This explanation aims to show how God’s good commandments forbid human sacrifices (ref. Deuteronomy 24:16, Ezekiel 18:20), and thus 1 John 2:1-2 (or any other similar verse for that matter) is in no way saying that Christ (Messiah) was a literal human sacrifice for our sins.
Instead, with verse 1 first telling us that Christ is our ‘advocate’, the word typically translated as ‘propitiation’ in 1 John 2:2 is then reviewed.
We see that the English dictionary’s definition for ‘propitiation’ can be defined as ‘appeasing’, and in phrase form can be described as how ‘Christ lifts his hands in prayer to God as our representation in a propitiation-like, priestly manner, to please Him on our behalf.’.
We will see that this is the better rendering and translation of what the word ‘propitiation’ means in this instance, as other verses confirm Christ appeases G-d, by praying (interceding) for us here (Isaiah 53:12, Romans 8:34), as advocate and mediator (1 John 2:1, 1 Timothy 2:5).
Orthodox Messianic Judaism (Christianity in Correct Context) 