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The Trail of Sins

God's Plan of Salvation

Introduction

This study addresses the record of our sins and tracks that record from the Day of Atonement ceremony found in Leviticus 16, all the way to Revelation 20, revealing God's plan of Salvation for the human race from the beginning of the Bible to the end.

Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement ceremony

For a full study of this yearly ceremony, see Part 1 and Part 2 - the scapegoat. This ceremony is one of the most sacred and solemn days in the Bible. It is described primarily in Leviticus 16 and Leviticus 23:26-32 . Its purpose is to atone for the sins of the people of Israel. (definition of "atonement") For the people, this was to be a day of rest, humble introspection and repentance, with expectation that the priest will make atonement for them and that they may be forgiven and spiritually cleansed( Lev16:29-30;1Jn1:9 ). It was the job of the High Priest to officiate. The original High Priest was Aaron, Moses' brother.

Consider all that Aaron had to do for himself and his family, before he was able to work on behalf of the people of Israel:

  1. Aaron had to "bathe in water"( Leviticus 16:4 ).
  2. Aaron had to wear special "sacred garments" in order to enter "within the veil"(vs.4). I think this is symbolic, in that those garments covered his sins, like "Putting on the Robe of Christ's Righteousness" (Bible Study).
  3. Aaron had to kill his own "young bull", as a sin-offering for himself and his family(vs.3,6,11).
  4. Aaron had to have "his hands full of sweet incense" and put it "on the burning coals{this was on the alter of incense in the most-holy place} so that a cloud of incense will rise over" the mercy-seat in the presence of Jehovah(vs.2,12-13). In the real sanctuary in Heaven, Revelation 8:3-4 tells use that the alter of incense is used for the prayers of the saints. Also see Rev5:8;Ps141:2 .
  5. Aaron had to take the blood of his now-dead "young bull" and sprinkle it on the mercy seat with "his finger". This was symbolic of transferring his and his family's sins to the mercy seat in the Sanctuary.

After all this, Aaron able to atone for the sins of the people. Here are the steps that show the trail of sins: 1) God's goat (the sin-offering); 2) the High-priest and the blood of the sin-offering; 3) the scapegoat. These topics will be listed in order, because order is important, in this context.

  1. God's goat (the sin-offering)
    1. Through the casting of lots, this goat was chosen by God, which is why it is referred to as "God's Goat"( Lev16:7-9 ). Compare this with "the lamb of God" - God's Son (many Bible passages).
    2. The meaning of "sin-offering" is that the sins of the people were symbolically transferred from each person to the sin-offering.
      • Leviticus 16:15-16 "Then Aaron must kill the goat{for God(vs.8-9)} as a sin-offering for the people, and carry its blood behind the veil{the Most Holy Place}. There he will sprinkle the goat's blood over the mercy-seat and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. 16 And he will make atonement for the Holy Place, and so shall he do for the Tabernacle, that dwells with them..."
    3. God's Goat, the sin-offering symbolizes God's Son, Jesus - our Messiah, who bore our sins on the cross(7 passages). The penalty of sin is death( Rom6:23 ). So, Jesus died to pay our penalty for our sins - death. This was to satisfy demands of the moral law( Ex20:1-17 ).
  2. The officiating High Priest is also a symbol of our Great High Priest(17 verses), Jesus, in the following acts:
    1. "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" ( Hebrews 9:22 ).
    2. The blood of the sin-offering was used by the High Priest to atone for the sins of the people( Lev16:15-19 ), etc... He did this by sprinkling the blood of the sin-offering(representing Messiah) on the mercy-seat, just below the presence of God Almighty.
    3. Likewise Jesus makes atonement for us with His own blood ( Heb9:11-28 ). This is why He is our only mediator with God( 1 Timothy 2:5 ). No one can come to God, except through Jesus( John 14:6 ). When we sin and confess our sins to God, this is why and how are sins are forgiven and we are cleansed from all our unrighteousness( 1Jn1:9 ).
    4. Four more passages showing how, as mediator, he replaces the veil in the temple when this 4-inch-thick curtain was torn from the top to the bottom when Jesus died.
      1. Exodus 26:31 ¶ And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubim the work of the skilful workman shall it be made. 32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And thou shalt hang up the veil under the clasps, and shalt bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall separate unto you between the holy place and the most holy.
      2. John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up His spirit.
      3. Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent;
      4. Hebrews 10:19 ¶ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 and having a great priest over the house of God; 22 let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water,
  3. The Scapegoat - Azazel in Hebrew => full study - https://sidnash.org/docs/Atonement-scapegoat.html

    1. Next, Aaron uses the scapegoat to make the final atonement( Lev16:10 ) =>

      • Leviticus 16:20-21 When Aaron{the High Priest} has finished atoning for the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. 21 He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the children of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat{azazel} into the wilderness. 22 As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land. {this is the FINAL atonement, when the goat, along with the sins it carried are finally destroyed}
    2. Notice that, just like the High Priest(originally Aaron) of old transferred the sins of the people onto azazel, in reality, our High Priest, Jesus will transfer all the sins of the saved onto satan - just one time, at about the time He comes again. Then a mighty angel will put satan into prison for 1,000 years, followed by his release and his final revolt. Then satan is destroyed in the lake of fire, along with the record of the sins of the saints ( Rev20:1-15 ). Furthermore, death will forever be destroyed - Five verses.

The Passover ceremony

For a full study of this yearly ceremony, see https://sidnash.org/docs/Passover.html, Bible texts Exodus 12:1-46; 34:25; Leviticus 23:3-8 .

This ceremony doesn't apply directly to the trail of the record of our sins. However, it is a vital part of "God's Plan of Salvation". Let's see why that is...

  1. The Passover service was invoked as a memorial to God's deliverance of the Israelites after 400 of years of slavery to Egypt ( Genesis15:13;Acts7:6;Exodus12:40; ).
  2. Jesus is our Passover Lamb (Three Passages) who has the power to deliver us from to bondage to those sins that most-easily beset us( Hebrews12:1-2; ), just as God delivered the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt. For, we "can do everything through Christ, who gives [us] strength."( Philippians 4:13 )

Desiring to live by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah ( Deut8:3; Matt4:4 )

-Sid Nash: 11/15/2025. Latest version: https://sidnash.org/docs/TrailOfSins.html