Leviticus 23:26-31 commands the Israelites to hold an annual event that will atone for the sins of the priesthood and the nation, and give the High Priest access to God for that day. The finer details for the rites are found in Leviticus chapter 16.
Hebrews 4:14-16 describes that Jesus has shown us the true identity of humanity, and that it is now redeemed from its blindness, we can now fully celebrate and embrace our unity on the throne of Grace.
Hebrews 9:14 (Mirror Bible), “How much more effective was the blood of Christ, when he presented His own flawless life through the eternal Spirit before God, in order to purge your conscience from its frustration under the cul-de-sac rituals of the Law. There is no comparison between a guilt and duty-driven, dead religious system, and the vibrancy of living your life free from a sin-consciousness! This is what the new testament priesthood is all about!”
A number of translations use the word Azazel instead of scapegoat (Leviticus 16:8,10,26). Azazel is the Jewish understanding of a vindictive fallen angel, and corresponds to the being we call Satan or the Devil. Therefore, the sending away of the Azazel goat into the wilderness for its destruction is symbolic of mankind’s supposed sins/guilt being recognised as Satan’s Sin, and cast away from mankind into the wilderness of the bottomless pit for its destruction. Thus Jesus is not our scapegoat, but the one who has taken/sent away the Sin of the world (John 1:29), and destroys the works of Satan.
One of the common definitions for ‘atonement’ is: at-one-ment. This is usually understood to mean that our false or sinful natures are purified to be in line with the Holy character of God. However, it should really be a celebration of the state of our being ‘at one’ within the Godhead.
It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word for ‘atonement’ is kaphar, which means ‘covering’. It should be noted that although the Jews see the covering as a protective shield against God’s holiness and wrath, the accurate translation of covering is glory. This then shows that the atonement is the restoration of humanity’s knowledge of their rightful glory in God.
