12-CHAPTER TWELVE THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
Another Shadow of the Cross and of Christ’s Return in Glory Leviticus 16:1-34; Leviticus 23:26-32
AGAIN and again, throughout this series of studies, we have referred to the one great day in the year when Aaron entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the sins of “the whole congregation” of Israel.
The very heart of the gospel message was foreshadowed in the God-given ritual for this Day of Atonement; and no study of the Jewish tabernacle would be complete without some consideration of God’s law concerning it. In the ceremony of this day, “The Glories of Christ” shone forth in unmistakable type and shadow - from His cross even unto His return in power and majesty as Israel’s Messiah and the world’s righteous King.
The entire sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is devoted to the ritual for this greatest day in Israel’s year. But, if we would learn the lessons God has for us here, we should first get the message of the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus, where the Day of Atonement is placed in its chronological order, in its relation to all of the seven “feasts of the Lord,” observed annually by devout Jews under the Law of Moses; for the Day of Atonement was one of the seven.
Whole volumes have been written on these “feasts of the Lord.” For our purpose here, however, we shall merely outline them briefly, adding a word about the typical significance of each one.
This much is necessary, if we are to catch a glimpse of “The Glories of Christ As Foreshadowed in the Jewish Tabernacle,” in the God-given ceremony of the great Day of Atonement. THE SEVEN FEASTS OF THE LORD
“These are the feasts of the Lord,” which set forth, in type, God’s great plan of the ages, from Calvary’s cross to our Lord’s millennial reign on earth:
- The Feast of the Passover;
- The Feast of Unleavened Bread;
- The Feast of the Firstfruits;
- The Feast of Pentecost;
- The Feast of Trumpets;
- The Day of Atonement;
- The Feast of Tabernacles.
These Jewish feasts were times of worship, to be observed annually, at certain stated times. Israel was thus continually reminded, year after year, century after century, of the lessons God was teaching her concerning her coming Messiah.
Again, these “holy convocations” began with the Sabbath and closed with the Sabbath. This is an important truth for us to grasp.
The Sabbath before the feasts of the Lord points back to God’s eternal rest which He had before sin entered the world to break that rest. The Sabbath following the feasts points on to God’s eternal rest which He will share with the redeemed forever. And between these two Sabbaths there came the feasts of the Lord - a picture of God’s purpose for man throughout the ages, in redeeming him and leading him on, even unto his eternal rest in heaven. By faith we “enter into” that rest in this present life; but in its full and complete enjoyment “there remaineth . . . a rest [or ‘keeping of a Sabbath’] to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).
There were seven of these feasts; and seven is the number that speaks of completion. Some of them were to be observed in one day each, whereas the others covered a period of seven days each. The one day feasts represented definite acts of God, accomplished in a day; whereas the seven day feasts represented His dealings with His people over a period of time. They pointed on to the outcome of these one day acts.
Again we turn to the inspired record and read, “These are the feasts of the Lord” (Leviticus 23:4):
1. The Feast of the Passover, which finds its fulfillment in the death of “Christ our Passover” (1 Corinthians 5:7), was to be observed “in the fourteenth day of the first month at even” (Leviticus 23:5). It was not by accident that our Lord was crucified on the Feast of the Passover, as all four of the evangelists are careful to tell us. He was the Paschal Lamb, “without blemish and without spot.”
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread immediately followed the Passover, and was closely linked with it.
It began “on the fifteenth day of the same month,” and was to be observed for seven days (Leviticus 23:6).
This finds its fulfillment in the holy walk of the believer as he feeds upon Christ, “the bread of life.” Leaven is a type of sin, and all leaven was to be put out of the house during this week. Even so, we must confess and for sake our sins, if we would have fellowship with Christ, “the bread of life.”
3. The Feast of the Firstfruits, observed “on the morrow after the sabbath” (Leviticus 23:11); that is, three days after the Passover, on the first day of the week, is a remarkable type of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead, on the first day of the week, “when the sabbath was fully past,” three days after He offered Himself as the Paschal Lamb on Calvary’s cross. He is, indeed, “the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
4. The Feast of Pentecost, so called because it came fifty days after the feast of the firstfruits (“Pentecost” is a Greek word meaning “fiftieth”), finds its fulfillment in the descent of the Holy Spirit “when the day of Pentecost was fully come” (Acts 2:1), exactly fifty days after the resurrection of Christ. The Day of Pentecost marks the birthday of the church.
Between the feasts of Pentecost and trumpets there was a long interval of several months, during which time Israel was to glean in the harvest field (Leviticus 23:22) - a striking type of this present church age, from Pentecost to the translation of the church, while the harvest is being gathered into the garner of the Lord. Then in the seventh month the three remaining feasts were observed, the fulfillment of which is yet future.
5. The Feast of Trumpets, “a memorial of blowing of trumpets” (Leviticus 23:24), gathered the people together to worship the Lord. Before Christ returns in glory to be worshipped as King of kings and Lord of lords, Israel will have been fully regathered to her own land of Palestine; and then the Feast of Trumpets will find its fulfillment.
6. The Day of Atonement was a time of mourning, and points on to the time when Israel shall “look upon” Him “whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son” (Zechariah 12:10). The details of the ritualism of the Day of Atonement are highly significant, as we shall see in our lesson today.
7. The Feast of Tabernacles, observed for seven days (Leviticus 23:34), was a time of rejoicing, and points on to the millennial reign of Christ, the Son of David, over regathered and redeemed Israel and over the whole world.
“These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons,” God said to Moses as He “called unto” him, and “spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation” many centuries ago at the foot of Mount Sinai.
“And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord” (Leviticus 23:44), even as God had commanded him to do. They picture to us a holy God inviting His redeemed people to share with Him the things which delight His heart. The wisest of men once wrote, saying, “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love” (Song of Solomon 2:4).
The Psalmist also said, “Thou preparest a table before me.” The Lord Jesus is the Bread of God. At His baptism and again at His transfiguration the Father’s voice spoke from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
The feasts which delight the heart of the Father are those feasts which proclaim the glories and the excellencies of the “beloved Son.”
Is He the Bread of Life to you, my friend? “O taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalms 34:8).
The Father invites you to share with Him His delight in the One “altogether lovely.” Is He the object of your affections? Is He the One whom you delight to please? Then for you the feasts of the Lord hold mines of wealth untold!
And not least of these seven was the Day of Atonement.
Indeed, it was possibly the greatest day of the year, although it would have been meaningless without the other six; for example, there could have been no Day of Atonement without the Feast of the Passover. All seven feasts dovetailed into the prophetic picture of the Person and work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. THE MEANING OF “ATONEMENT” For a better understanding of the significance of the Day of Atonement, let us consider the meaning of the word “atonement.” It is not a literal translation from the Hebrew; but is, rather, the expression of “a purely theological concept.” The Hebrew word translated “atonement” in our English Bible means “covering”; “to atone for” means “to cover.”
“It is used seventy-seven times in the Old Testament; yet the thought it expresses is not a part of the Old Testament doctrine; whereas, in the New Testament, where the doctrine is taught, the word is not used once” (Lewis Sperry Chafer).
In our English Old Testament “atonement” suggests “at one ment” with God for the guilty sinner who brought the sacrifice in anticipation of Calvary’s cross. On the merit of the one perfect sacrifice of the promised Redeemer, God “covered” or “passed over” the “sins done aforetime” - from Adam to Christ. (See Romans 3:25).
In other words, the Old Testament saints were saved by faith in the Christ of prophecy; whereas the New Testament saints are saved by faith in the Christ of history, who has fulfilled - or will yet fulfill - every Old Testament prophecy concerning Him. It is the cross of the Lord Jesus, and that alone, which can save the guilty sinner in any age!
Sin was never actually “put away” until Christ died; yet, in His mercy, God “covered” the sins of Old Testament believers for the time being, even as He saw in their hearts faith in the coming Lamb of God. Then when our Lord Jesus died, as the sinner’s Substitute, He forever “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).
Now on the Day of Atonement Israel’s sins, hitherto unconfessed or even unknown perhaps to any save God, were “covered” by the ministry of the high priest, highly typical of the sacrificial work of Christ.
Throughout the year, day after day, month after month, the sacrifices were continually offered; yet God decreed that, on this one day every year, atonement should be made for Aaron and his house, for the Holy Place and the tabernacle, for the altar and the outer court, and for the whole congregation of Israel. (See Leviticus 16:6, Leviticus 16:15-33). It was a prophetic object lesson, by which Jehovah taught His people the need of “a Saviour to come.” THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
Let us turn now to the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus, and read it - not once, or twice, but repeatedly. Let us note the details set forth, that we may see how they foreshadowed the glories of Christ in His redemptive work for guilty sinner.
It is not necessary for us to repeat all these details here; yet, for emphasis, we call attention to some of them:
1. The penalty for entrance into the Holy of Holies was death, except as ordained of God for the high priest on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:2).
2. On this day the sin offering and the burnt offering had to be sacrificed (Leviticus 16:3). (For the teaching concerning these, we may turn back to Chapter Six of this series of studies, where they are discussed in some detail).
3. Aaron had to lay aside his garments “for glory and for beauty” before he could minister on the Day of Atonement, a very significant fact, as we shall see. Instead of his beautiful garments, he put on “the holy linen coat,” “the linen breeches,” the “linen girdle,” and “the linen mitre” - all pure white (Leviticus 16:4).
4. Two kids of the goats were taken “for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.” The two goats were presented “before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle.” Lots were cast, “one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.” The one was slain; the other was led away into the wilderness “unto a land not inhabited.” But before it was led away, Aaron placed both his hands upon the scapegoat’s head, confessing Israel’s sins, figuratively laying them upon the head of the sinless Substitute who was to come, even Jesus. (See Leviticus 16:5-10, Leviticus 16:21).
5. Aaron took the blood of the bullock and of the slain goat into the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled it “upon the mercy seat eastward, and before the mercy seat . . . with his finger seven times” (Leviticus 16:11, Leviticus 16:14-15).
6. In his hands Aaron also took the golden censer, “full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small.” The smoke of the incense went up before the Lord, covering the mercy scat with its fragrance (Leviticus 16:12-13).
7. Aaron was alone in the tabernacle when he ministered before the Lord on this sacred day (Leviticus 16:17).
8. As he came out of the tabernacle, after having entered into the Most Holy Place, he sprinkled the blood upon the horns of the altar.
9. Then it was that the scapegoat was sent away into the wilderness, symbolically bearing afar off the sins of all Israel. Afterwards the man who led the scapegoat away had to go through ceremonial cleansing (Leviticus 16:21-22, Leviticus 16:26).
10. Aaron, while in the tabernacle, took off the holy, linen garments and left them there; washed his flesh; and put on once more the beautiful garments (Leviticus 16:23-24).
11. Then he sacrificed the burnt offering, as “a sweet savour unto the Lord” (Leviticus 16:24).
12. The fat of the sin offering was burned upon the altar; the remainder was carried without the camp, and burned with fire (Leviticus 16:25, Leviticus 16:27).
13. This was a day of mourning for sin (Leviticus 16:29).
14. It was a day of rest (Leviticus 16:29).
15. It was to be observed “once a year” (Leviticus 16:34).
If you are not clear on all the symbolism of these different offerings, my friend, let me urge you once more to turn back to Chapter Six of these studies, to refresh your memory. Otherwise, you will miss much of the blessing God has for you in the teachings concerning Christ, our Sin Offering; and Christ, our Burnt Offering, upon the altar which is Calvary’s cross.
For some of the other highly typical teaching concerning the ritual of the Day of Atonement, we want to consider a few of these details now: A DAY OF MOURNING FOR SIN “THEY SHALL MOURN FOR HIM” WHOM THEY CRUCIFIED The feast of atonement was possibly the most solemn of all the feasts of the Lord. Three times in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus and twice in the sixteenth chapter we read God’s commandment to Moses,
“Ye shall afflict your souls . . . whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.”
It was time of weeping and mourning in Israel, a time of sorrow for their sins.
Israel’s grief on the Day of Atonement was but a shadow of the still future affliction of their souls when “they shall look upon” Him “whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10).
“His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives” (Zechariah 14:4).
“And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zechariah 13:6).
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall sec him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him” (Revelation 1:7).
In that coming day, of which the Feast of Atonement was a type, Israel’s Great High Priest, even Jesus, will come out of the Holy of Holies, which is heaven itself, to deliver His people from the terrible persecution of the Antichrist. In great tribulation they will cry unto God, and their God will come down to deliver them. When they see the nail prints in His hands and feet and the print of the wounded side, they will remember the mocking, angry mob who cried out, saying,
“Crucify him, crucify him . . . his blood be on us, and on our children.”
And their penitential prayer will be the fifty-third chapter Isaiah, a marvelous prophecy of the sufferings of their Messiah and the Saviour of the world. In the affliction of their souls, His ancient people will say:
“We hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:3-6).
But Israel’s mourning will be turned into joy when Jesus comes; for He will deliver His people, and usher in His long-promised kingdom of peace and righteousness! A DAY OF REST - A FINISHED REDEMPTION The Feast of Atonement was “a sabbath of rest,” for God said to Moses,
“Ye shall do no work in that same day . . . And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people” (Leviticus 23:28, Leviticus 23:30).
Wherever the atoning work of Christ is referred to in the Word of God, it is always plainly set forth as a work of grace. Man can only remain passive, and accept the finished work of Christ. Likewise, on the Day of Atonement, it was the high priest who ministered for Israel; the people did no work!
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).
“By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
You cannot do one thing to save yourself, my friend; you must accept what Christ has done for you in His death and resurrection. You must rest in His finished work of redemption. You and I must sing, from hearts of thanksgiving,
“Jesus paid it all;
All to Him I owe:
Sin had left a crimson stain;
He washed it white as snow!”
“ONCE A YEAR” - “ONCE FOR ALL”
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat . . . 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” (Leviticus 16:2, Leviticus 16:34).
Let us turn now to the ninth chapter of Hebrews, and read the first fourteen verses. These words explain “the shadow” of the Old Testament ritual:
“When these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle [i.e., the Holy Place], accomplishing the service of God. But into the second [the Holy of Holies] went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors [sins of ignorance] of the people. The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present . . . But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:6-9, Hebrews 9:11-12).
In quoting the book of Hebrews in this connection, it is difficult to know where to stop; for the whole epistle is a marvelous explanation of the meaning of the ritualism of Judaism and of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. But the passage quoted above is one of the priceless gems from this portion of the Word of God. (Read the entire Epistle carefully, prayerfully, repeatedly, if you would understand the books of Moses).
In these unmistakable words from the New Testament, the Holy Spirit throws a flood of light upon the Old Testament ritual of the Day of Atonement.
Day after day the morning and evening sacrifices were made in Israel, but only on this one day in the year could the high priest enter the Holy of Holies where God dwelt in the pillar of cloud and fire.
Now a year is a full period of time; and typically the Day of Atonement covers all human history. Christ died “once for all,” in fulfillment of the types and shadows set forth in every animal sacrifice of Old Testament days. What a mighty grandeur this gives to the cross of our Lord! There all the ages meet! Every other day of the past and future is pressed into that one atoning day. The cross links the past eternity with the future eternity. Verily, Calvary’s cross does tower - “. . . o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers ‘round its head sublime!”
“Such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself” (Hebrews 7:26-27).
“Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself . . . Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:26; Hebrews 9:28).
“This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God . . . Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:12; Hebrews 10:18).
The sweet incense, which Aaron burned above the mercy seat, speaks to us of the fragrance of our Lord’s sinless character. On the merit of His atoning death, we are “accepted” before God. THE AFFLICTION AND HUMILIATION OF THE HIGH PRIEST
A PICTURE OF THE SUFFERING OF “THE MAN OF SORROWS”
Seven days prior to the Feast of Atonement the high priest in Israel had to be separated from family and home; and on the day of the feast he had to divest himself of his robes of “glory and beauty,” putting on a white linen robe. How marvelously this speaks to us of how our Great High Priest was for thirty-three and one-half years separated from His Father and Home - a self-denying Servant! He laid aside His garments of glory and beauty - not His deity - and was “fashioned” like unto His brethren, “that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).
“Being in the form of God,” He “thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Php 2:6-8).
“Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Yet He was still God, the spotless, sinless God-Man. Of His holy nature, the white linen coat of Aaron speaks.
For us He wore the crown of thorns and the purple robe, put upon Him in derision and mockery by wicked men. The affliction and humiliation of the high priest in Israel on the Day of Atonement was but a faint “shadow” of the affliction and humiliation of Jesus, our Great High Priest, when He made atonement for our sins upon the cross!
“THE HIGH PRIEST ALONE” ENTERED THE HOLY OF HOLIES
CHRIST SUFFERED ALONE!
God said to Moses,
“There shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel” (Leviticus 16:17).
When Christ drank the bitter “cup,” He drank it alone! There was none to help! His disciples “forsook him, and fled.” Even His Father in heaven had to turn His face away in that dark moment; for a holy God cannot look upon sin - and in His death the holy Son of God took upon Himself the sins of the whole world!
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” He cried.
And yet, knowing beforehand that this would be, still He had prayed,
“O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).
He willingly went to Gethsemane and to Calvary alone. THE TWO GOATS - A TYPE OF “ETERNAL REDEMPTION” In Chapter Six of these studies we considered the significance of the burnt offering and sin offering, both of which were made on the Day of Atonement. There was a Godward and there was a man-ward aspect of Calvary.
There was the sweet savour offering, when the Son presented Himself without spot or blemish to the Father as the whole burnt offering, delighting to do His will. And there was the non-sweet savour offering, when, as the sin offering, the holy Son of God became the sinner’s Substitute. We shall not dwell further on these offerings here. But the ritual concerning the two goats was observed only on the Day of Atonement; and it is highly significant.
The two goats were to be taken from “the congregation of the children of Israel” (Leviticus 16:5); that is, they were to be purchased from the public treasury.
In other words, they represented the people. Aaron, the high priest, presented them “before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,” and “cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat” (Leviticus 16:7-8).
The one was slain, and the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies.
The other was led into the wilderness, “unto a land not inhabited.”
But before the scapegoat was led away, Aaron laid his hands upon the head of the animal and confessed the sins of the people, symbolically transferring them to their Substitute, even Jesus, of whom the animal sacrifices were a type. This is made very clear in the commandment concerning the scapegoat:
“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness” (Leviticus 16:21-22).
How significant is all this ritual! The two goats represent Christ dying for our sins, and bearing them away, to remember them no more forever. Even as the animals were purchased from the public treasury, so the thirty pieces of silver, given to Judas for selling the Lord Jesus, came out of the public treasury, from the officials of the Jews. For the sins of “the whole congregation” He died!
Again, the casting of the lots, to determine which goat was to die and which was to be the scapegoat, reminds us that it was God who made this decision.
Likewise, Christ was not the victim of circumstances; He came into the world to die, “delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23).
“I lay down my life, that I might take it again,” He said. “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself” (John 10:17-18).
The blood of the goat which was slain was brought by the high priest “within the veil,” into the Holy of Holies sprinkled “upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat” (Leviticus 16:15).
So also was the blood of the bullock for a sin offering. Thus the blood was sprinkled where God rested, and where man stood. God rests in the finished work of Christ, and man can stand before Him, resting also in Him, only on the merit of His finished redemption.
“Christ being come an high priest of good things to come . . . by his own blood . . . entered in once into the holy place [even heaven itself], having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:11-12).
This is the heart of the message of the Gospel, my friend. It explains to us the meaning of the rent veil. Until Christ died, no man except the high priest dared enter the Holy of Holies where God dwelt in the Shekinah Glory; and even he went in only once a year, “not without blood.”
The veil shut the sinner out from the presence of God.
Why? Because a full atonement had not been made for sin. The animal sacrifices were only “shadows of good things to come”; and sinful man could not stand in the presence of a holy God until the full atonement was made.
But Christ came; He died; He shed His own precious blood; He rose again, and entered into heaven itself, bearing in His glorified body the marks of Calvary. He presented His own blood before the mercy seat, which is the throne of God. He changed the judgment throne into the mercy seat, on the ground of the sprinkled blood!
That is why the veil of the temple was rent in twain when He died on the cross; “the way into the holiest” was forever opened; and the weakest sinner was invited to “come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Hebrews 10:19-22; cf. Hebrews 9:8; Hebrews 4:16).
That is why we no longer need an earthly priest, before whom to confess our sins. We have an all-sufficient Great High Priest, and to Him we go in prayer!
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:19-22).
In shedding His blood for our sins, the Lord Jesus bore them away into “the wilderness,” as it were, “unto a land not inhabited.” The place of no habitation is the grave.
“The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
And in His death He has taken away our sins.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalms 103:12).
And His promise is sure,
“Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).
God not only forgives; He forgets!
“What a wonderful Saviour!” THE HIGH PRIEST’S COMING FORTH FROM THE HOLY OF HOLIES
A TYPE OF CHRIST’S RETURN IN GLORY
After Aaron came out from the presence of God, and before he appeared again unto the people, he took off the linen clothes of humiliation, and put on once more his robes of “glory and beauty.” And when our Lord returns, when He appears once more to His people, Israel, He will come in all His glory, His “eternal glory” which He had with the Father, “before the world was” (John 17:5).
He laid aside that glory, in order to become a merciful and a faithful High Priest; but He took it up again, after He had made a full atonement for sin. When He rose from the grave, He put on His robes of glory. And very soon perhaps He will come out of the Holy of Holies!
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him” (Revelation 1:7).
Then the work which He did on that Feast of the Passover nearly two thousand years ago will find its complete fruition. At the first Feast of the Passover the Israelites sprinkled the shed blood upon their own lintels and door posts, but then there was no Holy of Holies; there was no sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat.
The Passover set forth the man-ward aspect of Calvary.
Each sinner must, by his own volition, allow the Holy Spirit to apply the shed blood of the Lamb of God to his sinful heart. On the Day of Atonement, however, it was the high priest who sprinkled the shed blood in the presence of the Shekinah Glory. This is the Godward aspect of Calvary, and shows us in a faint picture what Christ has done for the sinner.
Thus the feasts of the Passover and atonement dovetail perfectly, setting forth also Israel’s special relation to the Lord God, in that Christ will appear on the Day of Atonement, as it were, to establish His promised kingdom over the house of Jacob. On the basis of the shed blood of the Paschal Lamb “all Israel shall be saved.”
Just as God heard the cry of His people in Egyptian bondage, so also He will hear the cry of Israel during the great tribulation. As He sent Moses to deliver them long ago, so He Himself will arise from “the marriage supper of the Lamb,” and will come out of the Holy of Holies to deliver His people in their hour of great affliction. Then Israel will receive Him as her Great High Priest and King of kings!
Then there will be no more “wars and rumours of wars.” Thorns will no more infest the ground. The animal kingdom will live in peace and quietness. And “the desert shall blossom as the rose.”
Are you ready for the Lord’s return, my friend? He has died for you; He will bear all your sins away, and remember them no more forever, if you will only trust Him. He has opened the way into Heaven, into His glorious Presence, by His own shed blood.
But you must accept His great salvation. It is a free gift; but you must take it if you want access before “the throne of grace” - now and throughout the endless ages. OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST “WITHIN THE VEIL” For some fifteen hundred years, from the days of Moses until our Lord was crucified, Israel observed the Day of Atonement, with more or less devotion.
- Part of that time the nation as a whole was in gross idolatry.
- Part of that time the northern kingdom was in the Assyrian captivity.
- Part of that time Judah was in Babylon, with no temple, with no Holy of Holies, with no manifestation of the Shekinah Glory.
But throughout the centuries, godly Jews, of whom there was always a faithful remnant, honored that sacred day every year - from Moses to Christ.
Then the Lord Jesus came to offer Himself, the whole Burnt Offering, well pleasing unto the Father; the perfect Sin Offering, as the sinner’s Substitute. Having suffered “without the camp,” outside the gate of Jerusalem, He entered into heaven itself, “within the veil,” there to present His shed blood, offered after the sweet incense of His sinless life had proved Him to be the Holy One of God.
In His death and resurrection He became our Great High Priest. During this church age He is still “within the veil,” but one day He will come forth to be acknowledged by all the world as “The mighty God . . . The Prince of Peace.”
Meanwhile, the veil of the temple has been “rent in twain.” Our “Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous,” bids us “draw near” unto His “throne of grace.”
It seems to us, in the light of the prophetic Scriptures, that we must be living in the evening of the great Day of Atonement, as it were. Soon, we believe and pray, our Great High Priest will come forth, wearing His robes of beauty and glory, to be honored by all His universe. The time for winning souls may be very short. Shall we not rededicate our lives to telling the lost of “such an high priest,” who longs to be their Saviour? When He comes as the “Judge of all the earth,” the wicked will find that “the day of salvation” is past. “The night cometh, when no man can work.”
Let us, with renewed zeal, point never-dying souls to Him who has forever “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
~ end of chapter 12 ~
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