The High Priest took a censer full of hot coals and a handful of incense into the Most Holy Place, placed the incense on the coals in the censer, and left it burning in front of the Ark of the Covenant so that the sweet-smelling cloud of smoke covered the Mercy Seat of the Ark. He returned to the Court, sacrificed the young bull, brought some of its blood into the Most Holy Place, and sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat and in front of it. He again returned to the Court and, after sacrificing the Lord’s goat, he took some of its blood and did the same as with the blood of the bull. When he had completed this final ritual in the Most Holy Place (and retrieved the censer, though it is not mentioned), the High Priest cleansed the Holy Place and the Altar of Burnt Offering with the blood of the bull and goat. He then laid his hands on the head of the live Scapegoat and confessed all the sins of all the Israelites, and a man specially chosen led the goat away to be released and die in the wilderness. The High Priest took off the white linen garments, washed himself, and put on his regular beautiful garments before offering a final Burnt Offering for himself and the people. The man who had led away the Scapegoat also washed himself before returning to the camp. Finally, the remains of the sacrificial animals – skin, flesh, etc. – were removed from the camp and burned. The man chosen for this job also washed himself before returning to the camp.<\/div>\n
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Significance to the Jews:<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
This was the day of final verdicts when God took care of the sin problem in the Israelite nation. The sin and guilt that had been symbolically transferred to the Sanctuary through the blood of a sin offering and “stored” there were cleaned out and disposed of through the blood of the animals in the various rituals performed on this day. Sins that had been confessed, repented, and atoned for prior to this time were the only ones cleansed, and the person could rejoice in God’s mercy for another year. If someone had not done this, his sins defiled the Sanctuary but were not carried away by the scapegoat. The person himself would still bear that guilt; he was condemned and faced God’s retribution; he was “cut off from among his people” (Leviticus 23:29; Numbers 15:30, 31).<\/div>\n
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Significance to us:<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The Day of Atonement is a symbol of Christ’s work on our behalf: Jesus is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16); He exchanged His heavenly glory for ordinary human-ness (Isaiah 53:2); His blood represents pardon, freedom from sin (Hebrews 9:22); He is the single Ultimate Sacrifice, taking care of all aspects of the sin problem (Hebrews 10:14); He is the only one who can do this for us (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5); He entered God’s presence with His blood to make an atonement for us (Hebrews 9:24); when He returns from God’s presence, He will be clothed in His heavenly glory again (Matthew 24:30; Revelation 19:11-16).<\/div>\n
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There are some very serious messages that come from the symbolism of the Day of Atonement. God does not just overlook sin in our lives; it separates us from Him (Isaiah 59:2); it defiles us and our environment (Numbers 35:33; Isaiah 24:5); His power and holiness destroys sinful humans (Exodus 33:20; Deuteronomy 4:24);\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He is very merciful and willing to forgive our sin, but He does not just ignore it (Exodus 34:6, 7); we need to admit our sin issues and accept the sacrifice of His Lamb to take away our sin (John 1:29; 1 John 1:9); if we sin willfully and rebelliously and don’t repent, there is no sacrifice that can save us (Hebrews 10:26-31). There is a time of final verdicts coming and we are all summoned to that court hearing (2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 20:11-15). God will not allow anyone to enter His eternal Kingdom who is not pure and holy like He is (1 Peter 1:15, 16; Revelation 21:27; 22:11, 12).<\/div>\n
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In contemplating what happened on the Day of Atonement, the question arises, Why is there a multi-stage process in the expiation of sin – from sinner to High Priest to Tabernacle to Scapegoat to oblivion? Why is sin not totally gone after the initial Sin Offering that the sinner brings? A partial answer can be found in Ezekiel 33. There God explained that if a wicked man turns from his wickedness, it will not be remembered and held against him, and he will live; but if a righteous man turns from his righteousness, it will not be remembered to be credited to him and he will die for his sin. There are only two ways to go in life – the way of wickedness to destruction and the way of righteousness to life. If a person is on the way of righteousness and occasionally stumbles into sin but gets up and continues in the way of righteousness, he will be saved. If he turns away from the way of righteousness, he will die. If a wicked person occasionally “stumbles” and does something “good” but continues in the way of wickedness afterward, he will die; but if he turns from it, God will give him life. Each person is given the freedom to change direction at any time along the way.<\/div>\n
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God is gracious in giving us probationary time to make our final decision rather than judging us immediately for our ups and downs along the way. He bears our iniquity, forgiving us temporarily, until the Investigative Judgment when those written in the Book of Life are judged and either retained there or blotted out. (Revelation 3:5) All that a person does is held on record to verify the trend and direction of their life:<\/div>\n
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\u00a0. . . and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works<\/em>. (Revelation 20:12)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Whichever way the person is going when their life ends and the record is closed determines God’s final verdict – GUILTY or PARDONED. God tells us,<\/div>\n
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When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.<\/em>\u00a0 Ezekiel 33:13<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
God was planning to pardon him but he turned, he changed his direction in life, and God’s final verdict will have to be GUILTY. Then, all the sin that had been transferred off the person will be put back on, he will again bear his iniquity, and die in it.<\/div>\n
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But, When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.<\/em>\u00a0 Ezekiel 33:14, 15<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The verdict in this case is PARDONED.<\/div>\n
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None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.<\/em>\u00a0 Ezekiel 33:16<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
If the person has decided to walk in the way of righteousness and the evidence on record verifies that, all the former sins and mistakes will be cleaned out and disposed of permanently. Fortunately, God’s infinite wisdom and knowledge of all the most intimate workings of our minds and hearts allow Him to make accurate assessments of all cases.<\/div>\n
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For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.<\/em>\u00a0 Hebrews 4:12<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Another part of the answer to the question of why this is a multi-stage process involves the concept that the Sanctuary is symbolic of a person. God wants to dwell in us but sin defiles or pollutes us and needs to be cleansed out of our whole being. This is not a simple matter of mere forgiveness. Forgiveness is a necessary first step but God cannot stop there. Our whole nature, physical and spiritual, is corrupted by sin and must be purified. We are sinners to the very core and the work that Jesus began at Calvary and will finish in the near future is designed to totally purify us, to go beyond wiping our record clean to that miraculous process of taking sin completely out of our nature so we have no more desire for it. We will have a new, sinless nature when the Heavenly Day of Atonement is finished.<\/div>\n
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For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 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?<\/em> Hebrews 9:13, 14<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Please do not forget the very significant command by God that the people were to afflict their souls on that day. The High Priest did not afflict his soul on behalf of the people. They must each be involved in the experience. We cannot stand idly by and merely observe Jesus taking care of our sin problem. We must participate personally in this cleansing process so that He can purify us.<\/div>\n
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Each of us has a case pending in the court of heaven. We are individually to be judged according to the deeds done in the body. In the typical service, when the work of atonement was performed by the high priest in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary, the people were required to afflict their souls before God, and confess their sins, that they might be atoned for and blotted out. Will any less be required of us in this antitypical day of atonement, when Christ in the Sanctuary above is pleading in behalf of his people, and the final, irrevocable decision is to be pronounced upon every case?<\/em>\u00a0 Review and Herald, 03-22-87<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The Hebrew Legal System:<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
There are some very interesting facets of the Hebrew legal system that are worth noting in relation to the Day of Atonement. It is possible that God had His hand in developing these aspects of the system to illustrate His ways. Under Hebrew law, there were no lawyers to either prosecute or defend. The witnesses of the crime acted as prosecutors and the judges were the defenders. The arguments in the case were to begin with the defense by the judges. It was a maxim of the Jews that “the Sanhedrin was to save, not to destroy life.” One very unique rule was that, regardless of the number of judges involved in a trial, they were not to arrive at a unanimous guilty verdict because that would show that the accused had no defender in the court. Anyone who was known to be an enemy of the accused could not serve as a judge in his case. (Vance Ferrell,
The Fabulous First Centuries of Christianity<\/u>, pp. 154-168)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
This illustrates how God’s system works. Jesus is our Advocate, not as a lawyer presenting a case to a reluctant judge, but as one of the Judges who is sympathetic to our case and is very willing to pardon us. (Exodus 34:6, 7; Matthew 12:31) Our Judges are not very sympathetic to our accuser. (Zechariah 3:1-5; Revelation 12:10) God wants to save rather than destroy people. (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9) God is our friend. (John 3:16; 16:27; 1 John 4:10) If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31-39)<\/div>\n
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Praise God that His justice and mercy are perfectly balanced in His righteousness. And we can thank Him for the great, final Day of Atonement when everything will be set right, when the Heavenly Sanctuary will be cleansed, when our old, corrupt natures will be purified, and sin will be gone from the universe forever. The nearness of that time of final verdicts behooves us to “afflict our souls” and make sure that we are right with God today.<\/div>\n
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Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.<\/em>\u00a0 Psalm 139:23, 24<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
But let a man examine himself, . . . For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.<\/em>\u00a0 1 Corinthians 11:28, 31<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.<\/em>\u00a0 2 Peter 1:10, 11<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
. . . behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.<\/em>\u00a0 2 Corinthians 6:2<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Leviticus 16:1-34; 23:26-32; Numbers 29:7-11) History: On the tenth day of the seventh month was the most solemn day of the year for the Israelites – the Day of Atonement. It was one of the seven special Festival Sabbaths which were kept in addition to the weekly Sabbath, but it was singled out as being … <\/p>\n
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