Sermon Tone Analysis

Paul said that these days were a shadow of things to come and the One Who cast the shadow is now here in reality and the Light of the World that cast that shadow was Jesus Christ

Certainly the light is more important than the shadow because this Light was the source or cause for the shadow to be cast.

That Light of course was Jesus Himself Who is called the light of the world.

The Day of Atonement

This was the one day whereby all the nation of Israel was commanded to fast and was the only feast day of the Jews where there was no food to be eaten from the beginning of this High Day at sunset to sunset the following day.

It was a solemn feast day for them and one that symbolized the taking away of sin and placing the guilt on a goat and sending him off into the Wilderness.

So lets read together from Lev. 23:26

On that day, The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27-28), the high priest was to perform elaborate rituals to atone for the sins of the people.

The instruction on what was to be done is described in Leviticus 16:1-34.

Leviticus 16 describes the rituals for the Day of Atonement, known in Jewish tradition as Yom Kippur.

This day—the 10th day of the 7th month—was the one time per year when the high priest was permitted to enter the holy of holies (or most holy place) and stand before the ark of the covenant to atone for the sins of the nation (v.

34).

Now God does instruct Moses to warn Aaron not to come into the Most Holy Place whenever he felt like it; he could only come on this special day once a year, lest he die (v.2).

v.7 Two goats are used in the ceremony; one is sacrificed, the other is sent away, bearing the nation’s sins.

The ritual has two basic components: purifying the sanctuary and eliminating the sins that caused the impurity and offended Yahweh.

God seeks to be present among His people, but impurity must be removed for that to happen.

God’s forgiveness and restoration of the presence can only occur after the sanctuary is purged.

The Day of Atonement or the Feast of Atonement was not a ceremony to be taken lightly, and the people were to understand that atonement for sin was to be done God’s way not man’s way.

So how does Christ fulfill the Feast of Atonement?

In many ways Christ has already fulfilled it through His atoning sacrifice on the Cross, He was both the atonement for our sins as well as the scapegoat for our sins, where our sins are cast away as far as the east is from the west.

In the book of Hebrew Christ is shown as our High Priest who mediates on our behalf.

But what there is more to the symbolic nature of this feast for future Israel.

You see, this feast is not a fulfilment within the church, this feast is a direct message of redemption of Israel.

This feast is symbolic of the time when God will again turn His attention back to the nation of Israel after “the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and . . .

all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25–26).

The Day of Atonement will be fulfilled for the Jews when the Lord returns at His second coming (Zechariah 12:10)

The Jewish remnant who survive the Great Tribulation will recognize Jesus as their Messiah as God releases them from their spiritual blindness and they come to faith in Christ.

To sum up, the day of Atonement was the most holy and solemn day in all of Israel's calendar.

It was a day when the sins of the entire nation, for the entire year, came before both the people and the Lord.

It was a day of great repentance.

Through the provision of God, it was the day when the sins could be atoned for.

It was a day that casts the shadow of the Light of the World showing that every part of the feast is symbolic of our Lord Jesus, from the High Priest to the all the blood offerings to even the scapegoat.

The fulfillment of this day will be seen when Jesus returns.

The 'days of Awe' will reach their crescendo on that day.

It marks the last chance for any to be saved.

For the nation of Israel it is the day of release from their enemies but also the day of mourning as they realize how they 'pierced' and killed their Messiah 2000 years ago.

It will be a day of great repentance and lamenting over the greatest sacrifice the world would ever know.

It is the day when the entire world will come 'face to face' with the living God and see Him with their own eyes.

It is a day of liberty for the people of God.

It is a day of judgement for the enemies of God.

For the Lord Himself it is the day when this planet is returned to its rightful owner (Him!) and His reign begins.

It is the day of Atonement - the most solemn and holy day of all.