The Day of Atonement
The Process of Dissolving Sin
Let me be clear… Christianity, Judaism, and the Messianic, Hebrew Roots organizations have no idea concerning the meaning of the Day of Atonement. I see these posts appear on my computer screen every year, stating something like this: “Please, if I have done anything to offend or sin against you, forgive me, so that I may keep the Day of Atonement.”
Shake My Head!
This kind of ignorance reveals a lack of understanding, which I assure you is rooted in classic Talmudism, directly stemming from The Enemy themselves. The teaching is to be reconciled by your brother before Atonement, which is setting the cart before the horse, and totally twists a proper understanding of the atonement process.
So, it’s time the record be set straight. The reconciliation must occur in the Spring at Passover, not at Atonement. The repentance process, which must lead to a time-focused proving ground, toward any given sin, must be completely overcome… In the Father’s mind.
Let’s quickly look at an example of the word translated atonement in the New Testament.
Yeshua’s sacrifice in the flesh on the torture stake did not fully deal with sin. This statement is blasphemy to 99% of all Believers, but it is 100% scripturally accurate. His action in the flesh only completed the first leg of a three-part process.
Part one is His atoning (propitiation) sacrifice, which differs significantly from the atonement of the seventh month, as we shall soon see.
Part two of that process is left up to the Believer to overcome any given sin. This comes through the working of the indwelling of YoHeWaH’s Spirit, which is different from the external dwelling of His Spirit. More on this later. In the meantime, while the overcoming process is playing out, the sin in question is being carried on the back of Yeshua, the Messiah. His sacrifice on the torture stake buys you and me time to allow the work of YoHeWaH’s Spirit to lead, guide, and direct us in the overcoming process of that sin.
Once any given sin is fully overcome by the Believer, in The Father’s mind, then and only then is the third part of this process played out… It is this action carried out on the Day of Atonement, each year, that fulfills the true meaning of Atonement, which is the final stage of entirely dealing with sin.
This explanation originates from the casting of the two goats in Leviticus 16, which is presented to help us understand how sin is dealt with in the Spiritual world. The roles of these two goats work together to dissolve sin in this three-part process. Let’s read the text:
“YoHeWaH spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before YoHeWaH and died, and YoHeWaH said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel TWO MALE GOATS for a SIN OFFERING, and one ram for a burnt offering. Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.” Leviticus 16:1–6
So, before the two male goats can begin to act out their roles for the sins of the nation of Israel, the High Priest must first be atoned for governmentally via the bull and personally by the blood of the ram. His office and his person must be set right. These two sacrifices fall under the New Testament categories of reconciliation, atonement, or propitiation. It is a justification atonement. The starting point of dealing with those sins committed by the office of High Priest and the person of the High Priest.
But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
Then, after the High Priest has been cleansed, He can now officiate the atonement of all Israel. All the sins that have been overcome, both personally and nationally, can now be addressed.
Act one is complete. Act two now commences:
Then he shall take THE TWO GOATS and set them before YoHeWaH at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast lots over THE TWO GOATS, one lot for YoHeWaH and the other lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for YoHeWaH and use it as a sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before YoHeWaH to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.” Leviticus 16:6–10
The goat of YoHeWaH is a direct representation of Christ and Him Crucified. I know of no one who disagrees with that statement. Who then is the other goat?
The goat of Azazel is a direct representation of HaSatan, THE ORIGINATOR OF SIN.
Please notice these two goats are identical. Just like twin or close brothers… Because that’s exactly what they are. These two goats are the two Archangels (Messengers) that are the Mercy Seat, which covered the Ark of the Covenant. One of these two is mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel, also known as the King of Tyre.
“The word of YoHeWaH came to me: “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says The Sovereign YoHeWaH: Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth — therefore thus says The Sovereign YoHeWaH: Because you make your heart like the heart of a god, therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. They shall thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas. Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you? You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares The Sovereign YoHeWaH.”
A Lament over the King of Tyre
Moreover, the word of YoHeWaH came to me: “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says The Sovereign YoHeWaH: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of YoHeWaH; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created, they were prepared. You were an ANOINTED COVERING CHERUB. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of YoHeWaH; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade (The Trump Tariffs) you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of The Eternal, and I destroyed you, O COVERING CHERUB, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in THE UNRIGHTEOUSNESS OF YOUR TRADE (The Trump Tariffs), you profaned your sanctuaries; so, I brought fire (truth) out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.” Ezekiel 28:1–19
It is worth noting that the biblical city of Tyre was the New York City of the ancient world. Remind me once again… Where did Donald J Trump originate his wealth from? Nuff said.
Conclusion… Donald Trump is the Goat of Azazel.
The Play continues from Leviticus 16…
“Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before YoHeWaH, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil and put the incense on the fire before YoHeWaH, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.” Leviticus 16:11–14
I have to be honest here… Besides the meaning of the Bull, which represents the office of the governmental High Priest and the reference to the sprinkling of the mercy seat seven times, a direct reference to the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3, I have no idea about the rest of the meaning within this passage. Coals of fire is a purifying truth. Fire is a scriptural reference to truth. And incense is a type of prayer offered to YoHeWaH. How all of those ties to the event of Atonement, I really can not put into words. Moses continues:
“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering (The Goat of YoHeWaH) that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. Thus, he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleanness. No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to THE ALTER (a direct representation of the fullness of government) that is before YoHeWaH 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. And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the people of Israel.” Leviticus 16:15–19
We always, always, always make mention that whenever you see the word Alter throughout scripture, your mind should immediately know that the word literally means government, not some religious gate in a church somewhere. The so-called altar call at the end of each Protestant church service has worked to distort our understanding of the biblical meaning of a temple, or a house, or an altar… All of which denote a form of government in place.
“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat (the goat of Azazel). And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.” Leviticus 16:20–22
So, the goat of YoHeWaH is Christ, and His atoning sacrifice of carrying our sins until we can overcome them accordingly. The second goat, Azazel, represents the originator of sin, HaSatan. On the Day of Atonement, any sins, either individually or nationally, that have been overcome are brought into the holy of holies to be exchanged onto the back of the originator of sin, Azazel, being removed from Christ’s back to be fully dealt with once and for all… But how? What is the process past this moment? Do our sins vanish like a bad smell in the wind?
Allow me to introduce a brand-new word to most people in society today. A word not many people, believers or not, know anything about… JUSTICE.
First of all, I need to explain precisely what is happening in the above passage, once again by posing some critical thought typological questions.
1 — What does the laying on of hands in scripture represent? Answer — A commissioning toward holding an office of government. Aaron lays his hands on the head of the Azazel Goat.
2 — What does the wilderness represent in scripture? Answer — America! We see this repeated time and again throughout scripture.
3 — Who or what is the man in readiness? Answer — It is Azazel himself. The text could very well read, “And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness as an able man who is in readiness.”
Strong’s Hebrew: 3027. יָד (yad) — hand, hands, throughzzz
4 — Why would a guilty party be set free? Answer — Because the guilty party has a commissioned job to do… To be King! But first, the justice…
“As I live, declares the Sovereign YoHeWaH, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. Therefore thus says the Sovereign YoHeWaH: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for THE TREASON he has committed against me, THE SOVEREIGN YOHEWAH. And all the pick of his troops (Christian America) shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that I am YoHeWaH; I have spoken.” Ezekiel 17:16–20
Moses continues in Leviticus 16:
“Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. And he who lets the goat go to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned up with fire. And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.” Leviticus 16:23–29
Aaron, at this point, plays the role of the resurrected Christ figure to Israel, for the express purpose of bringing to life the man in readiness and preparing the Saints for their role in the governmental equation.
So, let’s very quickly address the command to fast, also known as afflicting our souls.
“And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before YoHeWaH from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as YoHeWaH commanded Moses.” Leviticus 16:29–34
Why the command to fast and to literally do nothing on this day? Answer — Because you play no role whatsoever in the events of this day. Your work is already completed… Unless you are the High Priest. It is a day of NOTHING.
So, to review…
The ten steps of the first half of dealing with sin.
Step 1 — Aaron is instructed to come into The Holy Place with the blood (life) of a bull and a ram (sin offering and a burnt offering).
Step 2 — Aaron is to bathe with water (a typology pointing to baptism)
Step 3 — Aaron is to put on the set-apart garments, which signify righteousness.
Step 4 — Aaron is to take from the congregation of Israel, two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt (freewill) offering.
Step 5 — The bull is presented as an acceptable sacrifice, beginning the instructions from step 1.
Step 6 — Aaron is to set the two goats before the entrance to the tent of meeting, and he is to cast lots over them. One lot to fall for the goat of YoHeWaH (Christ), the sin offering for the people. The other lot to fall for Azazel.
Step 7 — The bull is killed as a sin offering, an atonement for Aaron and his household.
Step 8 — Aaron carries fire from the altar, along with sweet incense, into the holy place and creates a cloud of aroma over the mercy seat.
Step 9 — Then Aaron marks the east side of the mercy seat seven times with the blood of the bull, symbolic of the seven-church eras in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. These are for the creation of the perfected Saint (a priest), via seven lifetimes.
Step 10 — Then Aaron is to kill the goat of YoHeWaH for a sin offering, an atonement for the people (Believers who have repented). Note, this action is not for just anyone within Israel but for only those who have stepped out to be separate. The Woman of Revelation 12.
The above ten steps cleanse the Holy Place and the Tent of Meeting. Now, sin can continue to be dealt with. All the above steps relate to Christ and Him crucified. It is an apt typology of what his ministry in the flesh accomplished.
The second half of dealing with sin is also ten steps.
Step 1 — Aaron steps outside of The Holy Place, still in the inner court of the tent, and marks the altar there seven times with the blood of the bull and the blood of the goat. This is a typology for Christ being our High Priest in the Church Age.
Step 2 — Aaron then presents the live goat (Azazel)
Step 3 — Aaron shall then lay his hands upon the goat and confess the sins of all Israel upon the live goat (Azazel).
Step 4 — Then a man of readiness (Ezekiel, The Son of Man), sends the Azazel goat away into the wilderness (The UNITED STATES / Babylon), for the purpose of conversion and education. See Ezekiel 24:25–27 and 33:21–22
Step 5 — The Live Goat shall bear the iniquity of all Israel, greatly humbling itself. Pride is humbled in a way worthy of repentance.
Step 6 — Then Aaron takes off the holy garments, washing with water, and putting on his old clothes.
Step 7 — Aaron then offers the burnt (freewill) offerings of the Ram for himself and his household, as well as a calf and a lamb for the people’s burnt (freewill) offering to complete the atonement process.
Step 8 — Then the one who let the goat go into the wilderness (the Ezekiel figure) is to wash his clothes and bathe his body, redress, and then he is allowed back into the camp.
Step 9 — An unidentified person is to then take the skin, flesh, and dung of the bull and goat (sin offerings), outside the camp to be burnt fully.
Step 10 — Then that unidentified person is to remove his clothes, wash them, bathe his body, redress, and enter the camp.
Joey Thompson
Joeythompson777@aol.com