What does “atonement” have to do with you? Everything!

For those of us on earth today the word atonement refers to the reconciliation between God and man as accomplished by the Lord Yeshua Messiah.  Atonement could be viewed as “at-one-ment” with God.  Atonement is a word that summarizes all of the many blessings that you can receive as a result of the Messiah’s sacrificial suffering, death, and resurrection.

The first man and woman that we call “Adam and Eve” had perfect unity with their Creator: They were one with Him

It is a common misunderstanding that the first man and woman were not governed by any kind of instructions before the fall but this is an error.  They were probably given many instructions:  The Bible records a few of them.  They were told to guard and tend to the garden Gen. 2:15, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and other things.  Unfortunately, we all know the story.  They allowed themselves to be deceived unto death.

However, praise God, He had a plan for the redemption of man.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed;
it (The Messiah) shall bruise your head, and you (the satan) shalt bruise His heel.
Genesis 3:15

More on the Fall of man
Biblically, death is defined as separation from God.  When the man and woman allowed the satan in the camp death began to abound.  They both died spiritually and that lead to their physical deaths as well.  Not only did their transgression lead to their own deaths but it also led to the spiritual and physical death of their offspring as well.  This is clearly seen in the sad stories of Cain and Abel.

Soon after the fall of the first man and woman Cain murdered Abel.  Again we know that they were aware of right and wrong because the text clearly reveals that Cain obviously knew that murdering his brother was a bad thing to do.

The written Torah (instructions) of God to His people
In the process of time, the instructions (Torah / Gen.- Deut.) that God had given His people become even more clearly evident.  For example, Noah knew the difference between clean and unclean animals (Gen. 6-7).

It was clear that Israel wasn’t getting it and God didn’t want there to be any confusion.  He wanted them to have a written record.  So by the Spirit of God, approximately 2,300 years after Adam came to be, Moses penned the written Torah.

The “Old Testament” Heresy
The first five books of the Bible are referred to as “The Five Books of Moses” or the “Torah”. The “Old Testament” (Tanakh)  wasn’t referred to as the “Old Testament” until around 145 AD when a very wealthy, charismatic man by the name of Marcion convinced  people that the “Jews” were evil, that the God of the Hebrew Scriptures was a barbarian and that the Jesus of the “New Testament” was all about “love”.

Marcion was well known in his day as a heretic.  Even the Catholics excommunicated him.  However, that didn’t stop him.  He traveled throughout the land preaching that the Tanakh was old and obsolete.

At the time, most people felt that Marcion was a heretic.  But later, people began to embrace his heresy and even began to insert a page into their Bible that said “Old Testament”.

Where the collection of Scritpures were one unified book of God, it now became two leading to confusion.

The reality is that the Tanakh (O/T) was faithfully recorded for you and me to embrace and learn from for all of time.

Now all these things happened unto (us) for examples: and they are written for our admonition…
1 Corinthians 10:11 

Biblical Holydays and Atonement
Part of the written instructions, in the Tanakh, that God told Moses was to initiate a national holiday that we refer to as the “Day of Atonement”:  The Hebrew name for the Day of Atonement is Yom Kippur.

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement:
it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls,
and offer an offering made by fire unto Yahweh.
Leviticus 23:27 

Yom Kippur is an annual holy-day for the people of God.  According to the Bible, the “Day of atonement” is not a “Jewish” holiday.  Rather it is a Holy day set aside by Yahweh God Himself for His people – all of them.  It is celebrated in what we call the fall of the year.  It is a day in which the High Priest of Israel enters into the Holy of Holies and pleads the case for Israel: Receiving forgiveness for their sins and reaffirming their submission and commitment to the Most High God.

In the ancient days, all of Israel was preserved by the action of this one man; the High Priest.

“The new is in the old concealed the old is in the new revealed”

The High Priest of Israel and the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 23 is a foreshadow of the real thing: The Atonement accomplished by Yeshua.

Yeshua is the ultimate High Priest

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Hebrews 4:14

…If by one man’s offense death reigned, by how much more they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.   Romans 5:17

The Tanakh, 1 Cor. 15:22 and Rom. 5:17 all reveal to us that, through the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, you have been provided an abundance of grace.  Grace is defined as the “empowering presence of God”.

Grace isn’t anything new: Even Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahweh (Gen.6:8). God has always bestowed great grace upon His people.

The High Priest of the people of God made Atonement for you so that you can be reconciled to God.            As the High Priest of Israel entered the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle to obtain Atonement for Israel, today the King of Israel, Yeshua, who is also the High Priest of God’s people in the order of Melchizedek,  ripped the veil apart that shrouded the Holy Place, making it accessible to all.  Yeshua is the King and final High Priest of Israel who made the final sacrifice for His people.

The Scriptures clearly reveal that when Yeshua made atonement for you and me, He made provision for every need.  He made atonement for every sin, sickness, disease.  Every need to fulfill your God-given destiny was fulfilled in the atonement of Yeshua.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:22

What that means is, through the atonement of Yeshua, everything that Adam and Eve lost in the garden, Yeshua came to restore back to you.  Will you receive it?

Atonement is an expression of God’s Grace for you and I today
As a chosen one of God, you have been provided with an abundance of Grace to enable you to live life in the blessings of the atonement that Yeshua has provided for you.  A good definition of grace is the “empowering presence of God”.

Just as the presence of God left Adam and Eve resulting in death, by faith, the grace, of God has been returned to you as the result of the atonement of Yeshua.

Conclusion
Just as the presence of God left Adam and Eve which resulted in death, by faith did the grace of God return to you as the result of your willing reunion with God through His son, Yeshua the Christ.

As a chosen one of God, you have been provided with an abundance of Grace: the “empowering presence of God” in order to live out the atonement that Yeshua has provided you.

Confession: In Yeshua’s name I embrace all of what Yeshua accomplished for me on the cross.  I will utilize and capitalize on every aspect as Yahweh God provides grace for understanding.

Prayer:  Thank you Yeshua for all that you accomplished on the cross: Thank you for making atonement for me: spirit, soul, and body.  Please teach me what that means so that the truth I know will set me free.  Amen!

Dr. Rayphe
God’s Kingdom Realm

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