The Day of Atonement was the most critical of the seven feasts of the Lord, because the decision was made on this day whether or not God would accept His people, Israel. Access to the Ark of the Covenant and the covering Mercy Seat was available to Israel only on the Day of Atonement.

The purpose of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and of the multitude of trials they experienced in the wilderness, was to bring them into rest in the land of promise. Israel was not called of God to leave Egypt and dwell in the scorching Sinai desert. Israel was called of God to settle permanently in a well-watered land, there to enjoy the Lord in the abundance of peace and material abundance.

We see, therefore, that the sixth aspect of the four major types of redemption brings into view the purpose of God and the climax of salvation. We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit to the day of redemption, of salvation, that is yet ahead of us.

In the sense in which we are now speaking, we haven't been fully redeemed as yet. We have been sealed. God has put His mark on us so that when sin and righteousness come to maturity in the last days, and the wrath of God (which has been kept in reserve since the time of the rebellion in Heaven) is poured on the rebellious and disobedient, we shall not be destroyed but shall be saved to enter the fullness of eternal life.

We have been "saved" by accepting the Lord Jesus. But the fullness of salvation is yet ahead of us, just as the days of creation looked toward the sixth day; the pilgrimage of the Israelites looked toward the invasion of the land of promise; the furnishings of the Tabernacle looked toward the Ark of the Covenant; and the feasts of the Lord looked toward the solemn Day of Atonement—the day when God either accepted or rejected the priesthood, the Tabernacle, and the twelve tribes of Israel.

In order for the Church to realize the fullness of the Glory of God, and to serve as the light of the world, we first shall have to go to war with Christ against all who oppose Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Ark of the Covenant represents the Glory of God that will return to the earth with the Lord Jesus Christ and establish the rule of the Kingdom of God.

Christ will see the travail of His soul and be satisfied as the Spirit of God extends redemption to the farthest reaches of our planet. Christ will receive the nations for His inheritance and the ends of the earth for His possession. All the sin of the earth will be led away (not only the guilt of the sin but the sin itself), just as the scapegoat was led out of the camp and left in the land of separation (Leviticus, Chapter 16).

To be continued.