75.0 Judgement: the Day of Atonement
by Hubert F. Sturges, M.D., www.144000.cc, July 2009
Topics:
Day of Atonement in Israel
Burnt Offerings
Day of Atonement in Type
A Judgment
The Pre-Advent Judgment
An Investigative Judgment
References
The Day of Atonement in Israel
Bible passages describing the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament are:Leviticus 16:2-34
Leviticus 23:27-32
Exodus 30:10; Num 29:7-11; Daniel 10:3,12
Isaiah 58:3, 5-12
From these references we learn about the Old Testament ceremony of the Day of Atonement. This was a type or an illustration of the reality of Jesus Christ and His work for us. Thus the ceremonial law and the sacrifices in particular were to illustrate the covenant, but were not intrinsically a part of the covenant.
It is useful to study this first as a background to studying the actual Day of Atonement, the reality of which is done in our day. What were the elements of the daily sacrificial system?
Burnt OfferingsLeviticus chapter one describes the burnt offerings. Before Sinai, all sacrificial offerings were burnt offerings. Abel offered a burnt offering. Job offered burnt offerings for his children, for "it may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts" (Job 1:5). A burnt offering denoted complete consecration. The death of the animal pointed forward to the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ on Calvary, and by His shed blood our sins are forgiven (Leviticus 17:11).
The animal chosen was a "clean animal" (Leviticus 11) from the flock, a bullock, sheep or goat. It must be a male without blemish to fully represent Christ. The man making the offering brought it to the priest at the door of the tabernacle. There he put his hand on its head, and it was "accepted for him to make an atonement for him" (Leviticus 1:4). He would then kill the animal, skin it, and cut it in pieces.
The priest caught the blood in a vessel and sprinkled it "round about upon the altar" (Leviticus 1:5). The legs and inwards were washed with water, and the priest arranged the parts on the altar and burned them. The animal was entirely consumed on the altar – except for the skin. This was given to the priest (Leviticus 7:8).
As the Bible says, this was "an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord" (Leviticus 1:9). It is a cause for deep gratitude that Jesus should offer Himself on Calvary for our sins. In recognition of this, the believer gives himself, a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). This brings great joy to Jesus Christ, and is "a sweet savour" to Him. The sacrifice has meaning only as the life of the believer is consecrated to Christ and is changed.
Burnt offerings could be offered by themselves, but most commonly were added after a sin or trespass offering.
Burnt offerings were given by individuals for consecration. There were also thank offerings and peace offerings. Possibly the most important burnt offering was offered daily, two lambs of the first year, without spot, one each morning and one each evening. This was an offering of continual consecration for the whole camp. The offering was burnt only by the continual fire provided by God. A person must renew his consecration with God on a daily basis and never take it for granted (Exodus 29:38-42; Leviticus 6:12,13; Numbers 28:3,4). This was the daily spoken of by Daniel (Daniel 8:11-13).
The Day of Atonement in TypeEvery year, the tenth day of the seventh month was appointed as the Day of Atonement. The first ten days of that month were to be days of penitence, intended to bring about a perfect change of heart, and to make Israel like newborn creatures. On the tenth day, God’s condoning mercy was offered to man. It was a day of judgment, for on this day the decree of heaven was sealed. Whoever on that day did not afflict his soul was cut off from Israel (Leviticus 23:29).
The high priest must first prepare himself by washing with water and putting on the holy garments. He must provide a young bullock for himself and for his household; and receive two young goats and a ram from the congregation. The two goats were presented before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle. Lots were cast, and one goat would be for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. The high priest then kills the bullock for a sin offering for himself and collects the blood in a vessel.
Before the blood is administered the high priest is to "take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail" (Leviticus 16:12) There he puts the incense upon the fire he has brought, and the cloud of incense covers "the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not." (Vs 12,13).
The blood is now taken and sprinkled "with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward;" seven times.
The high priest then comes out from the most holy place to the altar of burnt offering and kills the goat of the sin offering. He then re-enters the most holy place and sprinkles the blood of the goat on the mercy seat as before. This is to atone for the most holy place as well as for the tabernacle of the congregation (the holy place) because of the uncleanness of the people.
Coming back out of the most holy place, the high priest then takes the blood of the bullock and of the Lord’s goat and puts it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He sprinkles the blood on the altar with his finger seven times to "cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel" (Leviticus 16:19).
There is just one more ceremony:
21 "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" (Leviticus 16:21, KJV):
It was the blood of all the burnt offerings and the sin offerings that defiled the sanctuary. Sin was not confessed over the heads of either the bullock or the Lord’s goat. Thus the blood of these animals, not now carrying sin, cleanse the sanctuary. The sins are transferred to the head of the scape goat, which is led into the wilderness and forever banished.
Questions are naturally raised and criticisms made of this view. Satan is the scapegoat, and it is he who bears the final responsibility for his own sins and the sins he has caused God’s people to commit. Does this make Satan the one who bears our sins? No! Absolutely not. The sins of God’s people that Satan bears have already been forgiven, paid for by Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary.
Is sin an entity that can be transferred? Or is it only a human condition of man since the fall? This could be discussed at great length, but here is a short answer: Revelation 20:14 speaks about death and hell being cast into the lake of fire. If death and hell are entities that can be destroyed, then is it not reasonable to see sin in the same way. One more thought: How is sin destroyed? How is it banished from the universe forever?
When sin is forgiven and God’s people are cleansed, there is still the record in Heaven. Here sin is blotted out in the Day of Atonement. But, sin still exists in the memories of the sinner, those offended by sin, and those who observe sin and its effects. There are wonderful promises that sin will be completely removed, even from the memories of others. What does the Bible say about this?
Psalm 109:15 Let them (the wicked) be before the LORD ... that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Isaiah 65:17 and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Jeremiah 31:34 for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Jeremiah 50:20 the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found:
Micah 7:19 he will subdue our iniquities; thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea
Hebrews 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
This presentation is necessarily short and incomplete. Hopefully it is enough to give a picture and a background to understand the Day of Atonement in reality. This is a topic of great importance especially as we proceed from the typical to the reality of the Day of Atonement. The Bible passages listed at the beginning of this article should be read in their entirety.
A JudgmentThe first part of this article describes a "Day of Atonement" in the Old Testament sacrificial system. Since this ceremonial law was given to point forward to future realities, especially the coming of the Messiah, what was the meaning of the Day of the Atonement at that time? This question demands an answer as God would not have given a day of atonement in type unless there was a real Day of Atonement to follow.
We will begin by looking at some prophecies. These are quoted at length as every detail is important:
9 "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
10 "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened" (Daniel 7:9-10, KJV).
14 "And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14, KJV).
25 "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
26 "But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
27 "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him" (Daniel 7:25-27, KJV).
The verses above show Daniel’s vision of the great kingdoms of this world. After these great kingdoms had come and gone, the judgment would take place. Books were opened, and the main book was the book of Life, wherein are all the names of people who profess to know God. You ask: Doesn’t God know each person? Yes! Why then does he have books?
God is not haphazard in what He does. He is a God of order ("Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). The judgment is presented in a way that shows exactly what God is doing and that He is merciful and just in how He judges. Judgment is governed by law, and each individual is judged by his works. In the Book of Life (Revelation 20:12), each person is examined to determine if he has put his faith in Christ, in which case, Christ will stand for him.
Who is the judge? John 5:22 states that "the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son." This is further clarified by "He (God) hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:30). Jesus is also our Advocate, Mediator, and Intercessor (1 John 2:1; Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25).
When does this judgment occur? After the 1260 year period of Persecution and before Jesus comes again this judgment will take place. Then the kingdom will be given to Christ and His people (Daniel 7:25-27).
During the 18th and 19th centuries the Reformation churches had lost their first love and became institutionalized and formal. They rested on the studies of their founding father and resisted new light. By 1798 the Papacy was dealt a "death blow" (Revelation 13:3) when the Pope was taken captive to Avignon, France. About this time the physical signs of Matthew 24:29 and Revelation 6:12 occurred:
12 "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind" (Revelation 6:12-13).
These were seen as the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the dark day of 1780, and the falling of the stars in 1833. God had a message for the world pictured as the "Three angels Messages" in Revelation 14:6-12. But who would give it? Men were found in different places: Joseph Wolff carried the message of Christ’s soon coming to the middle east, Africa, Asia, and the United States. Preachers were raised and interests were found in Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, and even in Russia. In Scandinavia God used children when preachers were silenced. Lacunza, a Jesuit priest in South America wrote under the pseudonym of Rabbi Ben Ezra.
But it was in United States where the Advent message took its deepest root. A farmer by the name of William Miller began a study of prophecy in the 1820's. By 1833 he was compelled by the Holy Spirit to begin presenting his message. His findings from Bible study were that Jesus would come some time between spring of 1843 to spring of 1844, When time passed without His appearing, further study revealed that the exact date was actually October 22, 1844.
Again the time passed and Jesus did not come. It was a deep disappointment. The Advent movement broke up into different groups. The experience they had during the proclamation of the message was so real, they could not believe that it was not the Holy Spirit that was leading them.
One group, possibly the smallest, had several unique features. They had men looking for truth, and who would meet and study intensively to find that truth. God revealed to one, Hiram Edson, that the date Miller taught was correct, but that the sanctuary to be cleansed was in heaven, not on earth. It was on that date, October 22, 1844 that the anti-typical Day of Atonement began. About that time God began to give messages to a teen age girl, Ellen Harmon, that would help to guide the church for the next 70 years. Early in their experience, Captain Joseph Bates learned from a Seventh-day Baptist that the Bible taught that the proper day for worship was not Sunday, but Saturday – the Sabbath.
Intensive Bible study continued as the fledgling church sought out a complete system of belief that fit together to make a beautiful picture of the truth as it is in Jesus. The church did not organize until 1863. At that time they adopted the name, "Seventh-day Adventist." A name that presented two principle doctrines in their name.
The Investigative JudgmentThe doctrine of the Investigative Judgment did not come easily. It required time before there was consensus. Several different concepts of the judgment were common: many looked on Jesus’ mediation in Heaven to be "the judgment" and had no concept of there being a second phase of Jesus work where the sanctuary in heaven was "cleansed" (Daniel 8:14). Some felt that all men were "pre-judged" and were saved or lost only as determined in the sovereign will of God (Predestination). Some questioned the concept of any judgment at all, feeling that if a person were "saved" his eternal salvation was assured.
The issue is couched in the concept of the "Great Controversy between Christ and Satan." Satan has accused God of being arbitrary, capricious, and vengeful. In the judgment, God will be shown to be both merciful and just in all His dealings, and especially in how men are saved for His kingdom. Central to this is the council between Father and Son, even before creation of this world, when it was decided to support creation, and if man should sin, that the Lawgiver would give His life and pay the penalty for men’s sins.
This requires that each individual be closely examined to determine if He has chosen Christ, and if by his works he has demonstrated a living faith. (Men are saved by grace through faith, which faith is shown by their works.) The following verses describe judgment by works:
Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father ... "
Matthew 25:31-46 "... Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me... these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
Romans 14:10-12 "... So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."
Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, ..."
1 Corinthians 3:13 "Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, ..."
2 Corinthians 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, ..."
Matthew 16:27 "... and then he shall reward every man according to his works."
Revelation 20:12 "... the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."
Revelation 22:12 "... my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."
1 Peter 1:17 "If ye call on the Father, who ... judgeth according to every man’s work, ..."
These verses need to read in their entirety. From them we will find that:
1. There is a judgment near the end of time, associated with the Second Coming of Christ.
2. Those judged are the professed followers of Christ.
3. The judgment focuses on works, which stands as the evidence of faith.
4. The righteous inherit the kingdom while the wicked go into everlasting punishment.
5. The judgment is conducted before execution of the sentence.
This article is a short presentation of a very important subject. Please find other articles dealing with Christ’s priestly ministration in the Heavenly Sanctuary, and another article to follow dealing with the 144,000. I also strongly recommend that you read the book by Clifford Goldstein for a more complete presentation.
~~~: Atonement. Jewish Encyclopedia. vol. 2, p. 281 (cited in Andreasen, ML: 170).
Andreasen, ML: The Sanctuary Service. Review and Herald Publishing Assoc. 1947
Goldstein, Clifford: Graffiti in the Holy of Holies. Pacific Press Publishing Assoc. Nampa, ID 2003.
