The Day of Atonement 2026: The Judgment Seat of Christ

A king is coming with salvation in his right hand and judgment in his left, to save the saints and judge the wicked. A day of glory and a day of gloom. This is the Day of Atonement. Last week we spoke about the Feast of Trumpets. The celebration of Jesus' second coming and the resurrection of the dead. But what happens next on the timeline is something most churches rarely speak of at all— Jesus as the judge. I mean, it sounds even strange to consider Jesus being a judge, for we all know at His first coming He indeed said that He judges No one. In John 12:47, He says, If anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. Some people today think that Jesus is saying that He will never judge anyone but only offer grace. At Yeshua's first coming, He came as the suffering servant, offering salvation by grace to all men. Not to judge the world, but to save it. John 12:47 speaks of this first coming, as Jesus spoke these words during His first coming. But make no mistake, the Bible says that His second coming will look very different From His first. In the very next verse, after Jesus says, "I did not come to judge the world," He says, "The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day." And that's the key. Yeshua says that while He was not here to judge people during His first coming, that there will be a judgment at His second coming. In the last day, Yeshua comes not as a baby in a manger, but as a king in the sky with trumpets, earthquakes, and the splitting of the earth, according to Zechariah 14. While the baby in the manger came to serve, heal, and be a sacrificial savior, the king in the sky returns to rule. To execute justice, to save the saints from evil, and to set the world straight. See, salvation has been offered at His first coming, and we are living in the days of salvation right now. But a time is coming soon when that window of salvation Will close, and that last day is called the Day of Atonement, where Yeshua will evaluate every man whether they have salvation or not, whether they are a sheep or a goat. Hebrews 9:27 says, "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that." comes judgment. Just as a quick recap of the prophetic biblical feast days, we first have the spring feasts, which are pointing to the first coming of Christ. These are the feasts that he fulfilled 2,000 years ago. First, we have the Feast of Passover, for example, where he dies as the Passover Lamb of God for the sins of the world. He is then put in the grave on the Feast of Unleavened Bread as Israel is busy removing the leaven The pride from their homes. Then we have him resurrect from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits. Then we have 50 days later the famous Feast of Pentecost, also known as Shavuot, where the Holy Spirit is poured out in Acts chapter 2. We then have now this time where we are living in between the feast that was last fulfilled, Pentecost or Shavuot, outpouring of the Holy Spirit. and His return, His second coming, starting with the fall feast, the Feast of Trumpets, where it's written He will come with the blowing of a trumpet. That's the feast we discussed last week. Thereafter, we are going to have the Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur, which is known as Judgment Day, or the day to see who is the sheep and who are the goats. Then last but not least, we have the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Sukkot, which is the wedding supper of the Lamb. This is when everything is done, everything is finished, and now there is a celebration between the bride and the bridegroom. Now today we're going to talk about the Day of Atonement, and this teaching is going to consist of us analyzing Jesus's own description of the Day of Atonement in Matthew 24. And we're going to start in verse 31. And he says this. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, speaking of the second coming, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, come, you are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then he will say to those on his left, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil And his angels. First, let's discuss that first point. He will sit on his glorious throne, and before him will be gathered all the nations. Now Romans 14 zooms in on this very moment, and Paul writes to us, "Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, as." As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. When we hear about the Son of God sitting on His glorious throne, it's a reminder of who the King is and who we are in proximity to the king. It sets the stage of authority that is coming, this new kingdom with someone new in charge, very different from this current world system. Now I want you to notice Paul's warning regarding this day of judgment. See, just like today, people in the first century in Paul's day were very preoccupied with judging. They were more preoccupied with judging the sins of others than judging themselves. And because they don't judge themselves, they become deceived with an inflated, inaccurate, and self-righteous view of themselves, leading them to judge others When their own sins, even whilst being different, are just as evil or even more dark than the one that they are judging. This is something that the Messiah spoke against often himself, speaking about taking the log out of your own eye first, as we all know. I want to submit to you that this is more relevant than ever today. Our social media feeds are lined with people judging one another. And it's true that people do evil things. I mean, there's really never a lack of that to speak about. But Paul brings into picture the certainty of the Day of Atonement approaching us all, asking of us to consider humility in light of what's coming, remembering that the measure that we use to judge others by Will be the measure that God uses to judge us by. Matthew 7:2. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't judge matters, or that there aren't moments where people need to receive judgment upon the earth. We should constantly be discerning right from wrong. But when you judge, judge with righteous judgment, being mindful of God's future judgment approaching for you. Approach judgment with deep personal humility rather than rash judgments or harsh condemnations, lest God come and judge you with rash judgment or harsh condemnation. For we should all know by now that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. As Jesus said Himself, judge not that you be not judged, for you will be judged in how you judged others. Therefore, I think that it is wise in light of our own weaknesses and fallenness That it's usually better to refrain from judgment unless necessary, because we often lack all the information. I mean, even the world knows this. This is why we so famously have drawn-out court proceedings that oftentimes can go on for years in pursuit of the truth of a matter. And even then, we still have people who are wrongfully convicted at times. And now when we come to social media where there are no procedures, where there is no due diligence, no true pursuit of truth, we act like it's a courtroom because that's how we speak about others on the courtrooms of social media. And yet there's almost always missing information. And so in such cases, Jesus says, "Judge not because you lacking information isn't going to be an excuse for judging wrongly." You have a responsibility to do due diligence, ensure you have the information available to make a sound judgment on a matter, and if you can't, then don't judge at all. Hear me, brothers and sisters. We're talking about the coming day of judgment for us all, and in light of this, all of us who judges wrongfully others without consideration of justice and truth, doing so wrongfully, will be subject to God's justice on the day of atonement. Matthew 12:36. I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. So let us stand with appropriate fear in light of these sobering words from our Judge. When we read these verses, we can hear how serious this is to God. Because this is the very sin that murdered the Son of God. Remember, it was a crowd listening to false witnesses who screamed, crucify him! They felt so sure that their quote-unquote social media circle had it all right and that they were informed about the facts about this Jesus guy. And even a pagan leader called Pontius Pilate had better judgment than many of the religious people when he threw up his hands in the air after washing them in innocence. So let us do better to not repeat the past sin that murdered our Messiah in the first place. I think there are 2 extremes here when we think about this. You know, I can already hear some people thinking, come on, Petey, I need you to go full circle with this. And don't worry, we will. See, on the one hand, it is— there are people who say, do not judge, do not judge, do not judge. And they just never— they just always want an excuse to get away with sin. And do not judge is their ticket out of anyone actually holding them accountable. And then on the other hand, we have people who are so quick to judge, quick to judge, quick to judge. They'll just be judging everyone everywhere with little to no information. And so we have this pendulum that keeps swinging. And those who are quick to judge often do so out of a reaction to those who say, never judge. And those who say, never judge, often do so out of a reaction to those who are so quick to judge. And Both these are such severe errors. To argue a believer may never judge anything at all will eventually justify lawlessness, because not speaking against lawless behavior increases lawlessness in the long term. And on the other hand, to be quick to judge someone Justifies self-righteousness, because one judges recklessly when he judges without considering his own depravity and lawlessness. All right, so we've now discussed Jesus's first descriptor of that Day of Atonement: how the Son is going to be there with all of His glory as King. Secondly, He describes the Day of Atonement as a place where all the nations will be gathered. And He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He's going to separate people based off a certain criteria, and so we have to ask, what criteria? You will not be in the left or the right group because you sat in the church pews every Sunday at 9 AM. Or because you know the Bible exceptionally well, or because your dad was a pastor, or because your family were Protestants for 500 years, or Catholics for 1,000. Jesus is going to separate each person individually, not based off their social status, religious appearances, wealth, skin color, or whether they took communion. Judas did all of these things, yet became known as the betrayer. So what causes a person to stand on His right hand as a sheep, on His left as a goat? He tells us exactly in Matthew 25:34. For I was hungry and you gave Me food. I was thirsty and you gave Me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed Me. I was naked and you clothed Me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, You did it to Me. And then to those on His left, He turns and says, Depart from Me, you cursed, into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger, you did not welcome Me, naked, you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison, and you did not visit me? Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying, truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous into eternal life. This is a very difficult passage. Yeshua directly links the act of generosity towards the hungry, thirsty, stranger, those naked, those sick, and in prison to entering the kingdom of God. But why? If you think about it, these people he mentioned are the most oppressed. of society. And as people of the Kingdom of God following the King, as believers, we will treat those who are least in this world in their proper Kingdom hierarchy. I want you to remember that Jesus Himself said in Matthew 20:15, am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to Me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? So the last on earth will be first in the kingdom, and the first last. Yeshua completely flips the script of this world's hierarchy, saying those who are least in this world will be greatest in the kingdom; those who are greatest in this world will be least in the kingdom. And we are called as believers to enforce this kingdom truth today in how we treat. People, lifting them up out of their suffering through generosity in the name of Christ. Because that's what Yeshua did when he was on the earth, and that's what he's going to do in heaven. I want to submit to you that if we are a person who belongs in heaven, we ought to act like it while on earth. Now this brings up a question. Does Yeshua linking generosity to entering the Kingdom of God mean that we are saved by our works of generosity? I mean, He does separate the sheep and the goats based off their generosity. I want to submit to you that we are saved by true faith in God. alone, not by our own works. And the truly faithful person will produce fruit from the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus judges by generosity because true generosity becomes an accurate representation of whether someone is truly His or not. Now notice I said True generosity and truly his, because not all generosity is true, and not all who say that they are his are his. Words can be deceitful, but God looks at the heart. Again, remember Judas, who declared himself his even sitting at the feast table. He kissed the Messiah. And yet he was the great betrayer. In Mark 7:6, as it is written, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. This is a warning for us against trying to manipulate people or God by a religious appearance that is not true from the heart. See, while generosity is commanded as a result of a changed heart of true faith, Scripture is clear that God's favor cannot be purchased. See, Ananias and Sapphira presented a religious generosity to others and to God, while in secret they weren't generous at all. They were just seeking human approval and praise of men. And so we see that motive matters. A truly transformed heart Gives in order to help a suffering person, not for religious exaltations or some ulterior motive. See, feeding the poor isn't what saves anyone, but how you treat someone in secret, someone who cannot pay you back or improve your earthly status, says a lot about whether your 5 Is genuine. This brings us to the 3rd descriptor that Jesus gives of that Day of Atonement. He says that those on His left are sent to the eternal fire, a fire that He says was prepared for the devil and his angels. See, the eternal fire was not made by God for humans. But there are people who will go to the same place as the devil because they have chosen to rebel against God, thereby submitting their lives to the devil's kingdom, whether they are fully aware of it or not. Because there are only 2 kingdoms, there are only 2 masters, and you will serve one and hate the other. So which is it? The kingdom of heaven will be a place of perfect justice, goodness, and righteousness, and subjection to God. That means that there is not going to be any room for rebellion against God in that coming kingdom, as Ezekiel himself even prophesied in Ezekiel 28:19. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you. You have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever. And then the 4th descriptor that Jesus gives regarding the Day of Atonement is that He is going to cast those into the eternal fire, and they are called the goats. Now, it's no coincidence that Jesus calls them goats. And anyone who has studied the Day of Atonement in the Book of Leviticus knows that the Azazel goat is a central part of the Day of Atonement temple ritual. In Leviticus 16:8, it says, and Aaron shall cast lots over 2 goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. Because we have little time today, we're just going to briefly look at the Azazel goat. And just as a quick recap, the high priest comes to this goat and confesses all the sins of Israel upon the Azazel goat, and the goat is then cast outside the camp into the wilderness. This shows how the sins of Israel are not only transferred to this Azazel goat, but carried away by the goat. Does any of this sound symbolically familiar? The sins of the world are placed upon the Messiah. Yeshua was cast outside the camp where He carried that cross. He was literally crucified outside at Golgotha, And He was physically isolated when His disciples abandoned Him. And He experienced spiritual isolation from the Father when He cried out, Father, why have You forsaken Me? Note that the Father did not actually forsake Yeshua, but the weight of Yeshua's circumstances were so heavy that as a human, He felt abandoned, just as many of us might have felt that God has left us in our times of most extreme trial. So, while the final destination of the Azazel goat is to die alone outside the camp with the sins of Israel placed upon it, because Jesus was perfect, death could not overtake Him. He was resurrected from the dead and paved the way for all who would believe in Him to likewise be resurrected from the dead. The truth is, is that we are all goats. We all deserve to carry our own sins. If we are to be judged according to our own works, all of us are to be placed on the left of the King as a goat on that last day, that Day of Atonement. We are not able to change ourselves or save ourselves from ourselves. We are all hopeless, and we deserve God's judgment for repeated sins towards others and towards our Father. But like the Azazel goat, Yeshua took on the burden of our sins and carried it away. He became a goat like us to take our sin so that we can become His sheep. And really, that's not fair. It's not fair that He had to die and that I get to live. It's not fair that, that I get to enter a kingdom of prosperity and life in light of the fact that I have sinned. But God's grace and forgiveness is extended towards me and extended towards you, no matter what you have done. Christ's atonement makes a way for anyone who would have been called a goat on that last day to become a sheep of the Shepherd. He transforms us from sinner to saint, but only if we come in humility to confess our sins and place it upon Yeshua. And If you're not willing to repent, the sin remains upon the sinner. And by this, we see that the Day of Atonement takes on a completely different perspective based off what you will be on that day. It is going to be Judgment Day for those who remain goats, and it's going to be a Day of Atonement for His sheep. So my question to you is: Is this a day that we are speaking about that is coming known to you as the Day of Atonement or the day as judgment? Because one day every man will find the answer to this question, and it's not going to be something that you can answer today because you have a pretty Facebook status with a Bible verse that you put on last night, or because you go to church. every Saturday or Sunday or whatever day of the week you want. It's not dependent on that. It's dependent on whether you actually live the life you profess you are a part of. Are you living the life of Christ, or are you a pretender? Because Judas was a pretender. And you know, my heart breaks for Judas. My heart breaks for every person who puts on religious appearances because they There's a part of them that wants to have something that seems right in their life. There's obviously some desire for morality, even if it's just to appear that way to others. At least there's something there, and God made that person, and God loves that person, and I love that person. And I— my heart today is so broken for people who think that they're okay but who aren't. And religious people are top of mind because there are so many brothers and and sisters who think they're okay but who are gonna stand before that throne, and that's gonna be the moment that they find out that they're not okay. As He sets them on His left and says, depart from me, I never knew you, you worker of lawlessness, as they cry out, but Lord, but Lord, didn't I do all these things? Didn't I have all these religious Appearances. Depart from me, you worker of lawlessness, is what he will declare. And so this is a day of humility. This is a day of afflicting yourself. This is a day of saying, "I really don't want to be a goat," and Lord forgive me, a sinner. This is not Lord forgive me for pointing the finger so eagerly and harshly, lest you do that to me on that day. He can point fingers everywhere he wants. He can be harsh. As harsh as we've been, so if we've been harsh, if we've been quick to point fingers, let us now get on our knees before it's too late. Because this social media society, this TikTok generation that we've all been a part of, no matter how your age, we're all a part of it. It's roped us in into a mindset that is so quick to jump on every headline about whatever person. His life is at stake, and we're so quick to pick up the stones and have no regard for our own life before the King. And so, there is a way that we can rest in what that day is going to mean for us if we turn to King Yeshua, if we confess our sins in deep, true and sincere repentance and be transformed by His Holy Spirit and ensure that your life is more than a religious profession, confession, or prayer, but a heart and a life transformation. See, we're not talking about saying words. We're done with that. We're talking about placing faith in God so that He can do an absolute miracle Because that's what's needed in us to deliver us from our dead works into true generosity. And you know, this time that we're talking about is short. Revelation 12 says, Rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, wrath because he knows that his time is short. Many in this world, especially our young people, but not only our young people, are putting off following Yeshua, not knowing that they are making themselves vulnerable to the devil who has come in wrath to destroy them, and he has schemes. See, people say to themselves, well, I'll get serious about God later, but there is an expiration date. It's called the Day of Atonement. It's coming, and on that day it will be too late to turn your life around. The Day of Atonement gives me mixed feelings because it's like I'm— I have joy because it's the day that, that his sheep get to receive their atonement. And then on the other hand, it's a day where the saints will see the sinners cast to the left and condemned to eternal Perhaps this is why this is the only biblical feast day where God commands us to fast, to afflict ourselves, and not indulge in pleasure, because it's not really a celebration as much as it is joy in salvation. And mourning for those who are condemned. And so, brothers and sisters, I know this is a heavy message. I understand that, but it is what Yeshua said. It is true, and because I love you, I must share with you what lies in each of our futures. But there's a way out. Like I said, give your life to God truly. Get in fellowship with other believers so you can have people who look after you. Get baptized and disciple. Let's start with saying, Lord, we repent. We want to turn. We want to be made new. Father, I ask that for all who are listening to this, I pray that you would come with your Holy Spirit and forgive us of our many sins on this Day of Atonement. Lord, I ask that when we stand before you in that long queue of people who are going to be facing the throne of God, That we could stand there in confidence, knowing that we know our Father's voice, that we are one of His. Lord, I pray for everyone who right now as I speak are a goat, who right now as I speak are still carrying their own sins and have not given it to the Son. And I ask that You would right now convict them. of sin, righteousness, and the coming judgment. And I thank You that You make a way out, that You have not abandoned us but saved us from ourselves. And so, Lord, we right now, we place all of our sins before You. We ask for Your forgiveness. Lord, we want to turn genuinely. We want to repent truly. Where we have abandoned the life that You have called us to, to follow our feelings, to follow the lies of the world. We want to return to You with all we have. Father, I pray, Lord, for everyone's families who have family members who don't know You or who do think they do but really don't. I pray that You right now come. And this year, Lord, let this be different. Let them receive dreams and visions and convictions and shakings in their life, earthquakes in their life. Lord, come and bring even trial if that's what's needed to wake them up, Lord, because there is something more important than earthly comfort, and that is eternal presence with You. And so I pray, Lord, that You would shake, that You would do whatever is needed to get the attention of men and women and children. For this earth is one day going to physically shake at the last trumpet, and that will be the last shaking, and it will be too late. I pray, Lord, this message would go far and wide, and that You would put it on the hearts of men and women to share this with those who need to hear it. I thank You. In the name of Yeshua, amen. Thank you for joining me this Day of Atonement. Comment below any prayer requests that you have for you or for family members so we can all pray for one another. And share this video with someone who you think this is going to mean something to. Have a very blessed time. Shalom. Shalom.