Judgment.
Dan 7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
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.
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.
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Judgment was set.
The books were opened.
What books?
Psa 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
Mal 3:16 ...and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
Php 4:3 ...whose names are in the book of life.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 17:8 ...whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The book of life.
Books of judgment- books people will be judged out of.
Book of remembrance.
Record books, we all know what they are don't we? Records are kept of transactions, of events. A diary is like a record book isn't is? A record is being made of events in a person's life. If we are going to be judged out of books they have to be books recording events of our lives. They have to be records that affect our eternal life. What sort of things do you imagine affect our eternal life? Sin. Salvation. Sin affects our eternal life, right? If there is proof of our sins- sins we have not sought and received forgiveness for- then we are guilty of that sin and the punishment of sin is …death.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death
Everyone left out of the book of life will find the record of their sins, a record of why their name was not written in the book of life.
Too many believe that everyone will be found in the book of life, everyone except the really bad sinning people. This draws us right back to these verses we've talked about many times--
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Many people will be shocked when they realize their names are NOT written in the book of life. I pray I'm not one of them!
Workers of iniquity - are workers of sin, and at the same time many of these workers of sin believe they are working for the Lord. None will be left to wonder at their fate. A record is being made. Out of those books people will be judged. There will be a record that will explain why a person doesn't have their name in the book of life. Not one single person will be able to say they were judged wrongly, the proof will be right there.
We want our names in the book of life and they must be written there before our Savior returns. Everyone that will be saved will be saved BEFORE our Savior returns. Everyone that will be saved will have been judged worthy of salvation through Christ. This judgment is something we ALL face. This judgment is something that every single human being faces.
Truth-Ecc 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
Truth-Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
We can't imagine the number of people that there are to judge. All the dead from Abel onwards, and then all the living, as well as the evil angels. Millions and millions, and milllions, billions and billions of people. While this number seems amazing high there is NO doubt that every single person will be judged no matter how many have ever or will ever live.
Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Every single one of us will give account of ourselves to God. No one escapes this, no one can escape it.
And there is an order to the judgment. There is…
The righteous will judge the wicked, and the righteous must be judged as well- these are facts, Biblical facts.
1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Dan 7:21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
Dan 7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
The saints shall judge the world.
Judgment was given unto them.
Judgment was given to the saints of the most High.
Obviously if the saints are to judge the wicked, even wicked angels, at some point they have to already have been judged themselves and found worthy to be the saints of God, right? Right. The Bible says this very thing.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
There is a first resurrection.
The dead in Christ shall rise first.
The Saints will judge the wicked, this is Biblical fact.
The Saints will be judged prior to their judging the wicked.
The Saints are changed to immortality when Christ comes but the wicked are not.
Those that are Christ's go with Him at His second coming so… by default that leaves who? The dead in Christ, the living in Christ go with Him! They aren't left behind! So many are caught up on this LEFT BEHIND nonsense, and yes, I'll call it nonsense because I believe it is nonsense. They've taken a figurative verse in the Bible and blown it up to give second chances to people that DO NOT exist! There is a judgment and by the time Christ comes it's all decided. The fact that we judge the wicked is if you really think about it- for our benefit. They've already been judged wicked and will never be saints. What happens when we are judging is we are given the opportunity to understand fully the course the wicked have taken to get them where they are. We are allowed to understand where they have not accepted Christ's righteousness, Christ's forgiveness and this makes sense! God would NEVER ever allow any question as to why a person was not chosen as a saint, we will know. We will understand why the judging that deemed the wicked as such was done.
Enough for today, more tomorrow. We are discussing the judgment because before a full cleansing, a complete judging will take place. Guilty, not Guilty- there are only TWO verdicts for all of us to choose from. The sin of the not guilty will be placed upon the scapegoat, the sin of the guilty will remain upon them.
By the grace of our God, by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior now and forever! In His love, in His righteousness alone.
Amen.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Who Can Tell...
2Sa 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
We have NO way of knowing what God will do in our lives, what God will allow. We often pray for *things* whether those things are certain situations, or whether they're for actual items, specific desires it doesn't matter does it? We pray asking God for whatever is on our minds, our hearts at the time. And we pray without knowing whether or not 'GOD will be gracious to us.' As long as the there is hope for a prayer prayed in expectation we keep praying. At the bedside of a sick loved one, at the race yet unfinished, during the test as it is being taken, at the interview still hoping to influence, for the results not yet given, for the life as yet unfulfilled, seeking goals. Once that loved one is healed or succumbs to their illness the situation is over. When the race is finished, the outcome is decided. The test submitted and graded is done. The interview ended any influence. The results known cannot be altered. The desires of the heart found, the goals met, and there is no reason to continue to pray for these things, right? To keep seeking divine intervention after a situation is decided is pointless. David sought for God's intervention in his favor, in favor of his young child, but once the outcome was revealed David no longer had reason to believe any of his weeping or fasting would change a thing. As long as there was hope David earnestly sought God's change of heart. Until the answer is revealed in anything- there is hope of obtaining God's graciousness.
Did David continue to weep and fast after he was given the undesired outcome of all his fasting and weeping? No. Obviously this wasn't the expected reaction of others. They expected David to fast and weep even more after receiving the undesired reply to all his supplication for His son. His young son was dead, this was cause for great weeping and fasting, mourning and carrying on. It wasn't to be though, David could not bring back His son. David knew his own sin had brought about the tragedy and none of his pain, none of his agonizing over the impending death changed that decree of the Lord's. How often we pray for things, how often we agonizing in desiring different outcomes, and the time to agonize in hope of God's graciousness is before the result, not after. That's not to say we shouldn't be devastated by any great loss we experience, it's natural to be so, but it would be foolhardy of us if we continued on in the same entreating vein of hope for something that cannot be changed.
*
Isa 38:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
Isa 38:2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
Isa 38:3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
Isa 38:4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,
Isa 38:5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
*
Joel 1:14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,
Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Joel 2:14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
*
Amos 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
*
Jonah 1:6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
*
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
*
Who can tell whether God will be gracious?
We cannot be presumptuous and believe that God will not be gracious towards us. We cannot be filled with pessimism erring on the side of defeat. We must have hope. We must believe as we encounter each and every obstacle in life's way that there is hope that God will be gracious. His choice not to be gracious is not for us to understand or question. We have to believe that God who knows the end from the beginning knows how the ultimate decision will work for good to all those who love Him.
God can be gracious and we cannot allow ourselves to forget this. We cannot let anyone tell us to give up our hope, no one can tell whether God will be gracious and any who presume to be able to tell is a liar. God decides without counsel from any man on whether or not He will be gracious. God and God alone knows.
People might say all the crying in the world won't change a thing, but I say they're wrong. All the crying in the world might change something, we don't know, we just don't know. When we feel the need to weep and fast, to seek God's graciousness through our repentance and sorrow, don't hold back with the idea that what will be - will be. Yes, it is what it is, but ONLY once it is, not before. What will be doesn't have to be what we believe it will be. God's will be done in all things, yes, and no other's will certainly not mine. God knows the end from the beginning, and trusting in God for His will to be done does not mean we shouldn't entreat Him. We must entreat Him- and our faith, our trust in His will must be fully realized after we receive whatever answers we are seeking- good or bad, desired or undesired.
In His love! In His mercy, by His grace always!!!
Amen.
We have NO way of knowing what God will do in our lives, what God will allow. We often pray for *things* whether those things are certain situations, or whether they're for actual items, specific desires it doesn't matter does it? We pray asking God for whatever is on our minds, our hearts at the time. And we pray without knowing whether or not 'GOD will be gracious to us.' As long as the there is hope for a prayer prayed in expectation we keep praying. At the bedside of a sick loved one, at the race yet unfinished, during the test as it is being taken, at the interview still hoping to influence, for the results not yet given, for the life as yet unfulfilled, seeking goals. Once that loved one is healed or succumbs to their illness the situation is over. When the race is finished, the outcome is decided. The test submitted and graded is done. The interview ended any influence. The results known cannot be altered. The desires of the heart found, the goals met, and there is no reason to continue to pray for these things, right? To keep seeking divine intervention after a situation is decided is pointless. David sought for God's intervention in his favor, in favor of his young child, but once the outcome was revealed David no longer had reason to believe any of his weeping or fasting would change a thing. As long as there was hope David earnestly sought God's change of heart. Until the answer is revealed in anything- there is hope of obtaining God's graciousness.
Did David continue to weep and fast after he was given the undesired outcome of all his fasting and weeping? No. Obviously this wasn't the expected reaction of others. They expected David to fast and weep even more after receiving the undesired reply to all his supplication for His son. His young son was dead, this was cause for great weeping and fasting, mourning and carrying on. It wasn't to be though, David could not bring back His son. David knew his own sin had brought about the tragedy and none of his pain, none of his agonizing over the impending death changed that decree of the Lord's. How often we pray for things, how often we agonizing in desiring different outcomes, and the time to agonize in hope of God's graciousness is before the result, not after. That's not to say we shouldn't be devastated by any great loss we experience, it's natural to be so, but it would be foolhardy of us if we continued on in the same entreating vein of hope for something that cannot be changed.
*
Isa 38:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
Isa 38:2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
Isa 38:3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
Isa 38:4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,
Isa 38:5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
*
Joel 1:14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,
Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Joel 2:14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
*
Amos 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
*
Jonah 1:6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
*
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
*
Who can tell whether God will be gracious?
We cannot be presumptuous and believe that God will not be gracious towards us. We cannot be filled with pessimism erring on the side of defeat. We must have hope. We must believe as we encounter each and every obstacle in life's way that there is hope that God will be gracious. His choice not to be gracious is not for us to understand or question. We have to believe that God who knows the end from the beginning knows how the ultimate decision will work for good to all those who love Him.
God can be gracious and we cannot allow ourselves to forget this. We cannot let anyone tell us to give up our hope, no one can tell whether God will be gracious and any who presume to be able to tell is a liar. God decides without counsel from any man on whether or not He will be gracious. God and God alone knows.
People might say all the crying in the world won't change a thing, but I say they're wrong. All the crying in the world might change something, we don't know, we just don't know. When we feel the need to weep and fast, to seek God's graciousness through our repentance and sorrow, don't hold back with the idea that what will be - will be. Yes, it is what it is, but ONLY once it is, not before. What will be doesn't have to be what we believe it will be. God's will be done in all things, yes, and no other's will certainly not mine. God knows the end from the beginning, and trusting in God for His will to be done does not mean we shouldn't entreat Him. We must entreat Him- and our faith, our trust in His will must be fully realized after we receive whatever answers we are seeking- good or bad, desired or undesired.
In His love! In His mercy, by His grace always!!!
Amen.
Prophecy - 30 - Imagine
Imagine…
A sinning anointed priest needs to atone for his sin. He goes to the local herd of bullocks and picks out a young, spotless bull. Taking the young bull he brings it to the temple right to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. The priest doesn't open that door leading into the Holy Place but rather goes to the altar placed there before that door and it is there, right there before the LORD the priest must offer this young bull as a sacrifice to atone for His sin.
The priest lays his hand upon the young bull's head, but it's not a gentle caress to the hide upon this young animal's head. The priest leans very hard upon the sacrificial bullock placing all of his weight into that leaning and then…well then he kills the young bull. The hot life blood of the dying animal spills into a catch basin near the altar.
With the young bull now dead the priest takes some of that blood and he brings inside the Holy Place walking right up to the veil that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Dipping his finger in the still warm blood he sprinkles it seven times before the veil- before the LORD.
This priest is atoning for a sin HE committed. He then puts some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of incense there before the veil, before the LORD. After all that he carries that blood filled basin back to the altar of burnt offerings- an altar placed before the door that led into the Holy Place- the Tabernacle of the congregation. Looking downwards at the bottom of the altar he pours the rest of the bullock's sacrificial blood out there. Can you imagine it as a reality?
Imagine still--
The whole congregation of Israel sins through ignorance- they are guilty of breaking the commandments of God. When the whole congregation realizes they've sinned, this sin of ignorance, the whole congregation must choose a bullock to sacrifice and bring it before the Holy Place-the tabernacle of the congregation. Then the elders of that congregation lay their hands upon this young bull's head.
Remember they aren't just touching the animal's head gently but they are -as a group of men- a group of elders leaning their full weight upon the head of this sacrificial bullock. Why are they doing this? They have to do this because it symbolizes the transference of their sin to the animal to be sacrifice and that transference isn't something to be taken in a lackadaisical manner.
Then the young bull is killed before the LORD. After he's killed the anointed priest brings the bullock's spilt blood into the holy place- the tabernacle of the congregation. The priest then dips his finger into the blood and once again he completes the necessary ritual of sprinkling the blood before the veil, as well as putting it upon the horns of the altar of incense, and then he takes the blood back outside and pours it at the bottom of the altar of burnt offerings. So similar to the earlier sacrificial ritual.
The priest is making an atonement for the congregation of Israel so they will be forgiven of their sin against the LORD.
Now imagine more--
A ruler sins a sin of ignorance against the commandments of the LORD. That ruler must bring a kid of the goats, a spotless male young goat. This ruler must lay his hands upon the head of the goat- yes, just as the others he must put his whole weight behind the touch. Then the goat just as the other sacrifices noted - is killed. Here's where things are changed up a bit- the priest takes the blood of the kid goat and with his finger he puts it on the altar of burnt offering, right there before the door to the tabernacle of the congregation-the Holy Place. Then he pours the blood out at the bottom of the altar just as the others. He didn't go into the first compartment- the tabernacle of the congregation.
Imagine now a little bit more--
There is a common person sinning through ignorance-guilty before the LORD. This common person must bring a female kid goat without any blemish and the process is begun- the laying of hands leaning, the killing, then the priest puts the blood on the horns of the altar of burnt offerings before pouring it out at the bottom of that same altar. With this particular sacrificial offering the common person could bring a lamb as well but it must be a female without blemish. The priest is making an atonement for his sin and it will be forgiven him. Making an atonement for his sin of ignorance. Forgiven of the sin committed in ignorance.
*******
Now we've imagined many of the sacrificial rituals required of God's people- required of the priests, required of the congregation as a whole, required of the individual throughout the year- rulers, common people.
Now let's imagine the Day of Atonement.
The High Priest brought a bullock for a sin offering for HIMSELF and HIS HOUSE.
The congregation of Israel brought two goats. Those two goats had lots cast upon them - one would be chose as a sin offering the other to be the scapegoat.
The High Priest brought the bullock he was to make an atonement with for himself and his house, and guess what? He did NOT put his hands upon the bullock. Clearly from all we learned previously the hands laying upon the animal to be sacrificed was a big deal. So why wasn't the High Priest to lean upon this bullock as he had the other bullocks, and as other people had to? Clearly this wasn't going to be the exact same sort of ritual ceremony here. This bullock was killed without the transference of sin to him, yet he was a sin offering- something to think about.
Coals were taken from the altar of burnt offerings, hot coals and these coals along with handfuls of sweet incense were brought into the Holy Place-within the veil- the Most Holy Place. The incense was then put on the hot coals from the altar of burnt offering before the LORD and a cloud of that incense rose up covering the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant.
Then the High Priest took the blood from the sacrificed bullock and he sprinkled it upon the mercy seat eastward, then before the mercy seat seven times. Do you remember the other sacrificial blood being sprinkled seven times before the veil? Not on this special day. This day it was brought WITHIN the veil.
After this the goat whose lot was to be the sin offering for the people was killed. So we have the blood of the bullock for the High Priest and His entire household, now we have the blood of the goat which is for the people- the congregation of the people of Israel. This blood also was brought WITHIN the veil and the same ritual was completed as with the bullock blood.
The blood of these offerings is serving a dual purpose- remember we discussed it a few days ago. Why is the blood serving dual purpose? Because it serves as a sacrifice for judged sins and for a cleansing. The holy place and tabernacle of the congregation were unclean! Why were they unclean? Because of the sins of the people of Israel. All year long those sins were placed on the sanctuary, all year long those sins were put onto the animals which were then sacrifice before the LORD in the sanctuary. All that uncleanness, all that sin, was taken off the people and put onto the animals whose blood was then placed upon the sanctuary, placed before the LORD. A judgment was made for every sin offering given. You cannot be guilty and forgiven unless you are judged guilty and in need of forgiveness, it all goes hand in hand. There is a duality to the Sanctuary cleansing and this can never be forgotten.
Now we have to imagine the rest of this -
The High Priest after placing the blood in the Holy Place within the veil, and then after placing the blood in the congregation of the tabernacle without the veil, went out of that holy place and before the altar of burnt offerings. Why? Because he had to make an atonement for the altar as well and this atonement wasn't made by using the blood of the bullock and the blood of the lamb in separate ceremonies as was done with the inside of the sanctuary, but both bloods were used TOGETHER- the blood was mingled and then put upon the horns of the altar of burnt offerings, then sprinkled seven times upon it- making an atonement for it, cleansing it, hallowing it from all the uncleanness that had been placed upon it.
Then ONLY after the Holy Place (Most Holy Place), the tabernacle of the congregation (Holy Place), and the altar of burnt offering were atoned for, only after all three of them were cleansed of all sin did the High Priest go to the live goat and guess what he did? He put BOTH his hands upon the head of that live goat. Remember what we said about the laying on of hands to transfer sin? This wasn't any gentle love tap, no delicate pat upon the head, in earnest the High Priest's hands both lay upon the head of this goat and then the High Priest confessed onto this live goat ALL the INIQUITIES, all the sins of the children of Israel. All that sin taken off the Sanctuary including the altar of burnt offerings were placed upon that goat left to live and not be sacrificed by blood sacrificed. All that sin was put upon that scapegoat who was led off into the wilderness to die but not by any hand, not to be sacrificed for atoning, but left to die bearing the weight of all that sin left, to keep that sin upon it and to go off to be no more, forever gone, forever lost to the sight of all the children of God never, never to be seen again!
Only when this was all done did the High Priest go into the tabernacle of congregation- only then did he go into the holy place but NOT within the veil, and take off the holy garments he had to wear before entering within the veil.
Then he went into the Holy Place within the veil and washed before he put on new garments. After he was clothed he went out of the Holy Place and the tabernacle of the congregation and to the altar of burnt offerings and there he offered the burnt offering of the people to make an atonement for HIMSELF and the PEOPLE.
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 16:31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
Lev 16:32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:
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.
Do you see how much is involved in 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.
167 years ago the cleansing of the Sanctuary was begun. The many, many years of sin placed upon the heavenly sanctuary through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior would begin the process of being cleansed.
The High Priest and His House would be cleansed first. The Most Holy Place would be cleansed.
The People of the Congregation of Israel would be cleansed secondly. The Holy Place would be cleansed.
The Children of Israel would be cleansed thirdly. The Altar of Burnt offering would be cleansed.
Remember this-
ONLY after the Holy Place (Most Holy Place), the tabernacle of the congregation (Holy Place), and the altar of burnt offering (Altar before the door to the Holy Place) were atoned for, only after ALL three of them were judged and cleansed of all sin did the High Priest go to the live goat.
Did people stop sinning during that yearly Day of Atonement? No, not all.
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 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.
Lev 23:30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
Lev 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
Whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted - shall be cut off.
Whatsoever soul that doeth any work- will be destroyed.
On that day… those who don't recognize their need of a Savior will be cut off.
On that day… those who rely on themselves for anything, forgetting to give all glory to our God, all worship to our King; those who believe they in anyway can save themselves will be destroyed.
We know for a fact there is a judgment in connection with the Day of Atonement, a judgment we will ALL face --- more on that tomorrow though, by the grace and will of our Lord. May we gain more understanding as we are blessed with spiritual sight, all through His amazing, wondrous love. There is nothing at all like the love of our God, nothing. All glory and honor to Him! All praise! All worship to our King! Blessed be His Name! Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Blessed be His Holy Name!
Amen!
A sinning anointed priest needs to atone for his sin. He goes to the local herd of bullocks and picks out a young, spotless bull. Taking the young bull he brings it to the temple right to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. The priest doesn't open that door leading into the Holy Place but rather goes to the altar placed there before that door and it is there, right there before the LORD the priest must offer this young bull as a sacrifice to atone for His sin.
The priest lays his hand upon the young bull's head, but it's not a gentle caress to the hide upon this young animal's head. The priest leans very hard upon the sacrificial bullock placing all of his weight into that leaning and then…well then he kills the young bull. The hot life blood of the dying animal spills into a catch basin near the altar.
With the young bull now dead the priest takes some of that blood and he brings inside the Holy Place walking right up to the veil that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Dipping his finger in the still warm blood he sprinkles it seven times before the veil- before the LORD.
This priest is atoning for a sin HE committed. He then puts some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of incense there before the veil, before the LORD. After all that he carries that blood filled basin back to the altar of burnt offerings- an altar placed before the door that led into the Holy Place- the Tabernacle of the congregation. Looking downwards at the bottom of the altar he pours the rest of the bullock's sacrificial blood out there. Can you imagine it as a reality?
Imagine still--
The whole congregation of Israel sins through ignorance- they are guilty of breaking the commandments of God. When the whole congregation realizes they've sinned, this sin of ignorance, the whole congregation must choose a bullock to sacrifice and bring it before the Holy Place-the tabernacle of the congregation. Then the elders of that congregation lay their hands upon this young bull's head.
Remember they aren't just touching the animal's head gently but they are -as a group of men- a group of elders leaning their full weight upon the head of this sacrificial bullock. Why are they doing this? They have to do this because it symbolizes the transference of their sin to the animal to be sacrifice and that transference isn't something to be taken in a lackadaisical manner.
Then the young bull is killed before the LORD. After he's killed the anointed priest brings the bullock's spilt blood into the holy place- the tabernacle of the congregation. The priest then dips his finger into the blood and once again he completes the necessary ritual of sprinkling the blood before the veil, as well as putting it upon the horns of the altar of incense, and then he takes the blood back outside and pours it at the bottom of the altar of burnt offerings. So similar to the earlier sacrificial ritual.
The priest is making an atonement for the congregation of Israel so they will be forgiven of their sin against the LORD.
Now imagine more--
A ruler sins a sin of ignorance against the commandments of the LORD. That ruler must bring a kid of the goats, a spotless male young goat. This ruler must lay his hands upon the head of the goat- yes, just as the others he must put his whole weight behind the touch. Then the goat just as the other sacrifices noted - is killed. Here's where things are changed up a bit- the priest takes the blood of the kid goat and with his finger he puts it on the altar of burnt offering, right there before the door to the tabernacle of the congregation-the Holy Place. Then he pours the blood out at the bottom of the altar just as the others. He didn't go into the first compartment- the tabernacle of the congregation.
Imagine now a little bit more--
There is a common person sinning through ignorance-guilty before the LORD. This common person must bring a female kid goat without any blemish and the process is begun- the laying of hands leaning, the killing, then the priest puts the blood on the horns of the altar of burnt offerings before pouring it out at the bottom of that same altar. With this particular sacrificial offering the common person could bring a lamb as well but it must be a female without blemish. The priest is making an atonement for his sin and it will be forgiven him. Making an atonement for his sin of ignorance. Forgiven of the sin committed in ignorance.
*******
Now we've imagined many of the sacrificial rituals required of God's people- required of the priests, required of the congregation as a whole, required of the individual throughout the year- rulers, common people.
Now let's imagine the Day of Atonement.
The High Priest brought a bullock for a sin offering for HIMSELF and HIS HOUSE.
The congregation of Israel brought two goats. Those two goats had lots cast upon them - one would be chose as a sin offering the other to be the scapegoat.
The High Priest brought the bullock he was to make an atonement with for himself and his house, and guess what? He did NOT put his hands upon the bullock. Clearly from all we learned previously the hands laying upon the animal to be sacrificed was a big deal. So why wasn't the High Priest to lean upon this bullock as he had the other bullocks, and as other people had to? Clearly this wasn't going to be the exact same sort of ritual ceremony here. This bullock was killed without the transference of sin to him, yet he was a sin offering- something to think about.
Coals were taken from the altar of burnt offerings, hot coals and these coals along with handfuls of sweet incense were brought into the Holy Place-within the veil- the Most Holy Place. The incense was then put on the hot coals from the altar of burnt offering before the LORD and a cloud of that incense rose up covering the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant.
Then the High Priest took the blood from the sacrificed bullock and he sprinkled it upon the mercy seat eastward, then before the mercy seat seven times. Do you remember the other sacrificial blood being sprinkled seven times before the veil? Not on this special day. This day it was brought WITHIN the veil.
After this the goat whose lot was to be the sin offering for the people was killed. So we have the blood of the bullock for the High Priest and His entire household, now we have the blood of the goat which is for the people- the congregation of the people of Israel. This blood also was brought WITHIN the veil and the same ritual was completed as with the bullock blood.
The blood of these offerings is serving a dual purpose- remember we discussed it a few days ago. Why is the blood serving dual purpose? Because it serves as a sacrifice for judged sins and for a cleansing. The holy place and tabernacle of the congregation were unclean! Why were they unclean? Because of the sins of the people of Israel. All year long those sins were placed on the sanctuary, all year long those sins were put onto the animals which were then sacrifice before the LORD in the sanctuary. All that uncleanness, all that sin, was taken off the people and put onto the animals whose blood was then placed upon the sanctuary, placed before the LORD. A judgment was made for every sin offering given. You cannot be guilty and forgiven unless you are judged guilty and in need of forgiveness, it all goes hand in hand. There is a duality to the Sanctuary cleansing and this can never be forgotten.
Now we have to imagine the rest of this -
The High Priest after placing the blood in the Holy Place within the veil, and then after placing the blood in the congregation of the tabernacle without the veil, went out of that holy place and before the altar of burnt offerings. Why? Because he had to make an atonement for the altar as well and this atonement wasn't made by using the blood of the bullock and the blood of the lamb in separate ceremonies as was done with the inside of the sanctuary, but both bloods were used TOGETHER- the blood was mingled and then put upon the horns of the altar of burnt offerings, then sprinkled seven times upon it- making an atonement for it, cleansing it, hallowing it from all the uncleanness that had been placed upon it.
Then ONLY after the Holy Place (Most Holy Place), the tabernacle of the congregation (Holy Place), and the altar of burnt offering were atoned for, only after all three of them were cleansed of all sin did the High Priest go to the live goat and guess what he did? He put BOTH his hands upon the head of that live goat. Remember what we said about the laying on of hands to transfer sin? This wasn't any gentle love tap, no delicate pat upon the head, in earnest the High Priest's hands both lay upon the head of this goat and then the High Priest confessed onto this live goat ALL the INIQUITIES, all the sins of the children of Israel. All that sin taken off the Sanctuary including the altar of burnt offerings were placed upon that goat left to live and not be sacrificed by blood sacrificed. All that sin was put upon that scapegoat who was led off into the wilderness to die but not by any hand, not to be sacrificed for atoning, but left to die bearing the weight of all that sin left, to keep that sin upon it and to go off to be no more, forever gone, forever lost to the sight of all the children of God never, never to be seen again!
Only when this was all done did the High Priest go into the tabernacle of congregation- only then did he go into the holy place but NOT within the veil, and take off the holy garments he had to wear before entering within the veil.
Then he went into the Holy Place within the veil and washed before he put on new garments. After he was clothed he went out of the Holy Place and the tabernacle of the congregation and to the altar of burnt offerings and there he offered the burnt offering of the people to make an atonement for HIMSELF and the PEOPLE.
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 16:31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
Lev 16:32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:
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.
Do you see how much is involved in 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.
167 years ago the cleansing of the Sanctuary was begun. The many, many years of sin placed upon the heavenly sanctuary through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior would begin the process of being cleansed.
The High Priest and His House would be cleansed first. The Most Holy Place would be cleansed.
The People of the Congregation of Israel would be cleansed secondly. The Holy Place would be cleansed.
The Children of Israel would be cleansed thirdly. The Altar of Burnt offering would be cleansed.
Remember this-
ONLY after the Holy Place (Most Holy Place), the tabernacle of the congregation (Holy Place), and the altar of burnt offering (Altar before the door to the Holy Place) were atoned for, only after ALL three of them were judged and cleansed of all sin did the High Priest go to the live goat.
Did people stop sinning during that yearly Day of Atonement? No, not all.
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 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.
Lev 23:30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
Lev 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
Whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted - shall be cut off.
Whatsoever soul that doeth any work- will be destroyed.
On that day… those who don't recognize their need of a Savior will be cut off.
On that day… those who rely on themselves for anything, forgetting to give all glory to our God, all worship to our King; those who believe they in anyway can save themselves will be destroyed.
We know for a fact there is a judgment in connection with the Day of Atonement, a judgment we will ALL face --- more on that tomorrow though, by the grace and will of our Lord. May we gain more understanding as we are blessed with spiritual sight, all through His amazing, wondrous love. There is nothing at all like the love of our God, nothing. All glory and honor to Him! All praise! All worship to our King! Blessed be His Name! Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Blessed be His Holy Name!
Amen!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Sin
1Ch 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;
1Ch 10:14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
Died FOR his TRANSGRESSION which he committed against the LORD- even the WORD of the LORD- which he kept NOT.
Also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit to enquire of it and enquired NOT of the LORD.
Therefore HE slew him and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
Died for his sin!
Died for sinning against the LORD.
Died for sinning against the Word of the LORD.
Died for asking counsel of a witch.
Died for NOT enquiring counsel from the LORD.
Yet today we sin with abandon and if we suspect there might be an eventual punishment for our sins we decide that we won't worry too much about it, but maybe we'll throw out a general God forgive me, I know Jesus died for me, and that will be that.
Why do we think we won't be punished by God for our sins against Him?
Why do we live believing we can do as we please and have to answer to no one?
Seriously.
More and more this is hitting me as society grows worse and worse. People do not believe that God is a God of justice. They have made forgiveness of our Savior the end of it all and choose NOT to believe that their sins really matter at all.
Sinning is nothing major because it's no worse than a dirty spot on a floor - easily wiped away.
Sin? People more and more are choosing not to believe in sin at all whatsoever.
Call something a sin and people look at you oddly, right? Even if it might be a sin, we aren't supposed to tell people they're sinning. We are supposed to politely ignore sin because society has labeled so much of sin acceptable. It's all around us. Everyday we come face to face with sin and people entrenched in sin yet we no longer call sin… sin.
Will people die for sinning against the LORD?
Yes.
Nothing changed from the death causing sins of Saul's day to death causing sins of today.
People still sin against the LORD. People still sin against the word of the LORD. People still enquire after those with familiar spirits rather than seeking the LORD.
Remember during our prophecy studies we learned that there are only sacrifices for the sins people make in ignorance, sins people commit by mistake. If people were going to be forgiven for sins they committed knowingly it wasn't done through a sacrifice. People didn't go out and purposefully steal then take the prerequisite spotless lamb to the priest and have their sin atoned for.
Remember David? He said this--
Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
This was during the time of daily sacrifices. So how could David say- 'For thou desirest not sacrifice.'
David sinned purposefully- remember?
2Sa 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
2Sa 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
2Sa 11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
2Sa 11:5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
Purposeful sin.
2Sa 11:6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
2Sa 11:7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
2Sa 11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
2Sa 11:9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
2Sa 11:11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
2Sa 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
2Sa 11:13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
2Sa 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
2Sa 11:16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
2Sa 11:17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
Purposeful sin.
Covetousness
Adultery
Deception
Murder
2Sa 11:26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
2Sa 11:27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD
David displeased the LORD. As well He should have- HE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD'S COMMANDS!
David couldn't have gone to the priest and offered a sacrifice to rid Himself of the guilt of what he'd done, it wasn't possible. There was purpose in his sinning, not ignorance, not forgetfulness.
2Sa 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2Sa 12:2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
2Sa 12:3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
2Sa 12:4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
2Sa 12:5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die
2Sa 12:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
2Sa 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.
Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
2Sa 12:8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
God did not overlook David's sin just because he was David, His beloved. David was guilty of despising the commandment of the LORD. David was guilty of doing evil in the LORD'S sight. David purposefully killed Uriah after committing adultery with Uriah's wife and getting her pregnant. Then David took Uriah's wife as his own and she bore their child conceived out of wedlock, conceived by adultery. Yes, David sinned a great sin and the LORD does not overlook sin, He can't.
2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
2Sa 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
2Sa 12:12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
Evil would be raised up against David.
Evil from his own house.
David's wives would be taken from him and given to his neighbor.
David's wives would lay with his neighbor.
All of Israel would witness this punishment done to David- even though all of Israel did not witness David's sins which David did in secret. Nothing is secret to our God, nothing!
2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.
David admitted to his sinning- he made NO excuses. David didn't try to talk his way out of what happened as people so often try to do when confronted with their sin. They make excuses as to why they did what they did, what provoked them. Some even blame God for allowing temptation to be put in their way, as if they expect God to keep them in a protective bubble, never to have to face the temptation to sin. People want what not even God's Son was given. Jesus had to face great temptation, Jesus was tempted in all points just like all of us are. There is NO protective bubble. We have to decide to do what is right, decide to be God's first and foremost. We must decide to lay at the feet of our Savior and depend upon Him for all things.
And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
2Sa 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
The LORD put away David's sin.
Unless the LORD had put away David's sin- David would have retained the guilt and not been forgiven. The LORD had to put away David's sin, but that didn't keep David from punishment for His sinning, it kept David from dying.
The enemy of David would be given advantage and the child that David fathered with the wife of Uriah would die. Anyone who has ever lost a child knows the pain of that loss. Anyone who has ever inadvertently been the cause of that child's death knows the horrific pain of that tragic happenstance. David's sin was the cause of his child's death, and his son didn't die outright.
2Sa 12:15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
2Sa 12:16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
2Sa 12:17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
2Sa 12:18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
2Sa 12:19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
2Sa 12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
2Sa 12:21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
2Sa 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
David suffered knowing what his sin had resulted in. We all suffer as we reap the rewards of our sins. If we are blessed then the LORD will cause our sins to pass- by the grace of our Savior, by the forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ we will find forgiveness for our many, many sins- inadvertent and purposeful- only through our Savior do we live and through nothing else.
Let us recognize our sins. Let us recognize sin wherever it exists and NOT accept it, NOT make it something good for us. May God help us to keep the blinders off our eyes, let the Holy Spirit keep our eyes opened to ALL truth in the LORD.
By His love, His mercy, His grace, His righteousness!
Amen.
1Ch 10:14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
Died FOR his TRANSGRESSION which he committed against the LORD- even the WORD of the LORD- which he kept NOT.
Also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit to enquire of it and enquired NOT of the LORD.
Therefore HE slew him and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
Died for his sin!
Died for sinning against the LORD.
Died for sinning against the Word of the LORD.
Died for asking counsel of a witch.
Died for NOT enquiring counsel from the LORD.
Yet today we sin with abandon and if we suspect there might be an eventual punishment for our sins we decide that we won't worry too much about it, but maybe we'll throw out a general God forgive me, I know Jesus died for me, and that will be that.
Why do we think we won't be punished by God for our sins against Him?
Why do we live believing we can do as we please and have to answer to no one?
Seriously.
More and more this is hitting me as society grows worse and worse. People do not believe that God is a God of justice. They have made forgiveness of our Savior the end of it all and choose NOT to believe that their sins really matter at all.
Sinning is nothing major because it's no worse than a dirty spot on a floor - easily wiped away.
Sin? People more and more are choosing not to believe in sin at all whatsoever.
Call something a sin and people look at you oddly, right? Even if it might be a sin, we aren't supposed to tell people they're sinning. We are supposed to politely ignore sin because society has labeled so much of sin acceptable. It's all around us. Everyday we come face to face with sin and people entrenched in sin yet we no longer call sin… sin.
Will people die for sinning against the LORD?
Yes.
Nothing changed from the death causing sins of Saul's day to death causing sins of today.
People still sin against the LORD. People still sin against the word of the LORD. People still enquire after those with familiar spirits rather than seeking the LORD.
Remember during our prophecy studies we learned that there are only sacrifices for the sins people make in ignorance, sins people commit by mistake. If people were going to be forgiven for sins they committed knowingly it wasn't done through a sacrifice. People didn't go out and purposefully steal then take the prerequisite spotless lamb to the priest and have their sin atoned for.
Remember David? He said this--
Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
This was during the time of daily sacrifices. So how could David say- 'For thou desirest not sacrifice.'
David sinned purposefully- remember?
2Sa 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
2Sa 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
2Sa 11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
2Sa 11:5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
Purposeful sin.
2Sa 11:6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
2Sa 11:7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
2Sa 11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
2Sa 11:9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
2Sa 11:11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
2Sa 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
2Sa 11:13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
2Sa 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
2Sa 11:16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
2Sa 11:17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
Purposeful sin.
Covetousness
Adultery
Deception
Murder
2Sa 11:26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
2Sa 11:27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD
David displeased the LORD. As well He should have- HE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD'S COMMANDS!
David couldn't have gone to the priest and offered a sacrifice to rid Himself of the guilt of what he'd done, it wasn't possible. There was purpose in his sinning, not ignorance, not forgetfulness.
2Sa 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2Sa 12:2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
2Sa 12:3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
2Sa 12:4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
2Sa 12:5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die
2Sa 12:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
2Sa 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.
Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
2Sa 12:8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
God did not overlook David's sin just because he was David, His beloved. David was guilty of despising the commandment of the LORD. David was guilty of doing evil in the LORD'S sight. David purposefully killed Uriah after committing adultery with Uriah's wife and getting her pregnant. Then David took Uriah's wife as his own and she bore their child conceived out of wedlock, conceived by adultery. Yes, David sinned a great sin and the LORD does not overlook sin, He can't.
2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
2Sa 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
2Sa 12:12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
Evil would be raised up against David.
Evil from his own house.
David's wives would be taken from him and given to his neighbor.
David's wives would lay with his neighbor.
All of Israel would witness this punishment done to David- even though all of Israel did not witness David's sins which David did in secret. Nothing is secret to our God, nothing!
2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.
David admitted to his sinning- he made NO excuses. David didn't try to talk his way out of what happened as people so often try to do when confronted with their sin. They make excuses as to why they did what they did, what provoked them. Some even blame God for allowing temptation to be put in their way, as if they expect God to keep them in a protective bubble, never to have to face the temptation to sin. People want what not even God's Son was given. Jesus had to face great temptation, Jesus was tempted in all points just like all of us are. There is NO protective bubble. We have to decide to do what is right, decide to be God's first and foremost. We must decide to lay at the feet of our Savior and depend upon Him for all things.
And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
2Sa 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
The LORD put away David's sin.
Unless the LORD had put away David's sin- David would have retained the guilt and not been forgiven. The LORD had to put away David's sin, but that didn't keep David from punishment for His sinning, it kept David from dying.
The enemy of David would be given advantage and the child that David fathered with the wife of Uriah would die. Anyone who has ever lost a child knows the pain of that loss. Anyone who has ever inadvertently been the cause of that child's death knows the horrific pain of that tragic happenstance. David's sin was the cause of his child's death, and his son didn't die outright.
2Sa 12:15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
2Sa 12:16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
2Sa 12:17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
2Sa 12:18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
2Sa 12:19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
2Sa 12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
2Sa 12:21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
2Sa 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
David suffered knowing what his sin had resulted in. We all suffer as we reap the rewards of our sins. If we are blessed then the LORD will cause our sins to pass- by the grace of our Savior, by the forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ we will find forgiveness for our many, many sins- inadvertent and purposeful- only through our Savior do we live and through nothing else.
Let us recognize our sins. Let us recognize sin wherever it exists and NOT accept it, NOT make it something good for us. May God help us to keep the blinders off our eyes, let the Holy Spirit keep our eyes opened to ALL truth in the LORD.
By His love, His mercy, His grace, His righteousness!
Amen.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
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.
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.
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