immediately. So, he was probably baptized on a Monday, took two days to go into the wilderness, and there on Wednesday, the Day of Atonement—which was also a Jubilee year—Jesus began His ministry. The first order of business was overcoming Satan the devil!
Where was Azazel let go? In the wilderness! Right in the area where Jesus went to meet Satan!
Luke 4:1 (parallel account in Matt. 4): “And Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” The only way that any human being can overcome Satan the devil is with the Spirit of God, the power of the Spirit of God!
So, this was a great spiritual battle for all of mankind, for all of the plan of God, for every one of us!
Verse 2: “For forty days to be tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing in those days…” That’s why we fast on the day of the Atonement; that’s why we don’t drink water on the Day of Atonement.
“…and after they had come to an end, He hungered” (v 2)—actually famished; I would imagine that He was just skin and bones. When are people most susceptible to giving in?
when they’re physically and mentally weak
when they’re in pain and agony
when they seem t be in a helpless situation and are desperate
Don’t you think that Jesus was that way, physically speaking? Yes, indeed!
“…Then the devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God…’” First challenge! We also have to understand something very important: Jesus’ independent free moral agency was here being tested to the extreme. Jesus could have said, ‘Of course, I’m the Son of God!’ But that would not have been from God! Notice Jesus’ obedience based on loving the Father, and the Father loving Him!
“…‘If You are the Son of God, command that this stone become bread.’” (v 3). He could have done that; it would be simple!
It’s not really, in some cases, a matter of whether you can do it, or cannot do it; it’s really whether you should or should not do it! So, notice Jesus’ answer:
Verse 4: “But Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written…’” Since Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, and the son of man, when he’s speaking of ‘man’ here he’s talking to Himself as well as all mankind, because He’s the Creator of all mankind. Is that not true? Yes, indeed!
“‘…“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”’” (v 4).
Deuteronomy 8:3: “…that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD does man live”—as well as Matt. 4:4.
How are we to live?
What are we to choose?
God’s way!
What has God written for us?
What He wants us to do!
However, we’ve got to use our independent free moral agency to choose it. It’s all a choice!
Luke 4:5: “Then the devil led Him up into a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 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…’” (vs 5-6).
God has delivered the whole world to Satan the devil. Why? Because of the sins of human beings! God reaches down and calls those whom He wants to be in His Family. We have to respond to God and choose. There we go; that’s the way the world is!
“‘…and I give it to whomever I desire’” (v 6). Look at all the awful dictators, emperors, demigods, and all of this stuff. Satan wants to be worshipped!
He’s going to get it at the end. It says that ‘all the people—the whole world—worships the dragon and Satan, and he gives his throne and authority to the beast’ (Rev. 13). Just like it says here, “…and I give it to whomever I desire.”
Verse 7: “Therefore, if You will worship me in my presence, all things shall be Yours.” Satan wants to be God! All the worship and all the religions of the world are not directed to God, but to Satan. There are some who think that they are worshipping God, but they’re not!
What is the thing that’s important: That you love God and keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome! You must have the Spirit of God within you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of God within them, they are not of God. They may be close, they may be getting close to baptism and so forth, but that’s just the way it is. The whole world is worshipping Satan the devil in one form or another.
Verse 8: “But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan; for it is written, “You…”’” That’s not Satan; Satan will never worship God, so that doesn’t refer to Satan. Jesus is referring the command to men, “…You…” commanding us directly.
“‘…shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’ Then he [Satan] led Him to Jerusalem and set Him upon the edge of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here. For it is written…’” (vs 8-10). Satan can quote Scripture; reading Scripture does not sanctify that it is being spoken by a representative of God.
Notice how Satan misuses it! He misuses the Scripture! Do they do that in all of the so-called Christian churches? Yes, indeed they do! They read Scriptures about Jesus while they have idols and candles around, and celebrate the Mass, have the Lord’s Supper, keep Christmas, New Years, Halloween and all of those things. It makes no difference! Satan can quote Scripture for his own advantage!
What did Jesus say here? Man shall live not by bread alone, but by every Word of God! Think of that! Just go on your television and check up on the Catholics when they have a Mass. It’s seems that’s about the only thing they can do. They do read a little Scripture, but God is not there. Who do you think they are worshipping? None other than Satan Himself!
you can’t worship God with idols
you can’t worship God with lies
Notice that Satan quotes a Scripture, “…“He shall give His angels charge concerning You to keep You; and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone’” (vs 10-11). That’s God’s protection for those who are His, if an accident happened, not jumping off the edge of the pinnacle of the temple from which the top to the bottom of the valley floor was upwards of 500-plus feet.
If Jesus did that, and the demons came and held Him up and Satan called for all the priests and Pharisees and scribes, and told them ‘this is your Savior’ they would have accepted Jesus. He would have been owned lock, stock and barrel by Satan the devil. See the picture? What did Jesus answer?
Verse 12: “But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘It is clearly stated, “You… [every human being] …shall not tempt the Lord your God.”’ Now, when the devil had completed every temptation, he [Satan] departed from Him for a time” (vs 12-13). That’s quite a thing!
We will look at a couple of Scriptures showing about Satan, how he works.
Is he interested in those who are in the Church?
Does he want us to choose to reject salvation?
But of course!
So, there will be times when we will be confronted with things that are caused by Satan and the demons. We can recognize them and rebuke them, and tell them, ‘Get you behind me, Satan, in the name of Jesus Christ!’ They must obey! But Satan is subtle and crafty and cunning (Gen. 3).
Here is how the ministry should be run, as Paul brings out; 2-Corinthians 4:1: “Therefore, having this ministry, according as we have received mercy, we are not fainthearted. For we have personally renounced the hidden things of dishonest gain… [those things that are lies] …not walking in cunning craftiness… [not having a secret agenda] …nor handling the Word of God deceitfully… [because that’s what they do; they are corrupting the Word of God (2-Cor. 2:17)] …but by manifestation of the Truth…” (vs 1-2).
Truth is what we need! Always! The Truth, the Truth, the Truth! Nothing but the Truth! That’s why we changed the name of the website to: truthofgod.org Once we get all that settled in there, the website will be able to be reached by many more people than just cbcg.org
“…by manifestation of the Truth, we are commending ourselves to every man’s conscience before God. But if our Gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing; in whom the god of this age…” (vs 2-3)—Satan the devil. Did he not say that ‘all of this has been given to me, and I give to whomsoever I will’?
“…has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we do not preach our own selves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (vs 3-5).
Now then, let’s look at what this says here. We do have protection so that we may not be outwitted by Satan, for we’re not ignorant of his schemes
2-Corinthians 2:11: “So that we may not be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” His schemes are always appealing to something that will be transgressing the laws of God, or a lie concerning the Word of God. That’s why we’re told to prove all things. That’s why we’re to do things in accordance with
the will of God
the Truth of God
the love of God
And nothing, nothing, nothing else! What did Jesus say? Anything else is of the evil one! Meaning it comes from Satan the devil:
dishonest gain
craftiness
deceitfulness
Does he come against the Church? Yes, he does! What happened there in Acts 5 with Ananias and Sapphira? What did Peter say to them? Why has Satan put it in your heart to lie to God? They thought that after they pledged what they said they would pledge that they could go ahead and adjust it and modify it and say that it’s perfectly all right, and lie to the Apostle Peter!
What happened to them? BOOM! They died right on the spot!
Let’s see how Satan works, and then we’ll see that in the history of the Churches of God Satan is always there in one form or another. Here’s how it started in Corinth. There were those coming along saying that they were ministers of God when they weren’t! Who were they? Some were Jews, some were Israelites!
How did they say they knew Jesus? Maybe there were some who were there and heard Jesus speak and were fed as part of the 4,000 or 5,000! They found out that they could make things really good by pretending to be a minister of God. Isn’t that what Simon Magus did (Acts 8)? Yes! Here was a high-powered religious leader who was saying that he was the power of God and deceiving them with sorceries and witchcraft!
Simon Magus was the ‘Simon Peter’ that went to Rome in 42A.D. Go through the series on churchathome.org and watch all the series on Was Peter Ever in Rome? Think about that!
If you are a ‘good’ Catholic, which I don’t think here will be very many on the Day of Atonement there, but if you were a ‘good’ Catholic think on this: Everything that they have said concerning Peter, the Church, the pope is a lie! None of it is true! Understand that there can be no salvation, no at-one-ment with God, no forgiveness of sin with a satanic counterfeit! Though wonderfully produced, it is of Satan the devil.
Paul writes, 2-Corinthians 11:1: “I would that you might bear with me in a little nonsense; but indeed, do bear with me. For I am jealous over you with the jealousy of God because I have espoused you to one husband, so that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means… [clever, subtle, slight changes] …as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (vs 1-3).
Beginning with loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and being, and the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, the Truth of God, and all of those things. We have seen that happen in our day—have we not?” Yes!
Did some people in the Church fall for it? Yes!
Is Satan still active today? Yes!
Paul puts it this way, v 4: For indeed, if someone comes preaching another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit… [because satanic spirits go wherever there are lies] …which you did not receive, or a different gospel, which you did not accept, you put up with it as something good.” What does that mean? That they listen to people because they had an opinion! Remember:
opinions are not sacred
philosophy is not sacred
That’s the wisdom of this world! What did Paul write of it in 1-Cor. 1? The foolishness of this world! “…put up with it as something good.”
Verse 5: “But I consider myself in no way inferior to those highly exalted so-called apostles.” It wasn’t Peter, Andrew, any of the other apostles of God; these were the ones proclaiming themselves to be apostles.
Verse 13: “For such are false apostles—deceitful workers who are transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.”
That is what has happened to the Church!
That is what has happened to worldly Christianity!
It is in the world and everything of the world, is deceived by Satan the devil, and there are varying degrees of deception. But if you are deceived and you follow him and keep his days and do his works and things, you are deceived! You may be considered to be a good and upright person in this society, but that doesn’t account for eternal life!
Verse 13: “For such are false apostles—deceitful workers who are transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.” They are not, so they’ve got to figure a way to do it.
Verse 14: “And it is no marvel, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his servants also transform themselves as ministers of righteousness—whose end shall be according to their works” (vs 14-15).
So ingrained was this… Think of it! Here were these Greeks: intelligent, love philosophy, want great wonderful speaking, ‘but this Apostle Paul just doesn’t look good and doesn’t speak good; his epistles are weighty.
Verse 16: “Again I say, no one should consider me a fool; but if otherwise, receive me even as a fool, that I also may boast a little.” Then he talks about everything that he went through.
Verse 19: “For since you are so intelligent, you gladly bear with fools. For you bear it if anyone brings you into bondage… [taken out of the freedom that God gives us with His grace into the bondage of sin] … if anyone devours you, if anyone takes from you, if anyone exalts himself, if anyone beats you on the face. I speak as though we were under reproach for being weak; but in whatever way anyone else is bold (I speak in foolishness), I also am bold” (vs 19-21). What did they claim? I’m a Hebrew!
Verse 23: “Are they servants of Christ? (I am speaking as if I were out of my mind.)….” Let’s see that this did happen.
Read all of Rev. 2 & 3, and by the way we’ve got a new booklet coming out: The Ministry is not the Government of God and the Truth of the Nicolaitans. All in one booklet!
Church at Ephesus:
How is an opening given to Satan the devil? By not loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and being! The Church at Ephesus left their first love. What were they doing? The physical things of helping the poor and taking care of the homeless and things like this! That’s a good thing to do; nothing wrong with that. But:
if it takes you away from the true God
if it takes you away from loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and being
you’re going to fall! That’s what He said.
Church at Smyrna:
The synagogue of Satan was after them, cast them into prison and killed and martyred them. So, Jesus said, ‘Be faithful unto death and I’ll give you a crown of life.’
Church at Pergamos:
The great enlightened city of Pergamos where the great altar of Zeus was, the throne of Satan. There they learned about the Sacrifice of the Mass. There they brought in the hierarchy, which God says He hates!
Church of Thyatira:
The woman prophetess who calls herself Jezebel. Oh boy! I tell you! What happened? They got so bad that some of them even got into the depths of Satan the devil! Jesus told them, ‘I’m going to kill you with death!’ That’s got to be the second death! He called them to repentance.
Church of Sardis:
Historically speaking, after that the Church was so exhausted that the only thing they could end up doing was keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days. Jesus told them to hold fast to the strength you have left and ‘I won’t blot your name out of the book of Life.’
Church of Philadelphia:
They are the one who stand against the synagogue of Satan. They are the one, even though they are poor, they love the brethren and love God. You can’t love the brethren unless you love God. They are faithful to the Word of God.
Church of the Laodiceans:
Lukewarm, smart-alecky! Yes, they teach some things of God, but where is the love of God? the zeal of God?
The Bible gives us the history of man and how he has been deceived by Satan the devil. It gives us:
the Truth of God
the true God
the true Jesus
the true plan of God
the way we understand those is to:
love God
keep His commandments
keep His Sabbaths and Holy Days
study the Word of God
rightly divide it
rightly put it together
And we understand what God is doing up to this point! But the Kingdom of God cannot be setup until Satan is removed! Let’s see the fulfilling of Lev. 16:
getting rid of Satan
getting rid of Azazel
getting rid of the demons
Zech. 13 says that the unclean spirits are removed from the land, so from the time we come on Trumpets back to the earth, what are we going to be doing? We’re going to be spreading out and helping people come to themselves!
The angels will be there gathering the demons to put them into the abyss with Satan the devil. And there will probably be some fighting and warring and skirmishes with some of the remnants of the army, which probably a good number of the people of the 200-million. There’s a lot going on between Trumpets and Atonement. But on Atonement:
Revelation 20:1: “Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of 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” (vs 1-2). Only then can the Millennium begin. That’s pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles.
At the end of the Millennium we will see what happens to Satan and the demons. But this Day of Atonement pictures when we will be one with God, which was the whole goal of what Jesus prayed in His last prayer. Let’s see the prayer that Jesus prayed. We won’t go through the whole thing, but let’s see how that right at the time before Jesus was to be arrested and led off to be falsely charged, falsely convicted, falsely beaten, scourge and crucified and the speak thrust in His side, all to be that perfect Passover sacrifice for the sins of the world; God manifested in the flesh.
Here was the purpose that He had in mind and is saying to the Father, John 17:13: “But now I am coming to You; and these things I am speaking while yet in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in them.” Think what the joy will be at the resurrection; that’s when the joy will be fulfilled in us.
Verse 14: “I have given them Your words, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
Don’t worry if people don’t care for you because you believe the Bible. Maybe you can try and help them understand it, but if they hate you, that’s the way that it is! They hate Jesus!
Verse 15: “I do not pray that You would take them out of the world, but that You would keep them from the evil one…. [Satan the devil] …They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in Your Truth; Your Word is the Truth” (vs 15-17). We are made Holy by:
the Truth of God
the Word of God
the Spirit of God
the love of God
That’s how we grow in grow, change and overcome! That’s why this Day of Atonement… Just think what a day that’s going to be! We will live to see Satan and all the demons removed, and all the saints from Abel clear to the last two witnesses. “Sanctify them in Your Truth; Your Word is the Truth.”
Verse 18: “Even as You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be sanctified in Your Truth. I do not pray for these only…” (vs 18-20).
Here’s a prayer of Jesus for everyone who will answer the call through the ministry that He established with His apostles.
“…but also for those who shall believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one… [at-one-ment with God: Atonement!] …even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, in order that the world may believe that You did send Me. And I have given them the glory that You gave to Me… [the Spirit of God] …in order that they may be one, in the same way that We are one: I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one…” (vs 20-23). That’s the whole purpose of our Christian life and walk, to be perfected:
every day
every Sabbath
every Passover
every Unleavened Bread
every Pentecost
every Trumpets
every Atonement
every Tabernacles
every Last Great Day
“…perfected into one, and that the world may know that You did send Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (v 23).
That’s the meaning of the Day of Atonement: Satan removed and we will be at one with God!
Scriptural References:
Leviticus 23:26-32
Leviticus 16:7-10, 16-24, 26-36
Genesis 3:1-7
Job 1:6-9
Revelation 18:24
Luke 4:1-4
Deuteronomy 8:3
Luke 4:5-13
2 Corinthians 4:1-5
2 Corinthians 2:11
2 Corinthians 11:1-5, 13-16, 19-23
Revelation 20:1-2
John 17:13-23
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
Psalm 37
Ezra
Revelation 12
2 Corinthians 4
Revelation 20
1 John 5
1 Chronicles 21
Luke 3
Zechariah 3
Matthew 4:4
Revelation 13
2 Corinthians 2:17
Acts 5; 8
1 Corinthians 1
Revelation 2; 3
Zechariah 13
Also referenced:
Sermon Series:
Why God Hates Religion!
Was Peter Ever in Rome? (churchathome.org)
Booklet: The Ministry is not the Government of God
and the Truth of the Nicolaitans
