Day of ATONEMENT and HUMILITY

Greetings Brethren, Friends, and Co-Workers in Christ throughout the world, including in Madrid, Spain; Nairobi, Kenya; and Houma, Louisiana, USA! Here we are again, in the glorious season of the Day of Atonement that begins the evening of the 1st of October until the evening of the 2nd. And again, splinter groups, or even wannabe splinter groups of the defunct Worldwide Church of God, continue to perpetuate that the Azazel goat ── and they just go over and over every year – “The Azazel goat! The Azazel goat!” has something to do with Satan the Devil! Now, it is a popular yarn they spin, but how does it help us? But when you get into James chapter 4, and 1st Peter chapter 5, and you begin to dig out these messages and thinking about them, all of a sudden, THAT’S THE TRUE MEANING OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT!

Our beloved Apostle Peter was inspired by God’s Spirit to write –

“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in FEAR [reverent fear and RESPECT], 18) knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received BY TRADITION FROM YOUR FATHERS. 

Verse 19 – “but WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20) He indeed WAS FOREORDAINED before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21) who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” – 1 Peter 1:17-21. 

Sadly, the Jews believe God not! Yet, they SHOULD!

The Azazel Goat

Turning into the Book of Leviticus, chapter 16, we see the goat slain at the Atonement ceremony. Now, one doesn’t have to fully understand Leviticus 16 to have the love of our Savior Jesus Christ to be poured out upon them, or His grace, His Spirit, His glorious promise of eternal life. Yet, a great many churches that are still deeply trenched in the Old Covenant make you think that this is the ultimate crux of the gospel of Christ. It is not! 

“’ 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. 16) So he shall make at◦one◦ment 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. 17) There shall be no man in the tabernacles of meeting when he goes in to make at◦one◦ment in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make at◦one◦ment for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18) And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make at◦one◦ment 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. 19) Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel” – Leviticus 16:15-19.

To this very day, some people have had their religious upbringing in churches which are steeped heavily in the Old Covenant – just what the Apostle Peter stated, “BY TRADITION FROM YOUR FATHERS”! – who continue to try and convey that this slain goat represents Christ Jesus!

Verse 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.”     

Here speaking about a live GOAT, the “scapegoat,” the Azazel goat. Now, a great many ministers continue to believe that this goat represents Satan, the Devil. But, we don’t really know – to be truthful about it! Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. But, in truth, it doesn’t really matter.

Let’s move on down in chapter 16 to verse 29 –

“’ This shall be a statute FOREVER for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you” – vs. 29.

As we’ve pointed out so many times, this is a very poor translation of this verse. The Hebrew phrase – the root of this phrase, which I have underlined above, the meaning of it is “you shall HUMBLE yourself before the LORD your God.” Notice the New American Standard Bible version in the Key Word Hebrew-Greek Study Bible –     

“’ And this shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall HUMBLE your souls, 5315 and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien 1616 who sojourns 1481among you” – Leviticus 16:29, NASB.

Does this mean that we must fast? A great many people say, “Yes!” 

Did you catch just what our beloved Apostle Peter – under the divine inspiration of God’s Spirit – writes? Again – 

“ … you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received BY TRADITION FROM YOUR FATHERS.”

He is speaking of Jewish tradition. Because, if you’re going to be JEWISH, then Jewish tradition says that you must fast. If you’re going to be Jewish, or a Jewish follower, then on the Day of Atonement, you must fast. But you had better also not wear shoes made out of leather, not bathe, don’t wear any cologne or perfume, no lotion, and no sex for you! There is a whole list of things which you cannot do – if you want to be Jewish or a Jewish follower!

In essence, this verse (Leviticus 16:29) highlights for us the significance of REPENTANCE and  RECONCILIATION (Atonement) with Father God, encouraging us to reflect on our transgressions and to seek God's forgiveness in all HUMILITY.

Christ ── Our Atonement

Our Lord Jesus Christ would indeed be our Atonement – it was prophesied – we often read this during the Passover – or the Lord’s Supper – because it’s such a description of what Jesus endured. 

“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2) For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3) He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him” – Isaiah 53:1-3. 

Verse 10 – “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; …”

Now, in the Dead Sea Scrolls, when they discovered the Book of Isaiah, they were marveled that they found this scroll that they thought was a much later date. In those scrolls, this verse is listed. And, a translation by Professor Peter Flint reads, “Yet the LORD was willing to crush him, and he made him …” 1

Verse 11 – “He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many. For He shall bear their iniquities.”

And down in verse 12 – “ … He was numbered with the transgressors, …”

So, here we see a little of God’s plan being unveiled to us through this prophet, who wrote 735 years before the event ever happened. It came to pass!

Our Lord Jesus Christ was the atonement for our sins – 

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [atonement] for our sins” – 1 John 4:10. 

Let us also notice – 

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10) For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11) And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” – Romans 5:6-11.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was the ‘atonement’ for us in the reconciliation to Father God.

Now, if you would turn to 1st Peter, chapter 5. This is a Scripture that had a huge and profound influence on my life. And understanding these concepts has truly helped me to mature in my thinking and to gain much understanding.

Verse 5 – “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with HUMILITY, for ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’” – The Apostle Peter is saying, ‘all of you be submissive to one another.’ It’s a cooperative enterprise. Everyone should be able to sit down at a table and – if their hearts and spirits are right – be able to offer information or suggest a change. 

That’s the meaning of the Day of Atonement - internally speaking! To “be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, …”

Verse 6 – “Therefore HUMBLE yourselves under the mighty hand of God, …”– Humility. 

What does that mean? Does it mean joining a monastery and taking a vow of silence, walking around in a robe, and looking all pious? Is this what God is talking about?

No, humility is not what people can see – humility is what God sees.

Going without food and water for 24 hours and letting everyone know that you are fasting ── is not the humility that the LORD God desires. Again, humility is what God sees. It's becoming submissive to God, His will, and the will of Jesus Christ. FASTING FOR GOD SHOULD BE PRIVATE!

“ … that He may exalt you in due time.” – at the blowing of the SEVENTH TRUMP – at the resurrection of the saints! That’s when you will receive your glory.

Verse 7 – “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” – This verse is so very important to all of us.

Verse 8 – “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” – Satan, the Devil, is real; his demons are real. And, if you let down your guard, and the Spirit of God within you begins to drain – and you do not have that protective covering – Satan and his demons will find ways to mess up your life. And if they can, they will totally take you off the path of salvation. And, it’s happened to people that I know – tragically. And there’s nothing I can do about it, but ask God to have mercy on them.

Verse 9 – “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced [or have happened] by your brotherhood [your church members] in the world. 10) But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while …” – after you have gone through this human life with its ups and downs and sufferings –  He will make you “ … perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”         

Verse 11 – “To Him [Jesus Christ] be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 

Indeed, in the Old Covenant, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would go into the temple and sprinkle blood for the sins of the people. And, he was the only one who was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies – the inner sanctuary of the temple. Now, if you want to continue living under that system with its symbolism, you, the individual, will never have access to God Almighty or Jesus Christ! However, in the New Covenant, ANYONE ANYTIME ANYWHERE has access to Jesus Christ if they will only humble themselves before the mighty throne of God Most High! And seek to change their lives and submit to God!

A Prophetic Meaning

There are some magnificent prophetic meanings of the Day of Atonement that many church leaders have never considered. And I’d be willing to say that probably most do not have a clear understanding of,  prophetically, what the Day of Atonement – the DAY TO HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD – symbolizes. On a personal level, it truly means getting ever-closer to God, repenting, and humbling yourself before God – but on a prophetic level, it is directly linked to the end-time tribulation that will occur! What our Lord Jesus calls the end-time ‘great tribulation.’ – Matthew 24:21-22.

And certainly, the Day of Atonement is a somber day.

But the Day of Atonement is a somber day because it looks forward to a time when on this earth hundreds of millions of people are going to die by the hand of the returning Jesus Christ! It looks forward to a time when we’re told that the blood in and around the streets of Jerusalem will be up to a horse’s bridle – allegorically speaking.

It’s also a day that looks forward to a time where all of the individuals throughout history who had been called by God the Father and Jesus Christ, and had come to a level of knowledge and repentance and had their names written in the Book of Life – at some point their life turned sour, turned bitter, they turned their backs on God – and thereby they have had their names removed from the Book of Life. And sometime in the not-so distant future, on the return of Jesus Christ, those people will be brought back to life again, and then executed in the lake of fire. That’s why it’s a somber day.  

Therefore, let us always HUMBLE OURSELVES before the LORD our God! □

1) Flint, P., Prof., The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls, The Great Isaiah Scroll, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, © 1995-2020.