The Day of Atonement

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

March 31, 2022

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

In this message and the message next week, I want to share with you the essence of a revelation that Marion Fretwell, our good friend and solid man of God, received from the Lord perhaps 25 years ago about the Jewish feast of the Day of Atonement. We only saw Marion two times in our life, primarily because he and his wife, Pearl, always lived on the west coast. But the Holy Spirit instantly bonded us together with Marion in 1994 and we communicated many times through email. He went to be with the Lord several years ago at the age of 97. I have no doubt that Marion would have been pleased for me to share his revelation. We will see, from both the Old and the New Testament, God's plan for the church, as revealed in the Day of Atonement.

As we look at this brief summary of the Day of Atonement, please think seriously about all of the prophetic significance for us today. What I will attempt to share with you will be partly his words and partly mine. Hopefully, all of the words in these two messages will be the word of the Lord. As a background, we all know that,

Adam was mortal and a free moral agent before he sinned. He did not have the nature of sin. Adam had dominion over all other creatures and all creation was at rest. The lambs were safe among the wolves, the young goats were safe among the leopards, the calves had no fear of the lions. A child could have led a lion to the water hole, or show it where there was a good patch of grass for it to feed on. Isaiah 11:6-9.

Then Adam disobeyed God and blew it all. Much of it is still "blown" today. However, God is in the process of bringing about His prescribed schedule of full redemption for those who "love His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:8. As a result of Adam's disobedience, we were "sold" to be sinners by nature. We are not sinners because we sin. We commit acts of sin because the root principle of sin is in our heart. Each one of us, saved as we are, have the potential of every sin in the book, because we still have the nature of sin resident within us. We are admonished in Romans 8:13 to "Mortify the deeds of the flesh, through the Spirit." Mortifying deeds is necessary but fails to take care of the nature of sin.

Romans, Chapters 7 and 8, give a better explanation about the condition of those of us who have had our sins forgiven, and have received the firstfruits of the Spirit. We are told about the warfare which is waged within us between the nature of God and the nature of man (flesh). It tells us that we can subdue the flesh by being full of the Spirit of God. It tells us that we, ourselves, determine whether we shall live defeated lives or victorious lives, simply by how completely we let the Spirit of God rule in our lives. Romans 6 tells us that we have a choice of obeying sin, unto death, or obedience unto righteousness. 

Romans 6:12, "Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof."

 

... But yield yourselves unto God.

There are many other scriptures which tell us about the victory we have in Christ through His Spirit as we submit to God and resist the devil. However, not all of the provisions and benefits of Calvary have been bestowed upon us yet. We enjoy forgiveness of sins, have followed the Lord in baptism, have received of His Spirit, and many other blessings, but if we do not continue to pray, read the Word, and resist the nature of flesh, we lose ground in Christ. Paul called it "the body of this death." 

Paul also describes it as "groaning." 

Romans 8:22-23, "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."

1 John 4:4 says: "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." 

"The devil made me do it" is not a valid excuse for our short-falls. We have freedom to the extent that we are obedient to God.

The Tabernacle which Moses built was a visible manifestation of an invisible plan worked out in the mind of God from before the fall of Adam for the complete redemption of mankind. When God showed Moses the pattern of the Tabernacle and the form of worship, He cautioned Moses to make sure that everything was made exactly to specifications. The furnishings and ministrations in the Tabernacle built by Moses had to be made exactly as prescribed, because they were to be a visible model of an invisible, spiritual ministration carried out by Jesus Christ on behalf of His followers of faith.

Hebrews 8:1-2: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

More space (43 consecutive chapters) is given in scripture to the physical structure and the ceremonies of the Tabernacle than to any other theme or doctrine in God's message to man. We dare not dismiss it as unimportant, or too monotonous to bother ourselves with. To do so would be spiritually tragic!

The sacrifices and ceremonies were visible portrayals, in symbolic form, of the activities which were to bring about our complete redemption. Some of these activities are from man, and are Godward, and some are from God, and are manward. A better understanding of the symbolic ceremonies will result in a better understanding of what has already happened, what is now taking place, and what is yet to be expected in the process of redemption.

The writer of Hebrews puts great emphasis on the events of the sixth Feast of the Levitical Year, the Day of Atonement. If it was important enough to warrant nearly half the book of Hebrews, it surely seems that God thought it was important for us to understand its meaning. The events of the Day of Atonement and the interpretation of what these events portray to us about the Church Age are very important.

About 3,500 years ago, God made known to man a blue-print for the future Church Age, and He has never revised His plan. That plan calls for a Church which fills the whole earth and delivers a smashing blow to the forces of evil. It does not call for a weak, persecuted Church which has to be snatched away from persecution or total destruction.

When God was causing the children of Israel to prepare for the final plague in Egypt, He said to Moses, in 

Exodus 12:2, "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you." 

In Exodus 13:4 the month is identified as the month Abib. Abib starts what is called the Sacred Year, which was not a full twelve-month year, but rather a seven-month period within the Civil Year, set apart for the purposes of God in His dealings with Israel. This seven-month period contains the Feasts and Holy Convocations which served as a point of contact between God and Israel.

This Sacred Year ended in the month Tishri, which was the first month of the civil year. It corresponds to our months of September and October. The Israelite months were lunar instead of solar, so an exact comparison cannot be made. In Exodus 34:22, God told the Israelites that "thou shalt observe the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end." After five months the Sacred Year started all over again, and the feasts and ceremonies were observed in their proper order all over again. This went on from year to year for many centuries.

The first observance of the Sacred Year was Passover, in memory of the night in Egypt when the Death Angel passed over the houses of those who had the blood of the lamb applied to their dwellings. It was also a type of Jesus, who is our Passover. Passover was followed immediately by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a seven-day observance. Israel was also commanded to bring a sheaf of the first-ripe grain, which was called the Firstfruits. The first three observances all pointed to Jesus and His atoning work at the cross and at His resurrection.

1 Corinthians 5:6-7: Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, neither the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 15:20, 23: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. ... But every man in his own order: Christ the Firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming.

Fifty days after Passover was Pentecost. There were fifty days between the day that Israel was thrust out of Egypt and the time when Moses and Israel heard the voice of the Lord thundering out of Mt. Sinai, giving them the Ten Commandments. 

Leviticus 23:16-17: "Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days: and ye shall bring a new meat offering unto the Lord. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour: they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord." 

God insists that there be a response from our lives, leavened as they are by the nature of flesh. True to the pattern in the Sacred Year of the Old Testament, Jesus became our Passover, Unleavened Bread, and the Firstfruits of them that slept. He was the begotten from the dead.

Also true to the pattern, from Acts 2:1-4: "When the day of Pentecost was fully come ... And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." As God had begun to give the Law of ordinances at Sinai fifty days after Passover, even so, Jesus began to give the perfect law of liberty in the hearts of those who would ask Him for it.

We must remember that the experience of Pentecost is only the beginning of the writing of the Law of God in the hearts of us believers. It is referred to as the "earnest of our inheritance" in Ephesians 1:14. In 2 Corinthians 1:22 it is also called the "firstfruit or the earnest of the Spirit." After Pentecost there was no outstanding activity in terms of special ceremonies for a period of about three and 1/2 months. If the Sacred Year was to be a sort of blueprint of God's dealings with the Church, then the passage of time in the Sacred Year denotes the passage of time in God's dealings with the Church. The important aspect is that God waited until the last month of the Sacred Year to enact the last three observances.

The first of the last three observances came on the first day of the seventh month, Tishri. Leviticus 23:24: "in the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of Blowing of Trumpets, an holy convocation." This was the first month of the secular year, and also New Year's Day. The phrase "blowing of trumpets" comes from the same Hebrew word that is used in several places in the sense of mustering the army for war, such as "shout, alarm, and other battle terms." Numbers, Chapter 10, outlines four reasons for the blowing of trumpets, namely (1) for calling an assembly (Verse 2); (2) for journeying of the camps (Verses 3-6); (3) for preparation for war (Verse 9); and (4) for the celebration of the feasts (Verse 10). Please note the significance of the order listed. First, we must be born again; then we start on our journey toward the kingdom of God; then we experience spiritual warfare; and finally, we celebrate in the victory of our God. In Numbers 10:2, Moses is told to make two trumpets of silver out of a whole piece. Silver in scripture speaks of redemption. The number "two" speaks of Christ in union with His people ... the Church, which is a whole piece ... Jew and Gentile. In addition, after Israel demanded an earthly king (about 378 years later) a trumpet was sounded when a king was anointed (1 Kings 1:34 and at least two other scriptures). This is prophetic of the day when the King of kings returns. Today, the trumpets are beginning to blow. The Lord is saying, as in Joel 2:15, "Blow the trumpet in Zion." That is because only those Christians in Zion, not the whole church, can hear the sound of the trumpets.

Next came the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day of the year. The ceremonies of the Day of Atonement give us the most complete, panoramic view of God's plan of full redemption of any we have in the Bible.

Leviticus 23:27-28: "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. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a Day of Atonement for you before the Lord."

This was the one day of the year in which the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies with blood, to make an atonement for the sins of the people. It was the day of the scapegoat also. On this day, at the end of every fifty years, the trumpet was blown to proclaim liberty throughout the land. It was known as the Jubilee. Each 50-year period of time corresponds to a new generation. That may imply that we Christians may experience an earnest of Jubilee in every generation.

The last, but by no means the least, observance of the Sacred Year was the Feast of Tabernacles, or Ingathering. We firmly believe that God has reserved the best for the last.

Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Pentecost have been fulfilled by Jesus. Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering have not yet been fulfilled but will soon be fulfilled by Jesus. They are upon us, for sure, but still future, nevertheless. The greatest ingathering of souls the world has ever seen is typified in the Festival of Ingathering, the Feast of Tabernacles. There are at least two reasons why this will be so. The most important reason is because God has ordained it. When Jesus walked the face of the earth, He was one Man and could be in only one place at a time. When Jesus returns to earth, as we will see in the last spiritual Day of Atonement, He will come with ten thousands of His saints (Jude, Verse 14) all of whom will constitute the remnant, overcomers over all of time. They will walk the face of the whole earth in the same manner and power as did Jesus.

Tabernacles pointed both backward and forward. The backward look was to the time when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. They had to live in "booths," as they are called in the Bible. The forward look refers to the time when "The Lord shall set His Hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left... " Isaiah 11:11. Some time ago we shared a message about Isaiah, Chapter 11, which clearly has not yet been fulfilled.

The Feast of Tabernacles started on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and was observed for seven days - each with a different offering.

Leviticus 23:39: Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

No doubt Jesus was referring to the time typified by the Feast of Ingathering when He gave the parable of the sower who sowed good seed in his ground, but an enemy had sowed tares also. That parable is recorded in Matthew 13:24-30. Apparently, there is a connection between this last feast being in the "end of the year" (Exodus 34:22) and the fact that Jesus, in explaining the parable of the tares, declared that the harvest was at the end of the age.

Therefore, these last three feasts occupy exactly 21 days. Twenty-one is three times seven. That speaks of total perfection and completion, followed by a perfect and complete, eternal sabbath or rest eight days after the Ingathering. The number "eight" speaks of new beginnings.

Every sin offering that was offered pointed to the one sacrifice of Jesus to be made at some future time. It was sometime in the future, and no one knew when it was to happen. To say the least, there were times when the daily, the monthly, and the yearly sacrifices became wearisome. No one seemed to have adequate knowledge of just what they pointed to. No one had ever heard of Jesus Christ by name, nor of Calvary, nor of Mary and Joseph.

The sin offerings were made primarily for one reason - because God had commanded that it be so. No one danced for joy while the offerings were being made, because there was nothing to get excited about - unless you had faith in the future - faith that God had something better at a later time.

The tenth day of Tishri dawned, the same as the other days before it. The wheat harvest was almost complete, but there would be no harvesting today. Today is the Day of Atonement. It is the most solemn day of the year. No one is to do any kind of work today. The only real activity is to be carried out at the Tabernacle by the High Priest.

The first duty of the High Priest seems to have been the selecting of the animals for the sacrifices because the sacrifices had to be without spot or blemish. Next, he must make himself as clean as possible, with water, and clothe himself with clothing specially prescribed for the occasion. We read in 

Leviticus 16:4: "He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with a linen mitre shall he be attired; these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on."

On this day, the High Priest is going to typify the work of Jesus at both Calvary and at the closing of the church age, so he must be as clean as ceremonies can make him. Ceremonies do not make us clean. They only typify cleanness. His first sacrifice of the day is a bullock for himself and his sons, who are priests under him. The priests are human also, and therefore an atonement must be made for them before they can make an atonement for the people. He completes the ceremony of personal atonement by sprinkling the blood of the bullock on the Mercy Seat seven times. Now he is a "ceremonially clean" human who will proceed to typify the work of the sinless Son of God - Jesus Christ.

Then he must kill one of the two goats selected for the occasion, and make an atonement with its blood for the people. Finally, the other goat has to be sent into the wilderness, never to return, after the high priest lays his hands on its head and puts the sins of the people on it.

It is easy to see how different personalities would greet this day in different ways. Human nature has never changed, and we see people taking different attitudes toward the things of God today.

To the "lewd fellows of the baser sort" (Acts 17:5) it was a day off from work, and that meant they could do just about anything they wanted to do. For some, it would mean a day of revelry and drunkenness or otherwise indulging their desires and pleasure. What difference did it make that this was the Day of Atonement? They had discovered what it was that separated the men from the boys, so to speak, and they intended to be among the "men." Sadly, such things were not for all of this crowd. Much to our dismay, we discover that there are, within the "fold" of our Christian society, people with this same attitude toward spiritual things. They consider themselves to be Christians, but they could not care less for the things of the Spirit.

There were, no doubt, others who respected the day, and had it been convenient, would have attended the services on this most solemn occasion. Yesterday had been a hard day, trying to get everything done that should have been done before the one-day recess. Tomorrow would be a rough day also, so, "If you don't mind, I think I'll sit this one out." Besides, one had to get up so early to be at the site close enough to watch the proceedings, and even if you did have a "ring-side view", everyone had to stand, and there really was not that much to see. Most of the interesting part was performed by the High Priest behind the second veil of the Tabernacle.

Also, if a person was right up close, there was a chance that the High Priest might just happen to look your way when it was time to find a man to lead away the live goat. If that were to happen, you would become "unclean" for a time, and would have to go through the process of getting "clean" again. You might have to miss some work, and you cannot take that risk. You have a lot of bills to pay, and you need a full pay check. "Please have me excused." There may be many who fall into this category of "believers" today.

Another type of "believer" is the one who takes the time and spends the effort to get down to the Tabernacle to be among those who gather there. After all, this is the outstanding day of the year - the day when the High Priest takes his life in his hands and goes into the Holy of Holies with blood to sprinkle on and before the Mercy Seat. If God should choose not to accept the sacrifices on this day, the High Priest will be smitten dead in the Holy of Holies.

These "believers," however, must keep a distance between themselves and the scene of activity, lest they become too deeply involved. In addition to the man who must lead the goat away, someone must be chosen to haul off the remains of the sacrifices, and burn them. So they must find someone with whom to talk. They usually talk about spiritual things, but the subject matter is irrelevant, as long as it keeps them a little way back from the scene of activity. They are "attenders!" They are NOT "participators!" This is, perhaps, the largest single category of people today who make up the vast company of those who "call on the Name of the Lord." Any social activity will attract their attention. They are ready to play on the basketball team or pour coffee at the receptions. Prayer meeting and Bible study, however, is not their "cup of tea." For various reasons, they have not pressed into God.

Like a child who was born half blind, they do not know that they are missing a lot of things. They are unaware that others are getting a lot more out of their Christian experience than they are getting. They do not read their Bible. They depend upon their pastor to give them the Word of God, as if they could absorb enough in 30 minutes to suffice for an additional six-day journey.

They are lean of soul. They fall into temptation. They are harassed by discouragement but know that they must continue to carry on as though nothing was wrong. When the day is over, and they are safely behind their own doors, they will admit to themselves that all is not well; they do not, however, have the answer to their dilemma.

If they could only see that the answer lies in getting closer to the gate of the Tabernacle. What the soul cries out for is found there. Spiritual thirst is quenched there. Spiritual food is abundant there. Souls are fat there and find real pleasure near the Tabernacle Gate. It takes desire to get there. It takes time to get there. It takes effort to get there. But the reward is sure!

In Luke 14, starting with Verse 15, Jesus described a similar set of excuses that some of the chosen people of God make to decline the invitation of the Lord to His last supper. The last supper of Jesus does not consist of bread, wine, or fish. Jesus said, in 

John 4:34, "... My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work." 

It is the last supper before the marriage of the Bridegroom and the bride. No one knows what food, if any, we will eat in eternity.

Luke 14:15-24. 

15 And when one of them that sat at meat with Him heard these things, he said unto Him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God

16 Then said He unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

Note that the invitation was not to be born again, but to enter the kingdom of God.


17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

Why didn't that man bring his wife to the supper? 

21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

What makes the Tabernacle so attractive? nothing, in the natural realm! It is a messy, smelly place, offensive to the nose and eyes. Animals are butchered there; flesh is burned there. Final death struggles have to be watched there. Blood is shed there. Innocent animals are forced to give their lives to make an atonement with their blood for the sins of those who are forced to kill them. Why would any Israelite want to get as close as possible to the Tabernacle gate on this tenth day of Tishri, the Day of Atonement? Why? Especially when it is more pleasing to the senses to stay a little way back? Why? When all you can do is watch the proceedings of the day? Why? Just to wait for the appearing of the High Priest as he returns from making an atonement in the Holy of Holies? Precisely that!

When the High Priest returned, and appeared at the first veil of the Tabernacle, it signified that he had been successful in his mission before the Mercy Seat, in the presence of God. He had been into the place where man was forbidden to go, ordinarily. He had seen the Unapproachable Light. He had been in the presence of immortality. He had felt the powers of the world to come. He had gone into the Holy of Holies to make an atonement for the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and had been successful in the effort. The sins of the past were covered. They were not guilty any longer. They had a clean slate as of today, no matter that they had fallen short so many times before. That was all in the atoned-for past. Here is reason number one for getting as close as possible to the gate of the Tabernacle - the joy of sins forgiven; the peace that the blood-washed know!

The "front-half-of-the-Church" crowd have learned that God meant what He said when He told them: 

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies and His statutes, which He hath commanded thee. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave unto Him; then will the LORD ..." Deuteronomy 6:7, 17 and Deuteronomy 11:22.

God has not told us all the reasons for the things He has commanded us to observe, but rest assured, there is a reason for each of His commandments.

To be sure, we are in the New Testament era now, and the injunctions are somewhat different from those of outward rituals and ceremonies, but the principle is the same today as it was then. The Lord says, "If YOU will, I will; but if you DO NOT ..."

It is as simple as that. Find out what pleases God and then strive to do it. You will not always be successful in your efforts to do what is right in His sight, but keep trying. God even accepts an effort that ends in a short-fall. Calvary covers the short-falls, and each effort to do the pleasure of the Lord brings you closer to the gate of the Tabernacle where those who "look for the appearing" of the High Priest congregate. If you are close enough, you will be able to see Him when He returns from the Holy of Holies, with His reward for all who can behold Him. Jesus WILL return. That reward will be worth whatever effort it has taken to get where we can see Him appear.

We are not talking about salvation. Salvation is free - we cannot earn it, we cannot buy it. We can, in no way, become worthy of it. We accept it as a gift or we cannot have it. If we were to achieve the highest degree of proper relationship with God and man, we are still not worthy of salvation. It must, forever, remain a gift.

We have been talking about what we do after we are saved. We are talking about spiritual progress in our Christian walk. Lack of progress can in no way jeopardize our salvation, because it is a gift ... that is unless we decide not to keep the gift. We are talking about after we have come to know and love Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:8 says that "every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour."

Our personal reward is gauged by how closely we can make our lives line up with the rules of conduct, found in the Word of God. We can find more than enough in the New Testament to keep us centered on the Person of the Lord, but the Old Testament also spells them out explicitly. We are NOT referring to the ceremonial part of the Scripture, but, rather, that which deals with our relationship to God, first, and then to each other.

One set of rules of conduct are spelled out quite clearly in the New Testament, in Matthew, Chapters 5, 6, and 7 - the Sermon on the Mount. Another compilation of things to aim for is in Exodus, Chapters 20 through 23, which gives us some very definite guidelines for interpersonal relationships.

When we use the term "getting close to the Tabernacle gate," we mean making a conscious effort to do exactly what God says we should do in each and every situation that arises. Usually, our biggest battle in this effort concerns our emotions. They are a part of human nature, and are almost always the opposite of what is spiritual. We may make countless mistakes and may experience many short-falls, but every failure is evidence of an effort made. The Lord notices and gives credit. Every apology to another person for having acted in an un-Christlike manner turns the situation into a plus for us - bringing victory out of defeat. We must, whatever the cost, get near the Tabernacle Gate. We dare not allow pride to keep us from it. We dare not allow social status to hinder us. Earthly duties MUST take second place to it. We must let nothing deter us from our goal of seeing Jesus when He appears from His ministration for us in the Holy of Holies, where He is now.

There are many other scriptures which tell us about the victory we have in Jesus Christ, through His Spirit, as we submit to God and resist the devil. We should point out that it seems that not all of the provisions and benefits of Calvary have been bestowed upon us yet. We enjoy forgiveness of sins, have followed the Lord in baptism, have received of His Spirit, and many other blessings.

But wait! The High Priest is not finished with the ceremonies of the day, yet. He commands that the live goat be brought. As he lays his hands on the head of the goat, he calls out the sins of the people during the last year. He puts them upon the goat! 

Leviticus 16:21: "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and he shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness." 

This is very important. We will share more about the live goat in our next message. Next week we will see, in some detail, Marion Fretwell's revelation about the Day of Atonement. Until then,

Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of our mouth, and the meditation of our heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, our strength, and our redeemer." 

Amen.