The Meaning of the Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement teaches us about a wonderful day in the future when Satan will be locked up and God will restore His relationship with humans.

To fully understand the meaning of this day, we must go back to the Garden of Eden.

Two Trees

In Genesis 2 we read how God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a beautiful garden.

In the middle of this garden there were two unique trees. One was the Tree of Life. The other was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, so they would not die.

In the next chapter we find a story about a snake who deceived the woman and convinced her to eat the forbidden fruit. The man also ate the fruit with her, and God expelled both of them from the garden.

The story is probably familiar, but most people miss its real significance.

Notice what God said when He expelled Adam and Eve from the garden:

And the Lord, God, said, “Look, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, so he won’t reach out his hand, and also take from the tree of life, and eat, and live to a distant age…!” And the Lord, God, sent him out from the garden of Eden, to work the ground from which he was taken. And He drove out the man; and He had cherubs stay at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24)

When God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden, humanity lost access to the Tree of Life. Eternal life was now out of reach. Salvation was no longer available to everyone.

Now don’t misunderstand. God wants everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), and you will learn God’s plan to offer salvation to everyone when you celebrate the last feast of the year, the “Eighth Day” mentioned in Leviticus 23:39.

But when God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden, He temporarily removed access to the way to salvation. After that, the only way anyone could come to God was if God specifically called them.

In the rest of the Bible we read about the few people whom God invited to have a relationship with Him. He invited, or “called,” people like Noah, Abraham, and the prophets. But most people—including the Israelites—were not called. They remained blind to the truth. Notice what Moses said to the Israelites: “the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day” (Deuteronomy 29:4 NKJV).

The same is still true today. When Christ’s disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables, He said, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it hasn’t been given” (Matthew 13:11). Think about that. Jesus spoke to large crowds, but He only explained the meaning of His parables to His disciples.

Jesus also said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

You have probably never heard anyone explain that you must be called by God in order to repent and come to Him. Yet this is one of the most basic teachings of the Bible, which you will find mentioned again and again, and again in the scriptures. The gift of the holy spirit is not available to everyone now. It is only available “to as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39).

You probably never noticed these scriptures before, did you?

The reason almost no one understands these scriptures about God’s calling is because they have not been called yet!

Most people imagine that there is some kind of great battle between God and Satan, and that God is trying to “win as many souls” as He can, and Satan is trying to fill up hell.

If this is true, then it would seem that Satan has always been winning. But this idea is completely wrong!

God is not competing with Satan. God is in control, and Satan is like a mere pawn in God’s hand, who is fulfilling God’s purpose, even as he tries to destroy people.

God has allowed Satan to deceive everyone (except for those He calls):

What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. (Romans 11:7 NKJV)

Why does God allow Satan to blind most people?

For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Romans 11:32-33)

God is wise. He knows what is best. And He is doing what is best for everyone.

When Adam and Eve rejected God’s instructions, they began a great experiment. They thought that they could do a better job of determining what is good and what is evil than God. So God has let everyone try their own way for the last 6,000 years, so they could learn from experience.

How is it working out? Are we smarter than God? Or have we made a mess of everything?

God is letting humans complete their great experiment of self-rule. But soon, before we destroy ourselves, He is going to step in and take control.

But for the moment, he has allowed Satan to blind the world so that they can learn from experience that their way doesn’t work! Then, on the Day of Atonement, God will stop mankind’s experiment, open their minds to see, and extend mercy to all.

Now I have written a lot without quoting many scripture, and you shouldn’t believe a word I say without proof. So in the rest of this guide to the meaning of the Day of Atonement, I am going to give you a lot of scriptures that you can read in your own Bible to verify what I have written.

Study Guide for the Day of Atonement

What did God tell Adam and Eve?

Genesis 2:8-17

How did the snake deceive the woman?

Genesis 3:1-6

Who is the snake?

Revelation 20:2

What happened after the people disobeyed God?

Genesis 3:7-24

Who is the god of this age and what does he do?

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

Ephesians 2:2

How many people does Satan deceive?

Revelation 12:9

Does “the whole world” include almost all Christians?

1 John 5:19

Could the crowds who saw Jesus perform miracles believe Him?

John 12:37-40

Matthew 13:11

What will Satan do right before Jesus returns?

Revelation 12:7-17

Who will give power to the beast and the false prophet at the end of this age?

Revelation 13:2, 4, 11

Notes

After a war in heaven, Satan will be thrown to earth 1335 days before Christ returns, and will immediately seek to destroy the 12 tribes of Israel and God’s Church. Part of God’s Church will be taken to a safe place and protected for 1260 days, while the world is ruled by an evil man and the false prophet requires people to take the mark of the beast.

At the end of the 1260 days, an angel will blow the seventh trumpet on the Feast of Trumpets. Everyone will see Jesus Christ appear in the clouds, the saints will rise to meet Him in the air (Matthew 24:29-31), and Jesus will be announced as the king of the world (Revelation 11:15).

Where will the saints (firstfruits) go?

Revelation 14:1-5

Revelation 15:2

What will happen next?

Revelation 16:1-11

Why will armies gather at Armageddon?

Revelation 16:12-16

Events on the Day of Atonement

Who will come to fight the armies?

Revelation 19:11-16

Zechariah 14:3-11

After the armies gather at Armageddon, in northern Israel, they will advance toward Jerusalem to fight Jesus Christ as He returns from heaven with His army of saints.

How will the armies be defeated?

Revelation 16:17-21

Zechariah 14:12-15

Zechariah 12:4-9

Revelation 19:17-21

What will happen to Satan and the demons on that day?

Revelation 20:1-3

Zechariah 13:2-3

Was Satan’s banishment foretold by a ceremony performed on the Day of Atonement?

Leviticus 16:7-10, 20-22, 29

What will happen to the Israelites on that day?

Zechariah 12:10-14

Note: The word “atonement” refers to a redeeming payment. On the Day of Atonement, the Israelites who survive the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord will repent, and God will accept Christ’s sacrifice to pay for their sins. This is represented by the sacrifice of the first goat on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:9, 15-16).

What will flow from Jerusalem on the Day of Atonement?

Zechariah 13:1

Ezekiel 47:1-9

Will access to salvation be available to all after that day?

Joel 2:28-29

Jeremiah 31:31-34