Atonement

When it comes to understanding the difference between atonement and propitiation, invariably, most expositors and commentators have difficulty distinguishing one from the other. This occurs because appeasing the Devil is not a consideration. Instead, the focus is on appeasing God's wrath. The reason for this is few theologians recognize that nobody asked to be born into a world governed by iniquity therefore God needs to right the wrong. They think that God hasn't got any responsibility to right the wrong of being born into a world of sin and death, where a knowledge of what love ought to be exists, but suffering is experienced by all people because nobody has the ability to express genuine love. Primarily, this is because true love never ends.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language provides three definitions for the word “atonement”.

1. Amends or reparation made for an injury or wrong; expiation.
2. An individual's reconciliation with God by means of repentance and confession of one's transgressions.
3. The reconciliation of God and humans brought about by the redemptive life and death of Jesus.

Two of the definitions reflect mainstream Christian theology.

The first definition provides a general understanding of the meaning of "atonement".

The second definition speaks of what people have to do in order to reconcile with God.

The third definition emphasizes how the reconciliation is brought about through the death of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

There are three aspects of the death of Lord Jesus Christ that are not fully understood. They are not identified as being separate aspects of what happened because of the death of the Righteous One, on behalf of God to redeem man from being born to die. The promise given to Adam was that if he ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die that day. Little did Adam understand that this meant the death of his innocence and, thus, spiritual death, due to his disobedience of faith. 

However, God did not cease having anything to do with Adam, because He clothed him and Eve with skins, and, though evicted from the Garden of Eden, they were still living in the presence of their Creator. This we know because of what happened to Cain after having murdered his brother. Cain was still in the presence of God (Genesis 4:16). 

There is the possibility that this may have meant something else. For after Adam and Eve had sinned they attempted to hide from the presence of the Lord among the trees in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). Even though what happened is the absolute truth, the context suggests that the account of events are more instructive than literal.  For the Lord calls out to Adam and Eve, asking where they were, as if He didn't know.  But God knew. He is omniscient. The narrative is recorded for teaching purposes more than historical reasons. 

One of the problems within theological circles that flows down to the ministry level and taught to the congregants is the confusion that occurs between what happens at the Passover and how it differs from the Atonement. Not distinguishing the specific significance of each feast results in combining the two as if they were minor variants or a different view of the same sacrifice. 

The Passover requires the common people to prepare a sacrifice. The Atonement requires a sacrifice to be performed by the High Priest and he alone entering into a facility known as the Holy of Holies that no one else can enter. This fact alone separates the two feasts, besides the fact that they are celebrated at different times of the year. One in the first month and the other in the seventh month. 

The Passover has to do with the first born of death, the Covering Cherub, the Devil himself. In Egypt, the blood was the protection of the people. People plead the blood today for this very reason. Not that this is required when individuals are walking in the light as God is in the light; for those that do are covering by the blood of Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 1:7).

The Atonement has different features which distinguish it as having nothing to do with the individual person having to do anything, except the High Priest. The feast known as the Day of Atonement symbolically represents what Jesus Christ, the High Priest, did when He was crucified as the Passover Lamb. The people participated in bringing the Lamb of God to the Cross of Calvary. Once on the cross, the people had nothing to do except wait until He who knew no sin, became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Aaron was the High Priest and we read:

15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.

20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. (Leviticus 16:15-22)

The two goats that are involved in this sacrificial act demonstrate how a sacrifice takes place and in the doing so the sins of the people are taken away. This sacrifice indicates that a time is to come when the sins of the world will be taken away forever. God has made amends for allowing people to be born into a futile and unjust life of sin, suffering and death. This why only the High Priest, Aaron is spoken of in this sacred feast, as being the one who slays one goat for the sins of the people, goes into the Holy of Holies, returns and lays the sins of the people on the second goat which he sets free to run away, taking with it all of the sins. 

No one else was permitted into the Holy Holies other then the High Priest, and this once a year. Two of Aaron's sons had died because they went to enter unapproved (Leviticus 10:1-2). The High Priest returning from entering the Holy of Holies to lay the sins of the people on the goat to be banished into the wilderness, represents the Son of God rising from the dead to bring new life to all mankind not marred by sin and death.

This is the way God has made amends for all the injustice that has occurred on Earth as a consequence of the Covering Cherub, that Ancient Serpent, deceiving Eve.  The first dictionary definition "amends or reparation made for an injury or wrong" is really what the Atonement is all about. What is not understood is that God Himself had to make amends for the wrong done, not because we couldn't, but because the Creation is His responsibility. 

By making amends for what has happened to the Man and his posterity, God has demonstrated that He Himself is righteous. Our Heavenly Father is not like some tyrant that makes decisions on the spur of the moment, as scoffers like to make Him out to be; rather, He is righteous in everything that He does. This has been demonstrated not only by the Son of God being crucified and taking upon Himself the sin of the world (John 1:29) but in the way He offered Himself up. The Jews captured him and took him to the Romans because they hated him showing up their hypocrisy. The Romans crucified him as a matter of political expediency. In all this, Jesus did not sin once.

Atonement has been made for everyone. Whatever stood between us and our Heavenly Father has been removed.  The record of debt with its legal demands has been nailed to the Cross and set aside. The rulers and authorities that stood against us, because of this record, have been disarmed and put to shame (Colossians 2:14-15).  Just as the sins of the nation were transferred to the sacrifice (Leviticus 16:20-22), our sins were transferred to the Son. For the human body and soul of Lord Jesus Christ bore our sins on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24; Is. 53:4-5; Job 18:13). 

Regardless of whether we accept this, because of what happened to the Son of God on the Cross, we now have access to the throne of Heaven. No longer is there any chasm between our Heavenly Father and us that cannot be crossed.

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