Now before we get to John 8, let’s come here to Mark 7, and let’s see how these false apostles who represent Satan the devil like to get in, take the laws of God, add their traditions to them, and then through manipulation make them void, and actually reject them. That’s why Satan loves tradition. That’s why every religion has tradition. And they put that ahead of the laws and commandments of God.

Now here in Mark 7, we’ll just read a couple of verses here concerning the washing of hands, and pots and pans, and tables, and all of that. Now if you have never read The Code of Jewish Law, you don’t have a clue as to what Judaism is. Which means, then, you don’t have a clue as to the traditions of the other religions that have great and vast catechisms of traditions and works that they need to do.

So Jesus said here, Mark 7:6, “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Now that’s what they have done, haven’t they? Yes. Not only in Judaism, but in every other religion. That’s where you get Christmas, and Easter, and all of the pagan holidays. “For laying aside the commandment of God…” such as “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,” they keep Sunday; and “Keep the holy days of God,” they keep their own pagan days. “…Ye hold the tradition of men,…” Now, He was enumerating, such as “…the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And He said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:6-9). And then He gets right into about honoring your father and mother. So it gets right into the heart of the Ten Commandments. So if they did that to the fifth commandment while they obstensively on the surface kept the fourth commandment, then you know very well Satan wants to do that with everything that he can.

Now let’s come to John 8. Now Jesus was having a confrontation with them during the Feast of Tabernacles. Actually this was on the Last Great Day. And He said – let’s begin here in the middle of verse - no, verse 31, right at the beginning of it. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him,...” Now this is interesting, isn’t it? Because there are people who profess belief in Jesus Christ but do not truly believe. And that’s true to this very day. So here are the ones. He wasn’t just talking to the rest of the Jews, but to those who believed on Him that weren’t ready to follow the Word of God. So He says, “…If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered Him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest Thou, Ye shall be made free?” (John 8:31-33).

See, they believed in Jesus because they wanted all the good things that came from Him. But they didn’t believe in Him unto salvation. They believed in Satan the devil. Now let’s come down here and see this, where He says…they said, “We’re Abraham seed,” and He said, “…If ye were Abraham’s children [seed], ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill Me…this did not Abraham” (vs. 39-40).

Then they said...let’s come down here to verse 41. And Jesus said to them, “Ye do the deeds of your father.” Now that’s Satan the devil. They could not tell the difference between the true God, as manifest by Jesus Christ in the flesh, and Satan the devil. So Jesus said, “Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to Him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye cannot hear My word” (vs. 41-43). Because it’s offensive to you.

“Ye are of your father the devil,…” Now they were there keeping the Sabbath, holy days, Feast of Tabernacles. Did the devil worm his way in and change it? Yes, he did. Why? Because they couldn’t understand the true meaning of the Day of Atonement, and they couldn’t understand the difference between the true God, whom they said they were worshiping, and Satan the devil, the false god, whom they were worshiping, right in the temple of God. So that’s why this Day of Atonement is important. Because if you keep the Day of Atonement properly, and you understand the meaning of the Day of Atonement, you’re going to understand the difference between Satan the devil as the god of this world, and the true God, the Father and Jesus Christ. There’s no other way to do it. You look at any church that does not keep the Day of Atonement in the way that the Bible says, and keeps the Sabbath and the holy days of God, and ask this question: Do they really know the true God? Do they really believe and follow the truth as Jesus said? Or do they like to have a version of the truth taken from the Scriptures, which makes it a lie, because Satan the devil has inspired the twisting and turning of it so that he will get the worship that is due God the Father and Jesus Christ? That’s what Jesus is saying here – “You are of your father, the devil.” And the devil has his children.

“...And the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not [did not remain] in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not” (vs. 44-45). And isn’t that true? Whenever you really tell the truth there are always those never willing to believe. Because you see, they have to admit that they are wrong and they have to repent. And that’s what the Day of Atonement is all about.

Let’s come back here to Leviticus 16. Let’s begin with the instructions concerning what they were to do with the rituals, and we will see that this was a profound and an important day. And there was a unique sacrifice that is totally different from any of the other sacrifices in all the Old Testament. And there was a unique selection of the one for the Lord, and the one for Azazel. Because this symbolizes that man, on his own out here in the world, cannot tell the difference between the true God and the false god, whom Adam and Eve let into the world when they sinned against God.

Now let’s pick it up here - we won’t go through all the instructions that Aaron was to do, and the sacrifice that he was to do. Now there are two goats, verse 7, and here was the unusual selection of it. Now this is after that Aaron had offered the sacrifices for his sin and for all of the priesthood, and so forth. Now then he was purified to begin to make this offering for all the children of Israel. Now Leviticus 16:7, “And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” Take it right up – “God, you show us which one.” “And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat [Azazel]” (Lev. 16:7-8). Now Azazel is another name for Satan. And people have asked, ‘Well, why? Why would God have one of these animals to represent Satan the devil?” Because he is the god of this world. He is the false messiah. He is the one who has deceived the people. And the people can’t tell the difference between the true God and the false god. So this is why God has done it.

“And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.” This is Christ. And if you offer for a sin offering and your sins have been atoned for, they have been forgiven, haven’t they? Yes indeed. “But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make and atonement [upon] with him,…” (vs. 9-10). Not “with” him. Because the truth is that there can never be true atonement until Satan is removed. And that’s what this is talking about. And it pictures a future time in the book of Revelation, as we will see, when Satan himself will be removed. And Satan himself will be judged for what he is, and he will be cast into the lake of fire and he will suffer torment for ever and ever, and that’s what the live goat pictures. That’s why the live goat was not offered for a sacrifice.

Now verse 10, “But the goat, on which the lot fell [for Azazel] to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for [Azazel, or to Azazel] a scapegoat into the wilderness.” Now question: when Jesus was tempted, where did He meet Satan? In the wilderness. That’s why He had to go there to be tempted of Satan, because that is symbolically where Satan lives. It’s a vast wilderness and destruction, symbolically speaking. Then he shall take the other goat, we find here in verse 15, “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people,...” Then he would take the blood and sprinkle it on the mercy seat, and so forth.

Now notice, verse 16 is the key verse. Because some people believe that the live goat represents another function of Christ to carry away our sins. Well, no. He carried our sins on Himself when He was crucified. He didn’t carry our sins to heaven. The wilderness does not represent heaven. A garden represents heaven. A wilderness represents Satan’s domain. So Satan is sent back to his domain. But verse 16 is the key one here. “And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins:...” So they’ve all been forgiven. And if you have all the sins forgiven and atoned for, are they all forgiven and atoned for? Yes.

Now what, then, about the second goat? What about it? Now verse 20. “And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all of the iniquities [sins] of the children of Israel,...” (vs. 20-21). Now why do this? The answer is simple: Satan the devil is the author of sin. Until all the sins that he has perpetrated upon people are figuratively or symbolically put upon his head, that he is now responsible for all of them himself, and he is removed, you can never get rid of sin among people. Because instantly when Satan shows up on the scene, as you will see on the Last Great Day, the seventh day of the Feast and beginning of the Last Great Day, Satan causes sin immediately again - sin and war again. So he’s got to be removed. He has got to be put away. And that’s what this symbolizes.

So he confesses the sins, “...the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:…” Now we will see what this means in just a bit. Isn’t it great that God is going to take all the sins that Christ has atoned for, and now the cause of the sin…see, one is to get rid of the sins themselves. Now this is to get rid of the cause of sin - Satan the devil, who sinned in the beginning. “…And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited [it’s away from God]: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness” (vs. 21-22). And then when the man came back he had to wash his clothes, wash himself, and then all the things that were to be done on the Day of Atonement.

Now let’s read in verse 29. And let’s conclude this section here, and then we will see how Christ took away our sins by going into the Holy of Holies after He was crucified, just like the high priest took the blood of the goat into the holy of holies. And then we will see how that Satan has all these things put upon him, and he is removed. Now let’s pick it up here in verse 29. “And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 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.” So you see, when Christ returns, as we’re going to see, He is going to have to cleanse the world of their sins too in order to begin dealing with them. “It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls,...” (vs. 29-31). So that’s the Old Testament, concerning the atonement.

Now let’s look at the New Testament. Let’s look at the goat that symbolized Christ. Let’s come to the book of Hebrews and let’s understand something very profound and important, that Christ had to do this through His sacrifice. And He had to do it alone. Because He was God manifested in the flesh, and He was the one Who created man, and He was the one Who let Satan loose, and He is the one Who gave mankind the law of sin and death. So He took all this upon Himself so that He could be the perfect sacrifice, and the whole atonement for His people, and yes, for the sins of the whole world; as John said, “Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, paraphrased).

Now here in the book of Hebrews, chapter one, let’s pick it up here in verse 1. Because we need to see the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. “God, Who in the past spoke to the fathers at different times and in many ways by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the [worlds] ages; Who, being the brightness of His glory and the exact image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His own power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;…” (Heb. 1:1-3, AT). Now this tells us a brief summary of His ministry, what He spoke, Who He was, where He came from, how He Himself by Himself purged our sins through the crucifixion and death, and then was resurrected to sit at the right hand of God.

Now we see this defined even more. Let’s come to Hebrews 9, and let’s see where the apostle Paul wrote of the particulars of it, which had to do very much so with the parallel that we just read in Leviticus 16. Now he talks about the first tabernacle and how it was furnished, and everything that was in there. And let’s pick it up here beginning in verse 6 (AT). “Now with these things prepared in this manner, the priests enter into the first tabernacle at all customary times, in order to perform the services;....” That is, to offer the shewbread once a week, to burn the incense every day, and then on the holy days, to perform what they were to perform.

Now verse 7 has to do directly with the Day of Atonement. And he is drawing the parallel between that and Christ. Nowhere does Paul draw the parallel that the second goat which remained alive, which was sent in the wilderness, had any function whatsoever to do with the operation of atonement and Christ. That had to do with getting rid of the false god of Satan the devil. Notice, “But the high priest alone enters into the second tabernacle [that is, the holy of holies] once a year [that’s on the Day of Atonement], not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins that the people committed in ignorance;...” Now there was a special meaning to this, and here is the application for us today. “…The Holy Spirit signifying this: that the way of the holiest has not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle [was yet] is still standing;…” (vs. 7-8 AT). In other words, until Christ entered into the Holy of Holies Himself, all the ritual in Leviticus 16 was only showing that no one had direct access to God the Father in heaven above yet. It was only to the temple. So then he explains that, and he says concerning that, that these were only for the time of the new spiritual order.

Now verse 11, “But Christ has come as High Priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by human hands (that is, not of this present physical creation).” He is referring to the temple in Jerusalem. “Not by the blood of goats and calves, but by [the means of] His very own blood He entered once for all into the holiest, having [by Himself] obtained [eternal] everlasting redemption for us” (vs. 11-12, AT). See, so all those rituals under the Old Covenant just pointed to Christ. And when Christ came the spiritual reality of what God was doing was then made known, which is written of here in the book of Hebrews.

Now verse 13 (AT). Let’s read on, and let’s understand something very important. “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are defiled, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh:....” Now whenever anyone went to the temple where they offered the sin offering, or when they were there for the Day of Atonement, it purified to the flesh, to the temple. Their sins were not forgiven in heaven above because Christ had not yet come to open the way to make that possible. And the Holy Spirit was not given to the people under the Old Covenant either.

Now he says here, verse 14, “…To a far greater degree, the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, shall purify [purge] your conscience from dead work to serve the living God.” And that’s the whole sum of everything that we have been talking about. When you have forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ and by the Holy Spirit, you are to have your conscience purged. That could not be done under the animal sacrifices. And you are to serve the living God. Verse 15, “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant: in order that through His death, which took place for the release of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance” (vs. 14-15, AT). So that’s what it’s all about.

Now let’s come over here to verse 24, to complete the picture of what the Day of Atonement pictured back there in Leviticus 16. “For Christ has not entered into the holy places made by human hands, which are mere copies of the true; rather, He has entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;…” Now if you don’t have the series to date on the book of Hebrews, write in for it. This will help you understand more and in greater detail what Jesus Christ is doing as our High Priest. “…Not that He should offer Himself many times, even as the high priest enters into the holy of holies year by year with the blood of others; for then it would have been necessary for Him to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now once and for all, in the consummation of the ages, He has been manifested for the purpose of removing sin through His sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed to man once to die, and after this, the judgment; so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation to those who are eagerly awaiting Him” (vs. 24-28, AT). And that’s what we need to do, brethren.

Now let’s understand just a little bit more here concerning what Paul said. Hebrews 10:1 (AT), “For the law, having only a shadow of the good things that are coming, and not the image itself of those things, with the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, is never able to [make] perfect those who come to worship.” See, we are perfected through Christ. We are perfected through His sacrifice. We are perfected through repentance and baptism and walking in the way of God. Those animal sacrifices and rituals could not do it. God never intended it to do it. You see, and that’s the whole problem of Judaism. They wanted to make the sacrifices at the temple do what God never intended them to do. They were only a foreshadowing, as Paul says here. That’s why God destroyed the temple. Because now we worship God the Father in heaven above and Jesus Christ as our High Priest.

So he says…let’s come down here to verse 4 (AT). “Because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. For this reason, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but You have prepared a body for Me [He took on a physical body]. You did not delight in burn offerings and sacrifices for sin. Then said I, “Lo, I come (as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book) to do Your will, O God.’” In the saying above, He said, ‘Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin (which are offered according to the law) You did not desire nor delight in;…’” (vs. 4-8, AT). See, when you go back to Adam and Eve they were given the choice to live God’s way, to eat of the tree of life. But they chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And then after that entered in the sacrifices. But God doesn’t delight in that. If you don’t love God with all your heart and mind and soul in being, and if you don’t keep God’s commandments because you have a willing heart and attitude and desire to do so, then all of what you are doing is nothing more than a substitute for an animal sacrifice, which can never accomplish a personal relationship with God, and never put you in right standing with God.

And that is the opposite of what the Day of Atonement is for. The Day of Atonement is to make us at-one with God. And the ultimate thing, as we understand, is to be the very children of God. He says, “You don’t delight in that.” Verse 9, “Then He said, ‘Lo, I come to do Your will, O God.’” That’s what’s the most important thing. “…He takes away the first covenant, in order that He may establish the second covenant [that is, the everlasting covenant of Jesus Christ]; By Whose will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (vs. 9-10, AT). And then he talks about the priests, that even after they did all of these things they were never able to remove sins.

“But He, after offering one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time, He is waiting until His enemies are placed as a footstool for His feet.” Which is going to start happening when Christ returns. And as we saw on the Feast of Trumpets, it is going to be an absolutely universe-shaking event. “For by one [sacrifice] offering He has obtained eternal perfection for those who are being sanctified” (vs. 12-14, AT). You see, that’s why the goat for Azazel was let go. That’s why it wasn’t sacrificed. Because the author of sin, the god of this world, had to be removed. The work of Christ was not done in the wilderness. It was done in the holy of holies in heaven above.

Now here’s the whole purpose for it. “And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after He had previously said, ‘This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord: I will give My laws into their hearts, and I will inscribe them in their minds; and their sins and lawlessness I will not remember ever again.’” So Paul concludes it by saying, “Now where remission of these is, it is no longer necessary to offer sacrifices for sin” (vs. 15-18, AT). That is, animal sacrifices. So then He has given us a new and a true way that we through prayer, with the Holy Spirit, can have direct access to God the Father in heaven above. Just those that He calls now. The world will have it in their day when Christ returns and opens the way for them.

Now let’s see where that is going to take place. Let’s see that at the end there is going to be a confrontation, just like there was with Elijah, between the true God and the false god. And in the end time it’s going to be between the two witnesses and the beast, who says he is God; and the false prophet, just like the prophets of Baal, who says that he is the messiah, God manifest in the flesh. Well, they’re only two thousand years late and they have the wrong god, and they don’t understand that they are worshiping Satan the devil.

Now let’s come to Revelation 11, and let’s see this confrontation. And this is the confrontation that the apostle Paul alluded to, where he says, as Jannes and Jambres, the two who withstood Moses, when Moses was sent to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt under the hand of God. Now the two witnesses are going to confront the whole world. God is not going to come in some secret mysterious rapture to whisk people out of the Great Tribulation. Now that’s not going to happen. If there are those who are going to go to a place of safety, God is going to select them and they will go. But there isn’t going to be any rapture. That is a lying deception of Satan the devil to let all of the Laodicean professing Christians of Protestantism think they are safe in Christ. And they are not. They are deceived. And they’re going to give their lives for that deception and go into the Great Tribulation.

But just before the Great Tribulation starts God is going to send His two witnesses. And if you don’t have the tape, “The Two Witnesses and Elijah,” you write in for it. Because they are going to be powerful men that God will hand select. And the book of Haggai tells us that it’s going to be Joshua, symbolized by Joshua the high priest; so when they build the temple in Jerusalem God is going to select one of the high priests; and whoever is the governor of Judea at that time, symbolized by Zerubbabel.

Now he says here, Revelation 11:3, “And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth” (Rev. 11:3-4). So God is going to reestablish Himself, and these men who will have the power of the Holy Spirit standing before God. And no man - no man dare appoint himself as one of the two witnesses. Here, just last summer I had a man called me and say, “I am Joshua, the son of Jozedek.” I said, “This conversation has ended.” Any man who attempts to name who one of the two witnesses is, or the two witnesses are, or claims to be one of the two witnesses - or as one man, since he couldn’t find the other witness, he was going to do the work of both of them. They are not sent of God. God is going to hand select them and pick them, and He is going to empower them with His Holy Spirit like this world has never seen any men empowered with the Holy Spirit to do signs and miracles and wonders at their very word. And this has to be done before Christ comes, and the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement can begin.

Now notice verse 5. “And if any man will hurt them [that means attempt to hurt them], fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies:...” Invincible. God is going to show that the beast is nothing but a fake. And all of the powers that he has is only of Satan the devil, as Revelation 13 says. And that the miracles of the false prophet are nothing but fake counterfeits like they were with the magicians that confronted Moses in Pharaoh’s court. Because they are going to be filled with the power of God’s Spirit, and they are going to kill their enemies that way. Now this is going to be something. This is going to be the greatest thing that will be on the face of the earth until the return of Jesus Christ. “These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy:...” Just like Elijah did, only they are going to have greater power. “…And have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will” (vs. 5-6).

And I’m sure that they will pray to God whether they should or not before they do. But when God gives them permission, they will do it. The world is going to hate them. Just like the world has always hated Christ. Just like the world has always hated the truth, and have always loved Satan the devil. “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast [Satan the devil] that ascendeth out of the [abyss] bottomless pit shall make war against them,...” And you see, God always allows the enemy to think that they win. But they don’t win. See, to kill those who have the Spirit of God is nothing, because God is going to resurrect them. So God does a special thing with them after they are killed. Their bodies are going to lay in the “…great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also are Lord was crucified” (vs. 7-8). And the whole world is going to see this.

“And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not [allow] suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves” (vs. 9). Then they’re going to rejoice. And they’re going to say, “Let’s have a feast day. Finally it’s over with. We finally got rid of these men.” And then all of a sudden, after three and a half days, what’s going to happen? God is going to resurrect them. They’re going to stand on their feet and then they’re going to be resurrected into heaven. The two last, the two witnesses who died for Christ last, will be first in the resurrection. Truly fulfilling the scripture, “the last shall be first.”

Now let’s come to Revelation 19 and 20, and let’s see the complete fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. We see the ending of the Feast of Trumpets where the beast and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire. Now then something else has to happen. Before the millennium can begin, before the rule of God can begin, before straightening out this world and setting up the kingdom of God, Satan the devil, who has been the destroyer from the beginning, the murderer, the liar, has to be removed. Revelation 20:1, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the [abyss] bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years…” (Rev. 20:1-2). He has to be removed before the millennium can start.

Now you have to come to the Last Great Day, the seventh day of the Feast and the Last Great Day to understand why he is loosed. So I won’t tell you about that now. “…And cast him into the [abyss] bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season” (vs. 3). And after that, Satan’s final judgment. So that’s the full meaning of the Day of Atonement.

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