Welcome to Torah Today Ministries and our continuing series, Divine Appointments, our studies in the biblical holy days or also known as the mo’adim (מוֹעֲדִים), the appointed times. And in this episode, we’re going to look at the holiest one of the seven, and that is Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר), the Day of Atonement.
Now, in scriptures, it’s not called Yom Kippur, but Yom HaKippurim (יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים), and it’s Kippurim is in the plural because it ends in the yud-mem (ים). And what’s interesting, and you can hear more about this from other rabbis, but that word Kippurim can mean “like Purim” (כְּפוּרִים). A day like Purim.
Like, wait a second. If there’s any day on the calendar that’s not like Yom Kippur, it’s Purim. Purim is the feast of Esther. It’s a day of laughter and feasting and acting silly and dressing up in costume and reading the story of Esther and applauding whenever Mordecai’s name is mentioned and booing and making noise whenever Haman’s name is mentioned. It’s an uproarious crazy wild fun celebration.
So why would God put into his word in the Hebrew that Yom HaKippurim could also be translated as “a day like Purim”?
Well there are a couple things here. First of all in both celebrations lots are mentioned. If you recall the story of Esther, Haman decided he’s going to destroy the Jewish people. So he cast lots to decide which day would be the day that he destroys the Jewish people. He cast lots and the word for lot is pur (פּוּר). Purim (פּוּרִים) is lots.
Now on Yom Kippur there were also lots that were drawn. There’ll be two goats as we’ll see in a moment. One goat is going to be for the Lord and one goat goes into the wilderness, mistakenly called the scapegoat. That’s a terrible name for it, but the goat to Azazel (עֲזָאזֵל) driven into the wilderness. And to decide which goat is which, the high priest would draw lots and decide from those which goat was which.
So there were lots involved in both. But that seems to be where the similarity begins and ends. But it isn’t.
Yom Kippur is about how we are delivered from destruction. The spiritual hidden internal destruction of sin itself in our lives. Yom Kippur is all about sin and how through the actions of the high priest and through the sacrificial blood we are delivered from the destructive force of sin.
Esther is a celebration of being delivered from the sinfulness of an enemy, in that case Haman, who was there to totally eradicate the Jewish people.
There are other similarities. I encourage you to listen to some teachings that have been done on this, but we’re getting way away from the topic. We haven’t really even gotten into it yet.
So, let’s jump right into Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is based upon one chapter in the Bible. That’s Leviticus chapter 16. Studying this chapter will also help you understand Hebrews chapters 8, 9, 10, 11 right through there, which refers back to many of these activities found on the day of Yom Kippur which again is described in Leviticus 16.
I debated whether or not just to read through the entire chapter as part of this teaching but since you are all such diligent students of the Bible I’m going to trust you to read through the chapter on your own.
Also, I am putting a link at the end of the notes for a teaching that I did on Yom Kippur. I think back in 2019, but every year at Beth Tikkun Messianic Fellowship when I was leading it on Yom Kippur, I would do the same teaching year after year after year where I would go through Leviticus 16 and we just walk through each verse and exactly what happened in the temple and what the high priest had to do. So, you’re welcome to go and listen to that teaching.
So, I’m going to assume that you’re familiar with Leviticus 16, and we’re going to move right on into the heart of this teaching.
Now, Passover and Yom Kippur are like two halves of a menorah. They are very different from each other, but there are a number of connections between the two.
And I know that people love to celebrate Passover. I mean, who doesn’t? It’s like our favorite day of the year when friends and family come and Robin makes an incredible feast and we have the matzah and the bitter herbs and all the symbolic elements of the seder meal and we take our time and rehearse the story of deliverance and how it is all fulfilled in our Messiah Yeshua. It’s a wonderful evening together. It’s an incredible time. Who can’t enjoy Passover?
But Yom Kippur unfortunately gets the short stick in this because of all the people I know who celebrate Passover, it seems like so few also give the same attention and devotion to Yom Kippur because Yom Kippur isn’t fun. It’s not a feast day. It’s a fast day and nobody likes to fast. It’s also a day that we are very reflective. We look in and we really begin to think of how sinful we are, how prone to sin we are, how we have a great potential towards sin. And it’s not a pleasant thing to think about.
And yet these two holy days come almost exactly six months apart because they’re two parts of a menorah. And you know the arms of a menorah connect. Let’s see how they connect.
Timing:
Day of the Month:
But think for a moment. If you go back to the story of Passover and you read about it, you find that the preparations for Passover began on the 10th day of Nisan, the 10th day of the month. That’s when they would select a lamb. They would separate it. They would bring it into the house and they would watch it for 4 days and examine it to make sure it was flawless. Then in the evening of the 14th day is when it would be sacrificed. So for all intents and purposes, Passover really gets rolling on the 10th day of the month.
Location:
Leadership:
Pilgrimage:
Clothing:
Instructions:
Sacrifices:
Feast vs. Fast:
The Blood:
The Focus:
Preceding Events:
Those 10 days leading up to the 10th day, Yom Kippur, are 10 days where you would pay off loans that you owe people. You would confess sins to one another. If you thought someone had something against you, you went to them and you’d make things right. I know many times over the years during these 10 days, I would have to think, “Oh, I need to go talk to someone and make sure everything is good between us.”
The Theme:
After the Day:
Now, here’s how you sum up these two halves of the menorah we’ve just created.
Yom Kippur is all about our high priest’s accomplishments. It’s what he did that deals with our sin. It’s the work that he did all by himself so that we could have our sins removed and be set free from the power of sin itself.
But Passover was all about our joyful response and our experience because of what Messiah did.
Here’s how you can think of these two things. If you’ve ever been to a musical, a really fun musical, and on the stage it’s at the part where everybody’s singing, everybody’s happy, everything’s going great, it’s rejoicing, and you feel wonderful. You’re enjoying this great music and celebration.
But let’s say for a moment you could just go around behind the curtain where the play is being performed and there you would see the stage hands and they’re working. They’re diligent and they’re doing everything precisely as it should be and they’re raising and lowering sets and curtains and there’s the director sweating making sure everything’s done precise, everything’s perfect. They’re not back there enjoying the play. They’re back there working to make sure everything’s done so you can enjoy the play.
So this is why I encourage you if you are enjoying Passover, then you owe it to your savior to also take a day once a year on Yom Kippur to fast, to afflict your soul and to reflect upon what your forgiveness, what your freedom and what your life cost him.
Because to enjoy Passover without really embracing Yom Kippur is like eating a great feast someone’s given you and not saying thank you.
So these two experiences and these two holy days at opposite sides of the year are two arms of a menorah that connect. One is our experience and the other is Messiah’s experience.
Now let’s talk about these two goats. Two twin goats. According to tradition, these two goats must be indistinguishable. They must be absolutely identical as much as possible, as close to being clones as they can be. And they must both belong to the high priest. They have to be purchased with one piece of money.
And he stands them in front of him. And you read about this in Leviticus 16. And then it says he draws lots.
So there would be a box. He would reach in with both hands and grab one lot in one hand, one in the other, not knowing which was which. And he would stand before the two goats, one on his left, one on his right, open his hands, and whichever hand said “to Adonai” (לַיהוָה), that goat would be sacrificed, its blood taken into the Holy of Holies, and it would be pointed towards the temple. The one that came up “to Azazel” (לַעֲזָאזֵל), that goat would be turned around facing out the east gate to be driven into the wilderness.
They’d also take a red cloth and tie it around that goat’s horns because that red cloth represents the sins that that goat is bearing. So, until those lots are drawn, the high priest would not know which goat was which.
Now, I put a link at the end of the notes to the Temple Institute where you can see the actual box and what the lots look like. And if you ever go to Jerusalem, make sure you do not miss a little side trip to the Temple Institute. It’s right there in the old city and it’s well worth spending a few hours there.
And there you can see all of the objects that they have been built and created for use in the next temple. The silver trumpets, you can see the harps. You can see the clothing of the priest, the high priest. The golden headpiece, Kadosh L’Adonai (קֹדֶשׁ לַיהוָה), “Holy to the Lord.” You can see the ephod that’s been made for the high priest to wear. I mean, it’s right there behind the glass. You can see it. You could reach out and touch it if the glass wasn’t there. You can see the golden altar of incense, the shovels and all the things that are going to be used including the menorah that are going to be used in the next temple including this box that has the lots.
And here’s one lot. This one says “Azazel” (עֲזָאזֵל). And so you can see it engraved on this metal and there’s a hinge right here. So this top part would fold down over so you couldn’t see it. And of course then this lot here would be “to the Lord.” And you can see them. These will be used by the high priest on the day to come.
What’s the purpose of these two goats? Well, as you read through Leviticus 16, we’re going to read some portions of it in a moment. You’re going to find that:
So let’s read. Let’s find out how this works. First, the goat to Adonai. This is found in Leviticus 16:15-16. It says:
“Then he,” that’s the high priest, “shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which 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, and sprinkle it on the ark cover and in front of the ark cover.” (Leviticus 16:15)
There is disagreement and there is debate as to whether anything was actually sprinkled right on the ark cover because that word can mean “on” or “toward.” So, we just don’t know exactly, but we do know that if there was a drop sprinkled on the ark cover, there were then seven drops sprinkled in a row leading right up towards the ark.
“He shall make atonement for the holy place.” (Leviticus 16:16a)
So, this is to cleanse the house of the Lord because we’ve had people coming to the house of the Lord. We’ve had priests coming into the house of the Lord and people are sinful. People are unclean. And as hard as we may try, we taint the things we touch. And so once a year at Yom Kippur, the house of the Lord is to be cleansed from all the impurities that the people have brought to it.
“He shall make atonement for the holy place because of the impurities of the sons of Israel, because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins. And thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.” (Leviticus 16:16)
Tent of meeting is used here in Leviticus because that is where they met during the time Leviticus was written. Later it would be Solomon’s temple then Herod’s temple. So the tent of meeting is also referring to the temple itself.
Now the goat to Azazel, Leviticus 16:21-22 says:
“Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat” (Leviticus 16:21a)
They’ve killed the one goat to the Lord and taken its blood into the Holy of Holies. But now you have this other goat that’s live with a red cloth wrapped around its horns facing out towards the wilderness.
“He shall lay his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all of the iniquities of the sons of Israel, all their rebellious sins, their pesha (פֶּשַׁע), among all their sins, all their errors.” (Leviticus 16:21b)
Now, there are three distinct words here used: iniquities, rebellious sins, and then just plain old everyday sins.
“And he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away by the hand of an ish iti (אִישׁ עִתִּי).” (Leviticus 16:21c)
A very interesting phrase. Ish (אִישׁ) means man. Iti (עִתִּי) means time. It means timely. A man of time. We don’t know exactly what this means. Traditionally, it says a man who has less than a year to live. How they know he has less than a year to live, I don’t know. But it’s kind of mysterious.
But this designated man, this ish iti would lead the goat to Azazel into the wilderness. Now get this:
“The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.” (Leviticus 16:22)
Now, we know historically that what this man did, he didn’t just let the goat go. They didn’t want it wandering back into town. He would take it to the edge of a tall cliff and he would push it backwards off the cliff so it would die on its fall down. It’d be a very painful death as it would bounce and hit and die on its way down.
I want you to think about something. We often talk about how Messiah was a sin sacrifice. He was a sacrifice to take away our sins. And he was a sacrifice in terms of the fact that he sacrificed himself. He gave himself freely as a sacrifice.
But other than that, he didn’t meet any of the criteria for a Levitical sacrifice.
For example:
So there’s nothing about Yeshua’s sacrifice that meets the criteria of a Levitical sacrifice, but it does meet the criteria of the goat to Azazel which was taken into the wilderness not by a priest but by an ish iti. It wasn’t killed in the temple but out in the wilderness. Its blood was not put on the altar. It was just splashed onto the ground when it burst into pieces at the bottom of the cliff.
And yet, and make sure you hear this, this goat to Azazel is the only animal in the entire sacrificial system, the entire Torah, the entire Bible, the only animal that bears on itself all their iniquities.
It is the only animal that actually bears sin.
This is what’s interesting. We use the word atonement a lot. Whereas in the Hebrew, in Greek, the word atonement doesn’t really appear. Atone means really to cover over. The word kippur (כִּפֻּר) means to cover.
When it can be, if you have sin in your life, the blood of a sacrifice just kind of covered it, just kind of hid it from view, but didn’t remove it. When you go out to eat with someone and the waiter comes up and says, “Will this be on one check or on two?” And you or the person you’re eating with says, “I’ll cover it.” That means I’ll pay the price for both. That’s what the word atone means. The word kippur means to cover. I’ll take care of it.
But what Yeshua did is never called an atonement except in the King James translation which mistranslates a word. But it’s never called an atonement. He did not atone. He removed sin. That’s better. He didn’t cover it over. He took it away. He separated as far as the east is from the west, at the bottom of the sea. He took it away. It is gone.
And this, make sure you get this, if I sound passionate because I am. This is the only animal that takes away sin because it’s a picture of Messiah. I mean, did the goat actually take away sin? It pictures bearing sin. It pictures taking away sin. But it was a picture of the Messiah who would actually do it in reality.
Now, let’s look at these words.
Chatat (חַטָּאת) – The normal word for sin is the word chatat which can be shortened to just the first two letters, chet (חֵטְא). It means an error, a mistake. It just simply means you’re trying to hit the bullseye and you missed by a little bit.
Here’s an example of chet. Let’s say you’re going to someone’s home for the first time and they give you directions how to get there. So, you’re driving along. You’re looking for their road and oh, you accidentally passed their street. That’s an error. You didn’t break any laws and it wasn’t a big deal, but you made an error. So, you go up, you circle the block, and you get to their house. No big deal. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We just make mistakes without even breaking any moral laws.
Avon (עָוֹן) – Now, an iniquity is an avon. It’s not “Avon.” It’s how it’s pronounced. An avon would be you’re trying to get to your friend’s house and you come to their street and you turn on their street and then you realize, uh-oh, this is a one-way street and I’m going the wrong way. It was an innocent mistake, but nevertheless, you transgressed a traffic law. And if there’s a policeman there, you’ll probably be getting a ticket and a fine. These are the avonot (עֲוֹנוֹת). This means we are actually guilty. We actually broke a law. We didn’t just make a mistake, but we violated one of God’s commandments.
Pesha (פֶּשַׁע) – Now, the word translated transgression is the word pesha. This is the most serious of the three. Pesha is just pure outright rebellion. This is like you’re driving to your friend’s house. You’re following the directions. You come to their street. You see it’s a one-way street, but you turn on it anyway. You don’t care. You know you’re going the wrong way. You think, “Ah, I’ll make it. Nothing bad will happen.” That’s rebellion. Not only did you make a mistake, but you broke a law and you did it willfully.
Now, when you read about the sin and guilt offerings, the chatat and the avon offerings in Leviticus in the first five chapters, you’ll see that they’re only for error and an unwilling violation. And these things would cover the sin. And this is the way you confess that you made a mistake.
But if you sinned rebelliously, if you sinned on purpose, guess what? There is no sacrifice for that.
This is why when David sinned and committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. This is adultery and murder. And he did it pretty much with his eyes open. So what happened when Nathan the prophet came to him and convicted him of the sins, the horrible sins, the pesha that he had committed?
Did David rush to the tabernacle to offer a sacrifice? No. He rushed to the tabernacle to pray. There’s no sacrifice to bring.
So what did the rabbis say is the solution to willful sin? Repentance. Casting yourself on God’s grace because there’s no sacrifice you can bring for that.
And yet once a year this “scapegoat,” again, not a good translation, but this goat to Azazel, and we’re not quite sure what Azazel even means, but this goat that goes into the wilderness actually was considered to bear the chatat, the avon, and the pesha of every person on itself.
What a picture of Messiah.
Now, here’s something to think about. When Yeshua died, he was like both of these goats. There are two things he had to do. He had to bear the sins away one direction, but also had to go and appear by his own blood before the Father. As the writer of Hebrews says, he had to do two things because both of these goats are a picture of our wonderful redeemer.
And so in John 20:17, he’s just risen from the dead. And at least maybe a few hours earlier and Miriam finds him and when she recognizes who this is, she just grabs a hold of him and won’t let go. Yeshua, he had to have been laughing. He had to be laughing and rejoicing with her. But he said:
“Stop clinging to me for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” (John 20:17)
So in other words, he says, “I have an appointment here. I have to ascend to the Father. There’s something important I have to do. It’s like the goat to Adonai. I have to go to the Father. There’s something I have to do and I have to perform a service there in the Holy of Holies.”
Now, he’s going to come back and appear to the disciples and appear to hundreds of people over the next several days. But right then on that day of his resurrection, he says, “I got to go to the Father.”
But there’s also this other rather cryptic passage and I’m not going to claim that my interpretation is exactly what Paul had in mind here. But Ephesians 4:9-10 says:
“Now the expression ‘he ascended,’ what does it mean except that he also had descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens so that he might fill all things.” (Ephesians 4:9-10)
So there’s an indication here that just as the one goat had to go into the wilderness to take sins away, also had to go into the Holy of Holies as blood to cleanse the house of God. Yeshua seems to have done both of these as well. I don’t know, don’t make too much of a big deal out of it but just something to think about.
But here’s a quote from the ArtScroll Stone Chumash. If you do not own a Stone Chumash from ArtScroll, just go to artscroll.com, look up their Stone Chumash. It comes in all different formats. And if you don’t have one, get one. And I don’t get, this is not a paid announcement, but I’ve been using the Stone Chumash for probably 30 years. And it’s something that I just can’t quite do without.
But it’s the Torah in Hebrew and in English and with some ancient commentary, even comments from Paul’s rabbi, Gamaliel. And it’s full of these wonderful insights and thoughts about the Torah from over the many centuries.
But this is one of the comments:
“The commandment to send a scapegoat to Azazel is described by the sages as a chok (חֹק). A chok is a decree that is beyond human intelligence. Indeed, the concept of an animal carrying away all the sins of a nation does seem incomprehensible.”
And yet Yeshua didn’t take just the sins of one nation. But as John the Immerser said:
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29)
Now that’s almost beyond comprehension.
So here’s an important thing that you need to do because you can read through Leviticus 16 and think, well, which of these characters represents Messiah? All of them do.
All of these actors in this story of Yom Kippur each one in its own way pictures one facet of our redeemer, of Yeshua the Messiah.
Now let me close with this. This is, you’ve been sitting through this and enduring this teaching. I know it’s probably one of the longer ones. This will really make it worthwhile.
I already quoted John 1:29 where John the Immerser says:
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
It says, “The next day he saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Now, there’s a problem with this. Male lambs were never sin offerings.
And of course, Yeshua was a male. And here’s the phrase in Greek, amnos tou theou (ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ), Lamb of God. And the word for lamb here is masculine. So, a male lamb, the male Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
People who heard John the Immerser say this would realize, wait a minute, male lambs are never sin offerings. They’re never sacrifices for sin. Read through Leviticus and you’ll see an occasion where female lambs could be used as a sin offering. Never a male lamb.
So, how could he say it’s this male lamb that takes away the sins of the world? Besides that, sin offerings didn’t take away sins. They covered the sins. Their blood covered them. So what is he talking about? Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Well, John realized the insight that I shared with you at the beginning of this teaching. Passover and Yom Kippur are two sides of the same story.
On Passover, we celebrate the lamb whose blood goes on the door, whose body is eaten inside. And Yeshua himself was crucified on the day of Passover thousands of years later. He is the Lamb of God.
But sin is not mentioned on Passover. Removing sin is talked about on Yom Kippur. And that’s a goat that does that.
But you see what John’s doing? He’s saying that lamb at Passover whose blood brought forgiveness, whose body brought you freedom, that’s the goat over here that removes the sins of the world. They’re one. Passover and Yom Kippur go together to make one. They’re two halves of a whole.
Now, here’s something else that’s interesting. You know, everything comes in pairs. This phrase “Lamb of God,” amnos tou theou (ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ), appears only two times in the entire Bible. Only two times.
So here is the first time, John 1:29, where John says “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” But a few verses later he’s going to say it again.
So let’s go to John 1:36-39. And of course again it’s John the Immerser:
“And he looked at Yeshua as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’” (John 1:36)
This time he doesn’t refer to taking away the sins of the world. Just, “Look, there’s the Lamb of God.” Remember it only occurs two times. First time about taking away sin. But what’s this second mention?
“The two disciples heard him.” (John 1:37a)
These are two of John’s disciples.
“Heard him say this and they followed Yeshua.” (John 1:37b)
So, it’s that, “Thank you, John. We’re going to start following the Messiah. We’re going to start following Yeshua now.”
“Yeshua turned and saw them following and said to them, ‘What are you seeking?’ And they said to him, ‘Rabbi,’ which means teacher, ‘Where are you staying?’” (John 1:38)
Now, that word for staying in Hebrew or in Greek rather is the word meno (μένω), which means “where do you abide? Where do you reside? Where do you remain?” That’s what the word means. Where is it that you really spend your time? Where do you abide? Where’s home?
“And he answered them. He said to them, ‘Come and you will see.’ So they came and saw where he was staying. And they stayed with him that day, for it was about the 10th hour.” (John 1:39)
Now, why is this important?
Remember the two goats? One goat takes away the sins. And the first time we see “Lamb of God” is the lamb who takes away the sins of the world.
But remember the other goat, it goes into God’s house where God stays, where his presence, his Shekhinah (שְׁכִינָה) abides. The word shakan (שָׁכַן) means to abide, to dwell. That’s his home. And it says zeal for God’s house or his Father’s house consumed Messiah. He saw that building as being his Father’s house.
And so here the second time we see the term “Lamb of God” is two disciples asking him, “Where do you abide? Where do you live? Where do you remain?” He says, “Come with me.”
And then as if just to put a dot on the i, it tells us the time. What difference does it make what time it is?
“For it was about the 10th hour.” (John 1:39)
Do you know this is the only place in the Bible where that phrase occurs? The 10th hour. The 10th hour. It doesn’t appear anywhere else.
What does that have to do with anything? What day of the month does Yom Kippur occur? The 10th day.
Is it coincidence? I doubt it. I think it’s one of these wonders that God has hidden in his word for us to discover. What a God we have. And he’s leaving the breadcrumbs along the path, hoping we’ll follow them. Hope we discover these wonderful insights that he’s put into his word.
So, I hope that this Yom Kippur, for me it’s about two weeks away. I hope that this Yom Kippur will be meaningful to you. You’ll do a little research, set the day aside, and plan out your day how you’re going to spend it with God. If there’s a synagogue, especially a messianic synagogue that you can attend and attend the services there, then by all means do so.
But make this a day of fasting, of searching your soul, most of all realizing and really taking to heart what your freedom and your life cost our savior.
And I guarantee you won’t be sorry. It’ll be a very full, wonderful, and spiritual day for you.
So until next time, I wish you shalom and may God bless.
PASSOVER (OUR EXPERIENCE)
YOM KIPPUR (MESSIAH’S ACCOMPLISHMENT)
Two Twin Goats: One to Adonai + One to Azazel:
The Goat to Adonai (Cleanses God’s House)
Leviticus 16:15-16 Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which 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 and sprinkle it on the Ark cover and in front of the Ark cover. He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins, and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.
The Goat to Azazel (Cleanses God’s People)
Leviticus 16:21-22 Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their rebellious sins among all their sins, and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away by the hand of an ish iti (איש עתי) into the wilderness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
Sin = חטאת (chatat) = Error
Iniquities = עון (Avon) = Violation/Guilt
Transgression = פשע (pesha) = Rebellion
John 20:17 Yeshua said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”
Ephesians 4:9-10 Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.
QUOTE: The commandment to send a “scapegoat” to Azazel is described by the Sages as a חק, a decree that is beyond human intelligence. Indeed, the concept of an animal carrying away all the sins of a nation does seem incomprehensible. (Artscroll Stone Chumash)
4 Pictures of Messiah:
John 1:29 The next day he saw Yeshua coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
αμνος του θεου (amnos tou Theo)
John 1:36-39 And he looked at Yeshua as He walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Yeshua. Yeshua turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
NOTES:
Temple Institute link:
https://templeinstitute.org/holy-temple-museum/
Yom Kippur teaching link:
