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Monday 18 October 2010

Significance Of The Scapegoat On Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Revised

Please note (for the reasons given below) I have had to revise the article
The Significance Of The Scapegoat On Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
I have now transfered it here (as a new article) and deleted the original article.

The whole section following the heading "An Explanation Before I Continue" is where you will find the difference compared to the original article. Everything (before that section) is exactly as it appeared beforehand. Anyway, this is the revised article.

This  Revised Article
I was asked to explain the significance of the scapegoat and to explain it in a way that youngsters would understand.   In the process of putting my answer together I came across some amazing historical information.

I will first show the answer I gave, then (at the bottom) give you all this amazing historical information from the Jewish Talmud which re-emphasises that Jesus IS the Messiah and completely satisfies God's requirements for our salvation. This was my answer:
The scapegoat is recorded in Leviticus 16. I will highlight just the relevant references within this chapter 16 to the two goats, so that it reads continuously. This should make it easier for youngsters to read.

Verse 5  “From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering”

Verses 7-10  “Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (the Tabernacle). He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat.  Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering.  But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.”

Verses 15-16   “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain ……. He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it.   In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been”

Verses  21-22   “He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat (the scapegoat) and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task.  The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.”

Verse  27   “the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up.”

Verse  30   “on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins”
(note: in brackets were my addition to aid understanding)

Summarising these verses:
In the Book of Leviticus chapter 16, God instructed Moses and Aaron to select two goats every year for an offering.

Part 1. One was to be used as a sin offering to  atone (i.e, be a satisfactory and worthy payment to heal the damage of sinfulness)  for the sins and transgressions of the people. Once killed, it’s blood was to be sprinkled on God’s mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. There God would view the blood of the sin offering and have Mercy on the people and forgive their sins. But having sins paid for was not enough until the sins had been confessed.

Part 2  The high priest would then lay hands on the second goat which was allowed to live, and he would confess the sins of the people putting them on the head of the goat. The goat would then bear the blame for all the wrongdoings and shameful acts in disobedience to God of the people. The goat would then be set free into the wilderness, where God would remember their sins no more. The goat became known as the scapegoat.

The significance of the scapegoat was that this second goat took the full brunt of  all sins confessed upon its own head. Confession followed after sacrifice.

Jesus fulfilled both goats. Part 1, He was sacrificed and His blood was poured out to pay the penalty of our sins.  Part 2, as Jesus was dying on the cross, our sins were also placed upon Jesus.

In the same way that the scapegoat was chased into the wilderness taking the sins away with it, so Jesus suffered the wrath of God and desertion by the Father because the Father placed our sins upon Jesus. As the scapegoat would have died in the wilderness taking the sins of the people with it, so Jesus also took our sins with Him to the Tomb.

Incidentally, here is some interesting information from Jewish history which shows how the death of Jesus fulfilled the 2 goats. However, as it does not come direct from the Bible we need to hold it with some reservation, but it is a historical record within the Jewish Talmud (Jewish Bible Commentary).

The  miracle of the red cloth
This concerns the crimson strip or cloth tied to the Scapegoat. A portion of this red cloth was also removed from the goat and tied to the Temple door. Each year the red cloth on the Temple door turned white as if to signify the atonement of another Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) was acceptable to the Lord. This annual event happened until 30 AD when the cloth no longer turned white for the next 40 years to the time of the Temple's destruction in AD70.

This undoubtedly caused much stir and consternation among the Jews. This traditional practice is linked to Israel confessing its sins and ceremonially placing this nation's sin upon the scapegoat. The sin was then removed by this goat's death. Sin was represented by the red color of the cloth (the color of blood). But the cloth remained crimson that is, Israel's sins were not being pardoned anymore by being "made white."
As God told Israel through Isaiah the prophet:

''Come, let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet [crimson], they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as [white] wool'' (Isaiah 1:18).

The clear indication is that the whole community had lost the Lord's attention in relation to something that occurred in 30 AD. The yearly atonement achieved through the typical Yom Kippur observance was not being realized as expected. Atonement apparently was to be gained in some other way. Who or what would provide the atonement for another year?

What did the Jewish nation do in 30 AD  to merit such a change at Yom Kippur? By some accounts, on April 5, 30 AD  (i.e., on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Passover sacrifice) the Messiah, Yeshua, was cut off from Israel, himself put to death as a sacrifice for sin.

To this event there is a transference of the atonement now no longer achieved through the two goats as offered at Yom Kippur. Like an innocent Passover lamb, the Messiah was put to death though no fault was found in Him! But unlike Temple sacrifices or the Yom Kippur events (as detailed above) where sin is only covered over for a time, the Messianic sacrifice comes with the promise of forgiveness of sins through grace given by God to those who accept a personal relationship with Messiah. This is essentially a one time event for each person's lifetime and not a continual series of annual observances and animal sacrifices. The mechanism providing forgiveness of sin changed in 30 AD.



An Explanation Before I Continue
I found some amazing information from a certain webpage, but  I can only copy an excerpt of that content as I have just discovered it is copyright protected, but you can read the full content here: http://www.windowview.org/hmny/pgs/talmuds.30ce.html

Please note that although this specific material is excellent, I cannot endorse this person’s whole site because there are some strange and confusing material on it, which I find hard to accept the author’s reasoning, so I advise you to not  read any of the confusing stuff or read it cautiously, weighing it up with the Bible. There are some other good articles too.

I CAN recommend this webpage, though. As an introduction I will just copy the introduction which I will call “Miracles In The Temple Since AD30”

Miracles In The Temple Since AD30 

”In the centuries following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70 AD), the Jewish people began writing two versions of Jewish thought, religious history and commentary. One was written in Palestine and became known as the Jerusalem Talmud. The other was written in Babylon and was known as the Babylonian Talmud.

We read in the Jerusalem Talmud:

"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open" (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157). [the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD]

A similar passage in the Babylonian Talmud states:

"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves" (Soncino version, Yoma 39b).”

Please now go to  http://www.windowview.org/hmny/pgs/talmuds.30ce.html
For the full contents of these stories and its implications and conclusions to these miracles which cover:

1) Miracle Of The Lots
2) Miracle Of The Red Strip (red Cloth)
3) Miracle Of The Temple Doors
4) Miracle Of The Temple Menorah (or the lights)

9 comments:

Tony Cox said...

Oct 22, 2010
Hi John

Another great article. Pieces like this and your other recent one have special meaning for me - as you know I have mentioned that I work with several Israelis - but I also work along side many more Israelis who are vendors at a local mall. Many of these people have become my friends - and you never know - articles such as these may just "plant a seed" in them and quite possibly help them find the truth in the future. At least that is what I am hoping and praying for. Keep up the great work!

Unknown said...

Oct 22, 2010
Thanks Tony

Bless you

Michael Gormley said...

Nov 14, 2010
THE PASSOVER SACRIFICE

Jesus said two things on the cross: “I thirst,” & “It is finished.”

When Jesus said, “I thirst,” he was given wine. “A bowl of sour wine stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth.” (John 19:29)

After drinking from the fruit of the vine, he said, “It is finished.”

WHAT IS FINISHED?

The Passover sacrifice is finished. Jesus drank from the fourth & final cup of the Passover, the Cup of Consummation, and in His drinking, the Passover is finished.

The lamb has been slain. The sacrifice has been consummated.

Jesus is the Passover lamb. He is the Passover sacrifice. He is the perfect, spotless unblemished, lamb, no bones are broken.

He is the ultimate sacrifice for sin. His blood, the blood of the Lamb of God, is the blood of the New Covenant, reconciling man to God. The gates of heaven are reopened. Eternal life is now available for all!

Undoing the sin of Adam. Jesus willingly suffered & died, laying down his life for his bride, the Church. Adam, fearing death, refused to lay down his life for his bride.

Jesus undid in the Garden of Gethsemane, what Adam did in the Garden of Eden. His blood is the blood of the new covenant. He fulfills the promises of Isaiah’s suffering servant, the servant king messiah.

In the Eucharist we “zecher”, or make present, the Passover sacrifice of Jesus at the Mass. We re-present Jesus as the Sacrifice, this time in an unbloody manner.

The law of Moses prescribed that the Passover lamb must be consumed in its entirety. We, too, at our sacrifice, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, must consume the Lamb.

Jesus, God made man, comes to us body, blood, soul & divinity, in the Eucharist, giving us the grace we need to pick up our cross & follow in Him. Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us!

Unknown said...

Nov 14, 2010
Hi Michael Gormley

Please refer to my article

http://watchmanforjesus.blogspot.com/2010/03/why-catholic-church-is-not-christian.html

I would like any of this sort of discussion, to take place there, rather than here. Reason, to keep this type of topic in just one place, ie discussion re Catholic traditions.

So I will give a quick answer here and then open that article there.

However (to avoid being swamped with too many replies) I will only publish from those who have something constructive to say, in support of what the Bible teaches, as opposed to the traditions or writings of mere men.

Michael, that is not to say that I have anything against what you have written because I can see that you are trying to be constructive. Indeed I would say that you have almost "got it" apart from just one point but it is ENORMOUS.

In answer to your question I will simply say that the New Testament teaches that Jesus died ONCE. The sacrifice did not need to be repeated.

Here are 2 examples (of many) that illustrate that the sacrifice of Jesus did not need to be repeated

Romans 6:9-10
"For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin ONCE for all"

See Hebrews 6:6
".....and who have fallen[c] away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."

That final passage is referring to the sacrificial system. Some believers were falling away from grace (a once and for all time acceptance of Jesus as the Saviour and sufficient to save us from our sins by what HE has done) and returning to works and to sacrifices. The writer is saying that there is no remaining sacrifice required because the sacrifice of Jesus lasts for eternity. He does not keep on being sacrificed through transubstantiation.

We do not need Jesus to keep on entering us through the eucharist because He already lives in us permanently through His Holy Spirit, the moment we first receive Him as our Saviour.

Expected Imminently said...

Nov 19, 2010
The RC tradition is based upon allegory. It is so far from the facts, while trying to use the same words, it causes a mass of spaghetti like twists and turns. Unwinding it involves snipping at 'top growth' when the problem is the root which is that The New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 is NOT MADE WITH THE CHURCH.

It is made with ISRAEL. RC's use of allegory via Origen and Augustine totally ignores the literal, normal interpretation of God's Word.

Israel is NOT the Church, and The Church is NOT Israel. They are distinct entities, each with a specific plan and purpose designed by The Lord. Jesus will drink the fruit of the vine, the last cup, AFTER the Time of Jacob's Trouble when Israel repents and asks Jesus back as their Messiah.

This is when the physical rule of Israel begins at the start of the Messianic Kingdom of the literal,1000 years on planet earth.

Sue

Unknown said...

Nov 19, 2010
I have now written an article 19th Nov 2010 which I believe fully answers the question specifically, which was raised by Michael.

It can be found in:

http://watchmanforjesus.blogspot.com/2010/11/when-did-jesus-drink-fourth-and-final.html

The answer can also be found within the comments of

http://watchmanforjesus.blogspot.com/2010/03/why-catholic-church-is-not-christian.html

Expected Imminently said...

Nov 19, 2010
I am sending replies to MG's comments.

The New Covenant NOT being made with the Church. It is for Israel, we are benefitting from the spiritual blessing. RC is trying to make the Kingdom on the earth same as Kingdom Now and Dominion Theology. They are all claiming the New Covenant Jeremiah 31 for the church.

Passover is Jewish, to the Jew first. Israel is the WIFE of Jehovah presently divorced to be ‘re-married’ to God at the start of the 1000 year rule of Christ at the end of the 7 year Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, and God’s judgment upon the Gentile nations and Israel IN ORDER TO BRING ISRAEL TO REPENTANCE.

He will not return until Israel realises Jesus was indeed their promised Messiah and call upon him to save them from destruction.

This is when the New Covenant will be fulfilled when repentant, believing, physical Jews who survive the Tribulation will begin the physical Kingdom of God . Until that time, there is a spiritual kingdom of Jew and Gentile called ‘the Church’ because Israel rejected their Messiah FOR NOW.

When the fullness of the Gentiles are come in, meaning the completion of the Church that includes Gentiles. This fullness results in the removal of the invisible Church from earth to heaven.

After this event the long Gentile rule of the earth will be in its final stage run by the man of sin, son of perdition, antichrist, the final Gentile ruler when destroyed will complete the TIMES of the Gentiles.

Expected Imminently said...

Nov 19, 2010 Cont
MG said:
The Passover sacrifice is finished. Jesus drank from the fourth & final cup of the Passover, the Cup of Consummation, and in His drinking, the Passover is finished.

My reply:
It is the final cup that Jesus said He will drink with us all later. AFTER the Tribulation with physical Israel as the wife of Jehovah.

MG said:
He is the ultimate sacrifice for sin. His blood, the blood of the Lamb of God, is the blood of the New Covenant, reconciling man to God. The gates of heaven are reopened. Eternal life is now available for all!

My reply
Only available for ALL who will have faith In Christ. The New Covenant is NOT fulfilled in the Church. It is made with Israel , not the Church.

MG said:
Undoing the sin of Adam. Jesus willingly suffered & died, laying down his life for his bride, the Church.

My reply:
Jesus gave His Life for the sins of the whole world

MG said:
Adam, fearing death, refused to lay down his life for his bride.

My reply:
Adam DID lay down his life for Eve; he chose spiritual death to keep Eve alive physically. God could have made Adam a new wife, but in dying he died a Hebrewism meaning by dying spiritually, at a later date he grew old and died physically.

Those who believe are called The Church, a ‘spiritual body’ Jew and Gentile.

MG said:
Jesus undid in the Garden of Gethsemane , what Adam did in the Garden of Eden. His blood is the blood of the new covenant. He fulfills the promises of Isaiah’s suffering servant, the servant king messiah.

My reply:
The agony Jesus suffered in Gethsemane was because in His coming sacrifice, He was to experience separation from His Father.

MG said:
In the Eucharist we “zecher”, or make present, the Passover sacrifice of Jesus at the Mass. We re-present Jesus as the Sacrifice, this time in an unbloody manner.

My reply:
Rome thinks it has replaced Israel here? No Scripture support for this theory, it is Papist tradition twisting Scripture.

MG said:
The law of Moses prescribed that the Passover lamb must be consumed in its entirety. We, too, at our sacrifice, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, must consume the Lamb.

My reply:
That was to Israel at the time of the Exodus this is heavily into allegory.

(John Chingford's added comment:
We consume the lamb when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul said "it is no longer I that live but Christ who lives in me" (ie Jesus within us by the Holy Spirit - not by eating bread)

MG said:
Jesus, God made man, comes to us body, blood, soul & divinity, in the Eucharist, giving us the grace we need to pick up our cross & follow in Him. Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us!

My reply:
The ‘eucharist’ is a man made tradition not in the Bible, we HAVE the Grace of God when we BELIEVE unto Salvation – Grace is a free gift from God, the eucharist is works based. Frightfully close but distinctly counterfeit. Its like trying to make sense out of a fairy tale.

Dr Peterson said...

A blessing to all who read this web page. I am dr. Peterson the Director of WindowView.org.

John Chingford's precautionary statement about WindowView is really only based on a first impression and not a deeper look at the site itself.

WindowView is a multifaceted Jewish and Gentile based Messianic apologetic site. It is therefore by definition both Christian and a Messianic Jewish centered place.

That we include topics on science and change may have initially confused this blog's host.

I invite all to visit windowview.org and assess for themselves. I think you'll be pleased by what you find! Director, WindowView.o