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Atonement Fulfilled: The Bearer of Sin

Article by David C. Grabbe

Being cast from God's presence is the symbolic curse carried by the azazel, the live goat of the Day of Atonement. After the high priest laid the nation's sins on it, the goat was led away from the Tabernacle into an uninhabited land, picturing divine rejection and separation from the source of life. This echoes Adam's expulsion from Eden, where sin first divided mankind from God. Jesus fulfilled this role as the antitype. The Father laid humanity's iniquity on Him (Isaiah 53:6), and God made Him to be sin (II Corinthians 5:21). Paul says Christ became a curse for us by hanging on a tree (Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:23), and His cry, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" reflects that separation. Unlike ordinary sin offerings killed at the Tabernacle, Christ was led out from the Temple, the symbolic seat of God's presence, and suffered outside the gate (Hebrews 13:12), most likely on the Mount of Olives. As the Second Adam, He was sent away to bear the curse on the first Adam, so that believers can return to God's presence. His death fulfilled the curse, and He will appear again apart from sin.

Warning of Judgment, Urgency to Prepare!

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

We need to prepare physically and mentally for God's expected judgment—a terrible thing for those not aligned to His divine purpose for humanity.

Four Warnings (Part Three): I Never Knew You

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Christ's third warning in the Sermon on the Mount is to beware of hypocrisy, professing to do things in Jesus' name but habitually practicing lawlessness.