Of Goats and Reconciliation by Ron Saladin
The Day of Atonement, the 5th of the 7 annual Holy Days God spoke in Leviticus 23, points to sacrifice and reconciliation, necessary components for human beings seeking to have a positive relationship with God. There are quite a number of small churches and groups which meet together in honor of this Day of Atonement out of respect for our God who gave it and because of the great significance this day has. Within these groups though, there is a sharp difference of opinion on the meaning of a ceremony God Himself designed for the Day of Atonement. It involves the sin offering described in Leviticus 16.
“And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness” (Leviticus 16: 5-10).
Now granted, this is an ancient ceremony, somewhat mysterious, definitely not casual or easy reading. The theology of atonement is not a shallow subject. Nevertheless, how we each view the symbolism of these two animals, the two goats of the sin offering in this passage, substantially reveals how we view our sin and how we perceive we are reconciled to God.
Most readers of this newsletter are familiar with the controversy. Certain groups, such as the Seventh Day Adventists and many offshoots of the Worldwide Church of God, see the first goat as representing Christ and the second goat as representing Satan. Others, of which I am one, see a twofold work of Christ being described here. Both of the animals are a sin offering representing Christ.
Let’s take a look at the first view.
As far as I know, everyone agrees the first goat represents the sacrifice of Jesus. The killing of the sacrifice and the sprinkling of its blood to make atonement (Lev. 16: 7-8) is clearly representative of Christ. The controversy occurs with the second goat. After the two goats are presented before the LORD, Aaron cast lots upon the two goats, “one for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.”(v. 7-8). The KJV uses scapegoat for the Hebrew Azazel; other translations, like the RSV, use Azazel. This is where a lot of confusion enters. The Hebrew meaning of Azazel is not clear. From root words of Azazel comes “goat of departure”. Or, Azaz can be strength, El is God, or strength of God, or it can have the implication of arrogant strength in opposition to God. To make matters worse, Azazel is the name of one of the fallen angels found in the apocrypha Book of Enoch. Thus, some understand the second goat to represent Satan standing in opposition to Christ. The following scriptures are then linked concerning this view of the second goat:
Leviticus 16:20-22: “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 all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.”
Revelation 20:1-3: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
Here’s the general interpretation presented by this first view. This Azazel goat represents Satan, bearing the responsibility for the sins of mankind because he is the originator of sin and has deceived humanity. As the “god of this world”, the Devil is responsible for his evil in causing people to sin. The goat bearing the sins is sent out, symbolizing the total removal of sins from the people and transferring them to Satan. Therefore, Satan is held responsible for his rebellion against God and leading mankind into sin. The “fit man” is then linked to the angel in Revelation, coming down from heaven and binding Satan for a thousand years. The goat is released in an uninhabited land, the wilderness. Satan is cast into a bottomless pit, shut up with a seal, so that he should deceive the nations no more for a thousand years. Therefore, the Day of Atonement is presented as the binding of Satan, no more deception from him for a millennium, the earth becoming at one with God.
That all sounds like a fit; it flows in a sequential kind of logic. However, there is a substantial problem with it, to say the least.
Do you have a box or drawer you keep miscellaneous nuts and bolts in? I do, whenever I need to do some repair and the bolt is broken or lost, I go to my assortment and rummage around until I find what I think will work. You may have done this: you pick up a bolt and nut which look appropriate, start the nut on the bolt and think you have what you need. But as you continue to rotate the nut on the threads, it becomes apparent the threads are different; it’s not a good fit after all. This first view just described is a bit like that. It seems to fit until you go further along in putting it together. Then things start to bind.
The Book of Enoch uses the name Azazel as one of the fallen angels. Enoch contains much on demonology which, because of the language used, is dated around 200 B.C. The Book of Enoch is no guide to interpreting Leviticus, which was written well over a thousand years before.
Leviticus 16: 5 identifies the two kids of the goats as a (one) sin offering, not two different offerings. A sin offering had to be a male without blemish (Lev. 4: 23-24). To think of Satan as without blemish, qualified to be a sin offering, is mind boggling.
Another place where the nut binds on the bolt is in the removal of the second goat compared to Satan. The goat bound for the wilderness is probably led with a rope or driven ahead of the “fit man”. When far enough away to not return, it is “let go” in the wilderness. That’s not the imagery presented in Rev. 20: 1-3 concerning Satan. That sounds like a violent confrontation: the angel has the key to a bottomless pit and a great chain; he lays hold on Satan, binds him and throws him into the pit, shuts him up with a seal preventing him from getting out for a thousand years. Unlike the goat which was not meant to return if the “fit man” did his job well, Satan is back after a thousand years for another revolt against God.
There are many points and counterpoints to this issue, but in a sense, these are all peripheral to the central key problem, the point where the nut simply won’t go any further on the bolt, to use my analogy. The blood of the first goat provided cleansing and demonstrated the deadly nature and consequence of sin. The second goat was the sinbearer, demonstrating the restoral of righteousness in the visual taking away of the sins of the people of God. Whom has taken away your sins? I hope nobody answers “Satan”. It is in Jesus we have both.
Notice the repetition of “all” in Leviticus 16: 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:” No such transference was made with the first goat.
Satan does have much responsibility for the sins of mankind. He is the originator of sin and brought the idea to Adam and Eve to rebel against God. But Satan did not force them to sin. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:14 that Adam was not deceived. And Satan does not force you and me to sin. The comedian Flip Wilson was known for his routine “The Devil made me do it”. He was ridiculing the tendency of some religious people to blame their own weaknesses on Satan. If someone comes to you with an illegal scheme and you choose to participate in it and are caught, can you put all the blame on the one who thought it up and presented it to you? He may have the greater sin, but your participation is on your own head.
There are only two that can be sin bearers. Either we will bear the consequences of our sins and die, or our sins will be borne by an acceptable-to-God substitute in our place.
Isaiah 53: 3-6: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
The iniquity of all the people of God was placed on Jesus Christ. Satan cannot be a sinbearer for us. He will bear his judgment, but not ours. Satan will be bound when Jesus Christ returns, but the Day of Atonement is not about Satan. It is about Jesus and His work, as all the Holy Days of God are; reconciliation of God and man.
The Day of Atonement, the 5th of the 7 annual Holy Days God spoke in Leviticus 23, points to sacrifice and reconciliation, necessary components for human beings seeking to have a positive relationship with God. There are quite a number of small churches and groups which meet together in honor of this Day of Atonement out of respect for our God who gave it and because of the great significance this day has. Within these groups though, there is a sharp difference of opinion on the meaning of a ceremony God Himself designed for the Day of Atonement. It involves the sin offering described in Leviticus 16.
“And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness” (Leviticus 16: 5-10).
Now granted, this is an ancient ceremony, somewhat mysterious, definitely not casual or easy reading. The theology of atonement is not a shallow subject. Nevertheless, how we each view the symbolism of these two animals, the two goats of the sin offering in this passage, substantially reveals how we view our sin and how we perceive we are reconciled to God.
Most readers of this newsletter are familiar with the controversy. Certain groups, such as the Seventh Day Adventists and many offshoots of the Worldwide Church of God, see the first goat as representing Christ and the second goat as representing Satan. Others, of which I am one, see a twofold work of Christ being described here. Both of the animals are a sin offering representing Christ.
Let’s take a look at the first view.
As far as I know, everyone agrees the first goat represents the sacrifice of Jesus. The killing of the sacrifice and the sprinkling of its blood to make atonement (Lev. 16: 7-8) is clearly representative of Christ. The controversy occurs with the second goat. After the two goats are presented before the LORD, Aaron cast lots upon the two goats, “one for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.”(v. 7-8). The KJV uses scapegoat for the Hebrew Azazel; other translations, like the RSV, use Azazel. This is where a lot of confusion enters. The Hebrew meaning of Azazel is not clear. From root words of Azazel comes “goat of departure”. Or, Azaz can be strength, El is God, or strength of God, or it can have the implication of arrogant strength in opposition to God. To make matters worse, Azazel is the name of one of the fallen angels found in the apocrypha Book of Enoch. Thus, some understand the second goat to represent Satan standing in opposition to Christ. The following scriptures are then linked concerning this view of the second goat:
Leviticus 16:20-22: “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 all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.”
Revelation 20:1-3: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
Here’s the general interpretation presented by this first view. This Azazel goat represents Satan, bearing the responsibility for the sins of mankind because he is the originator of sin and has deceived humanity. As the “god of this world”, the Devil is responsible for his evil in causing people to sin. The goat bearing the sins is sent out, symbolizing the total removal of sins from the people and transferring them to Satan. Therefore, Satan is held responsible for his rebellion against God and leading mankind into sin. The “fit man” is then linked to the angel in Revelation, coming down from heaven and binding Satan for a thousand years. The goat is released in an uninhabited land, the wilderness. Satan is cast into a bottomless pit, shut up with a seal, so that he should deceive the nations no more for a thousand years. Therefore, the Day of Atonement is presented as the binding of Satan, no more deception from him for a millennium, the earth becoming at one with God.
That all sounds like a fit; it flows in a sequential kind of logic. However, there is a substantial problem with it, to say the least.
Do you have a box or drawer you keep miscellaneous nuts and bolts in? I do, whenever I need to do some repair and the bolt is broken or lost, I go to my assortment and rummage around until I find what I think will work. You may have done this: you pick up a bolt and nut which look appropriate, start the nut on the bolt and think you have what you need. But as you continue to rotate the nut on the threads, it becomes apparent the threads are different; it’s not a good fit after all. This first view just described is a bit like that. It seems to fit until you go further along in putting it together. Then things start to bind.
The Book of Enoch uses the name Azazel as one of the fallen angels. Enoch contains much on demonology which, because of the language used, is dated around 200 B.C. The Book of Enoch is no guide to interpreting Leviticus, which was written well over a thousand years before.
Leviticus 16: 5 identifies the two kids of the goats as a (one) sin offering, not two different offerings. A sin offering had to be a male without blemish (Lev. 4: 23-24). To think of Satan as without blemish, qualified to be a sin offering, is mind boggling.
Another place where the nut binds on the bolt is in the removal of the second goat compared to Satan. The goat bound for the wilderness is probably led with a rope or driven ahead of the “fit man”. When far enough away to not return, it is “let go” in the wilderness. That’s not the imagery presented in Rev. 20: 1-3 concerning Satan. That sounds like a violent confrontation: the angel has the key to a bottomless pit and a great chain; he lays hold on Satan, binds him and throws him into the pit, shuts him up with a seal preventing him from getting out for a thousand years. Unlike the goat which was not meant to return if the “fit man” did his job well, Satan is back after a thousand years for another revolt against God.
There are many points and counterpoints to this issue, but in a sense, these are all peripheral to the central key problem, the point where the nut simply won’t go any further on the bolt, to use my analogy. The blood of the first goat provided cleansing and demonstrated the deadly nature and consequence of sin. The second goat was the sinbearer, demonstrating the restoral of righteousness in the visual taking away of the sins of the people of God. Whom has taken away your sins? I hope nobody answers “Satan”. It is in Jesus we have both.
Notice the repetition of “all” in Leviticus 16: 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:” No such transference was made with the first goat.
Satan does have much responsibility for the sins of mankind. He is the originator of sin and brought the idea to Adam and Eve to rebel against God. But Satan did not force them to sin. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:14 that Adam was not deceived. And Satan does not force you and me to sin. The comedian Flip Wilson was known for his routine “The Devil made me do it”. He was ridiculing the tendency of some religious people to blame their own weaknesses on Satan. If someone comes to you with an illegal scheme and you choose to participate in it and are caught, can you put all the blame on the one who thought it up and presented it to you? He may have the greater sin, but your participation is on your own head.
There are only two that can be sin bearers. Either we will bear the consequences of our sins and die, or our sins will be borne by an acceptable-to-God substitute in our place.
Isaiah 53: 3-6: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
The iniquity of all the people of God was placed on Jesus Christ. Satan cannot be a sinbearer for us. He will bear his judgment, but not ours. Satan will be bound when Jesus Christ returns, but the Day of Atonement is not about Satan. It is about Jesus and His work, as all the Holy Days of God are; reconciliation of God and man.
