Leviticus 16:1-18:30; 22:1-16
Haftarah: Ezekiel 22:1-19

Torah: Leviticus 19:1-20:27
Haftarah: Amos 9:7-15, Ezekiel 20:2-20

Life is real, and when blogging is not your paid job, it works around life. My higher priority is being a wife, mother, and daughter, and then a writer. With all that disclaimer, since my over two-week hiatus, I am super excited to get into this next Parsha, which is a double portion, Acharei Mot (After the Death) and K’doshim (Holy People), which was read in synagogues for April 25 this year.

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

This is another one of my few posts where I pull in some extra-Biblical material to show you the wonder of Messiah. I don’t do this often, but I do it when it’s significant. Today, while I cover Yom Kippur, it’s a big one. Jesus, as Messiah, not only fulfilled the Scriptural requirements for the Messiah, but He fulfilled the extra-Biblical traditions for the high priest on the Day of Atonement and the proof of His approved work of atonement is actually recorded in the Talmud! Let me say that again: The Talmud actually testifies to the completed atoning work of Jesus! First, I want to give a brief overview of what the Day of Atonement was about and what “atonement” means. Then, I will get into the tradition performed on the Day of Atonement as recorded in the Talmud, and finally I will explain how that authenticates Jesus’ atonement for our sins once and for all. There is way way more in this double portion about Jesus as Messiah and how we see the Torah shape the New Testament, but it’s just too much for this post. I will have to roll it over into a future post, and since I’m already behind schedule, the rest probably won’t be until I start doing this on YouTube to reach audiences who have time to listen but maybe not sit down and read (like me most days). So today, let’s just talk about the Day of Atonement as given us in Leviticus chapter 16.

What is Yom Kippur and What Does it Mean?

Yom Kippur is a holiday given by God in Leviticus. Translated as the Day of Atonement in English, it has also become known as simply “the Day.” Yom simply means day, and many scholars think kippur (atonement) means “to cover, conceal,” but there is not unanimous agreement on this. It can also mean, “to wipe off, burnish, cleanse” (Levine, 23). What is the significance in understanding it one way or the other? If God’s covers sins, they are still there, but if God cleanses sin, then it’s gone. When Adam and Eve sinned, God covered them with the skin of an animal that had to die because they sinned. We see this principle echoed throughout the Torah. In Jesus Christ, our sins are cleansed. Paul says in Romans,

²¹ But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:21-26).

Similarly, the Apostle John says,

if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:7-9).

So which is it? Is Yom Kippur in the Bible about covering or cleansing? My commentary favors cleansing, though it admits both uses of the verb are used in the Bible. But for Leviticus, it’s primarily cleansing.

So Yom Kippur is the day God gave for the high priest to intercede for the nation of Israel on their behalf so that they may be forgiven for their sins. It was performed every year. So the sins of Israel had to be cleansed every year. Hebrews talks extensively about Yom Kippur in relation to Messiah, and how through Him atonement is made once and for all, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The next section of this post will be dedicated to a miracle the Talmud records happened every year on Yom Kippur.

The Miracle that Happened on Yom Kippur

There are many things that happened on Yom Kippur that the high priest was responsible for. Biblical archaeologist Dr. Kevin Diekilman has a list of at least 60 things the high priest had to do on Yom Kippur, and a list of Jesus’ fulfillment of every single one of those requirements. Hopefully by the time I come around to a portion discussing Yom Kippur again, I’ll have that list and can share it. He shared it with the founder of the Temple Institute, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, who looked at the correlation and remarked, “There must be a mistake.” No, there was no mistake. The New Testament records Jesus fulfilling every single one of the requirements of the high priest, both Biblical and traditional.

However, the one element of Yom Kippur I want to focus on for this particular post is that of the two goats as recorded in the Bible and Talmud and the crimson thread recorded in the Talmud.

⁵ And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering…Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁸ And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. ⁹ And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, ¹⁰ but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel…¹⁵ “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. ¹⁶ Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses…¹⁸ Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. ¹⁹ And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.

²⁰ “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. ²¹ And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. ²² The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness…

²⁴ And he shall …offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. ²⁵ And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar (Lev. 16:5-10, 15-16, 18-25).

On Yom Kippur, there were two goats, virtually identical in every way. By casting lots, one was “to the Lord” and one was “to Azazel.” To tell the difference between the two, a crimson fabric was tied to the Azazel.

The High Priest tied a strip of crimson wool upon the head of the scapegoat and positioned the goat opposite the place from which it was dispatched, i.e., near the gate through which it was taken (Yoma 41b:9).

Since the goats were not slaughtered and sent away immediately, a strip of crimson thread was tied to them in order that they be clearly identifiable and not be confused with each other or with other goats (Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 9:3:).

The crimson fabric tied to the Azazel or scapegoat used to be tied to the outside of the temple doors, and the Talmud tells us a miracle manifested in that crimson cloth when God forgave the nation’s sins by the end of the day. However, when watching for this sign caused the people too much anxiety, the priests tied it above the inside of the temple doors where fewer could see it, then this practice changed to tying it to the horn of the Azazel so the people wouldn’t know the result of Yom Kippur as manifested in the cloth until the man dispatching the Azazel returned:

At first they would tie this strip of crimson to the opening of the Entrance Hall of the Temple on the outside….When the Sages saw that people were overly distressed on Yom Kippur, they established that they should tie the strip of crimson to the opening of the Entrance Hall on the inside, since only a few could actually go in to see it. And they would still peek and see: If it turned white, they would rejoice, and if it did not turn white they would be sad. Therefore, the Sages established that they should tie half of the strip to the rock and half of it between the goat’s horns, so that the people would not know what happened to the strip until after the conclusion of Yom Kippur.(Yoma 67a:9).

That’s fascinating. But now let’s get back to the goats. The goat to God was sacrificed in the temple and its blood was used to atone for the innermost parts of the sanctuary and the people. The Azazel (or the goat “to Azazel”) was sent away into a desolate place and released, never to return, carrying away the sins of the people. There is a lot of interesting stuff about what Azazel means, but I won’t get into that here. For my purposes, just know that it’s the goat that carried away the sins of the people. In the second temple period, the goat was pushed off a cliff to its death so that it wouldn’t wander into inhabited areas again.

“And he pushed the goat backward, and it rolls and descends” (Yoma 67a:2).

And the Talmud gets even more graphic. It’s recorded that the goat is dismembered before it even reaches the ground.

It was taught in the mishna that the goat would not reach halfway down the mountain before it was torn limb from limb (Yoma 67a:11).

Yikes. Sin is that serious. Sin is that brutal. But in that violent ceremony, a miracle happened. See, the priests tore the crimson fabric in two and tied half back onto the goat’s horn and half to the nearby rock. The man who carried the Azazel away into the wilderness “divided a strip of crimson into two parts, half of the strip tied to the rock, and half of it tied between the two horns of the goat” (Yoma 67a:2). When the Azazel was disposed of, the man who dispatched it would turn and find the miracle.

…the strip of crimson wool that was tied to the head of the goat that was sent to Azazel turned white, indicating that the sins of the people had been forgiven…, as it is written: “Though your sins be as crimson, they shall be white as snow” (Yoma 39a:15).

Before they changed the practice of tying the crimson thread to the doors, the same miracle would occur on the temple doors:

they would tie the strip of crimson to the opening of the Entrance Hall of the Temple on the inside, and when the goat reached…the wilderness, the strip of crimson would turn white, and they knew that the mitzva was fulfilled….The verse alludes to the use of the strip of crimson, as it is stated: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they will become white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they will be as wool” (Yoma 67a:10).

There was a strip of crimson tied to the entrance to the Sanctuary, and when the goat reached the wilderness and the mitzva was fulfilled the strip would turn white, as it is stated: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they will become white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18)(Yoma 68b:9).

A shiny strip was tied to the door of the Temple hall; when the he-goat arrived in the desert it turned white, as it is said, if your sins were like crimson they will be white like snow (Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 6:7:1).

So whether they tied the crimson thread to the temple doors or to the Azazel, it would turn white when the Azazel was completely sent away. This is incredible! Though not recorded in the Bible, God provided an annual miracle that gave Israel a physical assurance of their forgiveness. He turned the crimson fabric white, both in the wilderness and upon the temple doors. Now I want to move to talking about this miracle and what it has to do with the Messiah.

Proof of Jesus’ Atonement in the Talmud

This miracle did not last forever, however. There came a time when the crimson fabric stopped turning white. The Talmud records it:

So too, the strip of crimson wool that was tied to the head of the goat that was sent to Azazel did not turn white, and the westernmost lamp of the candelabrum did not burn continually (Yoma 39b:5).

The reference to the “westernmost lamp” is that of the menorah. The light on the left of the menorah went out too. When did these things happen? When did the crimson fabric remain crimson? When did the westernmost lamp go out? The Talmud dates it for us:

It has been taught: Forty years before the destruction of the Temple the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand (Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 6:3:6).

Forty years before the destruction of the temple, the crimson thread stopped changing white. Forty years before the destruction of the temple, the westernmost lamp of the menorah went out, which was never supposed to go out. Forty years before the destruction of the temple, the high priest consistently stopped pulling a double blessing upon Israel from the cast lots. In a previous post, The Light’s Contribution to the World, I talk about the miraculous sign of the temple doors recorded also in the Talmud and Josephus’ Wars of the Jews that occurred this same year, 40 years before the destruction of the temple. Not only would the crimson thread not change white, but it turned darker.

During the forty years before the Second Temple was destroyed the strip of crimson wool would not turn white; rather, it would turn a deeper shade of red (Rosh Hashanah 31b:17).

Why 40 years before the destruction of the temple? What was special about that year? That would have been AD 30. Jesus was crucified. Moreover, the author of Hebrews likens Jesus to the high priest on the Day of Atonement:

the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, ⁷ but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. ⁸ By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing ⁹ (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, ¹⁰ but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹² he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. 9:6b-14).

The crimson thread stopped turning white because Jesus atoned for sin once and for all. The Jewish religious leadership largely rejected Jesus as Messiah, specifically Caiaphas, the high priest, the one who performed the special duties on Yom Kippur. Did the crimson thread stop turning white because of Jesus’ atoning work on the cross regardless of whether the Jewish leaders received Him? Or did it stop turning white because of their disbelief? I don’t know. All I know is what is, and that for our eternal atonement, Jesus had to die anyway.

Yom Kippur and the Last Day

Biblically, the Day of Atonement is a day for judging Israel. But there is a greater context for “the Day” for the whole earth as well. This is what we need to carefully heed. We see this in the prophets as well as in the words of Jesus, who connects the Day of Atonement with the Day of the Lord. First, let’s look at Joel:

3 “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, ² I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, ³ and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it…

Let the nations stir themselves up
    and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
for there I will sit to judge
    all the surrounding nations.

¹³ Put in the sickle,
    for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
    for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
    for their evil is great.

¹⁴ Multitudes, multitudes,
    in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
    in the valley of decision.
¹⁵ The sun and the moon are darkened,
    and the stars withdraw their shining.

¹⁶ The Lord roars from Zion,
    and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
    and the heavens and the earth quake.
But the Lord is a refuge to his people,
    a stronghold to the people of Israel. (Joel 3:1-3, 12-16).

The nations will be judged for how they treated God’s people. According to Joel, they treated them pretty poorly. Jesus taught about the Day of the Lord and the coming judgement, and He is the one in the seat of judgement because He is the Son of God, that is, God Himself. He also uses the Day of Atonement to describe that final judgement.

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mt. 25:31-46).

Notice how Jesus uses similar treatment of the nations as is done with the goats on Yom Kippur. They are set to the left and right and one is commended to God and one group is sent away like the Azazel. They are even described as goats just like the Azazel was a goat. But there is an inconsistency with this teaching and Yom Kippur. The group for the Lord is not goats, they are sheep, and they are not sacrificed, they are given eternal life. Why? Jesus was their sacrifice. He was the goat to the Lord. He made atonement for us by His blood, just as the writer of Hebrews says. So believers are not the goat to the Lord nor the Azazel. We are the sheep whom the Shepherd cares for. God’s people as sheep is a very prominent metaphor throughout the Old and New Testament. David, in Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my Shepherd” (Ps. 23:1). Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11). Similarly, as is in Joel, the nations will be judged for how they treated God’s people, because, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

Up until this point, many of the goats will be indistinguishable from the sheep, just like the two goats on Yom Kippur. Remember, the Talmud says the goats were not dispatched immediately. This correlates to our current time, where we are still waiting for the completion of the Day. Remember also that goats are considered kosher according to Jewish law, so people described as goats appear to be “kosher,” virtually indistinguishable from the true flock. It’s also interesting to note in this parsha that God describes demons as goats (Lev. 17:7), and without getting too much into it, Azazel is according to the apocryphal Book of Enoch the name of a fallen angel responsible for human sin. So the goats will look indistinguishable from the true flock, but spiritually speaking, there is a distinction that God will reveal on the last day, and God will send them away with the “goat demons” or with Azazel to the “place eternal fire” prepared for them (Mt. 25:41). (By the way, Kirk Cameron, while you insinuate the mortality of the soul, the Bible is clear about eternal punishment where you are sowing doubt. I used to follow you, but you went off the rails, dude. Apparently hell has kept its best secret from you.) Concerning the false believers, the Bible says,

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Mt. 7:21-23).

Jesus makes it clear in other passages I already cited that the consequences will be eternal punishment. Those told to depart like the Azazel are what Jesus calls wolves in sheep’s clothing: “¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits” (Mt. 7:15). Those fruits are largely how they treat God’s people. The treatment of God’s people is the litmus test for a person’s relationship with God. The groups the Bible calls God’s are Jews and Israel and Christians and the Church. (And by the way, Kirk Cameron, you are also espousing replacement theology by saying Israel isn’t really Isreal. I can’t source your direct video on this because you pulled the video down, but not before others were able to make videos about it. Your name, Kirk, means church, and your surname, Cameron, means “crooked nose,” so you are by name the church with the crooked nose. Your words of late certainly lend evidence that you are living up to your name. God knows and God will judge, not me, but your fruits are looking kinda rotten lately.) Bless Israel and you will be blessed. Love one another in the Church and the love of God is you. That does not mean comply with whatever either group says. Sometimes true love is tough love. I know that as a mamma. But true love desires the best interest of all, whether it comes easily or hard. Sometimes it requires conflict, but the desired result should be universal good grounded in truth.

My prayer for you is that you get right with God today before the Day comes by trusting in the work of His High Priest, because the consequences will be eternal, and that if you are right with God, that you keep the faith by loving His own and trust in your High Priest every day of the year.

If you like this post and you want to be notified next time I publish material, go to my homepage and subscribe via email to get notified every time I publish a post. Until next time, God bless.

Behind the veil there is a Great High Priest
Who intercedes for me continually,
Atoning by His blood after which ceased
The blood of goats and bulls of God’s decree.
The visible, temporary now done
During this present, trite, transient age,
Never nullifies the unseen. He won
The forgiveness for sins on every page
Of the Eternal Book eternally.
He does not merely cover the crimson
Stain from sight but washes thoroughly
By the cleansing of His blood as the Son,
That whoever believes and trusts in Him
Will be pardoned of all his or her sin.

Sources

The Bible. English Standard Version. Biblegateway.com. Accessed 17 May 2026.

Levine, Baruch A. Ed. Nahum M. Sarna and Chaim Potok. The JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus. Philadelphia, The Jewish Publication Society, 1989.

The Talmud. Sefaria.org. Accessed 17 May 2026.