Post by Watchman on Sept 18, 2007 14:39:14 GMT -5
The Day of Atonement:
The World at One with God
Ambassador College Correspondence Course Number 29
After Jesus Christ returns, what will be the most important step in establishing peace on earth? No major denomination knows the answer. Why? This significant step is pictured by the annual Day of Atonement.
YOU have probably heard that there is a "great controversy" between God and Satan—that Christ and the devil are in a running battle for men's souls. If this were true, then Satan is winning! More people are "unsaved" today than ever before. Satan, according to this view, is made out to be more powerful than Christ.
But Satan is not stronger than Jesus Christ! Jesus is returning, as He promised, to depose Satan and set up the Kingdom of God. When Christ returns He will not leave this world—its governments, its societies, its religions, its sports, its economy—in the hands of the devil. Instead of violence and competition, there will be a new era of peace and cooperation.
Greatest Obstacle to World Peace Removed
For nearly 6,000 years Satan has invisibly swayed the nations. He has influenced civilizations, governments and leaders. He has inspired world wars and helped cause the misery, hate, suffering and violence that have plagued mankind throughout history.
Satan has been this world's ruler ever since God gave him that office when he was known as the Bringer of Light—Heylel in Hebrew or Lucifer in Latin. But Satan's days in that office are numbered.
God is not in competition with Satan—there is no "great controversy"! The question of who will rule this earth has already been decided.
Jesus Christ has qualified to replace Satan. When He returns to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords He will take over the supreme government over this world and depose Satan the devil! This world will then have peace at last.
Day of Atonement Pictures Satan's Removal
God's Holy Days were given to remind us how, step by step, God is working out His Master Plan.
The first three festivals—Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost—picture God's first spiritual harvest, the firstfruits—and their forgiveness, calling, preparation and training before Christ's return.
The last four festivals show the plan God has for making salvation available for all who have not yet been called. The Feast of Trumpets pictures Christ's intervention in human affairs to stop the suicide of the human race in nuclear war. Christ will be swift and firm in punishing those who are destroying the earth.
The fifth annual Sabbath, the Day of Atonement, pictures the fifth step in God's Master Plan—deposing Satan from his position as world ruler, and his removal to a place completely away from mankind. Satan will be "bound" for 1,000 years, no longer able to deceive the nations or influence mankind to sin (Revelation 20:1-3).
The Day of Atonement is perhaps the most unusual Holy Day, for it is the one day on which God has commanded His people to fast—to abstain from food and drink from sunset to sunset.
Humility Through Fasting
Jesus Christ, the future ruler of earth, qualified to rule by being completely submissive to the government of God and perfectly humble. One of His last acts with His disciples included establishing the New Testament Passover ordinance of foot washing to picture humility. His suffering and death to pay the penalty of human sin was an act of extreme humility, of complete submission to His Father's will, of perfect love for us. True Christians in like manner must become humble to rule with Christ. No ruler in God's Kingdom can be arrogant or selfish (Mark 10:42-45).
Fasting on the Day of Atonement is a vivid reminder of the state of mind necessary for salvation—of humility, godly sorrow, earnestly seeking God and His way.
Today, the world is filled with pomp and pride and does not realize it is cut off from God because of sin (Isaiah 59:2)—sin that has been inspired by Satan. Only those few whom God is calling are now reconciled to God. The vast majority must wait. After Satan's imprisonment on a coming Day of Atonement, all humanity will be reconciled with God—made humble and at one with Him, as pictured by the Day of At-one-ment. Let's understand the meaning of this unique fifth festival of God.
LESSON 29
Fifth Step in God's Plan
1. After the terrible events pictured in the book of Revelation by six seals and six trumpet plagues, will mankind repent and turn to God? Revelation 9:20-21. Even after the seven last plagues—the wrath of God—will many humans still be rebellious? Revelation 16:10-11, 21.
2. Why won't men and women repent—is it because they have been deceived? Revelation 12:9; 13:11-14. Are they spiritually drunk? Revelation 18:3. Will the army that attempts to fight Christ also be influenced by demons? Revelation 16:13-14. Is Satan himself behind this deception? Note the word dragon in verse 13.
3. Does the Bible reveal that today's world is invisibly ruled by Satan and his fallen angels? John 14:30; II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; 6:12. However, will the world to come be ruled by angels? Hebrews 2:5.
COMMENT: The Bible mentions three worlds—"the world that then was" that perished in a worldwide flood (II Peter 3:6), "this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4), and "the world to come"—the world tomorrow. In the world tomorrow, the devil and his demons will no longer influence earth's nations, its societies and religions.
4. Who will replace Satan as earthwide ruler? Revelation 5:12; 19:11-16; Matthew 28:18. Who will replace the demons as rulers over the nations? I Corinthians 6:2-3; Revelation 2:26-27; 20:6. Will Satan and the demons figuratively be under the feet of the saints? Romans 16:20.
5. After Christ returns to enforce the government of God on earth, will Satan be bound with a symbolic chain and locked up to prevent him from deceiving mankind? Revelation 20:1-3. Where will he be cast? Verse 3. Also compare Revelation 18:2 with Isaiah 13:19-22.
Binding of Satan Pictured by Day of Atonement
After Christ returns to restore to earth the government of God, Satan will be completely restrained for 1,000 years. Let's now see how this fifth step in God's Master Plan is pictured by a symbolic ceremony in the law of Moses.
1. What annual Sabbath follows nine days after the Feast of Trumpets? Leviticus 23:27. Are God's people commanded to assemble before Him on the Day of Atonement? Same verse; Numbers 29:7.
COMMENT: This world's churches misunderstand most aspects of God's Holy Days. Almost universally they have not kept these annual reminders of God's plan, and they thus do not know what God's plan is. The world has especially misunderstood the symbolism of the Day of Atonement. And no wonder! For this day more than any other Holy Day is hated by the great deceiver because it pictures his defeat.
The 16th chapter of Leviticus details what God commanded the Levitical high priests to do on the Day of Atonement. These rituals, which are no longer performed, pictured the binding of Satan—the fifth step in God's plan to restore His government on earth and bring the knowledge of salvation to everyone.
The purpose of the rituals God gave His Levitical priests was to remind the Israelites of their sins, that the penalty for sin was death, and that they would need a Savior to pay their penalty for them. The symbolism of the sacrificial laws was fulfilled by Christ's death in A.D. 31. Therefore sacrifices need not be offered today, nor can they be, because there is no functioning Levitical priesthood nor is anyone else authorized to perform those physical duties.
Even though the rituals are no longer performed, we can still see their symbolic meanings. But we must first understand a few important details about God's Tabernacle and the Levitical priesthood.
Once the Israelites had agreed to worship the LORD, Yahweh, the One who became Jesus Christ, (Exodus 24:3), He then began to detail to them how He should be worshiped. The first instructions He gave were for His Tabernacle (Exodus, chapters 25-27 and 30). Aaron and his sons were divinely chosen as priests (chapter 28). God's priests were appointed, not elected. God was in charge.
The Tabernacle included a courtyard enclosed by curtains. In the courtyard were an altar, a laver and a central tent. The tent was divided into two sections by a veil. The section behind the veil was called the Most Holy Place or the Holiest of All (Hebrews 9:3). The front section of the tent was the "holy place" (Exodus 26:33).
The Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle represented God's throne in heaven. The Ark of the Covenant, with the wings of the cherubim spread overhead, was in the Most Holy Place (Exodus 25:10-22; 26:33-34). Inside the Ark were the tables of stone on which God had written the Ten Commandments. The lid of the Ark, which was called the mercy seat, was where Yahweh—the One who later became Jesus Christ—manifested Himself.
Only one person—the Levitical high priest—was ever allowed to enter the Most Holy Place. He was allowed to enter it only once each year—only on the Day of Atonement to perform a special ceremony depicting the binding of Satan. God thus emphasized how important this day is. This day is symbolically linked to man's access to God.
Let's go through Leviticus 16 and briefly note the rituals that were to occur on the Day of Atonement. After we get the overview, we'll go back and study the symbolism involved in each step.
1. Was Aaron (and all succeeding high priests) allowed to go behind the veil to the mercy seat as often as he wished? Leviticus 16:2; Hebrews 9:6-7. On which day was he allowed to enter the Most Holy Place? Leviticus 16:29-30.
2. Before entering the Most Holy Place, did the high priest have to bathe and dress in special priestly garments? Leviticus 16:4. Did he sacrifice a young bull to make atonement for himself? Verses 3, 6, 11.
COMMENT: The sacrifice was done on the altar in the Tabernacle courtyard. No one but the high priest was allowed in the courtyard (verse 17). This was not a public ceremony—it was between the high priest and God alone.
3. Did the high priest then take a censer full of hot coals from the altar, with his hands full of finely ground incense, and go into the Most Holy Place? Verse 12. What did he do with the censer and incense? Verse 13. What did he sprinkle on the mercy seat? Verse 14.
4. Had the high priest previously taken two goats from the congregation? Verses 5, 7. Did he cast lots to determine what each goat would represent? Verse 8. Was the goat representing the LORD killed as an offering for sin? Verses 9, 15-16.
5. Was the other goat presented alive? Verse 10. Were the sins of the congregation symbolically put onto the live goat? Verse 21. What was then done to this goat? Verse 22.
COMMENT: Bulls, goats and rams were a normal part of the daily sacrificial rituals (Leviticus 1:2-5, 10; Numbers 28:4, 11, 15). Two things were particularly unusual about the rituals done on the Day of Atonement: 1) the high priest entered the Most Holy Place, and 2) one goat was ceremoniously led into the wilderness. What connection do these rituals have with the fifth step in God's plan—the restraining of Satan? The answer is made clear in the New Testament book of Hebrews.
Levitical High Priest Represented Our Eternal High Priest
1. Did the innermost part of the physical Tabernacle, made with hands, represent God's heavenly throne, the true throne? Hebrews 8:1-2; 9:23-24. Did the priestly ceremonies foreshadow heavenly things? Hebrews 8:4-5. Is Jesus Christ now our eternal High Priest? Hebrews 2:17; 3:1; 6:20; 7:26; 8:1.
COMMENT: The book of Hebrews was written to people familiar with the priestly functions. The writer shows that Christ fulfilled all of their symbolism and has become a high priest of much higher and eternal rank.
There were many Old Testament high priests, because each would eventually die and a new one would be installed (Hebrews 7:23). But Christ, being immortal, is now High Priest forever (verse 24). Perfectly sinless, Christ did not have to offer sacrifices for Himself, as the Levitical high priests did (verses 26-27). Thus Christ, in sacrificing His sinless life, could permanently pay for others' sins. After His resurrection to eternal life, He was consecrated as our High Priest forever (verse 28).
It is clear that Aaron and his descendants—the high priests in succeeding generations—pictured Jesus Christ. Their role in the Day of Atonement rituals symbolizes what Christ did in atoning for our sins.
2. Were Aaron and his descendants without sin? Romans 3:10, 23. Did he therefore have to make sacrifices for his own sins to be able to even temporarily represent Christ? Hebrews 7:27; Leviticus 16:6.
COMMENT: A sin offering was a sacrifice required from a person who sinned (Leviticus chapters 4 through 7). The sacrifices pictured that the penalty of sin is death. Animal death cannot pay a human penalty (Hebrews 10:4)—the sacrifices were only foreshadows picturing Christ's sacrifice. Jesus Christ, God made human, paid the penalty of human sin by His unjust death.
3. What was done with some of the blood of the bullock that was offered as a sin offering? Leviticus 16:14. Why? Hebrews 9:7, 21-22.
COMMENT: In the Ark of the Covenant beneath the mercy seat were two tables of stone on which were the Ten Commandments. Since these laws had been broken, making the sin offering necessary, the sacrificial blood was sprinkled on and before the Ark, thus symbolically atoning for transgressions of God's eternal spiritual law.
4. Did the high priest's special garments represent righteousness? Revelation 19:8. Did bathing represent a clean heart, a clean conscience? Hebrews 10:22.
5. When he went into the Most Holy Place, the high priest created a cloud of sweet incense. What did that represent? Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4.
COMMENT: This incense pictured prayer. The priest used sweet incense; our prayers are pleasing to God. The incense was beaten fine; we should be detailed in our prayers. Too many people pray for their own personal desires, then end quickly with a generalization like: "And bless everybody else, too." As incense arises from hot coals, so prayers ascend from the righteous like a cloud, bringing God's people mercy and protection.
In Old Testament times, only one person could enter behind the veil once each year. But after Jesus' death, the veil was supernaturally torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51). This symbolically opened the way to God's throne.
We are now allowed direct contact with God the Father through our own prayers, needing no intermediary except Christ (Hebrews 10:19-22; John 15:16; 16:23). By using Christ's name, our prayers ascend to God's heavenly throne by the permission and with the authority of our High Priest. This contact was not possible before Christ's resurrection; the ancient Israelites' access was limited to the LORD who became Christ.
Goat Chosen for the LORD
On the Day of Atonement, the high priest took two young goats from the congregation of Israel (Leviticus 16:5, 7). The two goats, in physical appearance, were similar. But they were to portray two vastly different symbolic roles.
1. How was it determined which goat would represent which role? Leviticus 16:8. What happened to the goat on which the LORD'S lot fell? Verse 9.
COMMENT: The LORD who dealt with ancient Israel, as we learned in previous lessons, is the member of the God Family who became Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 10:1-4). Therefore this goat, which was sacrificed for a sin offering and whose blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat for an atonement for all Israel, represented Jesus Christ.
Although the two goats appeared to be alike, one was to typify Christ. Men were utterly unqualified to determine which goat was suitable. Therefore it was necessary for God to decide.
A lot is a solemn appeal to God to supernaturally decide a matter (Proverbs 16:33). It is a sacred religious ceremony. Modern lotteries profane this ancient holy ceremony appealing to God.
Men, without God's supernatural intervention, are unable to determine who represents Christ. Most people who think they worship Christ are actually following ministers who are deceived by the devil (II Corinthians 11:13-15). Satan has so deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9) that mankind as a whole does not know who is God and who is the adversary.
2. Did the high priest sacrifice the goat representing Christ—the goat chosen by lot "for the LORD"—as a sin offering for all the people? Leviticus 16:15-16. What did the blood of the sin offering picture? Romans 3:23-26; Hebrews 9:12-14.
COMMENT: The killing of the LORD'S goat and sprinkling its blood on the mercy seat pictured the method by which humans can be reconciled to God— through the sacrifice of an innocent victim. Christ was that victim. He voluntarily took our guilt with Him on His cross, paying the penalty in full. Our guilt is expiated, atoned for; it ceases to exist if we accept Christ as our Savior and quit sinning.
The sins of the people were borne by the goat even as Christ bore our sins on His cross (Hebrews 9:28). But Christ rose from the dead, ascended to the throne of God in heaven and shall return.
3. Did the Aaronic high priest, after killing the goat representing Christ, enter the Most Holy Place behind the veil and sprinkle the goat's blood on the mercy seat? Hebrews 9:7; Leviticus 16:15-16. Was the Most Holy Place an earthly representation of God's heavenly throne? Leviticus 16:2; Exodus 25:21-22; Numbers 7:89.
COMMENT: The altar, Tabernacle and mercy seat were considered defiled by their presence among the sinning Israelites. All through the year Israel's sins were symbolically transferred to the Tabernacle and its fixtures (Leviticus 4:2-7). On the Day of Atonement this guilt was symbolically purged from the nation so God would continue to dwell with Israel. The goat's blood symbolized the blood of Christ.
4. Did Christ, after His sacrifice and resurrection, enter behind the veil to the throne of God in heaven? Hebrews 6:19-20; 8:1; 9:24; I Peter 3:22. Was it His own blood that He presented as an offering for sin? Hebrews 9:11-12.
COMMENT: The high priest, symbolically taking the atoning blood to God's throne, represented and symbolically did the work of the risen Christ.
Both the high priest and the goat represented Christ. It was not possible for the high priest to die every year to picture Christ's death. That had to be symbolized by the goat. Nor could the goat—after it was killed—represent the risen Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest. The human high priest represented the living, resurrected Christ. That is why he had to be symbolically cleaned so carefully before he could officiate.
5. What has Christ, our High Priest, been doing for more than 1,950 years? Hebrews 7:25; 4:14-16; I John 1:9; 2:1-2.
COMMENT: Christ is our living Savior. Christ's death has paid the penalty of all human sin. But that in itself did not complete the job of making atonement for all humans. Satan still rules this world, influencing everyone. The vast majority do not believe in Christ's sacrifice and do not obey God.
How will the job of atonement be completed? How will all mankind eventually be made at one with God the Father? The answer is revealed through the symbolism of the live goat.
continued
i
The World at One with God
Ambassador College Correspondence Course Number 29
After Jesus Christ returns, what will be the most important step in establishing peace on earth? No major denomination knows the answer. Why? This significant step is pictured by the annual Day of Atonement.
YOU have probably heard that there is a "great controversy" between God and Satan—that Christ and the devil are in a running battle for men's souls. If this were true, then Satan is winning! More people are "unsaved" today than ever before. Satan, according to this view, is made out to be more powerful than Christ.
But Satan is not stronger than Jesus Christ! Jesus is returning, as He promised, to depose Satan and set up the Kingdom of God. When Christ returns He will not leave this world—its governments, its societies, its religions, its sports, its economy—in the hands of the devil. Instead of violence and competition, there will be a new era of peace and cooperation.
Greatest Obstacle to World Peace Removed
For nearly 6,000 years Satan has invisibly swayed the nations. He has influenced civilizations, governments and leaders. He has inspired world wars and helped cause the misery, hate, suffering and violence that have plagued mankind throughout history.
Satan has been this world's ruler ever since God gave him that office when he was known as the Bringer of Light—Heylel in Hebrew or Lucifer in Latin. But Satan's days in that office are numbered.
God is not in competition with Satan—there is no "great controversy"! The question of who will rule this earth has already been decided.
Jesus Christ has qualified to replace Satan. When He returns to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords He will take over the supreme government over this world and depose Satan the devil! This world will then have peace at last.
Day of Atonement Pictures Satan's Removal
God's Holy Days were given to remind us how, step by step, God is working out His Master Plan.
The first three festivals—Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost—picture God's first spiritual harvest, the firstfruits—and their forgiveness, calling, preparation and training before Christ's return.
The last four festivals show the plan God has for making salvation available for all who have not yet been called. The Feast of Trumpets pictures Christ's intervention in human affairs to stop the suicide of the human race in nuclear war. Christ will be swift and firm in punishing those who are destroying the earth.
The fifth annual Sabbath, the Day of Atonement, pictures the fifth step in God's Master Plan—deposing Satan from his position as world ruler, and his removal to a place completely away from mankind. Satan will be "bound" for 1,000 years, no longer able to deceive the nations or influence mankind to sin (Revelation 20:1-3).
The Day of Atonement is perhaps the most unusual Holy Day, for it is the one day on which God has commanded His people to fast—to abstain from food and drink from sunset to sunset.
Humility Through Fasting
Jesus Christ, the future ruler of earth, qualified to rule by being completely submissive to the government of God and perfectly humble. One of His last acts with His disciples included establishing the New Testament Passover ordinance of foot washing to picture humility. His suffering and death to pay the penalty of human sin was an act of extreme humility, of complete submission to His Father's will, of perfect love for us. True Christians in like manner must become humble to rule with Christ. No ruler in God's Kingdom can be arrogant or selfish (Mark 10:42-45).
Fasting on the Day of Atonement is a vivid reminder of the state of mind necessary for salvation—of humility, godly sorrow, earnestly seeking God and His way.
Today, the world is filled with pomp and pride and does not realize it is cut off from God because of sin (Isaiah 59:2)—sin that has been inspired by Satan. Only those few whom God is calling are now reconciled to God. The vast majority must wait. After Satan's imprisonment on a coming Day of Atonement, all humanity will be reconciled with God—made humble and at one with Him, as pictured by the Day of At-one-ment. Let's understand the meaning of this unique fifth festival of God.
LESSON 29
Fifth Step in God's Plan
1. After the terrible events pictured in the book of Revelation by six seals and six trumpet plagues, will mankind repent and turn to God? Revelation 9:20-21. Even after the seven last plagues—the wrath of God—will many humans still be rebellious? Revelation 16:10-11, 21.
2. Why won't men and women repent—is it because they have been deceived? Revelation 12:9; 13:11-14. Are they spiritually drunk? Revelation 18:3. Will the army that attempts to fight Christ also be influenced by demons? Revelation 16:13-14. Is Satan himself behind this deception? Note the word dragon in verse 13.
3. Does the Bible reveal that today's world is invisibly ruled by Satan and his fallen angels? John 14:30; II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; 6:12. However, will the world to come be ruled by angels? Hebrews 2:5.
COMMENT: The Bible mentions three worlds—"the world that then was" that perished in a worldwide flood (II Peter 3:6), "this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4), and "the world to come"—the world tomorrow. In the world tomorrow, the devil and his demons will no longer influence earth's nations, its societies and religions.
4. Who will replace Satan as earthwide ruler? Revelation 5:12; 19:11-16; Matthew 28:18. Who will replace the demons as rulers over the nations? I Corinthians 6:2-3; Revelation 2:26-27; 20:6. Will Satan and the demons figuratively be under the feet of the saints? Romans 16:20.
5. After Christ returns to enforce the government of God on earth, will Satan be bound with a symbolic chain and locked up to prevent him from deceiving mankind? Revelation 20:1-3. Where will he be cast? Verse 3. Also compare Revelation 18:2 with Isaiah 13:19-22.
Binding of Satan Pictured by Day of Atonement
After Christ returns to restore to earth the government of God, Satan will be completely restrained for 1,000 years. Let's now see how this fifth step in God's Master Plan is pictured by a symbolic ceremony in the law of Moses.
1. What annual Sabbath follows nine days after the Feast of Trumpets? Leviticus 23:27. Are God's people commanded to assemble before Him on the Day of Atonement? Same verse; Numbers 29:7.
COMMENT: This world's churches misunderstand most aspects of God's Holy Days. Almost universally they have not kept these annual reminders of God's plan, and they thus do not know what God's plan is. The world has especially misunderstood the symbolism of the Day of Atonement. And no wonder! For this day more than any other Holy Day is hated by the great deceiver because it pictures his defeat.
The 16th chapter of Leviticus details what God commanded the Levitical high priests to do on the Day of Atonement. These rituals, which are no longer performed, pictured the binding of Satan—the fifth step in God's plan to restore His government on earth and bring the knowledge of salvation to everyone.
The purpose of the rituals God gave His Levitical priests was to remind the Israelites of their sins, that the penalty for sin was death, and that they would need a Savior to pay their penalty for them. The symbolism of the sacrificial laws was fulfilled by Christ's death in A.D. 31. Therefore sacrifices need not be offered today, nor can they be, because there is no functioning Levitical priesthood nor is anyone else authorized to perform those physical duties.
Even though the rituals are no longer performed, we can still see their symbolic meanings. But we must first understand a few important details about God's Tabernacle and the Levitical priesthood.
Once the Israelites had agreed to worship the LORD, Yahweh, the One who became Jesus Christ, (Exodus 24:3), He then began to detail to them how He should be worshiped. The first instructions He gave were for His Tabernacle (Exodus, chapters 25-27 and 30). Aaron and his sons were divinely chosen as priests (chapter 28). God's priests were appointed, not elected. God was in charge.
The Tabernacle included a courtyard enclosed by curtains. In the courtyard were an altar, a laver and a central tent. The tent was divided into two sections by a veil. The section behind the veil was called the Most Holy Place or the Holiest of All (Hebrews 9:3). The front section of the tent was the "holy place" (Exodus 26:33).
The Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle represented God's throne in heaven. The Ark of the Covenant, with the wings of the cherubim spread overhead, was in the Most Holy Place (Exodus 25:10-22; 26:33-34). Inside the Ark were the tables of stone on which God had written the Ten Commandments. The lid of the Ark, which was called the mercy seat, was where Yahweh—the One who later became Jesus Christ—manifested Himself.
Only one person—the Levitical high priest—was ever allowed to enter the Most Holy Place. He was allowed to enter it only once each year—only on the Day of Atonement to perform a special ceremony depicting the binding of Satan. God thus emphasized how important this day is. This day is symbolically linked to man's access to God.
Let's go through Leviticus 16 and briefly note the rituals that were to occur on the Day of Atonement. After we get the overview, we'll go back and study the symbolism involved in each step.
1. Was Aaron (and all succeeding high priests) allowed to go behind the veil to the mercy seat as often as he wished? Leviticus 16:2; Hebrews 9:6-7. On which day was he allowed to enter the Most Holy Place? Leviticus 16:29-30.
2. Before entering the Most Holy Place, did the high priest have to bathe and dress in special priestly garments? Leviticus 16:4. Did he sacrifice a young bull to make atonement for himself? Verses 3, 6, 11.
COMMENT: The sacrifice was done on the altar in the Tabernacle courtyard. No one but the high priest was allowed in the courtyard (verse 17). This was not a public ceremony—it was between the high priest and God alone.
3. Did the high priest then take a censer full of hot coals from the altar, with his hands full of finely ground incense, and go into the Most Holy Place? Verse 12. What did he do with the censer and incense? Verse 13. What did he sprinkle on the mercy seat? Verse 14.
4. Had the high priest previously taken two goats from the congregation? Verses 5, 7. Did he cast lots to determine what each goat would represent? Verse 8. Was the goat representing the LORD killed as an offering for sin? Verses 9, 15-16.
5. Was the other goat presented alive? Verse 10. Were the sins of the congregation symbolically put onto the live goat? Verse 21. What was then done to this goat? Verse 22.
COMMENT: Bulls, goats and rams were a normal part of the daily sacrificial rituals (Leviticus 1:2-5, 10; Numbers 28:4, 11, 15). Two things were particularly unusual about the rituals done on the Day of Atonement: 1) the high priest entered the Most Holy Place, and 2) one goat was ceremoniously led into the wilderness. What connection do these rituals have with the fifth step in God's plan—the restraining of Satan? The answer is made clear in the New Testament book of Hebrews.
Levitical High Priest Represented Our Eternal High Priest
1. Did the innermost part of the physical Tabernacle, made with hands, represent God's heavenly throne, the true throne? Hebrews 8:1-2; 9:23-24. Did the priestly ceremonies foreshadow heavenly things? Hebrews 8:4-5. Is Jesus Christ now our eternal High Priest? Hebrews 2:17; 3:1; 6:20; 7:26; 8:1.
COMMENT: The book of Hebrews was written to people familiar with the priestly functions. The writer shows that Christ fulfilled all of their symbolism and has become a high priest of much higher and eternal rank.
There were many Old Testament high priests, because each would eventually die and a new one would be installed (Hebrews 7:23). But Christ, being immortal, is now High Priest forever (verse 24). Perfectly sinless, Christ did not have to offer sacrifices for Himself, as the Levitical high priests did (verses 26-27). Thus Christ, in sacrificing His sinless life, could permanently pay for others' sins. After His resurrection to eternal life, He was consecrated as our High Priest forever (verse 28).
It is clear that Aaron and his descendants—the high priests in succeeding generations—pictured Jesus Christ. Their role in the Day of Atonement rituals symbolizes what Christ did in atoning for our sins.
2. Were Aaron and his descendants without sin? Romans 3:10, 23. Did he therefore have to make sacrifices for his own sins to be able to even temporarily represent Christ? Hebrews 7:27; Leviticus 16:6.
COMMENT: A sin offering was a sacrifice required from a person who sinned (Leviticus chapters 4 through 7). The sacrifices pictured that the penalty of sin is death. Animal death cannot pay a human penalty (Hebrews 10:4)—the sacrifices were only foreshadows picturing Christ's sacrifice. Jesus Christ, God made human, paid the penalty of human sin by His unjust death.
3. What was done with some of the blood of the bullock that was offered as a sin offering? Leviticus 16:14. Why? Hebrews 9:7, 21-22.
COMMENT: In the Ark of the Covenant beneath the mercy seat were two tables of stone on which were the Ten Commandments. Since these laws had been broken, making the sin offering necessary, the sacrificial blood was sprinkled on and before the Ark, thus symbolically atoning for transgressions of God's eternal spiritual law.
4. Did the high priest's special garments represent righteousness? Revelation 19:8. Did bathing represent a clean heart, a clean conscience? Hebrews 10:22.
5. When he went into the Most Holy Place, the high priest created a cloud of sweet incense. What did that represent? Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4.
COMMENT: This incense pictured prayer. The priest used sweet incense; our prayers are pleasing to God. The incense was beaten fine; we should be detailed in our prayers. Too many people pray for their own personal desires, then end quickly with a generalization like: "And bless everybody else, too." As incense arises from hot coals, so prayers ascend from the righteous like a cloud, bringing God's people mercy and protection.
In Old Testament times, only one person could enter behind the veil once each year. But after Jesus' death, the veil was supernaturally torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51). This symbolically opened the way to God's throne.
We are now allowed direct contact with God the Father through our own prayers, needing no intermediary except Christ (Hebrews 10:19-22; John 15:16; 16:23). By using Christ's name, our prayers ascend to God's heavenly throne by the permission and with the authority of our High Priest. This contact was not possible before Christ's resurrection; the ancient Israelites' access was limited to the LORD who became Christ.
Goat Chosen for the LORD
On the Day of Atonement, the high priest took two young goats from the congregation of Israel (Leviticus 16:5, 7). The two goats, in physical appearance, were similar. But they were to portray two vastly different symbolic roles.
1. How was it determined which goat would represent which role? Leviticus 16:8. What happened to the goat on which the LORD'S lot fell? Verse 9.
COMMENT: The LORD who dealt with ancient Israel, as we learned in previous lessons, is the member of the God Family who became Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 10:1-4). Therefore this goat, which was sacrificed for a sin offering and whose blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat for an atonement for all Israel, represented Jesus Christ.
Although the two goats appeared to be alike, one was to typify Christ. Men were utterly unqualified to determine which goat was suitable. Therefore it was necessary for God to decide.
A lot is a solemn appeal to God to supernaturally decide a matter (Proverbs 16:33). It is a sacred religious ceremony. Modern lotteries profane this ancient holy ceremony appealing to God.
Men, without God's supernatural intervention, are unable to determine who represents Christ. Most people who think they worship Christ are actually following ministers who are deceived by the devil (II Corinthians 11:13-15). Satan has so deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9) that mankind as a whole does not know who is God and who is the adversary.
2. Did the high priest sacrifice the goat representing Christ—the goat chosen by lot "for the LORD"—as a sin offering for all the people? Leviticus 16:15-16. What did the blood of the sin offering picture? Romans 3:23-26; Hebrews 9:12-14.
COMMENT: The killing of the LORD'S goat and sprinkling its blood on the mercy seat pictured the method by which humans can be reconciled to God— through the sacrifice of an innocent victim. Christ was that victim. He voluntarily took our guilt with Him on His cross, paying the penalty in full. Our guilt is expiated, atoned for; it ceases to exist if we accept Christ as our Savior and quit sinning.
The sins of the people were borne by the goat even as Christ bore our sins on His cross (Hebrews 9:28). But Christ rose from the dead, ascended to the throne of God in heaven and shall return.
3. Did the Aaronic high priest, after killing the goat representing Christ, enter the Most Holy Place behind the veil and sprinkle the goat's blood on the mercy seat? Hebrews 9:7; Leviticus 16:15-16. Was the Most Holy Place an earthly representation of God's heavenly throne? Leviticus 16:2; Exodus 25:21-22; Numbers 7:89.
COMMENT: The altar, Tabernacle and mercy seat were considered defiled by their presence among the sinning Israelites. All through the year Israel's sins were symbolically transferred to the Tabernacle and its fixtures (Leviticus 4:2-7). On the Day of Atonement this guilt was symbolically purged from the nation so God would continue to dwell with Israel. The goat's blood symbolized the blood of Christ.
4. Did Christ, after His sacrifice and resurrection, enter behind the veil to the throne of God in heaven? Hebrews 6:19-20; 8:1; 9:24; I Peter 3:22. Was it His own blood that He presented as an offering for sin? Hebrews 9:11-12.
COMMENT: The high priest, symbolically taking the atoning blood to God's throne, represented and symbolically did the work of the risen Christ.
Both the high priest and the goat represented Christ. It was not possible for the high priest to die every year to picture Christ's death. That had to be symbolized by the goat. Nor could the goat—after it was killed—represent the risen Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest. The human high priest represented the living, resurrected Christ. That is why he had to be symbolically cleaned so carefully before he could officiate.
5. What has Christ, our High Priest, been doing for more than 1,950 years? Hebrews 7:25; 4:14-16; I John 1:9; 2:1-2.
COMMENT: Christ is our living Savior. Christ's death has paid the penalty of all human sin. But that in itself did not complete the job of making atonement for all humans. Satan still rules this world, influencing everyone. The vast majority do not believe in Christ's sacrifice and do not obey God.
How will the job of atonement be completed? How will all mankind eventually be made at one with God the Father? The answer is revealed through the symbolism of the live goat.
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