Leviticus 16:10, commentary and pictures

On the yearly great Day of Atonement two goats were brought and lots cast, and the live goat was kept alive to be presented before the Lord as the last solemn service after the work in the most holy place was done, when the sins of Israel were confessed over its head and it was led by a fit man into a land not inhabited to come no more into the camp. It represented the final removal of sin from the people, borne away to be regarded as forever separated from them. When the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary is completed the sins of God's people will be placed upon Satan, the scapegoat, in the presence of God and angels and the redeemed, he will be declared guilty of all the evil he caused them to commit, and he will be banished to the desolate earth as to an uninhabited wilderness, bearing the sins of all who come to Jesus while those who continue in transgression bear their own. Those who held the different position taught that Christ, not Satan, is the scapegoat presented alive and let go, because He alone could bear human sins since death had no power over Him. The earthly service was a pattern of Christ's closing work begun in 1844 within the second veil to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary and blot out the sins of His faithful ones by His own blood, and its antitype is now taking place as the last great day of atonement calling every person to solemn preparation, confession, repentance and turning from sin before the judgment.

Ritual Setting and Procedure

The verse belongs to the process for cleansing the sanctuary. That sanctuary was God's dwelling-place on earth, first the earthly tabernacle made in the wilderness at Sinai and afterward housed with its vessels in Solomon's temple in Canaan as His glory dwelling-place upon the earth. It belongs to the yearly great Day of Atonement, the one day each year when the most holy place was opened and the high priest, after careful preparation, entered it to stand before God's presence at the mercy seat and complete the yearly round of ministration.

Two kids of the goats were brought to the door of the tabernacle and lots were cast upon them, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. The live goat was kept alive to be presented alive and sent away into the wilderness bearing sins. Aaron laid both hands on the head of the live goat and confessed over him all the iniquities and transgressions of Israel in all their sins, putting them upon the goat. It was sent by a fit man into the wilderness to a land not inhabited and came no more into the camp of Israel, while the man who led him away had to wash himself and his clothing with water before returning.

The ministry went forward in awe of God's presence, with incense veiling the glory while the people waited in silent prayer seeking mercy. They feared that unusually long delay inside meant sin had brought death to the priest, and were reassured by the sound of the bells on his garments when he came out to bless them. Every man was required to afflict his soul while the atonement went forward, laying aside all business and spending the day in solemn humiliation before God with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart. The whole ceremony was designed to impress Israel with the holiness of God and His abhorrence of sin and to show that contact with sin pollutes.

The priestly attire worn in making atonement before the Lord on the Day of Atonement is the present attire of Jesus as great High Priest. It is distinct from what follows when the priestly attire is laid off for many crowns in one crown, when Michael stands up to reign as King of kings. The service stands in connection with the ark, the mercy seat, and the heavenly sanctuary.

Scapegoat and Removal of Sin

The scapegoat represented the final removal of sin from the people, for after the high priest had removed the sins from the sanctuary by the blood of the sin offering and confessed them over the goat, the goat bore them away and they were regarded as forever separated from the people. The presenting alive of the live goat before the Lord was the last solemn service of the day of atonement, done after the ministration in the holy of holies was completed and the sins of Israel were removed from the sanctuary, in the presence of the congregation. As the goat was let go into a land not inhabited, when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary is completed the sins of God's people will be placed upon Satan in the presence of God and heavenly angels and the host of the redeemed, he will be declared guilty of all the evil he caused them to commit, and he will be banished to the desolate earth, an uninhabited and dreary wilderness.

The scapegoat chosen to bear the sins of the people represents Satan, and the day of atonement bears on his life: he must bear the sins of all who come to Jesus, while those who continue in transgression must bear their own sins. By what those who held it taught as a different position, Christ, not Satan, is the scapegoat presented alive before the Lord and let go into the wilderness, because Satan cannot fulfill the type since he cannot bear even his own sins. In that teaching Christ alone fulfills it as borne into the wilderness because death had no power over Him and He alone was able to bear human sins, taking the guilt invoked at the choosing of Barabbas when Pilate washed his hands.

The day-of-atonement ministry, typified by Joshua ministering in behalf of Israel and of the children of Israel while Satan stood by to point to defilement and to the defilement of God's people and to triumph in discomfiture as he still does now, points to Christ's actual ministry for His people. Christ is the Sin-bearer and Substitute for the offender to whom all the types point, and unlike sinful Joshua He cannot be accused as a sinner. He takes away the sin of the repentant, believing transgressor.

Heavenly Atonement and Preparation

The earthly cleansing of the sanctuary was the pattern of Christ's closing work of atonement in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. After the prophetic period ended in 1844 He entered within the second veil and pleaded His blood for sinners before the ark. There He cleanses the sanctuary from the people's sins by virtue of His own blood, blotting out the sins of all His faithful ones from Abel to the present time. At that time one door was shut and the other was opened. By faith believers seek entrance into the most holy place through the open door which no man can shut until the work there is fully done, and the invitation to sinners to come to that open door continues until He declares probation closed and the ministry of the gospel ended.

The solemn work of the great day of atonement is connected with the sanctuary above and the judgment. It concerns every person and is to be kept in mind as a time of preparation. Its antitype is now taking place as the last great day of atonement, when sins go beforehand to judgment and are to be confessed and taken away. It is a day of confession before the books are opened, meaning living just before every man is judged by the things written in the books, when every deed is tried and every act is brought into review before the heavenly universe.

That antitypical day calls for special preparation and purification before God because it is a solemn time with eternal consequences. Each person must consider how his case will stand in the judgment and be cleansed from defilement by the blood of Jesus. This means turning from sin, seeking cleansing and pardon from Christ, and drawing nearer to God in humility, repentance, and deep self-examination. Such preparation does not cover wrongs or make religion play-work, but confesses and forsakes sin. It believes Christ died on Calvary to forgive sins and pardon transgressions, and reveals rectitude and grace by which the world is led to believe in Him.