The date of the day of Atonement must be counted from the new moon.  Remember Trumpets is on the new moon {as it comes to us We need to check with the government site to find out the exact time of the new moon as it comes to us, here in Australia we use the Australian Government Geoscience site. It is in universal time, in Brisbane we must add 10 hours to the time given at the site} The new moon is on the 1st of the Month, and is Trumpets, the Day of Atonement is on the 10th day of that month.

Example if the Feast of Trumpets is Tuesday, the Day of Atonement is Thursday, and the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is Tuesday.

In these end times God is giving His church a greater understanding of many times, events, doctrine, and of who He and Jesus Christ are, and also a deeper meaning of the holy days and His plan. 

The day of atonement in the past has usually been kept by the church simply by fasting. All we have done is gone without food and attended church for a few hours, where we joked around and spoke about the animals or garden, or some idle gossip. 

HAVE WE GIVEN DEEP THOUGHT TO WHAT THE DAY REALLY PICTURES ?

This is a serious day, we need to approach it with much thought, study and prayer about what the day pictures. 

What does this day picture. 

Lev 16:29  And it shall be a statute forever to you: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all, the native and the alien who is staying among you. 

Lev 23:32  It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and you shall humble your souls. In the ninth of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your sabbath. 
 

Lev 16:31  It shall be a sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls, by a statute forever. 

The next verse is very interesting, once a year we are to make atonement for the sins of Israel. This means that we are to go to God in prayer, and confess the sins of Israel   Remember that today the modern day Israelites are blinded to the truth and cannot hear it or do not have eyes to see the truth. 

Lev 16:34  And this shall be an everlasting statute to you, to make an atonement for the sons of Israel for their sins once a year. And he did as Jehovah commanded Moses. . 

Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the sins of the people of Israel are covered by this day. 

The day pictures the covering or cleansing of our sins: we must realize the seriousness of this day, we must afflict our souls. 

What is the meaning of afflict your souls

Does this just mean to fast.  NO.  It means much more than that.  Some people do not feel much different after 24 hours of fasting.  They may have a slight headache and be a little tired but that may be all the discomfort they feel. 
We are to afflict ourselves for the full 24 hours. 
When we start our fast at sunset until we go to bed, do we feel in any way afflicted, maybe we have missed our cup of coffee and perhaps a biscuit, but how is this afflicting ourselves.
There is a far greater meaning to afflict our souls than to simply fast.  We must do this for the full  24 hours. 

The word afflict means to humble, to answer for something, to debase, to depress.  We must feel truly sorry for the fact that we have committed sin during the past year.  We must realize how God views sin, and what it means to Him. 
How sin caused the death of His Son. How sin separates us from Him.  How it drives us away from Him. 
Sin has a penalty.  The penalty is death.  Christ has paid that penalty for us.  We need to truly see what that sacrifice meant for us.  We need to try very hard to not sin at all. 
During this period of time, we must saturate our thoughts with the seriousness of our sins, the actual day means cleanse and forgive, that is what atonement means, that our sins are cleansed and forgiven. 
However God wants us to realize the seriousness of the day and to not talk about the weather or gossip at church or fool around at church, but to think for 24 hours the consequences, of what we have done.  How a totally innocent man had to die for our sins. 

Why do we fast

What are some of the reasons we need to fast? 
Notice the following verses gives some of the reasons. 

To seek the right ways. 
Even though this account was during dangerous times for these people, God will show us the right ways to walk, talk, and live. 

Ezr 8:21  Then I called a fast there at the river Ahava, so that we might humble ourselves before our God, in order to seek from Him a right way for us and for our little ones, and for all our goods. 

To cry out to the Lord, for help, guidance, to save us, to heal us, there could be many reasons that we especially need God to hear us. 

Joe 1:14  Set apart a fast; call a solemn gathering; gather the elders and all the people of the land into the house of Jehovah your God, and cry to the Lord, 
 

We need to turn from evil and violence. 

Jon 3:8  But let man and animal be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God. And let them each one turn from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 
Jon 3:9  Who knows? He may repent, and God may have pity and turn away from the glow of His anger, so that we do not perish. 

To seek the Lord. 

2Ch 20:3  And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek Jehovah, and called for a fast throughout all Judah. 
 

Fast for the sick 

Psa 35:13  But when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fastings; and my prayer returned into my own bosom. 
 

To turn from evil; and make supplication before the Lord. 

Jer 36:6  Therefore you go, and read in the roll which you have written from my mouth, the Words of Jehovah in the ears of the people in Jehovah's house on the fasting day. And also you shall read them in the ears of all Judah who come out of their cities. 
Jer 36:7  It may be they will present their prayer before Jehovah, and will return, each one from his evil way. For great is the anger and the fury that Jehovah has spoken against this people. 
 

ON THE DAY OF ATONEMENT THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH CHAPTERS 1 UP TO AND INCLUDING CHAPTER 36 WOULD BE PROFITABLE  TO READ  IT IS FOR A FUTURE TIME AND A FUTURE FAST .

To confess our sins, and also notice that Daniel confessed the sins of Israel.

Dan 9:3  And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek by prayer and holy desires, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. 
 

Dan 9:20  And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my cry before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God; 
Dan 9:21  yes, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, touched me in my severe exhaustion, about the time of the evening sacrifice. 
 

To ordain into an office 

Act 14:23  And having hand-picked elders for them in every church, and had prayed with fastings, they commended them to the Lord into whom they believed. 
 

To ask God to intervene for someone who is dying 

2Sa 12:22  And he said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who can tell if God will be gracious to me so that the child may live? 
 

Christ did this before He was tempted by Satan, of course Christ did not have to confess sin, but this fasting would be to come closer to the Father, to receive strength and encouragement from Him. 

Mat 4:2  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards hungry. 

In times of national disaster, the following scripture is for the  not too distant future, just prior to the Day of the Lord, this scripture actually describes the time of Jacobs trouble, this is yet to come on the nation of Israel. 

Joe 1:14  Set apart a fast; call a solemn gathering; gather the elders and all the people of the land into the house of Jehovah your God, and cry to the Lord, 
Joe 1:15  Alas for the day! For the day of Jehovah is at hand, and it shall come as a ruin from the Almighty. 
Joe 1:16  Is not the food cut off before our eyes, and joy and gladness from the house of our God? 
Joe 1:17  The seed is rotten under their clods; the storage bins are laid waste; the barns are broken down, for the grain has dried up. 
Joe 1:18  How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are troubled because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are destroyed. 
Joe 1:19  O Jehovah, to You will I cry; for the fire has burned up the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field. 
Joe 1:20  The beasts of the field also cry to You; for the rivers of water are dried up, and the fire has burned up the pastures of the wilderness. 

How should we fast
A fast day, is not just a day to go without food. Look at what God says about fasting in the following verses. 

This particular fast in Isaiah is a future fast day, called by the Watchman, to the nation of Israel prior to their going into captivity. 

ISA 58 V 1-14

Isa 58:1  Cry aloud, do not spare, lift up your voice like a ram's horn, and show My people their rebellion, and the house of Jacob their sins. 

Isa 58:3  They say, Why have we fasted, and You do not see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and You take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and crush all your laborers. 
 

God says that we went without food and have claimed to have  afflicted our souls, but we just did our own things, we did whatever we wanted on that day. Instead of having our hearts and minds and thoughts on the meaning of the day. 

Isa 58:4  Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness; you shall not fast as you do today, to make your voice to be heard on high. 
 

God explains we fast for the wrong reasons, unless we fast to get close to God, to see how we need Him, and to see ourselves as God sees us, and to see how we can give to others, God simply will not hear our fast day. 

Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and a day pleasing to Jehovah? 
 

If we make a show, and let the world know that we are fasting, and look sad and wistful, this just is not acceptable to God.  God wants us to do things in secret.  Not to make out that we are something wonderful. 

Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed ones go free, and that you break every yoke? 
 

God wants us to see our sins and to put them away from us, to stop sinning, to be released from the burdens of slavery to sin, to be freed from oppression from those over us. Israel has forgotten God, we must not be crushed under the weight of the world, and the wrong ways of the world. We must break free of their oppression. We must break free of the things that hold us to this world, break free of the hold that it has on us and turn to Gods ways.  The ways of the world belong to satan and not God. 

Isa 58:7  Is it not to break your bread to the hungry, and that you should bring home the wandering poor? When will you see the naked and cover him; and you will not hide yourself from your own flesh? 
 

We must share our food with the hungry people, invite poor and needy to your home, if we see people in need then give to them, clothe them, and do this to our families. 

Isa 58:8  Then shall your light break out as the dawn, and your health shall spring out quickly; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Jehovah shall gather you. 
 

If we would only obey God and turn to Him and turn away from sin, look at how we will be…..how God will bless us. 

Isa 58:9  Then you shall call, and Jehovah shall answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If you take the yoke away from among you, the pointing of the finger, and speaking vanity; 
 

God will hear us if we, stop talking about others, and stop putting others down, and stop finding fault with everything, and stop our pride and haughty attitudes. 

Isa 58:10  and if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. 
 

If we feel sorry for the hungry, and relieve the afflicted people, then we will be close to God. 

Isa 58:11  And Jehovah shall always guide you and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make your bones fat; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. 
 

God will guide us, and feed us in drought, and we will flourish and be like an oasis in the desert. 

Isa 58:12  And those who come of you shall build the old ruins; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 
 

This verse applies to a time yet ahead of us, after Israel goes into captivity. 
When Israel returns from captivity, they will rebuild the nation of Israel, they will restore the buildings, and they will be known for doing this.

It also has the spiritual application of restoring the truths of God.

Isa 58:13  If you turn your foot because of the Sabbath, from doing what you please on My holy days, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of Jehovah, honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, 
 

This above verse is referring to the day of Atonement and not the weekly sabbath.God wants His people to know which day is the Sabbath.  The Day of Atonement, which must be calculated as we have stated above. The Sabbath lasts for 24 hours , and we must forget about work, sports, all pleasures which take us away from the  worship of our God.  We must fill our hearts and minds and thoughts with God, study, pray and talk about God, for the whole day, not just a few hours.  We must devote this time to God, be with Him, spend this time with Him, try to learn more about Him learn to love the Sabbath.   The day of Atonement is a holy day and is holy to God. We must learn to love the Day of Atonement and keep it correctly.

Isa 58:14  then you shall delight yourself in Jehovah; and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed yourself with the inheritance of Jacob your father. For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken. 

When we obey God, then we will enjoy being part of His plan, God will then bless us, and give us the land of Jacob, God will do as He has said.  We must want to obey God and believe Him. 

Mr. Armstrong used to say that when we fast we should do it in three hour sections. 
1 hour of prayer, 1 hour of study and 1 hour of meditation.
This is a very good guide and one which could be followed. 

Also another method, similar to the above, is given in the scriptures.

Neh 9:1  And in the twenty-fourth day of this month, the sons of Israel were gathered with fasting and with sackcloth, and with earth upon them. 
Neh 9:2  And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins and the sins of their fathers. 
Neh 9:3  And they stood up in their place, and read in the Book of the Law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day. And another fourth part they confessed and worshiped Jehovah their God. 
 

To sum up the Day of Atonement pictures a cleansing, or forgiving of our sins, it is a time we need to realize the seriousness of sin. We must afflict our souls, feel deeply sorry for what penalty our sins have caused.

God wants us to spend this time in fasting to get closer to Him.  We can feel the closeness we have with Him compared to the wedge we place between God and ourselves with our sins. 

When we fast we need to pray meditate and study Gods word for as much time as possible during the 24 hours.  We need to come closer to God and saturate our thoughts and speech with Gods words. We must try to put sin out of our lives. 
We need to give to the poor and share what we have with the needy. 

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LEV 16

Notice both goats are for a sin offering

Lev 16:5  And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 

The two goats One is for the Lord and One is for the Scapegoat
We will look at the goat which is for the Lord first.

Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots on the two he-goats; one lot for Jehovah and the other lot for a complete removal. 
 

Notice that the goat for the Lord is a sin offering

Lev 16:9  And Aaron shall bring the goat on which Jehovah's lot fell, and offer it for a sin offering. 

Notice it is a sin offering, 

Lev 16:15  Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil. And he shall do with that blood as he did with the blood of the young bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy-seat and before the mercy-seat. 
 

It is for an atonement for the holy place, because of uncleanness of the Israelites, and transgressions in all their sins.

Lev 16:16  And he shall atone for the sanctuary, because of the uncleannesses of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins. And so he shall do for the tabernacle of the congregation which remains with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 
 

Now the Live Goat
He is to make an atonement and to be let go as the scapegoat 

Lev 16:10  But the goat on which the lot fell to be the complete removal shall be presented alive before Jehovah, to make an atonement with him, to let him go for a complete removal into the wilderness. 

Notice that Aaron confessed all the iniquities of the children of Israel and their transgressions in all their sins.

This is very important that we confess the sins of Israel.  This part of the day of Atonement has not been practiced in the church before.
It is vitally important that this be done.

Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the sins of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send away by the hand of a chosen man into the wilderness. 
 

Notice the goat bears all their iniquities, one of the meanings for this word is sexual sins. 

Lev 16:22  And the goat shall bear on him all their sins to a land in which no one lives. And he shall let the goat go in the wilderness. 
 

On the day of Atonement we are cleansed from all our sins before the Lord.

Lev 16:30  For on that day an atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you, so that you may be clean from all your sins before Jehovah. 
 

Lev 16:31  It shall be a sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls, by a statute forever. 
Lev 16:32  And the priest whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement and shall put on the linen clothes, the holy garments. 
Lev 16:33  And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar; and he shall make an atonement for the priests and for all the people of the congregation. 
Lev 16:34  And this shall be an everlasting statute to you, to make an atonement for the sons of Israel for their sins once a year. And he did as Jehovah commanded Moses. The day of Atonement is tied in with the other holy days in an interesting way...notice the following

The death of Jesus reconciled us to God, but it is by His life that we are saved.  The atonement is the time God the Father accepts us for eternal life

Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 
Rom 5:10  For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 
Rom 5:11  And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation. 
 

The day of Atonement pictures us being at one with God.  This does not happen at our acceptance of Christs death, this happens when the Father accepts us for eternal life.

But firstly we must accept Christ's life.  Christ ascended to the Father to be accepted for us.  It is then that we have qualified to receive the Holy Spirit of life.

Joh 20:17  Jesus said to her, Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and Your Father, and to My God and your God. 
 

Joh 20:22  And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. 
 

On the day of Atonement, we confess our sins to God. Because of the sacrifice of Christ these sins are forgiven, we are then at one with God the Father when He accepts us for eternal life.