Day of Atonement

Fred R. Coulter—September 16, 2021

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Day of Atonement!

Here we are continuing on, doing things that God wants us to do. We know that we're close to the end; how close we are we don't know, because some of these things come in cycles, then things look a little better for a while. So, we don't know exactly how long, but we keep the things of God always in faith, according to His Calculated Hebrew Calendar!

Of course, what the world rejects is the very thing that shows what God is doing. They reject the Sabbath and the Holy Days. They have been deceived into the satanic holidays of this world. And they are satanic, because after the Feast of Tabernacles, right at the end of October is Halloween—all souls eve—and everything associated with death.

So, if anyone had a brain in their head that was functioning the way that it should, they would see that Satan's way is death. This is why, on this Day of Atonement, we need to understand that as long as Satan is around there will be no respite from sin! I want you to think about that!

That's why the title for this message: Lock Him Up!We will see that that is what happens when we get to the end of this message. Satan will be locked up! Oh, what a day that is going to be!

  • think about that
  • think about what he has done

Let's get God's instructions concerning the Day of Atonement.

Leviticus 23:26: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Also, on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a Holy convocation to you. And you shall afflict your souls… [with fasting; no water, no food] ….and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'" (vs 26-27).

Now listen, these next instructions are very important, because God wants it so that we understand. He doesn't want any kind of work on the Day of Atonement.

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, for whoever is not afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people" (vs 28-29)—cut off from receiving the blessings of God!

Verse 30: "And whoever does [#2]any work…"

Notice that He mentions it four times, so that's got to tell you how important it is not to work!

"…in that same day, the same one will I destroy from among his people. [#3]You shall do no manner of work. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you [#4]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 30-32).

That's interesting because even the Jews have a variation of what evening is. They say that sometimes it starts at three in the afternoon. Oh, and on the Sabbath it could start as early as one in the afternoon. Then other Jews have said that when you see three stars.

So, God made this specific so that everyone in all their locations would be keeping this day at the same time, beginning and ending.

"…In the ninth day of the month at sunset, from sunset to sunset, you shall keep your Sabbath" (v 32). That's a very key verse to help us understand other difficult verses concerning sunset and evening!

Now let's see the offering that was to be made on the Day of Atonement. The whole chapter 16 of Leviticus is devoted to the Day of Atonement and to the special offering that was offered. We will see that part of it is completely different from any other offering or any other animal brought before the Lord. And there's a reason for it.

Leviticus 16:2: "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 was once a year on the Day of Atonement!

Here's how he is to come; v 3: "Aaron shall come into the sanctuary this way: with a young bull, for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the Holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches on his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen miter he shall be dressed. These are Holy garments. And he shall wash his flesh in water and put them on" (vs 3-4). Had to be absolutely clean!

Notice the first thing he's going to do; he's going to show something very special. This becomes very important for us when we understand.

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. And Aaron shall offer his young bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself and for his house. And he shall take the two goats…" (vs 5-7).

Notice this special ceremony; there's nothing like this in any of the other sacrifices.

"…and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation…. [right up to the door] …And Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats; one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel" (vs 7-8).

Who is Azazel? One of the leading demons under Satan the devil! This is Satan the devil! Remember that Satan is the 'god of this world,' and we'll see later that the world doesn't know how to tell the difference! They just have no idea!

Verse 9: "And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer it for a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement upon it and sent away into the wilderness for Azazel" (vs 9-10). Why would God do that?

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. And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of fragrant incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD…. [that's on the incense altar] …And the cloud of the incense shall cover the mercy seat… [it was to come right into the Holy of Holies] …that is on the testimony. And he shall not die. 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. And he shall sprinkle at the front of the mercy seat seven times from the blood with his finger" (vs 11-14).

Verse 15: "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering…"

Let's look at this and see what it says. When you have a sin offering to take away sin it's taken away.

"…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).

  • Does a sin offering cover all their sins? Yes!

if it covers all of their sins, that's all there is to it

  • Why doesn't the Day of Atonement stop right there?

We will see the answer is that there's more to sin than human beings! There is Satan the devil!

"…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" (vs 16-17). That's the atonement for their sins!

Verse 18: "And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make an atonement for it. 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. And when he has made an end of reconciling the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar…" (vs 18-20).

That's all taken care of. Now then, here comes the place where those who write commentaries and those who misunderstand come up with false interpretations.

First, we saw that this goat is named Azazel; a name for Satan and one of his top demons.

  • What does that have to do with sin?
  • Who is the author of sin? Satan!

Think about this:

  • Would Adam and Eve have sinned in the way that they sinned if the serpent didn't come into the garden?

We also know that spirit beings, made of spirit don't die. That's why in order for Christ to be the sacrifice, He had to divest Himself of His Divinity and become that pinpoint of life to be begotten in the womb of the virgin Mary, and be born a human being. So, when the proper time came, He could die for the sins of the world.

But we're going to learn a tremendous lesson today: it doesn't matter how many times God forgives sin if Satan is still around to inspire sin! Think on that! That's why the live goat!

"…he shall bring the live goat. 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…" (vs 20-21)—because all of those sins Satan inspired, didn't he? Yes!

"…and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat…" (v 21).

There, they belong on Satan the devil! Not on Christ! Not on the people! On Satan! So, in the ritual it's on the goat for Azazel!

"…and shall send it away by the hand of a chosen man into the wilderness" (v 21). Away! Removed!

We will see that's only a type of the final fulfillment in Rev. 20.

Verse 22: "…And he shall let the goat go in the wilderness."

Sidebar: Where did Jesus meet Satan for the temptation? At the temple? or In the wilderness? In the wilderness!

Verse 22: "And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities to a land in which no one lives…."

No human being is going to be there, where Satan is going to be! In the wilderness, that was so wild that humans didn't live there. They may have traveled through, but they didn't live there.

"…And he shall let the goat go in the wilderness. And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall strip off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the sanctuary, and shall leave them there. And he shall wash his flesh with water in the Holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself and for the people" (vs 22-24).

Interesting, isn't it? That Azazel takes all the sins himself. He doesn't have any atonement! He doesn't have any forgiveness!

Verse 26: "And he that let go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. And the young bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy place, shall they carry forth outside the camp…." (vs 26-27). Out to the Miphkad Altar, because that is where they burned, literally, the complete sin offering.

"…And they shall burn their skins in the fire, and their flesh and their dung. And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp" (vs 27-28).

Verse 29: "And it shall be a statute forever to you: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls and [#4]do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country or a stranger who is living among you, for on that day an atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you, so that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls by a statute forever" (vs 29-31).

(pause for the offering)

We need to understand the difference between the goat of Azazel that was sent into the wilderness and… There are some, even in the Church of God, who believe that that was another version of Christ in carrying away our sins. But it isn't!

Christ came as the sin offering for the sins of the whole world. Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world(John 1). So, when Jesus died, He died bearing the sins of the world. Why? Because He was Creator! And because of the sin of Adam and Eve, He put in them the human nature of the law of sin and death.

We will see that Christ took that upon Himself. So, IF He took it upon Himself as God in the flesh, Creator of all mankind, and did not sin, THEN His shed blood on the earth is the atonement for the sins. But that has nothing to do with the goat that is removed who represents Satan the devil.

Peter talks about why we were called and about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ:

1-Peter 2:21: "For to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us…"

That's an amazing thing to understand what Christ did. That's why the Passover is where it is. We can't start to get rid of sin unless we have the sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of sin.

"…leaving us an example, that you should follow in His footsteps; Who committed no sin; neither was guile found in His mouth; Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when suffering, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him Who judges righteously; Who Himself bore our sins within His own body…" (vs 21-24).

How did He do that? With having the law of sin in Him! He had to completely overcome human nature and the law of sin and death. But that law of sin and death had to be there in order for our sins to be forgiven.

"…so that we, being dead to sins, may live unto righteousness; by Whose stripes you were healed" (v 24).

Now let's see how Paul expresses this (Rom. 8). This is the conclusion of Paul writing about his struggle in overcoming sin in his life. That is true, we still have to overcome the sin within, because we still have the law of sin and death. But Christ did no sin!

Romans 8:1: "Consequently, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit; because the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has delivered me from the law of sin and death" (vs 1-2).

In another place it says that God rescues us! Paul says, 'delivered' but Christ didn't remove it! He delivers us from it.

Verse 3: "For what was impossible for the Law to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh."

That means the sameness. He took our sins within Him by having the law of sin and death within His very being as a human being. "…for sin…" means sacrifice for sin; "…condemned sin in the flesh."

Eventually, it will go to the whole world according to God's plan.

Verse 4: "In order that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Now let's come back and see about Satan the devil. We know that Satan lives forever, because he's a spirit being, and was created a spirit being. We know in Ezek. 28 that he was created 'perfect until sin was found in him.' Then he got lifted up in vanity, thinking that he was as good as God. The glory that God gave him, which was mighty, went to his head and he thought that he was as good as God.

He was jealous of God, and lied to the angels and a third of them believed him and followed him. We also know (Isa. 14) that he wanted to ascend above the clouds—which tells us that the angels were on the earth—and take over the Throne of God and 'be like the Most High.' Satan was cast down to the earth, denied all the blessings of God, but God had to use him for a very special purpose, because of His plan for all mankind.

Let's see a little bit more about Satan, what he does and how he works.

We know that when he rebelled (Rev. 12) he took a third of the angels with him and they became demons.

Satan is still permitted to come before God, so we'll see how he works. Look at what it was with Job. Let's understand that the way God rules the world today through the angels and demons is through the angels for the people of Israel and the saints of God. To make rulers of the world rise up and come down, God takes care of that by judging them. But He uses Satan the devil to execute much of His judgment. God also uses righteous angels!

In the book of Job we find out about Job. He was a righteous man and he even offered offerings in case his sons sinned and so forth.

Job 1:6: "Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD. … [the angels of God] …And Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' Then Satan answered the LORD and said, 'From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it'" (vs 6-7).

What is he doing? Looking for people he can lead into sin! Checking up on those whom he's got locked into sin, that they stay locked into sin.

Verse 8: "And the LORD said to Satan, 'Have you considered My servant Job…'"

God knew what He was doing, because knew… We don't find this out until we get to the end of the book of Job, but we'll cover that in other things later. But here he is:

"…that there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil?" (v 8).

So, Satan[transcriber's correction] had this conversation with God; v 9: "And Satan answered the LORD and said, 'Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him… [v 11]: But put forth Your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face'" (vs 9-11).

Verse 12: "And the LORD said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only do not lay your hand upon him.' And Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD."

Took away everything Job had; sons, daughters, all of his possessions. Fire came down from heaven, the wind blew and everything turned bad. Job put on sackcloth and ashes and sat down and said, 'We've got to take the bad with the good.'

Satan came back and said, 'Oh, let me touch him.' God said, 'All right! Job didn't curse me, so go ahead, but you can't take his life.' Then Job was stricken with boils from head to toe. Whoa!

So, that's one way that Satan works. Another way is he lies. He's the father of lies! Also, he blinds the eyes! So, Satan is a liar and blinds the eyes, and we'll see more things that he does.

John 8:43—Jesus is talking to the priests, scribes and Pharisees: "Why don't you understand My speech? Because you cannot bear to hear My words." Why? This is true:

Verse 44: "You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you desire to practice…."

Who's ever of the devil hates God! That's why we have:

  • atheists
  • churches of Satan
  • witchcraft
  • agnostics

And you would be surprised; look at Hollywood today, nothing but sin and evil in the grips of Satan the devil.

"…He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the Truth, because there is no Truth in him…. [he always perverts the Truth by lying] …Whenever he speaks a lie, he is speaking from his own self; for he is a liar, and the father of it" (v 44).

Did he not lie to Adam and Eve? Yes, he did! That does happen! Satan is the one who stirs things up. Satan is the one who causes confusion. All of these things, and everything you see in the world.

We'll learn more about why Satan needs to be removed, locked up and eventually put into the outer darkness, the 'blackest darkness forever.'

(break@39:25)

Matt. 3—here is the battle of the universe, right here on the earth, between Jesus and Satan. Let's see what took place before Jesus had His encounter and temptation with Satan the devil.

Matthew 3:13: "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have need to be baptized by You, and You come to me?' Then Jesus answered and said to him, 'You must permit it at this time;for in this manner it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he permitted Him to be baptized. And after He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him. And lo, a voice from heaven said, 'This is My Son, the Beloved, in Whom I have great delight'" (vs 13-17).

This is the same as casting the lot for the goat for the Lord, because now the temptation is going to start. The battle of the universe is going to begin. It's not a battle of a war between weapons and fighting, between strength and weakness, but between Satan the devil and Jesus Christ, the Creator of all mankind, to see if He could resist all the temptations of Satan the devil.

Matthew 4:1: "Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit…"

Where did Azazel go? Into the wilderness! The same wilderness that Jesus went into.

"…in order to be tempted by the devil" (v 1).

We know that this happened in the fall. We know that the year that it took place—26A.D. in the fall—began a Jubilee year on the Day of Atonement. So, it is highly probable—can't prove it by any date—that by the context of the temptation and everything that was there.

Verse 2: "And when He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was famished…. [quite a thing] …And when the tempter came to Him, he said, 'If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread'" (vs 2-3).

Of course, he probably had other words in addition to that. Notice that it gets right the very heart and core of the whole purpose of all human beings beginning with Adam and Eve, which they did not do.

Verse 4: "But He answered and said, 'It is written…'"

  • What did He do? He relied on the Word of God!
  • What did Adam and Eve do? They relied on their own reasoning!
  • Do you notice the difference?

"…'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God'" (v 4).

The first thing in overcoming Satan the devil is you live by every Word of God! There it is right there! Here is the greatest overcoming in the greatest temptation in the history of the universe! It's by every Word of God!

Verse 5: "Then the devil took Him to the Holy city and set Him upon the edge of the temple"—right there, because that's where Satan likes to get! Right at the temple, because if it comes from the Temple of God and the priests say it's okay, well then it must be of God! Right? Wrong!

  • Why? Verse 4—live by every Word of God!
  • What should the priests always teach? The Word of God, when the temple stood!
  • What should all of us who are elders do? Preach the Word!

So, Satan put Him on the edge of the temple:

Verse 6: "And said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, "He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and they shall bear You up in their hands, lest You strike Your foot against a stone."'"

Satan is sly and quotes Scripture. He quoted it almost perfectly. So, we need to understand that just because a minister quotes the Bible doesn't mean he's necessarily bringing the Truth of the Bible. We've seen that over and over again.

Verse 7: "Jesus said to him, 'Again, it is written, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God"'"—that is with your actions!

You don't go out and willfully sin to tempt God!There have been people known to step in front of trains because they figured that the angel would save them, only to be killed. Why did God allow that? Because whoever did that wasn't Jesus!

Verse 8: "After that, the devil took Him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory"—like a great big huge screen!

  • What does this tell you?
  • What did Satan say?

He told Jesus this, and here is why he's called 'the god of this world' (2-Cor. 4).

Verse 9: "And said to Him, 'All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me.'"

That means to fall down and worship him as God, because he wanted to become God. His rebellion didn't work! His war didn't work! So, here he's trying to make the temptation of Christ work to his benefit, to get Christ to sin, if Jesus would have worshipped him. But Jesus didn't!But Satan thought that this is really an opportunity to become God, like God. 'Because if the Son of God will worship me, then I must be God.' Not so!

Verse 10: "Then Jesus said to him, 'Be gone, Satan! For it is written…" Three times with temptation, He said, "…it is written…"

Sidebar: How do you overcome temptation? Through prayer and study the Word of God! Use the Word of God to overcome! The Spirit of God combined with that, you will overcome.

"…'You shall worship…'" (v 10). Jesus is talking of Himself and all mankind, not to Satan the devil, because Satan the devil will never worship God.

"'…the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve'" (v 10). That's what the Scriptures tell us! See why that was necessary? That was to deliver us from our sins!

But he doesn't stop there! Satan is busy all the time!

Matt. 16—here is where Jesus asked the disciple who He was. Peter said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God' (15-16)

Matthew 16:17: "And Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father, Who is in heaven.'"

What does this tell us? When you pray and study:

  • Does God help you? Yes!
  • Does God reveal to you? Yes!
  • Does God give you understanding? Yes!

Because of what Peter said, and what Jesus said—that's not giving 'popeship' to Peter at all, because anything that is bound on the earth has already been bound in heaven, and anything that has been loosed on earth has already been loosed in heaven. That's the meaning of it and for another message.

Verse 21: "From that time Jesus began to explain to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised the third day."

Satan takes advantage of men's good ideas to inspire them to do things contrary to the will of God. Here's what Peter did, and he was probably thinking that 'the Father revealed that to me, that's good.' Let's see what he does to Jesus in this situation, after being told the very reason why He was coming; to be killed for the sacrifice for the sins of the world. 

Verse 22: "But after taking Him aside, Peter personally began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God will be favorable to You, Lord. In no way shall this happen to You.'"

Doesn't this sound like a good idea; 'we've got to protect Jesus.' Really? This shows that Satan was trying to use Peter to get Jesus to change His mind. Otherwise, Jesus wouldn't have said this:

Verse 23: "Then He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan!…. [Satan likes to be right there] …You are an offense to Me, because your thoughts are not in accord with the things of God, but the things of men.'"

Let's look at another occasion that also involved Peter. This was when He was ready to go out and be arrested on that Passover night and to be taken off to trial and so forth.

Luke 22:31: "Then the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, listen well…. [pay attention] …Satan has demanded to have all of you, to sift as wheat.'" Think about that!

  • How did Satan demand? Go up to the Throne of God, like he did with Job, and say, 'I want Peter.'
  • Do you know why he wanted Peter? Just think what the Catholic Church would be if he had Peter entombed in a casket of glass filled with honey and his body is preserved!

Think of the idolatry that would bring! So, he wanted Peter!

Verse 32: "But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren." Peter still didn't get it! Notice how he responded:

Verse 33: And he said to Him, 'Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death.'"

Look at what Jesus said to Peter, and this was an everlasting lesson to Peter:

Verse 34: "But He said, 'I tell you, Peter, the cock shall in no wise crow today before you have denied knowing Me three times.'"

Peter says in another account, 'Oh no, Lord, I'll never do that.' How do we fight against Satan?

  • with Word of God
  • by prayer
  • by study

Let's come to some other areas that shows us how Satan works. We know that in 2-Cor. 4 Satan is called 'the god of this world.' The word god is 'theos.' That is true. Look at all the religions and everything in the world; they all:

  • worship Satan the devil
  • are deceived by Satan the devil
  • believe all the lies of Satan the devil

If it weren't for some of the preaching of the Gospel of getting the name of Jesus Christ out there, they would be totally in the grips of Satan the devil! Notice how subtly this works. We also see that Satan likes to work in the churches by having other people come in:

  • by bringing false doctrine
  • by having false prophecies
  • by causing strife and division

Paul wanted them to learn a lesson, because of how those in Corinth were behaving themselves. They were allowing false teachers to come in that sounded good, that were Jews, Israelites professing the name of Jesus.

2-Corinthians 11:1: "I would that you might bear with me in a little nonsense; but indeed, do bear with me. For I am jealous over you with the jealousy of God because I have espoused you to one husband, so that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds… [that's what Satan is after] …might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (vs 1-3).

Verse 4: "For indeed, if someone comes preaching another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit…"

Isn't that true? False ministers bring false spirits! That's just the way that it is!

"…which you did not receive, or a different gospel, which you did not accept, you put up with it as something good" (v 4).

Oh, let's hear both sides of the story. 'That's nice!' Really! 'Where did you see Jesus?' Oh, I was there when He was healing; I saw Him heal thousands, and I've healed in the name of Jesus myself! 'Really?'

So, that's probably one of the things that went on.

Verse 13: "For such are false apostles…"

Remember what it said of Church at Ephesus? That you tested all of those who said they were apostles and were not, and found them liars! Well, that means they were apostles of Satan the devil.

"…deceitful workers who are transforming themselves into apostles of Christ…. [How could they be?] …And it is no marvel, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his servants…" (vs 14-15).

Where there are false prophets and false apostles, they are demon spirits if not Satan himself!

"…also transform themselves as ministers of righteousness—whose end shall be according to their works" (v 15).

That's how Satan works. Look at all of those who claim to be ministers, Sunday-keepers, and they've got that down pat. Here come these false teachers.

Let's look at the fact that there has always been bothering the Church ministers of Satan or Satan himself. That's what we find in Rev. 2 & 3, always! And at the end-time it's going to lead to the greatest deception the world has ever seen.

How does it start out that people get seduced into believing false doctrines with false apostles and false ministers? The answer is right here with the Church at Ephesus (Rev. 2); they lost their first love!

If you lost you're first love after you've already tested against false apostles and cast them out and didn't put up with them, you set yourself up for attack by Satan the devil. That's what happened with the next one, the Church of Smyrna:

Jesus said that they would be cast into prison for ten days and suffer death. Why?

Revelation 2:9[transcriber's correction]: "I know your works and tribulation and poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who declare themselves to be Jews… [symbolically true Christians; because we're to be a Jew inwardly, not outwardly] …and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Come right in and persecute the Church, subvert the Church.

Verse 10: "Do not fear any of the things that you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death…."

In the face of all things that come along, what do we have to be? Faithful unto death!

The Church at Pergamos, what do they have?

Verse 13: "I know your works and where you dwell, where the throne of Satan is…"

Right in Pergamos they had a great throne to Zeus, which is now in Berlin, Germany. Amazing! So, what happened with them, living there in that environment and seeing the things that were done, seeing how they ran things. They had it all organized.

  • they had the works of the Nicolaitans, which is a hierarchy
  • they had the works of eating things sacrificed to idols

That was not fleshly sacrifices; that was a perversion of the Passover.

Then the next Church—Thyatira—even got worse, even allowed Jezebel. Who was Jezebel? The daughter of the priest of Baal! This is Baalism! That church to come and teach things that they shouldn't.

Verse 20: "But I have a few things against you, because you allow the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants into committing fornication and eating things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her fornication, but she did not repent" (vs 20-21).

That happened at the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church didn't repent, and the Protestants didn't give up their Sunday-keeping. So, out of the Church of the Church of Thyatira came the Protestant movement. So, this tells you how bad it got with some of them:

Verse 23: "And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He Who searches the reins and hearts…"

Always remember that God is interested in what you have in your heart and mind, and the reins is the way that God can know everything about you that He needs to from the inside out!

Verse 24: "But to you I say, and to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will not cast upon you any other burden."

That's interesting, isn't it? "…as many as do not have this doctrine…" Is doctrine important? Of course doctrine is important! Doctrine are the teachings of God. "…and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will not cast upon you any other burden." You've got to overcome (v 26).

The Church at Sardis was so dead… It doesn't say anything about Satan there, but of course, who would like to have them dead but Satan? The Church of Philadelphia, the synagogue of Satan tries to interfere with us. The Church at Laodicea[transcriber's correction] are lukewarm. Why? Because they don't have the right doctrines! They take Jesus in a lukewarm way!

Satan is everywhere you go in the book of Revelation. There's the martyrdom of the saints; who is behind that?

Rev. 12:7—this is the battle that is going to be out there in outer space before the end:

Revelation 12:7: "And there was war in heaven… [who always starts the war but Satan the devil] …Michael and his angels warred against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels warred. But they did not prevail, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, who is deceiving the whole world…" (vs 7-9).

Now the whole world is involved! This is why Satan has got to be removed! He's got to be locked up!

Verse 10: "And I heard a great voice in heaven say, 'Now has come the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ because the accuser of our brethren has been cast down, who accuses them day and night before our God."

You see that Satan the devil is active, and he's wanting to:

  • destroy the Church
  • destroy the world
  • destroy all human beings

Absolutely blow the whole globe into smithereens to where there is nothing left! But God will not let that happen!

Verse 11: "But they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb… [repentance] …and through the word of their testimony… [not only what they preach, but by studying the Word of God] …and they loved not their lives unto death."

That's why we're to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and being more than anything else, and our own lives also!

Verse 12: "Therefore, rejoice you heavens and those who dwell in Them. Woe to those who inhabit the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you, having great wrath because he knows that he has only a short time."

Verse 13: "And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had brought forth the man-Child." Then some in the Church will be taken away!

Verse 14: "And two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman…" That's not all, we'll see in a little bit here, that's not all!

"…so that she might fly to her place in the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast water out of his mouth as a river, so that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed up the river that the dragon had cast out of his mouth. Then the dragon was furious with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her seed…" (vs 14-17).

The KJV says remnant, which means the few left. That's where they get the doctrine of the rapture! But it's not so; it's just a few!

"…the rest of her seed who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (v 17).

The whole world is worshipping Satan the devil:

Revelation 13:4: "And they worshiped the dragon, who gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, '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. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. And he was given power to make war against the saints, and to overcome them; and he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him…" (vs 4-8).

That's what's ahead of us, brethren! That's what's ahead of us! This world is going to have some startling things take place, and they're going to be of Satan the devil!

We know that there will be the two witnesses that God will raise up. We find in Zech. 3 & 4, first of all, of Joshua the high priest that Satan was resisting him, and he was clothed in filthy garments. But the angel of the Lord took away that! Could that be the priest, the one at the coming temple that's going to be built? The other of the two witnesses being the one who is the governor of Judea.

These two are the two olive trees who stand before the God of the whole earth! They won't be coming from the Church!

God is going to raise them up right there in Jerusalem, right there where the temple is, right there where the priesthood is. Even after everything looks lost, all of the trumpet plagues take place, the resurrection has occurred (Rev. 15), and now Satan is not done. There's one last furious effort that Satan is going to do. He's going to marshal the whole world, even though it's be devastated mightily by all the things that have come from God, to war against them!

Then we find the last thing; we find the pouring out of the seven last plagues. Here's the fifth one:

Revelation 16:10: "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; yet, they did not repent of their works" (vs 10-11).

Now here comes the last ditch effort; v 12: "And the sixth angel poured out his vial into the great river Euphrates; and its waters were dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared." God's special destruction for China and all the Asian hordes!

Verse 13: "Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet; for they are spirits of demons working miracles, going forth to the kings of the earth, even of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of the Almighty God" (vs 13-14).

Gathered to Armageddon! The battle takes place and the seventh angel says 'It's finished! It's finished!'

We covered Rev. 19 on Trumpets how the saints under Christ's leadership come back on their white horses to the earth and finish off that last battle of Armageddon. The beast and the false prophet are tossed into the Lake of Fire. Now comes the lockup!

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. 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 until the thousand years were fulfilled; and after that it is ordained that he be loosed for a short time" (vs 1-3).

And we will cover that at the end of the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

You can't have the Millennium begin until Christ is ready for it. You can't have it begin until Satan the devil has been locked up!

This day is going to be the day that Satan is locked up!

Scriptural References:

  • Leviticus 23:26-32
  • Leviticus 16:2-24, 26-31
  • 1 Peter 2:2-24
  • Romans 8:1-4
  • Job 1:6-12
  • John 8:43-44
  • Matthew 3:13-17
  • Matthew 4:1-10
  • Matthew 16:17, 21-23
  • Luke 22:31-34
  • 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, 13-15
  • Revelation 2:9-10, 13, 20-21, 23-24
  • Revelation 12:7-17
  • Revelation 13:4-8
  • Revelation 16:10-14
  • Revelation 20:1-3

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

  • John 1
  • Ezekiel 28
  • Isaiah 14
  • Revelation 12
  • 2 Corinthians 4
  • Matthew 16:15-16
  • Revelation 2:26
  • Zechariah 3; 4
  • Revelation 15; 19

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 7/27/21

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