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THE ANTI-TYPE of THE SCAPEGOAT (Leviticus 16) is JESUS NOT SATAN

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Introduction

This study is an analysis of "the scapegoat" (Leviticus 16:10), because there is a difference of opinion as to whom the scapegoat typifies. The vast majority of Christianity agrees that the scapegoat is a type of Jesus Christ, but there are those who say that the scapegoat is a type of the Devil, Satan. This bible study gives sound scriptural proof that Jesus is the anti-type of the scapegoat in Leviticus 16, not Satan.

#1. THE SCAPEGOAT UNDER THE LAW

LEVITICUS 16:1-10; 20-22
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;
2 And the LORD said to Moses, Speak to Aaron your brother, that he does not come at all times within the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he does not die: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place; with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.
5 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.
20And when he has made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:
21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities to a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

Note: This ordinance using the two goats was done, "in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month," (Leviticus 16:29) every year. Both goats were used to make an atonement (covering) for sin, the goat who was killed (Leviticus 16:18, 27), and the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:10). So unless you believe that Satan will ultimately make an atonement for the sins of believers, there is no way that Satan can be the anti-type of the scapegoat. Anyone who reads this bible study can search the scriptures in vain to find any scriptural proof that Satan is the anti-type of the scapegoat.

#2. THE SCAPEGOAT IS A TYPE OF JESUS NOT SATAN

#2.1 ALL SACRIFICES HAD TO BE PERFECT TO BE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD

LEVITICUS 22:20-25
20 But whatever has a blemish, that you shall not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.
21 And whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in cattle or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish in it.
22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having an ulcer, or eczema, or scabbed, you shall not offer these to the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar to the LORD.
23 Either a bullock or a lamb that has anything superfluous or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
24 You shall not offer to the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall you make any offering of it in your land.
25 Neither from a stranger's hand shall you offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes are in them: they shall not be accepted for you.

DEUTERONOMY 15:21
21 And if there is any blemish in it, as if it is lame, or blind, or has any ill blemish, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

DEUTERONOMY 17:1
1 You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God any bullock, or sheep, in which is a blemish, or any evil favouredness: for that is an abomination to the LORD your God.

MALACHI 1:8,14
8 And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it now to your governor, will he be pleased with you, or accept your person? says the LORD of Hosts.
14 But cursed is the deceiver, who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices to the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great king, says the LORD of Hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

Note: To be acceptable to God a sacrifice must be perfect without blemish (Leviticus 22:20-21). To sacrifice anything other than this is considered evil (Malachi 1:8), and unacceptable (Leviticus 22:20; 22:25), an abomination to God (Deuteronomy 17:1), and we are commanded not to do it (Leviticus 22:22; Deuteronomy 15:21). It follows that both of the two goats, the one to be sacrificed and the scapegoat, had to be perfect and without blemish, because lots were cast to see which one would fulfill which role (Leviticus 16:8). If either goat were not perfect, and the lot fell on him to be sacrificed, it would have been unacceptable to God. Therefore the scapegoat had to be perfect and could not be typified by Satan, but only by Christ who sacrificed himself without spot or blemish:

(Hebrews 9:14) "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
(1 Peter 1:18-19) "Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things ... But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

#2.2 CHRIST HAS ATONED FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD

ISAIAH 53:5-6, 11-12
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he has poured out his soul to death: and was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and he made intercession for the transgressors.

JOHN 1:29 (John the Baptist)
29 The next day John sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

HEBREWS 9:28
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to those who look for him shall he appear the second time without sin for salvation.

1 PETER 2:24
24 Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live for righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.

1 JOHN 3:5
5 And you know, that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Note: here are some reasons why the scapegoat typifies Christ and not Satan:

(1) Just as the iniquities of the children of Israel were put on the scapegoat by the high priest (Leviticus 16:21), so God laid on Christ "the iniquities of us all." (Isaiah 53:6). Where does the bible say that our sins were laid on Satan?

(2) Just as the scapegoat had to "bear upon him" (Leviticus 16:22) all the iniquities of the children of Israel, so "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;" (Hebrews 9:28), "he bore the sin of many," (Isaiah 53:12), and he "bore our sins in his own body on the tree," (1 Peter 2:24). Where does the scripture say that Satan ever bore our sins?

(3) Just as the scapegoat took the sins of the children of Israel away into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:21-22), so it is "Jesus ... who takes away the sins of the whole world." (John 1:29), because "he was manifested to take away our sins;" (1 John 3:5), and "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he (the LORD) removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12). Thus the scapegoat was a type of Christ, and not a type of Satan, who tempts us into sin rather than taking it away.

(4) Just as an atonement was made for the children of Israel with the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:10), so God made an atonement for us with Christ (See above scriptures). Also:

(Exodus 29:32-33) "And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread ... they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them:"

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:48) so he is the anti-type of the bread of this atonement. He also said, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man ... you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh has eternal life" (John 6:53-54), so he was the anti-type of the flesh which was used to make an atonement also. Where did Satan ever fulfill these atonement types?

(5) Just as the scapegoat was not bearing his own sins, but the sins of others (Leviticus 16:21), so Christ was not bearing his own sins (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5), but our sins (Isaiah 53:5-6;  1 Peter 2:24). Where did the scripture say that Satan will bear our sins?

(6) Some say that Satan (as the scapegoat) is atoning for his own part in being the instigator of sin, but nowhere does the scripture teach this. Where are the verses that show it? Neither can the Devil atone for his own sins, or those of others, after this age is finished. Not only would this not be typified by the scapegoat, but the scripture shows that "the Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:10). If the devil could atone for sin by his own sufferings then he would have to be set free when it was finished. If it is possible for anyone to atone for their own sins then it is possible for everyone, and Christ died in vain.

Why then are there two goats to typify what Jesus did? Simply because Jesus achieved so much in his death that it could not be typified by one goat alone.

#2.3 COMPARATIVE SCRIPTURES - CLEANSING FROM LEPROSY

#2.31 The cleansing of the leper

LEVITICUS 14:1-7
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: he shall be brought to the priest:
3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper;
4 Then the priest shall command to two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop;
5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:
6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of that bird that was killed over the running water;
7 And shall sprinkle upon him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird go loose into the open field.

Note: Look at the similarities between this scripture for cleansing from leprosy, and the one concerning the scapegoat for cleansing from sin,

(1) There are two birds (Leviticus 14:4) and two goats (Leviticus 16:7-8).

(2) One of the birds is killed by the priest as a sacrifice (Leviticus 14:5), and one of the goats is killed by the priest for a sacrifice for sin (Leviticus 16:9, 16:15).

(3) The blood of the bird is sprinkled to cleanse from leprosy (Leviticus 14:6-7), and the blood of the goat is sprinkled to cleanse from sin (Leviticus 16:15).

(4) The living bird is let loose into the open field (Leviticus 14:7), and the living goat is let go in the wilderness (Leviticus 16:22).

Are we to consider that Satan, as the instigator of sickness (Job 2:6-7; Luke 13:16; John 10:10; Acts 10:38), is also typified by the bird let loose, and well as by the goat let loose? Or would it be more consistent with scripture to say that the loosed bird is a type of Christ, who "Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." (Matthew 8:17, Isaiah 53:4), just as the loosed goat is a type of Christ who took away our sins (Isaiah 53:6; John 1:29; 1 John 3:5; See #2.2 note)?

#2.32 The cleansing of the house

LEVITICUS 14:49-53
49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
50 And he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:
51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:
52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:
53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.

Note: The one extra similarity here, not given in the cleansing of a man (See #2.31), is that the loosed bird makes an atonement (Leviticus 14:53) just as the loosed goat makes an atonement (Leviticus 16:10). Both of these typify Christ, not Satan [See #2.2 Note (6)]. Where in scripture is Satan ever said to make an atonement?

#2.4 JESUS CAME TO FULFIL THE LAW

MATTHEW 5:17 (Jesus)
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

Note: If Jesus came to fulfill the law, then he had to fulfill the part of the scapegoat in the atonement. A failure to do this would mean that he failed to complete God's work while here on the earth, which was denied by Jesus when praying to his Father, "I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do." (John 17:4), and just before he died on the cross he said, "It is finished:" (John 19:30). Thus Jesus had fulfilled as much of the law as was expected of him when he died, including the part of the scapegoat in the atonement.

#2.5 THE HEBREW WORD עֲזָאזֵל (Htr. ʽAZA’ZEL) DOES NOT MEAN SATAN

The Hebrew word עֲזָאזֵל (Htr. ʽāzā’zēl) translated scapegoat (Leviticus 16:8, 16:10, 16:26) does not mean Satan.

QUOTE 1. This word has been variously understood and translated. The versions (LXX, Symmachus, Theodotian, and the Vulgate) have understood it to stand for "the goat that departs", considering it to be derived from two Hebrew words: ʽēz meaning “goat” and ʽāzal meaning “turn off”. By associating it with the arab word ʽazāla meaning “banish”, or “remove”, it has been rendered “for entire removal”.
(THEOLOGICAL WORDBOOK OF THE OLD TESTAMENT by Harris, Archer, and Waltke.
Pub. Moody Press P.658 ref.1593).

QUOTE 2. The rendering in Leviticus 16:10 and Leviticus 16:26 should be "the goat for complete sending away" (not "the goat for the scapegoat") - from the root ʽāzal, to remove completely.
(EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF BIBLE WORDS by W.E.Vine
Pub. Cambridge University Press P.14 O.T. under ATONEMENT).

The word translated 'Satan' (Hb. שָּׂטָן Htr. satan) means "adversary", and the word translated 'Lucifer' (Hb. הֵילֵל Htr. helel) means "bright star". Thus there is no firm evidence either from scripture, or from the Hebrew language that the word ʽāzā’zēl has anything at all to do with the devil.

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