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Day of Atonement—2011
Fred R. Coulter—October 8, 2011
Greetings, brethren! Welcome to
the Day of Atonement, 2011. Time marches on! I remember 50 years ago we were
expecting the return of Jesus Christ in just a few decades, but look how long
it’s been and look how much there has to be already done and accomplished
before the return of Christ. Here we are on the Day of Atonement, which is a
tremendous and important Holy Day of God. This day has great meaning for us in
many different ways.
The Day of Atonement is a day of
fasting. A day of fasting is a day where we humble ourselves, yield to God,
examine our lives, but also it gives us the understanding that everything that
we have comes from God.
Just like Jesus said, ‘Of Myself
I can do nothing.’ If He did anything of Himself, it would have been from human
nature; likewise with us. We have to come to realize that spiritually attaining
to the Kingdom of God and being at one with God we can’t do it on our
own.
- Yes, we
have our part.
- Yes, we
have the things that we do.
- Yes, we
have our participation in it.
- Yes,
God’s Spirit is with us; God is helping us.
- Yes, we
have to fight and overcome the world and Satan the devil himself.
But nevertheless, we can do none of this on
our own. We’re dependent upon God for everything:
- every
breath of air
- every
drop of water
- every
morsel of food
- the
sustaining of life
All of those things!
So, on this Day of Atonement,
let’s come back to Leviticus 23, and let’s read about this day, because this is
a special day. This is a day where God wants to be at one with us. Also,
it is a day that we’re going to see shows putting away forever Satan the devil.
Let’s begin
here in Leviticus 23:26: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Also, on the
tenth day of this seventh month, is the Day of Atonement…. [We will see
that it is a special day relating also to the beginning of the ministry of
Jesus Christ.] …It shall be a Holy convocation to you. And you shall
afflict your souls… [fast without food or water. There are some who have
medical conditions that they must take certain medicines. That would be
allowable for them. But for the rest of us, we are not to eat any food or drink
any water.] …and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD’” (vs 26-27).
We always
take up an offering on the Holy Days. If you make an offering ‘made by fire’ to
the Lord, that’s going to be a very expensive offering, indeed! Also, as we
will see, they had the temple offerings and a special ritual on this day.
(pause for the offering)
Let’s continue on in Leviticus 23, and we will see
that these instructions give us some understanding, very clearly, as to when a
day begins and ends, as well. Meaning, likewise, all the Sabbath days of God,
all the Holy Days of God.
Verse 28:
“And you shall do no work in that same day, for it is the Day of
Atonement, in order to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God, for
whoever is not afflicted in that same day… [does not fast the way that the
Bible shows we should] …he shall be cut off from among his people” (vs
28-29). We’ve also seen that happen, too, haven’t we?
There are
certain things that take place. We also understanding how important the
Passover is. In the Passover we know that foot-washing is very important
in order to have a part with Jesus Christ. Likewise with the Day of Atonement, fasting is the key element of the Day of Atonement, so that we can be at one with God.
When people
quit observing the Passover or they come to the point, for the Passover, that
they begin to leave off foot-washing, they are taking the first step away from
God. And then they begin to cut themselves off from among the brethren; same
way with the Day of Atonement. When people go along and they keep the Day of
Atonement, and then for whatever reason, they leave and give up on God and give
up on His Word and they don’t keep the Day of Atonement—they don’t
fast—likewise, they’re cut off from God!
How does God
cut them off? He removes knowledge from them, bit-by-bit! I don’t know
exactly at which point that God removes His Spirit from them. We hope and pray
for those brethren that find themselves in that condition, that they don’t go
completely to the point of rejecting God.
He also says,
v 30: “And whoever does any work in that same day, the same one will I destroy
from among his people.” There are many ways to destroy people. That doesn’t
necessarily mean to immediately eliminate them as a human being.
Verse 31:
“You shall do no manner of work. It shall be a statute forever
throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict
yourselves….” (vs 31-32).
Notice very carefully, this defines how to determine a day; this ties
right in with what we covered concerning the things of the Passover and sunset
and so forth. Sunset in the Hebrew is ‘ba erev’—it is a very short period
of time from the time that the sun touches the horizon until the time it
disappears below it—that is sunset. The time after that is between the
two evenings. The time after that is darkness or night.
Notice the instruction here, “…In the ninth day of the month at
sunset, from sunset to sunset, you shall keep your Sabbath.’ (v 32).
Very interesting, the Day of Atonement is calculated from sunset on the
ninth day, which ends the ninth day; to sunset on the tenth day, which ends the
tenth day. So, the Day of Atonement is from sunset to sunset; likewise, every
Sabbath is from sunset to sunset. All the Holy Days are from sunset to sunset.
This gives us an important understanding.
Let’s see about fasting, some other things concerning fasting that are
important; let’s come to Psalm 35. In afflicting ourselves, we are to do in
times of trouble. Notice here—which I think is a very profound and
interesting Psalm—that David was fasting for his enemies. Does that sound
a little bit like New Testament doctrine, that you are to pray for those who
‘persecute you and despitefully use you’? Yes, indeed!
David was doing what is required with the New Covenant—isn’t
he?—by fasting for his enemies. He says, Psalm 35:9: And
my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; it shall rejoice in His
salvation. All my bones shall say, ‘O LORD,
Who is like You, Who delivers the poor from him stronger than he; yea, even the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?’ (vs 9-10).
Who is the great oppressor of all people but
none other than Satan the devil! Since he has to use human beings, also, to do
his work he uses them and rewards them and gives them power. The truth is, with
Satan the devil we are not to yield to him one iota so that he has no power in
our lives.
We’re viewing and seeing in the world today
just how absolutely sure the Scripture is which says that that ‘ancient
serpent—the dragon, the devil—is deceiving the whole world.’ And
his deceptions are going to get greater and stronger as time goes on. It’s
going to cause more and more difficulty and problems and troubles.
God has to deliver us, v 10: “‘…Who delivers
the poor from him stronger than he; yea, even the poor and the needy
from him who plunders him?’ Cruel witnesses rose up; they asked me of things
that I knew nothing about. They rewarded me evil for good, bereaving my soul”
(vs 10-12).
Isn’t that amazing? Yes, indeed! How
many times have you been rewarded evil for good by people? Think about how many
times that happened to Christ!
- He was rejected!
- He was despised!
- He was hated!
Of course, we know that on the Passover He was beaten, scourged and
crucified! Yet, what did Jesus say? Father, forgive them for they know not
what they do!
Verse 13: “But when they were sick, my clothing
was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting…” When you fast and don’t
eat food and don’t drink water, you really understand how absolutely dependent
that you are on God! Think about it spiritually, too. If you go on a spiritual fast—that
is you don’t study and you don’t pray—are you not commensurately weaker?
Just as when you don’t eat food and drink water physically you get weak. Think
about it spiritually:
- You’re not armed with the mind of
Christ.
- You’re not strong in the Spirit of
God.
“…I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned into
my own bosom. I went about as though it were a friend or brother; I bowed down
as one mourning for his mother. But in my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered
themselves together; the attackers whom I did not know gathered themselves
against me. They slandered without ceasing. As profane mockers, they gnashed at
me with their teeth” (vs 13-16).
Part of this
is a prophecy of Jesus. The last part that we read here was certainly what Jesus
went through, when He was being accused, when He was brought before Pilate,
when He was brought before the chief priests. Didn’t they do that? Didn’t they
gnash their teeth toward Him? Yes, without a doubt! No question! They
were very hateful toward Him.
Let’s see the
instruction concerning fasting. Let’s come to 1-Kings 13 and here God
instructed one man, whom He sent as a prophet, on a special mission. He was to
go warn Jeroboam concerning what Jeroboam had set up in Dan and Bethel, that is
the golden calf and the pagan worship that Jeroboam had setup. As a matter of
fact, Jeroboam made himself one of the high priests. Here in 1-Kings 13 we find
here what God told the prophet to do. It’s very interesting, because we find
another man who called himself a prophet of the Lord. After he had come and
done the things that God commanded him to do, this prophet met him and said,
‘Come in and eat with me.’
Notice what
he said, 1-Kings 13:15: “And he said to him, ‘Come home with me and eat bread.’
And he [the prophet] said, ‘I may not return with you nor go in with you, nor
will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place, for a word was given to me by the Word of the Lord, “You shall eat no bread nor drink water there,
nor return again by the way that you came.”’…. [Notice the lying deception of
this prophet; he should have listened to God. Remember, no man can undo
the Word of God]: …And he said to him, ‘I am a prophet also as
you are. And an angel spoke to me by the Word of the Lord, saying, “Bring him
back with you into your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.”’ But
he lied to him” (vs 15-18). What happened to him? He lost his life!
Let’s see the mission; what he was to do, right here in v 1. Let’s also
look at this as something that we need to be focused in on and that we need to
do in keeping our understanding of how we need to continue with God. That’s why
we have the Day of Atonement every year, to realize:
- we need God
- God
loves us
- God
cares for us
- God
wants us
But we need to do
what God has said. We need not be like this prophet who did what God said, then
turned around and didn’t finish it.
Verse 1:
“And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the Word of the Lord, to Bethel.
And Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.” Jeroboam made himself a high
priest at his temple place there in Bethel.
- He rejected God’s offer!
- He rejected the Truth of God!
So, he set up the
paganism for the ten tribes of Israel, and after this there is not one mention
of a good king for the ten tribes of Israel.
Verse 2: “And
he [the prophet] cried against the altar by the Word of the Lord and said, ‘O,
altar, altar, thus says the LORD. “Behold, a son shall be born to the house of
David, Josiah by name, and upon you he shall offer the priests of the high
places who burn incense upon you, and men’s bones shall be burned upon you.”’”
Remember the revival that Josiah had. He did exactly this:
Verse 3: “And
he gave a sign the same day, saying, ‘This is the sign which the LORD
has spoken. “Behold, the altar shall be torn apart, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.”’ Then it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard
the saying of the man of God who had cried against the altar in Bethel, he put
forth his hand from the altar, saying, ‘Lay hold on him!’ And his hand, which
he put forth against him withered up so that he could not pull it in again to
himself. The altar also was split asunder and the ashes poured out from the
altar according to the sign which the man of God had given by the Word of the
Lord” (vs 3-5).
Yes, the Word
of the Lord is true and righteous! Think about this in this situation here. All
crooks never like to have a penalty brought upon them—right? So, just
like with King Jeroboam:
Verse 6: “And the king answered and said to the man of God,
‘Seek now the face of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be
restored to me again.’…. [Oh yes! He can’t take that punishment. You can defy
God! You can make idols! You can burn incense! You can lead people astray! But
if it happens to you personally, you can’t take it.] (Notice what God did, as a
sign to him, in hopes that Jeroboam would repent): …And the man of God prayed
to the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him again and became as at the
beginning.”
Verse 7: “And
the king said to the man of God, ‘Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I
will give you a reward.’ And the man of God said to the king, ‘If you will give
me half your house, I will not go in with you, nor will I eat bread nor drink
water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the Word of the Lord,
saying, “Eat no bread nor drink water, nor return again by the same way that
you came.”’ Then he went another way and did not return by the way he came to
Bethel.” (vs 7-10).
Then this
certain old man—the prophet—deceived him. You overcome one battle,
then there’s another trial that comes along. Don’t give in to the ‘good words’
of people—that is the good sounding words—to lead you away from
God, and to deter you from what you should be doing. NO!
Let’s look at
what God wants to have. Let’s come to Joel, the second chapter. When we fast
and when we pray, the whole important thing has to be with our heart, mind,
attitude and yielding to God. Let’s see the fast that God wants. This is in
the time right down to getting close to the Day of the Lord. There is going to
be repentance. Here’s the kind of repentance that God wants. God is tired of
repenting with good intentions, but no action behind it. God is tired of
fasting for those who fast to accomplish their own will.
Joel 2:12:
“‘Therefore even now,’ says the LORD, ‘turn to Me with all your heart…’”
That’s what God wants from us:
- all our
heart
- all our
mind
- all our
soul
- all our
being
That’s how we are to love God!
When we have sinned, we are to return to Him!With all our heart!
Here’s what God says, “‘…and with fasting, and with
weeping, and with mourning. Yes, rend your heart…’” (vs 12-13).
- let
there be repentance
- let
there be change
- let
there be something that is really going to motivate you to come back to God
- let
God’s Spirit work with you
- let
God’s Word penetrate into your heart and mind
- let
God’s Word humble you
—while you’re
fasting and realizing that everything that you are and have are totally
dependent upon God!
Verse 13:
“‘Yes, rend your heart and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God:
for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness,
and He repents of the evil.’” Always remember this: God honors
repentance!We will see that repentance is the key. Fasting
comes after repentance; you must have the repentance first. You must be
returning to God with all your heart.
Verse 14:
“Who knows if He will return and repent and leave a blessing behind
Him—a grain offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?”
This is
something! It shows the whole attitude that we need to have. When there were
problems in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, they fasted—without drinking
water and without eating food—because of the sins of the people, and God
heard them. Likewise with us, brethren; let’s use this Day of Atonement to draw
close to God. Let’s use this Day of Atonement as a time to pray for others, to
intercede on their behalf, that God would restore them, that God would bring
them again, help them come to repentance—especially for the Churches
of God! That we can all yield to God and God can use all the Churches of
God to preach a warning message to this world.
Let’s come to
Isaiah 58 and let’s see how then Israel fasts. This could be likened to a
political fast, or a fast to get your own way. We’re not to fast to get our way; we are to fast to find the way of the Lord. We are to fast to find
the way that we need to turn to God to find our way out of our difficulties and
the problems out of our lives. Isn’t it interesting that we’ll see that the
ram’s horn—the trumpet—was to be blown on the Day of Atonement.
This may very well be an Atonement message here to the children of Israel.
We know that
this past summer on August 6, that Rick Perry had a fasting and prayer session
and a great revival down in Houston, Texas. We don’t know exactly how all
that’s going to turn out. We don’t know if these people were sincerely seeking
God with all their heart and mind or not, because we don’t know their minds.
But we can see later by their fruits and what they do.
Remember, God
is always merciful! But He is not going to be convinced by a fast
that is a fast for strife and debate.
Isaiah 58:1:
“Cry aloud, do not spare, lift up your voice like a ram’s horn, and show My
people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” What are the
great sins? Sunday-keeping, holiday-keeping, rejecting the Old Testament,
rejecting the New Testament! Trying to make a religion out of the way of
God, rather than come to God and ask God:
- Oh,
Lord, show me Your way.
- Oh,
God, help us with Your Truth.
- Oh,
God, open my mind to understand.
- Oh,
God, forgive me of my sins.
- Forgive
those who have been against me.
- Forgive
those who have plotted against us.
- Help us
in every way.
NO! They’re
‘religious,’ v 2: “Yet they seek Me daily, and seem eager to know My ways, as a
nation that did righteousness, and one that did not forget the ordinance of
their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they seem eager to draw
near to God.” And yes, they fasted, but God didn’t answer, because it wasn’t
with their whole heart. Not like we’re told in Joel 2.
Here’s what
they did, v 4: “Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to
strike with the fist of wickedness; you cannot fast as you do this day,
and expect to make your voice to be heard on high.” Then He shows the kind of fast that He wants: relieve the widow, the
stranger, the fatherless, the oppressed—not to get ‘our way’ but to do God’s
way! That’s what God wants.
Then God said, if you do that, v 8: “Then shall your light break out as the dawn, and your health shall
spring out quickly; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of
the LORD shall be your rear guard.”
- then we
can call upon God
- then we
can yield to Him
- then
God will help us
- then
God will bless us
Time will tell as to what’s
going to happen, because you’ll know them by their fruits and you’ll know them
by what they do.
Now let’s
look at the aspect of another meaning of the Day of Atonement; one also that
ties in with the ministry of Jesus Christ. Let’s come back to Leviticus 25;
here we find that the Day of Atonement is a key marking point for the land
sabbaths and the jubilee. That becomes important when we understand
about Dan. 9
Here are
the instructions that God gave, Leviticus 25:1: “And the LORD spoke to Moses in
Mount Sinai, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, “When
you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath to
the LORD”’” (vs 1-2). This is a ‘land sabbath.’ We know that all during the
Millennium the people are going to keep the ‘land sabbath.’
Here’s what
they were to do, v 3: “You shall sow your field six years, and you shall prune
your vineyard six years, and gather in the fruit of it. But in the seventh year
shall be a sabbath of rest to the land, a sabbath for the LORD. You
shall neither sow your field, nor prune your vineyard” (vs 3-4). They were to
let it lie fallow and just give it a rest.
Verse 5: “You
shall not reap that which grows of its own accord for your harvest, neither
gather the grapes of your undressed vine as a harvest. It is a year of
rest to the land.” They could go out and eat some of those things, but they
couldn’t have it for a harvest for making wine or for making grapes.
Verse 6:
“Rather, the sabbath yield of the land shall be food for you, for you and for
your servant, and for your slave woman and for your hired servant, and for your
stranger who stays with you, and for your livestock, and for the beast that is in your land, shall all the increase of it be for food” (vs 6-7). So, it was to
be eaten and to sustain them during that time.
After that
was over, then they had to count up to 49 years and then to one year beyond
that to the Jubilee year.
Verse 8: “And
you shall number seven sabbaths of years to you… [This is what it means when it
speaks of a ‘week’ back in Dan. 9. A ‘week’ then is a heptad, which is seven
years.’] …seven times seven years. And the time of the seven sabbaths of years
shall be forty-nine years to you.”
Notice what
was to happen. All of these days were to be calculated from the Day of
Atonement, v 9: “Then you shall cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on
the tenth day of the seventh month; in the Day of Atonement, the trumpet
shall sound throughout all your land.”
The jubilee
becomes a very important thing concerning the beginning of the ministry of
Jesus Christ. Notice what He says here for the 50th year. You will
see from this that this was part of the message of the beginning of Jesus
Christ’s ministry when He came into Galilee. We’re also going to see that when
Jesus actually began His ministry it was on a Day of Atonement, the beginning
of a Jubilee year.
Verse 10:
“And you shall make the fiftieth year Holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the
land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you, and you shall return
each man to his possession, and you shall return each man to his family.” All
indentured servants were released. All Hebrew slaves were released. A jubilee!
Let’s come
down to v 17 to understand why. The way we have land today and the way we use
land and the way that it’s all divided up and subdivided with the cities and
everything like this, it’s never given any rest. When it doesn’t have any rest
then the plagues of God come upon it to give it rest:
- the
plagues of drought
- the
plagues of flood
- the
plagues of crop failure
—because people do not
obey God!
Verse 17:
“And you shall not oppress one another. But you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God. And you shall do My statutes, and keep My judgments and do
them. And you shall dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield its
fruits, and you shall eat your fill and dwell in it in safety. And if you shall
say…” (vs 17-20). Certainly someone is going to say:
- How can
that be?
- How can
we have the 49th year as a land sabbath and then followed by
another land sabbath on the 50th year?
- What’s
going to happen?
- How can
that be?
- What
are we going to eat?
The Jews today don’t observe the land sabbath at all. They’ve got a way around it. What they do, they
temporarily deed the property to a Gentile. So therefore, technically it’s not
theirs. They may be able to lie to themselves and fool themselves, but you
can’t fool God! Isn’t that true? Yes, indeed!
Verse 20: “And
if you shall say ‘What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow
nor gather in our increase!’ Then I will command My blessing on you in the
sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And you shall sow
the eighth year, and eat of old fruit in storage until the ninth year; until
its fruits come in, you shall eat the old fruit” (vs 20-22). That’s something!
In God’s way,
the tribe owned all the productive land, and it was leased out based upon the
Jubilee year. They paid the price for it. That’s also how the state got their
money. They didn’t have taxes. Look at the taxes that we’re all burdened with.
It began when the people rejected God and wanted a king (1-Sam. 7). Look at
what it is today. Terrible situation indeed!
Let’s see
something in Daniel, the ninth chapter. Let’s see about Daniel and God giving
him the revelation of when the Messiah would come. We don’t know all the
circumstances here concerning what Daniel did here. We don’t know if he did
this on a Day of Atonement. It’s very possible; we don’t know. Remember that
they were sent into captivity 70 years and they were told that ‘while you are
in captivity for 70 years the land shall enjoy its sabbaths.’ It could be that
on the day of this prayer, that Daniel chose the Day of Atonement to pray.
(go to the next track)
Daniel 9:1:
“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes,
who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. In the first year of his
reign, I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years, which came
according to the Word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation
of Jerusalem would last seventy years” (vs 1-2). I don’t know if this was the
Day of Atonement, but listen to what he did and gauge kind of how he did it. It
could be that it may have been on the Day of Atonement, even though we can’t
say for sure that it was.
Verse 3: “And
I set my face toward the LORD God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with
fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.” He really humbled himself, confessed the
sins.
We’re not
going to go through his whole prayer, but his whole prayer is really a great
prayer of repentance. Be sure and go through and read the whole thing.
Notice what
he did, v 4: “And I prayed to the LORD my God and made my confession, and said,
‘O LORD, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and mercy to those who
love Him, and to those who keep His commandments, We have sinned and have
committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, and have turned
aside from Your commandments and from Your ordinances’” (vs 4-5). Just like we
are today. We profess God, but we’ve turned aside everything—haven’t we? Yes! When we want to fast (Isa. 58)
Verse 6:
“Neither have we hearkened unto Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your
name to our kings, our rulers, and our fathers, and to all the people of the
land.” Look at the ministry of Jeremiah; look at what he went through. He
witnessed to them for decades, but they didn’t listen.
Yes, during the
reign of Josiah there was a short revival, but that was about it. It was all
downhill from there right into the captivity of Judah going off to Babylon,
carried away by King Nebuchadnezzar and his armies. They didn’t listen,
likewise today. Will the people listen? Really listen? Will the rulers? the
princes? the people? the Congress? the courts? Will the churches listen?
Will there be a change? No, there won’t!
Verse 7: “O
LORD, righteousness belongs to You, but to us confusion of face, as at
this day to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem, and to all Israel
who are near and who are afar off, through all the countries where You have
driven them because they dealt treacherously with You.” That’s why the Day of
Atonement is so important. We understand that we don’t deal treacherously with
God. We’re not two-faced with God. Let our ‘yes’ be yes and our ‘no’ be no. Anything other than that, repent of! Even the Apostle Paul wrote and told the
brethren, ‘Lie not to one another.’ If you have, repent! Don’t
vex the Holy Spirit! Let the Holy Spirit lead you!
Verse 8: “O
Lord, confusion of face belongs to us, to our kings, to our rulers, and to our
fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the LORD our God belong mercies
and forgivenesses even though we have rebelled against Him. Neither have we
obeyed the voice of the LORD our God to walk in His laws which He set before us
by His servants the prophets” (vs 8-10). Quite a thing! Right in the middle of
his praying.
Let’s see
how he ended this prayer. Let’s see the plea that Daniel had for the people
right here in v 16: “O LORD, I pray You, according to all Your righteousness,
let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your Holy
mountain. Because of our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem
and Your people have become a reproach to all those who are around us.”
Confessing and admitting the sins. That’s what we need to do.
Verse 17:
“And now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications,
and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that is desolate for
the LORD’S sake. O my God, incline Your ear and hear. Open Your eyes and behold
our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name. For we do not
present our supplications before You on account of our righteousnesses, but
because of Your great mercies. O LORD, hear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, hearken
and do. Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God; for Your city and Your
people are called by Your name” (vs 17-19).
- What an
impassioned prayer!
- What an
impassioned appeal to God!
That’s the way it needs to be
with God’s people today. Cry out to God!
- Yes, we
have sinned. Yes, we have gone against You!
- Yes,
God, we have not preached like we should!
- Yes,
we’ve been involved in politics and in numbers and in money and in
merchandizing!
- Oh,
God, help us!
That’s what it should be rising
up from every Church of God everywhere. God will hear! God will answer!
Notice how
God answered Daniel, v 20: “And while I was speaking, and praying, and
confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my
supplication before the LORD my God for the Holy mountain of my God.”
What happened
was that Gabriel came. Daniel says, ‘the man Gabriel’—that’s the angel
Gabriel, v 21: “Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom
I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, came to
me, about the time of the evening sacrifice. And he made me to
understand, and talked with me, and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to
give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your supplications the
word went forth, and I have come to declare it, for you are greatly beloved;
therefore consider the word, and understand the vision’” (vs 21-23). Then he
gave the 70-weeks prophecy.
Let’s read it
and then let’s see how this was fulfilled for the beginning of the ministry of
Jesus Christ. The first 69 weeks of the 70-weeks prophecy have been fulfilled.
The 70th week is the last seven years, three and a half which will
be the Great Tribulation—that is yet to be fulfilled.
Verse 24:
“Seventy-weeks are decreed upon your people and upon your Holy city to finish
the transgression and to make an end of sin, and to make reconciliation for
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision
and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore, and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, to
Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks….” (vs 24-25).
Those are two
different segments of time. The reason that it doesn’t connect them together is
because there is a space of time between. We’ll have the book—shortly
after the Feast of Tabernacles—The Appointed Times of the Messiah. We
wanted to get it out earlier, but we had other things we had to do, so we will
get this out and it will cover the 70-weeks prophecy; it will cover all the
‘appointed times’ of the Messiah: His birth, His ministry, His death and resurrection;
His return, and all of the things concerning the ‘appointed times’ of the
Messiah.
Concerning
the 49 years in building Jerusalem: “…It shall be built again with streets and
the wall, even in troublous times…. [that was finished] (then he begins the
prophecy concerning the Messiah): …And after sixty-two weeks Messiah
shall be cut off… [after, not during. Part of the problem in
counting this is that almost every way of calculating it includes the ministry
and crucifixion of Christ. But that is not correct, because it comes right up
to the beginning of the Messiah. It says, after 62 weeks; beyond the
bounds of the 62 weeks.] …shall the Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself”
(vs 25-26).Then it talks about the 70th week.
Let’s go to
Matthew, the third chapter, and let’s see concerning the baptism of Jesus. John
the Baptist was the son of a priest. He was never trained as a priest, but he
remained in the wilderness ‘until the day of his appearing.’ He was as far away
from the temple as you could be, clear down to the Jordan River. Let’s see what
John the Baptist did. Let’s see his message, and then we will see the baptism
of Jesus and what happened immediately after the baptism.
Matthew 3:1:
“Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
and saying, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’…. [Then he told
them who he was]: …For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet,
saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.”’” (vs 1-3).
In Malachi,
the third chapter shows that the Lord would ‘suddenly come to His
temple’—which He did in John 2. But He also started his ministry prior to
that.
Let’s see
what happened when Jesus came to him, v 13: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to
the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him,
saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and You come to me?’ Then Jesus
answered and said to him, ‘You must permit it at this time; for
in this manner it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he
permitted Him to be baptized” (vs 13-15).
John was told
by God that the One on Whom you see the Holy Spirit descending as a dove, He is
the Messiah! We know that in the fall of 26A.D.—when this took
place—that the Day of Atonement began the 50th year or the
Jubilee. So, His baptism took place just before then.
Verse 16: “And after He was baptized, Jesus came up
immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him. And
lo, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My Son, the Beloved, in Whom I
have great delight.’” (vs 16-17). This must have taken place
just before the Day of Atonement.
The Day of
Atonement in 26A.D. was the beginning of a Jubilee year. The first
year of Jesus’ ministry was a Jubilee year. Isn’t that fitting? We can project
forward and ask: When the Millennium begins will that be another Jubilee year?
If it is, it certainly would be fitting—wouldn’t it?
Right after
He was baptized it says, Matthew 4:1: “Then Jesus was led up into the
wilderness by the Spirit in order to be tempted by the devil.” The wilderness
south of the area of Jerusalem is really a desolate area of mountains and
valleys and crags; a very difficult place indeed! This is where the goat for
Azazel was released. It was released on the Day of Atonement—yes, indeed!
Let’s go back to Leviticus 16, and let’s look at the ritual that was
done on the Day of Atonement and we will go through all of Lev. 16 and then
come back to Matt. 4. Lev. 16 is the chapter giving the instructions as to what
was to take place on the Day of Atonement.
The Day of Atonement was this special fast day. Also, remember that the
Day of Atonement was the only day that the high priest could go into the Holy
of Holies—quite different from what we have today—isn’t it? Yes! Our
Holy of Holies is in heaven above. Our prayers go daily, directly to God.
Here’s what he was to do. He was to put on all the special clothes that
he was to wear, the Holy garments, and perform the ceremonies. He was to take
two kids of the goats for a sin
offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. This all had to be done. He had to
take blood and go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it upon the Ark of the
Covenant. Here’s how he would bring it in:
Leviticus 16:12: “And
he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before the
LORD, and his hands full of fragrant incense beaten small, and bring it within
the veil.” It was to have the cloud in there.
Verse 13:
“And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD. And the cloud of the
incense shall cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony. And he shall not
die. And he shall take of the blood of the young bull and shall sprinkle with
his finger on the front of the mercy seat eastward. And he shall sprinkle at
the front of the mercy seat seven times from the blood with his finger. Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering
that is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil. And he shall do
with that blood as he did with the blood of the young bull, and sprinkle it on
the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. And he shall make an atonement
for the sanctuary because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel and because
of their transgressions in all their sins….” (vs 13-16). So, the sin
offering was for the sins of all the children of Israel.
“…And so he
shall do for the tabernacle of the congregation which remains with them in the
midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the
congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the sanctuary until he
comes out and has made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for
all the congregation of Israel” (vs 16-17).
Then, when
he’s done doing that he’s going to have the ritual with the two goats. Of the
two goats, he was to present those before the Lord alive. They were to draw
lots as to which one would be for God, for the sin offering of the children of
Israel. The other one would be for Azazel, or the one to be released in the
wilderness.
After he had
brought in the blood of the goat of the one to be sacrificed for the sins of
the children of Israel, then he was to go out and bring the live goat (v 20)
right at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Here is the ritual
that was done to the live goat: This is one of the reasons that Azazel, the
live goat, is a type of Satan the devil. It was not sacrificed for a sin
offering, but became part of the ritual for the sin offering. The reason that
that is, is because Satan is a spirit being and cannot die. Therefore, the goat
was not sacrificed, but left alive.
Verse 21:
“And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess
over him all the sins of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions
in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away by the hand of a chosen man into the wilderness.” Azazel is the name of
that chosen goat, which is the name of Satan the devil. Why were the sins again
put upon Satan? Because Satan is the author of sin!
Verse 22: “And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities to a
land in which no one lives…. [That’s the wilderness south of Jerusalem.] …And
he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.” He was to come back and wash his
flesh and then that completed the activity for the Day of Atonement.
Satan in the
wilderness is where Jesus met him for the temptation. Let’s come back to Matt.
4 and let’s see that. Jesus had to overcome Satan the devil Himself while He
was in the weakest possible physical condition, because He could not do any
of this on His own. This had to be by the power and the Spirit of God. That’s
why Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights. This undoubtedly began on the Day of
Atonement. We can exactly establish that for sure, now understanding the things
concerning the 70-weeks prophecy.
Some people
have said that the goat in the wilderness is Jesus ascending to heaven to take
away our sins. NO! All our sins were left here on earth. Forgiveness
comes from heaven, and heaven is never pictured as a wilderness. But where
Satan is, that’s pictured as a wilderness. Wherever Satan goes there is death
and destruction and sin and rebellion.
Jesus had to
confront Satan the devil, had to overcome him while he was tempted for 40 days
and 40 nights. In those days He didn’t eat anything.
Matthew 4:1:
Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit in order to be tempted
by the devil. And when He had fasted for forty days and forty nights,
afterwards He was famished. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread’” (vs 1-3).
Jesus could have easily done that—correct? Yes, indeed! But if He
would have done it, just to prove a point, He would have disobeyed God! He
would have obeyed Satan the devil.
- Satan
always comes along to challenge!
- Satan
always comes along to deceive!
Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the
Savior of the whole world had to completely overcome him and conquer him. That conquering him is what releases us—upon repentance and the
receiving of the Holy Spirit of God—from Satan the devil
Verse 4: “But
He answered and said, ‘It is written… [We always have to go by the Word
of God. Jesus as a man went by the Word of God. This is the whole story of the
whole Bible in relationship by God and men.] …‘It is written, “Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
God.”’” He quoted from Deut. 8:3. That’s quite something—isn’t it?
When we have
difficulties, Christ is there to help us. This had to be a on a personal basis,
because Jesus was God manifested in the flesh. Jesus was the One Who had
originally created the one who became Satan the devil; that angel that sinned
and rebelled and took a third part of the angels with him and he became Satan
the devil and they became the demons. God also had to conquer him. He had to
overcome everything!
Verse 5:
“Then the devil took Him to the Holy city and set Him upon the edge of the
temple… [from the top of that to the bottom, clear down to the Brook of Kidron,
is some 450 feet] …and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself
down; for it is written, “He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and
they shall bear You up in their hands, lest You strike Your foot against
a stone.”’” (vs 5-6).
What was
Jesus’ answer? If He had jumped down, Satan would have been right there to
catch Him, so He wouldn’t be hurt, and all of the chief priests and all of
those would run down and hail him as the ‘Messiah.’ But notice Jesus’ answer:
Verse 7: “Jesus said to him, ‘Again, it is written,
“You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”’” So, when we do things,
brethren, let’s not tempt God. ‘You’ does not mean Satan the devil, because
Satan’s going to try and tempt God all the time, and he’s called ‘the
tempter’—isn’t he? Yes, he is! This is for man—‘you’ as a
human being “…shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
To worship him, was to worship him as God, because
Satan has always wanted to become God. That’s why he rebelled; that’s why there
was war in heaven; that’s why he said, ‘I will ascend above the clouds; I shall
be like the Most High.’ Very important that Jesus did it the way that He did. Since Jesus was going to be King, he had to
be tempted; would He take the kingship prematurely from Satan the devil?
Verse 8:
“After that, the devil took Him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him
all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said to Him, ‘All these
things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me’” (vs 8-9).
Something, isn’t it? The account in Luke says where Satan said, ‘all of these
have been delivered to me and I give it to whomsoever I will.’
- Jesus knew that He came as King.
- Jesus knew that He was going to be King over all the earth.
- Jesus knew that He had to go through this to save mankind from Satan the devil and their
sins, and to overcome and defeat Satan the devil.
- Jesus knew that!
Verse 10: “Then Jesus said to
him, ‘Be-gone, Satan!…. [get behind Me] …For it is written, “You… [human
beings, not Satan; Satan will never worship God; he wants to be worshiped as
God] …shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.”’ Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came
and ministered to Him” (vs 10-11). Just left Him for a season.
The
chronology of what happened after that, before He comes into Galilee, we find
in John 1-4. We’re not going to turn there, but you can just put that in your
notes.
Let’s see
some things concerning what God wants us to know. Jesus, when He came into
Galilee, gave the announcement that He was the Messiah. He couldn’t do it on
the Day of Atonement when His 40 days and 40 nights temptation began. He
couldn’t do it then. Of course, that was the beginning of a Jubilee year, so
the whole year was a Jubilee year.
Let’s see
what happened when Jesus came into Galilee. The account in Luke 4 gives the
appearance that Jesus immediately, after He was tempted, returned to Galilee.
But that is not the case. He didn’t return to Galilee until John the Baptist
was put in prison. The chronology here in the book of Luke is a little
bit—when you read it straight on—missing in understanding of the
other Gospels, which shows that Jesus did not go to Galilee until He heard that
John was put into prison.
Let’s see
what happened when He came to Galilee, Luke 4:16: “And He came to Nazareth,
where He had been brought up; and according to His custom, He went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.”
This ‘day’
you will read in the footnote is the day of the weeks, which is
Pentecost. Pentecost is very interesting—isn’t it? How is it calculated? Very
similar to the way you count for the Jubilee year. You have 49 days plus 1.
On the Day of Pentecost He was in Nazareth and what He read was the Jubilee
message, and announcing that He was the Messiah by proclaiming that the Lord
had anointed Him to preach the Gospel to the poor.
Verse 17:
“And there was given Him the book of the prophet Isaiah; and when He had
unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; for this reason, He has anointed
Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal those who
are brokenhearted, to proclaim pardon to the captives and recovery of
sight to the blind, to send forth in deliverance those who have been
crushed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord’” (vs
17-19)—the Jubilee year!
What a fantastic thing this is, that Jesus began His ministry on the Day
of Atonement with the temptation against Satan the devil. He had the 40 days
temptation. They couldn’t believe it! They really couldn’t grasp it! It was
hard for them to understand! They even tried to kill Him! Shows the
gratefulness of the people there—right? Right in His hometown they said,
‘Who’s this? Isn’t this the son of Joseph? We know Mary and His brothers and
sisters. Who does He think He is?’
Let’s come
forward and see where Satan is put away just before the Millennium begins. Come
to Rev. 20 and let’s see the fulfillment of the strongman of Lev. 16 and
carrying that live goat out into the wilderness. That live goat was for Azazel
or Satan the devil.
When we all
return with Christ and fight against the armies; the beast and false prophet are going to be taken and cast into the Lake of Fire; all the armies are going
to have the plague come upon them where all their flesh just falls right off
their bones. Now, that’s quite a secret weapon—isn’t it? What a way to do
in an army! Yes, indeed!
Then what
happens here right after that? This is picturing the fulfillment of Ezek. 16
and the Day of Atonement. We know the Day of Atonement means that we are to be
‘at one with God.’ We know then that the whole world is going to be one with
God, because Christ is going to be King; the saints are going to rule and reign
as kings and priests with Him. Satan will be removed, because he is the author
of all sin; he is the author of all sin with all men, though we have our own
choices and we have sinned. That’s why he has to be removed.
You can’t
have the Millennium begin with Satan still around. We’ll talk about when he’s
released at the end of the Millennium—there’s a reason for it—but
remember, as soon as Satan comes around, people sin—right? Yes!
Revelation
20:1: “Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss,
and a great chain in his hand. And he took hold of the dragon, the ancient
serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand
years…. [Put him into prison and seal it up! Get rid of him!] …Then he cast him
into the abyss, and locked him up, and sealed the abyss over him,
so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years
were fulfilled; and after that it is ordained that he be loosed for a
short time” (vs 1-3). When we get to the Last Great Day we’ll understand why
that is.
Let’s look at
the word atonement. You can split it into three parts: at-one-ment. We
can take that as meaning at-one-ment with God. No one can really be at one with God completely unless it is through Jesus Christ, because He overcame
Satan the devil. The whole purpose, the whole plan of God, is so that all
mankind—as many as will repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior,
and grow and overcome in grace and knowledge, and be born into the Kingdom of
God—we’re all going to be one with God.
Jesus prayed
about this in His last prayer—which is truly the Lord’s Prayer—in
John 17. Let’s read this prayer; this is a tremendous prayer. I know we go
through it on the Passover, when we keep the Passover, but it also ties
together with the things that are going to take place at the end. When Satan is
removed the whole world will be ‘at one’ with God. This is when the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ is going to be made available for all mankind.
Right now
it’s not. Read Matt. 13, that only those who are called understand the
‘mysteries of the Kingdom of God.’ Those who are not are blinded. They see, but don’t see; they hear, but don’t hear. They are not called to
conversion at this time. Their day is later, and likewise with the second
resurrection.
But for us, our
day is now. And the whole goal is to be ‘at one’ with God the Father
and Jesus Christ. Remember what Paul said, that at the resurrection our ‘vile
bodies are to be transformed, to be made like His glorious body.’ In order to
be ‘at one’ with God the Father and Jesus Christ we’ve got to be spirit beings.
Jesus gives
this prayer, and it’s very interesting what He says here: John 17:1: “Jesus
spoke these words, and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour
has come; glorify Your own Son, so that Your Son may also glorify You; since
You have given Him authority over all flesh… [past, present and future] …in
order that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him’” (vs 1-2).
Eternal life starts with those who are in the first resurrection, and we have
been given to Christ.
Verse 3: “For
this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, Whom You did send.” At that time the only true God was God the Father,
because Jesus was manifested in the flesh and had human nature. Therefore, even
though He was God in the flesh, He wasn’t true God. But after His
resurrection He was.
Verse 4: “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work
that You gave Me to do.” Go back to Rev. 21—and we’ll read that when we
come to the Last Great Day—He says, ‘It is finished! I am Alpha and
Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ So, here’s this
phase of the work that God gave Jesus to do—it’s finished!
Now the work
He is doing is the work of the Church, where then we, as the begotten children
of God the Father, are developing the mind of Christ, being molded and formed
with the character of God as the very children of God. That work is finished
when we attain to the Kingdom of God at the resurrection.
Verse 5: “And
now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self, with the glory that I had with You
before the world existed. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have
given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You have given them to Me, and
they have kept Your Word” (vs 5-6).
That’s the whole key, brethren: keeping
the Word of God! Some people have said, ‘Well, you made an idol out of
the Bible.’ NO! We haven’t made an idol out of the Bible; it’s the Word
of God. We worship God! But these are His words and instruction to us.
Verse 14: “I
have given them Your words… [Remember, everything that Jesus taught came from
the Father.] …and the world has hated them because they are not of the world,
just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You would take them out of
the world, but that You would keep them from the evil one” (vs
14-15). That’s why we keep the Day of Atonement, brethren. Not only the
Passover, but the Day of Atonement, because
- it’s
through the power of God and the Spirit of God that we overcome
- it’s
through God rescuing us personally from Satan the devil
even though he goes about as ‘a
roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.’
- We need
God’s strength!
- We need
God’s Spirit!
- We need
God’s Word!
Verse 16: “They are
not of the world, just as I am not of the world…. [Here’s why we go by the Word
of God—Scripture, Scripture, Scripture; Truth, Truth, Truth]: …Sanctify them in Your Truth; Your Word is the Truth.”
(vs 16-17). That’s why we go by the Bible. That’s why we find the example there
in Acts 17 of the Bereans ‘searching the Scriptures daily whether these things
were so.’ And Paul telling the people to ‘prove all things and hold fast to
that which is good.’ Yes!
Verse 18: “Even as You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them
into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be
sanctified in Your Truth” (vs 18-19). That’s why we are made Holy with
the Holy Spirit of God, with the Word of God, with growing in character and
knowledge and understanding.
Remember what
Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those hunger and thirst after righteousness for they
shall be filled.’ He also said that we are to ‘be perfect as our Father in
heaven is perfect.’ That can only be accomplished through growing and
overcoming in this life and the resurrection to eternal life when Jesus
returns.
Verse 20: “I
do not pray for these only, but also for those who shall believe in Me through
their word… [here is the goal; notice the thing that Jesus always had in mind: the
Kingdom of God, the Family of God, the purpose of God—always!
That’s what we are to do!] …that they all may be one, even as You,
Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us… [at-one-ment
with God! That’s the whole purpose of the Day of Atonement, that we be ‘at one’
with God! Not of this world! Not of Satan! Not of ourselves! But of God!]
…in order that the world may believe that You did send Me. And I have given
them the glory that You gave to Me, in order that they may be one,
in the same way that We are one” (vs 20-22).
- That’s the
way God wants it to be!
- That’s
why we keep the Day of Atonement!
Verse 23: “I in them, and You in
Me, that they may be perfected… [The whole process of perfection] …into one;
and that the world may know that You did send Me, and have loved them as You
have loved Me.” That’s something, brethren!
Here is the
summary of the meaning of the Day of Atonement, v 24: “Father, I desire that
those whom You have given Me may also be with Me where I am, so that they may
behold My glory, which You have given Me; because You did love Me before the foundation of the world.”
Verse 26:
“And I have made known Your name to them, and will make it known; so
that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
To be at
one with God! The complete meaning and fulfillment of the Day of Atonement!
Today the world cannot be ‘at one’ with God, because Satan is not yet removed.
He is still the ‘god of this world,’ and he is still the enemy that we need to
fight. But always keep in mind that we are going to be ‘at one’ with God the
Father and Jesus Christ for all eternity!
Scriptural References:
1) Leviticus
23:26-32
2) Psalm
35:9-16
3) 1 Kings
13:15-18, 1-10
4) Joel
2:12-14
5) Isaiah
58:1-2, 4, 8
6) Leviticus
25:1-10, 17-22
7) Daniel
9:1-10, 16-26
8) Matthew
3:1-3, 13-17
9) Matthew
4:1
10) Leviticus
16:12-17, 21-22
11) Matthew
4:1-11
12) Luke
4:16-19
13) Revelation
20:1-3
14) John
17:1-6, 14-24, 26
Scriptures referenced, not quoted
- 1-Samuel
7
- Malachi
3
- John 2
- Leviticus
16:20
- Deuteronomy
8:3
- John
1-4
- Ezekiel
16
- Matthew
13
- Revelation
21
- Acts 17
Also referenced: Book:
The Appointed Times of the Messiah (coming soon)
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