SABBATH

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Day of Atonement - Sermons, Bible Studies, Articles, and Essays

Holy Days: Atonement

Bible Study by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Atonement, a day of fasting, pictures God's solution to the problem of human sin. This Bible study shows why this solemn day is so vital!


The Day of Atonement and Israel's Future

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The cleansing of Joshua's filthy robes in Zechariah 3 is a future application of the cleansing in Leviticus 16, when Jesus Christ cleanses Israel in the future.


Reconciliation and the Day of Atonement

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Repentance is something we must do with our God-given free moral agency. Reconciliation is an ongoing process that enables us to draw closer to what God is.


What We Can Learn From This Day of Atonement

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

God's solution to mankind's separation was sending a second Adam, Jesus Christ, to make reconciliation possible. Fasting shows our dependence on God.


Pride, Humility, and the Day of Atonement

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Atonement, when we are commanded to afflict our souls, is a time of self-evaluation and repentance. This is the only way to have real unity with God.


The Peculiarities of Atonement

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Fasting teaches us to realize just how dependent we are on God. Every day, every hour, every minute, He supplies us with everything we need for life.


Why Two Goats on Atonement? (Part Two)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

On the Day of Atonement, the one goat's blood cleansed the altar of all the sins, while the azazel took them away. Jesus Christ fulfilled both these roles.


The Price of Atonement

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

A suitable sacrifice had to be offered so that the sins of mankind could not only be covered, but be completely paid for, forgiven, removed, and forgotten.


Why Two Goats on Atonement? (Part One)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

In Israel, sins were symbolically placed on the altar throughout the year. On Yom Kippur, one goat's blood cleansed the altar; the second took away the sins.


Why Is Atonement a Fall Festival?

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Though Passover and Atonement both deal with Christ's sacrifice, several reasons emerge to make Atonement a better fit for the fall holy days.


Limited Atonement

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The prospect of atonement and salvation is available to everybody, but only those called by the Father—not by an evangelical altar call—are eligible.


What is Atonement?

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Man's estrangement from God is wholly man's fault. Atonement denotes the way harmony is achieved, making the entire world at one or reconciled with God.


The Fall Holy Days

Article by John Reiss

The four autumnal holy days - Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles, and the Eighth Day - generally represent God's plan of salvation for humanity.


Are God's Holy Days To Be Kept Today?

Sermon/Bible Study by Martin G. Collins

If we do not keep God's holy days, we will deprive ourselves of the knowledge of God's purpose. Jesus and the first century church observed and upheld these days.


God's Holy Days - Our Shared Vision Of Hope

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Mark Schindler

From Passover to Pentecost to Trumpets to Atonement to the Feast of Tabernacles, these days should solidify our vision of he Father, Jesus, and one another.


Sins Borne Away

Sermonette by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Day of Atonement represents both a blood sacrifice for covering/cleansing and a means of removing sin permanently from the camp of Israel.


Is Barabbas the Fulfillment of the Scapegoat?

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

Because of Matthew's inclusion of a number of Day of Atonement-related symbols, one theory holds that Barabbas was a type of the scapegoat (azazel).


Who Fulfills the Azazel Goat— Satan or Christ? (Part Five)

'Ready Answer' by David C. Grabbe

While the church of God has long taught that the azazel goat of Leviticus 16 represents Satan, this traditional view has no biblical support.


Who Fulfills the Azazel Goat—Satan or Christ? (Part One)

'Ready Answer' by David C. Grabbe

Some say the scapegoat (azazel) prefigures the Devil, others say it has been fulfilled by Jesus. Tradition teaches one thing; Scripture reveals another.


The Two Goats of Leviticus 16

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The first goat is a blood sacrifice to cleanse the altar. The second goat—the 'azazel' or 'complete removal'—is led away and freed (not bound by a chain).


Inventing Goddesses and Demons (Part Three)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

Some modern translations of Leviticus 16 assert that the live goat (scapegoat) was a sacrifice that God commanded Israel to send to a demon named Azazel!


Who Fulfills the Azazel Goat— Satan or Christ? (Part Three)

'Ready Answer' by David C. Grabbe

Hebrews 9 and 10 clarify the Atonement ritual of Leviticus 16. The author makes no mention of Satan, but says that Jesus bears our sins like the azazel goat.


Who Fulfills the Azazel Goat—Satan or Christ? (Part Two)

'Ready Answer' by David C. Grabbe

On the Day of Atonement, the live goat bears the sins of the nation. Many think this represents Satan as the source of sin, yet Scripture reveals the truth.


Azazel: Beginnings

Sermon by David C. Grabbe

While there is a handful of common starting places for understanding the azazel, none of them has multiple witnesses of Scripture. We must begin elsewhere.


Understanding the Azazel Goat

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The goat for azazel (complete removal) bore the sins of the nation out of sight. Jesus Christ likewise had our iniquities laid on Him, and He bore them.


Hebrews 10:9 - Sacrificial System or Old Covenant?

Sermonette by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)

Hebrews 10:9 does not say that God's law or the Old Covenant has been done away, but that the system of animal sacrifices has been set aside for now.


Azazel: Endings

Sermon by David C. Grabbe

One goat had to die for cleansing; the other goat had to remain alive for bearing the sins away. Jesus fulfilled both roles. Satan's binding atones for nothing.


Devil in the Details?

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

A mysterious commentary has been used and repeatedly re-quoted as a proof that the azazel goat represents Satan. This source warrants closer inspection.


The Doctrine of Israel (Part Fourteen): Israel Redeemed

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God employs a winnowing process in selecting those who will enter the Millennium. The process includes punishment for Israel's failure to serve as priests.


Jesus Christ, the Bearer of Sin

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53, plus the testimony of Peter and the author of Hebrews, show that Jesus fulfilled the azazel goat's role by bearing sin.


Fasting and Reconciliation

CGG Weekly by John W. Ritenbaugh

Fasting makes us feel helpless and weak, producing humility. Only then will we listen with the intensity needed to truly believe, repent, and submit to God.


Who Fulfills the Azazel Goat— Satan or Christ? (Part Four)

'Ready Answer' by David C. Grabbe

The Day of Atonement is not fulfilled with the binding of Satan. Rather, there are numerous prophecies of God atoning for the sins of physical Israel.


Led Outside the Gate

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

Jesus permitted Himself to be sent by the leaders and led by their agents in true meekness, submitting to the Father's will, even cleansing those who led Him.


Fasting

Sermonette by James Beaubelle

The best offering we can present is a humble and contrite heart, attainable through fasting, if done without pride and self-seeking.


All Flesh Shall See the Salvation of God

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Moral failure compounds when self-loathing sabotages happiness. Only atonement can turn this depression around, providing the comfort of mental and spiritual health.


Who Is Responsible For Sin?

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

Though Satan influences, the choices an individual make are totally his own, even for those without God's Spirit. We sin when we are drawn away by our own desires.


Why Was Jesus Not Crucified as Passover Began? (Part One)

'Ready Answer' by David C. Grabbe

The gospels show Jesus observing the Passover at the beginning of the 14th. Should we use the time when He observed it or the time He died as our guide?


An Intimate Expanding Relationship

Sermon by Mark Schindler

We must trade our impulsive and capricious carnal natures for a controlled, sacrificing nature, imitating Christ in an intimate, expanding relationship.


Inventing Goddesses and Demons

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The Jews turned a Babylonian myth of Lilith into a fabrication about a woman before Eve. Some translations suggest Israel sacrificed to a demon named Azazel.


Poor in Spirit (1997)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Being poor in spirit is a foundational spiritual state for qualifying for God's Kingdom. Poor in spirit describes being acutely aware of one's dependency.


Foolishness and Cleansing

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Human nature has a perverse drive to take risks, pushing the envelope, taking unwise chances, foolishly gambling away the future. Foolishness is sin.


Afflicting Our Souls

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Jesus taught that fasting is an internal, spiritual good work, done in the inner self. Any other kind of fasting has little or no spiritual value.


A Footnote on the Start of Christ's Ministry

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

When the angry members of the local synagogue tried to push Jesus over the cliff, they paralleled the Jewish tradition for the azazel goat.


Do Angels Live Forever? (Part One)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

We cannot assume that angels are immortal and share the same kind of spirit God Almighty has; we cannot assume they are indestructible.


How Do We Keep God's Festivals?

'Ready Answer' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Here are the foundational principles to keep in mind in observing the Feasts of God throughout the year.


Separation and Oneness With God

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Since the beginning, God's purpose has been to bring all things into harmony with Him, giving mankind a respite from the heaviness of a sin-laden world.