Part 1: From the Garden to Golgotha Part 2: The Bread & Light of Life Part 3: The Consuming Fire of the Almighty
The Arc of the Covenant
Exodus 25 describes what the arc should look like and what it should contain. Made of acacia wood and wrapped in gold, it stands about 4.5 feet tall. It contains
- The rod of Aaron
- The stone tablets
On top sits the mercy seat (literally “atonement cover”) of pure gold, doubling the size of the arc, and surrounded by two cherubs, whos wings overshadow the mercy seat and face each other.
God sits in this mercy seat to meet with us and to give commandments.
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The two goats
Two identical goats are brought for the Day of Atonement (Lev 16). One goat is used for sacrifice. The other is released into the desert. Note, these are not a shadow picture of Jesus. He is not “the goat of God” nor did he die on Yom Kippur. Rather, these goats point to something lawless.
- The blood of the goat that is sacrificed is placed on the left side of God’s earthly throne
- This is where the “goats” go in the sheep and goats parable Matt 24:41
- Jesus sits at the right-hand of God (Ps 110:1)******
- The fall feasts are symbolic of Jesus’s return, not his sacrifice on the cross in the spring
- Jesus is the embodiment of the lamb that was slain in the garden of Eden. The Passover lamb. The lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
- Yom Kippur is when the wickedness of the earth is judged in Armageddon. When the beast is thrown into the Lake of Fire
The scapegoat holds all of the sins of the people. It is lead away by a man and carries all of the sin off, as far as the east is from the west. The one who leads the goat away, then must bathe before entering the city again.
Every person that touches these goats must wash before entering in. This points toward wickedness. If they were holy, they would have bathed beforehand, not after.
The “azazel” lamb (scapegoat) is not fully understood. It is thought that it could be a demon or a place but is generally translated as “scapegoat.” The Azazel idea is only mentioned in Lev 16. In verse 10, it says to send the goat “to Azazel,” which points to the idea that “Azazel” is a place moreso than “scapegoat.” In modern Hebrew, “Lech l’azazel” is something you’d shout at someone to essentially say “Go to hell!” As such, this definitely doesn’t appear to represent Jesus. Jesus is not driven off to hell permanently. If anything, this goat represents Satan. Just as the sins of Adam and Eve were cast upon the serpent, so our sins at the end of the age are thrust upon Satan; there will still be consequences given to the sinner but the curse is on the one who intended the harm.
Reckonings of the temple service records that the lamb that was sent away would come back after one day. This is much like how Satan is cast away for 1000 years (1000 years is as a day, a day as a 1000 years) and then comes back for a time. This lead to the priest ultimately casting the goat over a cliff, to avoid it coming back.
Mishna Yoma 6 (6:6) covers more about how the service used to work (including the miracle of the crimson strip turning white). View it here.
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Day of Atonement The Arc of the Covenant 1000 year reign
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Jesus comes by water and blood
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A Rood Awakening Day of Atonement
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