By COGwriter
The Christian Day of Atonement is based on the English translation of the Jewish Holy day Yom Kippur.
In the original Hebrew, the Bible calls the day Yom Hakippurim (Hebrew for "Day of the Atonements").
The day is commemorated with a 25-hour fast by Jews, but normally a 24 hour fast by Christians who observe it. While not observed by the mainstream of professing Christianity, the Christian groups (mostly those with origins in the old Worldwide Church of God) that do observe it usually refer to it as the Day of Atonement.
1 Date
2 Biblical Origin
3
The Slain Goat Represents Christ
4
The Live Goat Represents Satan
5 Interpretation
6 Roderick C. Meredith Explains
7 New Testament Times
8 The Holy Days
In the Hebrew calendar, the Day of Atonement begins at nightfall starting the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishri (which falls in September/October), and continues until the next nightfall. It is always observed as a one day holiday, both inside and outside the boundaries of the land of Israel, in contrast with many other Jewish holidays, which are observed for two days in the Diaspora.
The Day of Atonement will occur on the following dates in the next few years:
2008: October 9
2009: September 28
2010: September 18
2011: October 8
Biblical Origin
The original rites and practices for the Day of Atonement are set forth in the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus (cf. Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 23:27-31, 25:9; Numbers 29:7-11). It is considered to be a time for fasting, on which no food or drink are be consumed:
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls...It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath (Leviticus 23:26-27,32).
This fasting is historically how the phrase "afflict your souls" has been interpreted by the Jewish community (this is also verified by such passages as Psalm 35:13; 69:10 and Isaiah 58:5) to mean fasting, unless one is somehow ill, and thus is already afflicted. Evening to evening means from sunset to sunset.
In the New Testament, the Day of Atonement is referred to as "the Fast" (Acts 27:9). The fact that this day was referred to that way (or even at all) is an indication that it was observed by Christians after Christ's resurrection. The Bible clearly shows that so-called Jewish holy days, such as Pentecost were observed by Christians after Jesus' resurrection (Acts 2:1).
Observant individuals affiliated with the Churches of God will fast from sunset tonight until sunset the next night (if they are physically able--nursing mothers, small children, pregnant women, and various afflicted others are not expected to fast--this is consistent with Jewish practices in this area as well). In this fast we go without food or drink.
An unusual ceremony related the the Day of Atonement is discussed in Leviticus 16. Skipping down to verses 9-10, this passage states:
And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness (NKJV).
Christians who observe it note the parallels between the first of the two goats with Jesus and the second of the two goats with Satan (the Azazel goat). Such as Jesus does get killed, but that Satan does not.
The Slain Goat Represents Christ
The slain goat represents Christ who actually dies for our sins. Notice Leviticus 16:15-19:
Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
Christ's sacrifice is an atonement sacrifice to reconcile us to God. Notice what the Apostle Paul wrote:
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
The Live Goat Represents Satan
Although many Protestant commentators seem to misunderstand these passages in Leviticus, the live goat does not also somehow represent Jesus Christ.
Notice what happens immediately after the atoning from the death of the first goat:
And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness...And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp (Leviticus 16:20-22,26).
Notice that the atonement is over after the first goat is sacrificed. The atonement is not part of the symbolism of the second goat. While many Protestant commentators either do not know what the Azazel goat represents or think it represents the physical life of Christ, the latter explanation would not seem to be consistent with the statements in Leviticus 16:26.
Why?
Because notice that it is a fit man that takes the goat into the wilderness and he has to wash himself after he has released the aza'zel goat. If the second goat represented Christ, the fit man would have to wash BEFORE touching the goat and not AFTER releasing it.
We in the Living Church of God believe that what happened to the live goat in Leviticus 16 is symbolic of Satan for two basic reasons:
Specifically, we cite the following passage from Revelation 20:1-3:
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.
Notice that it is a fit man that places the Azazel goat which bares blame for sins into the wilderness, and an angel that places Satan, who brought sin into the world, into the wilderness of the bottomless pit. Contrary to the claims of those who do not take this portion of Revelation literally, this 1000 year binding of Satan has certainly not taken place since John was inspired to pen Revelation.
Christians that observe the Day of Atonement normally teach that on that day they are to be at one with God. And that fasting humbles them and makes them realize how dependent they are on God for all their needs. They also believe that they are dependent upon the sacrifice of Jesus for their salvation, but that Satan does play a role in encouraging people to sin.
One group that observes the Day of Atonement, the Living Church of God, states:
...Old Testament meaning
...A day of fasting and repentance, known to the Jews as Yom Kippur (Leviticus 23:26-32)...New Testament meaning
...Pictures the binding of Satan at the beginning of the Millennium and the world becoming at one with God.
Roderick C. Meredith Explains it This Way
R.C. Meredith has written the following about the Day of Atonement:
One "step in God’s Master Plan is for the peoples of the earth to become "at one" with God. Then they can willingly learn God’s ways and be blessed.
But today, the nations are rebelling against God and His ways because they have been DECEIVED. In His wisdom and infinite mercy, God has made all human beings free moral agents. He knew that mankind would desperately want to try to do things his own way before finally learning that GOD’S way is right. Therefore, God has allowed humanity to be deceived—to be mainly "cut off" from God through these past 6,000 years of human history.
In His revealed Word, God clearly tells us that Satan the Devil is the "god" of this present world, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Corinthians 4:3–4). Again, Paul was inspired to write: "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:1–2).
Satan the Devil, the "prince of this world," as Jesus called him (John 14:30, KJV), is working overtime to deceive humanity. Being the "prince of the power of the air," Satan "broadcasts"—just like radio and television. But he spiritually broadcasts wrong attitudes and ideas. He makes mankind feel that God is either "dead" or that He is not "real," that He is an ethereal God, a "blind force" way off somewhere and, always, that mankind does NOT need to obey God’s law and literally follow His ways, the Ten Commandments and keep holy His weekly Sabbaths and annual Festivals like Christ and the original Apostles did do—setting us an example.
The beloved Apostle John wrote: "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who DECEIVES THE WHOLE WORLD; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:9).
The Apostle Peter was inspired to warn us: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a ROARING LION, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world" (1 Peter 5:8–9).Therefore, at the beginning of Christ’s reign—IF there is to be genuine peace and a right spirit among men—Satan the Devil must be banished! Notice the commandment regarding the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 23:27–28: "Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God." This day was to be a "statute" FOREVER to the people of God. As we have seen, even the Apostle to the Gentiles was obviously KEEPING the Day of Atonement in a Roman prison ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea—years after everything was supposed to have been nailed to the cross! (Acts 27:9).
A very clear indication of the real meaning of Atonement is given in Leviticus 16. Here we find an Old Testament ritual wherein two goats were to be presented before the High Priest. In Israel, "casting lots" was an appeal to GOD to decide a matter. So Aaron was to "cast lots" to find what each of these goats represented (Leviticus 16:8). One was to represent "the Lord"—the God of Israel who later emptied Himself and became our Savior (1 Corinthians 10:4). The other goat was to represent Azazel, which is a term—as many Hebrew references explain—for the "adversary," Satan the Devil!
The goat representing the "Lord" was to DIE. God told Aaron to "offer it as a SIN offering" (Leviticus 16:9) just as Jesus Christ gave His life for our sins. But regarding the "adversary goat," God commanded: "Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the INIQUITIES of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness" (vv. 21–22). Then the man who led this goat symbolizing Satan into the "wilderness" was to bathe his body and even his clothing (v. 26) for, symbolically, he had come into direct contact with the very embodiment of evil—Satan the Devil!
He had been used to separate Satan from the people of God. He had led the "adversary" goat to a wilderness—FAR AWAY—where he (Satan symbolically) could not hurt or deceive God’s people anymore!
When was this ceremony to be carried out? "This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month" (v. 29). Though the ancient Israelites understood that this ceremony was to be part of the observance of the Day of Atonement, very few grasped the real spiritual meaning this should have for New Testament Christians. For how could they, since they were blinded even to the meaning of the first goat—the Messiah—when He came to this earth to die for their sins?
Yet the New Testament shows that this is exactly what happens when Christ returns. Jesus’ return as King of kings is described in Revelation 19:11–21. Then, in Revelation 20, we read that a mighty angel is appointed to remove Satan. "He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while" (vv. 2–3). Clearly Satan—the "Azazel" or adversary—is CUT OFF from humanity so he is unable to DECEIVE mankind during the one thousand year reign of Christ!
That is why humanity will quickly become "at one" with God’s ways—NO MORE SATANIC INFLUENCE. That is why, during the glorious reign of Christ, "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9).And Isaiah further explains how at the time the blindness of humanity is fully removed, "He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken" (25:7–8). So with "Satan’s Broadcasting System" shut down and the BLINDNESS of humanity removed, man can indeed become "at one" with God. For Christ will have paid our part in our sins, but Satan the Devil will certainly be utterly banished to a symbolic "wilderness" or "bottomless pit" and be restrained and held in this kind of a prison for his part in our sins.
God is just! He will place on Satan’s own head the enormous GUILT he bears for stirring up mankind against God, for DECEIVING humanity into thinking God is "unfair" and that His laws and righteous ways are not good. Finally, again, humanity will learn to APPRECIATE God and His ways, to genuinely LOVE and WORSHIP the true God of the Bible. For at this point, the "atonement" for humanity’s sins will be complete" (Meredith RC. The Holy Days - God's Master Plan. LCG booklet).
The New Testament shows that the the Gentile Gospel writer Luke new about the Day of Atonement, when he wrote:
...sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over (Acts 27:9).
What was Luke referring to according to Protestant commentators? Why the day of Atonement. Notice two such commenataries (note italics/bolding are from the sources cited):
Acts 27:1-11... Sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was already past, that is, the famous yearly fast of the Jews, the day of atonement, which was on the tenth day of the seventh month, a day to afflict the soul with fasting (from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.).
Acts 27:8-9... The fast to which Luke refers is the Day of Atonement (from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press).
The fact that Luke used that term for a Christian audience (Acts 1:1) strongly indicates that the Day of Atonement was known, recognized, and observed by early Christians.
This is further substantiated in a Jewish account (reported in the Talmud), as related by a Catholic scholar may also be helpful here. It is recorded that an early second century Christian named Jacob (100-120 AD) with a Jewish scholar discussed the Day of Atonement and the Christian Jacob explained how it helped show "Christ head of the angels" (Bagatti, Bellarmino. Translated by Eugene Hoade. The Church from the Circumcision. Nihil obstat: Marcus Adinolfi. Imprimi potest: Herminius Roncari. Imprimatur: +Albertus Gori, die 26 Junii 1970. Franciscan Printing Press, Jerusalem, p.97).
And of course, when God has an angel bind Satan (Revelation 20:1) this will be another related fulfillment for the Day of Atonement.
The Christian Day of Atonement, comes after the Feast of Trumpets (also known as Rosh Hoshana) and is considered to be part of God's plan of salvation as shown in the biblical (Jewish) holy days.
The fasting day also gives Christians a brief pause before the next holiday, the Feast of Tabernacles, which is a time of rejoicing and feasting that begins 5 days later (picturing the 1000 year reign of Christ on the Earth--this teaching is called by some as Millenarianism).
The Day of Atonement is significant for Christians. It pictures Christ's sacrifice for our sins and that Satan has a role and will be sent away (and bound for the millennium). While others professing Christianity somewhat understand this, because they do not keep this and the other Christian Holy Days, they often do not have a proper view of God's plan of salvation, such as the role of Satan and Christ.
This Day of Atonement pictures not only what has happened (with Christ) but some of what will happen with Satan (while the holy days that follow show other events that will happen later). This is information that Christians living in these latter days should value.
More information on the Holy Days can be found in the booklet, The Holy Days - God's Master Plan or the articles:
Hope of Salvation: How the Church of God Differs from Protestantism
Did the Early Church Observe the Fall Holy Days?
Is There "An Annual Worship Calendar" In the Bible?
Should Christians Keep the Days of Unleavened Bread?
Melito's Homily on the Passover
The Book of Life and the Feast of Trumpets?
The Day of Atonement--Its Christian Significance
The Feast of Tabernacles: A Time for Christians?
Thiel, B., Ph.D. The Day of Atonement--Its Christian Significance. www.cogwriter.com/atonement.htm (c) 2005/2006/2007/2008 0625
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