Matthew
{10:6} But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. {10:7} And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The Apostles were charged to 'Go, preach.' Preach what? 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
The message is salvation through Jesus Christ, because only through salvation do we find the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven being ours is amazing! The promise of eternal life, amazing! The message being brought to the 'lost sheep of the house of Israel', at that time only the house of Israel was to be preached to- God's chosen was to get the message first. God's people who were entrenched in the rituals given to Moses so that they might have a way of being forgiven for their sins, a way to be reconciled to God. The outcome of being reconciled with God is to be made right with Him. To be His and His alone, nothing between the two, nothing separating us from God. The sacrificial system they'd been given represented daily the need to be reconciled with God, to have nothing, not a single sin standing between a person and God. The Israelites were blessed with this marvelous life, this chance and the out come of the reconciling was supposed to result in a permanently fixed relationship with God once the Messiah came to save the people from all their enemies, from all the hardships. The Messiah was to come and set the captive frees, heal the people, bring new life, new hope. They looked forward to the Messiah doing all this for them, raising them up to complete reconciliation with God, taking sin away.
We today live in a world where the Messiah came and did all that in the way of God's love- not man's love. Man's love is twisted and warped, it's full of getting not giving. Not that it isn't normal to desire to receive all the best from God, but God's love is about giving. The Messiah came and gave all that the people of Israel were promised but not in the way they expected.
Isn't that the trouble with a lot of things in life? We imagine things and expect things to happen in certain ways and we're unable to accept when they come to us in different ways. We want to make sense of things and we do that by keeping things in order. Chaos seems to come when we find things out of order to our natural way of thinking, with our expectations shot to pieces. So we try to reorder things, to put things back into order to make sense of them. Sometimes people can do that, other times they just want to do away with the reality of things and keep to their same plan of order wanting it to come in another way, in a future way where things make sense to them again.
Things not coming in the way we've imagined and expected in all truthfulness should be... expected. A paradox, yes, a paradox that leaves us going in circles if we're not careful. Expecting the unexpected. Some people are taught just that. They have it drilled into their heads to be prepared for anything, and yet as prepared as they become they are still surprised by situations. We can be prepared to a degree but only to a degree and then even the most prepare find the unexpected troublesome.
We'll continue to live a life of expectation, but we all really do need to be able to accept when the unexpected happens and to find the truth through any lies that might be present. Isn't that the most important thing of all? To accept that thing might not turn out how we imagine them, but have an open heart and mind to realize that whatever God's will may be that we'll find it through His love if we only seek to find Him and His way, always.
The kingdom of heaven is the gospel Jesus preached and wanted His disciples to preach. When Jesus died and rose from the grave He sent his Holy Spirit to us and He told His disciples to continue to preach His message - His message being that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is at hand and has been at hand and will be at hand until Christ comes again. We who believe in Him, believe in this and in believing we hope and wait and we're full of expectations.
May the Lord bless and keep us in Him now and forever, always His, by His mercy and grace prepared.
Amen.
7/15/10
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Just to touch on something more concerning the last days let's really examine this verse.
And BECAUSE…. We have a cause here.
And because iniquity… another word for sin.
And because iniquity shall abound…
Dictionary definition for 'abound'
a·bound
[uh-bound]
Show IPA
–verb (used without object)
1.
to occur or exist in great quantities or numbers: a stream in which trout abound.
2.
to be rich or well supplied (usually fol. by in ): The region abounds in coal.
3.
to be filled; teem (usually fol. by with ): The ship abounds with rats.
Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abound>
And because iniquity shall abound… be found in GREAT quantities.
And because iniquity shall abound, the love… the genuine source of true caring for the welfare of others.
And because iniquity shall abound the love of many… many as compared to few.
And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax… shall grow.
And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold…
COLD - Dictionary Definition--
4.
lacking in passion, emotion, enthusiasm, ardor, etc.; dispassionate: cold reason.
5.
not affectionate, cordial, or friendly; unresponsive: a cold reply; a cold reception.
Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cold>
And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall….be passionless, unfriendly.
Yesterday we briefly touched upon allowing ourselves to become desensitized to the horrors of our world. When we no longer feel the pain of others, when we no longer see the horrors of sin in all their ugliness, when we become immune to the tragedies of life that have made our God weep, we are in grave danger of falling into a trap of Satan's to snare us in such a way we are caught up in His world and lost to God's. Think about it. We may call it growing a hard shell just to protect our own emotional sanity but that hard shell is Satan's doing causing our love to grow cold and if our love grows cold it dies and if we don't have love… we don't have God.
Satan would blind us to His ways. Satan would have us kept in the dark and bound as his. Many will be bound to Satan by UNSEEN ties, they won't even know those ties are there! In fact, many will insist right up to the end that they are with Jesus, but they won't be. In the end they will see all the ties of Satan wrapped around them to their horror all because they aren't followers of the one, true Savior.
A song I like called- 'My Jesus' sung by Todd Agnew, talks about 'His' Jesus and how he perceives 'His' Jesus to be- unlike the Jesus many others imagine- this song really touches my heart because it's raw truth. Satan has taken Jesus and impersonated Him, making Him out to be something He is not for many to believe in and many do believe in the impersonated Jesus, unsuspectingly. The Bible tells us about Jesus and how He lived His life and it wasn't with ANY self-righteousness at all and frankly that's where a lot of us are caught up- believing in a Jesus that would approve of our patting ourselves on the backs for our good works, for our charity, for our ability to rise above sin that easily besets others. Jesus' love was pure and He revealed His love to us in all its amazing glory. Jesus didn't set up a 'New' temple for people to worship in after He prophesized of the earthly temple being destroyed.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Jesus did tell us not to forsake gathering ourselves together, Jesus did tell us to help one another and to help others. People have tried for many, many years to put Jesus into a box and label that box their 'religion'. We've hundreds of religions but all Jesus asks of us is to believe in Him, follow Him and His ways. Simply belonging to a 'religion', joining a 'denomination', will never make one a true follower of our true God, Jesus. Finding a group of followers in a world that has waxed cold because of sin won't be easy and we are to seek Jesus first, not fellow believers. Satan has his snares everywhere, we just need to place our hope fully in Christ revealed in His word and nothing else. We need to be dressed in the armor He provides and pray always. May God keep us from being deceived , may God open our hearts and minds and keep our love on fire in Him. As sin abounds and love grows cold all around us, please Lord let us cling to You and find a burning love and all that entails even if it makes us strangers to this world and its ways. Bless and keep us loving Savior, by Your mercy, through Your grace, in Your righteousness now and FOREVER!
Amen.
7/15/11
Imagine…
A sinning
anointed priest needs to atone for his sin. He goes to the local herd of
bullocks and picks out a young, spotless bull. Taking the young bull he brings
it to the temple right to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. The priest doesn't open that door
leading into the Holy Place but rather goes to the altar placed there before
that door and it is there, right there before the LORD the priest must offer
this young bull as a sacrifice to atone for His sin.
The priest lays
his hand upon the young bull's head, but it's not a gentle caress to the hide
upon this young animal's head. The priest leans very hard upon the sacrificial
bullock placing all of his weight into that leaning and then…well then he kills
the young bull. The hot life
blood of the dying animal spills into a catch basin near the altar.
With the young
bull now dead the priest takes some of that blood and he brings inside the Holy
Place walking right up to the veil that separates the Holy Place from the Most
Holy Place. Dipping his finger in the still warm blood he sprinkles it seven
times before the veil- before the LORD.
This priest is
atoning for a sin HE committed. He then puts some of the blood upon the horns
of the altar of incense there before the veil, before the LORD. After all that
he carries that blood filled basin back to the altar of burnt offerings- an
altar placed before the door that
led into the Holy Place- the Tabernacle of the congregation. Looking downwards
at the bottom of the altar he pours the rest of the bullock's sacrificial blood
out there. Can you imagine it as
a reality?
Imagine
still--
The whole
congregation of Israel sins through ignorance- they are guilty of breaking the
commandments of God. When the
whole congregation realizes they've sinned, this sin of ignorance,
the whole congregation must choose a bullock to sacrifice and bring it
before the Holy Place-the tabernacle of the congregation.
Then the elders of that congregation lay their hands upon this young
bull's head.
Remember they
aren't just touching the animal's head gently but they are -as a group of men- a
group of elders leaning their full weight upon the head of this sacrificial
bullock. Why are they doing this? They have to do this because it symbolizes the
transference of their sin to the animal to be sacrifice and that transference
isn't something to be taken in a lackadaisical manner.
Then the young
bull is killed before the LORD.
After he's killed the anointed priest brings the bullock's spilt blood
into the holy place- the tabernacle of the congregation. The priest then dips
his finger into the blood and once again he completes the necessary ritual of
sprinkling the blood before the veil, as well as putting it upon the horns of
the altar of incense, and then he takes the blood back outside and pours it at
the bottom of the altar of burnt offerings. So similar to the earlier sacrificial
ritual.
The priest is
making an atonement for the congregation of Israel so they will be forgiven of
their sin against the LORD.
Now imagine
more--
A ruler sins a
sin of ignorance against the commandments of the LORD. That ruler must bring a
kid of the goats, a spotless male young goat. This ruler must lay his hands upon
the head of the goat- yes, just as the others he must put his whole weight
behind the touch. Then the goat
just as the other sacrifices noted - is killed. Here's where things are changed up a
bit- the priest takes the blood of the kid goat and with his finger he puts it
on the altar of burnt offering, right there before the door to the tabernacle of
the congregation-the Holy Place. Then he pours the blood out at the bottom of
the altar just as the others. He didn't go into the first compartment- the
tabernacle of the congregation.
Imagine now a
little bit more--
There is a common
person sinning through ignorance-guilty before the LORD. This common person
must bring a female kid goat without any blemish and the process is begun- the
laying of hands leaning, the killing, then the priest puts the blood on the
horns of the altar of burnt offerings before pouring it out at the bottom of
that same altar. With this
particular sacrificial offering the common person could bring a lamb as well but
it must be a female without blemish. The priest is making an atonement for his
sin and it will be forgiven him. Making an atonement for his sin of
ignorance. Forgiven of the sin
committed in ignorance.
*******
Now we've
imagined many of the sacrificial rituals required of God's people- required of
the priests, required of the congregation as a whole, required of the individual
throughout the year- rulers, common people.
Now let's imagine
the Day of Atonement.
The High Priest
brought a bullock for a sin offering for HIMSELF and HIS HOUSE.
The congregation
of Israel brought two goats. Those
two goats had lots cast upon them - one would be chose as a sin offering the
other to be the scapegoat.
The High Priest
brought the bullock he was to make an atonement with for himself and his house,
and guess what? He did NOT put his hands upon the bullock. Clearly from all we
learned previously the hands laying upon the animal to be sacrificed was a big
deal. So why wasn't the High
Priest to lean upon this bullock as he had the other bullocks, and as other
people had to? Clearly this wasn't going to be the exact same sort of ritual
ceremony here. This bullock was
killed without the transference of sin to him, yet he was a sin offering-
something to think about.
Coals were taken
from the altar of burnt offerings, hot coals and these coals along with
handfuls of sweet incense were brought into the Holy Place-within the veil- the
Most Holy Place. The incense was then put on the hot coals from the altar of
burnt offering before the LORD and a cloud of that incense rose up covering the
mercy seat of the ark of the covenant.
Then the High
Priest took the blood from the sacrificed bullock and he sprinkled it upon the
mercy seat eastward, then before the mercy seat seven times.
Do you remember the other sacrificial blood being sprinkled seven times
before the veil? Not on this special day.
This day it was brought WITHIN the veil.
After this the
goat whose lot was to be the sin offering for the people was killed.
So we have the blood of the bullock for the High Priest and His entire
household, now we have the blood of the goat which is for the people- the
congregation of the people of Israel. This blood also was brought WITHIN the
veil and the same ritual was completed as with the bullock blood.
The blood of
these offerings is serving a dual purpose- remember we discussed it a few days
ago. Why is the blood serving dual purpose? Because it serves as a sacrifice for
judged sins and for a cleansing.
The holy place and tabernacle of the congregation were unclean! Why were they unclean? Because of the
sins of the people of Israel. All
year long those sins were placed on the sanctuary, all year long those sins were
put onto the animals which were then sacrifice before the LORD in the sanctuary.
All that uncleanness, all that sin, was taken off the people and put onto the
animals whose blood was then placed upon the sanctuary, placed before the
LORD. A judgment was made for every
sin offering given. You cannot be guilty and forgiven unless you are judged
guilty and in need of forgiveness, it all goes hand in hand.
There is a duality to the Sanctuary cleansing and this can never be
forgotten.
Now we have to
imagine the rest of this -
The High Priest
after placing the blood in the Holy Place within the veil, and then after
placing the blood in the congregation of the tabernacle without the veil, went
out of that holy place and before the altar of burnt offerings.
Why? Because he had to make an atonement for the altar as well and this
atonement wasn't made by using the blood of the bullock and the blood of the
lamb in separate ceremonies as was done with the inside of the sanctuary, but
both bloods were used TOGETHER- the blood was mingled and then put upon the
horns of the altar of burnt offerings, then sprinkled seven times upon it-
making an atonement for it, cleansing it, hallowing it from all the uncleanness
that had been placed upon it.
Then ONLY after
the Holy Place (Most Holy Place), the tabernacle of the congregation (Holy
Place), and the altar of burnt offering were atoned for, only after all three of
them were cleansed of all sin did the High Priest go to the live goat and guess
what he did? He put BOTH his hands
upon the head of that live goat. Remember what we said about the laying on of
hands to transfer sin? This wasn't any gentle love tap, no delicate pat upon the
head, in earnest the High Priest's hands both lay upon the head of this goat and
then the High Priest confessed onto this live goat ALL the INIQUITIES, all the
sins of the children of Israel.
All that sin taken off the Sanctuary including the altar of burnt
offerings were placed upon that goat left to live and not be sacrificed by blood
sacrificed. All that sin was put upon that scapegoat who was led off into the
wilderness to die but not by any hand, not to be sacrificed for atoning, but
left to die bearing the weight of all that sin left,
to keep that sin upon it and to go off to be no more, forever gone,
forever lost to the sight of all the children of God never, never to be seen
again!
Only when this
was all done did the High Priest go into the tabernacle of congregation- only
then did he go into the holy place but NOT within the veil, and take off the
holy garments he had to wear before entering within the veil.
Then he went into
the Holy Place within the veil
and washed before he put on new garments. After he was clothed he went
out of the Holy Place and the tabernacle of the congregation and to the altar of
burnt offerings and there he offered the burnt offering of the people to make an
atonement for HIMSELF and the PEOPLE.
Lev 16:30 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.
Lev 16:31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you,
and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
Lev 16:32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint,
and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's
stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the
holy garments:
Lev 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the
holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the
congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the
priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
Lev 16:34 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.
Do you see how
much is involved in the cleansing of the Sanctuary?
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand
and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
167 years ago the
cleansing of the Sanctuary was begun.
The many, many years of sin placed upon the heavenly sanctuary through
the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior would begin the process of being
cleansed.
The High Priest
and His House would be cleansed first. The Most Holy Place would be
cleansed.
The People of the
Congregation of Israel would be cleansed secondly. The Holy Place would be
cleansed.
The Children of
Israel would be cleansed thirdly. The Altar of Burnt offering would be
cleansed.
Remember
this-
ONLY after the
Holy Place (Most Holy Place), the tabernacle of the congregation (Holy Place),
and the altar of burnt offering
(Altar before the door to the Holy Place) were atoned for, only after ALL
three of them were judged and cleansed of all sin did the High Priest go to the
live goat.
Did people stop
sinning during that yearly Day of Atonement? No, not all.
Lev 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh
month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto
you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto
the LORD.
Lev 23:28 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.
Lev 23:29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall
not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
Lev 23:30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth
any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
Lev 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall
be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest,
and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from
even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
Whatsoever soul
it be that shall not be afflicted -
shall be cut off.
Whatsoever soul
that doeth any work- will be
destroyed.
On that day… those who don't recognize their need of
a Savior will be cut off.
On that day… those who rely on themselves for
anything, forgetting to give all glory to our God, all worship to our King;
those who believe they in anyway can save themselves will be destroyed.
We know for a
fact there is a judgment in connection with the Day of Atonement, a judgment we
will ALL face --- more on that tomorrow though, by the grace and will of our
Lord. May we gain more
understanding as we are blessed with spiritual sight, all through His amazing,
wondrous love. There is nothing at
all like the love of our God, nothing. All glory and honor to Him!
All praise! All worship to our King! Blessed be His Name! Jesus Christ
our Lord and Savior! Blessed be His Holy Name!
Amen!
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Just to touch on something more concerning the last days let's really examine this verse.
And BECAUSE…. We have a cause here.
And because iniquity… another word for sin.
And because iniquity shall abound…
Dictionary definition for 'abound'
a·bound
[uh-bound]
Show IPA
–verb (used without object)
1.
to occur or exist in great quantities or numbers: a stream in which trout abound.
2.
to be rich or well supplied (usually fol. by in ): The region abounds in coal.
3.
to be filled; teem (usually fol. by with ): The ship abounds with rats.
Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abound>
And because iniquity shall abound… be found in GREAT quantities.
And because iniquity shall abound, the love… the genuine source of true caring for the welfare of others.
And because iniquity shall abound the love of many… many as compared to few.
And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax… shall grow.
And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold…
COLD - Dictionary Definition--
4.
lacking in passion, emotion, enthusiasm, ardor, etc.; dispassionate: cold reason.
5.
not affectionate, cordial, or friendly; unresponsive: a cold reply; a cold reception.
Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cold>
And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall….be passionless, unfriendly.
Yesterday we briefly touched upon allowing ourselves to become desensitized to the horrors of our world. When we no longer feel the pain of others, when we no longer see the horrors of sin in all their ugliness, when we become immune to the tragedies of life that have made our God weep, we are in grave danger of falling into a trap of Satan's to snare us in such a way we are caught up in His world and lost to God's. Think about it. We may call it growing a hard shell just to protect our own emotional sanity but that hard shell is Satan's doing causing our love to grow cold and if our love grows cold it dies and if we don't have love… we don't have God.
Satan would blind us to His ways. Satan would have us kept in the dark and bound as his. Many will be bound to Satan by UNSEEN ties, they won't even know those ties are there! In fact, many will insist right up to the end that they are with Jesus, but they won't be. In the end they will see all the ties of Satan wrapped around them to their horror all because they aren't followers of the one, true Savior.
A song I like called- 'My Jesus' sung by Todd Agnew, talks about 'His' Jesus and how he perceives 'His' Jesus to be- unlike the Jesus many others imagine- this song really touches my heart because it's raw truth. Satan has taken Jesus and impersonated Him, making Him out to be something He is not for many to believe in and many do believe in the impersonated Jesus, unsuspectingly. The Bible tells us about Jesus and how He lived His life and it wasn't with ANY self-righteousness at all and frankly that's where a lot of us are caught up- believing in a Jesus that would approve of our patting ourselves on the backs for our good works, for our charity, for our ability to rise above sin that easily besets others. Jesus' love was pure and He revealed His love to us in all its amazing glory. Jesus didn't set up a 'New' temple for people to worship in after He prophesized of the earthly temple being destroyed.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Jesus did tell us not to forsake gathering ourselves together, Jesus did tell us to help one another and to help others. People have tried for many, many years to put Jesus into a box and label that box their 'religion'. We've hundreds of religions but all Jesus asks of us is to believe in Him, follow Him and His ways. Simply belonging to a 'religion', joining a 'denomination', will never make one a true follower of our true God, Jesus. Finding a group of followers in a world that has waxed cold because of sin won't be easy and we are to seek Jesus first, not fellow believers. Satan has his snares everywhere, we just need to place our hope fully in Christ revealed in His word and nothing else. We need to be dressed in the armor He provides and pray always. May God keep us from being deceived , may God open our hearts and minds and keep our love on fire in Him. As sin abounds and love grows cold all around us, please Lord let us cling to You and find a burning love and all that entails even if it makes us strangers to this world and its ways. Bless and keep us loving Savior, by Your mercy, through Your grace, in Your righteousness now and FOREVER!
Amen.
7/15/11
Imagine…
A sinning
anointed priest needs to atone for his sin. He goes to the local herd of
bullocks and picks out a young, spotless bull. Taking the young bull he brings
it to the temple right to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. The priest doesn't open that door
leading into the Holy Place but rather goes to the altar placed there before
that door and it is there, right there before the LORD the priest must offer
this young bull as a sacrifice to atone for His sin.
The priest lays
his hand upon the young bull's head, but it's not a gentle caress to the hide
upon this young animal's head. The priest leans very hard upon the sacrificial
bullock placing all of his weight into that leaning and then…well then he kills
the young bull. The hot life
blood of the dying animal spills into a catch basin near the altar.
With the young
bull now dead the priest takes some of that blood and he brings inside the Holy
Place walking right up to the veil that separates the Holy Place from the Most
Holy Place. Dipping his finger in the still warm blood he sprinkles it seven
times before the veil- before the LORD.
This priest is
atoning for a sin HE committed. He then puts some of the blood upon the horns
of the altar of incense there before the veil, before the LORD. After all that
he carries that blood filled basin back to the altar of burnt offerings- an
altar placed before the door that
led into the Holy Place- the Tabernacle of the congregation. Looking downwards
at the bottom of the altar he pours the rest of the bullock's sacrificial blood
out there. Can you imagine it as
a reality?
Imagine
still--
The whole
congregation of Israel sins through ignorance- they are guilty of breaking the
commandments of God. When the
whole congregation realizes they've sinned, this sin of ignorance,
the whole congregation must choose a bullock to sacrifice and bring it
before the Holy Place-the tabernacle of the congregation.
Then the elders of that congregation lay their hands upon this young
bull's head.
Remember they
aren't just touching the animal's head gently but they are -as a group of men- a
group of elders leaning their full weight upon the head of this sacrificial
bullock. Why are they doing this? They have to do this because it symbolizes the
transference of their sin to the animal to be sacrifice and that transference
isn't something to be taken in a lackadaisical manner.
Then the young
bull is killed before the LORD.
After he's killed the anointed priest brings the bullock's spilt blood
into the holy place- the tabernacle of the congregation. The priest then dips
his finger into the blood and once again he completes the necessary ritual of
sprinkling the blood before the veil, as well as putting it upon the horns of
the altar of incense, and then he takes the blood back outside and pours it at
the bottom of the altar of burnt offerings. So similar to the earlier sacrificial
ritual.
The priest is
making an atonement for the congregation of Israel so they will be forgiven of
their sin against the LORD.
Now imagine
more--
A ruler sins a
sin of ignorance against the commandments of the LORD. That ruler must bring a
kid of the goats, a spotless male young goat. This ruler must lay his hands upon
the head of the goat- yes, just as the others he must put his whole weight
behind the touch. Then the goat
just as the other sacrifices noted - is killed. Here's where things are changed up a
bit- the priest takes the blood of the kid goat and with his finger he puts it
on the altar of burnt offering, right there before the door to the tabernacle of
the congregation-the Holy Place. Then he pours the blood out at the bottom of
the altar just as the others. He didn't go into the first compartment- the
tabernacle of the congregation.
Imagine now a
little bit more--
There is a common
person sinning through ignorance-guilty before the LORD. This common person
must bring a female kid goat without any blemish and the process is begun- the
laying of hands leaning, the killing, then the priest puts the blood on the
horns of the altar of burnt offerings before pouring it out at the bottom of
that same altar. With this
particular sacrificial offering the common person could bring a lamb as well but
it must be a female without blemish. The priest is making an atonement for his
sin and it will be forgiven him. Making an atonement for his sin of
ignorance. Forgiven of the sin
committed in ignorance.
*******
Now we've
imagined many of the sacrificial rituals required of God's people- required of
the priests, required of the congregation as a whole, required of the individual
throughout the year- rulers, common people.
Now let's imagine
the Day of Atonement.
The High Priest
brought a bullock for a sin offering for HIMSELF and HIS HOUSE.
The congregation
of Israel brought two goats. Those
two goats had lots cast upon them - one would be chose as a sin offering the
other to be the scapegoat.
The High Priest
brought the bullock he was to make an atonement with for himself and his house,
and guess what? He did NOT put his hands upon the bullock. Clearly from all we
learned previously the hands laying upon the animal to be sacrificed was a big
deal. So why wasn't the High
Priest to lean upon this bullock as he had the other bullocks, and as other
people had to? Clearly this wasn't going to be the exact same sort of ritual
ceremony here. This bullock was
killed without the transference of sin to him, yet he was a sin offering-
something to think about.
Coals were taken
from the altar of burnt offerings, hot coals and these coals along with
handfuls of sweet incense were brought into the Holy Place-within the veil- the
Most Holy Place. The incense was then put on the hot coals from the altar of
burnt offering before the LORD and a cloud of that incense rose up covering the
mercy seat of the ark of the covenant.
Then the High
Priest took the blood from the sacrificed bullock and he sprinkled it upon the
mercy seat eastward, then before the mercy seat seven times.
Do you remember the other sacrificial blood being sprinkled seven times
before the veil? Not on this special day.
This day it was brought WITHIN the veil.
After this the
goat whose lot was to be the sin offering for the people was killed.
So we have the blood of the bullock for the High Priest and His entire
household, now we have the blood of the goat which is for the people- the
congregation of the people of Israel. This blood also was brought WITHIN the
veil and the same ritual was completed as with the bullock blood.
The blood of
these offerings is serving a dual purpose- remember we discussed it a few days
ago. Why is the blood serving dual purpose? Because it serves as a sacrifice for
judged sins and for a cleansing.
The holy place and tabernacle of the congregation were unclean! Why were they unclean? Because of the
sins of the people of Israel. All
year long those sins were placed on the sanctuary, all year long those sins were
put onto the animals which were then sacrifice before the LORD in the sanctuary.
All that uncleanness, all that sin, was taken off the people and put onto the
animals whose blood was then placed upon the sanctuary, placed before the
LORD. A judgment was made for every
sin offering given. You cannot be guilty and forgiven unless you are judged
guilty and in need of forgiveness, it all goes hand in hand.
There is a duality to the Sanctuary cleansing and this can never be
forgotten.
Now we have to
imagine the rest of this -
The High Priest
after placing the blood in the Holy Place within the veil, and then after
placing the blood in the congregation of the tabernacle without the veil, went
out of that holy place and before the altar of burnt offerings.
Why? Because he had to make an atonement for the altar as well and this
atonement wasn't made by using the blood of the bullock and the blood of the
lamb in separate ceremonies as was done with the inside of the sanctuary, but
both bloods were used TOGETHER- the blood was mingled and then put upon the
horns of the altar of burnt offerings, then sprinkled seven times upon it-
making an atonement for it, cleansing it, hallowing it from all the uncleanness
that had been placed upon it.
Then ONLY after
the Holy Place (Most Holy Place), the tabernacle of the congregation (Holy
Place), and the altar of burnt offering were atoned for, only after all three of
them were cleansed of all sin did the High Priest go to the live goat and guess
what he did? He put BOTH his hands
upon the head of that live goat. Remember what we said about the laying on of
hands to transfer sin? This wasn't any gentle love tap, no delicate pat upon the
head, in earnest the High Priest's hands both lay upon the head of this goat and
then the High Priest confessed onto this live goat ALL the INIQUITIES, all the
sins of the children of Israel.
All that sin taken off the Sanctuary including the altar of burnt
offerings were placed upon that goat left to live and not be sacrificed by blood
sacrificed. All that sin was put upon that scapegoat who was led off into the
wilderness to die but not by any hand, not to be sacrificed for atoning, but
left to die bearing the weight of all that sin left,
to keep that sin upon it and to go off to be no more, forever gone,
forever lost to the sight of all the children of God never, never to be seen
again!
Only when this
was all done did the High Priest go into the tabernacle of congregation- only
then did he go into the holy place but NOT within the veil, and take off the
holy garments he had to wear before entering within the veil.
Then he went into
the Holy Place within the veil
and washed before he put on new garments. After he was clothed he went
out of the Holy Place and the tabernacle of the congregation and to the altar of
burnt offerings and there he offered the burnt offering of the people to make an
atonement for HIMSELF and the PEOPLE.
Lev 16:30 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.
Lev 16:31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you,
and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
Lev 16:32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint,
and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's
stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the
holy garments:
Lev 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the
holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the
congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the
priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
Lev 16:34 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.
Do you see how
much is involved in the cleansing of the Sanctuary?
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand
and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
167 years ago the
cleansing of the Sanctuary was begun.
The many, many years of sin placed upon the heavenly sanctuary through
the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior would begin the process of being
cleansed.
The High Priest
and His House would be cleansed first. The Most Holy Place would be
cleansed.
The People of the
Congregation of Israel would be cleansed secondly. The Holy Place would be
cleansed.
The Children of
Israel would be cleansed thirdly. The Altar of Burnt offering would be
cleansed.
Remember
this-
ONLY after the
Holy Place (Most Holy Place), the tabernacle of the congregation (Holy Place),
and the altar of burnt offering
(Altar before the door to the Holy Place) were atoned for, only after ALL
three of them were judged and cleansed of all sin did the High Priest go to the
live goat.
Did people stop
sinning during that yearly Day of Atonement? No, not all.
Lev 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh
month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto
you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto
the LORD.
Lev 23:28 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.
Lev 23:29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall
not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
Lev 23:30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth
any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
Lev 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall
be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest,
and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from
even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
Whatsoever soul
it be that shall not be afflicted -
shall be cut off.
Whatsoever soul
that doeth any work- will be
destroyed.
On that day… those who don't recognize their need of
a Savior will be cut off.
On that day… those who rely on themselves for
anything, forgetting to give all glory to our God, all worship to our King;
those who believe they in anyway can save themselves will be destroyed.
We know for a
fact there is a judgment in connection with the Day of Atonement, a judgment we
will ALL face --- more on that tomorrow though, by the grace and will of our
Lord. May we gain more
understanding as we are blessed with spiritual sight, all through His amazing,
wondrous love. There is nothing at
all like the love of our God, nothing. All glory and honor to Him!
All praise! All worship to our King! Blessed be His Name! Jesus Christ
our Lord and Savior! Blessed be His Holy Name!
Amen!