What Sins Are Being Addressed on the Day of Atonement?

What Sins Are Being Addressed on the Day of Atonement?

Why is there a second holy day picturing removing the stain of sin… didn’t we already cover that with the Passover service? Why this second holy day picturing a universal application of blood to cover over sin?

Everyone here should know by now that Passover symbolizes God passing over our personal sins. They are passed over because we are protected under the blood of Christ (remember the blood smeared on the door lintels in Egypt… remember the wine we drank together which is the blood of the covenant)... 

So why the Day of Atonement which also appears to address sin? To seek an answer, let's go back to the beginning… 

Atonement is Part of a Plan

• God’s holy days provide a step-by-step walkthrough of His plan for the salvation of humanity. We start with forgiveness and cleansing from our personal sins (that’s the Passover)
• We move on to the receipt of the holy spirit, which is power and the downpayment of eternal life at Pentecost
• Just a few days we celebrated the feast of Trumpets which pictures among other things the resurrection of the saints (when believers receive God’s gifts and rewards).

When we get to the day of Atonement in the plan of salvation, notice where it is located. Atonement is after the resurrection of the saints… but before the millennial reign of Christ pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles.

As part of a sequential plan the remedy for sin pictured on the day of Atonement can’t really be about your sins… because by then you’ve already been resurrected. You’ve already gone through the steps that lead to eternal life. The firstfruits have already repented… they’ve already been forgiven… they’ve already fought and finished the battle with sin… they’ve already received God’s gift of life… and entered into their inheritance.

So Atonement is about somebody else’s sins… not yours.

I ask again… what sins are this day of Atonement supposed to picture? Why this elaborate ceremony where the high priest enters into the holy of holies, the casting of lots over the two goats, the blood sacrifice of one goat and the banishing of the other into the wilderness.

AND why is it popped in there right between Trumpets (that great day of victory) and the Feast of Tabernacles (that great week of rejoicing)?

Those Left in the Flesh

There is a lot of mayhem happening around the time of Christ’s return… many people die as the result of 42 month tribulation and then there are the seven last plagues picturing the wath of God which follows … in the book of Revelation it sounds like ½ to ⅔ of the earth’s population die. But it also indicates some will survive. 

Is Atonement for addressing the sins of those people?

But those people do not accept God’s law, or His authority … they are not repentant… instead Revelation depicts them as defiant and unrepentant to the bitter end… cursing God and Christ even as destruction rains down on their heads.

I think it's more in keeping with God’s way that people who survive the tribulation and wrath of God… will have to enter into the process of salvation from the beginning and go through it step-by-step just like everyone else. Starting with basic lessons about awareness of sin, repentance, and acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice. Basic concepts which are embedded in the Passover. Unleavened Bread… then Pentecost.

Let’s put Atonement’s confrontation with sin into sequential context again. Consider what has happened just before, and then just after the day.

Just before Atonement

In the sequence of biblical holy days Atonement comes just after the feast of Trumpets which marks the resurrection of the faithful followers of Christ at the time of His return. At this stage of the plan, the followers of Christ are not looking for redemption and forgiveness; they have already risen up into eternal life.

There is another event related to the feast of Trumpets and Chirst’s return; His righteous judgment being dished out upon the nations, the governments, false religions, and cultures of human design. Daniel 7:23-27

Christ’s judgment here is not on sinners because most of them are already dead. Consider the state of Judgment at the time of His return:

• The individual believers and followers of Christ (both living and dead) have already been judged. In fact they are beyond judgment. They are resurrected to spirit born eternal life.
• All individuals who have lived and died but were not part of the first resurrection will not be judged until they are resurrected after the thousand year reign of Christ. Their’s will be a resurrection to the flesh, not the spirit, therefore still subject to judgment.
• If this time of judgment were about individuals and their own personal sins… then it would only affect a small sliver of human beings who are alive at the time of His return.

A judgment of individuals and their own personal sins will happen … but that’s really a matter for the Last Great Day. The 7th and final salvation event. 

Christ’s judgment and condemnation is upon the nations, the kingdoms, the whole system of humanly devised governments, religions and cultures of the world. Everything humanity has devised since their expulsion from Eden will be replaced by the direct government of God. Christ will assume supreme command as king of kings and lord of lords. His resurrected followers will be seated beside Him  in positions of subordinate authority. 

Cleaning Up The Mess

Atonement, which comes directly after Trumpets, is about cleaning up the mess left behind by mankind’s misrule of himself and of the entire planet. A mess caused by sin… sin caused by ignorance, uncleanness, and deception on a global scale. Leviticus 16:15-17

A month ago we talked about the two goats used in the Atonement ceremony, one for sacrifice, one for sending away. The goat that is sacrificed serves as a sin offering. (There are different types of offerings; there is a burnt offering, a grain offering, a fellowship offering… then there is a SIN offering.

Leviticus 4:2 the sin offering is to cover sins of ignorance (KJV)

Verse 2 (the priest)... 13 (whole community)... 22 (community leaders)... 27 (individuals)

In the bible Ignorance and sin are closely intertwined.

Paul tells us that it is through God’s commandments that we begin to know what sin is Romans 7:7. That we stop being ignorant. The plan is that when we are no longer ignorant we will move on to becoming obedient. Humanity’s governments, religions, and cultures are all about keeping us ignorant of God’s righteous requirements. That has to change!

Another attitude closely intertwined with sin is rebellion (remember Leviticus 16:16 where rebellion is specifically mentioned). Knowing the definition of sin as defined by God’s commands is only the beginning. Once you know them you have to accept and obey. Human governments, religions, cultures (the whole mess) are all about rebellion Romans 1:18-32.

That rebellion also has to be done away with!

Another aspect of sin addressed in the Atonement ceremony is uncleanness. Things, places, even people can be in three states relative to God. Of themselves things, places, even people are considered common (neutral). Common things can be made holy by virtue of being set apart by God’s for His good purpose… or they can be made unclean through contact with something that God does not allow in His presence (Ex. dead bodies, human excrement, certain types of animals, and SIN).

The atonement ceremony depicts the annual cleansing of the tabernacle which has become unclean over the course of the previous 12 months because of its contact with the people of Israel camped all around it… because of all their sins.

The defilement needs to be cleansed, covered over, with the blood of the sin offering! At the time of Christ’s return all of the earth has been defiled and needs to be cleansed.

Cleansing the Tabernacle

Have you ever wondered why the Atonement ceremony is spelled out in chapter 16 instead of being placed with the outline of the holy days provided in Leviticus chapter 23? Chapter 16 is the climax of a series of chapters describing how unclean things are to be addressed. Beginning with the blood of childbirth (12)... infectious diseases (13-14)... mold … bodily discharges etc. then the whole sequence ends with the annual cleansing of the tabernacle itself (chapter 16).

Hebrews 8:5 God told Moses the tabernacle is a pattern of the throne-room of God… the dwelling place of God. God would be present among the people of Israel within the tabernacle. That holy place needed to be clean and undefiled to be a fit place for God to dwell. The annual Atonement ceremony was about keeping it clean.

When Christ returns He will be present on earth reigning in His full glory.  But at that time the earth is defiled and unclean because of humanity’s sin. The earth needs to be made clean so hat it might be a fit place for Christ (who is God) to dwell. The Atonement service is about that ceremonial cleansing. Which is why Atonement takes place between Trumpets and Tabernacles.

Leviticus 16:18-19 the blood of the first goat is for the consecration of the altar and the holy place.The blood of the sacrificial goat covers (Kaphar) the stain of sin so it does not come into God’s sight. So His righteous wrath is not aroused.

Leviticus 16:19-21 while the blood of sacrifice addresses the effects of sin (the defilement, the pain, the misery)... the sending away of the live goat addresses that which causes sin.

• The deception that leads to human rejection and ignorance of God’s commands begins with Satan John 8:44, Revelation 12:9.
• The rebellion against The authority of God and His law begins with Satan Ephesians 2:2-3

The Atonement ceremony deals with the worldwide effects of sin (uncleanness, misery, death). It does this through the blood sacrifice of the first goat. Atonement also deals with the root of sin (ignorance and rebellion) through the banishment of the second goat. If we don’t eliminate that which leads to sin… it will just keep coming back over and over again.

It pictures what must happen after the enthronement of the king of kings. And what must happen before humanity enters into the 1,000 year of righteous rule under Christ and His saints.

Atonement is essential to the process… and occurs at just the right time. Its a great plan.