How is God Going to Solve the Problem of Evil?

Greetings everyone! Welcome to the Day of Atonement. As we will see, this is one of the greatest days of God. This has to come before the Feast of Tabernacles in the unfolding of the Plan of God.

Leviticus 23:26: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Also, on the tenth day of this seventh month… [which is today] …is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a Holy convocation to you. And you shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD'" (vs 26-27).

Now, afflict our souls means to fast without water, without food, and there's a very important reason for doing that, because this day is so important. It's kind of like the fulcrum from the past into the Millennium. It has to be done in a way where that it also shows the final solution of God for Satan and evil!

Verse 28: "And [#1]you shall do no work in that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, in order to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God."

So this is directly between God and all the people. Now, notice how important it is. We do not have this stressed this important in the other Holy Days.

Verse 29: "For whoever is not afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people."

That means that among his people, blessings of God will not come upon him, even though he's dwelling among the people.

Verse 30: "And [#2]whoever does any work in that same day, the same one will I destroy from among his people."

This is why it's important, because this has nothing to do with what we do, but what God Himself is doing!

Verse 31: "[#3]You shall do no manner of work…."

Now look at, He says it three times. When He says it three times, He means it!

"…It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at sunset, from sunset to sunset, you shall keep your Sabbath" (vs 31-32).

This is a key verse that helps us understand the beginning and the ending of each Sabbath Day!

God said at sunset, that ends the 9th day, and begins the 10th day; around the clock until sunset on the 10th day. This is very important, and we'll see the reason why.

So at this time, we'll go ahead and take a pause and take up an offering, as God has commanded that we do on the Holy Days.

We thank you for the offering, and thank you for your faithfulness. We take care of the funds here in:

• serving God
• serving the people
• doing what God wants us to do

(pause for the offering)

This Day of Atonement hinges on these following Scriptures, and is very important because it is a foundational stone of salvation! It sits right alongside the Headstone of Jesus Christ, who is the Head of the corner.

So, let's come to Psa. 8, because this will answer the question:

• What is God going to do about evil?
• Why is there good and evil?

but more importantly,

• What is man?

Everything in Atonement hinges around that:

• the whole purpose of God
• the whole Plan of God
• our calling
• everything that we do
• our relationship with God
• what God is going to do in the future

Psalm 8:1: "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens! Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have ordained strength because of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and the avenger" (vs 1-2).

That's what God is going to do concerning the Day of Atonement. Then he says, and we all consider this, and all human beings ask this:

Verse 3: "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained."

God has made them and set them in motion. The vastness of the universe is so awesome and so way beyond anything we can comprehend.

So the question becomes, and everything in the Bible hinges around this:

Verse 4: "What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?" Then that's further expanded in:

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life."

And the Day of Atonement becomes a real key in bringing all of this about.

Isa. 45 also is central to what God is doing. And the question is, as we will see:

• How is God going to solve the problem of evil?
• What is God going to do with Satan the devil, and the demons?
• How does that fit into the Plan of God?

Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil."

That's a hard one to figure, but it's based on this:  Since there is free moral agency, independent free moral agency, that God gives to every human being, and we also see that he gave it to the angels. free moral agency then has to have a definition of what is right and good, and what is wrong and evil.

• that there are blessings for doing what God says that is right and good
• there are penalties for not doing it

Evil, in this case, is not God thinking of evil, but God having penalties for transgression. So, the whole thing concerning the Day of Atonement hinges around that.

Verse 8: "Drop down from above, O heavens, and let the clouds pour down righteousness…. [that's salvation coming from God; that's the good] …Let the earth open, and let salvation bear fruit; and let righteousness spring up together. I the LORD have created it." That goes directly into the whole meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles.

So, with free moral agency men can choose and do evil. They can sin. Today we're looking at a lot of things that Satan the devil, who is the author of sin, is doing to the world and doing to all human beings.

Verse 9: "Woe to him who fights with the One Who formed him… [that's the evil] …a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth!….  [compared to God, just so much dirt] …Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?'…."

Or telling God: 'You don't exist. We evolved and we have sole control over ourselves.'

• they know nothing about Satan the devil
• they know nothing about God

That's why we have the Day of Atonement! How is God going to take care of that?

Verse 10: "Woe to him who says to his father, 'What are you begetting?' Or to the woman, 'What are you laboring over?' Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the One who formed him…" (vs 10-11). That is all mankind, every human being!

And we've got a book: From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God: Why Were You Born?

The whole thing in life comes down to this: If you don't know why you were born, you know nothing!

• doesn't matter if you're the smartest person in the world
• doesn't matter if you're the least educated in the world

It doesn't matter! There it is. Why have You [God] made man?

Verse 11: "Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the One who formed him, 'Ask Me of things that are to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands. I have made the earth and created man upon it; I with My hands have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I commanded'" (vs 11-12).

God is showing, He's in charge! But in giving us free moral agency, and what God is going to do about it.

Rev. 12 is a picture, a prophetic picture, expressing in few words the whole Plan of God.

• it tells us about the plan of God
• it tells us that there's a Satan the devil
• it tells us that there's a spiritual warfare going on
• it tells us all the way down to the coming of Christ

The whole chapter takes us all the way, which we won't go through, but to let you know that this comes from creation and beginning all the way down to the fulfillment of the Plan of God, up to the last three and a half years!

Revelation 12:1: "Then there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."

This is a symbolic depiction of the whole Plan of God from beginning to ending. Here's the beginning, and as we will see that God thinks in terms of ages of time within eternity, which He inhabits.

This is the beginning of God's Plan. We will see that the angels were the first created, and then we will see what happened to one of the chief angels.

Verse 2: "And being with child…"

That's projecting forward, one verse interjected in there to the birth of Christ, and of course, it talks about 'Christ slain from the foundation of the world!'

Verse 3: "And another sign was seen in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads."

This is Satan the devil, after he rebelled. Let's see what happened when he rebelled:

Verse 4: "And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth…." That's the rebellion of Satan and the angels!

• When did that occur?
• How did that happen?

It goes on to other things. We'll come back to that a little later.

• When did God create the angels?
• When did the rebellion take place?

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God…"

So God, Who inhabits eternity and lives there, is the One in the beginning, before everything was created.

Verse 1: "In the beginning God created the heavens…"

Then we will see that—if we put the Scriptures properly together—that after He "…created the heavens…" that something took place:

Right after He created the heavens, and before He created the earth; they're not done simultaneously over a short period of time.

We have from the book of Job something very interesting, indeed. This gives us quite a thing concerning when God created the angels. We don't know exactly, but we know that in relationship to the earth, because we will see God created the angels and the morning star—who was the leading angel—before creating man, and certain events took place before that. So, here we have a clue:

Job 38—it's one that people hardly ever read, and if they read it, they don't understand it. I know the first time I read it, I didn't understand it. But in the end, it tells you, God is God, and no man can say He's God! God is God, and no angel can say he's God!

God is so powerful and so great, and He's also interested in men, as we covered in Acts 8, that God can know every thought!

• He created us so we can think
• He has given us the way so that we can think right, the way that we need to

or

• we can think the way that we want to, because we have free moral agency

even in spite of knowing what is good, and in many cases, even knowing what is wrong!

So, the book of Job has a lot in it. Here's the key, and it's one that is overlooked. Those who believe in evolution, and those who believe in the strict seven-day creation of heaven and earth, miss the whole point, because as we will see that God:

• created the heavens
• the angels
• then the earth

in that order!  How do we know?

Job 38:1: "Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 'Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?'" (vs 1-2). You're just babbling on there, Job!

Verse 3: "Now gird up your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and you shall answer Me."

You've been bringing all these things against Me! All right, now let Me tell you some things, and then you answer Me!

Verse 4: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare it if you have understanding! Who has determined its measurements if you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it? On what are the foundations fastened to?…." (vs 4-6).

• How does it hang in space?
• How do stars out there are all in space?
• What is eternity?
• What is space?
• What is power?
• What is light?
• What is darkness?
• Who is God?
• Who are the angels?

All of those things are involved there! The only answers come from the Bible!

Verse 6: "On what are the foundations fastened to? Or who laid its cornerstone, when… [He gives us a time setting] …the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (vs 6-7).

When God's sons came to the earth, they were all in the same place. When God laid the foundation of the earth, what do we find? The angels were already created, And there was no rebellion! So, we have the order this way:

• in the beginning God
• God created the heavens
• God created the angels
• then God created the earth

The earth was originally created for them; they were to be the ones—as we put the rest of the things in the Bible together—to assist God in carrying out His Plan.

Why did He create man? He created angels first, and gave them free moral agency, as well. This is why we need to realize and understand—and many people don't believe this, especially in the world--Paul said, 'All Scripture… [the word all means each and every one]…is given by inspiration of God'—or better: is God breathed--meaning, He spoke it and inspired it!

And a literal translation from the Greek is, God spirited! That's why Jesus said, 'The words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are Life, and the flesh profits nothing.'

In Ezek. 28 we find out about the morning star, as we will see. The one who was Satan, but before that was Lucifer the light bringer. We will see that Lucifer was created.

So this means that the angels were there when God laid the foundation of the world, that He created the angels first! When God laid the foundation of the world, there was no rebellion. We don't know how long the space of time was, after the creation of the angels, before they rebelled. We're not told. It could be millions and millions and millions of years!

We don't know, because we're dealing with time within eternity, of which we can't measure.

Ezekiel 28:11: "And the Word of the LORD came to me [Ezekiel], saying… [everything is God-breathed] …'Son of man, lift up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'You seal up the measure of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty'" (vs 11-12).

This is talking of Satan, who is the one behind the king of Tyre, because no man fits this description.

Verse 13: "You have been in Eden the Garden of God…"

Now, you go back and read what was there in the Garden of Eden:

• God
• Adam
• Eve
• the serpent

After the sin, no one else got into the Garden of Eden, so this has to apply to Satan. Because of the four who were there, he's the only one that fits this description.

Verse 13: "You have been in Eden the Garden of God; every precious stone was your covering… [then it lists all of them and the beauty of it] …The workmanship of your settings and of your sockets was prepared in you in the day that you were created." God created the angels!

Here's the one who was the head angel—one of three:

• Gabriel
• Michael
• Lucifer, who fell

Verse 14:"You were the anointed cherub that covers…"—right there over the Throne of God!

How long did this go on before he rebelled? We don't know! But we go by the events.

"…and I set you so; you were upon the Holy Mountain of God…" (v 14)—right there at the Throne of God!

"…you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire" (v 14). That's what the Sea of Glass looks like. Like fire, but like glass! Amazing! Right there with God!

Verse 15[transcriber's correction]: "You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you."

The iniquity, we will see, was a multitude of sins. We will see that the greatest sin was that he would declare himself to be like God, and come and attack the Throne of God in heaven above. That's what we find projected there in Rev. 12.

Verse 16: "By the multitude of your merchandise they have filled your midst with violence, and you have sinned."

Sin is a transgression of the Law! All Laws of God that apply to everything, if they run correctly, that's righteousness. If they are broken, that is sin and disaster in everything!

• in our mind
• in our heart
• in our lives
• in our families
• in communities
• in nations
• the whole earth

"…Therefore, I will cast you as profane from the mountain of God, and I will destroy you" (v 16).

Now this means the king will be destroyed, God will remove him, bring him to nothing! That, we will see, will be the ultimate judgment of God as we find in the book of Revelation and Jude.

"…O covering cherub, from among the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness. I will cast you to the ground; I will lay you before kings, that they may behold you. By the multitude of your iniquities, by the unrighteousness of your trade, you have profaned your sanctuaries; therefore, I brought forth a fire from your midst; it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth, before the eyes of all who see you" (vs 16-18).

Now that's a combination of Satan the devil and the king.

Isa. 14—Let's see how the sin was. Let's see what happened here So this tells us the finality of all the other sins that we read there in Ezek. 28. That he left his own domain, that is the earth; God gave it to the angels first.

Sidebar: This is probably where all the dinosaurs came from. Oil does not come from dinosaurs. Wherever they find dinosaur bones, it's nothing but dirt and rock. Oil is 'sucked out of the rock' (Deut. 32:13).

Isa. 14--This is talking about the sin and the fall of the 'morning star' or as it is, 'light bringer,' which the Latin word is Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:12: "How you are fallen from the heavens, O shining star… [and angel] …son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart, 'I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…'" (vs 12-13).

There you have it, a cherubim with the throne who was the head angel rebelling and going against God!

"…I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north" (v 13).

He was cast down from there! He's going to go back and take it. Nope! Never happen!

Verse 14: "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High." That's the sin!

That comes all the way down through everything with mankind. What is God going to do about it? That's what the Day of Atonement is about.

Verse 15: "Yet, you shall be brought down to the grave, to the sides of the pit."

Well now, his grave—since he can't die, as we will see when we finish this message—is being thrown into the abyss, which is a prison, and sealed and locked up

Now all of those things took place before the earth was made right for man and God created man.

So, what we find is that between the various things we find in Gen. 1, all of these events have taken place. By that time we come to chapter three, and there is Satan the devil as a serpent, he's already cast down; he's already evil. So this helps also to answer the question in Gen. 1.

God created the heavens, then we saw He created the angels and the earth, and the angels were on the earth. After the rebellion, look at what has happened.

When God forms something, He makes it perfect, he makes it complete, but it says:

Genesis 1:2: "And the earth was without form and void…"—the Hebrew 'tohu' and 'bohu,' which means chaos, confusion, and destruction! That's because of the war between God and the angels that rebelled.

"…and darkness was upon the face of the deep…" (v 2)—the epitome of the evil of Satan!

That war was so powerful that God flooded the whole earth, covered it with water. Now how long it stayed that way, we don't know!

 "…and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (v 2).

That's when God started to recreate things on the earth; renew the earth, overcome that first flood. All geologists who know proper geology understand that there were two floods. So, this is the first flood as a result of the sin of Satan the devil and the angels.

Then God reformed everything in seven days and made man, male and female, on day number six. Then he fellowshipped with them on the seventh day when He rested, and gave them instructions, put them into the Garden of Eden, and set everything before them, and told them not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Here's something for us to understand; there are two versions of good:

• coming from the Tree of Life, which leads to eternal life
• coming from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, led by Satan the devil

Now then, we know what happened. We don't know how long Adam and Eve were there, taught of God, before Satan was let loose. We don't know how long they were in the Garden of Eden, but it wasn't a quick bang-bang the next day. So, we have to understand that it was probably a great deal of time. Why? Because God is not going to do something that is so dramatic that happened when Adam and Eve sinned, without them having full knowledge so they could make the right choice!

But remember, independent free moral agency can always choose:

• good
• evil
• or have a mixture of both

So after they ate of the fruit, okay, then they were removed from the garden! God gave the judgment on them that they would surely die, and every human being has died from that time forward.

That's why during the Millennium, it says that only the sinner shall die accursed. But there will be a phenomenon take place all during the Millennium—which we will see when we get to the Feast of Tabernacles—that when those who were righteous over the period of 100 years, they will be changed from flesh to spirit!

So their death—because everyone has to die in Adam—will be instantaneous, and they will be changed to spirit!

Now let's see some other things concerning Satan. In 2-Cor. 4 we will see this is explaining what happened to Adam and Eve and how human nature came to be the way that it is.

2-Cor. 4 tells us that Satan did become 'the god of this world,' because human beings, rejecting God by Adam and Eve doing so, set the course for all of mankind the way that it is down to our day. And Satan is 'the god of this world,' as it says right here.

2-Corinthians 4:3: Paul writes: "But if our Gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing."

Here's what happens with us, with our free moral agency. We have to choose God's way! Naturally, we are blinded to it (2-Cor. 3). But we can overcome that blindness by living God's way and keeping His commandments!

When Christ came, then that opens up so we have the spiritual blindness removed from us! But in the meantime, all the rest of the world is out there living under Satan the devil.

Verse 4: "In whom the god of this age…"—or this world, now 'god' here is 'theos,' exactly the same word that is used for the true God.

So, he's "…the god of this age… [or this world] …has blinded the minds of those who do not believe…" (v 4). Because when you sin and you don't repent and you don't change, then you are blinded into more evil, and go into the depths of evil, the depths of Satan (Rev. 2). The depths of Satan is the epitome of the most evil of evil on the earth!

When that happens and their eyes are blinded, the minds of those do not believe, "…lest the Light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (v 4). So, he's called 'the god of this world.'

All right, now let's see what else. Let's see how he appears. See, because there is a false light and that light is darkness!

2-Cor. 11[transcriber's correction] and we will see that there are false ministers, false preachers, they come as ministers of righteousness!

This is what we're following in the world today. This is in:

• religion
• Christianity
• education
• government

It's everywhere!

2-Corinthians 11:13: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers who are transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And it is no marvel, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light…. [now then, when that comes to its full end]: …Therefore, it is no great thing if his servants also transform themselves as ministers of righteousness—whose end shall be according to their works" (vs 13-15).

So, that's what's going on in the world. That's the state of the world today.

What is God going to do about it? We know we've quoted Rev. 12:9 many times. Satan is actively deceiving the whole world, generation after generation after generation, all the way down to the time when he's removed.

Rev. 13:4—The whole world is coming to this right now. That's why we see the things taking place in the world and developing the way that they are.

Revelation 13:4: "And they worshiped the dragon…" Who is what?

• 'god of this world'
• a 'light bringer' of darkness
• transforms himself into an angel of light

Verse 4: "And they worshiped the dragon, who gave his authority to the beast…."

Remember when Jesus was tempted by Satan the devil, one of the temptations was that 'IF you bow down to me,' Satan said, 'I will give you all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them.'

So, this is showing what's happening right at the end-time.

• it's going to be so spectacular
• it's going to be so deceptive
• it's going to be so believable

"…And they worshiped the beast, saying… [that's the great coming leader.] … 'Who is like the beast? Who has the power to make war against him?' And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months" (vs 4-5).

There must come a time of an end of evil! That's what the Day of Atonement is all about. The fulfillment of that—the Day of Atonement—we will see, begins in Lev. 16.

 (break@45:32)

We know that God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with great miracles, and he brought the evil upon the Egyptians, like we read there at the beginning—evil for sin—He brought that upon all the Egyptians and killed their firstborn.

He spared the children of Israel, and brought them to Himself in Mount Sinai, and gave them the Ten Commandments and His other Laws.

Lev. 16—we have one of the most interesting ceremonies of God. Also, it contains what will happen with them at that time, how God would deal with them

• through the temple
• through the tabernacle
• through the priesthood

Then it projects forward in the fulfillment of these things, especially in the book of Revelation.

We will see that this had been misconstrued by a lot of people, because they don't understand that God also is going to take care of the sins of Satan and the demons. That has to be taken care of. No other thing shows it but the ceremonies that go on with the sacrifices and with the two goats.

Leviticus 16:1: "And the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD and they died."

That's interesting. God gave the fire to start at the temple. He wanted that fire to continuously be burning because He started it. They were to constantly be putting the fuel, the wood, on the fire so that the Fire of God would continue to go.

But Aaron's two sons let the fire go out and they said, 'Oh, we'll put a new fire on there,' and God struck them dead right there! That's how important that that was.

Verse 2: "And the LORD said to Moses, 'Speak to Aaron your brother, that he does not come at all times into the sanctuary within the veil before the mercy seat, which is on the ark, so that he does not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.'"

That cloud showed a presence of God, not God personally, just a presence; Hebrew that is 'Shanika.'

Verse 3: "Aaron shall come into the sanctuary this way…" then it lists all the things he should do:

• the sin offering
• how he would dress
• he would bathe himself and put on the clothes

Verse 5: "And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering."

Then it says that he should go in, take care of all of the things he needs to do; he needs to sprinkle the blood seven times on the mercy seat from the bullocks for the sin offering for himself and for all of the other priests.

Verse 11: "And Aaron shall bring the young bull of the sin offering which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the young bull of the sin offering which is for himself." Then he is to offer the incense!

Verse 14: "And he shall take of the blood of the young bull and shall sprinkle with his finger on the front of the mercy seat eastward…."

Remember this: Christ is a type of every sin offering that is killed! Remember that, because it has to have shed blood. This is important in understanding the other goat, because God handles that in a different way. Yet, they are both for a sin offering, and we will see how God handles that.

Verse 15: "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil. And he shall do with that blood as he did with the blood of the young bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. And he shall make an atonement for the sanctuary because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel and because of their transgressions in all their sins…." (vs 15-16).

When you have a remission of all sins, they are all forgiven. But these are the sins for forgiveness of the sins of the children of Israel, human beings!

"…And so he shall do for the tabernacle of the congregation, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the sanctuary until he comes out and has made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make an atonement for it…." (vs 16-18)—that's the altar for sin offering!

"…And he shall take of the blood of the young bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. And he shall sprinkle of the blood on it with his finger seven times and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel" (vs 18-19). So everything there in the temple:

• the Holy of Holies
• the Holy Place
• the altar of sin offerings out in front

The whole area is atoned for once a year because of the uncleanness and sins of the children of Israel!

Now, God has to do that because He cannot be with those who are living in sin! So this is how He did it for the purification of the flesh and His presence in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and later in the temple.

Now then, here's something that people get very confused about.

• What about the other goat, the live goat?
• Why would God have such a thing that he would have the two goats brought identical and cast lots to choose which one was for God and which one was for Azazel? Azazel, as we will see, is another name of Satan!
• Why was this goat left alive?

Now some people misunderstand this and say that this is Christ ascending to heaven. Well, that can't be, because heaven is never referred to as a wilderness. As we will see, the live goat is taken into the wilderness. Here's what he is to do:

Verse 20: "And when he has made an end of reconciling the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, he shall bring the live goat."

Then he does this, v 21: "And Aaron…"—who now represents the living goat, Aaron now represents as the high priest all of Israel and represents the action of God upon this live goat. Why would he do that?

Verse 21: "And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the sins of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away by the hand of a chosen man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities to a land in which no one lives. And he shall let the goat go in the wilderness" (vs 21-22).

• Why this strange ceremony?
• Did not the blood of the goat sacrifice for a sin offering, sprinkled on the Holy thing, sprinkled on the altar and everything that there is?
• Did that not cleanse the sanctuary?
• Did that not cleanse them from their sins?
• Was that not so? Yes indeed, absolutely!
• What are we talking about here?
• Why confess the sins again?
• Who is the author of sin? Satan the devil!
• Who enticed Adam and Eve to sin? Satan the devil!

He deceived Eve and Adam went along with it. They sinned. Their sin was the sin that they did against God in doing it. But Satan's sin was causing them to do it. So the question always comes up.

What is God going to do about the sins of Satan and the demons? Because they cause all of these things! That's how God is showing He's going to take care of it. All the sins of Satan the devil that he himself does:

• against God
• against the other angels
• against the angels that sin with him
• against all humankind

Those sins can never be atoned for by blood!

They can only be atoned for by placing all the sins that Satan and the demons have caused on the head of Satan the devil pictured by the goat of Azazel, and then remove away out of the community where no one lives.

So, this cannot be Christ ascending to the Father, because when He was crucified on that cross, He was the sin offering, and when He died, that was the death to cover all human sin, the humans who make the wrong choices and use their free moral agency to go their own way.

But who started it? Satan! This is how God is going to get rid of the sin of Satan and the demons.

Now let's see how this is fulfilled. You can go ahead and read the rest of it, what was to happen for this Day of Atonement, and what the man was to do who took the goat out into the wilderness and let it go.

Now we will see the spiritual fulfillment that this ritual depicted, because every ritual at the temple has a spiritual meaning when you apply the spirit of what is actually behind it all.

Now, if you don't have the book or you've never heard of it—The Law of Offerings by Andrew Jukes, you get it, and that will give you a really keen insight into everything that was done at the temple, then would reflect on something that Christ would do.

This pictures the fulfillment of the Azazel goat and the man taking it out to the wilderness.

Revelation 20:1: "Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. And he took hold of the dragon the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years" (vs 1-2).

Now then, he's removed! There's no atonement for him! But all the sins of mankind have been forgiven what men have done. That's forgiven through the blood of Christ. That's pictured by the goat that was sacrificed and the blood sprinkled.

But the goat that goes out into the wilderness, all the sins of Satan that he caused the children of Israel to do, God has forgiven their part. But He hasn't forgiven the part for Satan because he is a spirit being and cannot die. So, here he is, taken out and put into the abyss and bound a thousand years.

Verse 3: Then he cast him into the abyss, and locked him up, and sealed the abyss over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer..."

He bears all his sins against all people at all times, and there can be no atonement for his sins in making people sin!

"…so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were fulfilled; and after that it is ordained that he be loosed for a short time" (v 3).

Now then, this fulfills the Day of Atonement. There is yet another judgment against Satan after he is released. This is the final judgment. His sins still are carried by him. There is no forgiveness for Satan the devil!

That's why the ritual back there in Lev. 16 has the live goat picturing a spirit being, actually Satan himself. What happens to Satan happens to all of the demons that followed him, the third of the angels that went into rebellion against God. So this answers the question:

• What is God going to do?
• What is God going to make happen in order to bring peace, to get rid of sin?

Well, this tells you the whole story up to the binding of Satan the devil! Then we will see that he is yet to be removed one more time in the final fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. That's the meaning of the Day of Atonement!

So, have a good Feast of Tabernacles. Look forward to seeing you. Take care. Drive safely. And have a wonderful Feast.

Scriptural References:

• Leviticus 23:26-32

• Psalm 8:1-4
• John 3:16
• Isaiah 45:7-12
• Revelation 12:1-4
• Genesis 1:1
• Job 38:1-7
• Ezekiel 28:11-13
• Isaiah 14:12-15
• Genesis 1:2
• 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
• 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
• Revelation 13:4-5
• Leviticus 16:1-3, 5, 11, 14-22
• Revelation 20:1-3

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Acts 8
• Deuteronomy 32:13
• 2 Corinthians 3
• Revelation 2; 12:19

Also referenced: Books:

• From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God: Why Were You Born? {truthofGod.org}
• The Law of Offerings by Andrews Jukes

{https://archive.org/details/lawofofferings00jukeiala/page/n11/mode/2up} (free download)

FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 9/12/24

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