Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
The Bible is revered by both Muslims and Christians, the latter accepting it as the inspired Word of God. Its clear teaching is that for more than the past century and a half we have been living in the cosmic Day of Atonement, the grand original of which the ancient Israelite day of atonement was a type or symbol. Theirs was the most solemn day of their year, the only one when the Lord commanded His people to fast. The day of atonement was an object lesson of the final Day of Judgment; ordinary pursuits were to be laid aside; it was to be kept as a holy sabbath, a day of heart-searching, of repentance, a day on which at last the people as a corporate body or nation were to become fully "at-one" with God.
In this way it was an object lesson of what it means for us today to become "at-one" with God in a heart-preparation for the second coming of Christ, not merely for death but for meeting Jesus in person: translation (Heb. 11:5). The "fast" that was required of Israel on that typical day of atonement symbolized the simple, self-denying Christian life appropriate for us today. Every meal we eat becomes "a sacrament." "Baruch the son of Neriah" lived when his world was falling apart, as ours is today. God asked him, "Seekest thou great things for thyself?" The world around you is collapsing, "evil" is "coming upon all flesh." Be thankful I give you the simple gift of life as a "prey"--forget seeking "great things" more than Jesus had (Jer. 45).
In Isaiah 22:12-14 the Lord is disappointed when His people disregard His call to humble repentance: "the Lord God of hosts call[ed] to weeping, and to mourning," but the response of His people was partying, feasting, fun-seeking, as though He had never spoken. Then He said: "Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die." The Day of Atonement brings Heaven's final call; to disregard it becomes the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 12:31, 32.
Why is this so serious? Because Jesus, the world's Good Shepherd, feels the agony of the millions who suffer today. To refuse to live in sympathy with Him in His concern for them is to refuse to be "at-one" with Him. The Day of Atonement is what has been lacking in the kind of "Christianity" that Muslims have known about. There is light yet to "lighten the earth with glory" (Rev. 18:1-4). It will illuminate Day of Atonement truths now neglected. Many will respond.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 26, 2004.
Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."
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