Leviticus 16:7-10
He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

Hebrews 9:11-12
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:26
Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Hebrews 10:1-4
For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

† The Day of Atonement was the most sacred day in the entire Levitical system. Two goats were chosen, one to be slain for sin, and one to carry those sins away into the wilderness. The first symbolized the death that was required, the second symbolized the removal of guilt from among the people. Together, they pointed to a single complete act of redemption.

† The slain goat represented Christ as the offering for sin, His blood presented before God in the true tabernacle, not the earthly copy. The scapegoat, released into the wilderness, represented the complete removal of sin from the covenant community.

† Under the old covenant, this ceremony had to be repeated every year, proving that the sin problem hadn't been permanently solved. The blood of animals could only cover, not remove, the guilt. But Christ, appearing at the consummation of the ages, did what the law could never do.

† When the veil of the temple was torn at His death, it showed that the way into the true Most Holy Place was now open. Yet the full end of the old covenant system came forty years later, in AD 70, when the earthly sanctuary was destroyed, and the priesthood ceased forever. That was the final sign that the old atonement system was gone, and Christ's work stood alone.

† The two goats together form a perfect picture of Christ's completed mission, one died, showing the price of sin, the other lived, showing that sin was removed. Both were fulfilled in Him. His death satisfied justice, and His resurrection and ascension declared that the sin-bearing work was complete.

† The scapegoat was led into the wilderness, a place symbolizing separation. Likewise, the sins of the covenant people were cast out, never to return. The destruction of Jerusalem confirmed that the old sins tied to temple worship, law-keeping, and continual sacrifice were forever removed.

† Just as the high priest came out to bless the people after sprinkling the blood, Christ appeared to His disciples after offering Himself, declaring peace and forgiveness. This wasn't symbolic only, it was covenantal reality.

† The law and its sacrifices were only a shadow. Christ was the substance. When the shadow passed away in AD 70, what remained was the eternal reality of the new covenant, no more yearly atonement, no more reminder of sins, no more veil separating man from God.

† Israel's Day of Atonement was a prophecy acted out for centuries until its fulfillment came in Christ. Its final cancellation by the destruction of the temple was the physical witness that heaven and earth, the old covenant world, had passed away.

How It Applies to Us Today

† We no longer stand outside waiting for a priest to take our sins away year after year. Christ has already entered once for all. We live in the presence of a finished atonement.

† There's no need for another scapegoat, another sacrifice, or another ritual. Every reminder of guilt has been removed. Our worship today isn't a shadow, it's fellowship in the reality of His accomplished redemption.

† The world no longer needs an earthly temple, for the true temple, the body of Christ, remains forever. We're the living stones of that temple, reconciled to God and walking in the freedom that the old system could never give.

† The two goats of atonement were a foreshadow of Christ's single perfect work. What was once symbolically carried outside the camp was literally fulfilled when the old covenant was cast away, and the new stood alone, pure and everlasting.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †

Source Index
† Leviticus 16:7-10
† Hebrews 9:11-12, 26; 10:1-4
† Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 3; Wars of the Jews, Book 6
† Philo, On the Life of Moses, II.11
† Tacitus, Histories, 5.13