Scripture Reading: Lev. 16; Rom. 3:24-25; Heb. 2:17; 4:16; 9:5; 1 John 2:2; 4:10

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 18　DAY 1　»

　　Heb. 9:11-12 But Christ, having come as a High Priest of the good things that have come into being, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood, entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, obtaining an eternal redemption.

　　Because of the negative situation of God's people, as portrayed in Leviticus 11 through 15, according to God's concept and in His divine economy there is the need of redemption. Because the Old Testament time was not the time for redemption to take place, a type, a shadow, of the coming redemption was needed. This shadow is the expiation in chapter 16. The expiation accomplished through the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament is a type pointing to the redemption accomplished by Christ in the New Testament. (Lev. 16:1, footnote 1)

　　The root of the Hebrew word translated "expiation" means "to cover." The noun form of this word is rendered "expiation cover" in Leviticus 16:2 and in Exodus 25:17. The root of the Greek word used in the Septuagint and in the New Testament, translated "propitiation" in Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; and 1 John 2:2 and 4:10, means "to appease" (the situation between two parties). On the Day of Expiation the blood of the sin offering was brought into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the expiation cover, the lid of the Ark (Lev. 16:14-15), which covered the Ten Commandments within the Ark (Exo. 25:16), signifying that the sin of the ones coming to contact God had been covered but not yet removed....In this way the situation of fallen man in relation to God was appeased but was not fully settled, until Christ came to accomplish redemption by offering Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice to take away man's sin (Heb. 9:12; 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; John 1:29). (Lev. 16:1, footnote 1)

　　According to Hebrews 10:4, expiation in the Old Testament could not take away sins. If expiation had been able to take away sins, there would have been no need for the people to continually offer the sin offering year after year. The repetition of the offering was an indication that the taking away of sins for the accomplishment of redemption had not yet taken place. Therefore, it was necessary for the Lord Jesus to come to die on the cross for our redemption.

　　Leviticus 16:15-19 presents a picture of the accomplishing of expiation, the covering of sins. With the type of the expiation in the Old Testament age, we know how Christ accomplished the taking away of sins in the New Testament age. Let us consider the details in Leviticus 16 and their significance concerning the accomplishing of expiation.

　　The first step for the accomplishing of expiation was to slaughter the goat of the sin offering for the people (v. 15a). Goats signify sinners (cf. Matt. 25:32-33, 41). We were born sinners, having a sinful nature inwardly and sinful deeds outwardly, and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, it is reserved for us to die once (Heb. 9:27). For this reason, in the accomplishing of expiation, man was required to take the goat of the sin offering as his substitute.

　　The slaughtered goat of the sin offering is a type of Christ, who was made in the likeness of the flesh of sin, being the sin offering for us, the sinners. "God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh" when Christ was crucified in the flesh on the cross (Rom. 8:3). When Christ was incarnated (John 1:14), He became one with us in the flesh. He did not know sin, but He was made sin on our behalf to be judged by God, and thereby God condemned sin in the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21; John 3:14). In Him, that is, in becoming one with Him in His resurrection, we have become the righteousness of God. By this righteousness we, the enemies of God, have been reconciled to God (Rom. 5:10). (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, pp. 72-74)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 46; Life Lessons, vol. 4, lsn. 39

«　WEEK 18　DAY 2　»

　　Lev. 16:14-15 And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger upon the expiation cover toward the east, and before the expiation cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil...and sprinkle it upon the expiation cover and before the expiation cover.

　　The second step for the accomplishing of expiation was to bring the blood of the goat inside the veil and sprinkle it on and before the expiation cover. According to God's law, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:22). Therefore, the sprinkling of the blood of the goat on and before the expiation cover, which was the lid of the Ark, was for the fulfillment of God's requirement so that God might have fellowship with the approaching one. By the lid of the Ark, with the expiating blood sprinkled on it, the entire situation of the sinner was fully covered. Therefore, upon this lid God could meet with the people who had broken His righteous law. Since the problem between man and God was appeased, God could forgive and show mercy to man and thereby give grace to man. (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, pp. 74-75)

　　The priest was to bring the blood of the goat inside the veil and sprinkle it on and before the expiation cover. This signifies that the blood of Christ was brought into the Holy of Holies in the heavens to accomplish eternal redemption for sinners before God (Heb. 9:12)....Christ as the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world (John 1:29) by offering Himself once for all on the cross as the sacrifice for sins (Heb. 9:14; 10:12). His blood, which He sprinkled in the heavenly tabernacle before God for our expiation, has accomplished an eternal redemption for us, even redemption for transgressions under the old covenant, transgressions that were only covered by animal blood (9:15). Thus, we have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19).

　　"He shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on and around the horns of the altar " (Lev. 16:18). Putting the blood on and around the four horns of the burnt offering altar signifies that the efficacy of the redemption of the blood of Christ is for the four corners of the earth. The blood of the bull was for Aaron and his household, the blood of the goat was for the entire people of Israel, and the four horns of the altar point toward the four directions of the earth. Therefore, putting the blood of the bull and the goat on and around the horns of the altar signifies that the efficacy of the redemption of the blood of Christ is toward the four corners of the earth for the people in every direction of the earth, as the apostle says in 1 John 2:2: "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for those of the whole world." This shows that the sphere reached by the efficacy of the redemption by the blood of Christ is inclusive and extensive.

　　The blood of the bull and the goat was not only put on and around the horns of the altar but also sprinkled on the altar seven times (Lev. 16:19a). This signifies that the full efficacy of the blood shed on the cross by Christ is so that the sinner may look at it and be at peace in his heart. When we, as sinners, look at the blood sprinkled on the altar, we know that our sin and sins have been dealt with. Knowing that the problem of sin has been solved, we have peace in our heart.

　　The blood sprinkled on the altar was for the peace of the sinner, but the blood sprinkled on the expiation cover was for God's satisfaction. The blood was sprinkled first on the expiation cover within the veil. This was for God to see. It was for His satisfaction. Then the blood was sprinkled on the offering altar in the outer court. This was for the sinner to see. It was for his satisfaction. Both God and man are satisfied through the redeeming blood of Christ. (Truth Lessons— Level Three, vol. 2, pp. 75-76)

　　Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, lsn. 27; Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 47

«　WEEK 18　DAY 3　»

　　Rev. 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where also the beast and the false prophet were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

　　1 John 2:2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for those of the whole world.

　　Azazel signifies Satan, the devil, the sinful one, the one who is the source, the origin, of sin (John 8:44). The goat that was for Jehovah was to be killed (Lev. 16:9), but the goat that was for Azazel was to be sent away into the wilderness to bear away all the iniquities of the children of Israel on itself (vv. 10, 20-22). This signifies that Christ as the sin offering for God's people, on the one hand, deals with our sin before God and, on the other hand, sends sin, through the efficacy of the cross, back to Satan, from whom sin came into man. Through the cross the Lord Jesus has the position and qualification with the power, strength, and authority to take sin away from the redeemed ones (John 1:29; Heb. 9:26) and send it back to its source, Satan, who will bear it in the lake of fire forever (Rev. 20:10). (Lev. 16:8, footnote 1)

　　The atonement in the Old Testament was an expiation (Lev. 25:9; Num. 5:8). Expiation means to appease God for us, to conciliate God by satisfying His righteous requirements.

　　The expiation in Old Testament was a type of the propitiation in the New Testament.

　　The matter of propitiation is mentioned five times in the New Testament in relation to Christ: twice it refers to Christ Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice [1 John 2:2; 4:10], twice it refers to the place where propitiation was accomplished [Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:5], and once it refers to the action of propitiation [Heb. 2:17].

　　In addition to these five references to propitiation in the New Testament, we find the same root used by the tax collector in his prayer in the temple (Luke 18:13).

　　What is the meaning of propitiation? How shall we distinguish it from redemption on the one hand and reconciliation on the other?...Reconciliation includes propitiation. Nevertheless, there is a difference between them. Propitiation means that you have a problem with another person. You have either offended him or else you owe him something. For instance, if I wrong you or I am otherwise in debt to you, a problem exists between us. Because of this problem or debt, you have a demand upon me, and unless your demand is satisfied, the problem between us cannot be resolved. Thus, there is the need for propitiation.

　　The Greek word hilasmos implies that I have wronged you and that now I am indebted to you. There is a problem between us that hinders our relationship. Propitiation, therefore, involves two parties, one of which has wronged the other, has become indebted to the other, and must act to satisfy the demands of the other. If the offending party is to appease the offended party, he must fulfill his demands. The Septuagint uses the word hilasmos for the word [translated] "atonement" [by the King James Version] in Leviticus 25:9 and Numbers 5:8, because this Greek word means to conciliate two parties and make them one. This is a matter of atonement.

　　The word atone is composed of two words, "at" and "one."...Atonement is "at-one-ment." The meaning of atonement is to bring two parties into one. When two parties have been separated and seek to be in oneness, there is the need for propitiation....The action of propitiation is atonement. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 52-55)

　　In Hebrews 2:17 the Lord Jesus makes propitiation for our sins to reconcile us to God by satisfying God's righteous demands on us. Through His work on the cross Christ made propitiation for our sins. This means that He appeased God for us. By appeasing God's righteousness and all His requirements on us, Christ has settled every problem between us and God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 763)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msg. 5; Life-study of 1 John, msg. 14

«　WEEK 18　DAY 4　»

　　1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.

　　Heb. 2:17 Hence He should have been made like His brothers in all things that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

　　In Luke 18:13 we see that the despised, accused, and condemned tax collector prayed in the way of humbling himself to the uttermost: "But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be propitiated to me, the sinner!" This word implies the need of a Redeemer and also the need of propitiation. The tax collector realized how his sinfulness offended God. Hence, he asked God to be propitiated, to be appeased toward him by a propitiation, so that God may be merciful and gracious to him.

　　The Lord offered Himself to God as a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 9:28), not only for our redemption but also for God's satisfaction. In Him as our Substitute, through His vicarious death, God is satisfied and appeased. Hence, He is the propitiation between God and us. (Life-study of Luke, p. 354)

　　Christ is the propitiatory sacrifice, and He is also the propitiation place where God can meet with His redeemed people. The propitiation place is typified in Exodus 25:17 by the sin-covering lid on the Ark. The Ark was the place where God met with people. Underneath the lid of the Ark was the law of the Ten Commandments exposing the sinfulness of the people and condemning them; above the lid of the Ark were the two cherubim representing God's glory and observing every action of the people. The exposing and condemning law signifies the requirements of God's holiness and His righteousness according to the law, and the observing cherubim signify the requirements of God's glory according to the expression of God. Unless these requirements were fulfilled and God was satisfied, there was no way for sinners to contact God and for God to communicate with them. However, by the lid of the Ark with the propitiating blood sprinkled on it on the Day of Expiation, the entire situation on the sinner's side was fully covered. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3026)

　　In Hebrews 2:17 Paul uses the Greek word hilaskomai, which means to appease, to reconcile one by satisfying the other's demand; hence, it means to propitiate. According to Hebrews 2:17, the Lord Jesus made propitiation for our sins to reconcile us to God by satisfying God's righteous demands on us.

　　Translators sometimes have had difficulty with the words hilasterion, hilasmos, and hilaskomai. Hilasterion denotes the place of propitiation; hilasmos denotes a propitiatory sacrifice; and hilaskomai means to propitiate. Propitiation is needed when one party is indebted to another and unable to meet that party's demands and requirements. Should a third party appear on the scene, he may solve the problem between the first two parties by paying what the first party owes and causing the second party to be satisfied with this payment. This is precisely what the Lord Jesus did in offering Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice to solve our problems with God. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1034-1035)

　　Propitiation means to make us one with God because there had been a separation between us and God. The problem that kept us from God, that made it impossible for us to have direct fellowship with Him, was our sins. Our sins kept us away from God's presence and hindered God from coming to us. Therefore, we needed propitiation to appease God's demands. Christ accomplished this on the cross when He made propitiation for our sins in order to reconcile us to God by satisfying God's righteous demands on us (Heb. 2:17). On the cross He offered Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins to solve our problems with God (1 John 2:2; 4:10). In His death He propitiated for us and brought us back to God, making us one with God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3025-3026)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 86-87

«　WEEK 18　DAY 5　»

　　Heb. 4:16 Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help.

　　9:28 So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time to those who eagerly await Him, apart from sin, unto salvation.

　　Both in 1 John 2:2 and 4:10 the Greek word hilasmos is used. This word denotes something which propitiates, that is, a propitiatory sacrifice. In 1 John 2:2 and 4:10 the Lord Jesus is the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. (Life-study of Exodus, p. 1034)

　　Jesus made propitiation for our sins, thereby satisfying the demand of God's righteousness and appeasing the relationship between God and us, that God may be peacefully gracious to us. (Heb. 2:17, footnote 4)

　　We praise the Lord that Christ is not only the One who propitiates and the propitiatory sacrifice, but even the place of propitiation, the propitiatory cover. Here God is satisfied, and we are happy. Here on the propitiatory cover God can meet with us and speak with us. Therefore, with Christ as the propitiatory cover of the Ark, God and man can meet and have fellowship under a mutually satisfying situation.

　　The two cherubim of glory with their faces toward the propitiatory cover signify that God's glory has been satisfied with what Christ has done. The propitiatory blood sprinkled upon the propitiatory cover (Lev. 16:14-15) satisfies the requirements of God's law under the cover and God's glory above the cover and thus gives peace to man's conscience.

　　Inside the Ark, under the propitiatory cover, is the law with its demands, which exposed us and condemned us. Furthermore, above the propitiatory cover is God's glory watching and observing everything that takes place. But through Christ both the demands of God's law and the requirements of God's glory have been satisfied. Now we can meet with God in glory on the propitiatory cover sprinkled with the blood. By the lid of the Ark with the redeeming blood sprinkled on it the whole situation on the sinner's side is fully taken care of. Therefore, upon this lid as the propitiatory cover, God can meet with the people who broke His righteous law without any governmental contradiction of His righteousness, even under the observing of the cherubim, which bear His glory overshadowing the lid of the Ark. Because the law with its demands is covered and God's glory is satisfied, God can speak with sinners, and these sinners can be at peace with God and receive grace from Him. Therefore, this propitiatory cover equals the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16).

　　When we look at the redeeming blood on the propitiatory cover, our conscience is at peace. We know that Christ died for us and that the blood, the emblem of His death, has been sprinkled for us on the propitiatory cover to satisfy the requirements of God's righteousness. At such a time God may ask, "Child, are you happy?" and we may respond, "...Yes, I am very happy, Father." Then the Father may say, "I am much happier than you are. Let us embrace and enjoy intimate fellowship." This is the experience and enjoyment of Christ as the propitiatory cover on the Ark of the Testimony.

　　This vision of Christ as the Ark with the propitiatory cover is wonderful and inexhaustible. I hope that after hearing of such a Christ, the Christ who lives in you will become much more precious to you than ever before.

　　Without the propitiatory cover, there is no way for us to enjoy the Ark. The Ark can become our enjoyment only because of the lid which covers it. If the Ark did not have the propitiatory cover as a lid, we could not come to God, and God could not come to us. The Ark would still exist, but there would be no way for us to have contact with it. The propitiatory cover is needed by both God and us for the Ark to become our enjoyment. Now because of the propitiatory cover, we have a way to meet with God and speak with Him. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1035-1036, 1016-1017)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 88-89

«　WEEK 18　DAY 6　»

　　Rom. 3:24-25 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God set forth as a propitiation place through faith in His blood, for the demonstrating of His righteousness, in that in His forbearance God passed over the sins that had previously occurred.

　　God began to set forth Christ as the propitiation place at the time that darkness came over the whole land during His crucifixion, when He offered Himself as the unique sacrifice for sin, the reality of the sin offering (Luke 23:44; Heb. 9:26). Then on the third day God resurrected Him; this resurrection was also a part of the process of God's setting forth of Christ. After the Lord's resurrection, God received Christ into the heavens and placed Him at His right hand. This receiving and placing are also a part of the setting forth of Christ. God set forth Christ through the entire process of His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, in which He sat down at the right hand of God....God placed Christ, set forth Christ, as the propitiation place from the time that Christ shed His blood to the time that He ascended to sit at the right hand of God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3028)

　　In the Old Testament, the expiation cover, the lid of the Ark, as a type, was hidden in the Holy of Holies; in the New Testament, Christ as the propitiation place, the reality of the expiation cover, is openly set forth before all men. (Rom. 3:25, footnote 1)

　　The blood was sprinkled on the lid [of the Ark] seven times, signifying completeness. Through the sprinkling of the blood, the golden lid became red in color. Because of the blood sprinkled on the propitiatory cover, sinners could have fellowship with the righteous God. Therefore, because of the blood of redemption, we today can have fellowship with the righteous God in the glory of Christ. (Life- study of Exodus, p. 1015)

　　[Romans 3:25] tells us that it is through faith in His blood that God set forth Christ as a propitiation place. The way to experience Christ as the propitiation place is by faith. We are justified through the redemption of Christ Jesus, that is, through faith in His blood. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3029)

　　After redemption, or propitiation, had been accomplished, this blood was brought into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the cover of the Ark. This made it possible for God to meet with man and speak with him from between the cherubim. When God comes to meet with us, His standing is the redeeming blood. Because the blood has been sprinkled on the propitiatory cover and because God's standing is on the blood, He can meet with us in the midst of His shining glory. All this is related to the Christ who lives in us.

　　We now have such a wonderful Christ dwelling in our spirit. But because of our blindness and ignorance, not many of us have an adequate realization concerning Him. Most Christians have never realized in a full way that the Christ who lives in us is the very One portrayed by the Ark with the propitiatory cover.

　　Many of us can testify that this matter of the blood on the propitiatory cover is not a mere doctrine. It is very real in our experience with the Lord. When we repented, God met us and spoke to us. At that time we had the deep sense that we were washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Now whenever we meet with God in glory, we have the sense deep within that we are washed by the blood. This is the propitiatory cover in our experience. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1025, 1015)

　　In His ascension Christ is the propitiation place, the propitiation cover, for God to meet with us. In Hebrews 4:16 this place is called the throne of grace. The throne of grace is the cover of the Ark on which Christ sprinkled the blood He shed on the cross for our redemption. Because of the sprinkling of His redeeming blood, the cover of the Ark has become a propitiation cover, a place where God may contact us and where we may enjoy His grace in full. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3028-3029)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 296