Pushing the Goat over the Cliff

Pushing the Goat over the Cliff

The background of redemption goes all the way back to ancient Israel as the nation observed the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day of the year, in which the high priest would offer atonement for the people’s sins for another year.

According to Leviticus 16:8–26, the high priest chose two goats, one to be sacrificed and the other to be released into the wilderness symbolically bearing away the people’s sins. This live goat was called the “scapegoat.” The high priest laid his hands on the head of the goat and confessed the nation’s sins over the goat, and then it was released in the wilderness. This ritual signified the removal of sin, thus averting the judgment of God against sin for the next year.

Now the only problem was that this goat sometimes wandered back into the Israelites’ camp, which nobody wanted to see because it was like having their sins come back on them. So according to some sources, the person who led the goat into the wilderness often took the goat to a cliff and pushed it off. That’s a picture of complete redemption—the removal of sin in such a way that it will never show up again.

The reason you can’t lose your salvation is that your sins have been pushed off the cliff, so to speak. The scapegoat isn’t going to wander back into town tomorrow. If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, the only way you can miss heaven is if heaven were to cease to exist.

Evans, A. T. (2002). Totally saved : Understanding, experiencing, and enjoying the greatness of your salvation. Series statement on jacket.; Includes indexes. The understanding God series (51). Chicago: Moody Press.