Now let’s see the connection between the wilderness and Satan. Let’s come in the New Testament now to Matthew 4, and here we have one of the most important battles of the entire ministry of Jesus Christ. Now it’s important from this point of view: Jesus could not begin His ministry until He had conquered Satan the devil. Now let’s think about this. If Jesus manifested Himself as God is God, to fight a battle with Satan, obviously He would win because He won the battle when Satan rebelled and a third of the angels went with him and they were cast back down to the earth, weren’t they? So there’s no question that He would win. Now when you come to: if Jesus were an angelic being (we see in the book of Daniel that the angels of God fight against the angels of Satan, and there is war that goes on), He probably could have beaten him, and overcome him if He would have been manifested in angelic form. But now, here Christ was manifested, God in the flesh, as a human being. Now in order to overcome Satan the devil it was necessary that He do so in the flesh. Because Satan is the one who has caused all human beings to sin. So before He began His ministry He had to overcome Satan the devil, and to defeat him, which He did.

Now after He was baptized, Matthew 4:1, “Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit in order to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was famished. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ ” Now we’ll notice in all the answers that Jesus gave, He gave the answers that God gave to man in order to serve God.

“But He answered and said, ‘It is written,…’ ” Good example. How do you overcome demonic and satanic problems but by the Word and the Spirit of God. There it is right there. “ ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God [Deuteronomy 8:3].” ’ ” Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him upon the edge of the temple,…” From the highest pinnacle of the temple to the floor of the Kidron Valley is 650 feet. So this was like being on a 65 story building. “And [Satan] said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, “He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and they shall bear You up in their hands, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.” ’ ” Jesus said to him, ‘Again, it is written, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” ’ ” And that’s quite a statement isn’t it? No human being is to tempt God. Now that’s another whole sermon in itself. You tempt God by not believing; you tempt God by accusing Him; you tempt God by imputing to Him things that are not His - such as imputing to Him the things that Satan the devil does. That is how you tempt God. And you shall not tempt Him to make a spectacle of yourself so that you, by your actions, are commanding God to do something which God will not do. And so the whole bottom line of this is no one is going to command God. That’s what this is all about.

Now verse 8, “After that, the devil took Him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,…”, and Luke adds “in a moment of time.” Now notice what he said to Him. “ ‘All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me.’ ” Well, the meaning of that is, “You worship me as God. Instead of God, You worship me.” That’s exactly the same test that Adam and Eve failed by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They didn’t believe God. They didn’t listen to His voice, and that is the most important thing. And the Word of God that we have here today is the voice of God. That’s what’s important. That’s why it’s so absolutely important that whoever does any preaching and teaching, and this applies to everyone of us, that we better teach the Word of God as Paul said, in season and out of season, because these are the Words of God. And we better handle it with love, and respect, and obedience, and fear, and awe because this is God’s Word.

So what did Jesus say to him? “ ‘Begone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.” ’ ” And of course that’s to human beings – not to Satan. Satan would never worship God. But that’s quite a statement, isn’t it? You take this to yourself. You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. Even Job had to learn that lesson, didn’t he? Without a doubt. So “Then the devil left Him;…” (Matt. 4:1-11, FV), and as it says in Luke “for a short season.”

Now let’s see how we are to look at these things. Let’s see what God tells us to do in praying every day. Let’s come over here to Matthew 6:13 (FV). This is what we need to pray: lead us not into temptation (or that we don’t have to be led into trials), but rescue us. Now that’s from the Greek – deliver, save, rescue us all applies here, from the evil one, who is Satan the devil. Now we are rescued from Satan the devil by the power of God through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit of God. And by yielding to Him, and obeying Him, and not living in sin and doing the will of Satan the devil. So we have to be rescued from it.

Now let’s see how great this rescue was. I don’t think many of us realize it. You know, many people have come out of this so-called Christian church or that so-called Christian church and all you’re doing in many cases is changing Saturday for Sunday and the holidays for the holy days, which you need to do. There’s nothing wrong with that. That needs to be. But the question comes down to this point: Are we really converted? Do we really believe? And do we really understand that even in that religious setting, which was a Satanic deception cleverly interwoven with the Word of God to make it look really good and Christian, because you see that’s the whole lesson of the two goats of Leviticus 16. You cannot of your own self discern the true God from the false god. And unless you have the Word of God and the Spirit of God you can’t discern between Satan as god and God. You cannot discern between false prophets and false apostles and false brethren, and all of these things, and you’re going to fall as a dupe again for Satan the devil. How else can you explain: Where have all the brethren gone? Well many of them were false brethren. And many of them came not for the reasons of loving God and obeying His voice, and believing Him and having faith in Christ. Many of them came because they saw the institution, and they saw the elegance of it and the desire of it. So they didn’t come to serve God. You might say they were fair weather Christians, as it were. Just like it says in the parable: when persecution and trouble comes they give up and flee.

Now here in Colossians 1:9, Paul is also setting the stage (as we have seen in Colossians 2) to avoid the subtlest most powerful deceptions of Satan the devil through philosophy and angel worship. So in what he’s writing, he’s trying to establish them firmly in the truth of God and for them to know and understand what God has done for each one of them, and hence for each one of us.

Verse 9, “For this cause we also, from the day that we heard of it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthily of the Lord,…” Remember what we’ve said: You walk in faith, believe in hope, and live in love. And that is the core of your relationship with God. And that’s what he’s talking about here. “…Unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God;…” And that is continuous “…Being strengthened with all power…” That’s what God wants to be in us. To be strengthened with the power of God’s Holy Spirit, “… according to the might of His glory,…” Since we live in the world “…unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father, Who has made us qualified for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the light;…”

Now notice verse 13. This is one of those middle voice Greek verbs. “…Who has personally rescued us from the power of darkness…” Now, you think about that for a minute. Why are you here in the church of God, with the knowledge of God, and the Word of God, and the Spirit of God, and the understanding of God, and you are not out there – that is, in the world? Because God has called you, and God is the one Who qualifies you. Not because we are greater than anybody else because we’re not. We’re the least. That’s just the way it is. And that’s why the Day of Atonement is a tremendous holy day, brethren, because it is to be a spiritual feast that we feast on the Word of God and on the Spirit of God and not the flesh. So it’s tremendous.

“…Rescued us from the power of darkness and has transferred us unto the kingdom of the Son of His love;…” (Cols. 1:9-13, FV). Now we’re not in the kingdom of God yet. That won’t come till the resurrection because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. But we are under the jurisdiction of the kingdom of God through the Holy Spirit of God, through Jesus Christ, through the Word of God. And then all of our allegiance, and all of our politics, as it were, are in heaven and not on earth. We await the kingdom to come and we will enter into it. So, isn’t that something? “…Who has personally rescued us from the power of darkness.” Quite a fantastic thing.

Now let’s come to I John 5 and let’s compare that with what the world is. I John 5:19 (FV), “We know that we are of God,…” We have to know that. If you have any doubts whatsoever, you take it to God in prayer through Jesus Christ, and study the Word of God and know that you have the Spirit of God, and know that you understand and do these things because God has given you the desire to do it, and that you are of God.

“We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the wicked one.” Or, lies in the wicked one, but it means the power of the wicked one. Isn’t that something? It reminds me of the song… “He’s got the whole world in his hands, he’s got the whole wide world in his hands…” And the Day of Atonement pictures when it’s going to be taken out of his hands. Quite an important thing, and profound for us to realize and know and understand.

Now let’s see what God is going to do. Let’s see what the Day of Atonement pictures in dealing with Satan the devil. Let’s come to the book of Revelation and see this, then we will see how God will begin to deal with Israel and grant to them repentance. But first, this must be done: The author of sin must be removed. Now notice as we saw on the Feast of Trumpets, how Christ and all of us, the saints, are going to return to the earth. There’s going to be this great battle on the earth and the first thing that happens is that Jesus sends an angel to take the beast and the false prophets and cast them into the lake of fire where they are burned to a crisp. So in order to stop that kind of human activity you have to get the two top leaders – the beast and the false prophet. Then you have to go one step further: you have to get rid of Satan the devil who set up the beast and the false prophet and brought sin to the whole world. So here we see the fulfilling of Leviticus 16 where the goat is taken to the wilderness and let go. Taken away, gotten rid of. Now then we have an add-on at this point as revealed in the book of Revelation. Something has to happen in order for Satan to be removed and for the millennium to start.

Let’s begin. Revelation 20:1, “Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand.” Now that is the prison of the demons and Satan – the abyss. “And he took hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” Now He doesn’t get rid of him entirely. He binds him. “Then he cast him into the abyss, and locked him up, and sealed the abyss over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were fulfilled; and after that it is ordained that he be loosed for a short time” (Rev. 20:1-3, FV). And when we come to that last part of the Feast of Tabernacles we’ll see what happens. Namely this: as soon as he is let loose sin reigns again. So the Day of Atonement pictures - you must get rid of the author of sin. You cannot bring in everlasting righteousness with him around. It is an impossibility.

Now let’s see what God is going to do with Israel. Let’s come to Ezekiel 36. Quite an amazing thing. See, once you get rid of the author of sin, and you get rid of the blindness, and you get rid of all of those wrong influences … and remember what they all went through, it’s really quite a thing that is done here.

Ezekiel 36:16, “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way…” Now isn’t that interesting? “There is a way that seems right to a man, the ends thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 16:25, paraphrased). And it seems right. “…By their own way and by their doings: their way was before Me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore I poured My fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: and I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned My holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of His land.” Isn’t that true? Even today there are people who say, “We’re the people of God”, but they’re not.

Now then He says, “But I had pity for Mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine holy name’s sake,…” God is going to save the world and Israel, and all nations because of His plan and His holiness, and as we know, because of His covenant with Abraham.

He says, “I’m going to do this for My holy name’s sake,” “…which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD,…” Though Israel didn’t know God, now God is going to reveal Himself not only to Israel but to the heathen. He says they, “…shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.” In other words, what God is going to do when He brings Israel out of captivity, and grants them repentance, which this Day of Atonement pictures, and restores them back to Him, all the heathen are going to know that it is God. “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries,…” And that’s what this Day of Atonement pictures – the re-gathering of the children of Israel back to the land. “…And will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you [get rid of all the filthiness and so forth], and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you:…” So not only is it going to be a recreation of the earth because of the desolation of all the things that take place on the earth, as we saw from Pentecost and Trumpets, but also now that Satan is removed He’s going to take away the penalty that He gave to Adam and Eve when they first sinned in giving them a sinful nature.

So now He says, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” That means a normal human mind and heart and capacity without all of the pulls of human nature. Now that’s going to change the world, see. But in order to change the world you’ve got to change the people. This is what God is doing. That’s why we’re called first. That’s why we live in this world though we’re not of the world, because in order for God to do this and bring it to the whole world we have to be changed, we have to be converted; and just count that all the saints from Abel on down to the last two witnesses. We all have to be changed first before we can do what God wants us to do. So before He puts them back in the land, He’s going to take away this hard-heartedness and blindness that they have. Verse 27, “And I will put My spirit within you [they’re going to be converted], and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezek. 36:16-27). Hello! What does it take to keep the commandments and judgments of God? His Spirit. That doesn’t do away with them, does it? No, it gives you the means and the ability to keep them. But you see, since the carnal mind that they had before, the heart of stone, they had a religion where they did not want to do the will of God. They wanted the part of it that they agreed with, but the other part they wanted to remake in their own image, and polluted it and caused all the deception and lies, and Satan the devil was right there saying, “Yeah, do it.” Now it’s going to be changed. You can’t change the world unless you change the people. And you can’t change the world unless you get rid of Satan the devil. And you can’t change the people unless you have the proper leadership through Christ and the saints.

Now let’s go to Ezekiel 37:15 and let’s see another way of explaining it here. “The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.” That is part of the meaning of the Day of Atonement bringing back the children of Israel – all twelve tribes, all together, all serving God.

Now, verse 18, “And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in Mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land [bring them back as one]: and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.” There is the meaning of the Day of Atonement for the future repentance, conversion, and bringing at-one the whole nation of Israel. Just as Paul wrote, so all Israel shall be saved. And here it is. This is for the Day of Atonement. And we know, as He says in Zechariah 12, He starts out with the tribe of Judah first. He’s going to save the tents of Judah first. And we found that confirmed in Revelation 7 when we saw the sealing of the 140,000 of the children of Israel.

Now let’s see what also God is going to do, verse 24. “And David My servant shall be king over them [Christ will be King over all the earth, and David will be king over Israel]; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them.” You see, it’s amazing isn’t it, how that in the Old Testament it shows that you need the Spirit of God to keep the commandments of God. And that’s what God was saying all along. Clear back when He first dealt with Israel and gave the Ten Commandments, He said, “O that there were such a heart in them that they would fear Me, and keep My commandments always,…” (Deut. 5:29). Here we see, they have a new heart. Here we see the Day of Atonement then paves the way for the beginning of the millennium.

“And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and My servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them:…” So now we’re getting in to the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles. “…Yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore” (Ezek. 37:15-28).

Now then, that takes care of the children of Israel. Now let’s come back to us and see the prayer that Jesus gave to us so that we can understand that in order to be in the kingdom of God the Day of Atonement pictures for us being at-one with God. And this was the prayer that Jesus gave at His last prayer there in John 17. So let’s turn there and let’s see the prayer that Jesus gave.

Let’s pick it up here in verse 13, “ ‘But now I am coming to You [that is, to the Father]; and these things I am speaking while yet in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in them.’ ” Now that’s after the resurrection and we’re in the kingdom of God. For the fullness of that, see. We are to have joy now, but just think what it’s going to be after the resurrection and we’re one with God.

“ ‘I have given them Your words, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.’ ” So in order for us to be at-one with God we have to have the Spirit of God, we have to be sanctified by God. Even though we’re not of the world, now notice what He says here. “ ‘I do not pray that You would take them out of the world, but that You would keep them from the evil one.’ ” When we stay at-one with God knowing His plan and purpose, and having His Spirit and His grace and His love, God will keep us from the evil one. We will not be deceived. We will not go astray. “ ‘They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in Your truth; Your Word is the truth [that’s how it’s accomplished]. Even as You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world [referring to the apostles]. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be sanctified in Your truth. I do not pray for these only, but also for those who shall believe in Me through their word;…’ ” And this prayer of Jesus is being fulfilled right to this very day, and will continue to be down through until He returns and beyond.

Now notice, here is the prayer, here is the ultimate goal - that is, spiritual Israel, “ ‘…That they all may be one, even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, in order that the world may believe that You did send Me. And I have given them the glory that You gave to Me, in order that they be may one, in the same way that We are one: I in them [Christ in you], and You in Me [Christ and the Father working together], that they may be perfected into one;…’ ” (John 17:13-23, FV).

So this Day of Atonement pictures that perfection, and pictures when we will no longer have any sin at all but be totally at-one with God. This is the meaning of the Day of Atonement.

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