ollowing the enormous shaking of the nations and Christ's return in mighty power that is pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, what is the next step in God's master plan?
Remember, the nations today are actually rebelling against God and His ways because they have been deceived. For in His infinite wisdom and understanding, the Eternal gave human beings freedom of choice, all the while knowing that mankind would almost certainly try to do things his own way before finally learning that GOD'S way is right. Therefore, God allowed humanity to be deceived--to be, for the most part, "cut off" from Him through the nearly 6,000 years of human history.
In the main, as we've seen, deception has come from the "god of this age"--Satan. It is because of him that the true Gospel of Jesus Christ has been "veiled" (2 Cor. 4:3-4). In a verse we examined earlier, the Apostle John referred to him as "the great dragon... that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world" (Rev. 12:9). Also mentioned previously, it is his direct influence and spiritual "broadcast" (cf. Eph. 2:1-2) that has led humanity astray.
So at the beginning of Christ's coming reign over all nations, IF there is to be genuine peace and a right spirit among men, Satan must be banished! And that is just what is going to happen--pictured by the next of God's Feasts, coming just nine days after the Feast of Trumpets.
Notice the statute regarding this next Festival in Leviticus 23: "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" (vv. 27-28).
Concerning the English word "atonement," notice this from The Dictionary of Word Origins: "As its spelling suggests, but its pronunciation disguises, atone comes from the phrase at one 'united, in harmony'" (John Ayto, 1990, p. 42). The American Heritage Dictionary gives the etymology as "Middle English atonen, to be reconciled, from at one, in agreement" (1992). Thus, the Day of Atonement can be thought of as the Day of "At-one-ment"--that is, the day that pictures us becoming ultimately at one with God. This phrase is translated from the Hebrew Yom Kippur. However, it should be noted that the word kippur is derived from another word, kaphar, which means "covering." We can relate it to Romans 4:7-8: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin." Accepting Christ's sacrifice in faith, then, brings us reconciliation--that is, atonement--with God.
On the Day of Atonement, the Israelites were to "afflict," or humble, their souls. This is another term for fasting (Is. 58:3,5; Ps. 35:13 NRSV; 69:10)--that is, abstaining from food and drink for a certain time (Ex. 34:28; Esther 4:16). But what is the purpose of fasting? It's a way to humble ourselves and draw closer to God. As we begin to feel weak from lack of sustenance, we realize that we are not so "great and mighty" after all--that we are puny physical creatures who, if not for God constantly providing for our needs, would quickly run out of steam and die (cf. Acts 17:28). It causes us to FOCUS on our absolute, undying need for God and to truly SEEK Him in prayer. This further helps us to think about spiritual matters, rather than trying to gratify the flesh. Then, as we "drink in" of God's Spirit and "feed" on His Word, we begin to understand that this is where our life really comes from. As Christ told Satan, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Fasting is not, as some view it, a way to force our will on God (cf. Is. 58:4; James 4:3). Rather, it helps us to better understand His will and live accordingly (Ezra 8:21; cf. 1 John 5:14).
Jesus Christ said that His true servants would fast (Matt. 9:15). And although He was not referring specifically to the Day of Atonement, we know that this Feast remains a time to fast for Christians today. For as we have seen from the New Testament, even the apostle to the Gentiles was obviously KEEPING the Day of Atonement--"the Fast"--years after everything was supposed to have been nailed to the cross! (cf. Acts 27:9).
An Annual Ritual
But what exactly was this day to signify? A very clear indication of its real meaning is given in Leviticus 16, where we find an Old Testament ritual to be performed "in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month" (v. 29)--that is, the Day of Atonement! In fact, this chapter mentions the word "atonement" 16 times.
The ceremony centered on the Tabernacle, a type of God's heavenly Temple (Heb. 8-9). It was divided into two parts. The outer chamber, called the Sanctuary or Holy Place, is where Israel's high priest--initially Moses' brother Aaron--and his sons typically entered to perform various duties therein. But the inner chamber, the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place, which contained the Ark of the Covenant with its covering Mercy Seat--the earthly "copy" of God's heavenly throne--was separated from the outer chamber by a thick veil and was off limits to everyone except the high priest himself on the Day of Atonement only (Lev. 16:2; Heb. 9:7).
In the ritual, the high priest had to first be purged of his own sin. So he offered a young bull as a sin offering for himself and his family, and then took its blood inside the Most Holy Place and sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat (vv. 5, 11-14; cf. Heb. 5:1-3). This was so that he could serve as a type of the perfect, sinless High Priest who would later come--Jesus Christ (cf. 3:1; 4:15). Of course, Christ--being perfect--needed no such atonement for Himself (7:26-28).
But for the main part of the ceremony, Aaron was to "take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering.... He shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel" (Lev. 16:5-8 NRSV). Notice that the practice of "casting lots" here was not to arrive at a random selection like rolling dice or drawing straws does today. Rather, it was an appeal to GOD to control the outcome of the lots, thus deciding what each goat would represent.
First, let us look at what happened to the goat that was "for the LORD"--that is, the one that would represent the God of Israel who later emptied Himself and became our Savior (cf.
1 Cor. 10:4). "And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering.... 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. 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" (Lev. 16:9, 15-16).
The meaning here is unmistakable. And the New Testament bears it out. For in the context of the Day of Atonement (cf. Heb. 9:7), we read, "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.... For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.... to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (vv. 11-26).
Thus the goat represented Jesus Christ slain for our sins. And the high priest then symbolized the resurrected Christ entering heaven to present the blood of His sacrifice before the Father. So what happened next in this "rehearsal"? The high priest came out of the Tabernacle and symbolically purified the Israelites with the blood. Indeed Jesus Christ now intercedes for us as our High Priest and will one day return from heaven--but to purify whom? For aren't those in God's Church already purified through Christ's sacrifice? Absolutely--for Christ's sacrifice is symbolized by the Passover in the spring. So why do we see another ceremony representing Christ's sacrifice in the fall?
We should perhaps look at it this way. Passover represents Christ's sacrifice itself. Atonement, however, occurs after the Feast of Trumpets, which symbolizes God's intervention in world affairs culminating in Christ's return. This day of fasting, then, represents the time when Jesus' Passover sacrifice will finally start being applied to all mankind, beginning with those of Israelite descent.
Remember that Joel 2:1-11 describes the coming terrible Day of the Lord, as we saw in the section on the Feast of Trumpets. Then notice the verses that follow: "'Now, therefore,' says the LORD, 'Turn to Me with all your heart, with FASTING, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.... Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a FAST, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation'" (vv. 12-16). The next few verses explain how God will rescue the modern descendants of the ancient Israelites--
previously in rebellion against Him--from end-time slavery.
Yes, following the sounding of the last trumpet, those who are left of all Twelve Tribes of Israel--not just the Jews--will be regathered to the Holy Land in a second exodus: "So it shall be in that day that the great trumpet will be blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem" (Is. 27:13; cf. 11:11-12).
Greatly humbled through the terrible ordeal they will have been through--including "forced fasting" through famine--they will at last be ready to seek God through true spiritual fasting with a submissive heart. Even the remaining Jews will realize that the Man their ancestors cried out to crucify was none other than their God come in the flesh. As Zechariah 12:10 quotes the Eternal, "then they will look on Me whom they pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."
Then the Israelites--followed by the rest of mankind--will receive the atonement made possible through the shed blood of Jesus Christ as the Passover sacrifice and have their sins washed away. It is interesting to note that even though the Jews do not now understand this ultimate meaning of the Day of Atonement, they nevertheless consider it to be the most holy and solemn occasion of the year--just as true Christians view the New Testament Passover.
The Azazel Goat
But the forgiveness of Israel's sins is not all that will happen when Christ returns. For there is another element in Leviticus 16 that still needs to be explained--the other goat. Notice, then, what the high priest was to do after emerging from the Tabernacle: "But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness [i.e. desert]" (v. 10 NRSV). Giving more detailed instructions, 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" (vv. 21-22).
First of all, notice the word "Azazel." The King James and New King James versions render this word as "scapegoat." It is a shortened form of "escape-goat," a mistranslation of the original Hebrew word--which the New Revised Standard Version leaves untranslated. The King James translators misread the word as ez ozel, meaning "goat that escapes." However, this goat didn't exactly "get away." Rather, it was driven away!
So what did the Azazel goat represent? Since it was a "sin-bearer," some see it as another representation of Christ's sacrifice. But why would Christ die bearing our sins, present His blood of atonement before God's throne in heaven to cover these sins, and then return and place the sins on Himself again? That makes no sense whatsoever.
Much more sensible is what Jewish writers have stated--that Azazel is the name of a demon! (Jewish Encyclopedia, p. 281). In fact, in the apocryphal book of Enoch, Azazel is the leader of evil spirits (8:1; 10:4). That, of course, would make Azazel none other than Satan the Adversary! No wonder the man who drove this goat into the desert was to bathe his body and even his clothing (v. 26). For, symbolically, he had to be cleansed from coming into direct contact with what the Bible repeatedly calls an "unclean spirit"--indeed, the chief unclean spirit, the very embodiment of evil. Clearly, this man had been used to separate the devil from the people of God.
And, incredibly, the New Testament shows that this is exactly what will happen after Christ returns to this earth. His Second Coming as King of kings is described in Revelation 19:11-21. Then, in Revelation 20, we read that a mighty angel is dispatched 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 [the uninhabited "wilderness" of Leviticus 16], 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--will be CUT OFF from humanity.
Why is this necessary for atonement? For one, Satan is the "accuser" who constantly throws in God's face the sins of His people (cf. Rev. 12:10). Yet the Eternal puts our sins completely away--"as far as the east is from the west" (Ps. 103:12). He wants our sins to be "covered over," not continually "dug up." So for there to be true "at-one-ment," Satan's constant rehashing of sins that have been forgiven must cease.
Furthermore, remember that Israel's high priest figuratively placed the sins of God's people upon the head of the Azazel goat. Yet it might be asked, "If Jesus died for our sins, then why are they placed on Satan?" The answer is that there are at least two guilty parties in the sins we commit. We stand guilty for giving in to temptation and actually sinning. But who tempts us in the first place? It is the "tempter" (cf. Matt. 4:3; 1 Thess. 3:5)--Satan the Devil. He is, in fact, infinitely more guilty--for he is the instigator of all sin! (cf. John 8:44).
You see, Christ died to pay for our part in our sins--not the greater part played by Satan. And so it is fitting that, in the end, Jesus will place the ultimate blame squarely where it belongs--on the head of the Adversary. Then Satan, the arch-deceiver and tempter, will be utterly banished to a "bottomless pit," a symbolic "wilderness," where he will be restrained and imprisoned. And this may very well happen--as so many other aspects of God's plan have been fulfilled on the very Holy Day that represents them--on Tishri 10, the Day of Atonement.
Remarkably, to really see just how pervasive Satan's deception is today, we should notice the current meaning of the word we saw earlier--"scapegoat." This now-common English term, taken directly from the King James translation of Leviticus 16, has come to mean a mainly innocent person who bears the blame for the guilt of others. Yet in light of the truth, this is simply outrageous! For can't we see what has happened here? Satan has palmed himself off as the innocent victim who is not really to blame! But the omniscient God knows better. Yes, thankfully, God is just! He will lay on Satan's own head the enormous GUILT he bears for inciting mankind against Him--for DECEIVING humanity into thinking God is "unfair" and that His laws and righteous ways are not good.
And that brings us to a very important reason why Satan will be "taken out of the picture." It is so that he will be unable to DECEIVE mankind during the thousand-year reign of Christ! (cf. Rev. 20:3-4). That is why humanity will be able to 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" (Is. 11:9).
And Isaiah further explains how at this time the blindness of humanity will be fully removed by God: "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.
With all this in mind, we should now keep this annual appointment with God with much prayer and fasting to remove evil from our lives today. There is an interesting account in the Bible about Christ's apostles, who cast out demons as they went about preaching God's Truth. At one point, they encountered a very powerful one who would not submit to their command to leave its host (Matt. 17:14-16). When Jesus did later cast it out, they asked Him why they could not (v. 19). To which Christ responded, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting" (v. 21). The disciples had not fasted before attempting to cast out the demon. Had they done so, God would have given them the faith they needed
(v. 20). Consider, then, that the ultimate fulfillment of the Day of Atonement involves casting out the biggest demon of all! No wonder God wants us to fast on this day and draw close to Him.
Finally, then, with Satan bound far away and no longer able to hurt and deceive humanity, people will at last learn to
APPRECIATE the true God of the Bible and His ways, and to genuinely LOVE and WORSHIP Him. For through the blood of Christ's sacrifice and the removal of the arch-enemy of both God and man, the atonement--or "at-one-ment"--between God and man can finally be complete.
