“Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”
(Heb 9:23, NKJV)
The Old Covenant offers various examples of the role the blood of Christ would play in the New Covenant. In the Scripture quoted above it is suggested that there are copies of things that God would have to purify in the spiritual realm (=heaven) through certain sacrifices and rituals performed on earth. According to Thayer the word copy in Greek is defined as “a sign suggestive of anything, delineation of a thing, representation, figure, copy … an example: for imitation … of the thing to be imitated … for a warning, of a thing to be shunned”.
Note that when a sacrifice of blood and ritual actually physically takes place it purifies certain elements in the spiritual realm.
A good example of such an actual act was the Old Testament ritual of the two sacrificial goats that is found in Lev 16:8-22. For the sake of context, some verses from this passage – “Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the unclean-ness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins … Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.”
The idiomatic expression scapegoat originates from this concept. It entails carrying blame or punishment on behalf of another, like punishing one child although all had done wrong. With the passing of time the idiom has however lost some of its original meaning, as the one who carries the collective punishment must not have any involvement with the original transgression for which he is being punished. (For that reason the crucifixion of Christ is not tragic. Tragedy involves an individual being punished or coming to a fall through a character flaw, or circumstances which force him into making certain choices which eventually render him a victim – which was not the case with Jesus – Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 2 Cor 5:21.) The proper name Azazel, in the original language, is “the goat who is sent away”.
Misunderstanding the name of Azazel entails a demonic agenda, which is of great importance and which will be discussed in the next teaching.
- Sela: Try to understand the spiritual significance of this ritual within the New Covenant.
- Read: Num 8; Ruth 3; Ezec 9
- Memorize: Ruth 3:9 (pray this too!)
- For a deeper understanding: Read t G R Disker’s The Torah, A Modern Commentary.
