When we reflect upon the upcoming fulfillments of this Day of Atonement, we foresee the reconciliation of mankind to Jesus the King and the binding of Satan for one thousand years. But what does atonement mean? How do we define atonement?
H3725 (Strong) כִּפֻּר
kippûr kip-poor'
From H3722; expiation (only in plural): - atonement.
8 times in the OT
Lev 23:27 "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.
Lev 23:28 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.
H3722 (Strong). כָּפַר
kâphar kaw-far'
A primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel: - appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).
102 times in OT, 73 of which are translated “atonement” in the KJV
In describing one of Aaron’s duties on the Day of Atonement, both words are used, most easily distinguished in English by the KJV…
Exo 30:10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.
In the New Testament, we find more than one word and its plural derivative for Atonement, instead finding four words, and, generally speaking translated, as Atonement, Propitiation, or Mercy Seat. In most of the New Testament cases, the atonement described is actually relating to Christ’s crucifixion as the Lamb of God at Passover.
G2434 (Strong) ἱλασμός
hilasmos hil-as-mos’
atonement, that is, (concretely) an expiator: - propitiation.
1Jn 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (NKJV)
The same word, propitiation, is used also in KJV, ESV, YLT, and LITV, which makes sense as there is not a lot of leeway in the definition.
So, we can define atonement as propitiation, and propitiation as atonement.
The Gospel Coalition
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/propitiation/
Definition
Propitiation means “averting the wrath of God by the offering of a gift.” It refers to the turning away of the wrath of God as the just judgment of our sin by God’s own provision of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Summary
Although some object to propitiation as a pagan notion of appeasing an irascible deity with bribes and gifts, the idea in the Bible is very different. Because of our sin and rebellion against God, our original communion with God has been disrupted, and our persons and lives deserve judgment. The wrath of God in the Bible is the expression of his holiness in the face of our sin. Wrath is what our sin and rebellion justly deserve. Even though God is a God of infinite love, he does not show mercy at the expense of his justice, so propitiation is the way that the loving God shows us mercy justly. In the Bible, propitiation is not something that we provide to God to get right with him again; it is something that God provides to us that we may be justly and mercifully forgiven and accepted, and he does this at his own expense through the loving gift of his Son, Jesus Christ. END
Hopefully, this explanation from the Gospel Coalition clarifies the meaning of propitiation, something mankind has needed since the first sin in the Garden of Eden. Since that time mankind’s sins have not had a provision made outside of the long-term provision made through Jesus at Passover as the Passover Lamb.
G2433 (Strong) ἱλάσκομαι
Hilaskomai hil-as’-kom-ahee
Middle voice from the same as G2436; to conciliate, that is, (transitively) to atone for (sin), or (intransitively) be propitious: - be merciful, make reconciliation for.
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Rom 3:25 whom God set forth as a propitiation (a mercy seat YLT; the sacrifice for sin NLT) by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
Rom 3:26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (NKJV)
G2435 (Strong) ἱλαστήριον
hilastērion hil-as-tay’-ree-on
Neuter of a derivative of G2433; an expiatory (place or thing), that is, (concretely) an atoning victim, or (specifically) the lid of the Ark (in the Temple): - mercyseat, propitiation.
Heb 9:5 Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now. (NLT)
Heb 9:5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. (NKJV)
1Jn 2:2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. (NLT)
1Jn 2:2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (NKJV)
G2643 (Strong) καταλλαγή
katallagē kat-al-lag-ay'
From G2644; exchange (figuratively adjustment), that is, restoration to (the divine) favor: - atonement, reconciliation (-ing).
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. (KJV)
Rom 5:11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (NKJV)
Heb 2:17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (NKJV)
Lev 16:7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
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.
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 16:15 "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.
Lev 16:16 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.
Lev 16:21 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.
Lev 16:22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
Notice, above that two atonements are made.
Jesus, the Christ, has by His Passover sacrifice paid the full price for our sins and has already become High Priest to our Father on behalf of those called, chosen, and faithful. Jesus, the one slain from the foundation of the world, will again return, having already paid the price for the sins of mankind, a worthy sacrifice to reconcile mankind to Himself at His arrival. Since being expelled from the Garden of Eden, mankind has been estranged from the LORD who made them, but with the return of Christ the King, mankind will again have the opportunity to have a relationship with the Lord, free from the wiles of Satan and his cohorts.
God speed the day of the return of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, to open the door of reconciliation with mankind and to banish of evil spiritual influences.
