Abstract
Each year, on the day of Atonement, God’s people humble themselves by fasting which represents our lifetime of humbling ourselves and thirsting after righteousness—drawing near to God and cleansing our hands and purifying our hearts (Lev 23:27; Mat 5:6; 1 Pet 5:6; Jam 4:8).
But the day of Atonement also looks forward to when Satan will be bound for a thousand years (Lev 16:21,22; Rev 20:1-3). It is the day of the Lord.
The day looks forward to when those who exalt themselves will be humbled (abased) and subdued. “For the day of the Lord of hosts will prevail over all the proud and self-exalted, and over all the arrogant, and each one shall be humbled” (Is 2:12 CPDV). It is the day when the nations will not learn war anymore and the strong will not be allowed to devour the weak (Psa 35:10; Isa 2:4; 11:6-9).
The day of Atonement is when Christ makes atonement for the earth, cleansing it because men have defiled it by their sin (Lev 16:16,33; Isa 24:4,5). The earth must be cleansed with blood of all its idolatry. This is because the earth will be the place where God will tabernacle among men after the thousand years are over (1 Cor 15:24,25; Rev 21:3).
And importantly, the Day of Atonement is the second harvest; one of the three times when men must appear before the Lord (Exo 23:17). It is the time when God will raise up the nation of Israel and their time of healing begins (Eze 39:25-29; Hosea 6:1, 11; Rom 11:25, 26).
Many of us who keep the feasts were taught that the Feast of Tabernacles looks forward to the thousand years. But that teaching is misguided; it hides that the Kingdom of God grows in three stages. It limits our understanding of what the Day of Atonement means for us now and for the world in the future.
For those of us who still hold the common belief that the thousand year reign of Christ will be a complete utopia, they should ask these questions: If the time of Christ’s rule is going to be a perfect utopia, then why must Christ rule with a rod of iron and rebuke many people (Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3); if it is a time when everyone will want to learn God’s ways, then why must some nations be forced to keep the Feast of Tabernacles under the threat of withholding rain on their country? (Zec 14:17)
What follows are scriptures that support the understanding that the thousand year reign of Christ is described by the Day of Atonement and not by the Feast of Tabernacles. We will be comparing Leviticus, Ezekiel, and Revelation.
Table of Contents
On the tenth day
Before we look at the day of Atonement in Leviticus, it will help to understand what the number 10 represents. Different scriptures show that the number 10 can represent testing, proving, purging, cleansing and a reproach (shame/humble).
In Numbers chapter 13 Moses sends out twelve men, one from each tribe to go and search out the land of Canaan and bring back a report. Ten of the men brought back a negative report and the people were afraid to take the land. Only two men out of the twelve, Caleb and Joshua, brought back a good report and believed God would help them take the land.
Then in Numbers chapter 14 verse 22 God says regarding those 10 tribes, “. . . all those men . . . have tempted me now these ten times . . .”. As a result Israel had to wait 40 years (4 times 10) before they could enter the land. They had to wait until all the people 20 years old and upward who complained were dead. Israel had to be purged of all those who did not believe God.
In the book of Daniel we are told that Daniel and his friends would not defile themselves by eating the king’s food. Daniel asks the man guarding him to test and prove them for ten days (Dan 1:12-14).
In Revelation chapter 2 verse 10 the church in Smyrna is told that they will be tested with tribulation for ten days.
Job 19 verse 3 says, “These ten times have ye reproached me . . .” Reproach means to make ashamed or put to shame.
And of course the tenth day of the seventh month is the day God’s people were to afflict and humble themselves with fasting, and it is the day when atonement was made.
Making Atonement
Let’s look closely at what actually occurred on the day of Atonement and what was atoned for.
Many of us have overlooked the fact that atonement was not just made for the people. A large part of the day was making atonement for the holy place itself and all it contained. Why would inanimate objects need atonement?
In Leviticus chapter 16 from verses 14 to 20, we are told Aaron “made atonement for the holy place”, the mercy seat, the altar, and the tent of meeting by sprinkling blood on each of the them “seven times”. (Remember this: that blood is sprinkled seven times) This sprinkling of blood seven times was done “because of their impurities . . . and their transgression” (16:16). It was for the purpose of cleansing and consecrating the “tent of meeting which abides in the midst of their impurities” (Lev 16:19).
Take special note that no one shall enter the tent of meeting until Aaron is finished making atonement for himself and the people (Lev 16:17), and note that it is a statute forever (Lev 16:29).
Next, a goat is sent away into the wilderness (Lev 16:21). Those who observe the Day of Atonement might have been taught that the goat which is sent away into the wilderness represents Satan being bound for a thousand years (Rev 20:1-3). We agree that it does look forward to that event. For those who don’t know this, let’s look at some proof in Leviticus chapter 16. (For those who already understand this, please take note that this event happens on the Day of Atonement and not during the Feast of Tabernacles.)
This goat that is to be sent away is first mentioned in verses 8 to 10. Most translations use the word scapegoat to describe the goat. For some reason these translators are afraid to use the correct word. (Perhaps because they don’t understand atonement.) Darby correctly translates the word “Azazel”.
And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for Jehovah, and the other lot for Azazel . . . And the goat upon which the lot fell for Azazel shall be set alive before Jehovah, to make atonement with it, to send it away as Azazel into the wilderness. (Lev 16:8-10, Darby)
The Strong’s number is H5799. Gesenius’ lexicon says, “By this name is I suppose to be understood originally some idol . . . this name was used for that of an evil demon inhabiting the wilderness . . .”
The publishers of Gesenius’ lexicon object to this understanding because they don’t understand what is being done. We can know from scripture that this goat represents a demon (Azazel) because Leviticus chapter 17 verses 1 to 7 tells us that the sons of Israel had been sacrificing to goat demons.
“. . . this is what the LORD has commanded, saying . . . “The reason is so the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to the LORD . . . “And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot.” (Lev 17:1-7 NAS)
The second goat represents the goat demon the sons of Israel had been worshiping.
Now in Leviticus chapter 16 verses 21 to 22 it says that Aaron shall confess over the goat “all the iniquities” and “all their transgressions” and “lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness . . . to a solitary land.”
Laying the iniquities on the head of the goat does not say that the demon was responsible for their sin nor that the demon takes the sin away. The Catholic Public Domain Version say, “calling these down upon its head”.
Aaron is listing (confessing over the goat) all the idolatrous acts they committed in their worship of goat demons in the wilderness. Confessing and laying their acts on the head of the goat and sending them with goat into the wilderness represents the cleansing and removal of that idolatry from among them. That is to say, “to make atonement with it, to send it away as Azazel into the wilderness” (Lev 16:8-10, Darby).
Artists of different cultures have for centuries depicted Satan and idols wearing goatees. Sending away the goat for Azazel occurs during the Day of Atonement. Satan is sent away for a thousand years during Christ’s reign on earth (Rev 20:1-3).
One other thing Aaron does is burn incense inside the veil so that a cloud covers the mercy seat (Lev 16:12,13). Later we shall see that this represents the glory of God.
In summary, on the Day of Atonement Aaron makes a cloud to cover the mercy seat. He then makes atonement (cleansing and consecrating) for the tent of meeting and all it contains by sprinkling everything seven times with blood. And no one can enter the tent of meeting until Aaron is finished. Furthermore, the goat for Azazel is sent away from the people into the wilderness. And we are told that Israel needed to stop sacrificing to goat demons in the wilderness and bring their sacrifices in to God.
Ezekiel’s Temple
God has promised that there is coming a time when He will raise up both houses of Israel and will again make them one nation. This will happen during the thousand years, the second harvest period when Christ returns. (Read Growing the Kingdom of God.) Raising up the whole nation of Israel is described with the two leavened loaves offered up on the last day of Pentecost. This promise to bring them together from out of the nations is prophesied throughout the scriptures. Paul alludes to this time in Romans chapter 11 verses 25 to 27; so does Hosea chapter 6 verse 11.
Ezekiel prophesies of this time in his writings:
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely . . .will I rule over you . . . I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered . . . with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt . . . I will cause you to pass under the rod . . . I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me . . . and ye shall know that I am the LORD. (Eze 20:33-38 KJV)
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all . . . neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 37:21-23)
Chapters 40 through 44 of Ezekiel describe the temple that will be standing during this time of the second harvest—the thousand years. (This is not the time described in Revelation chapters 21 & 22.)
This vision of the temple begins in chapter 40: “In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month . . . in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon me . . .” (Eze 40:1).
If Ezekiel is reckoning “in the beginning of the year” according to the agricultural year, then this vision is given on the Day of Atonement. In any case, it is the tenth day of the month, and we have seen that the number 10 represents atonement: testing, cleansing, consecrating, proving, shaming, humbling.
If we remember what happens on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus chapter 16, and if we pay close attention when reading Ezekiel chapter 43, we see that the sons of Zadok are making atonement.
Take note of these key verses from chapters 43 and 44 of Ezekiel:
- 43:4-5: “. . . the glory of the LORD filled the house.” (NAS)
- 43:7: “Son of man, this is the place of My throne . . . where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever.” (NAS) [This is the reason for the thousand years of making atonement. After which the Father will “tabernacle among men” on the earth. Rev 21]
- 43:8-11: “And they have defiled My holy name by their abominations . . . So I have consumed them in My anger. . . . As for you son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed [humbled]. . . And if they are ashamed of all that they have done [repentant], make known to them the design.” (NAS)
- 43:18: “These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built . . .” (NAS)
- 43:19,20: “And you shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok. . . a young bull for sin offering. . . . take some of its blood, and put it on its four horns and on the four corners of the ledge . . .thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it.” (ASV)
- 43:25,26 “For seven days you shall prepare daily a goat for a sin offering; also a young bull and a ram from the flock . . . For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it. (NAS)
- 44:4: “ . . . behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD . . .”
Here in Ezekiel we see blood being used seven times to make atonement for the altar—to cleanse and consecrate the place where Yahweh will dwell. It is a statute (Lev 16:29). We see that the people defiled His holy name and were made to be ashamed. And we see the glory of Yahweh filled the house.
The Day of the Lord
Is there a making atonement mentioned during the day of the Lord, when Christ begins to reign? There is. And we can see it if we have understood the Day of Atonement.
In Revelation chapter 11 verse 15 we are told, “And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, ‘The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” So the thousand years begins.
Next are two chapters, 12 & 13, which take a small diversion and describe a vision of a woman and a beast. However, chapter 14 re-establishes the time period to when Christ is reigning:
“And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads . . . . . . for they have kept themselves chaste (NAS), These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God . . . ” (Revelation 14:1-5)
Now we need to pay close attention and remember what happens on the Day of Atonement and its purpose. We are going to start reading in chapter 14 verse 18 and continue on through chapter 16, taking note of some key verses:
“And another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice . . . Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth . . . And the angel . . . gathered the clusters of the vine of the earth and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. . . . and blood came out from the wine press . . .” (Revelation 14:18-20)
The narrative continues in chapter 15 verse 1: “another sign . . . seven angels who had seven plagues . . . in them the wrath of God is finished.” As we continue reading, we see that the seven plagues are seven bowls filled with the blood that has come out of the wine press of the wrath of God mentioned in Revelation 14:20
Continuing in chapter 15 verse 5:
After these things I looked . . . and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple . . . And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God . . .And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God . . . and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.” (Revelation 15:5-8 NAS)
As chapter 14 verse 20 says, blood came out of the winepress. Blood is in the bowls. Note that smoke from the glory of God fills the temple, exactly as in Leviticus 16:23,13. Especially note that no one was able to enter the temple until seven “plagues” were finished—just as in Leviticus 16:17. This is the Day of Atonement.
Now the vision continues in Revelation chapter 16 where it describes the making of atonement for the earth because of the iniquities of its inhabitants. Seven bowls of the wrath of God (blood) are poured out on the earth to make atonement for it just as God commanded Aaron to make atonement for the tent of meeting on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus chapter 16.
These bowls of blood cause seven “plagues”, each having a specific purpose. The overall purpose is to get man to repent and put away their idolatry. But discussing these plagues individually would be for another paper.
However, take notice of one bowl in particular. The third angel pours out his bowl upon the rivers and fountains of waters and they become blood because “they have shed the blood of saints and prophets” (Rev 16:4-6).
Waters are a metaphor for the word of salvation, the word of life, the word of truth ( Isa 12:3; Rev 21:6). However, these waters are polluted, false, idolatrous teachings regarding the word of life (2 Pet 2:1,2,17,18). Those same lies led to the death of Messiah and all the prophets and saints. Those lies and idolatries must die, so to speak. They must be sent away so the unadulterated word of life can be heard (2 Cor 4:2; 2 Tim 2:15) .
Also take notice what is said after the pouring out of the seventh bowl: “. . . there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done” (Rev 16:17; Lev 16:17).
Are these bowls poured out all at once? Or does this process take the complete thousand years to accomplish? We believe it takes the complete thousand years. After all, that is what it is for: Christ reigning until he makes his enemies his footstool.
Conclusion
The scripture has shown us that the number 10 represents cleansing, purging, humbling, shaming, and testing.
The scripture has shown us that the place where Yahweh meets with his people must be atoned for—because of transgressions, idolatry, the worship of goat demons.
After the thousand years are over, Satan must be released for a short time to test the nations, to reveal any remaining rebellion. (This shows that Christ’s rule is a little longer than an exact 1,000 years.) Then the final harvest age comes when all the dead will be resurrected and learn the truth, and the Father will tabernacle among men on the earth (The Feast of Tabernacles).
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Rev 21:3 KJV).
However, the most holy, eternal Father is prevented from dwelling among man because man has defiled the earth by shedding blood and worshiping gods of their own making. “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant” (Isa 24:5 KJV).
The place where the Father will tabernacle with man, the earth, must first be cleansed (atoned for) with blood.
“So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.” (Num 35:33 KJV)
Y’hoshua the Messiah, the high priest, along with those who reign with him, will do just that during the thousand years. Men’s lies and their idolatrous ways and the false prophets that teach those false ways will be put away.
“One day is with the Lord as a thousand years” (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). The Day of Atonement looks forward to the day when man will be shamed, humbled, and made to learn the ways of Yahweh; they shall be ruled by the Yeshua with a “rod of iron.”
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (Rev 19:15 KJV)
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low. (Isa 2:11,12 KJV)
And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He is revealed we may have confidence, and not be shamed from Him in His coming. (1 John 2:28)