Fulfilment of the Levitical feasts
We have examined the relationship of the thousand-year Jubilee to the new heaven and earth reign by studying the kingdoms of David and Solomon, and also the placing of the Ark of the Covenant and the remainder of the vessels of the Tabernacle of the Congregation in the Temple of Solomon.
These two Old Testament figures are rich in spiritual significance, yielding insight that can be applied to our personal experience of redemption as well as to the working of God in the Church, and also to the establishing of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
A third Old Testament figure that demonstrates certain aspects of the relationship between the Kingdom Age and the new heaven and earth reign is that of the feasts of the Lord, particularly the three feasts that occur in the seventh month. These three feasts are: the blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:23-44).
The three observances respectively are on the first day, the tenth day, and the fifteenth through the twenty-second day of the seventh month.
The seventh month of the Hebrew ceremonial year, the year that commences with the Passover, is the first month of the civil year.
The ceremonial year of the Hebrews begins with the month in which Passover is observed.
The civil (business; agricultural) year of the Hebrews begins on the seventh month of the ceremonial year, just as our fiscal year, July first through June thirtieth, begins on the seventh month of our calendar year.
Therefore the last three feasts, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles, are observed on the first, tenth, and fifteenth through twenty-second, of the first month of the civil year.
The fact that the last three feasts are celebrated during the first month of the civil year suggests that the three holidays typify a beginning of government and of doing business in the Kingdom of God.
The Hebrew ceremonial year, which runs approximately from March through February of our calendar year, may be thought of in connection with the creating of the Church of Christ from the body and blood of Christ.
The creating of the Church of Christ begins with the application of the Passover blood and attains completion with the celebration of Tabernacles, that is, with the dwelling of the Father and the Son in the faithful saints (John 14:23).
The Hebrew civil year, which extends approximately from September through August of our calendar, may be thought of in connection with the actual setting up of the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth.
The setting up of the Kingdom of Heaven begins with the blowing of the seventh trumpet, at the coming of Christ, and attains completion when the redemption of the cross has touched every saved person on earth.
The seven Levitical feasts are set forth in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus. The last three feasts, Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles, typify the Kingdom Age, and also the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
The blowing of Trumpets, the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn), Rosh Hashana of the Jews, is New Year’s Day and currently is celebrated as such by the Jewish people. In terms of the Scriptures, the trumpet is to be sounded on the first day of the first civil month and announces the new year.
When the trumpet of God sounds in the Church of Christ it signifies the beginning of a new year with God. It marks the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven in answer to the prayer that Jesus taught us: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).
The trumpet of God will herald the return of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians who have experienced a personal Pentecost may enjoy knowing that Trumpets is the feast that follows the feast of Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit leads us to the King and into His Kingdom. The Holy Spirit gives us power to bear witness of the King and His Kingdom and to keep His laws.
The Blowing of Trumpets followed the feast of Pentecost just as the coming of Christ in His Kingdom follows the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This sequence of events holds true in our individual experience with Jesus as well as in the universal, kingdom-wide sense.
The last three feasts, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles, are to be experienced personally by Christians immediately after receiving the Holy Spirit. Also, these three Old Testament holidays will be fulfilled under the new covenant in earth-transforming glory and power, on a kingdom-wide scale, at the coming of Christ in His Glory.
The Day of Atonement is divided into two major areas. The first part of the kingdom-wide fulfilment of the Day of Atonement occurred on the cross of Calvary where the blood of God’s offering, the righteous Jesus, was "shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28; see also Hebrews, Chapters Nine and Ten).
The blood of Christ was offered once for all persons and for all time as the atonement for our sins, and "not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (I John 2:2).
At Calvary, all legal authority was transferred to Christ including the possession of the keys of Hell and death (Revelation 1:18). Satan possess no authority whatever except the portion that Christ assigns to him so the Bride may be perfected by enduring testing and tribulation. All authority in Heaven and on the earth is held by the Lord Jesus Christ.
The second phase of the Day of Atonement is the actual judgment and deliverance of the nations of saved peoples of the earth. Every individual who is willing to accept Christ as Saviour and Lord shall be saved from sin. The kingdom-wide fulfilment of the Day of Atonement will be the complete removal of the bondages of sin from the face of the earth.
The fulfilment of the Day of Atonement will produce an earth in which there exists neither the guilt nor the power nor the practice nor the effects of sin (II Peter 3:13). There will be no sin whatever, either covered or uncovered. The presence of sin will be gone!—destroyed!—removed! The earth, in that day, will be as pure as Paradise in Heaven is now. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
The Lord will go one step further with His Church, the new Jerusalem. The Church will be not only free from sin but also will be the image of Christ in spirit, in soul, and in body and in complete, untroubled union with the Father through Christ.
Deliverance from the guilt and power of sin is the negative side of the atonement, bringing us to a state of cleanliness and right standing with God. Release from sin means we no longer can be compelled to sin by wicked forces acting through the weaknesses of our flesh. We shall be pure, without condemnation, guiltless before God, able to conduct ourselves in a righteous, holy manner.
We shall be restored to the moral condition of Adam and Eve before their disobedience.
However, there is more included in the atonement (reconciliation) than the removal of the guilt and power of sin. It is not enough that we be restored to the original moral innocence of Adam and Eve.
In order to prevent future sin and rebellion it is necessary that there be developed in each saint a militant, vigorous, diligent righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God’s laws such that we shall not be led astray and deceived; such that we shall love righteousness and hate sin and disobedience. If Christ had been formed in Adam and Eve after this fashion they would not have sinned against God.
The conquering saint is immersed in the will and service of God. There is being created in him a spirit of obedience that will serve God under every condition. There is a disposition to perform good works and an ever-broadening compassion and understanding regarding the people with whom the saint comes in contact. Such character formation is a very necessary aspect of the atonement.
Transformation into the image of Christ and a consuming desire to be in total union with God are the positive side of the atonement. We not only do not sin but we become filled with Divine love, joy, and peace. There is a growing patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and temperance in our personality as well as a militant love of righteousness and hatred of sin.
The love of God and for God is increasing in our heart.
The Day of Atonement includes every phase of our reconciliation to God the Father, from our beginning in chaos of spirit, soul, and body all the way to our transformation into the image of Christ and our abiding in perfect oneness in the Father through the Son.
The Day of Atonement is the sixth convocation, and man was created in the image of God on the sixth day of creation. We are associating the complete atonement, the reconciliation to God through Christ, with the thousand-year Jubilee.
As individual believers we can enter an ever-increasing reconciliation to God each day of our discipleship on the earth. There is coming also a kingdom-wide work of reconciliation that will affect all the nations of the earth.
We are not suggesting that everyone ultimately will be reconciled to God. Reconciliation to God depends on our willingness to receive Christ, to receive the atonement and redemption that is of, in, and through the Lord Jesus Christ.