The Scapegoat of Leviticus 16 and End Time Witnesses-Martyrs

Posted : 3 Dec, 2012 05:21 PM

The Scapegoat of Leviticus 16 and End Time Witnesses-Martyrs



Leviticus 16: 5-10: "And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

6. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

7. And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

8. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

9. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

10. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness........



Leviticus 16:22:

"And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness."



The goat which was sacrificed represented Jesus bearing the sins of the world and covering them with his blood. The scapegoat also represented Christ, but it stood for Christ removing the sins of those who obeyed him.



But the scapegoat was sent into the wilderness. Remember that under the Old Covenant ceremonial law everything was literal. The ceremonial law dealt with that which is physical, real animals, that were really killed, circumcision, a physical temple building, etc.



Paul says in I Corinthians 10: 11 "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."



The literal enactments under the ceremonial law were, however, just shadows (Hebrews 10: 1, Colossians 2: 17) for the substance which was to come, which was Jesus Christ and his blood atonement.



The blood atonement of Christ is represented by two goats. But there is just one blood atonement of Christ, and both goats represent that atonement, though different parts of it.



And - one part of the atonement, shown as the scapegoat, is sent off into a literal wilderness.



In scripture we find mention of both literal and metaphoric wildernesses. Stephen in Acts 7: 38 says "This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:" He is talking about the children of Israel being in the literal wilderness.



In Matthew 3: 1, 3, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea.....For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness."



John the Baptist was also in the wilderness in the sense that he was outside the religious structure of the time, run by the priests and Pharisees. He was outside of the "church" at that time.



Hebrews 13: 12-14: "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come."



Jesus was sent literally outside the "city limits" of Jerusalem to suffer and die. The scapegoat sent into the wilderness can be seen to represent Jesus outside the gate, in the wilderness, like John the Baptist, not operating from the religious structure of the Pharisees, the "church," while the sacrificed goat represents the atoning death of Christ.



Revelation 12: 6 "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days."



Revelation 12: 14-17: "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

16. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."



Here in Revelation 12: 17 the remmant of the woman who can represent Israel, but not physical Israel, is seen in a metaphoric wilderness. The remnant is, like John the Baptist, out in the wilderness. But its a metaphoric wilderness.



In Revelation 11:3 "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." In verses 7 and 8 the two witnesses are killed and metaphorically their bodies lie in the street of "...the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified."



The "two" witnesses is metaphor itself. They are not two Old Testament characters, but are people in the flesh at some point in the last days. Their dead bodies do not literally lie in the streets of the Jerusalem which is in the nation of Israel.



Revelation 17:6: "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."



In Strong's Exhaustive Concordance witnesses, Number Greek 3144, and martyrs, Number Greek 3144 are one and the same word, μάρτυς, martus, mar'-toos, meaning "Of uncertain affinity; a witness (literally [judicially] or figuratively [generally]); by analogy a �martyr�: - martyr, record, witness."



A witness is a martyr.



In the experience of some who are out in the metaphoric wilderness, even though they be be physically in cities, the shadow which was the sacrificed goat and the scapegoat sent into the wilderness, which together represented the atonement of Christ, may be enacted in the final days with witnesses (Revelation 11: 3), for Christ who keep his commandments (Revelation 12: 17) being martyred.



�Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name�s sake.� Matthew 24: 9



�And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.� Luke 21: 16



�They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.� John 16: 2



Synagogues in Strong�s can mean churches as well as synagogues.



Daniel 11: 33 has something to say about persecution and killing of the elect. �And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days�.

Post Reply