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DEORAM BOLAN, Telephone Message #86, Day of Atonement (See also Feast of Tabernacles message #87)
Recorded September 16, 2013 (complete
document, not edited much yet) [Available at phone # 712-432-0379, Code 779955. Published by Trumpet Voice Ministries, Arlington, Texas, USA, and by
Fullness of Glory Ministries, www.thechange.org also known as the ministry of Sharon Bolan
Yerby.]
DAY OF ATONEMENT
-
A Bible Study by
Deoram Bolan of Arlington, Texas
-
Good evening to all of our
listeners. May the Lord’s blessings
follow you at this special time of the year when we consider the feasts which
God gave Israel to observe and [when we observe] how those feasts are not only
for Israel but for the saints of the New Covenant and it is good that we flow
into the seasons of God.
The Day of Trumpets was the first feast
of the seventh month. You can read all
about the feasts in Leviticus 23. You
have three feasts in the first month, then the fourth feast in the third month, and the remaining three
feasts in the seventh month.
The first three feasts speak of
beginnings. We start out by embracing
the Lord as our Savior and our Redeemer.
We accept Him as our Passover Lamb.
By coming to repentance, forsaking our sins, and believing in His
finished work on the Cross. Because we
have, then, passed from death to
life, that is our Passover. We have passed out of Satan’s kingdom and we
have been translated into the kingdom of our Lord. That
is a Passover. We have passed out of
darkness into His marvelous light. That is our Passover. It means to spare. It means to leap for joy, to defend, to
protect. So when we think of the Lord passing over us, He is saying, “I
rejoice when a sinner turns from sin and turns to Me. I spare that person from the wrath of
God. I defend them from the attack of
Satan."
And once you have Life, then you are
ready to feed on the unleavened
bread. That bread is our Lord Himself
who is bread without leaven. Leaven is a
picture of sin. So, to eat of unleavened
is to eat or fellowship with Him who is the bread of Life.
Then we see the need to yield ourselves
fully to God. Consecration is the
meaning of the third feast which is a
handful of barley presented in the Temple by the high priest and waved in an
ascending and a descending motion. That
barley was fully consecrated to God and it was our Lord Who was fully
consecrated in His life, in His death, in His resurrection, and ascension. So once we are totally surrendered to God,
then we are ready for the fourth feast
which is the giving of the Law or, in the New Testament, it is Pentecost.
Pentecost was in the third month, fifty
days after the ascension of Jesus. Fifty
days after Israel departed from Egypt, they came to the foot of Mt. Sinai and
the Lord appeared to them in flaming fire and gave them the Ten Commandments
audibly.
Now, how does that relate to us as Christians? When we present ourselves to the Lord in total
consecration – then God is willing to pour out His Spirit upon us. The 120 in the upper room had presented their
bodies a living sacrifice. Whenever God
was pleased with a sacrifice, He sent fire to consume it. So these were set ablaze by the Spirit of
God. And God was pleased when a burnt
offering was presented unto Him and He showed His satisfaction by consuming it with fire. So He was pleased with the 120 and sent the fire to energize them, to consume
sin from them, to enlighten them,
and to cause them to speak as the oracles of God.
Well, it may not be a long time between
the third feast and the fourth feast in our experience, but
sometimes it takes a long time before we know about being filled with the
Spirit and the importance of being
filled with the Spirit. And because we
were not taught, it took us a long time to come there. But God can hasten His blessings for those
who are willing to be instructed.
Many believe that, once you are filled
with the Spirit, this is the highest experience that one can relate to. But that is not the case. Once we are filled with the Spirit, now we
are ready to get some schooling; we are only in grade one. Just think about that! But some think they
are ready to graduate. So, we need some
correct teaching on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And it all depends on how far we are willing
to advance in the Spirit. Some begin in the Spirit but end up in the
flesh. And some begin in the Spirit and
operate in a mixture like the Galatians.
And we have some lessons to learn
in this world. And so the Spirit does
not give us all the lessons in one day.
It takes time. And as we learn
the ways of God we make progress in the Spirit.
Like Ezekiel, we start out with the waters reaching our ankles. [Ezekiel 47:3-5]. Then we go further and the waters reach our knees.
Then we go further another 1,000 cubits and the waters reach waist deep. But then another 1,000 cubits and there were
waters to swim in. So there is a walk in
the Spirit. And we start out at the
ankles. Then we learn the ministry of
prayer [represented by water up to the knees].
We gird up the loins of our minds [represented by water up to the waist
– which is the loins]. That is where the
greatest areas of conflict occur as we cast down the vain imaginings and areas
of disobedience to God, and we bring all thoughts into captivity to the feet of
Christ. [2 Corinthians 10:3-5]. So the
area of the loins speaks of the mind.
That is part of the armor which the Lord wants us to wear. Peter says,
“…Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace
that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; …” [1 Peter
1:13] And as our mind is being renewed in truth and we are walking in obedience to the Spirit of God, then we
are ready for waters to swim in. That is
an ocean, as it were. That is the full life of the Spirit. The work
of the Spirit in us has reached its full development. So when we have been filled with the Spirit,
we learn to walk and live in the Spirit. And as we do so we are ready for the Fifth
Feast which is the Feast of Trumpets.
And that means God has much to tell
us. But we cannot take it all in a short
time. It is a progressive unfoldment of further truth to us as the Spirit of Truth Himself. As we are willing to walk in what we hear,
then He adds more to our knowledge and understanding. It is like Peter admonished us: to grow in grace and knowledge – or the full knowledge of God. So the blessing of the Trumpets can
synchronize with the seven times Jesus
spoke to the seven churches. “He that
has an ear let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” [Revelation
2:7, 11, 17, 29, Revelation 3:6, 13, 22]
And His voice is that of a trumpet. Remember that in the very first chapter of
Revelation. And a trumpet speaks of [symbolizes, or signifies] a message. And I
am sure we have barely scratched the surface in going through the Seven Letters
to the Seven Churches. There are so many
depths of meaning in each letter as
we hear the message and obey it and
allow the Spirit to unveil more of the words of the Lord. Then
it is like hearing the First Trumpet sounding, the Second Trumpet, going all
the way to the Seventh Trumpet.
It is amazing how much God has put into
the Seven Letters to the Seven Churches.
Are you willing to see that when God spoke these seven letters to the
seven churches, He started out with a Garden of Eden and He ends up with The
Throne? So, there is much to learn about
each promise to the overcomer and
the six steps to the Throne in the six promises to the overcomer. And Solomon’s throne had six steps to
it. “Solomon” means “peace”. And “six” is preparing us in this age as we
read in the Letter to the Seventh Church, “To him that overcometh will I grant
to sit with me in my throne, even as
I overcame and am sat down with my Father in his throne.” [Revelation 3:21]. So
the six promises to the overcomer have to be experienced before we qualify for
the seventh. So the trumpets of truth
are hidden in the letters to the churches.
I would suggest that you take much
time and go through the Letters to the Seven Churches slowly and
prayerfully. Even if you have done so,
do not think you have got it all figured out.
There is much awaiting discovery.
Well, the Festival of Trumpets ushers in
the new, but it closes the old year. God
wants us to walk in the light as He is in the light. His light is progressive and God is unveiling
much to us in these last days. He has
much to reveal before this age is over.
So let us say, “Lord, give me the ear of a bond slave so I can hear and
obey what the Spirit says to the churches.” [Reference Exodus 21:5-6, Isaiah
50:4-5, Revelation 2-3].
But it is easy to be puffed up with
revelation knowledge. It is easy for us
to think we are superior to others. We
have to guard against that kind of wrong spirit. The Bible says, “Knowledge puffeth up, but
divine love edifieth.” [1 Corinthians 8:1 partial] So, let us see that we do not know anything
yet as we ought to know. “But then shall we know,” the Bible says, “if we
follow on to know the Lord.” [Hosea 6:3 partial] So with much knowledge comes much
responsibility. And with much truth God
requires a cleansing, a deeper cleansing in the inner man, which brings us to
the Sixth Feast: the Day of
Soul-Affliction, the day of true
repentance and the day when Israel fasted – the only fast day. But fasting is a picture of humbling oneself. And it is beneficial and it is good for us
whether we can fast or not. But we do it
as unto the Lord. And just as, in
the natural realm, fasting cleanses the system, so there is an internal cleansing that God wants to perform
within us. This is deeper than at Passover.
Sins have accumulated from the first to the sixth feast. And it takes time to see our condition. And the light of God has to penetrate our inner man so we are willing to be adjusted and freed from areas that have been clogged up. And it is a day of afflicting our souls. That
may take another message in itself.
Jesus said that if we love our soul
life (the word there is psuche – our psyche) – this
means the life of the soul. If we love
our soul we will lose it, but if we lose our soul we shall find it. The Day
of Atonement is when we will decide whether the soul will rule us and take
our spirit into bondage or whether the spirit will rule us and the soul will be
subjected to the spirit, and our spirit in turn will be in subjection to the
Holy Spirit. That is the order of God!
Not soul first, followed by spirit then body. But, rather, spirit first, followed by soul
then body. Many times the spirit is willing but the soul is not wiling. And that is the conflict we will find until
we are willing for God to break the
stubbornness in our soul. That is why
the Bible says – and it is Jesus Who said it:
“In your patience possess ye your souls.” [Luke 21:19].
I never understood that for a long
time. What does it mean to possess your
soul? It means to have dominion over your soul. It means to win your soul.
You shall have dominion over the soul
life where the soul is no more ruling but is willing to take the place of
submission. That is why the overcomers
in Revelation chapter 12 are where they are.
They have gone through the six feasts.
Yes. And they are ready for the
Seventh. But before we get to the
seventh, which is the Feast of Glory and the Feast of Restoration and the Feast
of Ingathering. And there are many names
for the feasts – especially the last feast.
And, by the way, the word,”feast” has nothing to do with eating and
drinking. A “feast” is a fixed time, an
appointed season. And, just as there are seasons in the natural
realm, there are seasons in the spiritual realm. So the saints who have overcome Satan by the
blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, it is said of them, “And
they loved not their lives unto the death.”
[Revelation 12:11]. What is that? The word “life”, again, is “psuche”. They do not give in to their psuche or, soul life which is the seat
of the desires and emotions. And how
easy it is to let our soul govern
us! That is why the Psalmist says,
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. And all
that is within me, bless His holy name.” [Psalm 103:1] He also said, “I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” [Psalm 34:1].
“I will.”
That is the spirit. “O my soul, bless
the Lord.” That is the spirit and soul in unison. And, wherever they meet in the internal man,
that constitutes the heart of man. Now you will have to weigh [ponder, consider]
that for a long time.
The heart is
the meeting place of the spirit and soul.
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy mind and all thy
strength.” [Mark 12:30] And with unity in the spirit and soul walking together
under the control of the Holy Spirit.
And the Bible says of the overcomers in Revelation 14, “these were not
defiled with women…” Some teach that
those are persons who never get married.
But the Bible teaches, “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed is undefiled.” [Hebrews 13:4]. So what
does it mean, “These were not defiled with women…”? [Revelation 14:4 partial].
There were two women in the Book of Revelation.
One is that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess. And one is “Mystery, Babylon, the mother of
harlots.” So, it is right to say these
were not defiled with false religious systems.
They were willing to be separate from all confusion and distortion of
Truth. And, beloved, we pay a price if
we settle for Truth. “Buy the truth and
sell it not.” [Proverbs 23:23 partial].
So that is one way of looking at it.
But when you
find out that in the Bible the woman is a type of the soul and the man is a
type of the spirit and that in every census only the men were counted, not the
women, not the children, does that mean that God does not care for women and
children? Certainly it does not. But God’s purpose for us is to come to full
development in spirit. So, to be
“masculine” [symbolically speaking] is to move in the full control of the Holy
Spirit working in our spirit and in our soul and in our body. To be in the feminine rank is to let the soul
dominate. But here, “These were not
defiled with women.” What is the
inference there? They are men; they are
masculine. They are walking in the
Spirit. They include both male and
female. They were not defiled with the soul desires. They overcome the fluctuations of the soul
life (high today, low tomorrow.) And
they learn in all things to say to
their soul, “Why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in god, for I shall yet praise Him. Who is the help of my countenance and my salvation.” For that is another meaning for you to chew
upon. And this day of affliction – soul
affliction was a time of deep affliction.
[DB #86… 25
minutes into message]
Imagine: five out of seven churches were commanded to
repent! That means, as Christians when
God shows us our need, we begin to repent and confess and forsake all that is
contrary to His will.
Two churches
were not commanded to repent. But that
did not mean that they were perfected yet.
They were instructed to go on. The others were instructed to go back and
master the foundational truths. That is
why we read in Hebrews 6, (having mastered the elementary truths, then we are
ready for the next word of God): “Let us
go on to perfection [maturity] … and
this we will do IF God permits.” God does not permit us to go on until the foundation is properly laid and the foundational truths are mastered. Then we are ready
to go on. And move on
until He has finished the work that has started in us.
So the Day of
Atonement is a time of deep soul searching under the inspection of God. Remember,
“All things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
The Bible says again, “There is nothing hid that should not be made manifest.” And God wants us to have a heart that is
always transparent before Him. That we will walk in constant union and communion with Him. And as we go through our Day of Atonement, it
is like we are willing for god to break us and melt us and remove hidden things
that we were not even aware of. And, by
the way, we read in the Scriptures, “Having therefore, brethren, these
promises, let us cleanse ourselves of every filthiness of spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.”
You see that
is a scripture that links with atonement, the Day of Atonement, and the meaning of that feast. How that
day has to be worked out in us in
areas in which our spirit is
defiled. Yes! We can say the right things and have wrong spirit, a boastful spirit, a prideful spirit.
And all this is abomination in
the eyes of God. “But a broken and a contrite spirit, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
So there are
pollutions even in our spirit and in
our soul. Even as we relate pollution in the outer man
and we need a thorough bath, so we
need a thorough bath for our spirit and our soul. And God has provided the means for our cleansing. The
Blood, the Water of the Word, the Fire of His Spirit. So we go
through these daily cleansings and
washings. And as we do, the inner man is being set free and pliable to the rule of the
spirit in our lives. And the spirit overshadows us. And
eventually we are ready for the change in the outward man, when the lost
glory that man had in the beginning is now restored as “this corruptible
puts on incorruption and this mortal puts on immortality.” That is the crowning feast: Man restored completely in the image of God.
And our Lord came to make this available. He fulfilled the Feasts and He fulfills them
in you and me as we submit to His rule and
the Spirit has come to help us and to guide
us into all truth.
So if we
study the Bible carefully, we will
find certain things that happened on
this day.
Maybe we are not too sure of it, but that was
the day when Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised. And Abraham was 99 years of age. And he was
circumcised before he became a father.
And what is that to tell
us? That there is a spiritual
circumcision that must take place in the inner man before we are to become
fruitful and useful and be changed
into the image of the Lord in the Seventh Feast!
This was a
day of confession and repentance. And it
was a day when the High Priest alone
ministered. The other priests were
subordinate to him, because they took the backstage and he did most of the work
on that day. And, because it is a very
deep message (in Atonement) as you will read in Leviticus 23, you will get more
details in Leviticus 16. That is not an easy chapter to
assimilate. So you will have to take
your time and see all the sacrifices
that were offered. How many times he
went within the veil. And how did he
go? And how many times did he sprinkle
the blood? Can you imagine the blood
being sprinkled forty-three (43) times
on the Day of Atonement? And there was
to be a cleansing for the High Priest and his family - for the priests as well
as for the people. And there was to be a
cleansing of the Sanctuary. Oh, beloved
friends, this was a day in which every unclean thing had to be removed. And who is our High Priest today? And does he have to cleanse us once a year or
is once enough?
Yes the blood
of bulls and goats could not remove
sin, but only temporarily cover
sin. But the Blood of Jesus Christ not
only covers but removes sin. “As far as the east is from the west, so far
hath He removed our transgressions from us.” [Psalm 103:12] So we are redeemed with better blood than that of bulls
and of goats. [Hebrews 9:13, Hebrews 10:4].
And our High
Priest was clothed in white after He surrendered His life to the death of the
cross. When He rose from the dead, He
ascended in a body of glory. That is what it means to be clothed in
white. For the heavenly realm is a realm
of holiness. And the Bible says, “Follow peace and
holiness [or, sanctification] without which no man shall see the Lord.”
So, all that the High Priest did our wonderful High Priest did on a greater scale. And you will have to make the application as
you study the events of the Day of Atonement.
[[Deoram Bolan Telephone Message 86 - Minute 29 of Audio Message]
And I want to give you some men who had to go through their Day of
Atonement. We think of one of the
greatest prophets - Isaiah. The sixth chapter of Isaiah tells us what
happened to him. Although he was
prophesying in the previous five chapters
and pronouncing woes upon various ones, but in the sixth chapter he pronunces the woe upon himself when he confessed,
“Woe is me, I am undone. I am a man of
unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of unclean people.” There is so much in Isaiah 6. The half has not been told. It takes time
to see the depth of that chapter. But
Chapter 6 is not a chapter of Isaiah experiencing the Passover. Not.
That is Isaiah a man who is greatly blessed of God, coming to his Day of
Atonement. He was hearing from
God. He was a man of the Spirit. “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” He knew the Lord, but here he is coming to a
day of deep, deep cleansing. Notice the
confession. Dear friends, confession is
healthy. Yes, repentance is
needful. And the seraph came with a
flaming coal of fire. And we have to understand
this in spiritual context. What was the
seraph doing? He was pointing him to the
finished work of Christ on the cross.
When the fire consumed the
sacrifice and wood! So the coals came from the burning wood. And it is the fire of the wrath of God that
Jesus faced. Except there is one
difference: The fire of God consumed the
burnt offering on several occasions. But
when the fire of God consumed Elijah’s offering, it not only consumed the
offering but the wood and the altar itself and the water in the
trench and the altar and reduced everything
to dust and ashes! It never happened
before or after. But it was a picture of
how Jesus would face the wrath of God against sin when he died on the cross. And the difference is: on Mount Carmel the firs consumed the
sacrifice and the altar and then all in that vicinity. But on Calvary, the sacrifice consumed the fire. And the sacrifice was not reduced to dust and ashes.
Think on that for a long, long
time! He not only faced the wrath of God, He endured the wrath of God. That is something most astounding and, yes,
He could only die once. That is altar
was destroyed. The cross was not to be repeated! So Isaiah had a glimpse of Calvary, and it
brought him to soul affliction and repentance.
And after he went through that deep inner cleansing, he became an oracle
for God! And he gave us a mini Bible with 66 chapters books of
the Bible. That is another story in itself which I will forbear from expounding
upon.
Who is another man who went through his
Day of Atonement? The man Daniel – a great prayer for this season – but it
links with true soul affliction and repentance when Daniel confessed not only
the sins of his people but his own sins. Who would have thought Daniel would mention his sins when we read hardly of any sin
he committed. But he was aware of his
own sinful condition. And he said, “We have sinned.” He identifies with the people as he prays and confesses and goes through deep soul affliction, guess what happens. God is pleased
and sends Gabriel to cheer him up
and give him beauty for ashes. That
ninth chapter, you can read it many, many times. There is much spiritual gold in that chapter. That is the chapter with the 70 weeks
prophecy which prophecy has been so very
much misunderstood and had so much controversy about it. But God will enlighten us about it when we
are ready for it. So it is interesting
that Daniel was heard. God accepted his
prayer for himself and his people. Isn’t
it absolutely beautiful that Daniel is of Judah and he does not have a temple
to visit. And he is not a priest according
to the old covenant but here is a man without a temple! [38 minutes into the message.] He is a man
from Judah! And yet his is taking the
place of a priest in a strange land! Need I say anything more? I will leave that for you to go and search
out. When the priesthood fails, God
always has someone to fill the gap. So
consider Daniel in that light.
I must leave Daniel and bring you o
Samson – a man mighty in spirit, doing exploits but who got entangled with
women. We could say was defiled with women. Notice in Revelation chapter 14, “These were
not defiled with women.” Scripture says,
“Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” And so Samson knew he had sinned
grievously. And he paid a big price –
even to the loss of his sight. He cried
out to God and went through his Day of Atonement. And guess what? His hair began to grow! And though his physical eyes were blinded, his
spiritual eyes were opened and he
slew more in his death than in his
life. When we are willing to die to the
self-life it will be a gain and not
a loss.
So the whole story of Samson is
prophetic. If you can venture into it,
the seven letters to the seven churches are hidden in the life of Samson.
Selah! That means “pause and reflect.”
Another man that had to go through his
Day of Atonement – you will read about it in Zechariah 3. He was Joshua the High Priest. And he is clothed with filthy garments and he
is accused by Satan before the Throne.
But the Angel of the Lord comes to his rescue. Who is that?
He is none other than the one mediator between God and man. Prior to His coming to Bethlehem, He was seen
as the Angel of the Lord. And the Angel
of the Lord is a portrait of Him
prior to His birth in Bethlehem of the virgin Mary who was overshadowed by the Holy
Spirit. The Angel of the Lord is the one
who comes to pronounce judgment against Satan:
“The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan.” [Zechariah 3:2, Jude 1:9] And the Angel of the Lord is the one who comes
to defend Joshua the High Priest and who commands him to be cleansed and to be clothed. [Zechariah 3].
[Approximately 41 minutes into the audio
message.]
Read it for yourself. And how he was commissioned. And all of that is so beautiful. When we see that the High Priest was the best
man in the nation. And if he is clothed
with filthy garments, then it was showing the state of the nation. But if the High Priest is cleansed, then the way I clear for the nation to be cleansed. We see a foretaste of that. And we see a foretaste of that on the Day of
Atonement.
But if you want to look at another
picture that is Jesus, Joshua of old was a picture of Jesus. “Joshua”
and “Yeshua” are the same name in the Hebrew language. And Jesus takes on the sin of all mankind at Calvary. The just
for the unjust, the sinless takes the place of the sinful. But after He rose from the dead, He is
clothed with new garments. That is why He left the grave clothes
behind. So, Joshua was symbolically portraying the Lord taking
our sins away and rising from the dead in resurrection glory! And in becoming
our High Priest to represent us at the Father’s right hand. So that is in Zechariah 3 and has tremendous
veiled truths which I cannot go into in this short space of time.
If you want to look up another man who
had to go through his Day of Atonement, you see that in the person of Jonah.
As I have told some of you before, the seven Feasts are hidden in the Book of Jonah. And the Lord likened Himself, but He said, “A
greater than Jonah [Jonas] is
here.” [Matthew 12:41, Luke 11:32]. And in Jonah’s life the whole story of the
seven Feasts is veiled. The spirit of God will unveil that truth to
you if you will take time to seek the Lord.
And Jonah - when he was disappointed
that Nineveh was not judged – God had to use an object lesson to teach him. He was grieving for a tree that offered shade
for him in the heat. And that tree
withered and died he was complaining. He
built a booth and was expecting to stay under that booth and see the
destruction of Nineveh. Instead he was
annoyed that God spared them. So God had
to show him that if he mourned the loss of a tree, how much more important the
lives of those souls in Nineveh who could not tell right from wrong. Jonah stopped his complaining.
[Almost 43 minutes into the message.]
Imagine writing a book and showing
yourself in a terrible light. It will not make the “Best Seller list!” But this is a man who knows what it means to
keep quiet when the Lord intervenes. As
the Bible says, “The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent
before Him.” [Habbakuk 2:20]. Jonah is much too argumentative. And at times he can become that way. And when God spoke to him, he had no more to
say. Isn’t it interesting that this book
has the introduction, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah.” How does it end? With a
word of the Lord. Is the Lord having the last word? Is He not the Alpha!? Is He not the Omega?! Is He not the Beginning? Is He not the end? Jonah is willing to come to repentance and to acknowledge that
God is always right. Man is always
wrong. “Let God be true and every man a
liar.” [Romans 3:4]. But how wonderful to know that our Lord did not need to
repent of any sin. “He was in all parts
tempted as we are, yet without sin.” [Hebrews 4:15]. So here is something you can look into as we
bring this to a close tonight. And that
is: the transfiguration of Jesus took
place on a certain day. It is not given in the Scripture, but it has
to be revealed to us. I will venture to say to you, because that
with an important event in the life of the Lord, and because it was the highest
point in His every test from the
world, the flesh, and the devil. On the
mount, by the way. He is not
transfigured in a plain or in a valley.
Where is he transfigured? On a
mountain. This is so awesome an
event! Only three men were chosen by Him
to see it! And as I have set before you,
all the end-time events are hidden in the Transfiguration of Jesus! Did you hear that? May I repeat it again? May I repeat it again? We are wrestling with how things will end and
what will take place and what will not
take place. And the Transfiguration [Matthew
17, Mark 9] is described by Peter in these words: “We have not followed cunningly devised
fables when we made known unto you” – two words – “the power and the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ.” [2 Peter 1:16]. So the Transfiguration links with the poor and
coming of our Lord. But the word
“coming” is not a once for all coming and all of that is hidden in the Transfiguration. [Matthew 17, Mark 9]. It is my conviction that took place on the Day of Atonement. Was not the High Priest clothed in white? What
happened to Jesus’ garments? “They were exceeding white”! And they “shone.” Think about it. [In that situation of the Transfiguration],
He had a choice, would He go back to the Father now that He had a body of
glory? Or will He leave the mountain and descend all the way to Calvary? Are you glad tonight that He chose to come
down the mountain to die for you and me?
So, what are we to see on this mountain? We see
a Baptism of Glory to prepare Him for the Baptism of Suffering on the
cross. That is a powerful statement you
will need which you will need to hear and to apply. I will repeat it. He received the Baptism of Glory to prepare
Him for the Baptism of Suffering on the cross.
When you read what He went through on the cross, you realize that no human being can survive that as He
did. And there was no need for Him to
confess any sin – because He is
sinless! And as you study the events of
the records given in the three Synoptic Gospels, there is much to learn. And we can say, up that mount Jesus is the Ark
of glory. Jesus is transfigured. He is the Holy of Holies – that natural
temple.
[Approximately minute 46 in audio
messag].
While the Temple of Herod did not have
the glory, did not have the Ark. Now you
see the true Ark and the true glory. How amazing!
What is taking place? He is clothed in white to lay down His life
for us at the cross and take it up again in resurrection. Because the veil of the Temple was rent in twain when He died on the
cross. That was the only day the High
Priest had access to the Holy of Holies clothed
in white. And that is Jesus on
Resurrection Day taking His blood within the veil and making atonement for us
in the heavens and descending that
same day to be handled and touched and to encourage the grieving ones who did
not fully understand why He had to die.
So Jesus in His transfiguration is telling us volumes. Well, we cannot
understand all of that, beloved, in a short course of several minutes or 10
months. The things of God are very deep,
but we humans think we can go through this and go through that and we have got
it all figured out. We have a lot yet to figure out.
So I keep telling you that the Transfiguration event took place on the
Day of Atonement and it was Jesus getting ready to offer Himself as both priest
and sacrifice. That is why Moses and Elijah spoke with Him concerning His EXODUS on
the cross. But it was not a defeat. It was
glorious victory in His death as
well as in His resurrection, as well as in His ascension.
So this
Day of Atonement has many lessons to
teach us. I am simply giving you a
few. Is the Lord saying to us today that we must go through all
these dealings of God? In the previous
Feasts, leading up to this one, where every idol in us is broken down, where
everything unclean is removed from us.
Where are we fully sold out to God for Him to complete His sanctifying,
purifying, purging work in us so we can be changed fully within and then be
ready for the seventh Feast which is the Feast
of Glory. And the Feast of Joy. And because there is so much in this feast, we cannot cover it all in one lesson or two. I
will leave you to search out the matter and may God bless you for listening tonight and may we be touched afresh by His
Spirit. And we celebrate the Feast in
the power of God’s spirit. Not as a ritual but in obedience to the
Lord. And He will refresh us – as the
Bible speaks of the Lord sending us “times
of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.” And the word “times” has reference to the
Feasts. So we know the times a flow
with the times. We can look to God to add special blessing on His
people.
[Sharon Bolan speaking: Thank you all for tuning in tonight. I know this is a powerful message and it is
going to take some time to digest it. I
would suggest that everyone search out the Scriptures for yourself and study it because there is much yet to be uncovered. The Lord bless you all. Thank you again for tuning in tonight. … God
bless you all. Have a good night.
____ End of recorded message.
