S A L V A T I O N… Many petitions are now being lifted to the Almighty, praying for the salvation and healing of our nation. But during this season of the last 3 of God’s Holy Days apointed to be fulfilled by Jesus Himself, are these the prayers God is looking for? Or could this be the ultimate insult of waving another god in His face during the very season the deity and coming Kingdom of His Only Begotten Son should be celebrated and desired above ALL else…
The evening of September 16 on our 2021 Gregorian calendar begins the 10th day of God’s 7th month, the anniversary of the very date the Almighty appropriated a blood sacrifice to cover the sins of His people: The Day of Atonement. God revealed the foundation for His plan of salvation in Leviticus 23:27, 32 when He said, “The Day of Atonement will be on the tenth day of the seventh month…This special day of rest continues from that evening until the next evening.” Leviticus 23:27, 32.
Appointed by God during the wilderness Exodus of the Israelites, this special day is called Yom Kippur. (“Yom” rhymes with home, “Kippur" pronounced “key poor”, accent on poor) “Yom” means day, from sunset to sunset, as marked by God in Leviticus 23:32. “Kippur” is from the Hebrew word “kaphar” (kah-farrrr') meaning “to cover”. The concept of our English equivalent, “atonement” is “covering”. Put the two words together: Day of Covering or Day of Atonement.
The covering or atonement was first appointed by God as the blood sacrifice of an innocent animal. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement (covering) for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11.
Hebrews 9:1-28 binds the “Old” together with the “New”, pointing us straight to Jesus as the Perfect Blood Sacrifice! He did away with the need for atonement for our sins. His precious blood blotted them out entirely!
(1-5) “That first plan contained directions for worship, and a specially designed place of worship. A large outer tent was set up. The lampstand, the table, and "the bread of presence" were placed in it. This was called "the Holy Place." Then a curtain was stretched, and behind it a smaller, inside tent set up. This was called "the Holy of Holies." In it were placed the gold incense altar and the gold-covered Ark of the Covenant containing the gold urn of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, the covenant tablets, and the angel-wing-shadowed mercy seat. But we don't have time to comment on these now."
(6-10) "After this was set up, the priests went about their duties in the large tent. Only the high priest entered the smaller, inside tent, and then only once a year, offering a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people's accumulated sins. This was the Holy Spirit's way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can't just walk in on God. Under this system, the gifts and sacrifices can't really get to the heart of the matter, can't assuage the conscience of the people, but are limited to matters of ritual and behavior. It's essentially a temporary arrangement until a complete overhaul could be made."
(11-15) "But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven's "tent"—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God."
(16-17) "Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus' death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way.
(18-22) "Even the first plan required a death to set it in motion. After Moses had read out all the terms of the plan of the law—God's "will"—he took the blood of sacrificed animals and, in a solemn ritual, sprinkled the document and the people who were its beneficiaries. And then he attested its validity with the words, "This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God." He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. Moses said to the people, "This is the blood of the covenant God has established with you." Practically everything in a will hinges on a death. That's why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins."
(23-26) "That accounts for the prominence of blood and death in all these secondary practices that point to the realities of heaven. It also accounts for why, when the real thing takes place, these animal sacrifices aren't needed anymore, having served their purpose. For Christ didn't enter the earthly version of the Holy Place; he entered the Place Itself, and offered himself to God as the sacrifice for our sins. He doesn't do this every year as the high priests did under the old plan with blood that was not their own; if that had been the case, he would have to sacrifice himself repeatedly throughout the course of history. But instead he sacrificed himself once and for all, summing up all the other sacrifices in this sacrifice of himself, the final solution of sin.
(27) "Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ's death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever.
(28) “And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation.”
We can see how God’s salvation plan for ALL mankind comes together PERFECTLY if we look through the lens of God’s appointments on His calendar in Leviticus 23. Jesus fulfilled God's Holy Days appointed in the Spring with His death on Passover (Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. l Corinthians 5:7); his burial during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh.” John 6; 51); and His resurrection on the holy day of Firstfruits. (“But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20); Fifty days ( seven weeks plus one day) after Jesus’ resurrection on the Feast of Firstfruits, when His promised Holy Spirit fell upon a gathering of the Disciples and others celebrating God’s appointed holy day of Pentecost, the church as we know it today was born. (Acts 2)
The Holy Days occurring on God’s fall calendar have yet to be entirely fulfilled by Jesus. The first fall holy day, appointed on the 1st day of God’s 7th month, occurred the evening of September 8th on our 2021 calendar. Known as the Day of Trumpets, or Day of Blowing, it is the day that Jesus refers to with the word “Watch”. This ancient day announces King Jesus’ imminent return with the heralding of 100 trumpets. https://www.facebook.com/fontanacommunitychurch/posts/4309303335816489
The evening of September 16 on our 2021 Gregorian calendar begins the 10th day of God’s 7th month, the anniversary of the very date the Almighty appropriated a blood sacrifice to cover the sins of His people: The Day of Atonement.
The last holy day to be fulfilled by Jesus is appointed to begin on the 15th day of the same month on God’s calendar, which begins the evening of September 21 on our 2021 calendar. That evening marks the beginning of God’s 7-day Feast of Tabernacles, culminating in the 8th Last Great Day. ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’” Revelation 21:3.
“And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely,"
"S A L V A T I O N"
