Making Things Right with God.
In the Old Testament atonement, or reconciling the people to
their God, was the work of the priest, who 'made an atonement'
first for himself and then for the people when he routinely
offered their sacrifices on the altar. The Hebrew word means
perhaps a 'covering', or 'to wipe clean'. Sins were forgiven,
and the sinner said to be 'covered' when repentance and confession
were sincerely made, and accompanied by the killing and offering
of the appropriate animal. By this act, the sinner acknowledged
that his death was the penalty due for sin.
"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is
to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites."
(Leviticus 16:34).
It is suggested that the principle was established in the beginning,
when God replaced the fig leaf coverings which Adam and Eve
had made for themselves, with a covering of skins: "When
the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and
pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom,
she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,
who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them
were opened, and they realised they were naked; so they sewed
fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves….
The Lord God made garments of skins for Adam and his wife and
clothed them." (Genesis 3:6-7,21-23).
To provide the skins would have required the killing of an animal
(in sacrifice?). David in the Psalms expresses the joy of those
who are so forgiven, and the apostle Paul quotes these verses
in his letter to the Romans, as applying to all men: "Blessed
is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against
him and in whose spirit is no deceit." (Psalm 32:1-2; see
also Romans 4:7-8).
The word 'atonement' is found only once in the New Testament,
in Romans ch.5.
"…we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5:11,
KJV only).
The same original Greek word is translated 'reconciliation'
(q.v.) in two other places, and in modern versions. The meaning
is the same as in the Old Testament: Christ is the perfect sacrifice
now provided for us by God, superseding all former ritual animal
sacrifices. When we acknowledge our need and seek forgiveness
in Christ, our sins are forgiven, we are 'covered' by Christ's
sacrificial death and we are reconciled to God through him. |
Abraham
Acts of the Apostles
Adam
Adoption
Affliction
Age, Aion
Almighty God
Altar
Amen
Angel
1. Human angels
2. "The angels who sinned"
3. Immortal angels
4. "Fallen angels"
5. "Evil angels"
Anger
Anointing
Antichrist
Apocrypha
Apostasy
Apostle
Archangel
Ark
1. Ark constructed by Noah
2. Ark of the Covenant
Armageddon
Ascension
Assyria
Astrology
Atonement
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