Video & English Outline: Part 3: Satan: The Adventist Scapegoat and Sin-bearer!

PODCAST: AUGUST 16, 2026 PART 3: 

Satan: The Adventist Scapegoat and Sin-bearer

Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the Investigating Adventism Live Q&A Podcast! I am your host, and tonight we are diving into one of the most controversial, distinctive, and deeply debated teachings in Seventh-day Adventism: the identity of the scapegoat in Leviticus 16.
.

If you grew up in or around the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, you’ve probably heard this doctrine presented as a settled fact: the slain goat on the Day of Atonement represents Jesus, while the live goat, the scapegoat, or Azazel, represents Satan. . In Adventist sanctuary theology, Satan is framed as the ultimate sin-bearer who receives the confessed sins of the saved, carries them into the wilderness during the millennium, and is finally blotted out of existence.
.

Tonight, we are placing this doctrine under the microscope of scripture, logic, and history. . We are asking the fundamental question: Does the Bible teach that Satan is our scapegoat, or is Jesus Christ our one and only scapegoat and sin-bearer
?

Let's jump straight into our first live Q&A segment
!

The Official Adventist Doctrine and Ellen G. White's Claims

Question#1: What exactly does the Seventh-day Adventist Church teach about the scapegoat, and where does this belief originate?

Response: To understand why Adventists hold so tightly to this doctrine, you have to look at their prophetess, Ellen G. White. . Like so many unique Adventist doctrines, you will not find a single verse in Scripture teaching that Satan is the scapegoat or sin-bearer. . Instead, Adventists have spent decades pulling proof-texts out of context to justify statements made by Ellen White.
.

In her cornerstone book, The Great Controversy, Ellen White wrote:

"It was seen, also, that while the sin offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest, by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, removed the sins from the sanctuary, he placed them upon the scapegoat. When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty." (The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan, p.422)

She repeated this teaching consistently throughout her ministry. . In The Faith I Live By, she wrote that Christ will place all sins upon Satan, who will be confined to a desolate earth for a thousand years bearing the guilt of all the sins he caused God's people to commit, before suffering the full penalty in the fires of destruction. . Again, in the May 16, 1895 issue of Signs of the Times, she asserted that the sins of the overcomers will be removed from the records of heaven and placed upon Satan, the scapegoat, to be remembered no more.

"As the priest, in removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all these sins upon Satan, the originator and instigator of sin. The scapegoat, bearing the sins of Israel, was sent away 'into a land not inhabited'; so Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which he has caused God's people to commit, will be for a thousand years confined to the earth, which will then be desolate, without inhabitant, and he will at last suffer the full penalty of sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked." (The Faith I Live By,  1958 (Devotional compilation of Ellen G. White writings), p. 211)

"When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, then the sins of the repentant soul who has received the grace of Christ and has overcome through the blood of the Lamb, will be blotted out from the records of heaven, and placed upon Satan, the scapegoat, the originator of sin, and be remembered no more against him forever." (Signs of the Times, May 16, 1895, "The Sanctuary and the Judgment" (Paragraph 4)

.

This isn't a fringe view within Adventism; it is official, standard SDA dogma taught from primary Sabbath Schools all the way up to university seminaries. . In their official handbook of doctrine, Seventh-day Adventists Believe, the church explicitly states:

"A careful examination of Leviticus 16 reveals that Azazel represents Satan, not Christ, as some have thought. The arguments supporting this interpretation are: “(1) the scapegoat was not slain as a sacrifice and thus could not be used as a means of bringing forgiveness. For ‘without shedding of blood is no remission’ (Heb. 9:22); (2) the sanctuary was entirely cleansed by the blood of the Lord’s goat before the scapegoat was introduced into the ritual (Lev. 16:20); (3) the passage treats the scapegoat as a personal being who is the opposite of, and opposed to, God (Leviticus 16:8 reads literally, ‘One to Yahweh and the other to Azazel’). Therefore, in the setting of the sanctuary parable, it is more consistent to see the Lord’s goat as a symbol of Christ and the scapegoat, Azazel, as a symbol of Satan.” ( Seventh-Day Adventist Believe, 3rd edition, p. 468)

So, according to official Adventism, Satan is their scapegoat and ultimate sin-bearer. . But as we will see tonight, if Satan is their scapegoat, then logically and biblically, Satan is the one who atones for their sins.

!

Dismantling the Three Core Adventist Arguments

Question#2: How do Adventist scholars defend making Satan the scapegoat, and why do their arguments fail?

Response: In Seventh-day Adventists Believe, the church puts forward three main arguments to justify making Satan the scapegoat. . When you look closely at these arguments, they reveal a deep desperation to defend Ellen White at all costs.
.

Let's break down all three arguments and show why they fall apart under basic biblical examination:
:

SDA Argument 1: The scapegoat was not slain as a blood sacrifice, so under Hebrews 9:22 ("without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness"), it could not bring forgiveness.

The Biblical Rebuttal: This argument completely misses the point of the ritual. .. The scapegoat's purpose wasn't to grant forgiveness through death, but to physically or symbolically remove sin from the community. . The removal of sin was an equally necessary aspect of the one single sin offering that both goats made together.  . You cannot separate the two goats, they worked as a unit..

SDA Argument 2: The sanctuary was already cleansed by the blood of the Lord's goat before the scapegoat was introduced into the ceremony.

The Biblical Rebuttal: This is classical theological sleight-of-hand. The scapegoat was part of the ritual from the very beginning! Leviticus 16:5 explicitly states: "And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering." Notice that God says two goats for a sin offering, singular! The timing of when the second goat carried out its specific function is irrelevant. They were a pair making one single atonement. One goat fulfilled the role of dying; the second fulfilled the role of bearing away sin. They are literally two equal, necessary sides of the exact same coin. 

SDA Argument 3: Leviticus 16 treats the scapegoat as a personal being who stands in direct opposition to Yahweh.

The Biblical Rebuttal: On page 778 of The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, Adventists try to dodge the logical trap by claiming that placing sins on Satan doesn't mean he atones for believers, he's just bearing responsibility for the sins he caused them to commit. But there is not a single verse in the entire Bible that says God will place saved people's sins onto Satan because he instigated them!

"How fitting that the closing act of the drama of God’s dealing with sin should be a returning upon the head of Satan of all the sin and guilt that, issuing from him originally, once brought such tragedy to the lives of those now freed of sin by Christ’s atoning blood. Thus the cycle is completed, the drama ended. Only when Satan, the instigator of all sin, is finally removed can it truly be said that sin is forever blotted out of God’s universe. In this accommodated sense we may understand that the scapegoat has a part in the “atonement” (v. 10)." (The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, 1978, p. 778)

They’re using that word 'accommodated' to keep Satan far away from Jesus’ actual redemptive blood sacrifice. They're basically trying to justify that it doesn't make Satan a savior, he’s just the one taking the blame and bearing the punishment for those sins in the end.

"And concerning Satan’s sin, and his responsibility as instigator and tempter, no salvation is provided for him. He must be punished for his responsibility. There is no savior, or substitute, to bear his punishment. He must himself “atone” for his sin in causing men to transgress, in the same way that a master criminal suffers on the gallows or in the electric chair for his responsibility in the crimes that he has caused others to commit. It is in this sense only that we can understand the words of Leviticus 16:10 concerning the scapegoat, “to make an atonement with him. Seventh-day Adventists therefore repudiate in toto any idea, suggestion, or implication that Satan is in any sense or degree our sin bearer. The thought is abhorrent to us, and appallingly sacrilegious. Such a concept is a dreadful disparagement of the efficacy of Christ and His salvation, and vitiates the whole glorious provision of salvation solely through our Saviour." (Knight, George R., editor. Seventh-Day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine. Annotated Edition, Andrews University Press, 2003, pp. 318-319)

Furthermore, you cannot extract atonement from the scapegoat! Leviticus 16:10 explicitly says:

"But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat." Leviticus 16:10(NIV)

In The Clear Word (a devotional paraphrase of the Bible written by Jack Blanco), Leviticus 16:10 is rendered as follows:

"The other goat, representing Azazel, was to be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement. Then it was to be sent away into the desert to carry away the sins of the people."

The text literally says the live goat is presented before the Lord to make atonement. Leviticus 16:29–30 reiterates that on this day, atonement is made to cleanse the people from all their sins.

“This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work, whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you,  because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins." Leviticus 16:29-30(NIV)

First-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus confirmed the ancient Jewish understanding, writing that the live goat was sent out into the wilderness "to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude" (Antiquities, Book 3, 10:3). . The Jewish Virtual Library agrees, noting that according to the Talmudic sages, the goat dispatched to Azazel atones for all transgressions (Shev. 1:6)

"According to the sages, the goat dispatched to Azazel as part of the Temple ritual on the Day of Atonement atones for all transgressions (Shev. 1:6), whereas after the destruction of the Temple, the Day itself atones (Sifra, Aharei Mot 8:1)." ("Day of Atonement" (Encyclopedia Judaica / Jewish Virtual Library) 
.

It is an indisputable biblical and historical fact that the scapegoat made atonement. .. Adventists try to strip atonement away from the scapegoat because they know how heretical it sounds to say Satan atones for sins. .. But if Satan is their scapegoat, then Satan atones for their sins.  . There is no way around it.

.

The Levitical Requirement of Perfection ("Without Blemish")

Question#3: What does the Old Testament sacrificial law require regarding animals used in sanctuary rituals, and how does this completely disqualify Satan?

Response: This is perhaps the simplest, most undeniable argument in the entire debate. .. Long before you even get into the specifics of the Day of Atonement, the Bible establishes a strict rule for every single animal used in sanctuary sacrifices and rituals: they had to be perfect, spotless, and without blemish!

Look at the instructions God gave Moses throughout the Torah:

• Leviticus 1:2–3, 10: Burnt offerings from herds or sheep/goats had to be male "without blemish."
• Leviticus 3:1, 6: Peace offerings had to be "without blemish."
• Leviticus 4:3, 23, 27–28, 32: Sin offerings for priests, rulers, commoners, or lambs had to be "without blemish."
• Leviticus 5:15, 18 & 6:6: Trespass offerings required a ram "without blemish."
• Leviticus 9:2–3: Inaugural offerings required calves, rams, and goats "without blemish."
• Leviticus 14:10: Cleansing ceremonies for lepers required lambs "without blemish."
  
  

God was so meticulous about this that in Leviticus 22:20–25, He explicitly commanded that no animal that was blind, disabled, mutilated, scabby, bruised, crushed, torn, or cut could ever be offered to the Lord. .. It would be rejected instantly because it had a blemish! And when God listed the offerings for the Day of Atonement in Numbers 29:8, He specifically commanded: "...see that they are without blemish."

"Present as an aroma pleasing to the LORD a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect." Numbers 29:8(NIV)

Why was God so strict about physical perfection? Because every single animal involved in the sanctuary system pointed forward to the flawless, immaculate, spotless sacrifice of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:18–19).

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." 1 Peter 1:17-19(NIV)
!

Now, think about the logical absurdity of the Adventist position: .. If the scapegoat represented Satan, why on earth would God mandate that it be spotless and without blemish? Satan is inherently corrupt, defective, deformed by sin, and evil. If a goat typified the Devil, any diseased, lacerated, deformed, or blind goat would have worked perfectly. . But God commanded that the scapegoat had to be physically perfect.
.

Even more damning: Leviticus 16:8 says that lots were cast over the two goats to determine which would be slain and which would be sent away.  . Because lots were cast over two identical, spotless goats, either goat could have filled either role!

If one goat represents Satan and the other represents Christ, it logically means:

• Satan is spotless and perfect.
• Satan was qualified to die for our sins on the altar!
• Christ could have been the goat chosen to be banished as Azazel!
  

The idea that Satan was spotless or could die for our sins is blasphemous and heretical.  . Yet that is the unavoidable logical conclusion of the Adventist doctrine!

.

Biblical Precedents of Two Animals in One Sin Offering

Question#4: Adventists claim that having two goats proves one must be Christ and the other Satan. Does the Bible ever use two animals for a single offering elsewhere?

Response: Yes, absolutely. Adventists make a massive, unwarranted assumption that two animals equal two antagonistic beings (Christ vs. Satan). But using two animals to represent two different angles of a single offering is a well-established practice in Scripture

.

Look at Leviticus 5:6–10.  . If a poor person couldn't afford a lamb for a sin offering, God allowed them to bring two turtledoves or two pigeons for the same single sin offering and atonement..  Even clearer is the ritual for cleansing a leper in Leviticus 14:1–7. To cleanse a leper, two living, clean birds were brought forth. The first bird was killed over fresh water, and its blood was collected.  The second (live) bird was dipped into the blood of the slain bird and then released into the open field to fly free.

Sound familiar? It is the exact same structure as the Day of Atonement! One animal dies to shed blood for purification, while the second living animal is released into the open wilderness to bear away the defilement.

Does the released bird in Leviticus 14 represent Satan? Of course not! Both birds represented a single offering for one individual leper. The only difference is that Leviticus 14 was an individual cleansing, whereas Leviticus 16 was a corporate cleansing for the whole nation of Israel. Two animals were used simply because a single animal cannot physically die and stay alive to picture the total removal of sin.

.

Scriptural Proof That Jesus Is Our True Scapegoat

Question#5: Where does the Bible explicitly show that Jesus, not Satan, is the fulfillment of the scapegoat who bears our sins?

Response: When you read Leviticus 16:20–22, you see a breathtaking prophetic picture of Jesus Christ:

“When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites, all their sins, and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness." Leviticus 16:20-22(NIV)

Scripture is overwhelmingly clear that our sins were laid on Jesus, never on Satan:
!

Look at Isaiah 53:

• "He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains..." (v. 4)
  
  
• "He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities... and the LORD has punished Him for the iniquity of us all." (v. 5–6)
  
  
• "For He was cut off from the land of the living... yet He bore the sin of many..." (v. 8, 12)

The New Testament confirms this truth repeatedly:

• John 1:29: John the Baptist sees Jesus and cries, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

• 1 Peter 2:24: "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness."

• 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

• 1 John 1:7: "...the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

• Hebrews 13:12–13: Jesus suffered outside the city gate, just as the scapegoat was sent outside the camp into the wilderness, to sanctify the people through His own blood!

"And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore." Hebrews 13:12-13(NIV)

And consider the literal definition of the word scapegoat: A scapegoat is an innocent person who takes the blame or punishment for the faults and wrongdoings of others.

By that very definition, Satan is automatically disqualified! Satan is not an innocent victim taking the blame for others; Satan is a guilty, wicked cosmic rebel who fully deserves his own punishment!

Every human being is also disqualified because we have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:19, 23; 6:23). There is only one innocent person in the universe qualified to be our scapegoat the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ

!

Exposing the Revelation 20 Proof-Text Misuse

Question#6: Adventists rely heavily on Revelation 20 to claim that Satan’s millennial imprisonment fulfills the scapegoat ritual. Does Revelation 20 actually support them?

Response: Revelation 20:1–3 and 7–10 is the main proof-text Adventists twist to justify Ellen White's scapegoat doctrine. But when you compare Revelation 20 with Leviticus 16 side-by-side, the Adventist interpretation completely crumbles.

Let's look at a direct comparison table between the two passages:

Look at those glaring differences!

• The scapegoat in Leviticus 16 is presented before the Lord, has sins confessed over it, is led out, and is released to go free in the wilderness.
  
  
• In Revelation 20, Satan is bound with a chain, thrown into a bottomless pit, and sealed in so he cannot roam free! Then, after the 1,000 years, Satan is released, gathers nations to battle against the New Jerusalem, and is thrown into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night forever and ever (v. 10).
  
  
• Notice also that Revelation 20 explicitly refutes Ellen White's claim that Satan will be "blotted from existence" or annihilated. John explicitly writes that the Devil will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20 isn't describing a scapegoat carrying away confessed sins; it is describing the final execution of judgment on God's enemy.
  .

Ellen White’s Self-Contradiction

Question#7: Did Ellen White ever contradict herself on whether Jesus or Satan is the scapegoat?

Response: Prepare yourself for a shock! True to her well-documented habit of plagiarizing and failing to keep track of her statements, Ellen White directly contradicted herself and stated that Jesus is the scapegoat!

In Manuscript 112, 1897 (titled "Before Pilate and Herod"), Ellen White wrote the following words:

"Some apply the solemn type, the scapegoat, to Satan. This is not correct. He cannot bear his own sins. At the choosing of Barabbas, Pilate washed his hands. He cannot be represented as the scapegoat. The awful cry, uttered with a hasty awful recklessness, by the Satan inspired multitude, swelling louder and louder, reaches up to the throne of God, His blood be upon us and upon our children. Christ was the scapegoat, which the type represents. He alone can be represented by the goat borne into the wilderness. He alone, over whom death had no power, was able to bear our sins." (Manuscript 112)

You read that correctly! Ellen White explicitly said: "Some apply the solemn type, the scapegoat, to Satan. This is not correct... Christ was the scapegoat... He alone was able to bear our sins."

In 2013, Dr. Alberto R. Timm, Associate Director of the Ellen G. White Estate, tried to explain away this massive contradiction. He admitted the manuscript exists, but called it an "exceptional" statement that shouldn't override her usual teaching. He engaged in remarkable mental gymnastics, raising speculative questions about whether Ellen White really wrote it or how it got microfilmed into her official archives in 1951.

“Yes, the manuscript exists. But it is an exceptional statement that should not be taken as normative for Ellen White’s overall teaching. Questions remain about whether she actually wrote it, or how it came to be microfilmed into the Estate archives in 1951. Such anomalies must be weighed carefully against the consistent thrust of her prophetic ministry.” (Alberto R. Timm, Development of Contemporary Issues Related to Ellen G. White, Ellen White Issues Symposium, Vol. 2 (2013), Andrews University Center for Adventist Research)

Why all the tap-dancing from the White Estate? Because they cannot publicly admit the obvious: Ellen White contradicted Scripture and contradicted herself!

Adventists holding onto both contradictory positions is a textbook example of what George Orwell described in 1984 as Doublethink: holding two completely contradictory opinions simultaneously, knowing they cancel each other out, yet believing in both of them.

Adventists will claim on one hand that Ellen White was inspired when she said Satan is the scapegoat, while simultaneously trying to ignore or explain away her inspired manuscript where she said applying the scapegoat to Satan is "not correct" and that Christ is the scapegoat!

Conclusion and Final Takeaways

Question: What is the final verdict? Who is our scapegoat?

Response: When you strip away 19th-century Millerite revisions, Ellen White's vision claims, and Adventist theological contortions, the verdict of Scripture, logic, and history is unmistakable:

1. Satan is morally and textually disqualified from being the scapegoat. He is not unblemished (tamin), he cannot be presented before Yahweh as a clean offering, and he plays zero role in human redemption.
   
   
2. The scapegoat atones for sin. Leviticus 16:10 explicitly states the live goat makes atonement. To make Satan the scapegoat is to make Satan a co-atoning redeemer alongside Jesus, a total perversion of the Gospel.
   
   
3. Jesus Christ fulfills both goats of Leviticus 16. As the slain goat, His shed blood provides propitiation and opens access to God. As the live scapegoat, He bears our sins away into the wilderness of oblivion, removing our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.
   
   
4. The cross is complete. Jesus didn't leave the atonement unfinished, waiting for Satan to complete it during a millennium. When Jesus died on Calvary, He cried, "It is finished!" (John 19:30).
   
   
5. Jesus is our substitute, our sacrifice, our mediator, and our sole sin-bearing scapegoat. We don't need Satan to finish what Jesus perfectly accomplished on the cross.

Thank you for tuning in to this live Q&A episode of Investigating Adventism! Be sure to share this script and podcast episode with anyone searching for biblical truth. Until next time, keep testing all doctrines against the solid rock of God's Word!