When writing a series on a topic like universal reconciliation, it can be difficult to know where to begin. I would prefer to immediately discuss the texts that speak of reconciliation and the reconciliation of creation and where the concepts of “reconciliation” and “reconciliation of all” are explained. But with a topic about which there are so many misunderstandings, it is good to first address those misunderstandings.
The atonement of sins?
We find the concept of reconciliation only in the apostle Paul. But that is not the case in our (Dutch) translations, because there we also find the word “reconciliation” translated many times in the Old Testament and several times in the New Testament for a word different from the one Paul uses. In those cases, it speaks of “reconciliation of sins,” but this is not what it says. Reconciliation has to do with changing enmity and has nothing to do with sin. As a result, the translators have saddled us with the same word “reconciliation” for two completely different concepts.
kaphar
In the Hebrew Bible, we find the concept of kaphar many times, particularly around the sacrificial service. For example, regarding the sin offering, it is stated that “a bull must be prepared daily as a sin offering for reconciliation, and the altar must be purified by making reconciliation over it” (Ex. 29:36). Twice in this verse, we find a form of the word kaphar rendered “reconciliation.” Dozens of times, translations speak of “reconciliation for sins” in similar ways (see, for example, Lev. 4:20; 5:10; 16:30; Num. 5:8).
cover or shield
But kaphar does not mean “to reconcile,” but to cover or shield. Often, the meaning of a concept is made clear the first time it appears in the Bible. This also applies to kaphar, the first mention of which occurs in a completely different context than that of the sacrificial service.
Genesis 6 GES
14 Make for yourself an ark of sulfur wood; you shall make the ark with nests, and cover it inside and outside with a covering.
The Statenvertaling (KJV) renders this: “you shall pitch it inside and outside with pitch.” Kaphar is mentioned twice in this verse: “to cover with a covering” or “to protect with a covering.” This clarifies what kaphar is referring to. Here it refers to the ark, which would be covered and thus sheltered and protected from the waters of the Flood with which God would judge the world.
Jacob and Esau
The second time we encounter the word is also in a non-religious context, which has nothing to do with sin, and also in the book of Genesis. There, Jacob is going to meet his brother Esau. Twenty years earlier, he had fled from him. He sends three servants ahead, who will meet Esau alternately and give him a gift.
Genesis 32 SW
20 And you also say, “Look! Your servant Jacob is behind us!” For he said, “I will make a hedge for him with the gift of recognition that goes before me. And afterward I will see if he will lift his face to my face.”
Jacob sent servants and gifts ahead to cover Esau’s face. Jacob wanted to place something before Esau’s face, so that his supposed wrath would be shielded.
Covering Sin
When kaphar is applied to sin, it is not primarily about removing sin, but about covering and shielding it. Sins are removed from view so that they no longer constitute an accusation. Sin is, as it were, covered so that it is no longer exposed to judgment. This involved sacrifices that foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ. Covering or shielding from sin was the situation until the true Lamb of God would take away sin (John 1:29). The law is a shadow of things to come (Col. 2:17; Heb. 8:5; 10:1).
Yom Kippur
Under the old covenant, sins were present, but were covered and not imputed as long as they were covered. The name Yom Kippur, which we know in Dutch as the Big Day of Reconciliation, is derived from kaphar. It literally means: day of coverings/shields. On this day, the high priest sprinkled blood on the mercy seat (=shelter) on behalf of the people, because of their uncleanness and transgressions and all their sins, to cover them (Lev. 16:14-16). The blood served as a covering, comparable to the pitch on the ark: a protection against judgment.
The covering of sins in the Torah was real and valid within the old covenant. Sins were indeed covered, so they did not incur judgment. But the sin was not permanently taken away. The covering was temporary and had to be repeated, which shows that it was not the end goal. It points forward to the later and complete resolution in Christ.