We are studying the "Feasts of the Lord"
found in Leviticus 23. The study of the feasts is a study in
typology. These Feasts of the Lord were given to us by God, so
His people could understand the coming of Christ and the role
that Christ would play in redeeming man back to God following
the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Although most non-Jewish
Bible believers have heard of the feasts, the deep meaning and
the importance of these feasts are almost universally not
understood.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Gentile
believers in Colossae that the feasts of the Lord, the new moon,
and the Sabbath days were a shadow of things to come to
teach us about Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). Jesus was the
substance or fulfillment of the greater plan that God revealed
and foreshadowed in these seven important festivals. These seven
feasts represent and typify the sequence, timing, and
significance of the major events of the Lord's redemptive
history.
We have studied the four spring feasts -
Passover, Unleavened Bread,
Firstfruits and Pentecost.
These four feasts were a prophetic foreshadowing of the first
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The anti-type of Passover was
the death of Christ on Calvary. The anti-type of the feast of
Unleavened Bread was the burial of Christ. The anti-type of
First Fruits was the resurrection of Christ. The anti-type of
Pentecost was the arrival of the New Covenant.
The fall feasts were a prophetic
foreshadowing of the second coming of Christ. So far, we have
only looked at the first fall feast, which was the Feast of
Trumpets. The anti-type of the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah)
was the resurrection of the Dead that took place in A.D. 70. The
two remaining feasts are the Day of Atonement and. Tabernacles.
We will study the Day of Atonement today and Tabernacles next
week.
Listen, believers, most all theologians
will agree that these seven feasts relate to these redemptive
events, but they fail to see the topology of the forty year
exodus. Therefore, they are still looking for the fall feast to
occur in the future. They have separated the fall feasts from
the spring feasts by thousands of years which destroys many
different types given in the Old Testament; the main one being
the Exodus. The book of Hebrews makes it clear that the exodus
and forty years are a type that is fulfilled in the New
Covenant.
Let's look at the sixth feast of the
Lord, which is the Day of Atonement.
Leviticus 23:27 (NKJV) "Also
the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of
Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall
afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the
LORD.
Leviticus 16:30-31 (NKJV) "For
on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to
cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before
the LORD. 31 "It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you
shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.
The Day of Atonement was Israel's sixth
instituted holy day and occurs in the autumn of the year. On the
Hebrew calendar, it falls on the tenth day of Tishri, the
seventh Hebrew month, which roughly corresponds to September or
October.
"The Day of Atonement" is the English
equivalent for Yom Kippur. For many, however, the word
atonement is vague and sheds no light on the meaning of
the holiday. Kippur is from the Hebrew word kaphar,
meaning: "to cover." Therefore, the word atonement
simply means a covering. It was on Yom
Kippur that an atonement (covering) was made for the previous
year's sins. The atonement or covering consisted of blood
sacrifice of an innocent animal.
The Type
Yom Kippur was the most solemn day of
the year for the people of Israel. It was often simply referred
to as "The Day." It was a day that atonement was made
for the priest and his family, the community, the Most Holy
Place, the tent of meeting, and the altar. It was a solemn day.
The Day of Atonement also was known as the "Great Fast" or "The
Day of the Fast". Yom Kippur was designated by the Lord as a day
in which "you shall afflict your souls." By definition,
this was understood to mean fasting.
Yom Kippur was not the only fast within
Judaism, but was the only fast mandated by scripture. The
Israelite who failed to devote himself to fasting and repenting
on Yom Kippur was to be "cut off from his people" (Lev.
23:29) Yom Kippur was also a day with prohibitions against
all forms of work. Those who likewise chose to ignore this
regulation would suffer the death penalty (Lev. 23:30).
Yom Kippur was also a very solemn day
for the priesthood of Israel. Only on that
singular day of the year was the high priest permitted to enter
the Holy of Holies in the Temple and stand before the presence
of God's glory. In doing so, the high priest was required to
wear holy garments woven from white linen instead of his normal
colorful garments overlaid with the golden breastplate. His
linen garments were worn only on that day and never again.
It was absolutely critical to the nation
that their high priest not become ritualistically unclean and,
thereby, disqualify himself from performing his Yom Kippur
duties. To safeguard against this possibility, the priest was
required to leave his home one week before Yom Kippur to stay in
the priest's headquarters in the Temple area. During the week,
the high priest was twice sprinkled with the ashes of a red
heifer to circumvent the possibility that he had become unclean
through touching a dead body. Such was the normal cleansing
process for ceremonial defilement (Numbers 19:1-10).
A substitute was also appointed for the
high priest in the event he should die, or despite all
precautions, become unclean. This substitute was usually next in
line for the high priest's office, and, as such, the most
powerful individual in the Temple after the High Priest. He was
the captain of the Temple and exercised direct command of the
officers of the Temple guard (Levites patrolled the Temple
facilities, enforcing Mosaic law). It was the captains of the
temple who gave Peter and John quite a fit in the book of Acts:
Acts 4:1 (NKJV) Now as they
spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple,
and the Sadducees came upon them,
The high priest did not perform the
Temple services on a regular basis, but during the week leading
up to Yom Kippur, he alone conducted the sacrifices. All aspects
of his duties for the coming holy day were faithfully practiced,
whether it was sprinkling blood with his thumb and forefinger,
burning incense, lighting the lamp stand, or rehearsing his
movements throughout the Temple. There could be no mistakes, or
the result would be a monumental catastrophe and humiliation for
the nation - Israel's sacrifices would be disqualified, leaving
the sins of the people uncovered.
Although the Jewish day began at sunset,
the Temple service for Yom Kippur did not begin until dawn the
next morning. The ashes on the altar were cleared away, and four
fires, instead of the normal three, were lit to set the day
apart as distinct. On any other day, the high priest would
merely wash his hands and feet with water from the priestly
laver before performing his service. On Yom Kippur, he was
required to totally immerse himself in a special golden bath
near the Court of the Priests. This was carried out behind a
large linen curtain, which revealed the shadow of his movements
to the public view. This assured that no changes were made to
the required procedures. The high priest put on his golden
garments with great care. His majestic purple robe was hemmed
with tiny golden bells so the people could hear him work as he
represented them. Over the top of his robe, he wore a golden
breastplate which was studded with 12 precious stones - a
constant reminder that he was the representative of the 12
tribes of Israel before the true and living God.
After dressing, the high priest washed
his hands and feet to perform the regular daily service.
Following the morning service, the high priest returned to his
bath chamber to change into his white linen garments for Yom
Kippur. Five times during the day, he changed clothing, and five
times he followed the same cleansing procedure. Each time, he
washed his hands and feet, removed his garments, totally
immersed his body, put on his change of clothing, and washed his
hands and feet a second time.
The afternoon Temple service was the
main focus of the Yom Kippur observance. Through the sacrifices
of this service, atonement was made for the sins of the
priesthood and people of Israel for the preceding year.
The high priest began the afternoon
service by moving to the Court of the Priests, where a young
bull awaited him between the altar and the Temple porch. Since
this bull was the sin offering for the high priest and the
priesthood, the ceremony took place near the Temple where the
priests ministered. The high priest would press his two hands
against the head of the young bull, as a sign of identification
with it as his substitute, and make a confession of his sin.
Three times during his confession, he would pronounce the
covenant name of the Lord (YAHWEH). Under Jewish oral law, this
holy name was forbidden to be spoken on any other occasion lest
it be taken in vain (Exodus 20:7) by mispronouncing it or
misusing it. Each time the name was uttered by the high priest,
the people of the priests would fall on their faces in worship
and repeat, "Blessed be His name whose glorious kingdom is
forever and ever!"
The high priest was next escorted by two
priests to the eastern side of the altar. On his right was the
deputy high priest (the priest appointed to take his place in
case he became unable to fulfill his duties). On his left, he
was escorted by the chief priest of the division of priests
chosen to minister that week. In all, the priesthood was divided
into 24 courses of priests, with each course serving one week on
a rotating 24-week schedule (1 Chr. 24:19).
Two goats stood there, side by side,
awaiting the high priest. They were identical in size, color,
and value. They faced the Temple and gazed at the high priest
and his entourage as they approached.
Two golden lots were placed inside a
golden vessel sitting on the stone pavement nearby. One was
inscribed with "FOR YAHWEH", and the other with "FOR AZAZEL."
The high priest shook the vessel and randomly took one lot in
each hand. As he held the lots to the foreheads of the goats and
determined the outcome, he declared them "a sin offering to the
Lord." The two goats together were viewed as one singular
offering.
The goat, upon which the lot "For Azazel"
fell, was immediately identified by a crimson strip of wool tied
to one of its horns. It was then turned around to face the
people, whose sin would later be placed on its head. Some debate
exists as to the exact meaning of Azazel. Some believe it was a
reference to Satan; for in Jewish tradition, Azazel was
the name of a fallen angel. Others believe it just means
"escape." This line of thinking led to the thought of calling
this goat the "scapegoat", since it escaped death and was driven
into the wilderness. The goat
determined FOR YAHWEH was left to face the large stone altar;
the place where it was shortly to be offered as a sin offering.
In the days of the second temple, the
scapegoat was actually killed so that it (carrying Israel's
sins) could not wander into an inhabited place at a later time.
To prevent such a tragedy, the scapegoat was led to the edge of
a rocky crag and pushed off backwards by the priest.
The best interpretation of the Azazel is
understood by Alfred Edersheim in his book, The Temple, Its
Ministry, and Services. Edersheim says that the later Jewish
practice of pushing the goat over a rocky precipice was
undoubtedly an innovation, in no wise sanctioned by the law of
Moses, and not even introduced at the time the Septuagint
translation was made, as its rendering of Leviticus
16:26 shows. The law simply ordained that the goat,
once arrived in "the land not inhabited," was to be "let go"
free, and the Jewish ordinance of having it pushed over the
rocks is signally characteristic of the Rabbinical perversion of
its spiritual type. The word "azazel", which only occurs in
Leviticus 16, is by universal consent, derived from a root which
means: "wholly to put aside," or "wholly to go away" (page 258).
My position is one that sees the Messiah represented as both the
goat who was slaughtered and its blood taken into the Most Holy
of Holies, and as the goat who bore our transgressions upon
Himself and was lead into the wilderness. The idea of releasing
the goat into the wilderness shows the removal of our sins; that
God removed our sins by placing them on Messiah.
The high priest returned to the young
bull a second time and pressed his hands on its head. This time
he confessed the sins of the priesthood, where as before he had
confessed his own sin upon its head. The bull was then
slaughtered by the high priest, and its blood collected in a
golden bowl. A nearby attending priest was handed the bowl and
given the task of stirring the blood so that it would not
congeal.
Next, the high priest took a golden fire
pan or censer and walked up the ramp to the altar. He carefully
filled the fire pan with live coals from the fires burning on
top of the altar. Then he took two handfuls of incense and
placed them in a golden ladle. With the fire pan in his right
hand, and the incense in his left, he ascended to the Temple and
passed through the Holy Place where the lamp stand, the table of
showbread, and altar of incense were located. At the rear of the
Holy Place, he paused to make his way through the veil (the
thick curtain which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of
Holies). Once inside the Holy of Holies, he stood in quiet
solitude. Only the soft orange glow of the coals lit the room.
The high priest poured the incense onto
the coals and waited a few moments for a fragrant cloud of smoke
to fill the room before making his way back through the thick
curtain.
In Solomon's Temple, the Ark of the
Covenant resided in the Holy of Holies, and the Shekinah Glory
of the Lord rested above it. After the Babylonian Captivity, the
ark was never recovered. The Holy of Holies remained an empty
room with only a singular stone (called the "foundation stone")
projecting three fingers in height (2 1/4 inches) up from the
pavement. The high priest then took the golden bowl filled with
the bull's blood and returned to the Holy of Holies. He
carefully sprinkled the blood before the Ark of the Covenant. He
sprinkled it once upwards and then seven times downwards, as
though he were cracking a whip. All the while he counted aloud
to prevent any errors. He then exited the Holy of Holies and
placed the bowl in a golden stand. The high priest continued
outside to the court of the Priests to slaughter the goat set
aside for the Lord. He collected its blood in a golden bowl and
entered the Holy of Holies a third time, sprinkling the blood of
the goat in the same manner as that of a bull.
Afterwards, he sprinkled the outside of
the veil with the blood of the bull. Then he repeated the
procedure with the blood of the goat. Finally, he poured the two
bowls together and sprinkled the horns (protruding points on
each corner) of the altar in the courtyard.
Attention was then drawn to the
remaining goat. The high priest proceeded to lay his hands on
its head and confessed the sins of the people upon it. The
scapegoat was then led by a priest through the Eastern Gate more
than 10 miles into the wilderness never to be seen again.
While the scapegoat was being led into
the wilderness and the people awaited word that it had been
accomplished, the afternoon service continued. The high priest
finished sacrificing the bull and the goat on the altar, and
their remaining parts were taken outside the city to be burned
(Hebrews 13:11-13). Then the high priest addressed the people.
He read the Yom Kippur passages from Leviticus and quoted the
Numbers passage by heart to verify that all commandments had
been duly accomplished. Finally, the remaining offerings for Yom
Kippur were offered; these were the burnt offerings, as opposed
to the sin offerings.
The high priest entered the Holy of
Holies a final time to remove the fire pan and incense ladle. He
then bathed, for the fifth time during the day, and changed into
his golden garments. As the cool autumn night quickly
approached, he performed the regular evening Temple service, and
drew Yom Kippur to a close.
The modern observance of Yom Kippur
bears little resemblance to its Biblical observance. Modern
observance is based more on traditions of men than commandments
of God.
The Day of Atonement speaks of blood
sacrifice. Blood sacrifice is centrally tied to the sin issue.
The substitutionary death of an innocent one was required, since
an atonement (covering) for sin was to be made only through the
blood:
Leviticus 17:11 (NKJV) 'For
the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to
you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is
the blood that makes atonement for the soul.'
Hebrews 9:22 (NKJV) And
according to the law almost all things are purified with
blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Even the Jewish rabbinic tradition
states, "There is no atonement but by blood."
The penalty for breaking God's law is
death (the shedding of blood). His justice demands it, but in
His mercy, He made a provision for a substitute. Since
"There is none who does good, No, not one" (Psalm 14:3),
God commanded the sacrificing of lambs, bulls, and goats under
the Mosaic Covenant.
The Old Covenant was just a forerunner
of something greater, a temporary measure until the fullness of
time when God would institute the New Covenant. Hebrews says the
"law made nothing perfect," "it was only a
shadow," and it had many faults. It only covered sin, it didn't
take sin away!
The Anti-type
Who is the anti-type of the High Priest?
Jesus Christ:
Hebrews 4:14 (NKJV) Seeing
then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
confession.
Jesus fulfilled the anti-type of the
High Priest and the sacrifice!
The New Covenant is far superior to the
Old Covenant in that it affords true forgiveness and cleansing
from sin. There is no atonement (covering) for
sin under the New Covenant. There is no need for one. The sin
question was settled at Calvary. The Messiah was not our
atonement - He did away with our atonement. To say we have an
atonement, is really inaccurate and is never taught in the New
Covenant. The only time the word "atonement" is used in the New
Testament, is in Romans 5:11, and the Greek word for that is
"reconciliation". Jesus has reconciled us to God. He no longer
covers our sins, He takes them away.
The Old Covenant was a shadow
of things to come. The New Covenant is the substance. Under the
Old Covenant, the payment for sin was anticipated, under the New
Covenant, it is realized! Under the Old Covenant, the sacrifices
were provisional and recurring. Under the New Covenant, the
sacrifice of Jesus is eternal and totally
sufficient. Under the Old Covenant, men's lambs could only cover
sin, but under the New Covenant, the lamb of god takes away sin!
Year after year, the sound of the ram's
horn calls Israel to repentance, but there is no atonement in
Judaism today. There is no blood sacrifice, no temple, no
priesthood, and no adherence to the Levitical regulations.
Within every Jewish breast, there yearns a need for true
forgiveness before God. It will never be found in the traditions
of men, such as doing mitzvoth, or good deeds, or transferring
one's guilt to a substitute fowl. It can only come through
accepting the infinite sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Christ has been offered as a sacrifice
for sin. His is the only sacrifice for sin today. If His
sacrifice is rejected, only one tragic alternative remains: men
and women will suffer the penalty for their own sin. This
penalty is death and eternal separation from God. But to those
who have put their trust is Him, he says, "Their sin, I will
remember no more!"
Yom Kapor and the Second Coming
If you examine the Scriptures concerning
the second coming of Christ, you will find that it uses Yom
Kippur terminology. Here are a few examples:
Isaiah 52:13-14 (NKJV) Behold,
My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and
extolled and be very high (The New Covenant
references to this include Acts 2:32-35; 5:30-31; and
Philippians 2:9-11). 14 Just as many were astonished
at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His
form more than the sons of men;
This description of Jesus depicts a lamb
going to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). Isaiah 52:14 depicts a man
so marred that He did not resemble a man. Furthermore, Isaiah
50:6 says that His beard was ripped out. Psalm 22:14,17 says His
bones were out of joint, and that He was naked before the
peering eyes of men. They even bit him (Psalm 22:13).
Recognizing that Isaiah 52:13-14 is
speaking about Jesus during His first coming to earth, notice
verse 15 speaking about His second coming:
Isaiah 52:15 (NKJV) So shall
He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at
Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what
they had not heard they shall consider.
The phrase, "So shall He sprinkle
many nations", is a reference to the sprinkling of the
blood on the mercy seat of God by the high priest during Yom
Kippur (Leviticus 16:14). This is also referred to in
Leviticus 1:5,11; 3:2,8,13; 4:6,17; 7:2.
When it says that Jesus would sprinkle
the nations, it refers to what the high priest did on Yom
Kippur on the mercy seat of God, so God would forgive the
sins of the people. Jesus came as a prophet in His first coming;
now He is the High Priest and came back as a King:
Isaiah 63:1-3 (NKJV) Who is
this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This
One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness
of His strength?; "I who speak in righteousness, mighty to
save." 2 Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one
who treads in the winepress? 3 "I have trodden the winepress
alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have
trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their
blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My
robes.
This passage describes the second coming
of Christ, and verse 3 talks about His garments being sprinkled
with blood. Once again this describes Jesus, the High Priest,
coming back to earth on Yom Kippur.
Joel 2:15-16 (NKJV) Blow the
trumpet in Zion [the trumpet (shofar) spoken
of here refers to the trumpet ushering in the Messianic
Kingdom, the last trump that is blown on Rosh HaShanah],
Consecrate a fast [this speaks of the fast associated
with Yom Kippur], Call a sacred assembly; 16 Gather
the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go
out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.
In this passage in Joel, we can see that
the seven years of the tribulation, known as the birthpangs of
the Messiah, are over, and the Messiah is coming back with His
followers to go to the marriage supper of the Lamb:
Joel 2:17 (NKJV) Let the
priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep between the porch and
the altar [this speaks of an event that took place
annually, the priest ministering in the Holy of Holies];
Let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not give Your
heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"
What is being communicated here by the
phrase, "spare Your people"? For the answer we must turn to
Zechariah 12 and 14:1-9. In these passages, we can see Jesus
coming back after the birthpangs of the Messiah (tribulation),
and Jerusalem about to be under siege. His feet are placed on
the Mount of Olives. There is a great earthquake, and the
Kingdom comes in full power.
Jesus spoke of this same event in
Matthew 24:27-31. In Matthew 24:31, the trumpet that is being
blown is called by Jesus, "The great trumpet". This is the
trumpet that is blown on Yom Kippur. This trumpet will usher the
return of Jesus. Because the great trump is only blown on
Yom Kippur, and because Jesus said that He would return
with the sound of a great trump, Jesus was stating very clearly
that He would return on a Yom Kippur
The types make it clear that Christ was
to return on the Day of Atonement. The question is: Do we look
for this as a future event or has it already happened? I believe
that the Bible is clear that it already happened:
Hebrews 9:6-8 (NKJV) Now when
these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went
into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the
services. 7 But into the second part the high priest went
alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for
himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance; 8
the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest
of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle
was still standing.
The background of Hebrews 9 is the Day
of Atonement. Verse 7 here talks about the High Priest going
into the Holy of Holies to make atonement. Now notice,
carefully, verse 8. In other words, it is the Holy Spirit who is
responsible for the record given to us of the old covenant. And
the significance of the outer tabernacle being divided and
separated from the inner tabernacle was that the way into the
presence of God had not yet been given. The Jews were
continually reminded, by the physical presence of the
tabernacle, that they were not allowed to enter into the
presence of God.
The words, "while the first
tabernacle was still standing" might better be
translated, "while the first tabernacle still has any standing"
- while the Old Covenant was still in force. As long as
the Old Covenant was still in effect, men did not have access to
the presence of God. Prior to Jesus' second coming, at
which he destroyed the temple and the Old Covenant, no one went
to Heaven. Prior to Jesus' second coming in A.D. 70, all who
died went to a holding place of the dead and waited for the
atoning work of Christ and the resurrection from the dead. Until
Christ's second coming, man could not go into God's presence.
1 Peter 1:5 (NKJV) who are
kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to
be revealed in the last time.
Salvation was ready to be revealed,
when? In the last time, which would happen at the return of
Christ:
Hebrews 9:28 (GWT) Likewise,
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of humanity,
and after that he will appear a second time. This time he will
not deal with sin, but he will save those who eagerly wait for
him.
This is the only place in the New
Testament where the return of Christ is called a second
coming. In Young's Literal Translation, it says,
"A second time, apart from a sin-offering, shall appear"
Please notice carefully that at the
second coming of Christ, he was to "save
those who were eagerly waiting for him." Who was it that
was eagerly waiting for Christ to return? Again, we must
remember the hermeneutical principle of audience
relevance. It was the first century Christians who
eagerly awaited His return. When he returned in A.D. 70, He
destroyed the temple signifying that salvation was complete, and
man had access to the presence of God.
Our text says, "He will appear a
second time. This time He will not deal with sin, but He will
save those who eagerly wait for him." At his second coming,
He was to "save"those who eagerly waited for
Him. What does the text mean by "save"? "Save" is the Greek word
soteria, which we know has a broad range of meanings.
The context dealing with the Day of Atonement would tell us that
He uses it here of redemption. Full and complete redemption came
at the second coming:
Luke 21:27-28 (NKJV) "Then
they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory. 28 "Now when these things begin to happen,
look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws
near."
The "these things" in the
context of this verse is the destruction of Jerusalem.
Redemption was complete when the Lord returned, destroying
Jerusalem and ending the Old Covenant.
Exodus typology: The
Passover deliverance was not consummated until they entered the
promised land. The Passover began with the sacrificing of the
Passover lamb introduced in Exodus 12, while Israel is still in
bondage. They ate the first Passover while they were still in
Egyptian bondage. In Numbers 9:5, they ate of it again, while
they are wondering in the wilderness. And then in Joshua, they
entered the land:
Joshua 5:9-10 (NKJV) Then the
LORD said to Joshua, "This day I have rolled away the reproach
of Egypt from you." Therefore the name of the place is called
Gilgal to this day. 10 Now the children of Israel camped in
Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the
month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.
Throughout the history of Israel, the
Passover recalled not only the sparing of the houses marked with
the blood of the Passover lamb, but also Israel's subsequent
deliverance out of slavery in Egypt; a deliverance that
was consummated forty years later in the crossing of the Jordan
River. Once their redemption was consummated by their
being in the promised land, only then were they truly redeemed
from Egyptian bondage. This is true of the second exodus
generation. Their redemption was not consummated until the Lord
returned for His bride.
Because on the Day of Atonement the
priest could be in God's presence (Leviticus 16:20), another
term for the Day of Atonement is "face to face". Face to face is
an idiom for the Day of Atonement. It was on the Day of
Atonement that the high priest had to go behind the veil of the
temple. At that moment, the nation had to hold its breath,
because the nation's fate depended upon God's accepting the
sacrifice. At that point, the high priest was "face to face with
the mercy seat of God". "Face to face" terminology was used in:
1 Corinthians 13:9-12 (NKJV)
For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that
which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be
done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I
understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became
a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a
mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but
then I shall know just as I also am known.
As we have seen in a previous study,
"The Perfect Has Come", this is a reference to the second coming
of Christ.
Jubilee year ( release of captives)
started on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 25:9-11). The ultimate
fulfillment of the year of Jubilee took place at the second
coming of the Lord. Complete restoration of man's lost
inheritance took place. So, the year of Jubilee and the Day of
Atonement speak of the fullness of the redemptive plan of God
for man. A.D. 70 was a Jubilee year!
God divinely placed the Day of Atonement
before the Feast of Tabernacles, which is called "The Season of
Our Joy." The children of Israel and all believers in the Lord
Jesus could only rejoice once they were redeemed and their sins
forgiven.
