The Azazel Controversy
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Day of Atonement
Part Two
The Ark and the Mercy Seat
The Azazel Controversy
Transcribed From Video
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In this is love, not that we loved YHWH, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the atonement for our sins. (1Jn 4:10 HRB)
Welcome to the Day of Atonement all of you afflicted ones. We started the series by looking at the background, the Levitical instructions and some of the characteristics of this day. We are following the Agenda and will dig a little deeper into Leviticus 16 and examine it in some amount of detail.
In Part Two we will look at the components that are talked about in Leviticus 16, and examine the Ark of the Covenant itself and the Mercy Seat. We will start the dialogue on the Azazel controversy toward the end of this study and will continue it in Part Three.
As a way of getting started, I want to talk about what happened at Mount Sinai. We know that when the Israelites left Egypt they came to Mt Sinai and were there circumstantially it seems.
The Day of Shavuot was the first main event and was very likely when the Ten Commandments were given. When the mountain quaked and the smoke was rising, the people said “Don’t speak to us so loud, let Moses speak to us”.
There was a timeline that is evident by going through the scriptures that they were there about eleven months. That would have started effectively what would have been the third month of the year, so they went through nearly one full yearly cycle there.
A whole series of events happened as you can see the detailed timeline that follows.
There were two versions of the original Covenant given at Mt. Sinai. The first was given in Exodus 24 verse 8 but that version didn’t last long. Moses went up the mountain to get the hard copy stones of the Ten Commandments and while he was there the Israelites were busy down below building a golden calf and falling back into the idyllic practices of Egypt. The first stones were broken, a second covenant was established, and there were two forty day periods of time that went by during all of these activities.
The events that I want to focus on this time have to do with the Book of Leviticus itself. Now when we read the Book of Leviticus, particularly this section that we will go into this time in Leviticus 16, it may not be intuitively obvious to us that that really happened at Mt Sinai at the eleven month stay. When you look into the details it happened the last month of the time that they were there.
The Tabernacle itself was made operational in the first month of the second year that they were there. We know they started there in the third month of the first year and the first month of the second year was when the Tabernacle was made operational and the Levitical system was developed. We know that was at Mt Sinai because if you look in Leviticus Chapter 27:34 it says they were at Mt Sinai. We also know that the Book of Numbers, at least up until Numbers Chapter 10 was at Mt Sinai.
The point I’m trying to make is that the Book of Leviticus, particularly these instructions were given to Moses through YHWH at the end of the stay at Mt Sinai. Keep that as a reference point as we start to examine these scriptures. Take a look at this unique instruction that we find only in one place and that is in Leviticus Chapter 16. We will go through most of this chapter and there are three parts that we will examine. The first part is the scripture itself in Leviticus 16 and the second part will be looking at some of the highlights that occur in each of these 6 to 8 verse segments. The third thing will be to compare Leviticus 16 with Hebrews. We are going to see that in Hebrews 8 there is a parallel.
And YHWH spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before YHWH, and died; And YHWH said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat H3727=the lid , which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. 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 YHWH at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for YHWH, and the other lot for the scapegoat complete removal – KJ3/BDB. (Lev 16:1-8 KJV)
We will get used to some of the terms such as mercy seat which is really the lid, that’s all it means, there’s nothing special about calling it mercy seat; that is a contrivance of William Tyndale. We know it as the mercy seat when we read the scriptures but it’s really the lid of the Ark. The Ark is the box that the Ten Commandments were put in.
One of the key parts that we will examine is that he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering. Notice it is two goats for a sin offering. Both goats are for the sin offering.
Another Tyndale contrivance is the word “scapegoat” in the original Hebrew. This means complete removal and we see that in several different translations. One in particular that I have used a few times is the KG3 and it means King James Version 3, the literal translation that was done by JP Greene.
First, I want to talk about are the two sons of Aaron that died, and what that was all about. Keep in mind we are at the end of the stay of the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. This could not have happened very much before the account in Leviticus 16 because remember the portable Tabernacle itself wasn’t operational until the beginning of the first month of the second year. When we read this account in Leviticus Chapter 10 it wasn’t very long previous to Leviticus 16. It could not have been, in any case it’s in the last couple of months at the time at Mt. Sinai.
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before YHWH, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from YHWH, and devoured them, and they died before YHWH. (Lev 10:1-2 KJV)
They came before YHWH in the Tabernacle and they offered strange or profane fire. There is a lot of controversy about what the profane fire or incense that they offered was, but it wasn’t per the instructions that YHWH had given them.
Portable Tabernacle
Below is a portable Tabernacle Complex diagram and it’s useful to have your mind’s eye view on what this was about.
This was per the instructions that we read in Exodus Chapters 26 – 28. Moses went up the mountain and YHWH gave him the instructions for this and then along about in Exodus Chapter 35 or so they actually went about and built this.
The Ark of the Covenant was in the Holy of Holies, inside this smaller area that had a curtain on it. That was all that was in there, the altar of incense was just outside the curtain in a place called the Holy Place where the showbread was and the seven branched menorah. Outside of that was actually the tent covering area, and outside of that was a bronze laver that was used for washing, and then there was something called a bronze altar.
When we get to Solomon’s time, all of this changed somewhat. The layout itself is the same but the items themselves were much bigger. The Holy of Holies was the same size and the Ark of the Covenant went inside. One thing to mention about this drawing is that I believe that the evidence points that the Ark of the Covenant was pointing east and west. This drawing shows it going north and south, and I think there are some good reasons for that. For one, the poles are to appear to be pushing out against the curtain for everyone to see. That is a small point but keep this schematic in mind as we read through this account so you know who was going into the Holy of Holies which became only Aaron to go in. It appears that his two sons were going in with profane incense.
A couple of other points that this first section of Leviticus shows us is that the High Priest himself is to be sanctified and cleansed during this procedure and it’s the first thing that happens. The High Priest cleanses himself, then two perfect goats are selected and lots are cast. It’s noteworthy that the Priest doesn’t do the choosing.
YHWH is the one who chooses which goat is to be sacrificed as the blood sacrifice and which is to be turned loose. YHWH is the final arbiter and he makes the functional decision in all of this. We wonder why that is and it is because man isn’t capable of knowing YHWH’s ways and thoughts. He is the final arbiter in our lives as well as this account.
Unique Instructions Figures of the True and the Priests instructions
I have titled the connection we will make “the figures of the true”. When we look at Hebrews Chapter 9 and compare what was going on, it makes a statement that these are figures of the true and we will see that coming up.
When we read through this we are looking forward to what was originally happening in Leviticus 16 as a figure of what truly happens in Hebrews 9. We also see evidence of this in Hebrews 8-10 and see it’s a window of time. Hebrews 9 is where we are going to do this comparison. Each section has a lot of similarities when we compare it back to Leviticus 16.
And YHWH spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before YHWH, and died; And YHWH said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. 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 YHWH at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for YHWH, and the other lot for the scapegoat. (Lev 16:1-8 KJV)
Compare these scriptures to Hebrews Chapter 9.
Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of YHWH. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: (Heb 9:1-7 KJV)
We will come back to this because the idea that the tabernacle was made and there was first a candlestick, a table and showbread which is called the sanctuary, so it says that all these things are in the sanctuary. We will also look at the pot that had manna, Aaron’s rod. It is thought that all of these things are all inside of the Ark. I will show you that they are not.
Once a year they went into the Holy of Holies, the altar of incense, the table of showbread, and the Seven Branched Lampstand. Refer to page 4 to get a good mind’s eye view of what was going on and what this looked like, and then continuing on in the instructions in Leviticus 16.
And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which YHWH’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 YHWH, to make an atonement with upon- NKJV, by it – KJ3 him, and to let him go H7971= send away for a scapegoat a complete removal – KJ3/BDB into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before YHWH, (The altar of incense just outside the Holy of Holies, see diagram) and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before YHWH (In one hand he has the censer and in the other hand he has the incense and he goes inside the vail and he shall put the incense upon the fire before YHWH.) , that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat (This is for the cleansing of Aaron or the High Priest.)
(Lev 16:9-15 KJV)
This word “scapegoat” is translated complete removal and you will see that when we get into the details of looking at the scapegoat section.
We see the terminology of mercy seat used repetitively and as I have said, this is the work of William Tyndale that came up with this terminology. It was actually Martin Luther before in German but Tyndale brought it into English and called it mercy seat. There is not a chair there, if you go out and do an intranet search on mercy seat and look at images, you see all kinds of different versions of what the Ark looked like. I have seen some that actually put a chair there. They have taken this literally but there wasn’t a chair there, at least what I see in the scriptures.
Incense is being offered in the Holy of Holies. It reminds me of the incense that is offered in Revelation Chapter 8, the prayers of the Saints. This is forward looking again, all these early instructions point to Yahushua and look forward to the time that Yahushua would cover our sins.
And I saw the seven angels which stood before YHWH; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before YHWH out of the angel’s hand. (Rev 8:2-4 KJV)
This is happening in heaven and particularly in this point in time, just before the return of Yahushua and the resurrection of the saints. This looks like an early account in Leviticus 16 and the incense that Aaron carried in is type and a forward pointer.
Blood sprinkled on the Mercy Seat points to Yahushua
The first goat is sanctified for the people; there were two goats in this sin offering, not one goat for the sin offering and one for the Azazel. Both goats were for the sin offering, it is very important to see. One of them was sacrificed and one of them was not. Romans 5 show us how this blood is sprinkled on the mercy seat and how it points to Yahushua.
And not only so, but we also joy in YHWH through our Master Yahushua Messiah, by whom we have now received the atonement G2643=exchange, adjustment, reconciliation restoration to divine favor. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed G1677=to reckon, put on account when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure G5179=type, model, pattern of him that was to come which is Yahushua. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift the free gift is not like the offense – CJB . For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of YHWH, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Yahushua Messiah, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift The free gift is not like what resulted from one man’s sinning – CJB : for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Yahushua Messiah). (Rom 5:11-17 KJV)
You have to read this scripture a number of times to get more understanding of the depth and breadth of what it is saying. In fact, it’s worthy if you read from verse 11 to the end of the chapter because there is more packed into it.
The blood being sprinkled on the mercy seat is pointing to Yahushua and Yahushua is the one that covers our sins now. What a remarkable event it was when he gave his life for us, one time.
Figures of the True
Messiah enters the Holy Place
The pointer in Leviticus 16:9-15 we are looking at, is what we see in Hebrews 9 is as follows:
The Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure H3850=parabole=similitude, parable, (It’s something that you look to) for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation G1357=to straighten, rectify. But Messiah being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to YHWH, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohim? (Heb 9:8-14 KJV)
All they could do in Leviticus was to look forward by the physical example of the offerings that were made with blood to the spiritual time that is much more significant and much more comprehensive that we are seeing here in Hebrews 9. All that was going on in Leviticus couldn’t purge the conscience; it could only purge the sin.
Unique Instructions
The words for atonement is oftentimes translated, at least as the verb, shall make, do an atonement, is Kawfar and Kippur is the noun of that. The tabernacle is clean, but they aren’t so the Tabernacle had to have some way to become clean.
And he shall make an atonement H3722=Kawfar=to cover, disannul, forgive, pardon, make reconciliation for the holy place, because of the uncleanness H2932=impurity, filthiness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement H372= Kawfar=to cover, disannul, forgive, pardon, make reconciliation in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement H3722= Kawfar=to cover, disannul, forgive, pardon, make reconciliation for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. And he shall go out unto the altar that is before YHWH, and make an atonement H3722= Kawfar=to cover, disannul, forgive, pardon, make reconciliation for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. 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 H6261=timely (1 match) man into the wilderness:
(Lev 16:16-21 KJV)
The word “fit” is only found here, and only has one match, and it means timely. If you didn’t know anything else about this and hadn’t had any preconditioning of what this second goat is or is not, you would probably conclude that this is pointing to Yahushua. Let me tell you, it is. A lot of people have gotten side tracked on what this second goat is, to something that it is not.
The Holy Place reconciled
The children of Israel, and we are the filthy ones in YHWH’s eyes. The tabernacle needs to be cleansed first of all, because of the sins of all the people including Aaron, and that is part of the purification. The bullock that is used is for Aaron or the high priest and it’s to cleanse the Holy Place, the tabernacle, and the altar. The Holy Place is reconciled with the blood of the goat and bullock, that is what this says, it’s all about the high priest being sanctified.
The second part of this is that once this is done, the high priest is pure and has been cleansed and reconciled, then he is given the opportunity to lay hands on the goat. It is the iniquity of the entire nation that falls on the head of this goat and then he confesses the iniquity of the people and then he sends the goat into the wilderness with a fit man. The goat carries away these sins, the atonement, the blood covers the sins but the goat carries them away.
Figures of the True and A New Mediator
Looking back into Hebrews 9, we will see that the following scriptures are sequential and it’s amazing to see that Hebrews 9 parallels Leviticus 16 so well. Its YHWH’s Spirit that wrote Leviticus 16 and through His Spirit Hebrews 9 was written.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament talking about Yahushua, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, Leviticus 16:16-21 they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which YHWH hath enjoined unto you. (Heb 9:15-20 KJV)
“For a testament is of force after men are dead.” This is strong evidence of what kind of covenant or testament we have in effect today. This is called a divisor will kind of testament. The divisor will is a will something like when we will our property to someone. The will isn’t in effect until the one that put the will together dies. So when the person dies then the will goes into effect. That is what the New Testament is about also. Until Yahushua died that New Testament wasn’t in effect, he was the divisor of the will and the testator. Otherwise this will is of no effect at all while the testator lives.
Here is some strong evidence of what kind of covenant we have and these types of divisor wills have no place in a marriage covenant. A marriage covenant doesn’t have anything like that involved in it.
Of note, this last section that says “For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law,” you won’t find that in the scripture so if you go back and look in the Old Testament you would expect to find it in Exodus, but it isn’t there. There are several problems with this, and I’m not saying it’s a corrupt scripture, but what I believe is that there was an event that was written that we no longer have access to. The writer of Hebrews, probably Paul, because he said he was in chains. If you go to the next chapter, the writer says that he is in chains, so it would appear to me that this section and maybe not the entire book and perhaps not. It’s a controversy so I’m not attached to that, but what I do know is that this section that talks about when he took the blood of calves and a goat and water and scarlet, you don’t find that in any place in the Old Testament scriptures.
A couple of points about it is that when the Israelites got to Mt. Sinai, the account that often is pointed to is Exodus 24: 5-8, but what you see is the young men that sacrificed weren’t Levites because there wasn’t a Levitical system yet. They sacrificed oxen is what it says there, and this says that they sacrificed calves and goats. They also sprinkled the book and all the people, and the account in Exodus 24 says that they sprinkled the altar and the people.
First there wasn’t a tabernacle and secondly the sacrifices that were made and who got sprinkled doesn’t match up if you try to match this to Exodus 24. I suspect that this was written someplace and has been lost, but it isn’t a match and not found in what we know of as the Tanakh today.
Going on in Leviticus 16:
And the goat shall bear H5375=to lift, carry away, forgive, pardon upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering ram – vs 3, and the burnt offering of the people ram – Vs 5, and make an atonement H3722=Kawfar=to cover, disannul, forgive, pardon, make reconciliation for himself, and for the people. And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar. And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat a complete removal – KJ3/BDB shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement H3722=Kawfar=to cover, disannul, forgive, pardon, make reconciliation in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. (Lev 16:22-28 KJV)
Some of the notes about this are about laying hands on the goat, the one that carries the sin away and that goat bears the iniquity. Notice that the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities. Look what Isaiah 53 says:
Surely he hath borne H5375=to lift, carry away, forgive, pardon our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of YHWH, and afflicted. (Isa 53:4 KJV)
It is Yahushua that is being talked about here. It turns out that “borne” is the same Hebrew word as bear. Going on In Isaiah 53 it says:
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare H5375=to lift, carry away, forgive, pardon the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isa 53:12 KJV)
We could probably stop here, this should be enough evidence and proof of what “bear” upon their iniquities unto a land not inhabited and is what this is forward pointing to but we are going to go much deeper into this.
There is a section at the end of this particular set of verses that talks about the cleanup process, and it was those that were the administrators. One of the arguments that I have seen is that, well, if this represents Yahushua they wouldn’t have had to clean themselves up. The reason is that they had to deal with this goat that had all of this sin. They were around all of it and had to burn their clothes because they had become defiled in the process.
There was a burnt offering which was the last act of worship and devotion to YHWH. If you notice this in the order of things as this burnt offering was:
– Ram for the priest
– Ram for the people
– Wash with water
– Burn animal remains
– Burn non-priestly garments
The first offering earlier was a sin offering and the offering now is a burnt offering. Usually they come in an order like that, you have a sin offering first and then a burnt offering, and then you might have a peace offering.
A Better Sacrifice Pointing Forward
Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns G5262=an exhibit for imitation of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Messiah is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true G499=representative, counterpart, model; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of YHWH for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; (Heb 9:21-25 KJV)
The patterns of things are purified, and this word patterns means an exhibit for imitation so the events in Leviticus 16 were forward pointing and an imitation of the patterns of the things in heaven. This is why I called this a comparative section in Hebrews 9, figures of the true. That is what this is about. The original events were figures of the true; they were representative, counterpart and a model in Leviticus 16 of the true pointing forward to Yahushua Messiah.
There are notes of the ministry and it’s noteworthy that there were no vessels when people try to compare this to Exodus chapter 24, there was no tabernacle then. The tabernacle didn’t appear and wasn’t completed and made operational until the first month of the second year. The physical Temple, the original portable Temple and later Solomon’s Temple and then Herod’s Temple after that were models of the heavenly Temple. So when we see the scriptures that talk about the Heavenly Temple, these are all just pointers, they are physical examples of figures of the true that reside in heaven.
There still may be a physical Ark of the Covenant, but that’s a figure of the true and points forward to the heavenly Ark of the Covenant that we find in Revelation. In Revelation 21, eventually the Temple here shows us that:
And I saw no temple therein: for YHWH Elohim Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. (Rev 21:22 KJV)
That is where we ultimately get to; there won’t be a Temple of any kind anymore because the Temple itself is a figure that points to the true, YHWH, and the true Yahushua. Going on to our section in Leviticus 16:
And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement H3722=Kawfar=to cover, disannul, forgive, pardon, make reconciliation for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before YHWH. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. And the priest, whom he Aaron shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement H3722=same, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments looking forward to Yahushua : And he shall make an atonement H3722=same for 1 the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the 2 tabernacle of the congregation, and for the 3 altar, and he shall make an atonement H3722=same for 4 the priests, and for all 5 the people of the congregation. And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement H3722=same for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as YHWH commanded Moses. (Lev 16:29-34 KJV)
This is pretty clear instructions when it says you must afflict your soul, and that means that we aren’t eating or drinking nor are we putting anything in our mouths today. It’s easy, when I get up for the Day of Atonement; I find I have more time. I don’t have to go to the kitchen for my juice or make coffee or do anything to prepare anything to eat. We don’t have any of that going on during the day, and if that is what you do then you will be clean from all your sins. If you aren’t doing that, just keep reading to see what this verse says. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
And the priest, whom he (Aaron, or it could be YHWH anointing Yahushua) shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement (Yahushua made the atonement for us) , and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments (looking forward to Yahushua). If you take this as a standalone scripture, this sounds like it’s pointing to Yahushua, and it is.
And he shall make an atonement for
1 the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the
2 tabernacle of the congregation, and for the
3 altar, and he shall make an atonement for
4 the priests, and for all
5 the people of the congregation.
And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he (Talking about Aaron, but figuratively talking about Yahushua) did as YHWH commanded Moses.
With the original system, Aaron was providing the cover, the disannulling, the forgiving, the pardon and the reconciliation through this process. Yahushua has taken that now and He is our covering.
So the people are now ceremonially cleansed of sin, and it says in Isaiah 1:
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; (Isa 1:16 KJV)
We see the highlighted section “And the priest, whom he Aaron shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate”, this points to the Melchizedek order, the New High Priest (Yahushua) through His Father (YHWH).
We have the same atonement coverings, the sanctuary and the tabernacle are now within us. The altar and the priest and the people, the five atonement coverings all those anticipate Yahushua. In 2 Corinthians 7 it says:
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of YHWH. (2Co 7:1 KJV)
Figures of the True Messiah Carries our sins
And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before YHWH. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as YHWH commanded Moses. (Lev 16:29-34 KJV)
Comparing Leviticus 16:29-34 to Hebrews 9:26-28:
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away G115=cancellation, disannul, set aside, bring to naught sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Messiah was once offered to bear G399=from, take up, bring up, carry up, offer up, from G5342= bear or carry the sins of many ( same as 2nd goat); and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation note 4. (Heb 9:26-28 KJV)
Messiah was once offered to bear the sins of many; you probably see where this goes already. The Greek word, “to bear” is G399 and if you look it up, it says “to take up, to bring up, carry up, to offer up, and it’s from G5342. G5342 is what the goat does. The goat bears the sins of many. Messiah was once offered to bear the sins of many, and note that it’s the same as the second goat.
It’s interesting to see the rest of this: and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. You will note that Yahushua carried the sins away and when he comes back he doesn’t have them anymore. He is not carrying a list back that says, “You know you still have all these things, you repented of these things but I’m still going to bring them back in a list.” No. He carries them away and they are gone.
Yahushua carries our sins away and he returns without them. Do you have ears to hear what I just said? That gets us through Leviticus 16, the detailed analysis for that section.
Ark of the Testimony
Below is a drawing of the Ark that contains the Testimony of YHWH. The Ark contains the Ten Commandments and again, if you search on this subject, you will find a lot of different pictures and models of what this Ark looked like. This is probably a reasonable representation and we will read the details of how it was to be built.
One of the things to have in your mind is the dimensions. The dimensions are a cubit and a half tall and wide, and two and a half cubits long. The point of it is that there are some discrepancy as to what is exactly the length of a cubit but it’s thought to be an arm’s length, from your elbow to the top of your hand. That distance is about 18 inches, some might say 16, and some will go as much as 20. The agreed number is about 18 inches so the dimensions I am giving you of 27 inches high and wide and 45 inches long is probably pretty close to correct.
One thing that I think is incorrect on this particular picture is that the poles, or staves, are specified to be covered in gold but these are not. The other thing that you will find when you look into this is that some people like to put the staves on the narrow ends. The poles would then be on the far ends or the short side rather than on the long side. That is one other alteration that isn’t clear in the scriptures, but how would you carry a box this size and actually with a lot of weight. Because of its design, it had a lot of gold in it.
The Cherubim that sit on top themselves are viewed by some to be much taller with their wings touching. You could make them twice or three times the height. You will see the significance of this area under their wings. That would be where YHWH’s Glory appeared.
Keep all of that in mind when we read through the setup instructions in Exodus chapter 25.
And they shall make an ark H727= a box of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, (inside and out pure gold this had to weigh a lot) and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. (The top of the box would have some type of separate crown on it. Sometimes you see that as an ornate crown and sometimes as a regular flat crown) And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. (These staves always stay with it.) And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy seat (a lid) of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat (the lid). And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat (or the lid) shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the (lid) mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat (or the lid) above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
(Exo 25:10-22 KJV)
We are conditioned to think that this mercy seat is a special lid or top, but it means the lid. They were told to make the cherubim of beaten work, in other words these cherubim started out with a block of gold. Notice here “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee”, and it’s not limited here in Exodus 25, this is the first version of the covenant that he was giving these instructions for, or likely this is what would have gone along and it wasn’t going to be a limitation on how often. What happened after Aaron’s sons blew it; YHWH put a limitation of once a year.
It’s noteworthy that this lid or this mercy seat is the interface between YHWH and Israel through Moses. It’s how YHWH communed with them; it’s where he appeared. Of course this would have been Yahushua that was the one that made all the appearances. An access was changed in Leviticus 16 because of Aaron’s sons. We are going to examine this part of the Ark called the mercy seat and the word mercy seat has a lot of legs to it. To start with, the mercy seat that we see in the scriptures comes from the Hebrew word H3727 and it means the lid. 
We find that this term mercy seat in the Old Testament occurs twenty six times. Actually you see mercy seat occurring twenty five times but there is a scripture in Exodus 37 that calls it “seatward” and if you look at this scripture it’s talking about the mercy seat so I included it to be twenty six times. Eighteen of those occurrences occur in the Book of Exodus and that’s because all of the instructions for its assembly, its dimensions and configuration were given then. Seven of the remainder occurs in Leviticus in this section and they are all in Leviticus 16. We read all of them in the first half of this presentation. There is one occurrence in Numbers and one in Chronicles. You can do a search on this yourself, Wikipedia has a good article on Mercy seat and it’s worthy of looking at. The word itself is kapporeth, it means a lid and is used only as the cover of the mercy seat according to Strongs. It comes from another Hebrew word which is H3722.
I have mentioned this and I don’t want you to forget that it was William Tyndale that introduced this term mercy seat into the English language. Originally Martin Luther spoke it in German as “Gnadenshtul” and that means grace chair. Martin Luther should probably have the credit for thinking of the grace chair. It’s okay, because it gets the idea across but it also has some flaws in it. The term mercy seat itself is a term we have gotten used to in the vernacular of the scriptures but it probably isn’t the best description for what it really represents. It’s good to understand that mercy seat means lid.
We see an example of the mercy seat associated with the Ark found in the account in 1 Samuel. It shows us what the people were thinking at the point in time, the significance and how the Ark was used and how it operated.
And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. (The Israelites got smashed) And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath YHWH smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of YHWH out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of YHWH of hosts, which dwelleth H3427=to sit down, dwell, remain between the cherubims: (They knew that YHWH dwelt there) and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant . And when the ark of the covenant of YHWH came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of YHWH was come into the camp. (1Sa 4:1-6 KJV)
I found this little detail of interest that YHWH dwells between the cherubim and this account in Samuel points that out in an operational sense.
It’s also worthwhile to look up these terms in the dictionary, the dictionary isn’t scripture but it will fundamentally tell you the same thing that the Greek does. The mercy seat was the gold covering on the Ark of the Covenant according to the dictionary. One thing it does say in one of the dictionaries I looked at says that it’s the resting place of YHWH, so this idea of this chair is still there and that probably isn’t appropriate.
The associated word with “kapporeth”, the word for lid, happens to be “Kawfar” that we saw being translated atonement. This lid is the covering of the Ark, but it’s also our covering, or the Israelites covering for sin. It means to cover specifically with bitumen and bitumen means to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel, appease, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge away, put off, make reconciliation. At the root of the lid is reconciliation or purging away. It’s significant.
The Day of Atonement figures into this also because the Day of Atonement or Kippur (H3725) has also at its root the same word kawfar or H3722.
Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement H3725=Kippur: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto YHWH. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement H3725=Kippur, to make an atonement H3722=Kawfar for you before YHWH your Elohim. (Lev 23:27-28 KJV)
These words have relationship one to another and some similarities. You can see now that Martin Luther and Tyndale knew some of the background details of the mercy seat. They knew it was a place of reconciliation or forgiveness and is about mercy. I understand how they would make the conclusion to coin these words and then these words found their way into the Masoretic Text and particularly the King James Version which was the first version to use all of these translations. It was because the King James Version used Tyndale’s translation.
With the Hebrew in mind, there is also the same terminology in the Greek. It only appears in two places so if you look up the word mercy seat in the concordance, there won’t be a space in this version of mercy seat in the Greek.
If you try to match up mercy seat, you won’t find anything but if you look up mercyseat using one word, you will find that it’s the Greek word hil-as-tay-ree-on, and that means an expiratory, an atoning victim, the lid of the Ark, the mercy seat and propitiation, as it’s used in one place in the scripture.
The Greek word hilastayreeon appears in two places in the New Contract. It is also a derivative of the word to another word hil-as-kom-ahee and hilaskomahee has two matches meaning: to conciliate, to atone for sin, be merciful, make reconciliation for, and in fact it has two matches also. Hilaskomahee is found in Luke 18.
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, YHWH be merciful G2433=same to me a sinner.
(Luk 18:13 KJV)
YHWH be merciful to me, make reconciliation, forgive my sins, cover my sins is what merciful means here in Luke. Hilaskeomahee is used here in Hebrews by using the same word.
Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to YHWH, to make reconciliation G2433= same for the sins of the people. (Heb 2:17 KJV)
Even as we delve into the New Testament we find that these words parallel the equivalent to kapporeth in the Old Testament. With that in mind, and if you care to look this up on your own, you will see that there are some other related Greek reverences and they would be G2434, G2643 and G2644. These all have relationship to the two Greek words hilastayreeon and hilaskomahee. These variations have to do with propitiation, reconciliation and changing mutually, changing to be in alignment with YHWH.
Take a look at the core of the matter which was the Greek word hilastayreeon, and the first reference we see is in Romans.
The Lid 1 of 2 matches
(20) Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (That’s how we know if we sin) (21) But now the righteousness of Elohim without the law (We don’t have that system anymore) is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets (That is focusing on Yahushua); (22) Even the righteousness of YHWH which is by faith of Yahushua Messiah unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of Elohim; (24) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption G629=ransom in full that is in Yahushua Messiah: (Yahushua pays the ransom for us and it’s interesting that he pays the ransom for someone that is guilty. Normally a ransom is paid for somebody that’s not guilty. In this case, Yahushua is paying the ransom for somebody that is guilty, and that would be me.) (25) Whom YHWH hath set forth to be a propitiation G2435=hilastayreeon=an atoning victim, the lid of the Ark, mercy seat through faith in his blood, (26) to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of Elohim; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Yahushua. (27) Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. (28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (Rom 3:20-28 KJV)
In each verse is the word to highlight them.
Verse 24 – Ransom = redemption paid in full for a guilty party. How often is the fine paid for the guilty party by someone else that just wants to do a good deed?
Verse 25- Propitiation= New lid – The hilastayreeon, the atoning victim, we have a new lid on the Ark.
Verse 25 – Justified through faith
Verse 28 – By faith – not by the law
The lid 2 of 2 matches
The second match we see is in Hebrews 9.
For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein G1722=position in place, time or state, on, by, among was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat G2435=hilastayreeon=an atoning victim, the lid of the Ark; of which we cannot now speak particularly. (Heb 9:2-5 KJV)
This lid is important; it’s not just a plain old lid. It has significant depth and meaning to it and the writer of Hebrews 9 says of which we cannot now speak particularly so that tells us they didn’t have a lot of information on about this anymore in this particular period of time in 50 – 60 CE when this was written.
To get back to the discussion on what was inside of the Ark, it says: Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant. Described here is what was in the Ark:
1 The golden pot
2 Aaron’s rod
3 Tables of the covenant
The word “wherein” is the key to this, and it means G1722=position in place, time or state, on, by, among. When you see things like this you have to do homework because people run with this.
Before I started looking at this, I thought that these three items were inside the Ark, and had thought that for a long time. I thought that it doesn’t say that in the Old Covenant that I read, it says that you put the tables of stone inside. How did these other items come to be put in? In looking at this, I started to see what was going on. This is an urban myth that all of these items are inside of the Ark.
One item I will mention is Aaron’s rod. A rod is used as a walking stick and this particular rod budded on top of it as well. How tall would you think that would be? A walking stick would need to be at least 5 ft. tall. A 4 ft. walking stick is too short and you would need to have a tall one to get good leverage with it, particularly one that has something that has buds on the top.
Keep in mind how long the Ark was, the outside dimensions were 45 inches and the inside dimensions were probably 42 or 43 inches. If this was his walking stick, or his rod that budded, he would have had a pretty short rod. If you think about this logically it probably doesn’t fit in the Ark itself.
In any case, the word “wherein” is the key, its saying: Close by was the golden pot that had manna and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant was in it. I can show you what appears to be the contradiction of what was in the Ark.
Josephus wrote about this and this is what he had to say:
Now the ark contained nothing else but those two tables of stone that preserved the ten commandments, which YHWH spake to Moses in Mount Sinai, and which ere engraved upon them; but they set the candlestick, and the table, and the golden altar in the temple, before the most secret place in the very same places wherein they stood till that time in the tabernacle. So they offered up the daily sacrifices; but for the brazen altar. Solomon set it before the temple, over against the door, that when the door was opened, it might be exposed to sight, and the sacred solemnities, and the richness of the sacrifices, might be thence seen; and all the rest of the vessels they gathered together, and put them within the temple. (Jos Ant 8.4.1)
So Josephus gives us testimony, but look in 1 Kings and we see what Solomon said at the dedication of the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when YHWH made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. (1Ki 8:9 KJV)
Some say that the other items, the golden pot and Aaron’s rod were taken out by then. I don’t think they were ever in there. Exodus 16 gives us more insight.
And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before YHWH, to be kept for your generations. As YHWH commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up H5117=rest, settle down before the Testimony, to be kept. (Exo 16:33-34 KJV)
Aaron laid it up before it, in other words, next to it.
And YHWH said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not. (Num 17:10 KJV)
Moses is told by YHWH to bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, bring it up to it. The book of the law that is being talked about is the Moab Covenant, the third version of the Covenant. The one that was consolidated with the Levitical System that was established the last couple of months they were at Sinai.
That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of YHWH, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of YHWH your Elohim, that it may be there for a witness against thee. (Deu 31:25-26 KJV)
When we see things that are put along the side, they are not put inside, and this scripture in Hebrews 9 may lead us to believe that these items were actually in. I wondered why these items would be in with the tables of the covenant when the Moab book of the law wasn’t. I hope my research is useful but you have to do your own homework of course.
Two Goats and The Azazel Controversy
There is just a lot of information about this out on the web and since I’ve looked at it, I can say that it falls into the categories of both Jewish and Christian mythology. It’s an urban myth that some have foisted, and it is fake news. We hear a lot about fake news going back to about 200 to 300 BCE and it has been an amazing study to examine it in detail.
It starts out with these two goats that we have now read about in detail in Leviticus 16. One was sacrificed as a blood offering and the second goat was the one Aaron laid hands on putting all the sins of Israel on it and then sent it to the wilderness. The premise that you find is that the Azazel goat is widely accepted as Satan or demonic. Going back to Leviticus 16 just to rehearse what the scripture says.
And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for YHWH, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which YHWH’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the (azawzale) scapegoat, shall be presented alive before YHWH, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a (an azawzale) scapegoat into the wilderness. (Lev 16:8-10 KJV)
The escape goat is H5799 and it means azawzale which is goat of departure. When you start researching this, you find that the word “scapegoat”, and again this is one of Tyndale’s words that he coined to describe this animal. Scapegoat is something you hear in the vernacular regularly. Just yesterday I heard some news commentator talking about the scapegoat for some event that is going on in Washington D.C. and of course there are lots of scapegoats there. The word has become common and it goes back to Tyndale’s description. This is a word that has really stuck.
When we look at what might be a more accurate interpretation of this particular scripture in Leviticus 16, we see how the KJ3 Version that is available describes this goat according to the Hebrew words that are in the text.
And Aaron shall give lots over the two he-goats, one lot for Jehovah, and one lot for a complete removal. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the lot of Jehovah fell and shall make it a sin offering. And the goat on which the lot fell for a complete removal shall be made to stand living before Jehovah to atone by it, to send it away for a complete removal into the wilderness. (Lev 16:8-10 KJ3)
You see what this translation has done, it has taken the original Hebrew and put the word in there rather than scapegoat and the word scapegoat envision in a lot of people’s mind the Azazel goat. The Basis is the foundation, and the only foundation is the Apocryphal writings. I found this quote out of a book called The Torah – a Modern Commentary
“Azazel….was probably a demonic being… Apocryphal Jewish works, composed in the last few centuries before the Christian era, tell of angels who were lured ….into rebellion against God. In these writings, Azazel is one of the two leaders of the rebellion. And post Talmudic documents tell a similar story about two rebel angels, Uzza and Azzael – both variations of the name Azazel. These mythological stories which must have been widely known, seem to confirm the essentially demonic character of the old biblical Azazel” (The Torah-a Modern Commentary, page 859).
In parentheses he says it’s mentioned in Leviticus 16. That is what he is talking about here.
It’s somewhat circular logic. These stories which must have been widely known seemed to confirm the essentially demonic character. I’m not sure how they do confirm that. They confirm it if you are lazy and don’t want to do homework, they confirm if you consider the Apocryphal writings as scripture, however, I do not.
Satan has inadvertently became focus of a most solemn annual Holy Day
“Inadvertently” may be the wrong word but from a man’s standpoint, from this commentary standpoint, it has become the focus of the most solemn annual holy day. Yom Kippur is a most solemn holy day. We are to come before YHWH. How did Aaron come before YHWH? He put on his full dress and looked his best, coming before YHWH in reverence and was prepared.
We are to do the same by being prepared. We are not to come YHWH sloppily on this most Holy Day and with errors in our understanding by thinking that someone who bears our sins is representative of Satan, this is really pretty amazing foist, or deviation from what the scriptures really say. We are to come before YHWH holy and Satan has gotten interjected into this. Of course that is what Satan wants; he wants to be included in this day. He has no part in my Day of Atonement.
One of the key premises associates Revelation 20 and the premise of this Azazel controversy is something like this: Since Azazel goat carries sin into the wilderness and Satan’s apocryphal name is Azazel, therefore Azazel goat is forerunner of Satan’s binding for 1000 years.
That’s bizarre logic if you think about it, but that is what the premise of the Azazel goat representing Satan, and Satan carrying our sins away is all about. Revelation 20 is the proof text that people that have this argument use.
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. (Rev 20:1-3 KJV)
This scripture is brought in to be a figure of the true, which it is not, but it’s brought in to try to line up with the goat that is sent off into the wilderness, or the wilderness being the thousand years that Satan goes into his bottomless pit.
The focus should be on complete work of Yahushua Coming before Yahushua in our best dress and prepared, in an honorable way. Some of what I have said you may disagree with. A lot of people are adamant about what this Azazel controversy is about and what they think about it.
Do Your Own Homework
Prove G1381=test, discern, examine all things; hold fast that which is good. (1Thess 5:21 KJV)
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched G350=scrutinize, examine the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Act 17:11 KJV)
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Master; walk as children of light: for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; proving G1381=test, examine what is acceptable G2101=fully agreeable, well pleasing unto the Master. (Eph 5:8-10 KJV)
Study to shew thyself approved unto YHWH, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing G3718=make a straight cut the word of truth. (2Tim 2:15 KJV)