WHAT IS THE ATONEMENT?
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To grasp the atonement we must first grasp the holiness of God, the righteousness of His law and the cause, conditions and effects of our sins. In Deuteronomy 4:8, God asks…
Deu 4:8 And who is a great nation whose statutes and judgments are as righteous as all this Law which I set before you today?
The greatness of Israel was distinguished by the righteous statutes and judgments of the Law that God set before them.
The moral law was given in a majestic encounter between Jehovah and the people of Israel
Exo 19:9 And Jehovah said to Moses, Behold, I come to you in a darkness of clouds, so that the people may hear My speaking with you, and in you they may believe forever. And Moses told the words of the people to Jehovah. Exo 19:10 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow. And let them wash their clothes. Exo 19:11 And be ready for the third day. For on the third day Jehovah will go down before the eyes of all the people on the mountain of Sinai.
The people could not come up the mountain, but the Lord spoke His law in thunders and lightening…
Exo 20:18 And all the people saw the thunders, and the lightnings, and the sound of the ram’s horn, and the smoking mountain. And the people looked, and they trembled, and they stood from a distance. Exo 20:19 And they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear. And let us not speak with God, that we not die. Exo 20:20 And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid, for God has come in order to test you, and so that His fear may be on your faces, that you may not sin.
At Sinai Israel was tested so that they would fear God and not sin. The root of all human suffering is sin. All suffer and all die “…for all sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ro 3.23)
It is sin, the transgression of that Holy law, which separates man from God “But your iniquities are coming between you and your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, from hearing.” Isaiah 59. Yet God desires to communicate with mankind and reconcile the world to Himself this is why when He gave the Law He told Moses…
Exo 25:8 And let them make a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell in their midst.
The sanctuary, the tabernacle and later called the temple was not merely a house for God.
Act 7:48 But the Most High does not dwell in temples made by hand, as the prophet says, Act 7:49 “Heaven is My throne, and the earth a footstool of My feet; what house will you build Me,” “says the Lord,” “or what the place of My rest?” Act 7:50 “Did not My hands make all these things?” Isa. 66:1, 2
The reason that God asked Israel to make a sanctuary is because evil cannot live with Him…
Psa 5:4 For You are not a God enjoying wickedness; nor shall evil live with You.
No one who walks in darkness can have fellowship with Him
1Jn 1:5 And this is the message which we have heard from Him, and we proclaim to you: God is light, and no darkness is in Him, none! 1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and we walk in darkness, we lie and are not practicing the truth.
Yet God wanted to dwell in their midst. This is why God said…
Num 8:19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to do the service of the sons of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the sons of Israel, so that there may be no plague among the sons of Israel when the sons of Israel come near the sanctuary.
Exo 29:44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar. And I will sanctify Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me.
God could only dwell with His people as long as the Levites offered the priestly services to make atonement for the sons of Israel.
When King Uzziah was filled with pride and rebelled against these statues and attempted to burn incense in place of the Levites the Lord touched him and he became a leper (see 2 Kings 26:16-20)
When King Jeraboam attempted to burn incense on the altar his hand withered while he was threatening the man of God (see 1 Kings 13:1-4).
The priests performed these services for the sons of Israel or on behalf of the sons of Israel (see Ex 27:21, KJV)
Lev 5:10 And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the ordinance. And the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
The laws, statutes and judgements given to Moses not only defined the problem of sin but also prescribed the way that atonement could be made for the forgiveness of sin. This is why David wrote…
Psa 19:7 The Law of Jehovah is perfect, converting the soul. The Testimony of Jehovah is sure, making the simple wise. Psa 19:8 The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart. The commands of Jehovah are pure, giving light to the eyes. Psa 19:9 The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of Jehovah are true, they are righteous altogether. Psa 19:10 They are more precious than gold, even much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and drops from the honeycomb.
Psa 119:93 I will never forget Your Precepts; for with them You gave me life. The atonement is central to the services of the Levitical priesthood
The atonement is central to the statutes, judgements and laws
The atonement is central to the sanctuary services.
The atonement is central to the sacrifices and offerings
The cross is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18)
The Psalmist says..
Psa 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? (KJV)
This can also be translated…
Psa 77:13 O God, your way is in holiness; who is a god, great like God? (LITV)
Atonement, kâphar kaw-far’ means; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively to expiate or condone, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).
- Phases of Atonement.
When we think of the word of atonement, we cannot limit our conception only to sacrifice or the cross. To understand the atonement Biblically we need to understand the laws, the statutes and judgements, the sanctuary, the sacrifices and the priestly ministry.
Paul tells us in Hebrews 10:1
(Heb 10:1) For the Law had a shadow of the coming good things, not the image itself of those things.….
The law includes the first five books of Moses, from Genesis to Deuteronomy.
(Gal 3:24) So that the Law has become a trainer of us until Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Although we are not under the shadow and trainer, the law still leads us to Jesus. The law as it applies to the sanctuary is all about the sacrifice and ministry made by Christ.
- The regular services of the sanctuary included
- The Morning and evening sacrifices – Exodus 29:38-42
- The Sinner’s Daily Sacrifices – The individual sinner and the congregation were instructed to bring—burnt offerings, peace offerings, meal offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings. Many details about this Leviticus 1-5
- The furniture correlates to the phases of atonement in space.
We can understand these as types and antitype, the shadow of good things to come and the image of good things that have come and will come.
Type (Shadow, not the image of good things to come) | Anti-Type (The Image of Good Things) |
Altar of Burnt Offering Lev 9:7 And Moses said to Aaron, Draw near to the altar and make your sin offering, and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself, and for the people, and make the offering of the people, and atone for them, as Jehovah has commanded. Lev 9:24 And fire came out from before Jehovah and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. And all the people saw, and cried aloud, and fell on their faces. | Heb 9:11 But when Christ had become a 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 Heb 9:12 nor through the blood of goats and of calves, but through His own blood, He entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, having procured everlasting redemption. Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and goats, and ashes of a heifer sprinkling those having been defiled, sanctifies to the purity of the flesh, Heb 9:14 by how much more the blood of Christ (who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God), will purify your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God! |
Laver Exo 30:19 And Aaron and his sons shall wash from it, their hands and their feet; (see Ex 40:31) | Joh 13:5 Then He put water into the basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to wipe off with the towel with which He was girded. Joh 13:14 If then I washed your feet, the Lord and the Teacher, you also ought to wash the feet of one another. Joh 13:15 For I gave you an example, that as I did to you, you also should do. |
Table of Shewbread Exo 25:30 And you shall put the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me continually. | Joh 6:35 Jesus said to them, I am the Bread of life; the one coming to Me will not at all hunger, and the one believing into Me will not thirst, never! 1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a partaking of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a partaking of the body of Christ? 1Co 11:26 For as often as you may eat this bread, and drink this cup, you solemnly proclaim the death of the Lord, until He shall come. |
Lampstand Lev 24:1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Lev 24:2 Command the sons of Israel, and they shall bring to you pure olive oil, beaten, for the light, to cause a light to burn continually. Lev 24:4 He shall arrange the lamps on the pure lampstand before Jehovah continually. | 2Pe 1:19 and we have the more established prophetic Word, in which you do well to take heed, as to a lamp shining in a murky place, until day dawns and the Light-bearing One rises in your hearts; Joh 1:9 He [Jesus] was the true Light; He enlightens every man coming into the world. Mat 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city situated on a mountain cannot be hidden. Rev 1:13 And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, having been clothed to the feet, and having been girded with a golden girdle at the breasts. Rev 1:20 …the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. (MKJV) |
Altar of Incense Lev 4: 6-7, 17-18 (sin offering for priest and/or the congregation) Lev 4:18 And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar before the face of Jehovah in the tabernacle of the congregation. And he shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Heb 9:3 But behind the second veil is a tabernacle, being called Holy of Holies, Heb 9:4 having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant covered around on all sides with gold, in which was the golden pot having the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; | Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood on the altar, having a golden censer. And many incenses were given to him, that he should give them with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Heb 9:15 And because of this He is Mediator of a new covenant, so that, death having occurred for redemption of transgressions under the first covenant, those being called might receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance. |
Ark of the Covenant Lev 16:29 And it shall be a statute forever to you: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all, the native and the alien who is staying among you. Lev 16:30 For on that day an atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you, so that you may be clean from all your sins before Jehovah. Lev 16:33 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. (MKJV) | Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he will begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He has declared to His servants the prophets. Col 1:26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. Col 1:27 For to them God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (c.f. Rev 1:10) (MKJV) 1Jn 3:6 Everyone who abides in Him does not sin. Everyone who sins has not seen Him nor known Him. Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His covenant, and there occurred lightnings and voices, and thunders and an earthquake, and a great hail. |
Phases of Atonement
In the broadest sense the sanctuary and the atonement can be divided into three spaces.
- The Courtyard = Christ as the Lamb of God on Calvary.
- The Holy Place = Christ our High Priest as our Intercessor
- The Most Holy Place = Christ our High Priest as Intercessor and Judge
The Atonement, Feasts and Prophecy
When we compare the shadows to the images given in Scriptures, we see all the spaces of the atonement combining with time of the atonement. This gives us the broadest view of Gods plan. All parts of the atonement are accomplished in the Lord’s appointed feasts and all the feasts Lord’s appointed feasts are fulfilled in prophetic events.
Spring Feasts
- Passover – Nissan 14 (April) Crucifixion
- Unleavened Bread – Nisan 15 (April) Christ in the Grave
- First Fruits –Nisan 16 (April) Resurrection of Christ
- Festival of Weeks –Sivan 6 (May) Pentecost
Fall Feasts
- Feast of Trumpets –Tishri 1 (September) Second Advent Movement
- Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) – Tishri 10 (Sept/Oct) Pre-Advent Judgement
- Feast of Tabernacles – Tishri 15 (October) Second Advent of Christ
Thus the law, the statutes, the judgements, the feasts, the sacrifices, and the priesthood of the sanctuary in shadows are a depiction the atonement that is fully realized in the image of Jesus Christ.
Listen to how this passage summarize what have in Christ now and what the fulness of times will accomplish in Christ.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him (KJV)]
This how the type and antitype, the shadows of good things to come and the image of good things reveal the honor bestowed on Christ by His Father: Eph 1:22 And He has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, Eph 1:23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
