who lost everlasting life in human perfection, bequeathed sin and death to his offspring (Rom. 5:12), and Adam’s descendants therefore came under condemnation to death. God’s just law that like should go for like (Deut. 19:21) required exact atonement for what was thus lost, if man was to regain the opportunity to enjoy everlasting life.

As used in the Bible, “atonement” has the basic thought of “cover” or “exchange,” and that which is given in exchange for or as a “cover” for another thing must be its duplicate. Thus, anything making satisfaction for something that is lost or forfeited must be “at one” with that other thing, completely covering it as its exact equivalent. There must be no overlapping and no coming short. No imperfect human could provide such a covering or atonement to restore perfect human life to any or all of mankind. (Ps. 49:7, 8) To make adequate atonement for what was forfeited by Adam, a sin offering having the precise value of a perfect human life would have to be provided.

Jehovah God instituted an arrangement for atonement among the Israelites that typified a greater atonement provision. It is Jehovah and not man who is to be credited with determining and revealing the means of atonement for covering inherited sin and providing relief from the resulting condemnation to death.

TYPICAL ATONEMENT SACRIFICES

As God directed, the Israelites were to offer sacrifices as sin offerings in order to make atonement. (Ex. 29:36; Lev. 4:20) Of particular significance was the annual atonement day, when Israel’s high priest offered animal sacrifices and made atonement for himself, for the other Levites and for the nonpriestly tribes of Israel. (Lev. chap. 16) Sacrificial animals were to be unblemished, indicating the necessity of perfection on the part of their antitype. Also, that atonement is a costly matter is shown in that the victim’s life was given, its blood being shed to make atonement. (Lev. 17:11) Sin offerings made by the Israelites and the various features of the yearly day of atonement undoubtedly impressed upon their minds the seriousness of their sinful state and their great need of complete atonement. However, animal sacriflces could not completely atone for human sin, beasts being inferior to man, who was given dominion over them.—Gen. 1:28; Ps. 8:4-8; Heb. 10:1-4; see ATONEMENT DAY; OFFERINGS.

FULFILLMENT IN CHRIST JESUS

The Christian Greek Scriptures plainly link complete atonement for human sins with Jesus Christ. In him the types and shadows of the Mosaic law find fulfillment, he being the very one to whom the various animal sacrifices thereof pointed forward. As a perfect, sinless human, Jesus was the sin offering for all of Adam’s descendants who eventually are delivered from inherited sin and death. (2 Cor. 5:21) Christ “offered one sacrifice for sins perpetually” (Heb. 10:12) and he is unquestionably “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29, 36; 1 Cor. 5:7; Rev. 5:12; 13:8; compare Isaiah 53:7.) Forgiveness is dependent on the pouring out of blood (Heb. 9:22), and Christians who are walking in the light are assured that “the blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin.”—1 John 1:7; Heb. 9:13, 14; Rev. 1:5.

Jesus’ perfect human life offered in sacrifice is the antitypical sin offering. It is the valuable thing that accomplishes the purchase of mankind, redeeming them from inherited sin and death. (Titus 2:13, 14; Heb. 2:9) Christ himself declared: “The Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom [Gr., lyʹtron] in exchange for many.” (Mark 10:45) His sacrifice atoned exactly for what was forfeited by the sinner Adam, Jesus being perfect and hence Adam’s equal prior to the first man’s sin.—1 Tim. 2:5, 6; Eph. 1:7; see RANSOM.

Reconciliation made possible

Human sin causes division between God and man, for Jehovah does not approve of sin. Only by fulfillment of the requisite of a true ‘covering’ or atonement for such sin could the breach between man and his Creator be healed. (Isa. 59:2; Hab. 1:13; Eph. 2:3) But Jehovah God has made reconciliation between himself and sinful mankind possible through the perfect man Jesus Christ. Thus, the apostle Paul wrote: “We are also exulting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” (Rom. 5:11) To come into Jehovah’s favor, it is necessary to accept God’s provision for reconciliation through Christ. Only by this means is it possible to come into a position comparable to that of Adam prior to his sin. God’s love is displayed in making such reconciliation possible.—Rom. 5:6-10; see RECONCILIATION.

Justice satisfied by propitiation

Still, justice required satisfaction. Man, though created perfect, fell from that state through sin and thus Adam and his offspring came under God’s condemnation. Justice and fidelity to principles of righteousness necessitated that God execute the sentence of his law against disobedient Adam. But love moved God to purpose a substitutional arrangement whereby justice would be satisfied and yet, without any violation of justice, repentant offspring of sinner Adam could be forgiven and could achieve peace with God. (Col. 1:19-23) So it is that Jehovah “sent forth his Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10; Heb. 2:17) Propitiation is that which makes propitious, or favorable. Jesus’ propitiatory sacrifice removes the reason for God to condemn a human creature and makes possible the extending to him of God’s favor, mercy and loving-kindness. This propitiation removes the charge of sin and resulting condemnation to death in the case of spiritual Israel and all others availing themselves of it.—1 John 2:1, 2; Rom. 6:23.

The idea of substitution is prominent in certain Biblical texts relating to atonement. For instance, Paul observed that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3), and that “Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us [Jews], because it is written: ‘Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake.’” (Gal. 3:13; Deut. 21:23) Peter commented: “He himself bore our sins in his own body upon the stake, in order that we might be done with sins and live to righteousness. And ‘by his stripes you were healed.’” (1 Pet. 2:24; Isa. 53:5) The same apostle declared: “Why, even Christ died once for all time concerning sins, a righteous person for unrighteous ones, that he might lead you to God.”—1 Pet. 3:18.

Loving provision calls for response of faith

Love has been exemplified by God and Christ in connection with the provision of complete atonement for inherited human sins. (John 3:16; Rom. 8:32; 1 John 3:16) However, to benefit therefrom one must be truly repentant and he must exercise faith. Jehovah was not pleased with Judah’s sacrifices when offered without the proper attitude. (Isa. 1:10-17) God sent Christ forth “as an offering for propitiation through faith in his blood.” (Rom. 3:21-26) Those who in faith accept God’s provision for atonement through Jesus Christ can gain salvation; those who spurn it cannot. (Acts 4:12) And, for any who “practice sin willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, but there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment.”—Heb. 10:26-31.

ATONEMENT DAY

[Heb., yohm hak·kip·pu·rimʹ, day of the coverings or propitiations].

The day of atonement was one of propitiation or sin covering, commemorated by Israel on the tenth day of the seventh month of the sacred year, or on Tishri 10. (Tishri corresponds approximately to September-October.) On this day Israel’s high priest offered sacrifices as a sin covering for himself, for the other Levites and for the people. It was also a time for cleansing the tabernacle or the later temples from the polluting effects of sin.

The atonement day was a time of holy convention and of fasting, as is indicated by the fact that the people were then to ‘afflict their souls.’ This was the only fast enjoined under the Mosaic law. It was also a sabbath, a time to abstain from regular labors.—Lev. 16:29-31; 23:26-32; Num. 29:7; Acts 27:9.

On only one day a year, on the atonement day, was the high priest permitted to enter the Most Holy compartment of the tabernacle or of the temple. (Heb. 9:7) Interesting, too, is the fact that the Jubilee year, when due, began with the day of atonement.—Lev. 25:9.

Moses’ brother Aaron was Israel’s high priest when this observance was instituted in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula in the sixteenth century B.C.E. What he was instructed to do furnished the pattern for later observances of the atonement day. Visualizing the impressive events of the day makes possible a better understanding of what it meant to the Israelites. Undoubtedly, they were then moved to greater consciousness of their sinfulness and need of redemption and to fuller appreciation of Jehovah’s abundant mercy in making this arrangement to cover their sins of the past year.

FEATURES OF THE ATONEMENT DAY

Aaron was to come into the holy place with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. (Lev. 16:3) On the atonement day he set aside his regular priestly garb, bathed in water and dressed himself in holy linen garments. (16:4) Lots were next drawn by the high priest over two goats (male kids) that were exactly alike in their sound and unblemished condition, these having been obtained from the assembly of the sons of Israel. (16:5, 7) The high priest drew lots over them to determine which of the two would be sacrificed to Jehovah as a sin offering and which would be released in the wilderness bearing their sins as the ‘goat for Azazel.’ (16:8, 9; compare Leviticus 14:1-7; see AZAZEL.) He then sacrificed the young bull as a sin offering for himself and his house, which included the entire tribe of Levi, of which his household was a part. (16:6, 11) He thereafter took perfumed incense and the fire holder full of burning coals from off the altar and went inside the curtain, entering the Most Holy. The incense was burned in this innermost room, where the ark of the testimony was located, the cloud of the burning incense overspreading the golden Ark cover on which were two cherubs fashioned in gold. (16:12, 13; Ex. 25:17-22) This act paved the way for Aaron afterward safely to reenter the Most Holy.

Aaron, returning from the Most Holy, obtained some of the bull’s blood, entered this compartment with it and spattered some of the blood with his finger seven times in front of the Ark cover eastward. Thus was completed the atonement for the priesthood, which rendered the priests clean and able to mediate between Jehovah and his people.—Lev. 16:14.

The goat on which the lot fell “for Jehovah” was sacrificed as a sin offering for the people. (Lev. 16:8-10) The high priest then took the blood of the goat for Jehovah into the Most Holy, using it there to make atonement for the twelve nonpriestly tribes of Israel. In a manner similar to the handling of the bull’s blood, the blood of the goat was sprinkled “toward the cover and before the cover” of the Ark.—16:15.

Aaron was also to make atonement for the holy Place and the tent of meeting. Then, taking some of the blood of the bull and of the ‘goat for Jehovah,’ he made atonement for the altar of burnt offering, putting some of such blood upon the horns of the altar. He was also to “spatter some of the blood upon it with his finger seven times and cleanse it and sanctify it from the uncleannesses of the sons of Israel.” (Lev. 16:16-19) The high priest now turned his attention to the remaining goat, the one for Azazel. He laid his hands upon its head, confessed over it “all the errors of the sons of Israel and all their revolts in all their sins,” put these upon its head, and then sent it away “by the hand of a ready man into the wilderness.” Thus, the goat carried the errors of the Israelites into the wilderness, where it disappeared. (16:20-22) Thereafter the man who led the goat away had to wash his garments and bathe his flesh in water before reentering the camp.—16:26.

Aaron now came into the tent of meeting, stripped off the linen garments, bathed, and put on his usual attire. He next rendered up his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering to make atonement (using the rams mentioned in verses 3 and 5), and made the fat of the sin offering smoke upon the altar. (Lev. 16:23-25) Jehovah God always claimed the fat of a sacrifice for himself and the Israelites were prohibited from eating it. (3:16, 17; 4:31) The remains of the carcasses of the bull and the goat of the sin offering were taken from the court of the tabernacle to a place outside the camp, where they were burned. The one doing the burning had to wash his garments and bathe his flesh in water, after which he could come into the camp. (16:27, 28) Additional sacrifices of the day are mentioned at Numbers 29:7-11.

CESSATION OF LEGITIMATE OBSERVANCE

While adherents of Judaism still celebrate the day of atonement, such celebration has little resemblance to that instituted by God, for they have no tabernacle, no altar, no ark of the covenant, there is failure to sacrifice bulls and goats and there exists no Levitical priesthood. Christians, however, realize that servants of Jehovah are now under no such obligation. (Rom. 6:14; Heb. 7:18, 19; Eph. 2:11-16) Furthermore, the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple in 70 C.E. forced the cessation of services of the true Levitical priesthood, and there is now no way to establish who could properly act as such priests. The Encyclopedia Americana (Vol. 17, 1956 ed., p. 294) states concerning the Levites: “After the destruction of the temple in the dispersion, they disappeared from history, being merged in the crowd of captives scattered over the Roman world.”

ANTITYPICAL FULFILLMENT

When it was suitably observed, the annual atonement day, like other features of the Mosaic law, served as a picture of something far greater. Careful examination of this observance in the light of the apostle Paul’s inspired remarks shows that Jesus Christ and his redemptive work in behalf of mankind were typified by Israel’s high priest and by the animals used in connection with the ceremony. In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul shows that Jesus Christ is the great antitypical high priest. (Heb. 5:4-10) The apostle also indicates that the high priest’s entry into the Most Holy once a year with the blood of sacrificial animals foreshadowed the entrance of Jesus Christ into heaven itself with his own blood, thus to make atonement for those exercising faith in his sacrifice. Of course, Christ, being sinless, did not have to offer sacrifice for any personal sins, as did Israel’s high priest.—Heb. 9:11, 12, 24-28.

Aaron sacrificed the bull for the priests and the rest of the tribe of Levi, sprinkling its blood in the Most Holy. (Lev. 16:11, 14) Christ comparably presented the value of his human blood to God in heaven, where it could be applied to benefit those who would come to rule with him as priests and kings (Rev. 14:1-4; 20:6) The goat for Jehovah was also sacrificed and its blood was spattered before the Ark in the