Apostles Creed, #21

Continuing in the Apostles Creed... I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He will come...

"To judge the living and the dead."

Israel's Messiah, the Son of God, has become the One Offering for all who would take refuge in Him. The only other option for anyone is to stand before God without any offering.

Our own works lack the perfection that the Lord requires. They cannot save us. Anything about which we might boast has only come to us as a gift of God. We need Him alone.

The Messiah is our Whole Offering to God. We are the fruit of His labors. He is our Peace Offering, Sin Offering, and Guilt Offering.

Look at our lives and this present moment through another lens, that of the festivals that God gave to Israel. According to Leviticus 23, the cycle of feasts started with Passover and ended with Tabernacles. Do you see the fulfillment of these great days in Israel's Messiah?

Christ, our Passover Lamb has already been sacrificed. He has risen as the Firstfruits from the Dead, and ascended on high. He has sent forth the Holy Spirit in a great Pentecost and the harvest of the nations has begun. That harvest is swiftly moving forward over many centuries as the life of the Lord's assembly continues to grow.

But eventually the harvest will be completed.

The next feast will come. The trumpet will sound. There will be a great Day of Atonement, a separation of the wicked and the righteous before the throne of the Lord Almighty, the God of eternity. Then the complete Israel of the Lord's redeemed will dwell in peace forever with our God in the new Tabernacles of the resurrection heaven and earth.

There is a Judgment Day coming. When that Day of Atonement comes and the Lord judges the living and the dead, we must have an acceptable offering to stand before God. What is the offering of the Lord's Israel before God on that day? We plead the blood of Christ alone, our works testifying to His grace in our lives, and we are kept in the covenant assembly of God forever.

Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Note the sacrifices in Leviticus 1-6

Not the order of the festivals in Leviticus 23

Note the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16:15-22