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The Scapegoat

The Scapegoat: Azazel, Atonement, and the Removal of Sin

The ritual of the Scapegoat, detailed in Leviticus 16, is the central and most dramatic element of the annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). It is not the story of a person, but of an object and a symbolic action that profoundly illustrated the biblical principle of atonement and the supernatural removal of sin.

1. The Day and the Distinction (Leviticus 16:5-10)

The Day of Atonement was the one day of the year the High Priest was permitted to enter the Most Holy Place. A crucial part of the ceremony involved the handling of two goats for a sin offering for the people:

“And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.” (Leviticus 16:5, KJV).

The High Priest (Aaron or his successor) would cast lots over the two goats to determine their fate:

  • One lot for the LORD (YHWH): This goat would be slain and its blood sprinkled to make atonement for the people, symbolizing the cost of sin.
  • One lot for the scapegoat (Azazel): This goat would be presented alive before the LORD, symbolizing the removal of sin.

2. The Ritual: Transfer and Release (Leviticus 16:20-22)

The slain goat secured the pardon of sin through its blood; the second goat secured the separation of sin through its removal. This dual action was critical to the concept of atonement.

Transfer of Sin

After sacrificing the first goat, the High Priest would perform the climactic action upon the live scapegoat:

“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:” (Leviticus 16:21, KJV).

This laying of hands was a ritual act of transfer, symbolically loading the accumulated guilt and sin of the entire community onto the innocent animal.

The Removal

The scapegoat was then led away by a designated man into an uninhabited area, never to return. The final destination of the scapegoat was the wilderness, a symbol of separation and desolation:

“And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.” (Leviticus 16:22, KJV).

The sight of the goat vanishing into the desert provided a powerful, tangible assurance to the people that their sins had been removed and would not be held against them for the year.

3. The Prophetic Hotspot: Christ, Our Scapegoat

The Scapegoat ritual is one of the most significant Prophetic Hotspots foreshadowing the work of Jesus Christ.

  • Christ as the Sacrificed Goat: Christ was slain and shed His blood to achieve the forgiveness of sin (like the first goat).
  • Christ as the Scapegoat: Christ bore the sins of the world upon Himself outside the “camp” (Jerusalem) and carried them away, removing the condemnation from believers (like the second goat).

This is powerfully echoed in the Psalms, confirming the extent of the removal:

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12, KJV).

The two goats were necessary to complete the atonement: forgiveness through sacrifice, and separation through bearing the sins away.

The Return Question: Cleansing for the Coming

The Lord’s Return will finalize the separation of the righteous from the wicked. How does the ritual of the Scapegoat, which vividly symbolized the total removal of all Israel’s sins from the camp and into the wilderness, provide assurance that Christ has completely borne away the transgressions of the faithful, thereby rendering them clean and ready for the presence of the returning King?

The Scapegoat provides a profound answer to The Return Question: the concept of a final, complete, and unreturnable removal of sin is guaranteed by Christ’s work. The faithful awaiting TheLordsReturn.com are assured that they will not meet the King with any lingering burden of sin. The sins they once carried have been forever placed upon the true Scapegoat, leaving them free from all iniquity and perfectly prepared for the final, eternal cleansing and acceptance into the Kingdom.