DOES SATAN BEAR OUR SINS?
Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the people of Israel...and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. Lev. 16:21, R.S.V.
Tucked away in the midst of this rather ponderous Old Testament book is a chapter that, if properly understood, would set the Christian world on its heels. The Lord has been teaching His people about the plan of salvation through the walk-in symbol of the sanctuary services. And He has given them many forms of animal sacrifices, all pointing forward to the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross. But in Leviticus 16 a surprising new element is introduced. The setting is the Day of Atonement ceremony that, coming at the end of the sacred calendar of events, symbolizes issues at the close of the great controversy. The surprise element is the use of two animals rather than one. Lots are cast, and one of the goats is designated as the Lord's goat. As has been done before, this goat is offered on the altar as a type of Christ.
But the other goat is designated as belonging to Azazel, which the people clearly understood to be a name for Satan. This goat is tied to a stake while the high priest enters into the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary. There he figuratively gathers up all the sins that have been transferred there during the previous year by repentant sinners. The priest then takes all those sins out to the Azazel goat and, as it were, dumps them on its head and sends it off into the wilderness, where it surely will die.
The mind-expanding perspective that this vital ceremony tells us is that in solving the cosmic sin problem, God is dealing with far more than the deadly consequences that individual sinners face. When Israel saw the priest (a type of Christ) place his hands on the Azazel goat's head, they were watching God's promise that someday everyone would know that Satan was ultimately accountable for sin.
Furthermore, when the people saw the goat being led away to die in the wilderness, cut off from every source of life, they knew that ultimately Satan and all who follow him will die the death of separation from God. Even the enemy will not be slaughtered by the hand of an angry God.
Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the people of Israel...and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. Lev. 16:21, R.S.V.
Tucked away in the midst of this rather ponderous Old Testament book is a chapter that, if properly understood, would set the Christian world on its heels. The Lord has been teaching His people about the plan of salvation through the walk-in symbol of the sanctuary services. And He has given them many forms of animal sacrifices, all pointing forward to the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross. But in Leviticus 16 a surprising new element is introduced. The setting is the Day of Atonement ceremony that, coming at the end of the sacred calendar of events, symbolizes issues at the close of the great controversy. The surprise element is the use of two animals rather than one. Lots are cast, and one of the goats is designated as the Lord's goat. As has been done before, this goat is offered on the altar as a type of Christ.
But the other goat is designated as belonging to Azazel, which the people clearly understood to be a name for Satan. This goat is tied to a stake while the high priest enters into the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary. There he figuratively gathers up all the sins that have been transferred there during the previous year by repentant sinners. The priest then takes all those sins out to the Azazel goat and, as it were, dumps them on its head and sends it off into the wilderness, where it surely will die.
The mind-expanding perspective that this vital ceremony tells us is that in solving the cosmic sin problem, God is dealing with far more than the deadly consequences that individual sinners face. When Israel saw the priest (a type of Christ) place his hands on the Azazel goat's head, they were watching God's promise that someday everyone would know that Satan was ultimately accountable for sin.
Furthermore, when the people saw the goat being led away to die in the wilderness, cut off from every source of life, they knew that ultimately Satan and all who follow him will die the death of separation from God. Even the enemy will not be slaughtered by the hand of an angry God.
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