What the Bible says about Priestly Garments as Filthy
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Zechariah 3 shows a future fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. This book was written after Judah's return from Babylon. Even after that national chastening, the people were still carnal, just as Israel is today. Here, the prophet receives a vision of the high priest, Joshua. Notably, the chapter contains the same elements and sequence as Leviticus 16. It starts with the cleansing of the high priest and ends with the cleansing of the nation. What is missing is the sacrificial animals, and this is because, here, God is providing the atonement through a different means.
The essential function of the high priest was to represent the nation to God, which is part of why the Golden Calf incident was so appalling—the nation's representative was directly involved in the sin of idolatry. Similarly, in Zechariah 3:3, the high priest is depicted in filthy garments, yet in verse 4, the filth and iniquity are taken away. The high priest receives rich robes, symbolic of righteousness from God Himself (compare Revelation 19:8). The high priest's defilement shows that the nation had been completely unclean. But God restores the high priest, giving His explanation in verses 8-9:
Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are a wondrous sign; for behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
Zechariah makes no mention of animal sacrifices. This removal of iniquity can only come through the Messiah, the Branch mentioned in verse 8 (see also Isaiah 4:2; 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 6:12).
Leviticus 18:28 speaks of the land becoming defiled and vomiting out its inhabitants. The Day of Atonement is an annual type of bearing away of sin, out of the land, so the land and its people become clean before God. This national cleansing of land and nation, however, did not happen at Christ's first coming. Though the means of that true cleansing was created through His sacrifice, it has not yet been applied. God's cleansing of the land and people of Israel is still future.
The beginning of this vision (verses 1-2) contains another significant factor. Note that God rebukes Satan before He cleanses the nation. There is a possible connection here with Satan's binding (Revelation 20:1-3): In other instances of God rebuking a party, it typically goes beyond divine words and involves divine action (see Psalm 9:5; 68:30; Isaiah 17:1-3). God's rebuke may find its fulfillment in Satan's binding, and Israel's cleansing follows it.
The critical point is that atonement—expiation, satisfaction of the legal debt—can come only through Christ's removal of guilt, not through anything that happens to Satan. The nation is cleansed by God removing the iniquity, not through rebuking the accuser. In this vision, if Satan were only rebuked—and in parallel, if Satan were just bound—the nation would remain in its defiled state, still separated from God, unatoned.
David C. Grabbe
Who Fulfills the Azazel Goat— Satan or Christ? (Part Four)Related Topics: Azazel -goat of "Complete Removal" | Azazel Bearing Sins | Cleansing from Spiritual Filth | Cleansing of the High Priest | Complete Removal of Sin from View | Day of Atonement | Golden Calf | High Priest as Intercessor | Priestly Garments as Filthy | Removal of Sins | Satan's Binding Expiates No Sins | Satan's binding Not Foretold until Revelation | Unpayable Debt and Obligation
God describes in advance those who will overcome. John hears "a loud voice" speaking about "our brethren" who have overcome Satan, yet this encompasses more than just overcoming that evil spirit being. Satan is "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), so those who overcome him also overcome his dominion, this world. In addition, he is the source of the fiery darts hurled at our minds and all the temptations and inducements to sin. When God's people are shown overcoming him, we can understand that it includes overcoming Satan's world, as well as the corrupted human nature he influences.
Revelation 12:11 gives three descriptions of those who overcame Satan, providing a roadmap for our own efforts to overcome. First, they overcome Satan "by the blood of the Lamb." His citing the blood of Jesus most obviously signifies that it is the means of forgiveness for our sins. It is how we are justified and redeemed, and it is called the purchase price of the church (Acts 20:28). His blood pays the debts that we incur when we sin (Romans 3:25). If we had to pay our own debts, we would not live long enough to overcome anything at all. The fact that our sins are taken away when we genuinely repent means that we can keep walking this road to the Kingdom without having it cut short by the death penalty (Romans 6:23).
Yet, there is more here. In verse 10, Satan is shown continually accusing Christ's brothers and sisters, acting as the perpetual plaintiff, always bringing charges of sin against the brethren. A similar scene is described in Zechariah 3:1-4 (English Standard Version):
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?" Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him he said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments."
Joshua, the high priest after Judah's return from Babylon, represents the whole nation. What we need to consider, though, is that Satan probably does not have to lie one bit in his accusations! Verse 3 describes Joshua as wearing filthy garments, representing tremendous sin. The filth—the sin of the nation—was obvious. Satan did not have to fabricate it, yet God chose to take away the iniquity rather than exacting the wages that the sin required. Likewise, in Revelation 12:10, Satan's charges against God's people need not be trumped up at all. Satan is aware of the sins of God's people and is probably quite accurate in pointing out where we miss the mark.
This is where the payment for sin comes in and why it is crucial to overcoming. Not only does God pay the debt of those with whom He is working, but the fact that He "removes the iniquity" (our emphasis throughout) adds another factor. Hebrews 9:14 says that Christ's blood "cleanse[s] your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." We know what we have done, as does Satan. At times, he uses that knowledge in his "fiery darts" (Ephesians 6:16) to discourage us and to bring us down—to get us to feel so worthless and wretched that we start thinking we may as well give up because everything is hopeless. God could not possibly love us or accept us.
However, when we acknowledge our sins to God, repent, and ask for forgiveness, Christ's blood is applied to us, and He cleanses our consciences, allowing us to continue to serve God without being weighed down (see Hebrews 12:1). We may still feel remorse, but this cleansing of the conscience means we are not left wallowing in the mire, unable to rise due to heaviness of guilt. The shield of faith quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one, and a significant part of that faith is our confidence in the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God.
David C. Grabbe
How Did They Overcome? (Part One)