The Atonement In Prophecy

Two thousand years ago the sacrificial atonement of Jesus made forgiveness and salvation possible. At that time the curtain that kept men from seeing the glory of God in the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom. The veil that kept men from seeing God’s truth and love—the veil created by the lies of Satan and our fallen natures—was gone. Christ had destroyed the veil of lies by answering every lie and accusation of the enemy and overcome the fallen nature of men.

Now there was no barrier between the life of the Trinity and men. Men could now enter into that most holy place inside of them where God waits—that inner sanctum in every human heart (1 Corinthians 3:16)—and have the very deepest communion, represented in the Old Testament typology as entering the Most Holy Place. Everything that was necessary for the complete reconnection of men with God was done at the cross.

A Falling Away

If Christ, through the wonders of the cross and the ministry of the Spirit, has already made it possible for God to meet us heart to heart in the Most Holy Place of His temple within men—if He had already entered the Most Holy Place in the human heart—then what happened in 1844 when the great antitypical Day of Atonement began?

The glory of God, shining forth the brightness of the cross, didn’t last long. Paul predicted it in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. And sure enough, the world sank into darkness for centuries and the truth was almost totally extinguished. Lies once again prevented men from seeing the truth about God, the veil was rehung, and God’s desire of making the hearts of men a Most Holy Place was largely thwarted.

Yet There Was Hope

However, it is never God who runs. Men believe lies and run, but God never leaves. We are His temple, and He is ever close, waiting for us to meet Him within the veil. To be healed is to see past the lie that He distant and the lie that He is too holy to look on our sin. Reconciliation is not God finally doing something so He can return to us. No. It is seeing the truth that God has never left us or forsaken us in the first place. The Trinity has always been with us. The only thing that has ever stood between us is a lie.

All hope was not lost for God had foretold of a revival and a cleansing once more of God’s temple—a final day of atonement. It would take many centuries after the great falling away before enough truth was recovered for people to free their minds from Satan’s lies so the last day message could go forward. In the mid-1800s the truth about God’s character, for so many centuries lost to men, once more shone in the darkness and lit the whole world with God’s glory. Once more the earth was filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD. Once more the truth of the cross spread across our globe and opened the hearts of men so that they could see the position Jesus had procured for them within the life of the Trinity and join God in that most holy place within them.

The Atonement Practically

Atonement can be broken down to read at-one-ment. It is simply the process by which God brings man back into a relationship with Him. Through atonement God comes to the heart of His temple and heals us from all the damage done from the lies we believed.

How Does God Do This?

This is the big question, and it’s not a new question. Nicodemus asked it a long time ago during his night visit with Jesus. Nowhere does Jesus explain more fully—step by step—the process necessary to bring men’s hearts back into relationship—or at-one-ment—with God.

When Nicodemus asked Jesus how he could have the new birth, Jesus said, “You can’t do it by yourself.” Nicodemus then asked if there was anything at all he could do to aid the process. Jesus then referred to a snake story. When a plague of serpents attacked the Israelites in the desert, God instructed Moses to make a snake and raise it up on a poll, and all who looked at the snake lived.

The snake represented Jesus, who became sin for us so that we might not die, but come back into relationship with Him. We must all look to Jesus on the cross to live. There are no conditions to being healed except to look. There is life in a look. In the story you didn’t even have to believe, only to look.

Keep Looking

God is saying that even if we open our Bible, and nothing happens—nothing clicks—it’s not our fault. Yet if we continue to focus on Jesus, He has promised to do something miraculous. The Holy Spirit is going to blow into our lives like the wind through the trees. It doesn’t matter whether we believe it or not. If we will keep looking His way, a love affair with Him will click, and through this He has promised to transform our lives. Just by looking at Jesus, He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3

The way God makes at-one-ment happen is through a relationship with Jesus that starts just by looking at His matchless love and grace. All God wants from us is to be friends and He will do the rest. We really have nothing to do except spend time getting to know Jesus. Everything else is only the fruit of that relationship. Morris Venden said it well: “Christianity is not about what you do, but about who you know. And who you know is going to change what you do.”

“It is God at work in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13

It Doesn’t Have To Be Intimidating

So the Day of Atonement doesn’t have to be intimidating. God may well have a people in the end of time who do not even sin by a thought, but that is not our problem. If we trust in God like a little child with a willingness to learn and believe that His way is best for us, then we are not sinners even though we may have bad habits. Sin is rebellion against God’s character and government. But, in accepting Him, our hearts have been put right. Like children, we are always humbly saying, “How daddy? Why daddy? What else daddy?” And whatever our Daddy says we are more than willing to do. We are always willing, even excited, to learn more and become more mature.

So perfection means growing up. It is unnatural, even rebellious, not to grow up. Like growing children, we make mistakes. We fall. We learn. We hurt ourselves. We are perfect babies, that’s all. The scriptures say that in this world we cannot see the perfect people that we eventually will become, but God still sees us as perfect as we move step by faltering step within a joyful friendship with Him, within a relationship that desires to please Him. If this is our experience, then He will bring us to maturity in His perfect time.

Think of it this way: We would be in big trouble if Jesus came to us and asked us to never to stumble or fall again. We know that we’re not up to keeping a promise like that. However, if He asked if we could get to know each other, if, as little children, we would place our chubby hand in His—well—the weakest person in the world could do that!

All we need to focus on is Jesus and letting Him be Lord of our lives. Our degree of maturity is His concern, not ours. He promises to finish the work that He started (Philippians 1:6). The Day of At-one-ment is about getting to know Jesus—becoming one with Him—so that He can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. It’s as doable as that.

Are you becoming one with Jesus? Are you becoming friends with Him?