HOME The Day of Atonement
There are many areas of disagreement in beliefs relating to Christianity. But, it seems that all people who consider themselves to be Christians agree that Jesus Christ is our atonement for sin. I have never read anything that didn’t concur with that common belief. At the time of this writing, commentaries, writings, definitions, and song, as far as I have read or heard, are all in agreement with that belief. There seems to be three factors that are in large part responsible for this conclusion. The first is that the modern definition for the word “atonement” has been applied to scriptural reference of the word. Then, there are two specific terms in the King James and other versions of the Bible that would lead people to the conclusion that Jesus Christ is our atonement for sin. One is in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament
The term in the Old Testament is used often and included in Leviticus chapter 16. The whole sixteenth chapter of Leviticus provides, in detail, the instruction for observing the Day of Atonement. There are two sin offerings that are made on that day that are offerings unique to the Day of Atonement. One of the offerings is a bullock and the KJV calls the other a “kid of the goats” (Lev. 16:5). Those that are familiar with this subject know that there was another “kid of the goats” that was taken and let loose in the wilderness.
The term “kid of the goats” has a direct reference to Passover. It was proper to use lambs or kids of goats, one year of age or under, for the Passover offerings. The conclusion that has been made is, that offering made on the Day of Atonement, that the KJV calls the “kid of the goats”, is a reference to Jesus Christ.
The second term is in the New Testament
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Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
This is a direct reference to Jesus Christ being our atonement for sin.
Both terms, “kid of the goats” in Lev 16:5 and “atonement” in Romans 5:11 are mistranslations. These errors have pointed generation after generation in a direction in thinking that has been responsible for completely hiding the truth of the significance of this annual Holy Day.
It is more and more commonly understood that all of Gods annual holy days or convocations, given to Israel, provide a complete outline for the “work” that God has been engaged in for the human creation. The goal of that work is to bring mankind into an eternal existence that is in harmony with the righteousness of God.
The 23rd chapter of Leviticus gives us, in sequence, the seven annual holy convocations (annual holy days). The interest of this paper is the fifth of these days. In Lev. 23 there are only two specific points of instruction for the fifth annual holy day. It is to be called “the Day of Atonement” and it is commanded to be a day when “you shall afflict your souls”. But, the whole chapter of Leviticus 16 goes into the most complete detail of how the Day of Atonement is to be observed.
When we are given a whole chapter of information, the opportunity for various interpretations increases in exponential proportions. The various ideas that I have encountered are most numerous. But the one thing that all agree on is that the “goat” that is offered as a sin offering on the Day of Atonement is a manifestation of Jesus Christ.
This paper endeavors to provide the evidence for the truth of the meaning and purpose of the annual holy day, called by God, the Day of Atonement. This complete study of Lev. 16 and other related Biblical scripture will reveal a picture that gives us a clear understanding of the true fulfillment that is associated with this annual holy day.
THE MEANING OF THE TERM “ATONEMENT”
At the very core of the misunderstanding of the meaning of the Day of Atonement is the substitution of a well-defined scriptural term with a modern definition. The following is from Webster’s New World Dictionary.
atonement 3. in theology, a) the effect of Jesus sufferings and death in redeeming mankind and bringing about the reconciliation of God to man. b) this reconciliation.
This definition is in complete agreement with every published study on the subject that I have come in contact with. But, this definition does not take into account that it is impossible to apply the Biblical definition of the term atonement to Jesus Christ. Yet, the definition given for atonement in the Gesenius’ Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon is very clear.
H3722 TO COVER, TO COVER OVER, A COVERING
(2) to cover over, to overspread
(3) covered with hair (not applicable to the Old Testament)
(4) to cover sins, i. e. to pardon;
This word is used 102 times in the Old Testament and in every occasion, except one, it is in reference to a pardon. The one exception is that this word is used to describe the pitch used to cover Noah’s ark. The overwhelming use is applied to the covering of sin as a result of offering a sin or trespass offering to God.
Exo 29:36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.
Unger’s Bible Dictionary has this to say under the topic, “sin offering”.
--- “The blood of the sin offering being sprinkled upon the horns of the altar, which were symbolic of power and might, the soul was thereby symbolically brought within the full force and efficacy of that divine grace in which it was required to participate in order that its sin might be duly atoned for”.
It is clear that the sins of the Israelites were covered over (atoned for) as the result of offering the sin offering. The important thing to recognize is that those sins still existed. They were only covered over. The Biblical definition of atonement is “to cover”. When we compare this truth to what actually occurs when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we can see that it is a very serious thing to place Jesus in the same category of the animal sin offerings. It is a desecration to the significance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to equate it to that of an animal, We do this when we consider Jesus Christ our “atonement “ for sin. The ritual of the sin offering for the atonement of the people made it possible for God to have a working relationship --- not a saving relationship. The sin offering and resulting atonement kept the people mindful of their sinful nature, of the penalty for sin, of Gods mercy and desire to have a communion with the people of Israel. It did not provide salvation from sin.
Consider what happens to our sin as a result of accepting His sacrifice.
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
Jesus Christ takes our sins completely away. They simply don’t exist any more. They are not just covered over. Jesus is not our atonement for sin. The “Day of Atonement” is a day when sins are atoned for, covered over, pardoned, and not taken away. It was a national day of pardon. It will be fulfilled as a national day of pardon on a scale that the Israelites of old could never dream of. Using the substitute, modern, errant definition that applies to Jesus Christ has effectively prevented any ability to understand the true fulfillment of the Day of Atonement.
THE PASSOVER AND THE SIN OFFERING
It is so important to understand the difference that exists between the “passover sacrifice” and the “sin offering”. Even though an animal is used for both sacrifices there is an enormous difference between the two.
Exo 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
Exo 12:26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
Exo 12:27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
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Exo 29:36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement:
Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul
There is absolutely no doubt that the blood shed by the passover lambs was a type of the blood that would be shed by Jesus.
There was a literal physical “salvation” associated with the sacrifice of the first passover lambs
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The literal “passover lamb” was never called an offering. Numbers 9:13 should read “something brought near”, i.e. a sacrifice.
Most certainly the passover lamb was never called an atonement
There is no element of “salvation” associated with the sin offering
The life (blood) of an “animal” was required to “cover” the sins.
The lesson is that sin to be “pardoned” or “taken away” requires the loss of life by the loss of blood.
The sin offering was not a type of Jesus Christ.
The difference in the lessons inherent in the passover sacrifice and the sin offering are so very important in that the “memorial” of the Passover” greatly overshadows the significance of the purpose of the sin offering:
When Israel kept the annual passover, they were memorializing the grace that God had given Israel at the time of the exodus and provided a “shadow” of the salvation that may be obtained through Jesus Christ.
Those who participated in the sin offering were “offering” something of their own substance to God, for an atonement or pardon. This was done if they accepted the instructions that God gave them through Moses. Later we will see that Jesus “offered” himself as a sacrifice for the SALVATION of all humanity if they accept the authority and instruction of Jesus Christ. If the Israelites obeyed the instruction of Moses concerning their sins, they received a pardon. If mankind accepts the instructions of Jesus and his disciples it would receive salvation and eternal life.
THE GOAT OF GOD ???
The “kid of the goats” in the KJV and other translations is commonly believed to represent Jesus at the time of the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement.
Lev 16:5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
Lev 16:15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
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Heb 9:7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
Heb 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: (the “holiest of all” being the heavenly tabernacle)
Heb 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
These verses are used as evidence that the Day of Atonement is all about God drawing us back to Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As one person puts it in referring to the Hebrew chapter 9 verses --- “We just read it right out of the New Testament”.
What is it that we just read? Simply that Jesus entered into the “heavenly holy place by his own blood which provided for our salvation, and that it is impossible that the blood of animals taken in to the terrestrial “holy of holies” could accomplish this salvation.
According to the “KJV” they were to take a goat, one year old or under, from the goats for a sin offering. A goat one year and under can be used as a “passover” sacrifice. This is considered evidence that the “kid of the goats” could represent Jesus at the time of the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement.
The fact that the carcass of the kid of the goats was burned outside the camp and Jesus was crucified outside the camp is also used as evidence. ------- Each one of these items will be dealt with in detail later. At this time I would like to focus on the term “kid of the goats.
The Interlinear Bible and other translation use the word “buck”, “he goat” or “goat” instead of “kid”. The following is from Gesenius.
8163 (1) hairy, rough, Gen 27:11, 23. (2) a he-goat, hircus
It is very interesting that this same word is use in reference to idols.
(RV) Lev 17:7 And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the he–goats (8163), after whom they go a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
(KJV) Lev 17:7 And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils (8163), after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
The two goats of Lev 16:5 are shaggy hair male goats. My wife has commented that nowhere in the Word of God is Jesus referred to as “the goat of God”. Later, it will be shown to be very significant that a shaggy male goat was required to be used by a leader of Israel for a sin offering. To consider this animal being used for a “salvation providing” sacrifice is aggrievedly repulsive to think that it should be applied to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The mistranslation of this word has greatly added to the misinformation relating to the Day of Atonement.
It is noteworthy that Alexander The Great was designated as a "shaggy" goat.
Dan 8:21 And the rough (shaggy)H8163 goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
CHRIST DIED ONCE FOR ALL
As previously mentioned it is commonly understood that all of Gods annual holy days or convocations provide a complete outline for the “plan” that God in the process of completing. That plan has been rehearsed every year through the observance of the passover and the seven annual holy days. The plan, of course, is complete. Every year the complete plan is rehearsed. So, now we come to another crucial factor. The Bible has made it very clear that Jesus Christ died once for our sins. Once for all.
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
In the plan that God has prepared for us, the “killing” of the passover lambs was done as a type of the fulfillment of the passover. This ordinance of God was fulfilled by the death of Jesus on passover day. His blood was shed for us. On the Day of Atonement the goat that was used for the sin offering; that was killed; shed its blood. If that goat also represented Jesus Christ then Jesus was, symbolically, killed twice within the framework of the plan of God.
I have read, from various sources, explanations of why the atonement goat would represent a second death of Jesus. The following is one of the more concise statements taken from one of those sources.
“We should consider that while Christ has already been sacrificed, the atonement His sacrifice provides has not yet been applied to all Israel. That will happen upon Israel’s repentance at Christ’s second coming. Not only does the Day of Atonement depict Christ’s sacrifice for sin and a true spiritual reconciling of the people with God, but Christ is directly involved in the symbolism of the other male goat that was cast out into the desert by a strong man (Leviticus 16:21)”.
This is saying that Christ’s death at passover applied to all those who accepted him prior to his second coming and the “depiction” of a second death (death of the goat), would apply to all of Israel who would accept him after his second coming.
But, we have just read that he died unto sin once!!!
2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Because of these verses we can truly say that Jesus Christ died once for all. Once for all those saved prior to his second coming and all those saved after his second coming. Therefore, any effort to portray Christ’s death on the Day of Atonement is gross misinformation relating to the Day of Atonement. That misinformation, alone, has made it impossible to understand the true meaning of the day.
It has been recognized that there is significance to things occurring either inside or out side the “camp” of Israel. Those things occurring inside the camp would relate to Israel, those things outside the camp would relate to the nations or rest of the world.
Heb 13:13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
The atonement goat was “slain” inside the camp. It points to the offering applying only to Israel. The Day of Atonement is a national, day of atonement, or pardon for Israel.
Christ was slain outside the camp and his sacrifice does apply to the entire world.
ROMANS 5:11
The KJV Bible uses the word “atonement” in Romans 5:11
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Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (2643).
Taking this translation at face value would certainly have a major influence on “Christian” thinking. Here it is, it is by Jesus Christ that we have received the “atonement”. The following is from the Jamieson Fausset and Brown commentary of Rom 5:11. This commentary is very helpful in giving us an understanding of how the word atonement came to be used in the KJV
whom we have now received the atonement — rather, “the reconciliation” (Margin), as the same word is rendered in Rom_5:10 and in 2Co_5:18, 2Co_5:19. (In fact, the earlier meaning of the English word “atonement” was “the reconciliation of two estranged parties”)
Unfortunately, this word “atonement” now carries a religious meaning that relates to Jesus Christ. Earlier we saw Webster’s definition. The definition from Strong’s Concordance is as follows.
G2643 From G2644; exchange (figuratively adjustment), that is, restoration to (the divine) favor:
We have received reconciliation with Jesus. The true definition of G2643, used in Rom 5:11, does describe a relationship we may have with Jesus. The New Testament NEVER refers to Jesus Christ the atonement or being our atonement except for this one misleading place. The word “atonement”, in the Biblical sense, does not exist in the New Testament. The word “atonement” simply does not apply to Jesus in any way.
9th CHAPTER OF HEBREWS
We have previously read how some use certain verses in the ninth chapter of Hebrews to show us that the goat used for the sin offering on the Day of Atonement represented Jesus Christ. I would like to go through Hebrews nine to try to discover the “reason” various authors used these verses to prove their point. Will it be possible to find the evidence that the atonement goat represents Jesus Christ? I will try to be as brief as possible. The words in italics are from the KJV and the words in bold should be helpful to discern the context or principle thoughts
Heb 9:1 We are told there is a worldly sanctuary. 9:2 The first part of the tabernacle is called the sanctuary. 9:3 Behind a veil is a second part which is called the Holiest of all 9:4 It contained the golden censer and the ark of the covenant 9:5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat 9:6 Normally the priests always went into the first tabernacle 9:7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year not without blood 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest 9:9 in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience 9:10 Which stood for carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 9:16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator 9:17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth 9:18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 9:20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you
9:21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry
9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of other 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself
It is clear to see that the principle thought that is being conveyed in this chapter is found in verse 22.
Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
The word “remission” essentially means “freedom” and can apply to a pardon (free from a penalty) and ----- the fullness of the forgiveness of sin by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.
Moses dedicated the first testament with blood (18-21). On the Day of Atonement the high priest approached the arc and mercy seat with blood (3-7). And Jesus entered into the heavenly holy place or throne of God by his own blood (11-12).
The principle thought of rest of the chapter deals with the fact that animal sacrifices sanctify to the purifying of the flesh (13) whereas the sacrifice of Jesus Christ provides for eternal redemption (12).
It is generally assumed that since the blood of the goat on the Day of Atonement was taken to the “earthly” throne place of God --- and Jesus, by his blood, entered into the “heavenly” throne place of God, the goat is symbolic of Jesus Christ. This is purely a human assumption. There is nothing in Hebrews 9, or any other place in God’s word, that gives it any validity.
But, this we know. A sin offering only covers over sin. The goat was offered to cover the sins of Israel as a nation on the Day of Atonement.
The Day of Atonement, being an annual holy day, represented a time in the future of a “national” day of a complete pardon. Not a purging of the conscience from dead works.
There is importance in the fact that Jesus did not take his own blood into the heavenly holy place. It was by his blood that he went in. Also, Jesus entered into the heavenly holy place on wave sheaf Sunday, over three days after his crucifixion, not on the Day of Atonement. So again, the lesson or truth that Hebrews 9 gives us is, “without the shedding of blood is no remission”.
But there are questions that remain. Why does the high priest enter the Holies of Holies on this particular day and approach the earthly throne of God and offer the blood of a bull and a goat on the Day of Atonement? And why is the goat called an offering “for the Lord”?
Lev 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
After the sprinkling of the blood, the whole carcasses of the sin offerings are burned up outside the camp. It is the only time that the whole carcass of any animal is burned up outside the camp. We will see the reason for this unique circumstance.
Lev 16:27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. (there is no mention of any part of the animal removed for other purposes)
What will be the event or events that fulfill this annual observation? What are these sacrifices a shadow of for the future. These questions will be answered in the section titled “THE FULFILLMENT OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT”.
UNDERSTANDING ROMANS 4:7
The Hebrew word “atonement” literally means to cover. We understand that wherever this word is used it carries with it the meaning of pardon, reconcile, pacify, etc. There was the one case concerning Noah’s ark that was “covered” with pitch. We can understand that when a person received an atonement for their sins, that they were “covered” over. Interestingly, there is a verse in the New Testament that speaks of “sins” being “covered”. It occurs in Romans 4:7. But, this verse is a direct quote from a psalm of David. It is quoted from Psalm 32:1.
Psa 32:1 <A Psalm of David, Maschil.> Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
The important question is, did David use the Old Testament word that has been translated “atonement” and means “to cover” in his psalm? He didn’t. He used another word that means to cover. Strong’s number for the word David used is H3680.
H3680 A primitive root; properly to plump, that is, fill up hollows; by implication to cover (for clothing or secrecy)
It is interesting that every one of the l02 times that the word that is translated “atonement has the meaning of pardon, reconcile, etc., except for relating to Noah’s ark. And, every one of the 151 times that the word “covered” that David used in Psalm 32 carries the “literal” meaning of covering or hiding. The word David used does not have anything to do with pardoning sin as a sin offering would do. The context of the psalm shows that God forgave David’s sin because of a pure heartfelt acknowledgement of sin and it was God who covered his sin. Not the blood of an offering. When God covers our sin it is remembered no more as the second verse of the 32nd Psalm indicates
Psa 32:2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
His sins were “covered” much like the watery grave covered our sins at baptism. We cannot connect the word “covered” in Romans 4:7 to Jesus Christ being an atonement for sin.
THE MERCY SEAT OF ROMANS 3:25
The “mercy seat” covering the “ark of the covenant” represented the earthly throne of the God of Israel. Keil and Delitzsch’s commentary states it very well.
“the ark of the covenant together with the capporeth (mercy seat) became the throne of Jehovah in the midst of His chosen people, the footstool of the God of Israel (1Ch_28:2, cf. Psa_132:7; Psa_99:5; Lam_2:1). The ark, with the tables of the covenant as the self-attestation of God, formed the foundation of this throne, to show that the kingdom of grace which was established in Israel through the medium of the covenant, was founded in justice and righteousness”
The mercy seat, spoken of in Rom. 3:25, has a reference to the Day of Atonement when the sins of the nation of Israel are atoned for. But here, the context tells us that Jesus, himself, can be likened to the “mercy seat” of old ------- providing the mercy so completely needed by all mankind.
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
The following wording, using Strong’s Concordance, helps make verse 25 much more clear.
Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a mercyseat through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the toleration of sins that are past, through the self restraint of God;
The “Analytical Literal Translation” puts it this way
(ALT) whom God Himself put forward publicly [as] a mercy seat [or, propitiation] through faith in His blood, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins having previously occurred in the tolerance of God,
This is from the “Weymouth New Testament” (1912)
(WNT) He it is whom God put forward as a Mercy-seat, rendered efficacious through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness-- because of the passing over, in God’s forbearance, of the sins previously committed—
This mercy, spoken of in this verse relates to Jesus Christ putting himself forward as a sacrifice for mankinds past sins. The “mercy seat” of old was the place the nation of Israel received mercy through the atoning sacrifices of the bullock and the goat. It should be remembered that the mercy provided by Jesus relates to all mankind and would take effect continuously after his crucifixion and ascension to his father. The mercy obtained on the annual Day of Atonement is associated only with the nation of Israel. This atonement enabled God to continue to have a relationship with a people for himself. Most importantly, it is a shadow of an event that will fulfill the purpose of this holy day.
THE FULFILLMENT OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
We know that passover and all of the annual holy days, that were given to Israel, represent the plan of salvation and an eternal existence God has designed for mankind. The plan progresses in an orderly and logical manor. The fulfillment of each “day” is required for the plan to proceed to its conclusion. Therefore, the position of the Day of Atonement within the plan will provide a period of time that should be carefully considered. It has been previously shown that the period in question does not include a second sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
We can see that in Ezekiel 16:60,62 and 63 are verses that relate to Israel’s relationship with God at the beginning of the millennial kingdom. Verse 63 reveals an “atonement Israel will be involved with at that time. This speaks of the time when the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled,
Eze 16:60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
Eze 16:62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:
Eze 16:63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified (H3722) toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.
Young’s Literal Translation is more accurate.
Ezek 16:63 (YLT) So that thou dost remember, And thou hast been ashamed, And there is not to thee any more an opening of the mouth because of thy shame, In My receiving atonement for thee, For all that thou hast done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!’
Here we have a clear, literal statement that reveals a time in the future when an atonement will be provided for the nation of Israel. In reading the entire 16th chapter of Ezekiel it is clear that the prophecy is in reference to the physical people of Israel that survive the end time tribulation. The following sections will answer the questions of when and how that atonement will be provided. Each of the “three” sacrificial offerings and the “goat of removal” involved with the Day of Atonement, as described in Lev.16, provide the “shadow” of the fulfillment of this Holy Day.
THE GOAT THAT WAS REMOVED
There is considerable disagreement as to the prophetic significance of the goat that was left alive and commonly called the Azazel goat.
Lev 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. \\
Lev 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
Lev 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
Lev 16:22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
The word “scapegoat” used by the KJV is, once again, not a credible translation for the original Hebrew word used in these verses. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon gives us the literal translation for this word and simply states it means; “entire removal”. This agrees with the general consensus of other authorities. I’ll refer to it as the “goat of removal”.
As will be shown later hands were not laid on the head of the sin offerings but were laid on the goat of removal. A reason for this is offered in the section titled --- THE SIN OFFERING OF THE COMING MILLENNIUM
There are two main beliefs in regard to the goat that was left alive and then removed. The first is that it represented Jesus Christ and the other is that it represents Satan. I find it impossible to find Jesus being taken to an uninhabited place for the period of time that the Day of Atonement occupies within the Holy Day plan of God. On the other hand, Satan is removed by an angel to a place uninhabited by mankind at the appropriate period of time. In fact, we must consider the revelation that this removal should be considered as a benchmark in time. Satan’s removal can be used to reveal the time when the other elements relating to the Day of Atonement will occur.
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
The information in Revelation 19, that immediately precedes the binding of Satan, is most important. That information includes the description of the bloody slaughter during “the day of the Lord”, and the fate of the beast and false prophet. It gives us the foundation to work from in order to understand the “prophetic meaning” of the sin offerings that preceded the “goat of removal” on the Day of Atonement.
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
THE MEANING OF THE BULLOCK USED FOR THE SIN OFFERING
The “first offering” on the Day of Atonement was a bullock. It was a sin offering and was used to cleanse or pardon the sins of the priest and his family.
Lev 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
Lev 16:6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.
Prophetically it is foreshadowing the cleansing and establishment of the priesthood that will serve the needs of the millennial temple and the needs of the people. Ezekiel foresees the establishment of this priesthood in his vision of the future beginnings of the millennial Kingdom..
Eze 43:7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.
Eze 43:19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering. (What follows is the consecration of the alter).
Eze 44:15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:
Keil and Delitzsch has made this valuable observation”
“But the consecration of the altar of the tabernacle was associated with the consecration of the priests (in the past). Here, on the contrary, the existence of the priesthood is presupposed, and only the altar is consecrated.”
This is evidence that the fulfilling events of the Day of Atonement precede the building of the millennial temple. The priesthood will be established by God as a fulfillment of the first offering on the Day of Atonement. The following from Isaiah also pictures the inspiring fulfillment of the sin offering for the priesthood on the Day of Atonement.
Isa 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
Isa 66:21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD.
Isa 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Another factor is that the whole carcass of a bullock that was sacrificed for the priesthood was burned up outside the camp (Lev 16:27).
Lev 16:27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
The destruction of the false prophet represents the fulfillment of the purpose or shadow of the first sin offering. It is worth noting that the false prophet was thrown into the lake of fire and burned up. The remains of the priest’s sin offering were burned up out side the camp. The remains of the other types of animals that were used for sin offerings of the people were never burned up outside the camp except for the other sin offering (for the people) that was sacrificed on the Day of Atonement.
This false prophet’s “organized” religious ancestry goes all the way back to Nimrod. In Revelation chapters 17 and 18 it is called “Babylon The Great”. This Babylon is brought down during the time of day of the Lord.
Isa 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
The day of the Lord takes place during the time of the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. It is the time when God remembers the 6,000 years of all the tribulation that Satan and his human agents brought to his own creation.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
False religion has been at the center of mankind’s decent into a state of continual suffering throughout time. With the destruction of the organized false religion and the establishment of God’s true priesthood the world will be free to learn and do righteousness. This is what is foreshowed by the first sin offering on the Day of Atonement.
THE MEANING OF THE GOAT USED FOR THE SIN OFFERING
There are significant elements that are related to the “second offering” recorded in Leviticus 16. Among them are differences between the normal order of certain observances and the way God ordained the observance to be conducted on the Day of Atonement. The animal that was sacrificed for the people the holy place and the tabernacle of the congregation is a good example. Normally if the whole congregation sinned it was a bullock that was used for the sin offering.
Lev 4:13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
Lev 4:14 When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
This is not what was done of the Day of Atonement.
Lev 16:15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
Lev 16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
Why was this change made for the Day of Atonement? I believe a reason for the change would be that God created the Day of Atonement in such a way that it would relate to the end time events. The type of animal that was used for the offering for the people takes on special importance. It is a significant fact that a mature he-goat was used for this sin offering. As a bullock was “exclusively” used for the sin offering of the priest, a mature male goat was used as a sin offering for a “leader” in Israel.
Lev 4:22 When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;
Lev 4:23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats (shaggy he-goat) , a male without blemish:
An obvious connection to the fulfillment that relates to this sin offering of a leader is the destruction of the “beast” that was thrown into the lake of fire along with the false prophet. It will be the beast that will be the principle, observable, “ruler” of the kings and their armies that were involved with the end time bloodshed.
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
It is also a fact that the only time that the carcass of any sin offering (other the sin offering of bullock for the priesthood) that was burned up, was burned up outside the camp on the Day of Atonement.
Lev 16:27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
The only time that the sin offering of a “leader” was burned up occurred on the Day of Atonement. The purpose of the burning of the sin offering of the goat on the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled, in the plan of God, by the burning up the “beast” in the lake of fire.
THE LOTS
The next thing to consider are the “lots” that were used to determine which goat was for the “scapegoat” and which one was for the Lord. Much has been made of the term “for the Lord”. A popular thought is that if it was “for the Lord” it should be interpreted to mean that the goat represented the Lord.
Lev 16:5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids (he-goat) of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
Lev 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Lev 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
We know full well that this goat does not represent the death of Jesus Christ a second time within the passover and annual holy day yearly cycle. What it does represent is an animal that is “used” of God to represent a symbol picturing a future event. The future event is when Jesus finally exacts the vengeance that has been so long in coming. The blood of that single goat would most likely also represent the unimaginable volume of blood that will be poured out to satisfy the vengeance of God. The beast and the assembled armies are destroyed together.
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
This animal is “for the Lord” to use as a symbol that would foresee the future freedom of a national pardon (an atonement) that would help inaugurate the world wide rule of God.
But, why were lots required to select the goat for their specific purpose? This is a clear revelation that there is going to be a very close relationship between the principles that these goats represent. Satan, being a spirit and not visibly discernible by humans is the reason that God had to reveal which goat was symbolic of him. The spirit of his human leaders, being possessed by Satan was indistinguishable from the spirit of Satan.
THE SIN OFFERING OF THE COMING MILLENNIUM
There is a unique difference in the way the sin offerings were sacrificed on the Day of Atonement. Unger’s Bible Dictionary provides the following.
“The laying on of the hands of the offerer was understood to typify the fact that the sin for which pardon and cleansing were being sought was transferred to the victim, which thereby became sin.
The instructions in Leviticus 16 do not have any hands laid on the sin offerings. The sin offerings shed their blood and died and thereby the sins of Israel were covered. But, the origin of the sins of Israel were not symbolically placed on the sin offering. Hands were not laid on the sin offerings. Although, in a very specific manor, both hands of the high priest were laid on the “goat of removal”. This signifies that ALL of the sins of Israel were placed on that goat.
Lev 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
Even though Adam and Eve and their posterity sinned and are responsible for their sin, Satan is responsible for leading them into sin. This “statement” on the Day of Atonement acknowledges that fact, and the fact that Satan IS sin --- the personification of all that is sin.
In the last chapters of the book of Ezekiel a physical millennial temple is described along with instruction for various offerings. The Keil and Delitzsch commentary has this to say about it.
The New Kingdom of God - Ezekiel 40-48
The last nine chapters of Ezekiel contain a magnificent vision, in which the prophet, being transported in an ecstatic state into the land of Israel, is shown the new temple and the new organization of the service of God,
There is an important difference in the way the sacrifices are offered at that time. In the past, a hand or hands were always laid on the animal to be sacrificed. This part of the ritual is left out in the record given by Ezekiel.
Eze 43:19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.
Eze 43:20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.
Eze 43:21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.
There has to be a reason for this change. Could it be that during the millennium it will be universally understood that Satan is the author of sin and that all the sin of Israel was placed on him during the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement? And could it be also understood that Satan is not the source of one's sins during the millennium? This does not negate the fact that it is the shed “blood” of a sin offering that atones for or pardons ones personal sin. This may be an appropriate time to more completely define the purpose of the “sin offering”. Again Unger’s Bible dictionary provides the following:
“The meaning is that of sinning ‘in error’. This does not mean merely sinning through ignorance, hurry, want of consideration, or carelessness (comp. Lev. 5:1, 4, 15), but also sinning unintentionally ---“
God has instituted specific laws that deal with intentional sins.
The Day of Atonement does not foretell a complete conversion of the nation of Israel. It will be shown that it does show a people who truly WANT to be a people of God. Yet, until each one accepts Jesus Christ as their “personal” savior, their sins must be dealt with within a land where God resides.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The Israelites do not have to wrestle against evil spirits as humanity had to during the 6000 years of Satan's rule. During the 1000 years (+) of God's rule they will have their human nature to deal with.
Another factor is the relationship of the goat and Satan. I believe there are many who are familiar with the part a “goat” plays in Satanism. The following is from The New World Encyclopedia.
The goat has had a lingering connection with Satanism and pagan religions, even into modern times. The pentagram, a symbol used by both Satanism and Wicca, is said to be shaped like a goat's head. The "Baphomet of Mendes" refers to a satanic goat-like figure from nineteenth-century occultism.
We are also familiar with how God used the goat to picture unrighteousness.
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
I find it noteworthy that God used mature he-goats on the Day of Atonement to picture Satan and the “beast” of the end time.
GREAT SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SACRIFICIAL SIN OFFERINGS
On the Day of Atonement two sin offering were sacrificed. They were a shadow of monumental end time events relating to the beast and false prophet. Beside the sacrifice of the "goat" representing the fate of the "beast" it would most likely also represent the fate of the armies that are destroyed at that time. The beast and those armies are destroyed during this time consummating the wrath of God. The false prophet and the beast led untold numbers to their death. Their blood is directly related to these two leaders. We can see that the “day of the Lord” corresponds to the time of the Day of Atonement. It is important to recognize that the armies and the beast who are destined to die during this time are called a “sacrifice” The following shows us when the armies are destroyed.
Zep 1:7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
Joe 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Rev 16:16 And he gathered them (armies) together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (the actual valley of decision)
Rev 19:21 And the remnant (armies) were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
There are four specific times when the bloodshed that will occur, during the time of the day of the Lord, is referred to as a “sacrifice”. Three of the times it refers to specific battles. The fourth speaks to the period of time as a whole. We know that any sacrifice, sanctioned by God, is an offering made to God. More specifically, the sacrifice and offering of the he-goat is associated with those that are called a “sacrifice”, that are killed during the day of the Lord. The following verses show the slaughter of three specific armies, during the day of the Lord, as being a ”sacrifice”. One army comes from the east. One is from the south. And one is from the north. Then finally, there is the verse that describes those that die, as a whole, during the day of the Lord as being “the Lords sacrifice”.
THE EASTERN SACRIFICE
Jer 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
Rev 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Notice that God’s sacrifice is assembled at the Euphrates, but they will be sacrificed in the Valley of Megiddo.
Rev 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (the actual valley of decision)
THE SOUTHERN SACRIFICE
Isa 34:1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
Isa 34:2 For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
Isa 34:6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
Isa 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
As there will be a sacrifice (of the kings of the east) assembled at the river Euphrates, but actually slaughtered in the valley of Megiddo, so will there be a sacrifice assembled at Bozrah but slaughtered in Idumea. Bozerah was a city in Edom (south east of Judea) and Idumea was in southern Judea, the southern end of the land of Israel.
THE NORTHERN SACRIFICE
Next, the armies that come from the north are described in Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39. There is a difference of opinion regarding the specific time that these chapters are picturing. Even though “the day of the Lord” is not mentioned I believe there is enough information in the context that places the events at the time of the day of the Lord. Again, this would also be the time of the fulfilling of the Day of Atonement. The following are verses that provide that conclusion.
Eze 38:15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
Eze 38:16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
Eze 38:20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
The context clearly shows that Chapter 38 continues into Chapter 39. We also know that the mountains will be thrown down at the time of the day of the Lord. See Rev 6:14 and 16:20.
Eze 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Eze 39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
All of these verses are associated with the day of the Lord or the immediate results of that day. Two important points are brought out from these verses. These invaders come from the north and that the destruction of the armies is called a sacrifice.
THE DAY OF THE LORD’S “SACRIFICE”
Finally, Zephaniah speaks of the sacrifice's on the day of the Lord as being a sacrifice.
Zep 1:7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
Zep 1:8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
It is of the utmost importance to see the relationship of the wording used in the selection of the goat that was “for the Lord” in Lev 16:8 to the wording in Zep 1:8. The lots determined which of the two goats the Lord would use that would represent future fulfillment. Aspect's of the fulfillment is pictured in Zep 1:8 with the Lord having a sacrifice. This sacrifice also has its part to play in the atonement for the people.
Lev 16:15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
This sin offering pictures the atonement received by the remnant of the people of Israel at the time of the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement
We have seen that armies descend on Israel from the east, from the north and from the south. With this in mind the picture that Revelation 14:19-20 is made more complete.
Rev 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
One thousand six hundred furlongs equals about two hundred miles. The blood of all of these armies cover the whole length of the land of Israel. This slaughter is called a sacrifice and is an atoning sacrifice for the children of Israel that are left alive after the time of Jacob’s trouble. This sacrifice along with casting the beast and false prophet into the lake of fire fulfills the prophetic meaning of the sin offerings on the Day of Atonement.
THE BURNT OFFERING
Many, many years ago my wife was studying Leviticus 16 and saw the offering spoken of in Leviticus 16:24. We were so focused on the two goats that we had read right over verse 24. I hadn’t been careful enough to recognize any significant importance to this verse much less considered it.
Lev 16:24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.
There were two rams for burnt offerings spoken of the Lev 16:3 and in verse 5. One to be used for the priesthood and one for the children of Israel.
Lev 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
Lev 16:5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
I was motivated to go to Unger’s Bible Dictionary to learn about a “burnt offering”. What I found was astounding to me, and it brought to my mind a verse that I was quite familiar with. The following is from Unger’s.
Burnt Offering. (1) Name (Heb. olah, ascending as smoke, the name given to this sacrifice because it was to be wholly consumed and to rise in smoke toward heaven). ······· with the exception of the skin, it was wholly and entirely consumed. The victims in the other sacrifices were only partially consumed upon the altar.
(2) Meaning. The burnt offering symbolized the entire surrender to God of the individual or of the congregation, God’s acceptance thereof, with a view to the renewal and sanctification of the entire man and consecration to a course of life pleasing to God. The law of sacrifice does not teach that the burnt offering had any reference to atonement or forgiveness of sins, provision being made therefore by the atoning sacrifices (sin and trespass offerings).
It is important to know that before a person could offer a “burnt offering” that person must have sacrificed a “sin offering”. As we have seen the burnt offerings in Leviticus 16 did follow the sin offerings of the bullock and the goat. The tribulation and day of the Lord are going to be the most powerful cleansing agent the world has ever known. It’s my opinion that all of those who live to reside in Israel (the remnant) do so only by the understanding and acceptance of the power and majesty of God. The priests and Levites and their brethren will be as an offering to God.
Isa 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
God is going select or handpick those who will survive the tribulation, and they will all have been tried and not found wanting.
Jer 3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.
Jer 3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jer 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Jer 3:16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Isa 27:12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
The verse that came to my mind when I learned about the meaning of the burnt offering was Zechariah 13:19.
Zec 13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
This will be the first time in the long history of the nation of Israel that the people would have this earnest true deep desire to be the people of God. Words fail me that could describe the beauty of the spirit of the people that will be prepared, by God, to begin the millennial rule of Christ. These people are complete in the “spirit” of the burnt offering. These people will be complete in their perfect fulfillment of the prophetic meaning of the burnt offering on the Day of Atonement.
AFFLICT YOUR SOUL
This is the only annual holy day that includes the instruction to “afflict your soul”. There is universal agreement and ample evidence that this term mean’s “fasting”. Because of this aspect of the day and that it is a “day of atonement” the general approach is that it is a time of deep reflection of unrepentant sins. But we, looking forward to the fulfillment, see the complete VICTORY that God accomplishes over the works of Satan. The term “we” is used to describe the “first fruit”, or saints of God, who are to become the wife of Jesus Christ. There is information that amply depicts the attitude of the saints that could relate to this day.
Psa 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
:6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
:7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
:8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
:9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
Psa 58:10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
:11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
In considering that blood will splatter up to the bridals of horses for the whole length of the land of Israel (about 200 miles) on the Day of Atonement, verse 10 accurately describes the time of the Day of Atonement.
It is anything but a day of somber introspection for the saints who return with Jesus to exact the “vengeance of God”. But, what would be the attitude of the “remnant” that returns after surviving the horrors of the “time of Jacobs trouble”. During that time of tribulation they are experiencing the fruit of the sinning ways of Israel (of which they were a part). The only way they could survive to come to the Day of Atonement is through a soul changing repentance.
Jer 3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
As they are gathered and brought to their ancestral land of Israel they are a HUMBLED people. A humility of the human spirit that is as pure and true as is possible.
As we fast on this day we may have a glimpse of the extent of their humility. As we fast we may first hand experience the truth of our absolute need of God, not only for our well-being but for our virtual existence. This fast will also help us be prepared for the tribulations that lie ahead.
ISAIAH 66
The commentary of Jamieson Fausset and Brown provides a fitting statement for the last chapter of the book of Isaiah:
“This closing chapter is the summary of Isaiah’s prophecies as to the last days, hence the similarity of its sentiments with what went before.”
As true as those words are, there are extraordinary prophecies that are of prominent importance and may easily go unrecognized. The prophecies chronicles important aspects of the fulfillment for the Day of Atonement. They reveal the compassion and the determination of God to bring a special group of the remnant to the land of Israel. These people spoken of in Isaiah 66 are a part of the remnant people of the house of Israel and the house of Judah who have survived all the tribulations of the end of the age of Satan’s rule. The whole remnant are those men, women and children who will begin the millennium, literally dwelling with their God. They are the people of Israel whose sins will be dramatically atoned for. This is accomplished by the events and bloodshed that fulfills the purpose of the Day of Atonement. Ezekiel states that the heathen “shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel”. This will be accomplished in large part by the events that are outlined in Isaiah 66.
Eze 34:30 Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
Eze 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze 37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
A concise picture of the fate of the Godless Gentiles, who persecuted the end time Israelites, is pictured by Isaiah 66 verses 17.
Isa 66:17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
Joel 3:12-13 expands the picture.
Joel 3:12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
Joel 3:13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Beginning in Isaiah 66:18 God’s “GLORY” becomes the prominent subject.
Isa 66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
What is the glory that is going to be seen by the nations that are gathered together?
Isa 66:19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
What is this glory that these Gentile nations that are "afar off" have not seen? What is this glory that those Gentiles, which “escape” or survive the bloodshed of the “day of the Lord”, will declare among their Gentiles nations? The following scriptures will help us understand.
Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, (splattering) even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (about 200 miles).
Eze 39:21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
Remembering that the length of the land of Israel is about 200 miles, this bloodletting will extend for about 200 miles. There will have been peoples in nations that had not heard about this slaughter that ended ALL resistance to the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. They had not heard of the “glorious” victory of the God of Israel over Satan and all who were under his domination. God’s glory is the victory accomplished by the annihilation of the millions who found themselves willing to fight against the God of Israel.
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Then Isaiah 66 verse 20 speaks of the tender care God has for all those in the distant areas of the captivity, including all the disabled. They will be the last of those that had been taken from their Israelite nations and scattered to eventually be brought to Jerusalem to become “HIS PEOPLE”.
Isa 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
The Gentile peoples will be deeply affected by astonishing news that the eyewitnesses, that escaped, brought back to them. They simply became more than willing to give every favor at their disposal to provide safe passage to the remnant that still languished in their land. It is so important to notice that these children of Israel are likened to an offering in a clean vessel. We can read of the inspiring picture Zechariah has given us of the resulting nature belonging to all the remnant people.
Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
The burnt offering that was annually offered on the Day of Atonement pointed toward the attitude of the end time remnant. A people that are precious beyond words to our Almighty God.
Isa 66:21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD.
Here again is a reference to the reestablishment of the priesthood. The sin offering of the bullock and the burnt offering of the ram of Leviticus 16 represent THE SHADOW of the reality of that future priesthood.
But, there is a larger remnant that begin their migration at an earlier time than Isaiah 66 speaks of. This earlier group begins their migration quite some time before the Day of the Lord. They will begin to be gathered at the sound of the “great trump”. There is no sound of the great trump that is associated with the final battle of the Day of the Lord. Yet, as Isaiah 27:13 and so many other scriptures show us, the remnant will worship the Lord at Jerusalem.
Jer 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
Jer 23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
Jer 31:7 For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
Jer 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.
Jer 31:9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Now we can read one of the most important verses relating to the return of the remnant of the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
Isa 27:12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
Isa 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown (taka), and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
This is the only time the term “the great trumpet” or even “great trumpet” is used in the Bible. This trumpet makes a “taka” sound. That sound, was used as a gathering command, by Israel of old. We should ask, what other trumpet would make what may be considered a great sound and be blown at the time of a gathering. It will be the gathering at the sound of the “seventh trump”. What will occur at the sound of that trumpet, to say the least, is GREAT. The one group (saints) is gathered to the heavenly Jerusalem. The other group (remnant of Israel) is gathered to the earthly Jerusalem. See the paper titled “The Bride of Christ” for more details.
It may be concluded that the blowing of the “great trumpet” is the blowing of the “seventh trump”. The sound of the seventh trump occurs before the seven vials of God’s wrath are poured out and before the time of the Day of the Lord and the judgment of God when the “wine press” was trodden down.
The sound of this trumpet occurs shortly before the time that the “wrath of God” began to be poured out. This makes it imperative that all of that part of the remnant will be protected from God's wrath as they make their way to the land of Israel. The following, from Psalms 91:7, may very well describe a people making their way through 200 miles of bloodshed, on their way to Jerusalem, during this time of the Day of the Lord.
Psa 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
THE CONCLUSION
I believe it bears reviewing the words God spoke through Ezekiel of the Day of Atonement that will be coming to the world at the end of this age.
Eze 16:62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:
Eze 16:63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified (atoned) toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.
Through the observance of the annual Day of Atonement Israel was made right with God by having their sins covered over. In the fulfillment of this annual holy day, the future remnant of Israel will be made right with God, in such a complete manner, that that our creator will find pleasure in dwelling with them.
Zec 8:8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
There are four elements that will permit this to happen:
· A righteous priesthood will be established to guide the people in the right way.
· The evil of this worlds system led by evil leaders will cease to exist thereby not being stumbling blocks to keep the people from being right with God.
· Satan is bound (1000 years) thereby being unable to mastermind every evil scheme to oppose God and keep the people from being right with God.
· Those refined as silver and gold will return to Israel being perfectly prepared to be a people who desire with all their hearts to be right with God.
It is a time when there is NOTHING to oppose the remnant people of Israel to be right with God. We know that the Spirit of God, at that time, will be FREELY available to all who ask for it. As they learn to love the law of God and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ they will become the example, to the nations, that God has so long desired them to be.