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The Trail of 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. Then, we will look at some common misconceptions and why they don't agree with the instructions given to Moses by the Creator.

Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement ceremony

For a full study of this yearly ceremony, see Part 1 and Part 2 - the scapegoat. This is a yearly ceremony and 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 with make atonement for them 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(Leviticus 16:15):

  1. Aaron had to "bathe in water"(vs.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 so that a cloud of incense will rise over" the mercy-seat in the presence of Jehovah(vs.2,12-13).
  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 dwelleth with them in the midst of their defilement."
    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(6 passages), 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). Six 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. 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).

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

-Sid Nash: 11/14/2025. Latest version: