Day of Atonement
The High Priest—Type of Christ
As soon as the slain goat was dead, who went within the veil, presenting the blood of this goat before
the typical throne of God?
Leviticus 16:15-16—“Then shall he [the high priest] kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and [now the high priest himself typifying the work of the risen Christ] bring his blood within the vail … and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat: And he shall make an atonement for the holy place.
And so it was the high priest taking blood within the veil, to the mercy seat, that typified the risen Christ figuratively taking His blood, once for all, within the veil to the very throne of God in heaven, there to intercede for us as High Priest.
The high priest going within the veil, into the holy of holies, symbolized Christ’s return to heaven. The work he did while in the holy of holies symbolized Christ’s work these 1,900 years interceding for us, presenting His shed blood before the mercy seat in heaven. Now, coming back out, symbolizing Christ’s return to Earth, what did the high priest do?
“And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him [Fenton: shall carry upon itself] all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. And Aaron shall … wash his flesh with water …. And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat [Azazel] shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp” (verses 20-26).
Is not God a God of justice, as well as of compassion and mercy?Who is the real author of our sins? The devil is the author of them, even as Christ is the author of our salvation. Jesus took our guilt—our blame—our sins—upon Himself as an innocent substitutionary sacrifice.
Is it justice for Christ to bear guilt that is not His, while the devil goes off scot-free? Do you not suppose God’s great plan will finally work full justice by placing that original blame and guilt right where it belongs?
But justice certainly demands that God place right back on the head of the devil his guilt—not our guilt, but his own guilt—for leading us into sin. We were guilty, too—and our guilt Christ bore—yet all our sins belong right back on the devil as his own guilt!
The Azazel goat carries away the sins of all the people already forgiven. These sins already were fully paid for by Christ’s substitute sacrifice, symbolized by the killing of the innocent goat before those same sins were finally laid on the live goat. They had been previously paid for by the death of the slain goat.
The devil is the real author of all sin. Can we, then, be finally made at one with God, as long as this instigator of sin is with us? Can we not see he must first be driven away? And there would not be justice with God unless his own guilt in our sins were placed right back on his head? Is it justice for Christ to bear the devil’s guilt, as well as our own guilt, for our sins?
The driving away of the second live goat shows the final atonement, by placing the sins on their author where they belong, and the complete removal of the sins and their author from the presence of God and His people—and thus the complete deliverance of the people from the power of Satan.
after laying both his hands on the live goat, Azazel, Aaron had to wash and cleanse himself before coming in contact with the people. So, too, the “fit man” also had to wash his clothes and bathe himself after coming in contact with the Azazel goat, before he came into the presence of the people. The symbolism is certainly that of having come in contact with the devil!
Notice, now, this act of putting these already expiated and forgiven sins on the head of this live goat does not take place until after the high priest returns from the holy of holies within the veil—so this typified an act to take place after the Second Coming of Christ to this Earth!
and the high priest returning to place the sins finally upon the head of the live goat represented the return of Christ, who will place the sins He bore on their author, the devil, and who will send him away alive into a desolate uninhabited wilderness—the “bottomless pit,” or abyss, of Revelation 20:3.
In the 19th chapter of Revelation, we have the prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ. At the beginning of the 20th chapter, what is to happen?Exactly what the 16th chapter of Leviticus shows. The devil is sent away—the symbol here used is the “bottomless pit” symbol of an uninhabited desolate wilderness (Revelation 18:2)—and he is sent there by a fit man—an angel from heaven. Now the devil is not killed. He does not die. He is still alive a thousand years later—after the Millennium (Revelation 20:7).
Both goats were “[presented] before the Lord.” Can Satan be presented before the Lord? Job 1:6 and 2:1 say he has presented himself before the Lord. Note, too, Azazel was driven away from the holy of holies, a symbol of God’s presence.
And so the annual Day of Atonement was instituted forever to keep continually before God’s children and His Church the plan of redemption, to occur after the Second Coming of Christ.
And we find this annual holy day recognized in the New Testament. In Acts 27:9, it is recorded that Paul was on his perilous sea voyage to Rome, “when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past ….” See the margin in your Bible. The fast refers to the Day of Atonement—the 10th day of the seventh month.