The Day of Atonement — God's Completion of Redemption (Part 2) | New Covenant Truth

The word of God calls the saints to come “in full package,” not with bodies present and minds elsewhere. The study of the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan in Christ Jesus keeps pressing the shift from the old to the new, because the early church was being taught by the Spirit how the law, the prophets, and the Psalms were finding their reality in Christ. The day of atonement stood as the holiest day in Israel’s calendar, but Leviticus showed a system with limited access, yearly repetition, and sacrifices that could only remind people of sins.

Hebrews 10 says the law had “a shadow of the good things to come,” not the very image. The shadow of a chair may look clear, but no one sits on the shadow when the real chair is present. So the law was not bad, but it was not the reality. The sacrifices of bulls and goats could not take away sins, because if they had done so, they would have ceased to be offered. The yearly offering kept sin-consciousness alive, but Christ came so that the believer would no longer relate with God as one still trying to win forgiveness.

Hebrews 9 presents Christ as the true high priest of the good things to come. Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, and Christ did not carry the blood of goats and calves. Christ entered the true holy place with his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The cross therefore was not a desperate accident, but the fulfillment of the eternal purpose of God. Revelation speaks of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and Ephesians says redemption is in him through his blood.

Jesus is also the true scapegoat and the true Lamb of God. The scapegoat carried sins into the wilderness, and Psalm 103 says transgressions are removed “as far as the East is from the West.” John saw Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Men brought their lambs under the law, but God provided his own Lamb.

The veil tearing at Christ’s death showed that restricted access was finished. Christ became the mercy seat, the propitiation, the place where mercy met justice and mercy won. The believer is therefore fully forgiven, eternally accepted, free from guilt, and bold before God. The believer does not need to offer more sacrifices, rehearse guilt, or ask God to remember one already accepted in the Beloved.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Christ ended the yearly reminder The day of atonement kept Israel in a cycle where sin returned to memory every year. Hebrews shows that such repetition proved the sacrifice had not finished the matter. Christ’s one offering breaks that cycle, because eternal redemption does not need an anniversary of guilt. [15:29]
• 2. The shadow cannot carry anyone The law was a shadow, and a shadow can point clearly without having the power to hold. The image of the chair makes the point plain: once the chair itself is present, sitting on the shadow is foolishness. Christ is the substance, and returning to the shadow after seeing him is not humility, it is blindness. [07:37]
• 3. Jesus is the true mercy seat Romans calls Christ the propitiation, the hilasterion, the mercy seat where sacrifice, justice, and mercy meet. Mercy does not ignore justice there, but mercy speaks because Christ has done the work. The believer receives mercy not because of deserving, but because Christ has become the place of mercy. [53:14]
• 4. Access is no longer restricted The torn veil was not just dramatic scenery around the cross. The veil had been the sign that access was limited, that only one priest could enter, and only once a year. Christ’s death opened the way, so boldness before God now rests on blood already offered, not on fear still managed. [39:25]
• 5. Stop rehearsing finished guilt A cleansed conscience means the believer no longer needs to keep revisiting what Christ has already removed. Guilt can twist the mind and make forgiveness feel uncertain, but Hebrews says Christ cleanses the conscience from dead works. The believer is accepted in the Beloved, not tolerated until the next mistake. [64:11]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:22] - Studying God’s Eternal Plan
• [02:47] - The Shift From Old to New
• [05:47] - The Day of Atonement Explained
• [07:37] - The Law as a Shadow
• [11:23] - Hebrews 10 and Sin Consciousness
• [18:10] - Jesus Fulfills Atonement
• [22:06] - Christ Enters the True Holy Place
• [28:27] - Jesus as the True Scapegoat
• [30:35] - The Lamb of God
• [38:34] - The Veil Is Torn
• [43:03] - Jesus Speaks of His Blood
• [49:08] - Apostolic Witness to Final Atonement
• [55:02] - Shadow and Reality Compared
• [60:01] - Fully Forgiven and Accepted

Bible Reading

Hebrews 10:1-4
“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” [15:29]

Hebrews 9:11-14
“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) 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. 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, 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.” [21:04]

Hebrews 9:24-28
“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” [39:25]

John 1:29
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” [30:35]

Matthew 27:51
“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.” [39:25]

Observation questions

1. In Hebrews 10:1-4, what details show that the old sacrifices were not final, especially in the way they were repeated every year and kept reminding people of sins? [15:29]
2. In Hebrews 9:11-14, what contrasts are made between Christ and the old system—especially the place he entered, the blood he offered, and the result he obtained?
3. John calls Jesus “the Lamb of God.” What does that title show about who provided the sacrifice and what that sacrifice would do? [30:35]
4. When the veil was torn in Matthew 27:51, what did that physically visible event show about access to God? [39:25]

Interpretation questions

1. Hebrews says the law was a shadow and not the true form. Why is that picture important for understanding the relationship between the old covenant sacrifices and Christ himself? [07:37]
2. Hebrews 9 says Christ secured “eternal redemption” by his own blood. What does “eternal” help believers understand about forgiveness that repeated sacrifices never could? [20:39]
3. If Christ has appeared “once for all” to put away sin, how should that shape the way a believer thinks about guilt, cleansing, and whether more sacrifice is needed? [35:50]
4. Christ is presented as the mercy seat, the place where mercy meets justice. How does that help explain why believers can receive mercy without pretending sin was small or unimportant? [53:14]

Application questions

1. Many people can be present in body while their minds are far away. What helps this group come to God in “full package,” with attention, hunger, and real engagement? [00:39]
2. Some believers still relate to God as though they are trying to win forgiveness again. Where does that mindset show up most in real life—after failure, during prayer, or in private thoughts? [14:05]
3. A cleansed conscience means guilt does not have to keep ruling the mind. What kinds of thoughts or memories tend to pull a person back into rehearsing finished guilt? [01:04:11]
4. The torn veil means access is no longer restricted. What would boldness before God look like in a practical way this week in prayer, worship, or repentance? [59:06]
5. If Jesus is the true Lamb provided by God, how does that change the habit of trying to prove worthiness before God by effort, performance, or religious activity? [31:08]
6. Being accepted in the Beloved means a believer is not merely tolerated. Where is it hardest to live from that acceptance instead of constantly asking to be remembered or re-approved? [01:01:52]
7. Christ’s sacrifice was once for all. What is one specific way someone in the group can stop trying to earn what has already been finished and begin living with more peace and assurance? [01:04:54]