In Lev. 16:8, 10, and 26 the name Azazel appears in the Hebrew text in the instructions regarding the Day of Atonement. Verse 8 says (literally),

⁸ Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for Yahweh and the other lot for Azazel.

The word “scapegoat” was Tyndale's rendering of the Hebrew עֲזָאזֵל (Azazel). He understood the word to refer to the goat that escaped into the wilderness (“escape goat”), rather than as the name of a being or place. His original spelling was “the escapegoat.”

Tyndale’s translations formed the backbone of the Matthew Bible (1537), the Great Bible (1539), the Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishops' Bible (1568), and ultimately the King James Version (1611).

It is often estimated that roughly 75–85% of the King James New Testament and a substantial portion of its Old Testament wording ultimately derives from Tyndale's pioneering translations. Most modern translations repeat this, including the NASB, even though the English term no longer carries the meaning of “escape.” Words change meaning over time, and today the word “scapegoat” means one who is blamed unjustly.

The Hebrew word az means “goat.” It is possible that a double az (as in az-az) indicates intensity. In the Hebrew language we often see a word repeated for emphasis or to increase intensity. For example:

• אדם אדם (adam adam), “every man”
• שלום שלום (shalom shalom), “perfect peace”
• קדש קדשים (kodesh kodashim), “most holy”

This is similar to God’s statement in Gen. 2:17, “in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Môt tâmût), emphasizing certainty, not a double death. Both words come from מוּת (mût), “to die.”

Hence translations render it “you shall surely die,” or “you shall certainly die.” More literally, it reads, “dying you shall die.”

The same construction occurs elsewhere. For example, Gen. 20:7 says concerning Abimelech:

⁷ But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die [môt tâmût].

Likewise, 1 Sam. 14:44 says, “You shall surely die, Jonathan.” So the construction itself means certain death, rather than necessarily specifying precisely when or how death will occur.

Although Azazel is not written exactly in one of these standard constructions, some have proposed that the repeated עז conveys an intensive sense:

• “utter removal”
• “complete dismissal”
• “strong removal”

Nonetheless, most believe that Azazel is rooted in the word azal, “to go away.” Hence, it literally means “the goat that goes away.” If we combine these two ideas, we might propose that Azazel means the utter removal of the goat.

But in what sense?

The Leviticus 16 ceremony instructs that the goat “for Yahweh” was to be killed on the temple grounds and its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in the Most Holy Place as a “sin offering.” Lev. 16:15 says,

¹⁵ Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.

This was done to atone for all the sins of the people. This prophetic type was fulfilled when Christ Himself sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat of the temple in heaven (Heb. 9:6-12).

The Second Goat

The second goat prophesied of Christ’s second appearance. We must understand the prophecy in Leviticus 16 in order to comprehend the spiritual details of the second work of Christ. In past years I have had limited understanding of this work, but now more revelation has come. Hence, it has become possible to share that revelation with others as best I can.

The second goat was not to be used as a sin offering but was, instead, a live work, because Christ died “once for all” (Heb. 7:27) and does not need to be crucified a second time. Instead, the sins, iniquities, and transgressions of all the people were to be imputed to the goat, and it was sent away alive into the wilderness.

Whereas the first Goat’s mission was “for Yahweh” to atone for sin by the blood of Christ, the second Goat is also Christ, and that He was sent away “for Azazel.” Though both of His missions relate to the sin problem, they are distinct. In fact, the first Goat atoned for sin; the second Goat removed the sin from the temple of God. (We are the temple of God; see 1 Cor. 3:16.) It is one thing to atone (cover) sin; it is another to remove it entirely.

Hence, God has chosen to deal with the problem of sin in a two-step process, making it necessary for Christ to come twice. Atonement gives us righteous standing in a legal sense, as the blood of Christ covers sin. But as we all know, faith in His blood has not removed sin, for we remain imperfect. Instead, we are imputed righteous, for God is calling what is NOT as though it were (Rom. 4:17 KJV).

Azazel the Satyr

Azazel is an opposing figure, a counterfeit “goat,” if you will. When Christ was led into the wilderness after His baptism (Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1), He fulfilled the role of the second goat being sent into the wilderness “to be tempted by the devil.” The true Goat was pitted against the counterfeit.

One detail that often goes unnoticed is that Leviticus 16 and Leviticus 17 stand back-to-back. Leviticus 16 speaks of the goat for Yahweh and the goat for Azazel. Immediately afterward, Lev.17:7 says,

⁷ They shall no longer sacrifice to the goat demons [se’irim], with which they play the harlot….

The juxtaposition has led many scholars to wonder whether the legislation intentionally distinguishes the legitimate Day of Atonement ritual from the pagan practice of sacrificing to wilderness goat demons. In other words, the goat sent “for Azazel” is not an act of worship directed to a desert spirit, because the very next chapter explicitly forbids Israel from sacrificing to the se’irim.

This is one reason many interpreters conclude that the live goat is not an offering to Azazel but a symbolic removal of sin into the wilderness. The interpretation, of course, is clear once we connect this law to Christ’s wilderness temptation, which began with His baptism on the Day of Atonement in 29 A.D. He fulfilled the prophecy when the Spirit led Him into the wilderness “for Azazel,” not as an offering but to be tempted.

The Hebrew word שְׂעִירִים (se’irim) literally means “hairy ones.” It is the ordinary word for a male goat, but here it clearly refers to supernatural beings receiving illicit worship. Note also that it is connected to Esau-Edom, whose inheritance was at Mount Seir, “Goat Mountain.” So God told Moses in Deut. 2:5, “I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.” Hence, too, we see the prophecy against the people of “Mount Seir” in Ezekiel 35:2,

² Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it.

This suggests that Edom (modern Zionists) is controlled and motivated by the se’irim, “goat demons” and “play the harlot” as a counterfeit to the bride of Christ. The bloodthirsty nature of Mount Seir is portrayed clearly in Ezekiel 35:6 and manifested today as genocide.

Satyrs inhabit desolate places of the wilderness. Isaiah 13:21 describes the desolation of Babylon:

²¹ But desert creatures will lie down there...
and hairy goats [se’irim, “satyrs,” KJV] will dance there.

Likewise, Isaiah 34:14 says,

¹⁴ The desert creatures will meet with the wolves,
The hairy goat [se’ir, “satyr,” KJV] also will cry to its kind.

In these cases, it was The Geneva Bible (1560) that first used the term “satyr” in these passages. The KJV followed suit in 1611. They understood that these were not literal goats or even wild goats. They were demonic beings.

Hence, Azazel is pictured in Scripture as a satyr, half goat-half man creature. The Greeks called him Pan, which means “all, every” implying that he ruled all of nature. So when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he offered Him all the nations of the world (Matt. 4:8, 9), and Jesus did not contest his right or ability to make such an offer. But to take the easy way out, He would have had to recognize Azazel’s sovereignty and remain second in command.

(Note that “panic” is a word derived from Pan. The Greek root is panikos, “of Pan.” The word pandemonium, “place of all demons,” was coined by John Milton in Paradise Lost (1667) as the name of the capital of Hell. He was referring primarily to the meaning of Pan as “all.”)

Jesus chose to go the way of the cross instead. In addition, He chose to subject the body of Christ (church) to the trials in the wilderness for the next 40 Jubilees. We are all affected by His decision. It is difficult in that sense, but we will receive a kingdom ruled by Christ through love rather than through fear.

Again, Christ is the inheritor of “all things” (ta panta, “The All”), as Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:27, 28 and Eph. 1:23. The kingdoms of this world, i.e., the beast empires, are directed and inspired by Pan and are the counterfeit of the Kingdom of God. Pan rules by fear and self-interest; Christ rules by love.

“The devil” is not a name but a description. The name, stated in Lev. 16:8, is Azazel. His temptation was literally a confrontation to overcome where men had failed earlier. He was tempted 40 days, representing 40 years of Israel’s testing in the wilderness. (Fasting compressed 40 years into just 40 days.)

Christ’s Second Work Today

This second goat prophesied of Christ in His second appearance, but this extended also to the church as a whole.

This again became the pattern for the church whose wilderness experience extended across a 40-Jubilee cycle from 33-1993 A.D. It is the same 40 Jubilees that represent the reign of King Saul, who was crowned on Pentecost, the day of “wheat harvest” in 1 Samuel 12:17. Therefore, we can study the reign of Saul and see how each year of his reign prophesied of a Jubilee cycle in church history. In effect, like with Christ Himself, the church (body of Christ) was sent into the wilderness to be tried by Azazel and to see who would succumb to temptation and who would overcome as Jesus did.

Hence, in the message to The Seven Churches, we read, “he who overcomes” will receive various rewards as an inheritance (Revelation 2:11). A distinction is thus made between the church in general and the overcomers in particular. Not all believers are overcomers. Not all believers “endure” to the end. They will not lose their salvation, but they can lose the reward as an overcomer.

Testing Faith

The point is that Azazel is specifically the entity responsible for providing the temptations in the wilderness, which are the trials of our faith being tested by fire (1 Peter 1:6, 7; 4:12, 13). The three specific temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness provide us with a broad outline of the main issues that have confronted the church as well. These are summarized in 1 John 2:16,

¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

The temptation to turn stones into bread (Matt. 4:3) was probably about “the lust of the eyes,” because, in the Garden, Eve “saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise” (Gen. 3:6).

The temptation on the pinnacle of the temple (Matt. 4:5) was about “the boastful pride of life” by which men tempt God, hoping to be able to brag about how God saved them after they jumped off a cliff. Tempting God is specifically condemned in Exodus 17:1-7, specifically when they questioned God’s presence: “They tested the Lord, saying, is the Lord among us or not?”

The temptation on the high mountain (Matt. 4:8) was about “the lust of the flesh.” The “flesh” refers to man’s fallen nature, often called “the flesh” in Paul’s writings. Romans 8:5-8 says,

⁵ For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷ because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The “old man” in Paul’s writings (or “old self,” NASB) is the natural man—that which was born of flesh and blood. The “new man” is the offspring of God that is begotten by the hearing of the incorruptible word of God (1 Peter 1:23). This is the spiritual man which exists side by side with the child of the flesh. Whichever “son” we claim to be is how we will live and how we will be recognized by the court at the White Throne judgment.

Azazel tempted Christ by offering him all the kingdoms of the world if he would agree to be second in authority. This appealed to the desire of the flesh for power, riches, and glory. The church too has been tempted in the same way. Azazel has offered the church great power over the nations, as long as it would submit to the lusts of the flesh. That is the overall condition of the church today as we reach the climax of the age.

The Book of Enoch

Enoch takes the enigmatic name “Azazel” from Leviticus and develops it into the biography of a fallen angel who became the archetypal corrupter of humanity. Azazel teaches forbidden knowledge. 1 Enoch 8:1–3 says,

“Azazel taught men to make swords, knives, shields, and breastplates; and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them; bracelets and ornaments; the use of antimony; the beautifying of the eyelids; all kinds of costly stones; and all coloring tinctures.”

Azazel is therefore blamed for introducing weapons of war, metallurgy, jewelry, cosmetics, and luxury arts. The result is:

“There arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray.”

Unlike some of the other Watchers, whose chief sin was marrying human women (Gen. 6:3), Azazel is portrayed as the corrupter of civilization through technology misused for violence and fleshly vanity. Technology itself is neither good nor evil. The problem comes when it is placed in the hands of evil men or those who ignorantly assist evil men as they attempt to weaponize it against the people. Technology can be used to enslave men or to set them free.

The current world order is ruled by evil men inspired by Azazel. The steep rise of technology is being used to create a “surveillance state” that spies on everyone and subjects all economic activity under its control. Personal freedom is diminishing quickly as huge databases are created to record every transaction, every conversation, every email, text message, and even every keystroke on a computer.

At some point in time, this technology must come under the control of the overcomers whose interest is in using it to set men free by the principle of the Jubilee. To do this, of course, Azazel must be unseated, and his collaborators must be brought to justice.

So we read that the four archangels cry out to God:

“Thou seest what Azazel has done, who has taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were preserved in heaven.”

Notice that Azazel receives individual blame above the others. God commands the angel Raphael: “Bind Azazel hand and foot…. Cast him into the darkness... make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein.” He is reserved there “until the day of the great judgment.” He remains imprisoned until the day when God’s final judgment is executed.

One remarkable line says:

“The whole earth has been corrupted through the works taught by Azazel; to him ascribe all sin.”

Because authority comes with an equal level of responsibility, if Pan claims authority over “all,” then we must also make him responsible for “all sin.”

Many scholars believe this verse is deliberately interpreting Leviticus 16. Enoch interprets Azazel as the ultimate source of mankind’s corruption. Hence, the second goat, representing both Christ and His body, is sent into the wilderness “for Azazel” and “to Azazel,” who had been confined to the wilderness since the time of Noah’s flood.

Yet having still a role to play in testing the faith of believers, he was not brought into a final judgment, nor was he removed completely. The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness which Enoch calls “Dudael.” Some scholars derive this name from: דוד (dûd), “kettle, pot, cauldron” and אֵל (‘el), “God.” This would yield something like “the cauldron of God,” or a boiling pot. This would fit with the idea of a fiery ordeal during the test of one’s faith.

So at the end of the present age, we are arriving at a climactic point in earth’s history where the overcomers (as a body) are finishing up the final tests of faith. I believe too that the overcomers are the ones called to defeat Azazel and overthrow his spiritual throne in preparation for the second ministry of Christ.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:18, 19,

¹⁸ Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself… and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Recall that after Jesus overcame temptation, He returned to Galilee and began His earthly ministry. That is what we today anticipate, but it is not only Christ but the overcomers serving under His authority that will reign with Him in the age to come (Rev. 20:6). This is their birthright inheritance.