The Synthesis of Atonement

The greatest baptism recorded in Scripture is not to be found first in the New Testament, but in the Old. Among the baptisms recorded in the Old Testament, it stands out over the baptism of the earth by the Great Flood and the baptism of fire witnessed at Mount Sinai. At first appearance it may not look like one at all, but it is in fact very much a baptism. In fact all the great baptismal events of both the Old and New Testament Covenants fall under and comprise its umbrella. It constitutes the central theme of the highest holy day in the Jewish spiritual calendar. What is the answer to this riddle? What is this baptism?

- The Great Atonement -

To write of its significance is to stand at the threshold of the Universe and attempt to draw out the cosmos. The colors of its spectrum go beyond the visible and intellectual range of the human mind. To gaze at it from afar, an observer could see it take on different textures and colors. It could take the shape of a bright cloud. Or, it could take the texture and color of blood. It could become a pillar of fire. Or, it could exude all the colors of the rainbow at once. It could also take the form of what best can be described as living water. But one thing that always characterizes it, is that it covers the souls of mankind. A vision of the Great Atonement truly goes beyond description.

The fact that the Jews were given a special day to observe it apart from other holy days such as Passover, Pentecost, and Sukkot speaks volumes as to its unique significance. It was the only time that the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies.

Sacrifices could be made for known sins all year long. But this day was set aside to atone for all the sins of Israel, including those that were unknown. It ensured that every sin was covered. In fact, "to cover" is precisely what the mysterious word atonement means. This is just but one clue of many that point to its identity as a baptism.

A baptism is meant to immerse and the Day of Atonement was meant to cleanse Israel from all her sins by immersion. Only through a full immersion could all sins be covered and thereby cleansed:

"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work - whether native-born or an alien living among you- because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins." (Leviticus 16:29-30)

The Day of Atonement was Israel's Day of Baptism. To fully appreciate this point, place the words "baptism," "baptismal," "baptizing," or "baptize" whenever you see the various forms of "atonement." For instance, one can replace the exact phrase "make atonement for" with a single instance of "baptize." You can also do the reverse in the New Testament by using the appropriate forms: "atoned," "atoning," "atonement," or "atonements." What you will discover is that the two concepts are inter-changeable. Why? Because they are synonymous.

You can even refer to the predecessor of Jesus as "John the Atoner." Or even better, the one who was greater than John, "Jesus the Atoner." This understanding gives further insight into how John was to prepare the way for the Lord.

I have often wondered why baptism was not mentioned in the Old Testament. To me it was more than just the fact that baptism comes from a Greek word. I have also wondered just where in the world, John the Baptist's baptism originated. This was even an idea that Jesus used to baffle the Pharisees, putting them in a rhetorical dilemma.

"Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?" Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism - where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?" They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men' - we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." (Matthew 21:23-27)

Of course John's baptism came from heaven, but was it also a fulfillment of an Old Testament prototype? What I have now discovered not through any man's wisdom, but from meditating on Scripture alone, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is that baptism is mentioned over and over again in the Old Testament. It is just called by a different name - atonement. For this I can not take any credit. This solely came from the Lord and from studying His word and only His word. If this resembles any prior teaching or understanding it is completely unintentional on my part.

Looking again at the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16, and apart from all the references to "atonement" in this chapter, one can see several mini-baptisms that are hidden at first glance.

Before the High Priest could enter the sanctuary area, he had to clothe himself with the sacred garments. This is exactly what Jesus prophesied would happen to the disciples, the new priesthood, in the Book of Luke:

"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)

But before the High Priest could even clothe himself with his vestments of God-given power, he had to baptize himself first with water:

"These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on." (Leviticus 16:4c)

He was then to select four animals for the Atonement: one bull, two goats and one ram. The bull was to make atonement for himself, one goat was for the sin offering of the people, the other goat was to be the scapegoat and the ram was to be a burnt offering for both him and the people.

To make atonement for himself and his household, the High Priest was to slaughter the bull. Essentially, the High Priest was covering, or baptizing, himself with the blood of the bull. This is the first occurrence of bloodshed in the sacred ritual of Atonement. As discussed in The Unifying Theory of Baptisms, blood is one of the three primary elements in baptisms. Water is another (more obvious) element and was involved in the first act of the High Priest as previously mentioned (the remaining element is spirit).

The next mini-baptism is to be found in the manner in which the High Priest was to pass the curtain into the Most Holy Place. He was to cover, or baptize, himself in a cloud of incense:

"He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that he will not die." (Leviticus 16:13)

According to God's commands, the High Priest would extend the censer behind the curtain and fill the Most Holy Place with a cloud, a visible covering to protect himself from the manifest holiness of God. Only then could he enter and perform atonement first for himself and his household and then for the people of Israel.

"He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover." (Leviticus 16:14)

The High Priest symbolically immersed himself, by sprinkling, the atonement cover and the area before it with the blood of the bull. Symbolically he placed a blood covering between his sin and the absolute holiness of God.

The blood together with the water (the High Priest's first covering), cloud of incense, and cloud of glory made a three-part baptism or atonement covering. If this tri-unity is not convincing enough, the elements of blood, the cloud of incense, as well as the fire which produced it, and water all exhibit triune qualities in and of themselves:

83% of blood is chemically water, a fact which I am confident is not lost to God. Secondly, the life or spirit of a created being is spiritually tied to its blood. After all, the primary purpose of blood is to deliver oxygen, the breath of life, to cells. This latter fact gives further insight into the kosher dietary law forbidding the eating of blood that actually originated with Noah and later seemed to be affirmed by the Holy Spirit to the disciples (Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:10-12, Acts 15:29). Thus, the element of blood is tied to both water and spirit. When water and spirit are combined with the third part of blood, which make up the various blood components, you have blood in its fullness.

As far as the cloud of incense was concerned, three elements were needed to produce it as well. These elements included fire, air, and the particulate "bodies" of powder. These elements combined to produce the aerosol of smoke that shielded the High Priest from the outbreak of the Lord. Fire, which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit is itself composed of three elements: heat, light, and a persistent chemical reaction. Furthermore, in order for this chemical reaction to persist, a "fuel triangle" of an oxidizing agent (e.g. oxygen), heat and fuel is needed.

Lastly, water has triune qualities that are well known. It is composed of three atoms: two hydrogen and one oxygen. Together, they make a triune compound that is absolutely essential to life. So essential, that it can be said that water is the essence of life on planet earth. Another triune quality of water is that it can exist in three states: liquid, solid, and gas. Furthermore, like other substances, water can exist in these three states simultaneously in a phase of matter known as the "triple point."

Having sprinkled the blood of the bull, the High Priest and his household were thus covered, baptized, or atoned for in the sight of God. To view it from a supernatural perspective: water, cloud, and blood formed an arc of protection from the lethal outbreak of the Lord's glory. This arc was a multi-textured and multi-colored covering, atonement, or baptism, similar to a fully spherical rainbow, that immersed and surrounded the High Priest and his family.

This protection was brought about through exacting obedience on the part of the High Priest and a covenant of grace on the part of God. After all, He was the one that provided a means to atone for sins using these elements in a covenant that the nation of Israel did not merit. This shows that grace and obedience (not to be confused with works or what I call "extra credit") go hand in hand.

After atonement was accomplished for his family and himself, the High Priest would repeat the steps for the nation of Israel, but this time using the blood of one of the two goats. Thereafter, the High Priest would emerge from behind the curtain and sprinkle the blood on the Tent of Meeting, or the Temple in later times. He would then take the blood of the bull and goat and symbolically immerse the altar with it, first by applying it to the four horns of the altar and then by sprinkling it on the altar.

Then, a second type of baptism would occur when the High Priest would take the live goat and place on it the sins of Israel. This was a baptism of sin. This is one of only two instances where an immersion of sin takes place in Scripture. The second is the baptism of the sin of the world on the sinless Son of God (Isaiah 53:5).

"When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites - all their sins - and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert." (Leviticus 16:20-22)

After the scapegoat was sent out with the sins of the nation, the High Priest repeated many of the same sanctuary elements outside the Tent of Meeting or Temple. He washed himself with water, put on his "regular garments," shed the blood of the ram, and then offered it as a blood offering with fire. Here again the primary elements of baptism were present: water, blood, and spirit (in the form of fire and a cloud of smoke). The men involved with releasing the scapegoat and burning the sacrificial bull and goat also had to bathe themselves with water.

Thus, the Day of Atonement was replete with baptismal experiences and motifs from start to finish. Perhaps the greatest allusion that this was in fact a baptismal experience appears in the beginning of this text, an allusion I have saved for last. It is found in the manner by which God told Moses he appeared over the atonement cover. It was the preface for his instructions concerning the Day of Atonement.

"The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the LORD. The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover."

God said He appeared in the cloud over the atonement cover. In order for a cloud to form you need two elements: super-cooled water vapor and particulate bodies known as "condensation nuclei." However, this cloud also gave off light, because it glowed from the glory of the Lord¹. Thus within this visible cloud of glory, you had all three primary elements of baptisms: water, spirit (here in the form of light), and a form of matter that I believe represents man (Genesis 2:6-8). I believe the man represented was Jesus the Baptist.

In closing, I believe the Holy Trinity was active and manifest throughout the Day of Atonement. In fact, I believe that He presided over the entire event. I further believe that all three elements of baptism recurred in various facets of that most holy of days: blood - salvation or baptism in the blood of Jesus, water - baptism in water, and spirit - the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit². Lastly, I believe they all came together as one in what can be called The Synthesis of Atonement.

1. The following Scripture verses speak to the radiance of these supernatural clouds: Exodus 16:10, 24:18, 34:29, Ezekiel 1:28, and Matthew 17:5.

2. For more on the significance of clouds in the Day of Atonement and baptisms, please read A Baptism in the Clouds.

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