Sending Away The Escapades Goat

The Hebrew word pronounced aw-zawl means to go away, or to be put out of sight. Another Hebrew word, pronounced aze, was used to refer to a goat, but the word itself originated from a Hebrew root word which meant hardened, as in obstinate or contrary i.e. "stubborn as a goat." Those two Hebrew words were compounded to form the Hebrew word pronounced aw-zaw-zale which meant, from the actual Hebrew words that formed it, the goat of departure, or more literally, sending away of the stubborn one.

"Azazel" (as it is rendered into English) is found only four times in the Holy Scriptures, all in the verses quoted below regarding the Day of Atonement. The King James Version translates it as "scapegoat" - which in the 1611 English of the KJV meant escape goat i.e. from the context of the actual Hebrew words of the Scriptures, meaning the escapades goat. "Escapades" means the "wild and dangerous behaviour" of someone breaking away from what is wise and right, not merely the present-day definition of "scapegoat" i.e. "someone punished for the errors of others" (an incorrect definition based upon people shallowly interpreting the Biblical scapegoat rather than actually reading all of what the Holy Bible plainly and truly says about it).

"^16:7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD [see The First Christian Church] at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ^16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. ^16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. ^16:10 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." (Leviticus 16:7-10 KJV)

"^16:26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp." (Leviticus 16:26 KJV)

The stubborn "goat" with the "wild and dangerous behaviour" is Satan

While the "wild and dangerous" goat used in that observance was symbolic, Satan, the evil one that it represented, is very real. Satan's record as a loser rebel began when he, then known as Lucifer, became corrupted by nothing more than his own appearance - the reflection of his own image, in his own eyes (see also Who's Hiding On Your Wall?).

"^28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. ^28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. ^28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." (Ezekiel 28:13-15 KJV)

"^14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! ^14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ^14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." (Isaiah 14:12-14 KJV)

When his own vain rebellion failed, Satan turned his efforts into influencing humans into becoming losers too. How? By replacing God's Law of true freedom (see The Yoke Of Freedom) with loser-laws of false freedom, dead-end "escapades" until "^2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil [see Is He Out Of Your Mind?], who are taken captive by him at his will." (2 Timothy 2:26 KJV).

"^3:1 Now the serpent [see Do You Want A Servant Or A Serpent?] was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

^3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: ^3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

^3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: ^3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1-5 KJV)

Satan has been provoking and tempting humans into his vain, self-righteous evil ever since; the devil will continue to do so until such time that he is put away - as portrayed by the sent-away goat on the Day of Atonement (see the Fact Finder question below).

"^8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. ^8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. ^8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." (John 8:43-45 KJV)

"^6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ^6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ^6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ephesians 6:11-13 KJV)

"^11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ [see Is Your Church A Cult?]. ^11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. ^11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 KJV)

"^5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: ^5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. ^5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1 Peter 5:8-10 KJV)

"^12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him ... ^12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God [see The Way To Salvation: Step 1 and Calendar of Christ's Holy Days], and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 12:9,17 KJV)

"^3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." (1 Kohn 3:8 KJV)

"^13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field [see Why Does God Allow Evil?]. ^13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; ^13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; ^13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. ^13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. ^13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity." (Matthew 13:36-41 KJV)

Fact Finder: What is the fate that Satan has created for himself?
See Where Is Satan Going?

This Day In History, October 7

1571: The Battle of Lepanto, fought off Lepanto, Greece, between the fleet of the "Holy League" (see The Holy Roman Empire) commanded by Don John of Austria with his 316 ships, and the Turkish fleet (listen to our Sermon The Ottoman Empire), commanded by Ochiali Pasha with 250 galleys. The allies (mostly Spanish, Venetian and papal ships) defeated the Turkish fleet, killing at least 25,000 Turks, destroyed 80 ships, and liberated about 10,000 "Christian" (i.e. Church of Rome) galley slaves. It was the last great confrontation between oared ships.

1737: Waves up to 15 meters (about 50 feet) sank 15,000 small craft off the coast of India with a loss of life estimated over 250,000 people.

1763: The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III, closing lands north and west of the Alleghenies to white settlement, and providing boundaries and terms of government for the territories Britain acquired from France under the Treaty of Paris. "New France" ceased to exist and was replaced by the much smaller province of Quebec. As a result of the treaty, the region's borders were changed to make it rectangular, centered on the St. Lawrence River; the borders no longer ran south to the Mississippi and east to Newfoundland (if they continued to so do, the border today between Canada and the U.S. would run north to south, rather than east to west).

1806: Carbon paper was patented in London by inventor Ralph Wedgewood.

1826: The Convention of Akkerman, an agreement signed in Akkerman, Romania, between the Ottoman Empire and Russia in which the Ottomans accepted, under threat of war, Russian demands concerning Serbia and the Danube principalities of Moldavia and Walachia (again, listen to our Sermon The Ottoman Empire to understand how it led to the outbreak of the First World War - listen to our Sermon The European World Wars).

1879: Otto von Bismarck concluded a military pact with Austria-Hungary, allying the Habsburgs with the Prussian-dominated Germany; the alliance was intended to render France powerless against the Reich (Reich is the German word for empire; Adolf Hitler later called his regime "the Third Reich" (see Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Euro!; also Presidential Quotes On War, Terrorism, Religion).

1900: The first stone was laid for "the Church of the Dormition" on Mount Zion (see Zionism). The prominent building was a project of the Lazarists with the support of German Kaiser Wilhelm II.

1919: KLM, the national airline of the Netherlands, was established. It is the oldest existing airline.

1944: The Jewish revolt in Auschwitz; Jews working in a Krupp plant smuggled in explosives, which were turned into grenades and bombs by skilled Soviet POWs. They blew up Crematorium III and killed 3 SS men. 250 Jews were massacred by the guards, but 27 escaped.

1949: The German Democratic Republic (communist East Germany) was proclaimed in the Soviet sector of occupied Germany; Wilhelm Pieck was appointed President, Otto Grotewohl was appointed Prime Minister.

1959: The far side of the moon was photographed for the first time, by the Soviet Luna-3 spacecraft.

1981: Hosni Mubarak became acting president of Egypt after the assassination of Anwar Sadat the day before.

1985: Palestinian terrorists seized control of the Achille Lauro, an Italian passenger ship carrying 440 people. They threatened to blow it up if Israel did not release 50 Palestinian prisoners. During the incident, the hijackers murdered Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly Jewish-U.S. man in a wheelchair.