Atonement, a day of fasting, pictures God's solution to the problem of human sin. This Bible study shows why this solemn day is so vital!

The cleansing of Joshua's filthy robes in Zechariah 3 is a future application of the cleansing in Leviticus 16, when Jesus Christ cleanses Israel in the future.

Repentance is something we must do with our God-given free moral agency. Reconciliation is an ongoing process that enables us to draw closer to what God is.

God's solution to mankind's separation was sending a second Adam, Jesus Christ, to make reconciliation possible. Fasting shows our dependence on God.

Atonement, when we are commanded to afflict our souls, is a time of self-evaluation and repentance. This is the only way to have real unity with God.

Fasting teaches us to realize just how dependent we are on God. Every day, every hour, every minute, He supplies us with everything we need for life.

On the Day of Atonement, the one goat's blood cleansed the altar of all the sins, while the azazel took them away. Jesus Christ fulfilled both these roles.

A suitable sacrifice had to be offered so that the sins of mankind could not only be covered, but be completely paid for, forgiven, removed, and forgotten.

In Israel, sins were symbolically placed on the altar throughout the year. On Yom Kippur, one goat's blood cleansed the altar; the second took away the sins.

The prospect of atonement and salvation is available to everybody, but only those called by the Father—not by an evangelical altar call—are eligible.

Man's estrangement from God is wholly man's fault. Atonement denotes the way harmony is achieved, making the entire world at one or reconciled with God.

If we do not keep God's holy days, we will deprive ourselves of the knowledge of God's purpose. Jesus and the first century church observed and upheld these days.

The 'very same' or 'selfsame' day is a memorial of a past event, typically on the same date, including several of God's appointed times and pronouncements.

From Passover to Pentecost to Trumpets to Atonement to the Feast of Tabernacles, these days should solidify our vision of he Father, Jesus, and one another.

Contrary to prior understanding, Satan plays no role in the redemption of God's people. The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1-28) represents both a blood sacrifice for sins and a means of removing sin permanently from the camp of Israel. God has promised to permanently remove transgressions as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). A major function of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53: 12) is to bear the transgressions of many. As members of the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16), His chosen saints express delight that their sins will be permanently removed.

While the church of God has long taught that the azazel goat of Leviticus 16 represents Satan, this traditional view has no biblical support.

Some say the scapegoat (azazel) prefigures the Devil, others say it has been fulfilled by Jesus. Tradition teaches one thing; Scripture reveals another.

The first goat is a blood sacrifice to cleanse the altar. The second goat—the 'azazel' or 'complete removal'—is led away and freed (not bound by a chain).

Hebrews 9 and 10 clarify the Atonement ritual of Leviticus 16. The author makes no mention of Satan, but says that Jesus bears our sins like the azazel goat.

On the Day of Atonement, the live goat bears the sins of the nation. Many think this represents Satan as the source of sin, yet Scripture reveals the truth.

The goat for azazel (complete removal) bore the sins of the nation out of sight. Jesus Christ likewise had our iniquities laid on Him, and He bore them.

A mysterious commentary has been used and repeatedly re-quoted as a proof that the azazel goat represents Satan. This source warrants closer inspection.

Hebrews 10:9 does not say that God's law or the Old Covenant has been done away, but that the system of animal sacrifices has been set aside for now.

God employs a winnowing process in selecting those who will enter the Millennium. The process includes punishment for Israel's failure to serve as priests.

The Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53, plus the testimony of Peter and the author of Hebrews, show that Jesus fulfilled the azazel goat's role by bearing sin.

Only when we do not think so much of ourselves, feel helpless and weak, will we listen with the intensity required to truly believe, repent, and submit to God.

The Day of Atonement is not fulfilled with the binding of Satan. Rather, there are numerous prophecies of God atoning for the sins of physical Israel.

Jesus permitted Himself to be sent by the leaders and led by their agents in true meekness, submitting to the Father's will, even cleansing those who led Him.

Moral failure compounds when self-loathing sabotages happiness. Only atonement can turn this depression around, providing the comfort of mental and spiritual health.

When God's people afflict themselves with fasting, they immediately become aware of the fragility and the temporariness of the flesh. Our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ experienced the same temptations as all of us are subject to, but He had equipped Himself to counter the master counterfeiter as well as scripture perverter by superior knowledge of Scripture, passing all the tests and hurdles demonstrating His Messiahship and qualifications to topple Satan from his realm. God's people should welcome tests and trials because they prove the genuineness of faith. Through Scripture (Matthew 4) Jesus countered Satan's deceptive tests or temptations of: 1.) self-preservation, 2.) self-importance leading to misuse of divine power, and 3.) alignment with evil, and 4.) self-glorification, attained through alliances with evil demonic powers. God's chosen people face the same kinds of temptation as their Savior and Redeemer and must learn that spiritual battles (waged by principalities or demonic forces) cannot be fought with physical weapons (Ephesians 6: 10-18). Fasting must not be done as a strategy to pressure God or attempt to put Him in debt, but instead to reveal what we really are, clothing us with the humility to yield to and serve Him, enabling us to loosen the bonds of sin and break every yoke enslaving us to sin (Isaiah 58:1-14). If Jesus deemed it necessary to know the Scriptures to combat sin, His followers must follow the same proven practice (James 4:7-10).

Though Satan influences, the choices an individual make are totally his own, even for those without God's Spirit. We sin when we are drawn away by our own desires.

The Jews turned a Babylonian myth of Lilith into a fabrication about a woman before Eve. Some translations suggest Israel sacrificed to a demon named Azazel.

Every one of the annual Holy Days functions to expand an intimate, expanding, profound relationship with Jesus Christ. Sadly, Aaron's sons did not grasp God's booming presence when they offered strange fire contrary to God's stated commands. Leviticus 16: 21 describes the role of the fit man leading the second goat (the Goat of Departure) into the wilderness, bearing the sins of Israel. Both goats were free from blemish. Goats, clean animals suitable for sacrifice, have a mixture of good and bad characteristics. On one hand, they are affectionate and demonstrate leadership, but they are also capricious, impulsive, and devious—similar to the carnal human nature every one of us have inherited from Adam and Eve (Romans 8:6-8). The apostle Peter demonstrated the head strong goat nature continually, receiving rebuke from Jesus on several occasions (Matthew 16:23), but he was led to metaphorically transform from a wild goat into a tame goat because of Jesus Christ's prayers of intercession on his behalf (Luke 22: 31-32). Peter learned through Jesus Christ's 3-fold question "Do you love me?" that his former sins of denying Him had been forgiven, but that Peter would join Him in suffering. It was at this crucial point that the young wild goat was tamed into the mature loving tame goat. As God's called out ones, we must follow the example of the apostles Peter and Paul, trading our impulsive and capricious carnal natures for a controlled, sacrificing spiritual nature, imitating our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in an intimate, expanding, profound relationship.

The gospels show Jesus observing the Passover at the beginning of the 14th. Should we use the time when He observed it or the time He died as our guide?

Being poor in spirit is a foundational spiritual state for qualifying for God's Kingdom. Poor in spirit describes being acutely aware of one's dependency.

Human nature has a perverse drive to take risks, pushing the envelope, taking unwise chances, foolishly gambling away the future. Foolishness is sin.

We cannot assume that angels are immortal and share the same kind of spirit God Almighty has; we cannot assume they are indestructible.

Here are the foundational principles to keep in mind in observing the Feasts of God throughout the year.

Since the beginning, God's purpose has been to bring all things into harmony with Him, giving mankind a respite from the heaviness of a sin-laden world.

Even though individuals do not necessarily practice spiritual fasting for physical reasons, the physical benefits supply types that teach us spiritual things.

The intent of fasting is to deflate our pride—the major taproot of sin—the biggest deterrent to a positive relationship with God. Humility heals the breach.

God has used famine as one of the tools to get the Israelites' attention when they violated the terms of the Covenant with Him, forsaking His holy law.

When God calls us and redeems us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we suddenly come under obligation—a debt we cannot pay but overshadows all we do.

Two of Daniel's prophecies differ by 75 days, perhaps paralleling the 75 dramatic days between the resurrections of Lazarus and Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness is not a feeling that washes over us, but a conscious choice. It does not mean that the offense will never come to mind, nor that all the pain vanishes.

The altar of incense in the Tabernacle was designed to create a pleasing odor, representing the sweet aroma of Jesus Christ, which covers our uncleanness.

Nine steps had to be included with the Passover observance, all within the house until morning. It takes place between sun's setting and complete darkness.

Jesus Christ's priesthood is superior to the Aaronic priesthood because Christ tenure is eternal rather than temporal, guaranteeing both continuity and quality.

Jesus experienced the same temptations and suffering we do, qualifying Him for the role of High Priest, the bridge-builder between man and God.