atonement
The biblical use and meaning of the word must be sharply distinguished from its use in theology. In theology it is term which covers the whole sacrificial and redemptive work of Christ. In the Old Testament atonement is the English word used to translate the Hebrew words which mean "cover," "coverings," or "to cover." Atonement (at-one-ment) is, therefore, not a translation of the hebrew, but a purely theologic concept. The Levitical offerings "covered" the sins of Israel until, and in anticipation of the Cross, but did not "take away" (Hebrews 10:4) those sins. These were the "sins done aforetime" ("covered" meantime by the Levitical sacrifices), which God "passed over" (Romans 3:25) for which "passing over" God's righteousness was never vindicated until, in the Cross, Jesus Christ was "set forth a propitiation." See "Propitiation,"
( See Scofield) - (Romans 3:25).
It was the Cross, not the Levitical sacrifices which made "at-one-ment." The Old Testament sacrifices enabled God to go on with a guilty people because they typified the Cross. To the offerer they were the confession of his desert of death, and the expression of his faith; to God they were the "shadows" (Hebrews 10:1) of which Christ was the reality.
atonement
( See Scofield) - (Exodus 29:33).