Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement!

Yom Kadosh – Holy Day
The idea of a “Holy Day” has been lost throughout the years.  For Christians, the two holiest days would be Christmas and Easter (Resurrection Sunday).  The holiest day between the two is argued.  Some say Christmas, because of the “Incarnation” (God becoming man), and others say Easter, because of the miracle of the Resurrection.

Within Judaism, and for some Messianic Jews, there is no argument.  The holiest day is Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement, and is known as the “Sabbath of Sabbaths.”  It is marked by fasting, from sundown of the ninth of Tishri, until sundown, the tenth. It is a time of asking for forgiveness, and forgiving.

Today
The Yom Kippur service is the longest in the Jewish liturgy.  There is chanting and prayers, asking God to release them from vows not kept, and is a time for confession of sins.  They read about, and remember when the High Priest entered behind the curtain of the Holy of Holies to beg forgiveness for his own sins, and those of the whole nation of Israel. The Yom Kippur service ends with the Neilah, or closing, as it refers to the closing of the gates of heaven at the end of the day.  The belief is that God will determine who lives or dies in the following year – thus the decision is made and the gates of heaven are closed. Finally, a shofar blast, and the words, “Next year in Jerusalem” conclude the fast.

Biblically (Leviticus 16)
A bull would be sacrificed to purge the Temple from violations that were caused by the misdeeds of the priests and their households (Lev. 16:6).

Lots were cast over two goats, one goat to sacrifice, and the other, the scapegoat (Lev. 16:18). According to the Talmud, a scarlet cloth was tied to the scapegoat’s horns. The scapegoat would be placed before the people, and wait, until symbolically all their sins were laid upon him.

The High Priest would then enter the Holy of Holies. He entered the first time to burn incense, representing the prayers of the priests (Lev. 16:12, 13).  Then a second time, with the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat [the cover of the Ark of the Covenant] (Lev. 16:14). (The story of a rope being tied around the High Priest’s ankle, if he were to die inside the Holy of Holies, is a legend of Medieval origin). The third time the priest enters the Holy of Holies he sprinkles the blood of the sacrificed goat on the Mercy Seat (Lev. 16:15 – 17). Finally, the High Priest would lay both hands upon the head of the scapegoat confessing the sins of the people.  The goat was driven into the wilderness carrying upon it “all their iniquities” (Lev. 16:22).

Messiah
The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God. Israel was to revere the presence and things of God. The High Priest was the mediator between Israel and the God.  Jesus, is our mediator, and takes away our sins forever, not temporarily – there is not an annual trek to the cross.  He is our perfect High Priest, who abides forever and even intercedes on our behalf to the Father.  As our High Priest, Jesus not only brings the forgiveness of sins, but takes our sins away forever (1 Tim. 2:5; Psa. 103:12; John 1:29; 1 Pet. 2:24; Heb. 10:12; Rom. 8:34).

Shadows
Yom Kippur, or The Day of Atonement, foreshadowed the work of Messiah Jesus, and has been fulfilled at the cross.  Jesus, who knew no sin, died for those who are sinners (2 Cor. 5:21).  He was the innocent, dying for the guilty; the perfect, dying for the imperfect, the sinless, dying for the sinner.

He entered the Holy of Holies, “not through the blood of goats, and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12, NASB).  And, because the sacrifice of animals was never enough, the “Messiah did not enter into Holies made with hands – counterparts of the true things – but into heaven itself, now to appear in God’s presence on our behalf. And He did not offer Himself again and again – as the kohen gadol (high priest) enters into the Holy of Holies year after year with blood that is not his own. For then He would have needed to suffer again and again from the foundation of the world. But as it is, He has been revealed once and for all at the close of the ages – to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:24 – 26, TLV).
 

Connection:

In Romans 3:23-26, Paul (Rabbi Saul), used the word “Propitiation” – this Greek word (hilasterion) contains the idea of appeasing an angry Greek god.

This Greek word was taken from the Hebrew Kapparah, or Kapporet, or “lid”, or the “Mercy seat” which covered the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice on Yom Kippur.  Kapparah, or Kapporet means more than appeasement, it means “atonement.”

Paul refers to Yom Kippur in Acts 27:9 (voyage to Rome), and Jesus read from Isaiah 61 (Luke 4) probably on Yom Kippur.

Rabbis believed that the Messiah would read Isaiah 61 when he came & that he would read it on a very special Yom Kippur in the Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:10).

Messiah Jesus paid the price on the cross for sin, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified (Heb. 10:14; cf. Heb. 9, TLV).

Under the first Covenant sins were only “covered” by sacrifices.  Under the New Covenant sins are completely taken away (Heb. 7:27; 9:12; 9:25-28).  Sacrifices are no longer necessary since Jesus (Yeshua) provided a complete, final sacrifice for sin (Heb. 9, 10).

Like Paul, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved” (Rom. 10:1, NKJV).

Help us bless Israel! 

Pray for your Jewish friends and neighbors during Yom Kippur.  Pray, that their eyes and hearts would be opened to the to the True High Priest, and Sacrifice for sin, Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus).

Thank you for helping us feed kids and Holocaust survivors in Israel.  The need is great, and time is running out. Pray about giving a special gift to help us bless Israel through Israel Today Ministries!

Shalom and Blessings,
Until He comes, we are
Together Under His Wings,

Dr. Jeff
Time is short, Life is precious and Jesus is coming soon!