Additional reading: The Day of Atonement (No. CB99).

Introduction

The Day of Atonement is the highest of all the Sabbaths of the year. It is referred to as “Shabbath Shabbathown” (see SHD 7677), which means that it is a Sabbatised Sabbath. Its holiness is emphasised by combining these two words.

Leviticus 23:26-32 And the LORD said to Moses, ²⁷"On the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present an offering by fire to the LORD. ²⁸And you shall do no work on this same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. ²⁹For whoever is not afflicted on this same day shall be cut off from his people. ³⁰And whoever does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. ³¹You shall do no work: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ³²It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves; on the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your sabbath.” (RSV)

Atonement is the one time a year in ancient Israel that the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies to make atonement before the Ark of the Covenant. This ancient practice looked forward to the time when Christ died and the temple veil was torn in two (see also Mk. 15:38; Heb. 6:19-20; 10:19-22). From Messiah’s perfect sacrifice, we could meet God in the Holy of Holies, meaning we could pray directly to God in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, Joshua the Messiah.

Meaning of the word Atonement

The word used in verses 27 and 28 above is Kippur (SHD 3725). Atonement is something done to make amends for wrongdoing. It can be apologizing, replacing something that you have broken, or forgiving someone’s wrongdoing. It leads to reconciliation. This is like making up after a fight or disagreement, or even after you have disappointed someone. Just like a parent teaches a child to make up with family and friends to restore relationships, God gives us a way to reconcile with him. In a Christian’s life, atonement is the reconciliation between God and mankind that comes from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice was needed because of our sins. Our sins are our wrongdoing, and Jesus Christ made amends through his sacrifice. God gave us his law to show us right and wrong. When we break His law, we need to repent and change our ways and through forgiveness be restored or reconciled back to God.

Atonement comes from Kaphar (SHD 3722), which means to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, or cover with pitch. Reconciliation and atonement go hand-in-hand and the words can sometimes be interchangeable. In the New Testament, both katallage (SGD 2643) and katallasso (SGD 2644) are translated as atonement, reconciled, or reconciliation.

The Day of Atonement reminds us annually that we have been reconciled to God and it gives us hope of a wonderful future under Messiah’s just and righteous system.

Romans 5:10-11 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation. (RSV)

Once we are called, baptized and lay down our life to serve Eloah, we need to remain in a pure/true state. When we sin we separate ourselves from Eloah and His Spirit is not as able to dwell fully within us. We must repent and reconcile ourselves to the Father and our brother in keeping with the first and second Great Commandments.

Ministry of Reconciliation

God has entrusted his Church with the ministry of reconciliation.

2Corinthians 5:17-20 Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. ¹⁸All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (RSV)

In the previous text from 2Corinthians 5:17-20 we see interesting concepts brought out when we look at the origin of the words.

Jesus: (SGD 2424, Yahovah is salvation or Salvation is of Yaho)

Christ: (SGD 5547, "anointed")

Ministry (SGD 1248, service, ministering)

God, through Jesus Christ, has reconciled mankind to Himself. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. This means we are citizens of another kingdom (the Kingdom of God) and represent that Kingdom as ambassadors. Our duty as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God is to spread the message of reconciliation by making disciples of all men. We too are of the order of Melchisedek with Jesus Christ as our High Priest, and we have been called to a ministry of reconciliation.

Therefore, it even adds more emphasis why we must be reconciled to our brother before our gift can be accepted of Eloah.

Matt 5:23-24 So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (RSV)

We need to do as our High Priest did for us.

Hebrews 2:17 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 God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Atonement or reconciliation through Baptism

Baptism is the first sacrament of the Church. To partake in Baptism we must be an adult and be sure that we are ready to give our lives to God’s way. First we must repent, which means to change from our sinful ways and follow God’s ways. Then we are baptized for the forgiveness of sin being fully immersed in water. Baptism is symbolic of death where the old person dies and our new person comes out of the water. Following the baptism, through the laying on of hands, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is through the gift of the Holy Spirit that we are reconciled back to the Father. For more information see (Baptism Ceremony (No. D3)).

Even though unbaptised children do not have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in them, the Holy Spirit works with them by assisting and leading them towards God’s ways (see Sanctification of the Children of God (No. CB69).

You will remember from The Day of Atonement (No. CB99), we learned that the Azazel goat is sent to the wilderness or the pit prior to the atonement sacrifice. The person charged with taking the goat away must be bathed in water before he can re-enter the camp. In today’s world, once we try to put our sins away and ask to be baptized, we are able to be immersed in water and become part of the body of Christ.

To retain or keep our relationship with the Father we must obey His Laws. If we make a mistake, we repent of our sins. Yearly, baptized adults partake of the Lord’s Supper, which renews our baptismal covenant. It is up to each baptized individual to discern or determine where the Body of Christ is working and be a part of that work. Remember, there is no excuse for failing to support God’s work. We must work within the Body of Christ assisting in our capacity to preach the gospel to the world.

We cannot take the Passover without being restored or reconciled to those in the Body of Christ, the Church. As Matthew 5:24 instructs us, if we have a problem with our brother we need to leave our gift at the altar and be reconciled to our brother before bringing our gift to God. This is another aspect of the Second Great Commandment.

Reconciliation in the Ancient Israel

In ancient Israel, the priesthood needed to be reconciled to God first, so that they would have the ability to stand before God and intercede for the people. Because the Holy Spirit was not available to the entirety of the nation, the priesthood needed sacrifices to be reconciled to God. Exodus 29:24-27 talks of an offering for the consecration of the Aaronic priesthood. Exodus 29:29-30 shows the first of the heave offerings was to consecrate the priesthood and cleanse their garments in order that they could minister within the Holy Place.

Exodus 29:26-30 "And you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be your portion. ²⁷And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering, and the thigh of the priests' portion, which is waved, and which is offered from the ram of ordination, since it is for Aaron and for his sons. ²⁸It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is the priests' portion to be offered by the people of Israel from their peace offerings; it is their offering to the LORD. ²⁹"The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them and ordained in them. ³⁰The son who is priest in his place shall wear them seven days, when he comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place. (RSV)

The sacrifices pointed toward Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice was once for all. Christ replaced the physical Aaronic ministry through his sacrifice. He is now our High Priest.

Reconciliation after Christ’s Sacrifice

Today, the elect are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, repentance and baptism, and the laying on of hands. The elect are reconciled to God and can now come boldly before the throne of God in prayer (Heb. 4:16). (See The Wave Sheaf Offering (No. 106z), Introduction to the Priesthood of Eloah (No. CB115) and Priesthood of Eloah from Messiah Onwards (No. CB118).)

1Peter 2:9 says we are a royal priesthood.

1Peter 2:4-5,9 Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; ⁵and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

There are numerous references in Scripture to our responsibilities as priests of God given the ministry of reconciliation.

In Isaiah 61, God gives us guidelines for what we should be doing for our fellow man.

1. Bring good news to the world.

2. Bind up or heal the broken hearted.

3. Proclaim the good news or Gospel to the world and explain the Mysteries of God.

4. Proclaim or tell the world of the Acceptable Year of the Lord, which means teaching people about God’s Calendar and why it is important to keep it.

5. Assist in the restoration of Jerusalem and Government of God (we will see this come more into practice when the period of Just Rule begins).

Malachi also shows us the function or job of a priest is to preserve or keep the knowledge of Eloah and guide others to the proper observance of His Law.

Malachi 2:7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. (RSV)

Numerous other scriptures tell us how the priests are to administer the Law of Eloah. The priests are to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes that the Lord had given unto Moses (Lev. 10:11). They are to explain the Law of God (Neh. 8:7). They are to judge and administer according to the Law, neither turning to the right or the left (Deut. 17:8-11: 21:5). Their duties were varied and explained in Exodus 27:20,21; 29:38-44; Leviticus 6:12; 10:11; 24:8; Numbers 10:1-10; Deuteronomy 17:8-13; 33:10; and Malachi 2:7.

An easy way to remember these five basic duties of a priest is LET KJ:

∙ Live by the Law of Eloah

∙ Explain the Law of Eloah

∙ Teach the Law of Eloah

∙ Keep the Law of Eloah

∙ Judge by the Law of Eloah

For more information see Introduction to the Priesthood of Eloah (No. CB115).

In all of these ways we are interceding on behalf of the nations and showing them the way to reconciliation with God. We have an awesome job now and in the future. We must all strive to learn and obey God fully and completely at all times.

Garments and reconciliation

In the Bible, oftentimes clothing represents our inward attitude and character. The colour white is commonly used to represent being pure or righteous and following God’s way of life.

The Day of Atonement was the only day in the year that the High Priest was allowed in the Holy of Holies and he only wore his white linen garments.

Leviticus 16:23 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:

The High Priest’s entry into the Holy of Holies in white linen represented Jesus Christ as the suffering Messiah. After he bathed and re-robed in the High Priest’s garments, he represented Jesus Christ returning as King Messiah.

The priests are to reflect God’s light and Law to the entire planet. Even the dress of the priest was to have the pure white reflective quality. See the paper The Garments of the High Priest (No. CB61) and White Linen Garments of the Priest (No. CB63).

We will now review who else is to have white robes.

White robes

In Revelation 19 we read:

Revelation 19:7-9 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. ⁸And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. ⁹And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, these are the true sayings of God.

We see our wedding garments are of white linen and we are to keep our garments white, spotless and free of wrinkles by being righteous and obedient

We should try to be righteous at all times. The white linen is referred to in Revelation 19:8 as the righteous acts of the saints. Priests who did not wear their priestly garments when ministering in the Temple incurred guilt and death (Ex. 28:35, 43). The same holds true for us. God has set up a perfect plan because He knows we are not yet perfect. God has provided the perfect acceptable sacrifice – Messiah – to restore us to Him. Upon our repentance and baptism we are given the Holy Spirit that will lead us into all truth (Jn. 14:26). However, when we sin it is our responsibility to repent and change since we have soiled our white righteous garments.

We know there are spirit beings that wear white robes (Rev. 4:4, 15:6). Revelation chapter 4 talks of those who have not soiled their garments being clothed in white garments (Rev. 3:4-5). Revelation chapter 7 talks of the “Great Multitude” that are clothed in white robes having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14). Those who have been martyred are given a white robe (Rev. 6:11). Those who have qualified and are in the First Resurrection have or will be given a white robe (Ecc. 9:8; Rev. 3:5).

As part of God’s plan, there will be a priesthood in the millennium; physical priests and spirit beings governing the planet according to Eloah’s Laws.

Ezekiel 44:23-24 “And they shall teach my people the difference between the Holy and the profane and cause them to discern between the clean and the unclean and in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep My laws and My statutes, in all My assemblies and they shall hallow my Sabbaths”.

Reconciliation for the World

We read in Ezekiel 45:16-17 there is to be reconciliation for the whole house of Israel.

Ezekiel 45:16-17 All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. ¹⁷ And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the Sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. (KJV)

The Atonement process is to develop us in our relationship with God, to reconcile us and to prepare us to look forward to the coming of Messiah. The Feast of Trumpets represents the coming of the Messiah. The Day of Atonement represents the binding of Satan and our reconciliation to God the Father.

At present, God is dealing with some people and not others. God works with us by pruning us, judging us and leading us through Jesus Christ. God knows all of our thoughts and will call each one of us at the perfect time that He determines. Ultimately, all of mankind and the fallen host will have the chance to be reconciled with God.

Jesus Christ is coming to establish the Kingdom and government of God and will rule the planet. This restoration of God’s Laws will take some time and that is why Atonement happens ten days after Trumpets. The Day of Atonement on the tenth day of the seventh month looks forward to the period of reconciliation of the whole creation.

Once we are called by God it is our responsibility to encourage and protect each other. We all need the vision of the Kingdom of God to overcome the difficulties of this world. It is our brotherly love and encouragement that gives us all hope. Christians need to be brought to the knowledge of the faith and will be made keepers of the mysteries of God.

1Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Summary

In Summary, we have seen that Atonement is the holiest day of the entire year. There is much symbolism tied to the 10th day of the 7th month as we look forward to the future reconciliation that will come in the not too distant future. It is not that long in the future when Satan and the fallen Host will be bound. We have been charged as the priesthood of God to spread the message of reconciliation and guide others in God’s way of life.

We must stand close to God and remember to daily put on the armour of Eloah so that we can remain reconciled through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6:11-17: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹²For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ¹³Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; ¹⁵And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

(See also the series on the Armour of Eloah.)

Whatever is good and clean and wholesome, whatever is pure and holy and of the Spirit of God, think on those things. This will help us to renew ourselves daily participating in the ministry of reconciliation. There can be no better thing than to be reconciled to God our heavenly Father.

1Corinthians 2:9: But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

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