Prophecy - 29

The phases of the High Priest's work on the Day of Atonements.


First, before we delve deeper into those various phases let's note the special garments the High Priest wore.


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


Why the special clothing?


Why do we put special clothing on? We put special clothing on for special occasions. This was a very special occasion. Even today the Jewish people consider it their holiest day of the year. The holiest day of the year. If this day was and is considered the holiest day for the Jewish people, honestly we have to believe without any doubt that this holiest of days with its intricate ceremonies and sacrifices has to reflect something amazingly important in the *bigger picture*.


Back to special clothing. This might be a minor detail but it's not so minor that it wasn't left unwritten.


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


A holy linen coat
Holy breeches
Holy girdle
Holy mitre


Holy garments for High Priests.


Zec 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.


A vision of Joshua the high priest- standing before the angel of the LORD and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.


Zec 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

Zec 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.


The High Priest is clothed with FILTHY GARMENTS.


Is it acceptable for the High Priest to stand before the angel of the LORD in filthy garments?


Zec 3:4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.


No. It is NOT acceptable for the High Priest to be presented before the LORD and to keep filthy clothes on. The filthy garments represents what? Our sinfulness. Remember this verse-


Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.


OUR righteousness are as FILTHY RAGS. We are clothed in filthy rags, we are made up of filthy rags. There is NOTHING we can to do with our own filthy rags. Just as in these figurative verses - Joshua the High Priest had to have his filthy garments taken from him. We all can have our filthy garments taken from us by the Lord.


Zec 3:5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.


Clothed in garments of the LORD, by the LORD, now standing in a sinless state covered in the righteousness of Christ. The LORD said- 'I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee' We are helpless as Joshua the High Priest who would NEVER have dreamed of presenting Himself to the Lord in filthy clothing. High Priests were given holy garments, and the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place to stand in the presence of God ONLY when he was clothed in holy garments. Those holy garments symbolized the need for purity before the Lord, a need for sinlessness before the Lord.


The High Priest washed and put on the holy garments on the Day of Atonements.


Christ our High Priest presented Himself as our Sacrifice, Christ our High Priest is clothed in all righteousness. Jesus Christ took upon Himself our sins as our Great Sacrificial Lamb. After He took upon Himself our sins He was sacrificed, His blood covering our filthy sinful state. Then our Savior rose having become the Great Sacrifice- sufficient to atone- sufficient enough blood to cover all our many, many sins. However a blood covered sin is NOT a sin that is gone, but a sin that is covered. Just as the sins of the people of God were covered throughout the year through the sacrifices made - covered but not cleansed. There was NOT a once a day cleansing of the sins from the Sanctuary. There was NOT a once a week cleansing of sins from the Sanctuary. There was NOT a once a month cleansing of sins from the Sanctuary. There WAS a once a year cleansing of the sins from the Sanctuary.


Surely there would have to be a cleansing for all the sins of God's people throughout all time and this cleansing of their blood covered sins would have to be completed BEFORE Jesus returns to take His people, His bride with Him to heaven.


So we have a cleansing of blood covered sins and the end results of THIS cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary would be the end of all forgiven sins. After this cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary is fully complete then there would be NO more forgiveness for any sins committed. At that point in time all those who are God's will be living in a forgiven, sinless state, never to sin again. It has to be this way! It has to for sin to come to an end, for Christ to come again and take His people with Him. To take those who have a complete dependence upon Him for all their righteousness, His righteousness by faith being theirs.


People don't like to think about this, they want to imagine things going on the same day after day. But if things were to go on the same day after day then Christ would never return. We know in our own limited life spans how much things change year after year. We live in an age of accelerated learning beyond that of any other age. The things we have created through technological advances, through scientific discoveries would be completely unimaginable to people 200 years ago. Just last night I was talking with a friend and he told me his nephew would be going to Afghanistan in a few days and his wife was expecting their baby in two weeks. Immediately a began to say how horrible it was that he had to leave right before the baby was to be born and be gone for seven months. Then as the conversation continued it went along this vein, at least he'll be able to see pictures of the baby, and have email contact and phone contact - all that stuff which was unimaginable to my friend when he was in the army back in the 70's. Then he went on to say how much easier life would have been in the army if he'd had access to all the communication technology we have today. These reality checks of just how far we've come happen from time to time and it's simply amazing. The point here being- we live in a time of change and change is something that HAS to take place if we want our Savior to return, if we are truly expecting Him to return. We cannot wallow in our comfort sins and feel alright because we can repent and seek forgiveness, it does not and has not ever worked that way. We cannot believe that sin will continue on endlessly in our lives, in our history for those who are truly God's if we want our Savior to take us to heaven. People love to say Jesus is endlessly forgiving, but very few want to realize that there will be a point in time when that will end because all who will be saved will have been saved and those who would be saved will be living so closely to their Savior that He through the Holy Spirit will keep them spotless, sinless and they will remain sinless forever more even as Christ comes and gives them immortality, changing them into the beings we were meant to be fully united with Him.


Cleansing of the sanctuary. All sin cleansed.


The beginning of the cleansing was the year 1844 according to the prophecies of the Bible. Now some people misunderstood this to mean there would be an instant ending, and instant cleansing, but WHY would there be an instant cleansing for something so complex in the example given to us on earth? Even Christ as our Sacrificial Lamb Offering wasn't instantaneous. Christ was not born and then instantly sacrificed. Christ did not live five years and then was sacrifice. Our Sacrificial Lamb- Jesus Christ lived right up into adulthood and beyond, He had a ministry, He was anointed by God at His baptism, He gave His message of the gospel of the kingdom and went about healing people for 3 years! To think that the Cleansing of the Sanctuary should be instantaneous when nothing else has been is truly to be deceived.


So maybe if we study the earthly type we can get a better picture of what the heavenly sanctuary cleansing might be.


*******


Three times the High Priest enters the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement.


First-

To burn the incense.

Lev 16:12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:
Lev 16:13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not


Secondly-

After the incense is burned and a cloud of incense covered the mercy seat the High Priest brought in the blood of the bullock.


Lev 16:14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.


He sprinkled this blood before the mercy seat seven times.


Thirdly-


The blood of the LORD'S goat which was killed as a sin offering for all the people was brought in and sprinkled upon and before the mercy seat.


Lev 16:15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat


*******

Lev 16:16 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: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.


An atonement is made for the holy place
BECAUSE of the uncleanness of the children of Israel
And BECAUSE of their transgressions in ALL their sins
An atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation is made
That remains among them- in the middle of their uncleanness.

*******


More on all this tomorrow, by the grace of God… remember we're taking it slow.


Please Lord open our hearts, open our minds to Your truth and nothing but Your truth!


Through Your love!


Amen.

Prophecy - 28

Day of Atonements


An atonement for the holy sanctuary.
An atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation.
An atonement for the altar.
An atonement for the priests and all the people of the congregation.


Dual aspect- a day of judgment and a day of atoning.


Let's look at Hebrews, a New Testament book that talks about our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. We've already discussed the need of a heavenly sanctuary- a purposeful need- not a façade. God does not use facades. God does not erect meaningless edifices. God does not and has never had mankind build meaningless things. Every single altar God directed to be built was for a purpose. The Sanctuary God directed to be built was for a purpose. Everything in the Sanctuary had a purpose. Never did God direct that something be built without purpose. The ark was built for a purpose and that purpose was to preserve mankind. The Sanctuary was built for a purpose and that was built after what was SEEN in heaven. Just as the earthly Sanctuary was built for a purpose, the Heavenly Sanctuary existed for a purpose. The Heavenly Sanctuary wasn't created to 'house God's presence' exclusively any more than the earthly Sanctuary was created for that sole purpose. Read this…


Solomon praying-


1Ki 8:26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
1Ki 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
1Ki 8:28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
1Ki 8:29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.


But will God indeed dwell on the earth?
Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.


Such amazing words!


Why then create a heavenly sanctuary? It was all part of the entire plan of salvation that we can barely grasp in our finite, sin-filled states.


So many people let their thinking stop at the Cross, many others extend that a little bit to the Resurrection beyond the Cross, and still others allow themselves to think about the Ascension after the Resurrection beyond the Cross, but MOST people stop there at the Ascension. They've planted the risen Savior there on a throne and have kept Him there immobile in fact to never move again until He returns. They've made the Savior a figurehead placing Him on a pedestal and in doing so they've stopped thinking about what might be entailed in a continued work. Yet truthfully in the example given to us of the earthly sanctuary it took a priest to make the sacrifice after the person confessed their sins onto that sacrifice, then after the sacrifice was killed an atonement was made. Then, as we are studying, once a year there was one day for special atonements. Why do we find it easy to imagine Jesus as our Sacrifice, yet harder to understand Jesus as our High Priest, acting as our High Priest?


Let's go to the book of Hebrews now and read a bit…


Heb 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
Heb 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.


We have a High Priest in Heaven.
A MINISTER of the SANCTUARY and the TRUE TABERNACLE, which the LORD PITCHED and NOT MAN.


Minister-- Greek Definition
leitourgos
li-toorg-os'
From a derivative of G2992 and G2041; a public servant, that is, a functionary in the Temple or Gospel, or (generally) a worshipper (of God) or benefactor (of man): - minister (-ed).


A functionary in the Temple.
A public servant.


Our Great High Priest, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ risen from the dead was resurrected to life and after a brief period of time upon earth left to minister in the heavenly sanctuary!


Daniel tells us that after 2300 days (years) the sanctuary shall be cleansed, in 1844 the cleansing began. This is a heavenly sanctuary cleansing beyond a doubt because in 1844 the earthly sanctuary was non-existent and without an earthly sanctuary to cleanse it truly could mean only one thing- our Heavenly High Priest began a new phase of His ministering in the Heavenly Sanctuary bringing mankind one step still closer to the end of all sin, to the destruction of this earth as we know it and the ushering in of the amazing new world, the new life in Christ. Remember the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in the beginning of the book of Daniel- the over all picture? Remember the ultimate defeat of all earthly kingdoms and the ushering in of the kingdom of God? It WILL happen. It has been predicted and everything that is predicted will come to pass and SO MUCH of it already has come to pass. We cannot doubt that we are living in the end of the end so to speak. We cannot for one moment believe that things predicted will NOT come to pass. These weren't conditional prophecies. These are concrete prophecies and they will happen- every single one of them.


Over the last 27 prophecy studies we've been able to piece things together brilliantly with history and prophecy. We studied our way through to a prophecy that spans 2300 years! We can understand that Christ our High Priest is ministering in the Heavenly Sanctuary and we know when that ministry is completed He will come for us.


As we studied the earthly day of atonement we know there are different phases throughout that day which needed to be accomplished. As it was on earth- it is in heaven. We'll talk more about that tomorrow by the grace of our God.


We need His everlasting love and guidance, His forgiveness, His righteousness all that stems from His love towards us. This is a desperate need, a very desperate need. May we be blessed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, able to see and understand His will, able to watch and pray as He would have us do as we look for His return.


In His amazing love!


Amen.

Prophecy - 27

The Sanctuary Cleansing.


Once a year there was a sanctuary cleansing- this fact is indisputable. The sanctuary was where ALL the sacrifices were made. Sacrifices were made because people knew they sinned.


I've been thinking about sin and all this quite a bit and something in all my research has stuck out at me.


The atoning aspect of qorbanot (((sacrifice)))) is limited.
For the most part, qorbanot (((sacrifice)))) only expiate UNINTENTIONAL sins, that is, sins committed because a person forgot that this thing was a sin.
No atonement is needed for violations committed under duress or through lack of knowledge, and for the most part, qorbanot (((sacrifice)))) cannot atone for a malicious, deliberate sin.
In addition, qorbanot have no expiating effect unless the person making the offering sincerely repents his or her actions before making the offering, and makes restitution to any person who was harmed by the violation.

Pasted from


The Bible clearly speaks of only being able to offer sacrifices for the sins of ignorance. Meaning I couldn't go out and steal something knowingly and then go offer a sacrifice for that sin and expect forgiveness. God would NEVER have set up a system that allowed for the acceptance of sinning in any way. Unlike us humans who often find ways around the justice system, there is no getting around God's justice system.


So reading this and thinking about the sins I've committed knowingly does it mean I can never find forgiveness for them? No. It means I've placed myself in a position of grave danger because whenever we sin intentionally we run the risk of becoming heart hardened to sin and in becoming that way we don't feel our need of seeking forgiveness with TRUE repentance. God forgives as He peers into the hearts of man and seeing the heart of a man He knows whether or not that is a heart that has a love of things sinful, a love of things that would keep that person from being One with God in His love.


Is it any wonder at all whatsoever that we read verses like this one-


Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.


Or like this-


Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.


*******

There were no sacrifices offered for intentional sin, but there were sacrifices offered for sins that were committed unintentionally, with no forethought. We know what that's all about. We commit those types of sins all the time, don't we? We think back and go, oh, darn I should have… or oh, darn I shouldn't have done this or that. We have these types of sin in our lives. When we recognize those sins we tend to not really blame ourselves because it's the fault of a memory, or situational and we instead blame those things taking the blame off ourselves. God doesn't and never wanted us to just shift the blame off ourselves as if we hadn't committed the sin. God wanted, and wants us, to recognize sin in our lives and to ask for forgiveness for our sins not hide our sins. God wants us to recognize the things that separate us from Him. God wants this because only when we recognize what keeps us from Him can we get rid of that thing and stop being separated from Him. This is why a sacrificial system was so necessary. Man separated himself from God and man has been trying to fix that ever since and God made a way for this to be possible.


God had to make the way, man is the one who separated himself and had no right to even think he could make a way to fix that. God alone as our Creator was the only one who could fix the gap sin had made between man and God, the gap man had allowed to be formed.


Because the penalty of sinning was death and man knew this before they ever sinned that first time, by death alone could this gap be filled.


The first animals were sacrificed because man sinned and divested themselves of the covering of God's glorious clothing of light that had been surrounding them. To cover themselves - symbolic of covering sin- animals were sacrificed right there in the garden of Eden, right there where they'd first sinned. The sacrifices were made and man's nakedness was covered. Sacrifices continued from then on and after Moses God gave mankind a formalized system of sacrifices. This formalized system included a once a year cleansing of the sanctuary. The sanctuary being the place where the sacrifices would be made, the place where God would meet with mankind. All the sins that were confessed upon the animals and all the blood that was spilled to symbolically cover the sin and bridge that gap between man and God, all of that was placed there on the sanctuary. Once a year the sanctuary needed to be cleansed from all blood covered sins placed upon it. During this once a year cleansing as we noted in yesterday's study, there was introduced a NEW element- the scapegoat. This goat wasn't killed. A sacrifice was not made with this goat. However, the goat carried ALL the sins that had been placed on that sanctuary throughout the entire year. Those sins were symbolically put upon that goat and then that goat was taken away out of the sanctuary and out of the entire city, out far, far away into the wilderness where it was left never ever to find it's way back to the sanctuary, or to God's people, never. It was left to perish in the wilderness with all those sins upon it. Symbolically that goat had taken all those blood covered sins upon it and they were taken away from the sanctuary, the sanctuary was left cleansed for that brief period of time. Why brief period of time? Because that symbolic gesture was just that- a symbol and not the actual. And because it was not the actual ridding of sin once and for all, the need for continued sacrifice, the need for continued covering of sin, the need for the constant -if figurative- repairing of the breach between man and God would go on. All this would go on until our Savior became our Sacrifice. Once our Savior became our Sacrifice HE would continue with this.


Daniel's prophecy of 2300 years and then shall the sanctuary be cleansed was given for a purpose and with a study of the earthly sanctuary cleansing we can garner a better understanding- by the grace of our God through the Holy Spirit's guidance.

*******

Leviticus 23


Lev 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Lev 23:28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.


This verse from the KJV is deceptive because in the Hebrew language the word 'atonement' is a plural word--


kippûr
kip-poor'
From H3722; expiation (only in plural): - atonement.


A day of ATONEMENT(S).


It makes sense because when you read about it all you can instantly see there is more than one atonement.


Lev 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.


An atonement for the holy sanctuary.
An atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation.
An atonement for the altar.
An atonement for the priests and all the people of the congregation.


Clearly more than one atonement.


We have to note something else of importance. How were the people to relate to this day? There were other major feasts and on those days this command was given-- Lev. 23:8,21,25,35,36)


Lev 23:8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.


Lev 23:21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.


Lev 23:25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.


Lev 23:35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.


Lev 23:36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.


Servile work is occupational work.


However on the Day of Atonements there was a different command--


Lev 23:28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.


The same command as on the Sabbath.


Lev 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.


This is an important thing to note. The importance placed upon this special day.


Something else to note-- There was a ceremonial cleansing for the people from all their sins. Lev. 16:30 '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.'

Also there was a judgment taking place- Lev 23:29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.


Judgment. How it was determined that a person wasn't afflicting their soul isn't mentioned though- but obviously a judgment had to be made- a judging had to be done to make a determination. This was a BIG judgment too because the person would be CUT OFF from among his people.


This day of Atonements was a day of judging as well- a dual aspect to this very special day.


Read these verses-

Dan 7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.



Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.


Dual aspects.


This study isn't going to be over quickly, we're going to take it slow and hopefully get into a lot of different aspects of God's word concerning all this. By the grace of God we will find understanding as He would have us understand as we watch and pray for the return of our Savior.


All through His love!


Amen.

Prophecy - 26

Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. (KJV)


Lexicon--
be cleansed
tsadaq (tsaw-dak')
to be (causatively, make) right (in a moral or forensic sense) -- cleanse, clear self, (be, do) just(-ice, -ify, -ify self), (be turn to) righteous(-ness).

Pasted from



Made right.
Be justified.
Be turned to righteous.
Shall be cleansed.


On an earthly level there had been set up a very special day to cleanse all the people and the sanctuary. One day out of a year God's people were to afflict their souls while the High Priest went about a very lengthy, very involved, very thorough cleansing ritual that when all was said and done- all the people and all the sins they'd committed throughout the entire year would be cleansed from the sanctuary.


Remember this…


'Goat for Azazel The Kohen Gadol left the Haichal and walked to the east side of the Azarah (Israelite courtyard). Near the Nikanor Gate, he leaned his hands (Semikha) on the goat “for Azazel” and confessed the sins of the entire people of Israel. The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. While he made a general confession, individuals in the crowd at the Temple would confess privately. The Kohen Gadol then sent the goat off “to the wilderness.”'

Pasted from


Let's read it directly from our Bibles-


Lev 16:5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
Lev 16:6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.
Lev 16:7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Lev 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.


First the High Priest had to offer a sin offering from himself - making an atonement for himself and his house.
Then there were two goats. Lots were cast upon them. One lot for the LORD's goat and one for the scapegoat.
The LORD's goat was offered for a sin offering.
The scapegoat was sent into the wilderness alive.


Sin offerings, the daily offerings for the people of Israel involved a sacrifice, the shedding of blood. Where there is no shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.


Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission

Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.


Yet here we have a scapegoat offered for an atonement. A scapegoat that would be left to live. A scapegoat that would be led out into the wilderness far, far away never to return. And that living sacrifice symbolized what exactly? He was offered for an atonement, yet his blood wasn't shed. He was led into the wilderness to wander but not required to be killed according to scripture.


Lev 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.


Presented alive before the LORD.
Presented alive to make an atonement WITH HIM.
To let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.


Not sacrificed. The whole entire sacrificial service performed daily revolved around daily sin offerings. The lambs would be killed. The lambs would be sacrificed. Never was a sin offering made without the offering being sacrificed. A live offering was not allowed to live- the live offering was sacrificed. And all this sacrificing symbolized the fact that sin causes death.


Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.


In the day of disobedience to God's command death would enter. Flesh that had been made to be incorruptible, immortal, was now subject to death- cut off from its source of sustenance- the Tree of Life given by God.


Death entered with sin. And death could only be conquered by the death of the Innocent Lamb of God. Symbolically man was taught this through the sacrificial system. Man offered animal sacrifices- innocent animals were killed after the sin was symbolic transferred to them. God's people knew that every day as sin offerings were brought to the temple they were seeking the forgiveness of God. The hope was one day all sin would be done away with and God's people would be fully restored to Him. This would only occur through the greatest sacrifice of all. Jesus Christ.


The day of atonement had a LORD's goat and another goat - an escape goat, a scapegoat, ‛ăzâ'zêl.


The LORD's goat would be offered as a sin offering- killed, it would die for the sins of all the people.
The other goat would be offered as an atonement and taken out into the wilderness no longer to ever be a part of God's people. That goat would go off, left to live and die of its own accord, but NEVER be reconciled to God's people. There is a STARK contrast between the two goats.


Why the wilderness?


Zep 2:13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.


Mal 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
Mal 1:3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.


Amo 2:10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.


Led THROUGH the wilderness, not LED to and left in the wilderness, but let THROUGH.


Hos 2:3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.


Make her as a wilderness- dry, waterless- death inducing.


Eze 20:21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.


The wilderness is NOT symbolic of God's love but rather being brought THROUGH the wilderness is symbolic of God's love. Having the wilderness changed into something life sustaining reveals God's love. Being condemned to the wilderness forever was a death sentence. The wilderness did not symbolize God. It did symbolize a testing ground, even Jesus went into the wilderness.


Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.


The wilderness is NOT symbolic of good.


Psa 107:4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Psa 107:5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.


Wilderness wandering is NOT a good thing by any reckoning. So here we have a goat that is used to make an atonement- making an atonement meant making a sacrifice, a blood sacrifice, a death sacrifice, and yet another aspect to making an atonement was what?


You couldn't make an atonement if you didn't confess and repent of your sins. When sin offerings were made, when daily sacrifices were offered they were made and offered with the intention of a sin being forgiven, a confessed sin. Once the sin was confessed and repented of and a sacrifice was slain for that sin it was forgiven. We are only forgiven by the sacrifice that our Savior made for us. If we don't confess and repent we are not forgiven of Jesus any more than a person was forgiven of their sins when an animal sacrifice was made if they didn't confess their sin putting it onto that animal.


They were symbolically putting their sin on that animal and that animal would then die for them so they could live in a forgiven state, an atonement was made by that sacrifice. When we offer a living sacrifice we are doing so with our Savior as our Sacrifice and He did not live, He was NOT symbolic of the goat led off to the wilderness.


Our Savior died, He was sacrificed for us and then He rose to life again and He was NEVER led off to the wilderness, banished there to be seen no more, not ever. The goat wasn't being taken to the wilderness temporarily, but permanently. The goat wasn't being sent off as a testing period to see if it could survive the wilderness onslaughts. The goat was once and for all, forever led to the wilderness to go and perish, to die in the wilderness, left without any resources for survival. A goat brought up and tended to by people. A goat given water and food so it could live was now taken to the wilderness to fend for itself. And lest people believe any animal could be taken to the wilderness and some how manage to survive by instinct alone, that's a fallacy. An abandoned animal does NOT always find a way to survive and it sickens me to think about it but…it's true. This goat…


' But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. '


…this goat was presented before the LORD to make an atonement with him -- yet where was the atonement? There was no sacrifice as there was with the sin offering. Where was the atonement? Was it made? It was to make an atonement with. The sins were confessed upon this goat and then it was sent off into the wilderness. What was being symbolized here? That sins live on? That sins that were placed over the year upon the temple- sins that were confessed to God, sins that had been covered in the blood of sacrifice, were being CLEANSED from the sanctuary, but truly if those sins for all the entire year for all the people were being cleansed by just another sacrifice aren't they being placed right back on the sanctuary?


So that they aren't being placed right back on the sanctuary they have been placed on this wilderness appointed goat so that symbolically the goat is taking the sins away and EVERYTHING, everyone is pure in that moment. The sanctuary is pure in that moment as all sin is taken away.


When in our beliefs, in the word of God, is sin taken away completely from everyone to no more rise again?


Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.


Death- the result of sin is gone forever and ever and ever, never more to be. Sin is gone. The world is freed from sin and all its results. The devil is destroyed, burned up, gone forever to be no more. All the sins that ever existed from the moment sin entered the world by the father of lies is once and for all - gone. All those sins that stem from the father of sin, all those sins that resulted from Satan are wiped out. Sinners, sin, the father of sin all of it is gone and forever more, for eternity, for a time without end there will never be sin again- it's gone. That sin hasn't been covered up by blood, but that sin has been destroyed. There is no more a need for another sacrifice, the sacrifices made were sufficient and the blood covered sins put upon Satan so that the world can be cleansed and made perfect, were all destroyed- gone forever.


That goat that was sent out into the wilderness to disappear forever, that goat had no sacrifice made for it as it carried symbolically the sins of all God's people. It was left to carry those sins off into the wilderness and perish there. The sanctuary was cleansed and it was cleansed through a day long process, not by one act. The cleansing took time. And as we are told in Daniel 8:14- 2300 days (years) then shall the sanctuary be cleansed… then shall that process of cleansing begin. It didn't say 2300 years and then the sanctuary is cleansed. It's -SHALL the sanctuary BE - denoting action to be taken- cleansed. The final cleansing of sin was being made. The process by which sin will once and for all be taken away was under way. This cleansing process was not being done on earth in an earthly sanctuary but where did the temple stand? In heaven. The temple that we would NO longer need ONLY when the earth is made new and new Jerusalem comes down from heaven to earth. Until that happens that temple is there to serve a purpose- it is NEEDED. If something is needed then it is serving a purpose beyond mere show. The heavenly temple was not a mere symbolic place to gaze upon and think of Jesus there with His Father. The temple would NO longer be needed one day. There had to be a reason it would be needed up until that point, to think otherwise would be to believe that God is just a show man putting on a fancy show and my God is not like that at all! My God came up with a plan of salvation and that plan was enacted. That plan included an earthly sanctuary based upon the heavenly sanctuary. When the earthly sanctuary was no longer in effect the heavenly sanctuary became the place we were to look to. In that heavenly sanctuary our Savior has ascended from earth and for a purpose. If all were accomplished- then there would have been NO need for earth to continue on with sin ruling under Satan, but it did continue because all hadn't been finished, that temple in heaven was still needed for a purpose.


Daniel was told that His vision would be closed for a long, long time- but that it would be opened. It's been opened for those who are not too blind to see, for those not caught up in the deception of Satan.


In 1844 the cleansing began and when that cleansing is finished, when sin is no more, when death, hell, and Satan are destroyed never to be again, that is when our new life begins without any need for a temple whatsoever!


We are told to watch and pray. We are watching and we are praying. We know that God sees the long view and offers us glimpses into that view. Will we be alive when it is finished? Only God knows. But we, as with all that are His, understand that being prepared for Him whether or not we are privileged with that blessing- that gift of immortality without tasting the first death- is a must. That a life spent with our gaze heavenward is the life we are called to.


By His amazing grace and love!


More tomorrow on that once a year cleansing of the sanctuary, and by the Lord's grace and through the Holy Spirit's enlightenment may we see His plan for us more clearly.


Amen!

Prophecy - 25

Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.


The Sanctuary.


Psa 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?


God's way is in the sanctuary. The plan of salvation was and IS in the sanctuary. A temple will no longer be needed only when the new earth is instituted- remember this--


Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God


Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.


Prior to this…


Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.


There IS a temple in heaven!


We CANNOT deny that there exists a temple in HEAVEN, a temple upon which the earthly temple was figured. A temple that will exist until the New Jerusalem come from God out of heaven.


So we have to ask ourselves a few questions. If according to prophecy we've been able to amazingly, with great accuracy fit prophecy puzzle pieces into history and know beyond a doubt that this 2300 year prophecy is telling us that in 1844 something happened- something in connection with this verse--


Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.


Then we KNOW that after those 2300 years then the sanctuary shall be cleansed, made righteous, made just. And we know from our Bibles that only through atonement was something made righteous. Only by sacrifice, only by offering, only by our Savior was something made righteous. So we HAVE to look at all this cleansing, all this atoning more closely. PLEASE take the time to read all this, even if it takes an hour, or two hours, or half a day to get through it all, please pray and read. God wants to give us His truths from His word and only by studying does this happen. We need to be prepared. We need to know what we are watching and praying for and not in an abstract- oh, I'm watching for Jesus to return. Jesus wants us to heed His signs, His warnings, and to listen to His prophets and His prophets have given us so much to study.


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Exactly what is being cleansed from the sanctuary? We must look at the earthly sanctuary because God gave to Moses the example of things in heaven and set them up on earth for His people to use. We have to look to what was given to Moses.


How was the sanctuary made right with God? Because that word cleansed up there refers to making the sanctuary righteous. Let's take a quick glance at the word used-


tsâdaq
Total KJV Occurrences: 41

(((And the following shows the meaning used for that single word in each case below))))


justified, 12
Job_11:2, Job_13:18, Job_25:4, Job_32:2, Psa_51:4, Psa_143:2, Isa_43:9, Isa_43:26, Isa_45:25, Jer_3:11, Eze_16:51-52 (2)
righteous, 10
Gen_38:26, Job_10:15 (2), Job_15:14, Job_22:3, Job_34:5, Psa_19:7-9 (3), Eze_16:52
justify, 7
Exo_23:7, Deu_25:1, Job_9:20, Job_27:5, Job_33:32, Isa_5:23, Isa_53:11
just, 3
Job_4:17, Job_9:2, Job_33:12
justice, 2
2Sa_15:4, Psa_82:3
justifieth, 2
Pro_17:15, Isa_50:8
justifying, 2
1Ki_8:32, 2Ch_6:23
cleansed, 1
Dan_8:14
clear, 1
Gen_44:16
righteousness, 1
Dan_12:3


Justify, righteous, just, clear, cleansed.


For us to be made right, for us to be just with God we need an atonement to be made, right?


Atonement Dictionary Def--

Theology . the doctrine concerning the reconciliation of god and humankind, especially as accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Christ.
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Our Savior made an atonement for us so that we may be reconciled to God, so that we made be righteous through Him. We are never righteous on our own. All our righteousness are as filthy rags. Before our Savior came, the sanctuary which served as an example of heavenly things pointing to our Savior, and it included a once a year special atonement for the sanctuary and the people. Why do you suppose this was? Seriously.


People want to believe it doesn't mean anything, that we should just forget all that stuff because Jesus did away with it all. And that is true, the earthly sanctuary and all its services were no longer binding, but the services had a purpose. What exactly did the once a year atonement for the sanctuary and the people mean?


The following is...
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Temple service


The following summary of the Temple service is based on the traditional Jewish religious account described in Mishnah tractate Yoma, appearing in contemporary traditional Jewish prayerbooks for Yom Kippur, and studied as part of a traditional Jewish Yom Kippur worship service.[15]


While the Temple in Jerusalem was standing (from Biblical times through 70 C.E.), the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) was mandated by the Torah to perform a complex set of special services and sacrifices for Yom Kippur to attain Divine atonement, the word "kippur" meaning "atone" in Hebrew.


These services were considered to be the most important parts of Yom Kippur because through them the Kohen Gadol (((high priest)))) made atonement for all Jews and the world. During the service, the Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies in the center of the Temple, the only time of the year that anyone went inside. Doing so required special purification and preparation, including five immersions in a mikvah (ritual bath), and four changes of clothing.


Seven days prior to Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was sequestered in the Palhedrin chamber in the Temple, where he reviewed (studied) the service with the sages familiar with the Temple, and was sprinkled with spring water containing ashes of the Red Heifer as purification. The Talmud (Tractate Yoma) also reports that he practiced the incense offering ritual in the Avitnas chamber.


On the day of Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol had to follow a precise order of services, sacrifices, and purifications:


§ Morning (Tamid) Offering The Kohen Gadol first performed the regular daily (Tamid) offering — usually performed by ordinary priests — in special golden garments, after immersing in a mikvah and washing his hands and feet.


§ Garment Change 1 The Kohen Gadol immersed in a special mikvah in the Temple courtyard and changed into special linen garments, and washed his hands and feet twice, once after removing the golden garments and once before putting on the linen garments.


§ Bull as Personal Sin-Offering The Kohen Gadol leaned (performed Semikha) and made a confession over the bull on behalf of himself and his household, pronouncing the Tetragrammaton. The people prostrated themselves when they heard. He then slaughtered the bull as a chatat (sin-offering) and received its blood in a bowl.


§ Lottery of the goats At the Eastern (Nikanor) gate, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a lottery box over two goats. One was selected “for the Lord,” and one “for Azazel.” The Kohen Gadol tied a red band around the horns of the goat “for Azazel.”


§ Incense Preparation The Kohen Gadol ascended the mizbeach (altar) and took a shovel full of embers with a special shovel. He was brought incense. He filled his hands and placed it in a vessel. (The Talmud considered this the most physically difficult part of the service, as the Kohen Gadol had to keep the shovelful of glowing coals balanced and prevent its contents from dropping, using his armpit or teeth, while filling his hands with the incense).


§ Incense Offering Holding the shovel and the vessel, he entered the Kadosh Hakadashim, the Temple’s Holy of Holies. In the days of the First Temple, he placed the shovel between the poles of the Ark of the Covenant. In the days of the Second Temple, he put the shovel where the Ark would have been. He waited until the chamber filled with smoke and left.


§ Sprinkling of Bull's Blood in the Holy of Holies The Kohen Gadol took the bowl with the bull’s blood and entered the Most Holy Place again. He sprinkled the bull’s blood with his finger eight times, before the Ark in the days of the First Temple, where it would have been in the days of the Second. The Kohen Gadol then left the Holy of Holies, putting the bowl on a stand in front of the Parochet (curtain separating the Holy from the Holy of Holies).


§ Goat for the Lord as Sin-Offering for Kohanim The Kohen Gadol went to the eastern end of the Israelite courtyard near the Nikanor Gate, laid his hands (semikha) on the goat “for the Lord,” and pronounced confession on behalf of the Kohanim (priests). The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. He then slaughtered the goat, and received its blood in another bowl.


§ Sprinkling of Goat’s Blood in the Holy of Holies The Kohen Gadol took the bowl with the goat’s blood and entered the Kadosh Hakadashim, the Temple’s Holy of Holies again. He sprinkled the goat’s blood with his finger eight times the same way he had sprinkled the bull’s blood. The blood was sprinkled before the Ark in the days of the First Temple, where it would have been in the days of the Second Temple. The Kohen Gadol then left the Kadosh Hakadashim, putting the bowl on a stand in front of the Parochet (curtain separating the Holy from the Holy of Holies).


§ Sprinkling of blood in the Holy Standing in the Hekhal (Holy), on the other side of the Parochet from the Holy of Holies, the Kohen Gadol took the bull's blood from the stand and sprinkled it with his finger eight times in the direction of the Parochet. He then took the bowl with the goat's blood and sprinkled it eight times in the same manner, putting it back on the stand.


§ Smearing of blood on the Golden (Incense) Altar The Kohen Gadol removed the goat’s blood from the stand and mixed it with the bull's blood. Starting at the northeast corner, he then smeared the mixture of blood on each of the four corners of the Golden (Incense) altar in the Haichal. He then sprinkled the blood eight times on the altar.


§ Goat for Azazel The Kohen Gadol left the Haichal and walked to the east side of the Azarah (Israelite courtyard). Near the Nikanor Gate, he leaned his hands (Semikha) on the goat “for Azazel” and confessed the sins of the entire people of Israel. The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. While he made a general confession, individuals in the crowd at the Temple would confess privately. The Kohen Gadol then sent the goat off “to the wilderness.” In practice, to prevent its return to human habitation, the goat was led to a cliff outside Jerusalem and pushed off its edge.


§ Preparation of sacrificial animals While the goat “for Azazel” was being led to the cliff, the Kohen Gadol removed the insides of the bull, and intertwined the bodies of the bull and goat. Other people took the bodies to the Beit HaDeshen (place of the ashes). They were burned there after it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazel” had reached the wilderness.


§ Reading the Torah After it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazel” had been pushed off the cliff, the Kohen Gadol passed through the Nikanor Gate into the Ezrat Nashim (Women’s Courtyard) and read sections of the Torah describing Yom Kippur and its sacrifices.


§ Garment change 2 The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the mikvah in the Temple courtyard, and changed into a second set of special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet both before removing the linen garments and after putting on the golden ones.


§ Offering of Rams The Kohen Gadol offered two rams as an olah offering, slaughtering them on the north side of the mizbeach (outer altar), receiving their blood in a bowl, carrying the bowl to the outer altar, and dashing the blood on the northeast and southwest corners of the Outer Altar. He dismembered the rams and burned the parts entirely on the outer altar. He then offered the accompanying mincha (grain) offerings and nesachim (wine-libations).


§ Musaf Offering The Kohen Gadol then offered the Musaf offering.


§ Burning of Innards The Kohen Gadol placed the insides of the bull and goat on the outer altar and burned them entirely.


§ *Garment change 3 The Kohen Gadol removed his golden garments, immersed in the mikvah, and changed to a new set of linen garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.


§ Removal of Incense from the Holy of Holies The Kohen Gadol returned to the Holy of Holies and removed the bowl of incense and the shovel.


§ Garment Change 4 The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the mikvah, and changed into a third set of golden garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.


§ Evening (Tamid) Offering The Kohen Gadol completed the afternoon portion of the regular (tamid) daily offering in the special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet a tenth time.


The Kohen Gadol wore five sets of garments (three golden and two white linen), immersed in the mikvah five times, and washed his hands and feet ten times.


Sacrifices included two (daily) lambs, one bull, two goats, and two rams, with accompanying mincha (meal) offerings, wine libations, and three incense offerings (the regular two daily and an additional one for Yom Kippur).


The Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies three times. The Tetragrammaton was pronounced three times, once for each confession.[15]



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One has to ask what the daily sacrifices meant compared to this great day of sacrifices.


'The Temple was the place where offerings described in the course of the Hebrew Bible were carried out, including daily morning and afternoon offerings and special offerings on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Levites recited Psalms at appropriate moments during the offerings, including the Psalm of the Day, special psalms for the new month, and other occasions, the Hallel during major Jewish holidays, and psalms for special sacrifices such as the "Psalm for the Thanksgiving Offering" (Psalm 100).

As part of the daily offering, a prayer service was performed in the Temple which was used as the basis of the traditional Jewish (morning) service recited to this day, including well-known prayers such as the Shema, and the Priestly Blessing. '

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'Korban, Qorban (In Classical Hebrew), or Qarban (In Sephardic Hebrew (Arabic ?????) and Mizrahi Hebrew) (Hebrew: ???????? "sacrifice"; plural: korbanot or qorbanoth ???????????), in Judaism, is the term for a variety of sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Torah. '


'Such sacrifices were offered in a variety of settings by the ancient Israelites, and later by the Jewish priesthood, the Kohanim, at the Temple in Jerusalem. A Korban was usually an animal sacrifice, such as a sheep or a bull that underwent shechita (Jewish ritual slaughter), and was often cooked and eaten by the offerer, with parts given to the Kohanim and parts burned on the Temple mizbe'ah (altar). Korbanot could also consist of doves, grain, wine, or incense.

The Torah narrates that God commanded the Hebrews to offer korbanot on various altars, and describes the offering of sacrifices in the Tabernacle and in the Temple in Jerusalem until the First Temple was destroyed and resumed with the Second Temple until it was destroyed in 70 AD.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korban


A bit more information on - Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement--


'Jewish people. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days (or sometimes "the Days of Awe").

Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers oneself absolved by God.

The Yom Kippur prayer service includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services (Ma'ariv, the evening prayer; Shacharit, the morning prayer; and Mincha, the afternoon prayer), or a Shabbat or Yom Tov, which have four prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf, the additional prayer; and Mincha), Yom Kippur has five prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf; Mincha; and Ne'ilah, the closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins (Vidui) and a unique prayer dedicated to the special Yom Kippur avodah (service) of the Kohen Gadol in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

As one of the most culturally significant Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur is observed by many secular Jews who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews attend synagogue on Yom Kippur—for many secular Jews the High Holidays are the only recurring times of the year in which they attend synagogue,[1]—causing synagogue attendance to soar—and almost four-fifths fast.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur


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More texts on the Day of Atonement--


Lev 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Lev 23:28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.


Lev 16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place
Lev 16:17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel
Lev 16:18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
Lev 16:19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.


Lev 16:30 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.


Lev 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.


Lev 16:34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

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There is absolutely NO DOUBT that there was significance beyond the daily sacrifices at the temple connected with the once a year sacrifices to atone for so much.


We'll pick this up tomorrow by the grace of God. By His mercy and if it's His will we will study even more of this and see if we cannot fit more prophecy puzzle pieces together. Only by the grace of God may we do this, only by His love, His righteousness as we pray not to be led astray, not to be deceived, but rather that we are enlightened and guided by the Holy Spirit unto all truth in Him!


Amen.

Prophecy - 24

Sanctuary being cleansed.


The 2300 day (year) prophecy of Daniel said this--


Dan 8:9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
Dan 8:10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
Dan 8:11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
Dan 8:12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
Dan 8:13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?


Remember studying this before? The historic knowledge of Medes Persia, Greece, Roman, and out of the Roman Empire the Roman Papal power that was so strange and diverse, so different than the other powers.


Remember discussing the host of heaven were cast down under the Roman rule when the Savior was born. Jesus was born, lived, and was crucified all under the Roman rule. We know for a fact that Papal Rome was formed as the counterfeit church deceiving many and that Satan behind the scenes ruled this little horn power. The truth was definitely cast to the ground. Transgression lived in the heart of the deceptive powers that morphed from pagan Rome into papal Rome.


How long… how long would this vision which included the daily sacrifice being taken away, which included the desolation of all that God had set up upon earth as His ways. How long would the sanctuary and those of God be debased, demeaned, abused?


We have to consider what the sanctuary meant to God's people. The sanctuary and all its services came into being out of a covenant God made with His people. God would be their God and they would be His people and they would obey His commands and He would be with them. Even as soon as that covenant was made, or rather not much longer after it was newly enacted and accepted by God's people, then God's people broke that covenant. Rather than destroy the people Moses stepped in and pleaded for their lives. God knew that a system would have to be set up that would symbolize a mediation between Him and His people. Back when Abraham was alive God called for Abraham to offer up His only son Isaac. A symbolic event forever afterwards. When man sinned- animals were first sacrificed to make them coats of the animal skins. Abel the second born son of our first parents offered up an animal sacrifice to God. The idea of there needing to be a mediator between man and God was not a new one, it was ancient, it existed from the moment sin entered the world. A way had to be made for man to be reunited with God again.


Under Moses' leadership the wilderness sanctuary was set up. David, beloved of God, wanted to erect a permanent sanctuary so that God could dwell with them in the land God had given to them to be theirs forever. Solomon, David's son was allowed to build the sanctuary and they called it Solomon's Temple. All the rituals involved with the sanctuary were kept there in that temple for many, many years.


Built in 957 BC and totally destroyed in 586 BC - For 371 years that sanctuary was used for the ritual sacrificial services that God required of His people.


457 BC saw the final call to finish rebuilding the sanctuary and the call for the Jewish people to return there and begin their services once more. Then in 70 AD, 527 years later it was completely destroyed once again and has never been rebuilt since then.


The sanctuary and it's services were all precursors pointing to the realized sacrificial act found in God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the Messiah. So of course, after our Savior died the temple veil was torn in two, and the need for the earthly sanctuary was no longer.


But tell me something-- this sacrificial system which in all reality had its start the moment sin entered the world, was it over? Was sin gone? The only way for the entire sacrificial system- the only way for the need of sacrifice to be removed would be if sin was no more.


God has taken mankind step by step through a process that points solely to the Savior and us finding forgiveness in Him and Him alone without any other person involved. The Way was pointed to, the Way was realized.


Read this-- talking about the New Jerusalem that will exist after our Savior comes again and then ultimately brings His people back to earth and makes it new--


Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.


The Way realized, then and only then when no temple would be needed any longer. Until that day there would be a temple, there would be a sanctuary. But if that sanctuary which was such a huge part of the life of God's people was no longer of significance upon earth when our Savior died, where was the sanctuary that would be trodden underfoot 2300 years?


Where was the sanctuary at before it was erected upon earth under Moses' guidance?


Exo 25:40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.


Exo 26:30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.


Heb 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man


Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.


If our Savior did away with the need for an earthly sanctuary it was because HE became the only sacrifice needed from then on. Our Savior - all of the sacrificial offerings ever made pointed to His great sacrifice- HIMSELF. No earthly sacrifice, no symbolic sacrifice was ever needed again because our Savior died for us becoming that Sacrifice. From then on faith alone in that Sacrifice of Christ's would be needed. And our Savior left earth after His resurrection and went to the HEAVENLY SANCTUARY!


Something was to begin to happen in the HEAVENLY sanctuary after the 2300 year prophecy was up, but what? How is it significant to us here on earth? To understand this we HAVE to understand what was meant by the cleansing of the sanctuary.


The cleansing of the sanctuary-


Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.


More study on this tomorrow by the grace of God our Lord and Savior!


Amen.

Prophecy - 23

Prophecy -

proph·e·cy
–noun, plural -cies.
1.
the foretelling or prediction of what is to come.
2.
something that is declared by a prophet, especially a divinely inspired prediction, instruction, or exhortation.
3.
a divinely inspired utterance or revelation: oracular prophecies.

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Divinely inspired predictions.


Daniel was given divinely inspired predictions and told to write them down. Jesus referred to Daniel's predictions. We are studying Daniel's predictions in an effort to understand all that our Savior would have us understand.


First we were given an overall picture- the broad picture- the wide view.
Secondly we were given a deeper understanding.
Thirdly we were given an even deeper understanding.
Fourthly … it is safe to say that all through the book of Daniel we are being given more understanding of the future He has planned for us. A future that ultimately ends with us living with Him in a world without any sin, in the purest love ever.


Sin had a beginning, sin will have an end. We have to believe that. We have to believe that we aren't suffering under the curse of sin without any hope. If we truly believed that there was no hope of a life without sin then how depressing life would be. How senseless life would be. If there were no hope then when God sent the flood to destroy all of mankind but 8 people, He would have left the 8 to perish as well. But with the creation of the world, with the creation of humanity there was a plan for our salvation. A great plan that would once and for all and undeniably reveal the depths and horrors of sin and the reason for it to be eradicated. No question would remain anywhere in anyone's mind about God's love and from that love the need for obedience.


Predicting that sin would have an end, that all the earthly kingdoms would be completely destroyed and God's kingdom set up, was a gift to us from God. Unwrapping this wondrous gift and putting the pieces into place as they've been revealed through history is an amazing thing.


Remember how I mentioned we have been putting together a prophecy timeline? Well I'm going to try and set it up for us now in a picture timeline.

This basically shows the things we've studied concerning the prophecies we've found in Daniel.

Yesterday we left off with the realization that our 2300 year prophecy would have it's fulfillment in 1844 AD.

So what happened in 1844? Here's one very remarkable thing--


October 22 – This second date, predicted by the Millerites for the Second Coming of Jesus, leads to the Great Disappointment.

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I say it's remarkable because of this--

Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.


We've looked at this Revelation prophecy before. That little book we remarked about then and are going to remark about now is the fact the little book of prophecy that goes hand in hand with Revelation IS the book of Daniel. Now let's read these verses again…


Give me the little book. Help me understand this little prophecy book finally. It's the time of the end, it's been a couple thousand years since the prophecy was given, it is time for understanding. Let me have this and eat it… understand it.


The angel said- Take it and eat it- it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.


Take it, eat it- it'll make your belly bitter, after you've eaten it you're going to feel sick, but ohhhhhhhhh while you're eating it you'll taste the sweetness of it just like honey.


The ability to suddenly piece together the prophecy of Daniel has hadn't been so fully done before was amazing leading up to the year 1844. There was a great, great movement as more and more people- learned people too not just silly fanatics, not the lunatic fringe, not the feeble minded, not the sad, ignorant people that everyone wants to imagine people who believe in prophecy movements must be. In fact we just recently had a man and his followers predicting the world would end in May of this year 2011 and that didn't happen. People sat back and laughed, they ridiculed these people, the press really gave it to them making them laughing stocks, and yes- those crazy people. At this time in 1844 people weren't aroused to that sort of belief there were many, many believing in this prophecy only it ending up that the understanding of the prophecy was wrong. While William Miller was predicting Christ would come in 1844, and people were believing Him whole-heartedly there was a HUGE disappointment so much so it is known as the Great Disappointment.


'The Great Disappointment was a major event in the history of the Millerite movement, a 19th-century American Christian sect that formed out of the Second Great Awakening. William Miller, a Baptist preacher, proposed based on his interpretations of the prophecies in the book of Daniel (Chapters 8 and 9, especially Dan. 8:14 "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed"), that Jesus Christ would return to the earth during the year 1844. A more specific date, that of October 22, 1844, was preached by Samuel S. Snow. Thousands of followers, some of whom had given away all of their possessions, waited expectantly. When Jesus did not appear, October 22, 1844 became known as the Great Disappointment.'

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This describes PERFECTLY the sweet honey taste of the believe that the Savior was going to come soon to the bitterness in the belly after it is realized that no, this isn't what this prophecy was predicting at all.


Sweet to bitter. A perfect prophetic interpretation of those verses in Revelation.


Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.


So this begs the question- what was meant by the 'Sanctuary being cleansed'? Because this is such an amazing prophecy it needs a study all it's own and we'll start that tomorrow.


By the grace of God we will be able to understand more and more and in understanding more and more we will grow ever closer to our Savior. His love is in all these prophecies for us, His amazing love.


By His grace always!!!!


Amen.