Herbert W Armstrong

   And it was blown for a very special purpose. In fact, I want you to read, go back to Leviticus chapter 25. Leviticus 25, and you'll see it there (Leviticus 25:8).

   In fact, the beginning of the chapter in Leviticus 25 is where God instructs his people about the annual agricultural Sabbath of the Lamb. Every seventh year the people were instructed to let the land rest, lie idle and lie fallow, and not to plough it, not to sow it with seed, or anything like that. Just let the cattle wander backwards and forwards over it.

   And this way the cattle were able to re-inoculate the soil with vital bacteria and various other things. And the land benefited from it. But in verse 8 it says you shall number seven Sabbaths of years to you.

   That's 49 years. That's seven times seven years. And the space of seven Sabbaths of years shall be for you 49 years.

   And then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound. In other words, they had then in the fiftieth year, a Jubilee year. Now the Jubilee year was probably the most exciting year of an Israelite's lifetime.

   In fact, you know, you can just sit down and it doesn't take much of a mathematician to figure that the average individual saw only one Jubilee in their entire lifetime. And that was an exciting year. It was a year of festivity.

   It was a year of excitement. It was a year in which a number of things happened. Interestingly enough, it began on the Day of Atonement.

   And it began with the sounding of trumpets. And this, as far as I know, was the only Day of Atonement that trumpets were sounded. And it says you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month in the Day of Atonement.

   Shall you make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. Now why was it that God chose the Day of Atonement, the beginning of the Jubilee year and decided that on that particular day, that fast day, the trumpet should be sounded? Well, the reason is very obvious. And that is because God wanted to draw our minds back to the Feast of Trumpets.

   There would be something that Christ would start on the Feast of Trumpets that actually would not be complete until the Day of Atonement. And the particular Day of Atonement God had in mind was the day that was represented by the Jubilee year. In fact, the Jubilee year and the sounding of this trumpet on the Day of Atonement actually began what was called the year of liberty, the year of freedom.

   Not freedom to do whatever you wanted to do. But it was a year of liberty and a year of freedom for all Jewish or Israelitish bond servants. It was a year of release from all debts.

   If you owed anybody any money whatsoever for any purpose, no matter what it was, you were released from that debt on the year of Jubilee. If you had sold your land, then you were able to return to it and reclaim it as your rightful possession on the year of Jubilee. As I said, if you were a bond servant, if you were a Hebrew bond servant and for some reason or another as a result of getting into debt or whatever it is you had gone into bond servant in which you were virtually almost like a slave, then on the year of Jubilee, on the Day of Atonement in the year of Jubilee, you were free.

   You were a free individual again. You were no longer a bond servant. You were no longer in debt.

   You could return to your own land. And no matter what had been built on it, no matter what had been done with it, no matter how much had been paid for it, how many years in advance, it became your land again at the end of every fiftieth year. Of course, this was a perfect system to prevent inflation.

   Normally inflation isn't tied in to the value of property. In fact, it's the increasing value of property or the artificial inflating of the value of property that is one of the major causes of inflation. It's one of the things that keeps it going.

   And one way to bring everything back to its real value again was to have a year of Jubilee in which the land suddenly reverted back to its rightful owners again. In other words, it virtually became valueless again or reverted back to its true value. And the people were required to go back and claim it.

   Now, the Jubilee, obviously, doesn't take very much imagination to understand that the Jubilee pictured Christ's return and the beginning of the millennium. Notice what he says in verse 10. It says, You shall hallow the fiftieth year, one entire year.

   You shall hallow it and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be a Jubilee to you and you shall return every man to his possession and you shall return every man to his family. In other words, it was a time of family reunion when people would get together in a very festive spirit.

   It was a time when growing families would get together. It was a time when people were free from the worry of debt and problems and difficulties like that. As I said, this picture of Jesus Christ's return to liberate this world to release people from debt to let people return to what rightfully is theirs.

   As I said, the Jubilee year was a time of great rejoicing in Israel. It was a time that people looked forward to and prepared for for years and years. It was a time, you know, if you'd been a young child during that time it was a time you'd never ever forget as long as you lived.

   Because if you were born the next year, then you'd be 48 years old when your first year of Jubilee came along. But it was an exciting time. The interesting thing about it is, it did not begin until the Day of Atonement.

   Now, people have often asked, well, why didn't the year of Jubilee begin until the Day of Atonement? I mean, if the Feast of Trumpets represents Christ coming back and the year of Jubilee represents the Millennium then why on earth didn't God have the year of Jubilee begin at the Feast of Trumpets? Well, the reason for it is, is because the year of Jubilee or the Millennium can't really begin until we have reached the stage in God's plan that is pictured by the Day of Atonement especially the Day of Atonement that took place on the year of Jubilee. This is why he had trumpets blown on that day because he wanted to take the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement and help us to understand the two are tied together you cannot separate the two. That there is going to be something begun on the Feast of Trumpets that will not be ended or completed until we reach the time that the Day of Atonement is pictured.

   And then of course we all know the Feast of Trumpets pictures Christ returning to this earth as King of kings as Lord of lords to liberate this sin sick and dying world to bring to an end an era of oppression to release mankind from the bondage to Satan and from the penalty of generations and generations of sin. We understand that's what the Feast of Trumpets is picturing. But Christ will begin a task on the Feast of Trumpets that actually will not be complete until the Day of Atonement just over nine days later.

   Now again people have wondered that if Christ is going to come back on the Feast of Trumpets why is it that God separates the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement by nine whole days? What's going to be taking place during those nine days? I'm not saying that Jesus Christ is actually going to return to this earth specifically on a specific Feast of Trumpets. Now he just may do that. We know the Feast of Trumpets does picture his return.

   We know the Passover pictures his death and he died on the Passover. We know that the morrow after the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures his ascension to heaven and he ascended to heaven on that day. We know the Feast of Pentecost pictures the beginning of this year of God's church and the church began on that day.

   I would say the chances are fairly great that Christ will return on a Feast of Trumpets somewhere at some time in the not too distant future. That doesn't mean to say he has to return on the Feast of Trumpets but say he did then something's going to have to be taking place in the nine long days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. What is going to take place? We basically know what's going to take place on the Day of Atonement but what's going to take place in the nine days in between? Well it's very likely I don't know how many of you have ever thought of this but it's very likely that the great battle that Christ is going to fight to wreck control of this earth of Satan and his demons could very well last that entire nine day period.

   I don't know how many of you have ever thought of that but I'll tell you one thing Satan has absolutely no intention whatsoever of letting go easily. We can tell from various scriptures in the Bible and prophecies that he's going to mobilize every force at his disposal in order to hang on to what he's got. That at that time there are going to be desperate demons along with him who are going to use everything they possibly can to stay in control of this earth even after Christ has returned as Mr. Croucher pointed out during the Feast of Trumpets that the great battle of Armageddon is going to take place after Christ's return.

   He's going to come back to fight it. It's going to be the last great battle but how long is that battle going to last? Well that battle is going to be fought to break the grips of Satan and his demons on this earth. And brethren for thousands of years now Satan has exploited and victimized mankind a gullible mankind into following his way of life into looking to him as their God and as a result reaping the grim penalty of misery and suffering of fear and mistrust of pain and death as a result of it.

   Now before mankind can be truly liberated and set free which is what the year of Jubilee represented before mankind can be truly liberated and set free and before the millennium can really begin before that great time of peace and prosperity can really get underway Satan must be taken care of along with his demons he's got to be immobilized he's got to be neutralized he's got to be deposed he's got to be imprisoned before Christ can really begin to usher in the millennium. Now the world today doesn't realize or nor does it understand the tremendous amount of influence that Satan and his demons have over human activity. And I don't just mean certain human activities but all human activities have been influenced by that great spirit being who palms himself off as the god of this world.

   He palms himself off as the great counterfeit savior. He palms himself off as the one that this world should look to and should follow and should worship. At the same time he permeates all of society this entire world wherever you find human beings you'll find Satan has permeated the place with his attitudes of hostility of rebellion of resentment toward God and God's law and God's word of selfishness and greed and mistrust and envy and hate and fear.

   You know all those things come from Satan. They can be very adequately produced within any human being but they come from Satan they are his attitudes and he permeates this world with them. In fact the Bible talks about him as being the one who works in the children of disobedience who actively works in them by inspiring them by permeating this world with those attitudes of mind.

   And brethren it is impossible and it will be impossible for the world after Christ returns to be at one with God which is what the Day of Atonement means it's a play on the word at one at one with God. It'll be impossible for the world to be at one with God so long as Satan is still around so long as his demons are still there to influence mankind. Now the Day of Atonement we know pictures this very event and yet it won't be easy for Christ.

   I know at times we tend year after year to go through these various days and what they picture oh yes you know we know the Feast of Trumpets pictures Christ's return and there's going to be sort of a battle take place and then the Day of Atonement pictures the time that Satan is going to be bound and put away but I wonder how many of us actually go through the Bible asking ourselves what exactly is that going to mean in real terms to real live human beings living on this earth at that time. Is it something they're going to be aware of? Is it something they're going to be concerned about? Is it something that's going to involve them personally? Well yes it will involve them personally. In fact if you go back to Revelation chapter 16 just to pick up on a scripture that we actually touched on during the Feast of Trumpets when we were going through the meaning of that day.

   Revelation chapter 16 and this is something that happens after Jesus Christ's return. Now up until this point we will have seen throughout the period of the tribulation an increase in Satan's activity. In fact the Bible warns us in Revelation chapter 12 when it says woe to the inhabitants of the earth it said because Satan has come down having great wrath.

   In other words there's going to be a tremendous increase in his activity and his attempt to reach the minds of human beings. There are going to be people who willingly will take part in a system. You know the Bible talks about people who will receive a mark on their hands and their foreheads.

   That's not just a computerized system designed for population surveillance. I think it will involve that. But it also involves a system in which people will actively and willingly hunt down and seek out anyone who has any knowledge of or allegiance to God whatsoever.

   And those people will be hunted down harassed and ultimately martyred unless they change. Now anyone who takes on the mark of the beast is going to be part and parcel of that system. And all that it stands for.

   And they're going to be part and parcel of it because they will be influenced by Satan. Between now and Jesus Christ's return we're going to see a tremendous increase in Satan's activity and his attempt to get at the minds of human beings. And an attempt to influence those minds.

   And yet after Jesus Christ returns when he finally comes back to this earth you're going to see a dramatic increase even on top of that. Because it says here in verse 13 of Revelation 16, (Revelation 16:13). It says, I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and the mouth of the beast and the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of demons working miracles which go forth to the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty.

   And down in verse 16, Revelation 16:16), it says and he gathers them together into a place in the Hebrew tongue which is called Armageddon. In other words here even after Christ's return there's going to be a sudden increase in demonic activity and it's going to have a dramatic effect on human beings who will be alive at that time. Fortunately at this time anyone who's going to be resurrected and be in God's kingdom is going to be resurrected already and will be beyond this.

   This will not be able to touch them. But the effect that's going to have on the minds of the majority of people on this world is going to be dramatic. There will be other people I'm sure, the children of members and others who will have to be protected from this and who undoubtedly will be protected from this probably still in a place of safety.

   But for the majority of people who are living on this earth this is going to be the most traumatic time in all of human history. In fact various scriptures throughout the Bible allude to it. A tremendous increase in demon activity at that time.

   Notice Psalm 1:1. Now Psalm 1, those of you who have been attending the Auckland Bible studies as we're going through these psalms you'll recognize immediately that Psalm 1, I said Psalm 1, I meant Psalm 2 that Psalm 2 is a psalm about the return of Jesus Christ (Psalm 2:1-6). It's a psalm about him coming back to seize and take over the control of this world the throne of this world coming back as king of kings and ushering in the millennium. And yet it starts off by saying why did the heathen rage? And the people imagine a vain thing.

   In other words it says at that time that the heathen will rage. They're going to be insane with anger. In fact people at this time with this tremendous increase in demon activity are literally going to begin to go out of their minds.

   And it carries on. It says and the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Eternal and against his anointed saying let us break their bands of thunder and cast away their cords from us. And you can tell just from going through the very psalm here that Christ has already returned.

   Verse 6 says I have or have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Christ has already returned. He's back there at Jerusalem.

   The battle of Armageddon in which Satan is desperately going to be hanging on to this world he's going to sell himself for the highest price he can get. In an attempt to hang on to control of this world and fight Christ the very last human being he has at his disposal in order to maintain that control. And the tremendous increase is going to cause the people to go into an absolute rage against him.

   You can see the same thing in Psalm 46. Another psalm about the return of Jesus Christ. In fact a lot of the prophecies about the return of Christ are not in the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel etc.

   They're right here in the book of Psalms. Tremendous number of prophecies in the book of Psalms. As I said, those of you who can attend the Auckland Bible Study and who don't, ought to get there.

   Some of these psalms are very, very exciting. But notice Psalm 46:6. It says that he's enraged. The kingdoms were moved.

   Now how are the kingdoms going to be moved? Well they're going to be moved by Satan. Moved by demons who are going to increase dramatically their activity and their influence over people. In fact you can also go to Revelation 11:18.

   Another scripture that we read to you during the Feast of Trumpets. Revelation 18, 11 verse 18. Notice what it says here.

   It says the nations were angry. And your wrath has come and the time of the dead etc. etc.

   In other words, at this particular period in history brethren, the Bible tells us that something very unusual is going to take place. That there is going to be a sudden and dramatic increase in people's anger and hostility toward what is happening. In fact these scriptures just really in a very brief way describe the extent of the demon influence and the increase in demon influence that's going to take place.

   And really even at that time only a deeply converted individual with God's divine protection has any defense against this sort of demon activity at all. And as I said, all those who would be deeply converted at the time will be in God's family as immortal spirit beings. Undoubtedly God will protect those who are too young to be there, haven't been baptized, who have already come under his divine protection.

   He'll protect them from this sort of thing. But notice one other thing it says is going to happen. Zechariah chapter 14.

   Once again, these are scriptures that we very briefly covered on the Feast of Trumpets but did not spend any time on because they're really talking about something that pertains a little more to the Day of Atonement. Zechariah 14:12. I know we went through this scripture about the super weapons that Jesus Christ is going to have to use against people.

   But you've got to realize that Christ, one of Christ's most difficult tasks brethren, is going to be to wrest control of this world off Satan. And Satan will have control of the human population and there's going to be only one way that Jesus Christ is going to be able to break Satan's grip on the population of this world. And that is to virtually obliterate almost every human being there is.

   In fact, quite this great battle. The only way Christ is going to be able to seize control of this world is to get control of the human population. And just like you get a little kid you might be throwing a tantrum on the floor, almost going crazy out of their mind.

   The only way to get that, you know, hold of that kid's mind is to turn it over your knee and give it a jolly good spanking on the rear end. I don't know how many of you have ever had your kid when they're very small go into a temper tantrum. You know, where they stick their arms and legs out and their face goes red and it begins to go blue and they sort of, you know, shout and holler but nothing comes out.

   You know they're having a temper tantrum they're almost suffocating. There's only one thing you can do. Grab that kid and put it straight across your knee.

   Because you've got to get enough pain through from the other end in order to reach its mind. There's no sense trying to reach its mind through its ears or its other, you know, the normal sort of rational means. You've got to start in at the end that begins to hurt.

   And you know, your kid will come out of it. But any parent, some parents never experience that. I know we had it with one of ours.

   And it's a shocking thing when you see it happen when a kid just decides they're just going to go berserk because they can't get their own way. And they literally do go berserk. And, well this is what will be happening to the world.

   And there's only one way. Christ is going to be able to break Satan's control of this world. And that will be to break his grip on the minds of the human population of this earth.

   And it's going to take a great deal of effort. As I said, notice Zechariah chapter 14. It says, this shall be the plague wherewith the Eternal will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem.

   Mr. Croucher described this. You know, here's this great spirit being coming down and they're going to turn everything they have on him. And the bullets and the explosions are just going to go right through him and he'll just keep on coming.

   In fact, you know, I wonder if you've ever stopped I think I've mentioned this before. As to why it is all the science fiction stories or most of the science fiction stories talk about this great invasion from outer space by you know, by super beings who have weapons that against which human beings have absolutely no defense at all. At the same time the most sophisticated human weapons have no effect on them.

   They just keep on coming. And normally they're coming back to stop mankind destroying themselves in some great war to take over. You know, a lot of the demons that inspire some of these real weird science fiction stories and, you know, let's face it some of them are inspired by demons generally come back to this theme.

   Something that to them they know is going to happen one day. I think H.G. Wells was the first one in The War of the Worlds. But, you know, every second science fiction book is like it today.

   They manage to sort of get it off into other worlds now like Star Wars and other things. But for many years most science fiction books came back to this theme. Because it was something that demons knew was going to happen.

   It's something they deeply feared. And it's almost as if they were picking up the population of this world to turn on Jesus Christ when he does come back and immediately quote unquote recognize him as an invader from out of faith. He's coming to hurt them and to harm them somehow and enslave them.

   And you can imagine what's going to happen at that time. Well, you know, here was a being coming down from out of faith with unbelievable weapons. It says their flesh shall consume away while they stand on their feet.

   And it says and their eyes shall consume away in their holes and their tongues shall consume away in their mouth. And, you know, this is some people say oh, it's not scientifically possible. Well, yes it is.

   You know, it wasn't too long ago that a specialized biologist discovered that you know, in every single cell in your body and the body of any living thing whether it's plant or animal or whatever it is even a bacteria that every single living cell there's an enzyme that is kept locked up in there. And the moment your body dies that enzyme is released and its purpose is to dissolve away the outer wall of the cell in order that the process of decay can take place. Now he said this particular scientist who discovered this he said, look, if we could find some way of suddenly causing this enzyme to release in the body of a living animal or human being he said we would guess what we would see he said we would literally see the flesh drop off the bone just dissolve off the bone just like that.

   In other words, you know what's being talked about here is possible how Christ will do it I don't know. But it says it shall come to pass in that day that a great tumult from the Eternal shall be among them. And notice what will happen they shall lay hold every man on the hand of his neighbor and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.

   In other words this is describing something that is the result of a human population that has just gone crazy insane in panic where finally, you know every single one of them turns around and they begin to destroy one another. You know, you're talking here about a situation of demon influence. Human beings even, you know even armies of people you know, highly trained armies even under the worst possible conditions of battle fire don't turn on one another and hack one another to pieces.

   You know, every army knows that if you, you know if you stay together your chances of survival are increased. But here's where, you know entire armies they just turn around and destroy one another the individual next to them. Obviously, here it's talking about you know, someone who's just gone crazy insane and has just panicked.

   And believe me at this time the demons will be in a state of panic. And one thing we, you know we often don't realize is that with Satan's ability to reach the minds of human beings with his attitude with his desires with his lust with his vanity his resentment that any group of human beings that are under his influence and subject to that influence are going to experience the same things that he and his demons will be experiencing. And at that time they are just going to go into absolute blind panic.

   And the effect is going to come out in the human beings because they are going to be under that influence. And after fighting an absolute pit battle with all the armies that Satan can muster you know, Christ is going to solve the problem. There's only one way that Christ can break the grip that Satan will have upon human beings.

   And that is by you know, breaking down the human beings themselves. This is what is being described over here in Isaiah chapter 2. As I said, I can turn to dozens and dozens of prophecies about this. And these are going to be taking place very probably you know, all this will take place in the nine days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement.

   If this is the way God is going to work it if Christ does return on a Feast of Trumpets. And that is Isaiah chapter 2. Well, verse 20 (Isaiah 2:20), it says, And in that day, verse 20, a man shall cast his idols of silver and his idols of gold which were made each for himself to worship to the moles and to the bats. And they shall go into the clefts of the rocks in other words in absolute blind panic.

   Human beings are going to seek any place of refuge at all if they're literally driven crazy by the demons and the demon activity as they themselves are panicking at what's happening. And they go to the quest of the rocks and to the tops of the ragged rocks for fear of the eternal and for the glory of His Majesty when he arises to shake terribly the earth. In other words, brethren, Christ is finally going to get a hold of this earth and shake it, and shake it until every human being is finally brought down to the point where they can't stand, they can't stagger, they can't even lie down. And, and, you know, finally, Satan and his demons themselves are going to be seized.

   But before Christ can do that, he's, he's, he's got to get a hold of the minds of the human being. And just like you take some little child, it's just almost going insane and in temper tantrum and turn it over his knee and, and administer the only thing that'll understand and is capable of understanding is understanding at that time, that's exactly what Christ is going to have to do to the population of this world.

   You know, it begins to, you begin to wonder now, you know, I often used to wonder years ago when I read through Revelation chapter 16. It talks about Jesus Christ having already returned and then beginning to pour out the seven vials of God's wrath on the earth. Now human beings are going to blaspheme, and they, they, you know, they're gonna, they're gonna, they're gonna use every epithet they can think of. They're gonna blaspheme terribly at what is happening to them and God. I used to read that and just say to myself, "Why don't they repent and it all stops?"

   Well, the reason they're gonna blaspheme so terribly and continuously, it's because it's simply going to reflect the minds of the demons who will be in control of this world at that time, and that's what the demons will be doing. You know, they are incapable of repentance. And as long as they have control and, and have the stepped up activity that they're gonna have at that time, mankind will be incapable of repenting as well.

   And it's only when Christ has come in and destroyed probably millions of human beings - you can turn to other prophecies. You can turn to the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 63. Which is a prophecy about Jesus Christ coming. In fact, you know, he's just come back in Isaiah 62, and it goes into Isaiah 63, and it describes how he's gonna ride up and down that valley of Jehoshaphat, you know, with his armies absolutely covered in blood, and finally, you know, he sort of comes back up on his horse up the, you know, up, up onto Mount Zion, absolutely dripping in blood from the from the, the, the people that he had to fight with who have been crazed by Satan and his demons to turn against him in hostility, in fear, in resentment, and an absolute blind panic.

   You know, finally, when Christ has broken the grip of Satan on this world, this is what's gonna happen over in Revelation chapter 20. As I said, it could take him 9 or 10 days. It could take him all the time between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement to finally reach this point.

   The Revelation chapter 20, after all that is over - and you, you know, Revelation 19, of course, is talking about the returning Christ. It's talking about the great battle that was taken. It's talking about the beast and the false prophet being flung into the lake of fire. And then verse 1 of chapter 20 says (Revelation 20:1), "I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, the devil, and Satan and bound him for 1000 years."

   In other words, Satan will no longer have anything he can fight with. Spiritually, God will be stronger. But Satan even that time was gonna try and destroy God through any means and every means he can just in a desperate effort to hang on - absolute blind fear and panic of what's about to happen to him and, you know, those who are with him. He's gonna be bound into a condition of total restraint, unable to influence anyone.

   And it says, and he's gonna be bound 1000 years, and it cast him into the bottom of the pit and shut him up and set a seal on him that he should deceive the nations no more until 1000 years are finished.

   Now, can you imagine, just at this point, the dramatic change that's going to take place in this world when Satan's broadcasting his ability to influence people and permeate the world and the air with his attitudes? Can you imagine the dramatic change that's going to take place when it suddenly, bang, just switched off?

   You can imagine what it's like being in a, you know, I don't know whether you've ever been out on a, on a campout at night. You know, we went to Motutapu Island, some of us who dared to brave the elements one time, and, you know, there was a teenage party on Motutapu Island, and you know, we lay in a tent and there was, you know, there was one group over here sort of was their radio - Radio Hauraki turned up - and there was another group over here with 1ZB turned up and there was another group up here with some other station turned up and that was going right through the night. Um, and you finally reached the stage where your mind just goes numb and crazy and, and, you know, if all of that is just suddenly switched off, you, you wake up and you say, "What, what happened?" You know, can you imagine the dramatic change that's going to take place when, when Satan's ability to reach the minds of human beings is just things just switched off? It's not there anymore. There is no influence there anymore. It's dramatically just cut.

   Well, there is going to be a rather dramatic change. In fact, if you turn over to Zechariah chapter 12, you, you can begin to see it. I don't know how many of you have ever had the misfortune - and believe me, it is a misfortune. You know, God's ministers run into it sometimes. We run into it occasionally when we're dealing with people who are either demon possessed or being harassed or, you know, influenced by demons. You can walk into a room and you know there is something there, there's a presence, there's a pressure on your mind, and there are attitudes of hostility and rebellion there and you can feel them, I mean really feel them.

   And because you know, you know, there's a demon there and you can feel its influence on your mind, even though it's, you know, even though it's not affecting your mind or causing your mind to do anything wrong, you, you can feel its influence there and it's attitudes there and you know, when a minister who's constantly dealing with that sort of thing, learns to recognize it bang like that, and but it could be a terrifying experience, the very first time it happened.

   And I remember one, one minister - I won't even name him because he's a, you know, he's a pastor in the states right now and uh some of the people from the states might recognize his name - but I, it was the very first visit I ever took him on and he was a senior in college and I had to go out and visit someone who we didn't know who they were or never met him before, but we walked into this room and this is what happened. And he, you know, it didn't, he was there about 10 seconds, he said, "I'm getting out of here." You know, he, he bolted for the door. He stood out in the street, he stood out on the street waiting, waiting for me to come out because he, he recognized something, just something that just, just caused him to fear. And that was his very first experience with anything like that.

   I'm not, you know, I'm not mentioning that because it's the sort of thing that the average member runs into or the average member ought to seek out because it, it certainly isn't. But uh just to use it to demonstrate what it is going to be like for the people in this world who are just going to be under that unbelievable mental, psychological, spiritual pressure and suddenly it's going to be switched off.

   Well this is what's being described here in Zechariah chapter 12. Zechariah chapter 12, where we can start in verse 9 (Zechariah 12:9), it says, "And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." And he says, "And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication."

   Now it's interesting that in order for God to do this, in order for him to be able to give something like this to a whole group of people, he's got to take the other away because the Jews are not going to be exempt from this either. The book of Zechariah says that the Jews also will fight at Jerusalem. And, and it's not until God has taken away and shut off and cut off and totally restrained the influence of Satan that this is going to be possible.

   "And then I will pour upon the the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son. It shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first born."

   Interesting thing here, the, the obvious thing being pictured here is the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement traditionally has always represented a time of national mourning as far as the Israelites or the Jews are concerned. In ancient Israel, it was a time of national mourning. In fact, this is why we fast on the Day of Atonement, because fasting represents repentance. And I'll show you a little later that the reason the entire nation had to fast is because the entire nation of Israel on the Day of Atonement and in the ceremonies and the rituals of the Day of Atonement represents all mankind.

   And in other words, fasting represents a time of repentance, and the Day of Atonement to the Jews always was a time of national repentance, the most sober occasion of the year. And it says here on that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem. This is obviously the Day of Atonement being, being pictured here. "There's the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo, and the land shall mourn every family apart, the family of the house of David apart, their wives apart, the family of the house of Nathan apart and their wives apart."

   In other words, they're all going to go into seclusion in repentance and self-examination. You can see this is going to be a rather dramatic thing for the Jews because they're suddenly going to realize that, you know, the Christ they persecuted for 2000 years really is the one who is the, you know, the delivering Messiah, and it says the family of the house of Levi, etc. etc. apart and all the families that remain, every family apart and their wives apart.

   And then notice we'll go straight on into the next verse because it says "in that day" and it's referring here to the day of Atonment "there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness." In other words, their, their sins are going to be forgiven. "And if you come to pass in that day," says the Eternal host, "that I'll cut off the names of the idols out of the land." God is going to clean the land, cleanse it of the idols and the images, "and they shall no more be remembered" and notice this, "and I will also cause the prophet and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land."

   When? Well, on the day that is obviously being pictured here - the Day of Atonement. God said "I'm not just going to bind Satan, I'm gonna cause the unclean spirit, that the demons as well to go out of the land" and uh, and as I said here, they're going to be fasting because the Day of Atonement is a time of fasting. Fasting represents repentance. It represents self-examination. It represents a time when people begin to reflect on what they have done and what they have been involved in.

   And here you, you read here, when you put this together with the other scriptures, you, you, what you're seeing here is a dramatic change resulting from binding Satan and his demons from totally restraining them and, and this is the Day of Atonement that's being talked about.

   In fact, the entire subject and what we're discussing really is summed up in the ritual that actually took place on the Day of Atonement anciently. I want to go back just before I finish this sermon to that ritual in Leviticus chapter 16. I know for those of you who have been in the church a number of years, you've probably been through this many times. But I guarantee you I can always show you something new in chapter 16 that you haven't seen before.

   If you think you're getting dry sitting down there, you have to try getting up here speaking. You lose 10 times more moisture. I keep wanting to reach under here for a glass of water. I don't know why, why it is, but uh, anyway, Leviticus chapter 16.

   Now, now Leviticus 16 is, is really picturing a very elaborate ritual. I don't intend to go through all of it because I don't have time to go through all of it, but I can allude to some of it during this elaborate ritual.

   First of all, the priest himself had to be ceremonially cleansed of sin. And in order to be ceremonially cleansed of sin, he sacrificed a bullock for a sin offering, and the blood of that bullock was taken into the tabernacle, and every single part of the tabernacle was cleansed, ceremonially cleansed from contamination from sin, and even the altars were cleansed. The reason for that is because in this particular ceremony, above all other ceremonies, something very special was being pictured.

   And then finally he had to choose two goats. And at verse 7, (Leviticus 16:7), it says, "And he shall take the two goats and present them before the Eternal at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." This is after he had cleansed himself after he dressed himself up in his, you know, in his beautiful white robes in which he actually pictured Jesus Christ, you know, Jesus Christ the mediator.

   Jesus Christ has been pictured several in several places throughout this ceremony. First of all, he's pictured in the form of a high priest as a mediator between man and God. Secondly, he's also pictured as the sacrifice for sin. And it's a very interesting aspect of the sacrifice of sin that I'll bring out in a minute, but it says here he shall present these two goats before God.

   And it says, "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one for the Lord and the other for Azazel," is how it should read. The word scapegoat really is, is not in the original and it's not intended to be in the original. One of these goats stood for Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice for sin. The other goat stood for Azazel. Azazel in Hebrew simply means the one who is to be sent away.

   You know, God always calls individuals and beings for what they are. Lucifer used to be called Lucifer, which meant, you know, great star of the dawn, the light bringer, the bringer of proof of knowledge and understanding, which he would have been had he remained faithful to God. But when he sinned against God, God changed his name. He changed it to the devil.

   You know, the word devil comes from the Greek word, diabolos, which simply means the slanderer. You know Satan had spent years, I don't know, millenniums maybe slandering God. This is how he was able to get a third of the angels to follow him. He slandered God. It's the way Satan always operates. It is modus operandi.

   We, we've had the same thing happen within the very church of God, you know, slander being used in an attempt to undermine confidence and faith and trust in the government of God in the church. That's why God calls him the devil. It simply means the slanderer. He also calls him Satan, which means the adversary. The various other names for him throughout the Bible. The Bible calls him Beelzebub, which means the one who is to be removed. Here in this ceremony he's called Azazel, the one who has to be sent away, sent away into the bottomless pit and in a condition of restraint.

   The interesting thing is that Aaron had to do a strange thing here. He had to cast lots on the goat. The reason for that is, is because even Aaron in the office of high priest with all the wisdom he had was unable to choose between these two goats. There were two absolutely identical goats. They had to be perfect, they had to be without blemish and they had, you know, they had to be identical, and only God could choose between them.

   The reason for that is because the congregation of Israel being pictured here - the entire congregation took part in the ceremony. The congregation of Israel represents all of mankind, and like all of mankind, the congregation of Israel was unable to determine which of these goats would stand for Jesus Christ, the sacrifice, and which of the goats would represent Satan, the god of this world.

   The reason for that is because this world today is unable to distinguish between the two. Now the Bible pictures Satan as the god of this world. It also pictures him as a great angelic being of light who has transformed himself into this world's Messiah and into the god this world worships.

   Jesus Christ on four different occasions referred to Satan as the ruler of this world. He is the false Messiah. He is the great counterfeiter, very, very clever counterfeit of the true savior. This is why Aaron had to cast lots on them because the lot was an appeal to God to choose, because when you really come down to it, brethren, unless you had God's spirit, and unless you had, God had opened your mind to understand the truth of His word, you yourself would be unable to choose between the two. You yourself would be totally unable to determine which was the true Messiah and which was the false one, which was the one who died for your sins and which was a very, very clever counterfeit.

   It was so close to the original that you would almost be unable, you know, in fact, without God and without God's spirit, without God actually revealing it to you, you wouldn't even know the difference. This is why, you know, this is what is being pictured here. God is showing the difference, and he is showing who is the truth and who is the false.

   Then he goes on to verse 9, and it says "And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell and offer him for a sin offering." Now the sin offering represented Jesus Christ being offered for the sins of all of mankind. The interesting thing here though is that, you know, if anyone who very carefully studies through these sacrifices, and I know not many people do because they just seem to be so much, you know, mumbo jumbo and gobbledygook back there, but, but, you know, everything back there has a meaning.

   The interesting thing is that he was offered for a sin offering and not a trespass offering. And there's a reason why, you know, in ancient Israel, when you, when you read in the book of Leviticus about the trespass offering, you'll find the trespass offering listed sins. And when you read through the trespass offering, it says, you know, if a man steals, or if a man lies or if a man takes something that belongs to his neighbor, or if he does this or that and, and a great long list of possible hypothetical sins are listed God says he'll, he'll come on and he'll give a trespass offering. And that's what a trespass offering was for. A trespass offering was for a specific categorized sin.

   The interesting thing is when you go to the sin offering it doesn't list any categorized sin. The sin offering does not hit you, an offering for a specific act of sin. It really pictures an offering for the sinfulness of the individual. In other words, the reason God has a sin offering and a trespass offering is one represents Christ dying for what you are, you know, for you as an individual, being a sinful human being.

   Now this is what you know when Job had to repent. Job hadn't committed any sins, but he was still a sinful human being. He had human nature. He had resentment and envy and vanity and hostility like any other human being had. He had to repent of what he was. So a sin offering really represents Christ dying for what you are. Now the trespass offering represents Christ dying for what you have done.

   And it's interesting that this particular goat, it's not sacrificed for a trespass offering, it's sacrificed for a sin offering. And there's a reason for that, and there is a reason why there are two goats in the ceremony, brethren, because in spite of the fact that Satan is the cause of all the world's ills, in spite of the fact that Aaron is going to lay his hands on the, you know, on the goat for Azazel or for Satan and, and recite over the goat all the sins of Israel, in spite of the fact that you know we can turn around and blame Satan for everything that goes wrong and the way this world is, we also have a part in it.

   And this is why another goat representing Jesus Christ is offered for a sin offering. Because he has been offered for the part the people of this world have had in what has gone wrong and the state the world has gotten into, he is being offered for what this world, the people in the world have become because really people can resist Satan and his influence. They may not be able to resist him very effectively, you know, but they can resist him to a certain extent. It's only someone who has converted with God's spirit who can resist him and overcome him totally.

   The brethren, what is being pictured here is God laying the blame for sin, not just at Satan's feet, but also at the feet of the people in this world. The fortunate thing about it, brethren, is the people of the world, the human beings can repent and be forgiven. Satan can't repent and won't be forgiven. He can't repent because he won't repent.

   And so here's why you have this very, very elaborate ritual. And so it says here, let's go to verse 15. I'll skip out some of it just the time. But it says, and then it says, "Then shall he kill," this is the priest, high priest, "then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people." In other words, this is not being killed just for their physical or their specific acts of sin. This has been sacrificed for what they are, the evilness that is in human beings that can be forgiven and overcome.

   "And he shall, he shall bring this blood within the veil to do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, to sprinkle it upon the mercy seat before the mercy seat and before the mercy seat, and he shall make an atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel."

   So again, Moses had to - Aaron had to go in there and cleanse the holy place. This time not with the blood of the bullock, but this time with the blood of that goat because the holy place and the tabernacle and everything about it had been in contact with the people of Israel who, who represented at that time the sinful human beings on the, or the entire human population of the earth.

   "And if they, and because of their transgressions and in all their sins, so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation that remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness." Just because it had been in contact with mankind, it had to be ritualistically or ceremonially cleansed.

   And then it says "And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the holy place until he comes out and has made an atonement for himself and for his household and for all the congregation of Israel."

   Brethren, here is why God has a fast on the Day of Atonement, because the Day of Atonement doesn't just represent kicking Satan out of the, you know, of the seat of control and binding him a thousand years and stopping his influence. The Day of Atonement represents mankind himself being called upon to repent, but we of the part he had in it.

   This is why when I read over there in, in Zechariah chapter 12, we read about the entire nation of Judah repenting. They were fasting and they were repenting, not just because of what Satan had done you know, Satan is going to get blamed for all of that. But they're repenting for what, you know, what for what they were and for the way they had allowed themselves to be influenced.

   In other words, it's telling mankind that whatever happens to you, you are still responsible for your sins and for the way you are. And it says, "And he shall go out into the altar" of verse 18 "that is before the Eternal, to make an atonement for it, and shall take the blood of the bullock and the blood of the goat, and shall put it upon the horns of the altar round about and shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel."

   The reason for it seven times is it had to be completely and totally cleansed at this point. The sinfulness of mankind is atoned for, you know, upon their repentance and fasting represented their repentance. And so God is saying to all of mankind, "OK, in spite of what has happened, in spite of your attitudes and everything over these, you know, over, over what's happened, you are forgiven. You can be forgiven."

   But now he's going to turn to the individual who can't be forgiven and who won't be forgiven. And in verse 20 it says, "And when he has made an end of reconciling the holy place and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, he shall bring the live goat." This is the one that God decided would represent Azazel, the one who is going to be sent away, the one who would be deposed, the one who would be put away and bound.

   "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and shall confess over him." You know, this was the laying on of the hands ceremony in which an actual transference took place, "and he shall confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions and all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and to send them away by the hand of a fit man."

   The reason they had to be a fit man is because the fit man represented the strong angel who would come and bind Satan on the Day of Atonement and send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And it says, "And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquity into a land not inhabited, and he shall be let go, and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness."

   In other words, this was, this represented a strong angel binding Satan and putting him in a, in a wilderness, an area of total desolation where he, he can't have contact with human beings anymore. There's just absolutely no way and this, this of course is, is what is being pictured here.

   And then in verse 23 and it says, "And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off all the put off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there and wash his flesh with water in the holy place."

   Now here was another elaborate part of the ritual. Why did Aaron have to wash, you know, take all his clothes off? You know, this wasn't a public ceremony. It was a private, you know, place he had. He had to go in there and God said, "Take all your clothes off, leave them in a pile on the ground and go wash yourself from head to foot."

   The reason for it is that he had touched the goat. You know, the goat by this time represented Satan, and the reason he had to totally completely wash himself and again ceremonially cleanse himself is because he had touched the goat which was unclean, that represented Satan the devil.

   And then it says "He shall 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 the people." Interesting thing is, as I read earlier on, that not only did Aaron have to offer a bullock for his own sins and before he could fulfill this, you know, this tremendous office, and not only did he have to offer an atonement for the, for the holy place and the tabernacle and everything, but it said that he also took a ram which is for a burnt offering.

   It's interesting, the burnt offering did not represent a sacrifice for sin. A burnt offering didn't represent a sacrifice for a trespass or anything like that. The burnt offering in ancient Israel just represented an act of worship. It was an act of worship in which you gave God something that costs you money as we're talking about in the uh in the uh offering. A burnt offering was, was really, it was a means whereby you had fellowship with God. And it was an act of worship on your part.

   And it is not until God had atoned for all the sins of the people, and they have repented to their part in it. It is not until he has laid all the sins on the goat that represented Satan and he's been put out of the way that the people, the congregation of the whole which represent all, all mankind are allowed to offer the burnt offering, which means that they are now allowed to worship God. They are now allowed to have fellowship with God.

   The burnt offering actually represented you or an individual having a meal with God. And of course the, you know, the, the, the meat was eaten by the worshiper along with the priest and some of it was burnt on the, on the altar. And uh, and it says here that this is where people were able to have a fellowship with God. They were able to worship God, but not until all the rest had taken place.

   And what this is picturing is very simple. It's not until God has bound Satan that this world is going to begin to worship Him and even going to be able to worship Him.

   And it carries on down, and it says here verse 25, "And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar. And he that lets go the goat for the, for the, for Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water and afterwards come into the camp," because he also had had contact with the goat that represented Satan. He's not allowed to come back into the camp until he's totally completely washed himself.

   "And the bullock for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp and they shall burn in the fire with their skins and their flesh and their dung."

   And with anything that's had any contact with sin, even the goat that represented Jesus Christ was taken outside the camp and burnt completely and totally consumed, not as a burnt offering, but just burnt to get rid of it and also the bullock. Anything that had been touched with sin was taken out and cleansed completely out of the camp.

   "And he that burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh with water, and afterwards shall come back into the camp."

   If you see the elaborate ritual had tremendous meaning. What it means is that God is not going to let anything of this world and what it represents in the contamination and the uncleanness of this world, he's not going to let any of that get into the millennium. Certainly he's not going to let any of it get into his kingdom.

   In other words, here is a very elaborate cleansing ceremony in which everything is cleansed and anything that's been in contact with Satan or sin is totally completely destroyed and gotten rid of. And even the individuals who touched those things had to wash and a very elaborate ceremony. It wasn't just a matter of taking a dip. It was a very elaborate ceremony.

   And finally, it says down here in verse 29, and it says, "And this shall be a statute forever unto you, that in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your soul," meaning you shall fast.

   And brethren, the Day of Atonement is a day of fasting. God said everyone in ancient Israel had to fast, and you know, a fast is a fast. It means, it means a total fast, you know, water, no water or food and, this doesn't mean to say that if, you know, possibly someone is, is, is, is gonna go into some sort of convulsion because they, they can't get their insulin or anything like that, but they shouldn't take that on the Day of Atonement.

   In fact, we, you know, we heard recently that Mr., you know, Mr. Armstrong generally feels that if someone is, you know, if someone is sick and going to be violently ill on the Day of Atonement because they're fasting, he doesn't necessarily feel it wrong for him to take some water even, you know, I know we've had one or two nursing mothers ask, you know, "What about nursing mothers? My baby gets distressed."

   So I think, I think most of the occasions it's the nursing mother that's really getting distressed, not the, not the baby, but you know, I mean, if a, if a nursing mother has a tiny little baby a couple of weeks old and that baby's getting horribly distressed on the Day of Atonement, Mr. Armstrong doesn't necessarily feel it's wrong for them to take some water at all. That's up to the individual, but for everyone else, it is a fast. I mean it's a total - even my kids.

   I don't know how many of your kids fast, but some people have even asked me, you know, "What should I do with my children? When should a child start keeping the Day of Atonement and start fasting on the Day of Atonement?" Maybe I can tell you this as an aside before we conclude how we did it.

   We did not tell any of our kids that they had to keep the Day of Atonement. We taught them God's law. And, but we waited for them to decide and each year that would come up, you know, we'd ask Charmaine when she was 4, "Are you gonna keep the Day of Atonement this year?" "Well, what do you mean keep it?" "What means fasting, not eating." "No, I'm not gonna keep the day." So we didn't make her keep the Day of Atonement.

   But I tell you, once they decided to keep the Day of Atonement, we made them, there was no going back. You know, the, the first year, in fact, even the oldest one, the first year didn't do it. It was Colin who decided he was gonna keep it the first year. And boy did the other two put pressure on him to break it, but he's, you know, he stuck with it all the way through and as a result, he got very, very grandly rewarded at the end of it. Uh, which really upset the others, believe me, it upset the others.

   But this is what we do with our kids, you know, we, we teach them what the Day of Atonement is and we don't put any pressure on them to keep it. We don't make them, we don't make them keep it. Once they decide "I'm gonna keep the Day of Atonement to obey God," then we make sure they carry out their decision. They may, you know, roll on the floor and groan and moan around about this time of the day and get very upset, "My headache," you know, "I'm, I'm, I'm sick, I'm tired, I'm afflicted" and all that sort of stuff, but we tell them no, you decided you're gonna do it.

   And and the next year is just fait accompli. I mean, you know, it's just taken that they are going to keep it from then on out. In fact, we didn't even ask, you know, from then on out once we had them all keep it, we just didn't even ask. They, they were keeping it - there's no food, no nothing.

   And, um, um, I went in yesterday and they had this, they had these little, well, my, my wife went in and they, and they had this little these egg cups with icing sugar sort of secreted away which, which, you know, we ferreted out. You know, about 6:30 last night, one of them had a cup full of peanuts that he was hoeing into which was taken off him. But that, you know, the Day of Atonement, no worries.

   It says here in verse 29, it says "It shall be a statute forever to you in the seventh month and the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your soul and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country or stranger that sojourns among you, for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you."

   He makes an atonement two ways, you know, he makes the atonement by the sacrifice of Christ, upon our repentance, and of course our repentance is represented by our fasting, and he also atones or cleanses this world by getting rid of Satan and his demons, "to cleanse you that you may be clean from all your sins before the Eternal. It shall be a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls by a statute forever."

   Brethren, that's what the Day of Atonement represents. It represents two things. It represents God forgiving and cleaning up that which can be forgiven, meaning our sinfulness. And it also represents God cleansing out and getting rid of that which cannot be forgiven, and that is Satan and his attitude.

   And of course, it also applies to anyone who insists on becoming a Satan. It will be possible in the millennium for people to develop the very attitudes of Satan, the devil, and Satan would still be locked away because any independent mind with free moral agency can go the way Satan went and develop Satan's attitudes and Satan's mind, and anyone who wants to become a Satan or adversary to God themselves cannot be forgiven and, and this ceremony represents God cleansing out of the millennium in His kingdom any, anything that is unclean, that is like Satan.

   And the Day of the, Day of Atonement, brethren, I think I've been able to show you now culminates what Christ started on the Feast of Trumpets. This is why God has bound or had his high priest sound a trumpet on the Day of Atonement during the year of Jubilee, because it represented Christ completing what he started on the Feast of Trumpets, and at that time, it could take the entire period of time in between, the entire 9 or 10 days before the whole thing is complete.

   Finally, once it is complete, the year of Jubilee, the year in which total liberation of all mankind can take place. You know, that will be achieved on the Day of Atonement, and I think I've been able to show you why it can't begin until the Day of Atonement because man will never be free as long as Satan is there, once he is, and mankind then can begin the millennium, a time of peace and happiness and prosperity and productivity for all of mankind.