Press Toward the Mark*

What does the Gospel mean to you, and to your life? Paul wrote urgently to the Church about the power, and the value of the Gospel to all who will receive it. He wrote of his own discovery of the difference between worship in the flesh, and worship in the Spirit, and what real circumcision means. It is an inward circumcision that changes us, and we become the circumcision (Phil. 3:1-3). Concerning who was "qualified" in the worship of God according to man's religious thinking, Paul filled all of those outward requirements. However, Paul found out that what he had once valued so highly, and in which he had put his confidence, which was his identity and background as a Jew, a learned Pharisee, and having attained the righteousness of the law, was really "dung" compared to what he had gained in Christ (v. 4-8): "...and I count all things as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord...I have suffered the loss of all things...that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (v. 8-11). Paul wrote further that the Gospel was not done with him. He had not yet fully attained, or been perfected, "...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (v. 11-14). Paul said that this is the same mind that we should all have, joining together in this pursuit of the high calling (v. 15-17). Paul wrote that he weeps over many who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ- "whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." (v. 18-19). There are those who think they have attained Christ, yet they walk after things that are of the world, which destroy, and not of heaven. Pul called them "enemies of the cross". How many fall into this sad category? Our continuing walk in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in that upward calling, are those who "look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." (v. 20-21). The Gospel of Christ surpasses the world, and all religion in its excellence and ongoing transformative power, and yet it is extremely simple:. The Gospel that Paul received, and gave up all in order to preach, is the following: "...Christ died for our sins acording to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Cor. 15:1-4). In fact, Paul wrote, if, as some say, Christ is not resurrected from the dead then our faith is in vain, and we are yet in our sins (v. 12-17). However He is indeed raised from the dead, and has become first fruits of them that have died (v. 20). Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and we must be changed. Paul described this change: "In a moment...at the last trump...the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (v. 50-52).In this moment of change through Christ, death is swallowed up in victory, as it is written, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?' The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (v. 54-58). Sin, death, and the grave have been overcome. Even our own corruptible bodies of flesh have been overcome in a moment through Christ. Paul concludes saying, "...be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord...you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." What are you working for - the things of this world? Whatever you are called to do by the Lord, do it with diligence. As we press toward the mark of the high calling established by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we see the power the Gospel has regarding resurrection and physical change over death. However, the change does not end there. Paul wrote of a mental and spiritual transformation as well: "I beseech you...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (spiritual worship). And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom. 12:1-2). Paul said that there is a choice we make - either to be conformed to the world, or transformed into a person who proves the will of God in himself. This transformation must begin in the renewal and washing of the mind in God's Word. We are not to think as the world thinks. We are not to think more highly of ourselves than we should, keeping in mind that we are each members of a greater whole, which is the Body of Christ. Each member has been equipped to edify that Body (v. 3-8). No one of us is the complete Body by ourselves, but each contributes a part according to the gifts given by grace to each member. Part of pressing toward the mark is not just about how we treat our friends, but even more importantly about how we treat those whom others do not value, or those who mean us harm: "Bless them which persecute you: bless and curse not...condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible...live peaceably with all men...avenge not yourselves...be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (v. 14-21). As we can see, these things above are not the way of the world, but they are the way of the high calling in Christ, and the will of God for us. Paul pointed out that, according to scripture, if we take vengeance for ourselves against an enemy, we remove vengeance out of the hands of the Lord, with Whom it belongs. As Jesus prayed to His Father regarding His disciples (and us, the future believers) just before He went to the cross, He prayed for the ones whom His Father had given to Him from out of the world, that they have kept the Father's Word (Jn. 17:5-6). Jesus had brought the Father's Word to them, and they had believed it, and had also believed on Him, as the One Whom the the Father had sent to them (v. 8). Jesus said, which may surprise some, that He wasn't praying for the world, but for those that had been given to Him from out of the world, and that He is glorified in them (v. 9-10). Jesus asked His Father to keep these disciples from evil through His name, because the world hated them, (v. 9-15). He prayed: "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth...Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one...that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me...I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one..." (v. 16-23). Jesus is praying for a unity here. The unity between His current disciples, and the believers who would believe at a later date. A unity with Him, and, as a result, a unity with the Father: One Body, One hope, One faith, One Spirit. This also is pressing toward the mark of the high calling in Christ. As Paul pointed out in Hebrews 11, each one, including Noah, with the building of the ark, and Abraham, who was looking for the city whose builder and maker was God, pressed toward the mark of the high calling by faith, and the resulting obedience to God's Word. God is preparing an ark in these last days also. Will we enter in, or be left outside knocking? Jesus said of these in His parable in Mt. 25 about the wise and foolish virgins, "Depart from Me. I never knew you." However, God is able to send revival to both the Jew and the Gentile. Keep pressing toward the mark and maturity in Him. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 10/23/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

Foundations Forgotten, Abandoned, and Attacked*

There is a scripture in the Psalms that says, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps. 11:3). This destruction of the foundations is what is happening today, and there are consequences to the people of God as a result. Moses set the commandments of God as the foundation for living upon the land, and prospering: "All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years...that he make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live...Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him...Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God...Lest when thou hast eaten and art full...Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God...and thou say in thine heart, My power, and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day...if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish... ". (Deut. 8:1-20, excerpt). This is a warning to us. We took prayer out of schools, and the Ten Commandments out of courthouses based on the lie that these things were unconstitutional, and based on lawsuits filed by offended atheists. The Gospel of Jesus is an offense to those who prefer to perish themselves, and to see others perishalso . Our national condition declined as we capitulated to those who advocated racial eugenics, including Margaret Sanger, who sought to establish abortion targeting minority communities. The people of God remained quiet and didn't do enough, and now we have not only forgotten the Godly foundations, but there is an active attack against those foundations. There are even groups like the 'The Christian Nationalists' that claim to be Christians, that speak against the Jewish people. They and other so-called Christians are adopting the doctrines of ungodly racial hatred. After Moses died, the LORD passed on the same commands to the new leader of the children of Israel, Joshua: "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law...turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Josh. 1:7-9). Courage, strength and obedience are required to remain standing on the foundation of God. There are consequences to forgetting the Godly foundations: "Because my people hath forgotten me,...and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths...to make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing...I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity." (Jer. 18:15-17). They even began devising ways to shut up the prophet Jeremiah from speaking the true Word of the LORD, preferring the ineffectual and compromising priesthood to continue to minister and advise them instead (v. 18). The religious leaders plotted against Jesus in the same manner when He taught truth. Later, Jeremiah revealed the Word of the LORD, describing the people as "lost sheep", coming and crying to the LORD, seeking the way to Zion, determining once again to join themselves to His perpetual covenant. They had become lost because their shepherds had caused them to go astray: "...they have forgotten their resting place." (Jer. 50:4-6). The foundations of God are the resting place of His people. Because they had forgotten God: "All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers." (v. 7). Those who came against these "lost sheep" felt justified in doing so, because, in their eyes, these lost sheep deserved the consequences for forgetting and sinning against God! There is an alarm to be sounded, and not silence to be kept, as we see the foundations being forgotten, abandoned and attacked. The prophet Hosea wrote: "Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law...Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him...I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing...now will he (the LORD) remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt. For Israel hath forgotten his Maker...but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof." (Hos. 8:1-4, 12-14). As the people of God forgot their foundation in God, the enemy pursued them. Hosea also spoke of how the people of God used their gold and silver to make idols. They created gods out of their wealth. Jesus also warned "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." (Lk. 12:15). Then Jesus told the parable of the rich man whose ground had brought forth plentifully. He abounded so much, that he planned to tear down his old barn as being too small, and build greater to store all of his bounty, saying, "...there I will bestow all my fruits and goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." (v. 16-19). However, he would not be enjoying all of his accumulations for years, as he had thought, because the God said to him, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" Jesus said, "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God." (v. 20-21). The accumulation of wealth in covetousness will draw God's people away from His foundation. Churches have become businesses, and accumulators of wealth. However, it is the foundations of God that give life and prosperity, and save the soul, as Moses and Joshua were told, and not hoarded wealth. Before Stphen was martyred for his faith in Christ, he reminded the assembled crowd about to kill him of their rebellious history with God, and His foundations. He told them that even though Moses prophesied of One that would be sent by God, they ignored the prophecy and rejected Jesus, their Messiah. In the same way, even though Moses miraculously received "the lively oracles" from God on Mt. Sinai to give to their fathers, "...our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt..." (Act 7:37-39). Stephen reminded those around him how their fathers had demanded that Aaron make them a calf, and then offered sacrifices to it (v. 40-41). God then gave them up to worship all sorts of false and even demonic gods. They rejected the worship and the tabernacle patterned after heaven, and instead chose to worship the profane things of the world (v. 42-44). Because they were continuing in this same rebellious spirit against the foundations of God, Stephen told them, "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye...who have received the law by the dispensation of angels, and have not kept it." (v. 51, 53). They showed this same spirit that persecuted the prophets when the Just One came "of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers." (v. 52). Before his death, Stephen, by the Holy Spirit, gave this indictment of the abandonment and attack against the foundation of God by their fathers, and now by themselves, the ones who rejected Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter wrote to the Church in order to stir up their remembrance of their pure minds of the words which had been spoken previously by the prophets, and now, by the commandments of the apostles of our Savior. (2 Pet. 3:1-2, see also 2 Peter 1). There will be those in the last days, Peter said, who will willingly forget that promise of God of His Son's return, and the judgment that awaits those who have rejected the knowledge of God. They do so because they prefer to walk in their own lusts. They scoff at the foundations of God, which is truth (v. 3-5). Peter then wrote that although God is patient with men, giving them time and every opportunity to repent so they may be saved rather than condemned, the judgment by melting fire, which is the day of the Lord, will surely come as promised. He asked then, "...what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?" (v. 8-11). How can we say that the foundations have not been forgotten when each day brings a news report of another act of mindless violence and ungodliness? As His people, we are not tp forget the foundations that have been given to us by God through His Word and His Son so that we may live and prosper. God does not desire to see anyone got to Hell, but to be saved from destruction. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 10/16/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

Tabernacles and the Day of the LORD*

This evening begins the Feast of Tabernacles. There is a direct connection in scripture between the Feast of Tabernacles and "the day of the LORD'. This is the commandment of the LORD regarding the Feast of Tabernacles: "And the LORD spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD...every thing upon his day." (Lev. 23:33-37). The word "tabernacles" is the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning "booth, pavilion, lair (of a lion), cover". (A root word, sakak, means "fence about, protect, defence, shut in, overshadow, stop the approach, weave together, cover with armor".) The pictographic ancient Hebrew letters form the meaning "Behold, a hand to cover, supply, lift up, or suppress". In Deuteronomy, the LORD explained the Feast of Tabernacles further through Moses: "Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine. And thou shalt rejoice...thou...thy son...thy daughter...thy manservant...thy maidservant...the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates." (Deut. 16:13-14). The Feast of Tabernacles was to include all with rejoicing after the fall harvest that God had provided them. In the same spirit of tabernacles, the LORD commanded Moses to appoint just judges and officers throughout all of the tribes, who will not practice favoritism, nor receive bribes nor falsely accuse the righteous. This just treatment of all is so that they may live in the land that God has given them (v. 18-20). We see a lack of justice everywhere today, while God is calling His people to be just and righteous. We discover that the neaning of the Feast of Tabernacles is also revealed in scriptures regarding the coming day of the LORD: "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion (sukkah) round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail-stones and coals of fire. The LORD also thundered in the heavens...he sent out his arrows, and scattered them...Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me." (Ps. 18:11-17). Just as Noah was drawn out of many waters, the LORD's pavilion draws us out of the hands of our enemies. What looks to the enemies like a covering of thick dark clouds, to us is the pavilion or tabernacle of the LORD. It is "the hand that covers, supplies, lifts up and suppresses". As Psalm 31 declares the greatness and goodness of God towards those who trust Him, it says: "Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion (sukkah) from the strife of tongues." (v. 19-20). Those who walk in the righteousness of God, and in His Word, are continually judged in this world by the strife of tongues of accusation. However, God has provided a pavilion in which to hide us. As Isaiah prophesied the blessings of God under the Messiah, he wrote of beautiful fruitful branches, excellent and comely fruit of the earth for the remnant who escape. Those that remain will be called holy - every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem. The LORD will wash them of filth, purged by the spirit of judgment and burning (Isa. 4:2-4). "...and the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle (sukkah) for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." (v. 5-6). There is a hand to cover and provide our pasture in the tabernacle, but it is shadow, darkness, and clouds to others. The prophet Zephaniah describes the day of the LORD as a day of wrath, of trouble, distress, wasteness and desolation, "a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm...and I will bring distress among men...because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust...Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy..." (Zeph. 1:14-18). The prophet Amos also spoke of the darkness of the day of the LORD, saying, "Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD!" (Amos 5:1-18-20). In this case, the very people who were looking for the day of the LORD would be the first to experience the darkness rather than the sukkah tabernacle. The LORD condemned them because He said that He hated their feasts and offerings, "But ye have born the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun, your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves." (v. 21-26). Their tabernacle was a tabernacle to false demonic gods, who demanded child sacrifices, and were filled with worthless idols. The LORD holds His people to a different standard than the standard that the world practices and values. His standard is the righteousness of God. Joel also wrote about the day of the LORD as being "a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness", and of a fire that devours and a flame that burns. (Joel 2:2-3, 30-31). He called the people of God to sound the trumpet of alarm, to call an assembly of all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, because "the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand." (2:1, 16). The people must repent with fasting and weeping and consecrate themselves: "...rent your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." (v. 12-13). The priests especially, as those who were the spiritual leaders of the people, were called upon to lead the congregation in repentance by repenting themselves, crying, 'Spare thy people, O LORD." The LORD has not destined His people for His wrath, but providing them instead a tabernacle, a pavilion, a hand that covers if they will set themselves apart to enter into it. If the people will repent in their hearts, the LORD says that He will pity His people: "Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things...he hath given you the former rain moderately...and the latter rain in the first month." (v. 21,23). The LORD promises to remove the attacking northern (hidden, secret, covered over) army, and to add the blessing of abundance in their land, restoring all that the devouring locusts have destroyed (v. 20-26). One of the celebrations associated with the Feast of Tabernacles is the abundant harvest, the fruit of the land, like the fruit of trees and the vine, as we see here (v. 22). "And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed". As part of this blessing, the LORD promises to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, regardless of age or status. (v. 27-29). In Nehemiah, Ezra the scribe caused the Word of God to be read and taught before all of the people. Then they obeyed the Word that they had heard by building their booths from beautiful branches to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, as had been commanded by God (Neh. 8:13-15). When we honor God and His Word, He honors and blesses us. Zechariah prophesied about a plague that comes upon the people in which their flesh is consumed away: "...in that day,...a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them." (Zech. 14:12-13). It is a day when the LORD has gone to fight against the nations that have come against Jerusalem. Those among the nations who survive this terrible day of destruction, will have to come to Jerusalem yearly : "...to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles." (v. 16). This prophecy is talking about the rule of Messiah, Jesus Christ, on earth. Those nations that refuse to tabernacle with the LORD in Jerusalem will receive no rain, and will be smitten by the plague. In Jerusalem there shall be found the things that are HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD, "and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts." (v. 16-21). The Word of God says to keep His feasts in "all your generations". There is a place where the hand of God covers, supplies, lifts up, and suppresses, especially in connection with the day of the LORD, as we have seen. This place is found in His tabernacle (sukkah). *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 10/9/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

Understanding the Atonement*

The Feasts of the LORD give vital pointers of who the Messiah is, and how He comes, and they illustrate God's plan for creation. We just observed the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah, as it is also known, and in a few days, the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur will occur: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement (kipur/kapar - atonement, purge, expiation, redemption, reconciliation, forgive, propitiation, cover over, cleanse): it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people...it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath." (Lev. 23:26-32). The feasts are not just for the Jewish people, or for the time of the Old Testament only, but forever. The Hebrew pictographic letters that make up the word for atonement, kipur/kapar, have the meaning "to cover by the mouth of the Most High". The promise out of the mouth of God in Genesis was the seed of the woman to redeem. The atonement has come forth from the mouth of God, and has been fulfilled in Christ, and will be fulfilled again by Christ. The LORD established a testimony in Jacob, not for that generation only, but to tell their children, who in turn, would arise and tell the testimony to their children: "That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments: and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God...they did flatter him (God) with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant." (Ps. 78:5-8, 34-37). This psalm said that even so, God forgave them, and didn't destroy them because He remembered that they were mere flesh. However, they repeatedly provoked and grieved Him, turning their back to Him, and limiting the Holy One of Israel (v. 38-41). We limit God if we forget His repeated mercies to us, and again turn away from Him. Psalm 79 asks God not to remember our sins, because we have been brought low: "Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake." (v. 8-9). The word "purge away" in these verses is the word kapar, atonement. The psalmist asks the LORD to hear the sighing of the prisoner, and to preserve those who are appointed to die (v. 11). Jesus, our Atonement, after His death, descended into hell, and led the captives of death out, and ascended with them into heaven, fulfilling the psalmist's prophetic prayer, and the Word of God. The prophet Zechariah received a vision of the LORD in which the high priest, Joshua, standing before the Angel of the LORD, was cleansed and his filthy garments were changed into clean garments. Satan was resisting the cleansing of Joshua until the LORD rebuked him: "The LORD rebuke thee O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" (Zech. 3:1-3). As Joshua's filthy garments were ordered to be taken away by the LORD, He said: "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment." (v. 4). This reminds us of the pure, white linen of righteousness granted to the Bride to be worn for her marriage to the Lamb in Revelation 19. This was the charge that was given to Joshua at the time of his cleansing: "If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by." (v. 7). At the cleansing of Joshua, the LORD also prophesied of the One whom He would send, the Messiah: "...behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH...and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day...shall ye call every man his neighbor, under the vine and under the fig tree." (v. 8-10). The atonement cleansing of Joshua the high priest also brought the promise to remove the iniquity of that land, the prophecy of the Messiah to come, and the Millennial Reign of the Messiah, Jesus. Who must be cleansed? Paul wrote: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God", but we have been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, whom God sent to be "the propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." (Rom. 3:22-26). Paul is describing the atonement, and it is not achieved through religion or our own efforts, but by faith in His atoning blood. There is a song that says "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" can wash away our sins. Even when we were enemies of God, "we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." (Rom. 5:7-10). Here is the reconciliation of the atonement, not with the blood of animals, or even the blood of a man, but by the blood of the Son of God. Because of this atonement by the Son's own blood, we are no longer to yield to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but "to yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Rom. 6:11-14). After being freed from being servants to sin, we have become servants, even slaves to God, bearing fruit of holiness and the end being eternal life, rather than receiving the wages of sin, which is death (v. 22-23). We have been reconciled and saved by Jesus' life, the atoning blood, given for us. Therefore, we are no longer to be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing and washing of our minds in the Word of God, washed by the water, the blood, and the truth. Sin is still sin, although many churches have compromised this truth. We are to bring sin under His authority. The Book of Hebrews, in saying that Jesus Christ, our High Priest, entered into the perfect tabernacle in heaven, making atonement for us, obtaining eternal redemption for us, not by the blood of animals, but by His own blood, then asks, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?". He then became also the mediator of the new testament by means of His death. (Heb. 9:11-15). This is the simplicity of the Gospel. It's not about going to church, but going to Christ in our hearts. It's not about the name on the door, but about the name on our hearts. In the third epistle of John, John wrote that he prayed that we would be prospered as our soul prospers, and that he has no greater joy than when he hears that his spiritual children are "walking in truth" (v. 1-4). This upcoming Feast of the LORD, the Day of Atonement, calls us to prosper in our souls, and walk in the truth of Christ's atonement for us. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 10/2/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.