YOM KIPPUR


YOM KIPPUR

                Today is the Day of Atonement. It was the only day of the year when Israel’s High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle. To do this the High Priest spent 7 days in isolation within the temple confines, purifying his thoughts and generally separating from the world and its ways, in preparation for his encounter with the presence of God.

                He was physically washed clean with clean garments and with the blood of a sacrifice offered on his behalf which he sprinkled on the mercy seat. Then two goats were chosen by lot. One goat (The Lord’s goat) was sacrificed as a sin offering for the nation of Israel. Then the other goat, (a scape goat) was laden with the sins of Israel as the High Priest laid both hands on the goat’s head and confessed all of the sins of Israel upon it.

                Then the goat was led into the wilderness by a fit man (since they wanted the goat taken to a place where the goat was sure to never return to camp) and there the goat was abandoned. In later years they actually resorted to shoving the goat off a cliff thus killing it so that it was sure not to return.

                I would rather imagine that it would have been a bad omen for Israel if the scape goat had come wandering back into town.

                As we ponder the meaning of these things today, the first thing we want to remember is that everything Israel did was physical. The High Priest’s separation, inner cleansing, washing and clean garments all represent our own lives as we are similarly called to separation from the world, to have clean hands and pure hearts. We wear the robe of Christ’s righteousness and we rely upon His sacrifice for the remission of our sins.

                It is important to understand that Israel is God’s time piece as well as a physical model demonstrating physically God’s plan of salvation.

                It is interesting that from A.D. 70 until 1948, Israel had ceased to be a model of God’s eternal plans and they also ceased to be God’s time piece. But in 1948 God brought them back into their own land and ever since that day, Israel has begun to function as God’s time piece once again. We look at events in Jerusalem to determine right where we are in time.

                Even in the things they do wrong, they serve as a lesson. Israel’s seeking to build up Zion and to restore the temple without the real Messiah, signals that the church has done similarly. We build our big religious empires on money and false doctrines and even as Israel seeks to build its third temple with the help of the antichrist and the false prophet, so large portions of the church are seeking unity and security under the same false prophet and many Christians will join forces with the antichrist when he arrives as well.

                The parallels between Israel’s physical agenda and our spiritual agenda are disturbingly similar. What they are preparing to do physically, the church is doing spiritually.

                This is exactly why we must go through a period of tribulation. There are many who are holding out one last hope that the pre-trib rapture will happen today. Everything is pointing so directly to this exact time that there seems to be no escaping this date… that is unless our understanding is wrong. And while I have no problem with the concept of a pre-trib rapture for those who have already separated from the world and who are actually ready, (as in the case of the wise virgins) I do, nevertheless have a problem with all of the unclean, unwashed, unprepared people who call themselves “Christian”  just launching off into heaven.

                There is, however, an example of first fruits, where in the Jewish economy if the first fruit of the harvest was proven ripe, then the entire crop was declared ripe and if the piece of dough be holy, so also the whole lump. This is hinted at in Heb. 11:39, 40 where it is said that apart from us, they cannot be made perfect. This tells us that there is yet a first fruits company to be made in the last days, even though we know that the resurrected Christ and those resurrected with Him made up the first fruits of the harvest back then. So what is it that God is looking for in us that would make us a first fruits company in the last days?

                That being said, there is a strong and consistent throughout the Bible that we must come out of Babylon, overcome by the blood of the Lamb, separate from sin, be conformed to the image of Christ, be transformed by the renewing of our minds, taking up our cross and following Jesus, denying self and walking in obedience and the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible everywhere calls for holiness and even though the blood of Jesus covers our sins, it was predicated upon the fact that we would walk in the same manner as He walked.

                Salvation is a program. It calls for repentance and turning from sin. It calls for our entering into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ whereby we die to Satan’s Kingdom and come alive in God’s kingdom, henceforth to live by the power of His resurrection. The very presence of Yeshua is brought into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whose only purpose from now to eternity is to be the actual presence of Jesus in our hearts. He does not testify of Himself. He testifies of Yeshua and He imparts the character of Yeshua into our lives as we feed upon His Word and pray and walk by faith in His promises.

                Whatever happens today, we need to trust that God has the best plan for our eternal salvation. He knows what we need. He knows what the world needs. These are the days of Elijah and I think that God wants to demonstrate His truth through fire and with miracles that Satan can’t perform.

                I was talking to the Lord about this earlier this morning and He reminded me of Jannes and Jambres who opposed Moses. The Lord reminded me that through Moses He created a real serpent out of Moses’ rod, whereas Jannes and Jambes could only create an illusion. In the end, the real serpent ate the fake ones.

Does not Israel’s journey out of Egypt provide a picture for us of the last days? Is not Pharaoh a type of the antichrist? Was not Nebuchadnezzar a type of the antichrist when he tried to force everyone’s worship of the image? Did not Elijah make a stand against an antichrist system as he faced down the gods of this world with fire from heaven? And if all of these giants of biblical history stood their ground and conquered nations in the name of the Lord, should we think that the last day’s antichrist will go unchallenged as God’s “Triumphant, more than conquerors” people sort of disappear and let the devil take over?

                What have we been preparing for and what does God mean in Hebrews 11:39, 40 when it says:

                “And all of these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” What does that mean?

                And Hebrews 11 is followed by Hebrews 12 where God tells us that we are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses. What witnesses? Are they not the people in chapter 11. We have something that they didn’t have. We have the very Spirit of Christ dwelling in our hearts. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. It was the mystery hidden from past ages. God was with them, but He was not “in” them. This is the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Holy Spirit was “with” them and could come “upon” them, but He could not dwell inside of them until Jesus had dealt with the sin problem with His own blood and righteousness.

                This is why the first Pentecost resulted in laws written on stone, while the last Pentecost resulted in the law being written in their hearts by the Holy Spirit. We have the very power and presence of Christ dwelling in us. We have something for which all of creation waits with baited breath. “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son that we might be the first born among many brethren.

                The last phase in God’s redemption plan for us is the redemption, or glorification of our bodies. This is also represented in the sending away of the scapegoat. The first goat was sacrificed representing the forgiveness and the covering of our sins, but the last goat represented the taking away of our sins forever, as in giving us glorified bodies that no longer have a sin nature.

                I’m not sure what all of this means in terms of the timing of the rapture, but it seems to me that we should stop trying to set dates and we should instead concentrate on God’s program of redemption in which He is leading us by His Spirit to become full-fledged sons of God. “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God and as sons of God we are being conformed to the image of Yeshua. Romans 8:14, 29. In some ways we have moved from true prophecy   which deals with the full spectrum of God’s plan of salvation from Genesis to revelation) to predictive prophecy, which relies heavily upon speculation and takes us away from the real purposes of God.

                God’s way is in the sanctuary and the sanctuary shows a progression from the outer court to the Holy Place to the Most Holy place, to the very presence of God. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Heb. 6:19, 20.

                One thing is certain; the entire world is heading for a showdown. It will be Pharaoh, not wanting to let God’s people go. It will be Nebuchadnezzar forcing the world to worship his image. It will be Nimrod Building his final global kingdom. It will be a false church that has embraced pagan gods that Elijah will have to face with the fire of the one true God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. It will be us, as the revealed sons of God standing against the hatred of a world gone mad.

                It is time to gear up spiritually and to take our place on the battlefield.” If God is for us… who is against us? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Rom. 8:31, 33, 37.

                “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 8:38, 39.

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