Channels, Spring 2018

Channels • 2018 • Volume 2 • Number 2 Page 9 tent that the Lord set up, not man.” 42 Through Christ, the perfect high priest, his people “have the entry of Jesus with his blood into the heavenly sanctuary,” 43 the most holy place before God. Here, Jesus intercedes on their behalf that they might receive atonement leading to forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Conclusion Biblical theology aids our understanding of the theme of atonement across the canon by tracing it through the covenants. There are a multitude of other texts which could have supported the connection of this theme across the canon. However, to keep this paper at a reasonable length, I did not cover every aspect of atonement. Specifically, we observed the connection between the sacrifice and priestly work done on the Day of Atonement with the sacrificial and priestly work of Christ. The intertextual connections between Leviticus and Hebrews shape the way we understand this theme. As we have seen, the sacrificial work and priestly order presented in the Day of Atonement demonstrate the need for a better sacrifice offered by a better priesthood. The fulfillment of the Day of Atonement comes in the person and work of Jesus Christ. For “the goal of Christ’s sacrificial and priestly work is the complete transformation of the Christian from unholy to holy, from sinner to saint, and from being unlike Christ to being just like him. This is the redemption that Yahweh has promised and foreshadowed in the Old Testament, particularly in the book of Leviticus.” 44 The accomplishment of Christ’s sacrificial and priestly work is then presented in Hebrews as the promise of atonement in the New Covenant fulfilled, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” 45 42 Hebrews 8:1-2 43 John W. Kleinig, “The Blood for Sprinkling: Atoning Blood in Leviticus and Hebrews” Lutheran Theological Journal 33 , no.3, (1999): 132 44 Michael G. McKelvey, “Leviticus” A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016) p. 104 45 Jeremiah 31:34