The Day of Atonement was the highlight of the Jewish year. This solemn annual festival enacted the washing away of Israel’s sins. The sanctuary was cleansed, symbolizing the cleansing of the people’s hearts before God. This earthly cleansing represented a heavenly cleansing, when all of the sins of God’s people throughout the ages will be removed.

And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

Once a year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies (or Most Holy Place), but only after he had made atonement for his own sins and those of the priesthood. On this day, two goats were brought before the high priest. One goat was sacrificed, and the other goat was to take the record of sins upon itself, and be set free in the desert.

The Sacrificed Goat
The first goat was sacrificed on the altar. The priest would then enter the Holy of Holies, burning incense and sprinkling the blood of this goat around the ark of the covenant and on the mercy seat. On his way out of the sanctuary, the high priest would also apply the goat’s blood to the altars, symbolically atoning for the sins of the entire sanctuary.

The priest did this because God’s law had been transgressed. Pouring the blood on the mercy seat symbolized the forgiveness of sins through grace. The Day of Atonement in the earthly sanctuary allows us to understand what Christ’s ministry will look like in the heavenly sanctuary. Soon, the record of our sins will be wiped out forever.

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence (NIV).

The earthly record was cleansed by the goat’s blood, but the heavenly record is cleansed by Christ’s blood.

The Scapegoat
The second goat, which represented Satan, was not killed. Rather, the priest laid his hands on the goat to symbolize the record of sin being removed from us and placed on Satan, the originator of sin.

Note that the scapegoat was not killed, and was therefore not the atoner. After the priest had laid hands on the scapegoat, he set it free in the desert. In the same way, Satan will receive the guilt of sin, but will not pay for our sin through his destruction. Christ, represented by the slain goat, was not responsible for our sin, but He still atoned for our sin through His death.

Read more about Christ’s Day of Atonement.