For those wondering what the Feast of Atonement or Yom Kippur is, I hope you will find this helpful. Thanks to FFOZ and Judianity info, I was able to put together the following article with some additions of my own. Love you all! Shalom!
NOTE: My purpose here is to share information about this feast that may be useful to a believer or a non-believer of Jesus Christ, as all feasts of God (Leviticus 23 clearly calls the feasts as the Lord’s feasts, not Jewish feasts) point to Him. The use of Hebraic terms and concepts below is not meant to impress anyone with my knowledge of Hebrew, but to emphasize my appreciation for the original language of the scriptures, for it has greatly aided my understanding of the Lord. It is not meant to reduce/disparage the value of using our native tongue or any other language/dialect when speaking to or about God, but merely to point out that there are many blessings in understanding the Hebrew language and context, all for God’s glory!
Yom Kippur:
A Day of Atonement–To return to the Heart of God
To be saved means to be forgiven and to be in right standing with the LORD. Salvation through faith in the Son of God is the epicenter of our faith–the hot, burning point of love that defines our relationship with God. The debt of our sin has been completely paid. It has been dealt with and removed, and we have been given new life, real life, eternal life, right now. “Yom” is “Day” in Hebrew, and “Kippur” from the root word “kippa” is “covering” for our sins. Unlike the sacrificial animals in the Old Covenant which temporarily covered the sin of people, Yeshua’s blood permanently covered all sin through His blood once and for all by giving FULL payment to the penalty required by the Law for sin. Observing the Feast of Yom Kippur is important because it memorializes this special atonement carried out by Yeshua and it prophetically points to the salvation of the remnants of Israel through Him, when, with unveiled eyes, they recognize their Messiah, Yeshua, and corporately confess, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!”, at which point the Lord will finally return. In Romans 11, Paul categorically pointed out the enormous impact to all mankind of the salvation of Israel (to which the saved gentiles are grafted in).
Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness? (Romans 11:12)
I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. (Zech 12:10)
Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. (Luke 13:35)
On Yom Kippur, the high priest sacrificed a bull and a goat for sin offerings and carried their blood into the Holy of Holies. He sprinkled the blood of the sin offerings on the ark, on the veil and on the altar of incense. He did this to atone for the Tabernacle because of the sins, transgressions and ritual impurity of the people.
The Old Covenant rituals for Yom Kippur teach us about the distance between man and God. The heart of man contains a deadly conceit. It is the idea that “I’m generally a pretty decent person. God isn’t really that upset with my sin,” or “I have no need of anything more for I have riches, knowledge, gifts,” or “I have accomplished much, therefore the Lord must approve of how I’m living my life,” or “Great miracles permanently mark my ministry!”. Interestingly, in Matthew 7:21-23 Yeshua spoke of men He called “workers of lawlessness”. “Lawlessness” is not merely “crimes” or “evil acts”. In Greek, it is “anomos or anomia”, meaning “without law” or “anti-law”–the term “law” being derived from the Hebrew word, “Torah” which means “instructions” and “precepts” of God. Hence, it follows that Yeshua rejected those men claiming to be His because He never knew them, and His standard for not knowing them is this–Their being “without law” or “anti-Torah”. That is a thought-provoking revelation!
The Bible teaches that God cannot abide sin. All men are sinners, and therefore, all men are forced out of the presence of God. Just like Adam and Eve, who were forced out of the Garden of Eden, we are all separated from God.
Our sin is as filth before the Almighty, and our best righteous works as menstrual rags to Him. Shame and disgrace ought to cover us every time we open our Bibles. We have sullied the very parchment of Torah with our sins and trodden on the shed blood of Messiah. Our worthy deeds are utterly eclipsed by our transgressions and sins. Yom Kippur reminds us that this is a real problem. The writer of the book of Hebrews says that “in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year” (Hebrews 10:3). The story does not end here, however.
The Day of Atonement teaches that we cannot be good enough to merit salvation, to win God’s favor or to earn a reprieve from punishment. We have no worthy deeds before Him, and our sin is like uncleanness before Him. Sin forces us out of His presence. We cannot get past the veil to enter the Holy of Holies. “When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, ‘Then who can be saved?’” (Matthew 19:25).
Salvation and relationship with God depend on a person acknowledging that he cannot make the distance. A man needs atonement. He needs a sacrifice for purification.
On Yom Kippur, the high priest set out to cross the distance between us and God by entering the Holy of Holies. The book of Hebrews teaches that, in the heavenly Temple, the death and resurrection of Messiah was the equivalent of the high priest’s entrance into the Holy of Holies on earth.
For Messiah did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. … He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (Hebrews 9:24-26)
God has made a way of redemption for us through the death and resurrection of His righteous Son. For everyone who places faith in Him, there is redemption, salvation and the forgiveness of sins. This is the hope of our faith: the forgiveness of sins through faith in Yeshua. To experience this forgiveness, we need to have a saving relationship with God through Yeshua, His Son. But there is more that the Lord wants to give us. The journey to God’s heart has only begun. God wants us to know Him fully. To experience His fullness, we need to know and understand Him through His instructions–the Torah! He is interested in making us His talmidim (disciples)–not disciples of Jewish rabbis (because we are not exalting rabbinic Judaism), but disciples of Yeshua. WOW! “Talmidim”, mentioned around 300 times in the Bible (compared to the term “Christian” mentioned only twice in the NT, and not by the disciples but by the Greek gentiles in that time when they refer to believers of Yeshua), is the outcome desired by God for all who enter the Holy of Holies . But exactly HOW do we become a TALMIDIM, and how do we make TALMIDIM? We must know and teach the ways of God, His frame of thinking, His culture. Gracious that He is, God gave the Torah and His Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) to us so that we can diligently study His instructions and hit the mark (”Hit the Mark” is another meaning of “Torah”)!
Therefore go and make disciples (talmidim) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)
The Written Torah-the Law is A Blessing, Not A Curse
The written Torah–the Law is a blessing. It is perfectly clear from scripture that keeping the written Torah-law isn’t a curse. It never has been and never will be. Paul of course says in Romans 7:12:
Romans 7:12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
We know that Paul’s talking about the written Torah law here, because he’s specifically mentioning the commandments.
In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Paul tells us that ALL of the scriptures were inspired and profitable.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Furthermore Jesus Christ said:
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (NOTE: in Hebrew, the word FULFILL is not to “finish/end” but actually to “fully interpret” or to “express”). 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, ONE JOT or ONE TITTLE will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, AND TEACHES MEN SO, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Psalms 19 tells us what David (a man after God’s own heart) thought of the written Torah:
Psalms 19: 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
Psalm 119 is equally positive about the wonderful benefits of keeping God’s laws.
Psalms 119:14-16 4 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
Psalms 119:23-24 23 Princes also sit and speak against me, But Your servant meditates on Your statutes. 24 Your testimonies also are my delight And my counselors.
Psalms 119:33-35 33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it.
Psalms 119:44-48 44 So shall I keep Your law continually, Forever and ever. 45 And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts. 46 I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed. 47 And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. 48 My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes.
For the sake of brevity, let’s skip down to the end of the longest chapter in the Bible.
Psalms 119:172-174 72 My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness. 173 Let Your hand become my help, For I have chosen Your precepts. 174 I long for Your salvation, O LORD, And Your law is my delight.
From the above passages, there isn’t any sign of the written Torah/law given to Moses, (which is what’s being referred to here in Psalm 19 and Psalm 119) being an oppressive burden. What Paul must have stressed as burdensome is NOT the PRINCIPLE of the law (no wonder he still called the Law “holy, good and just”), but the PENALTY of the Law (i.e., death) which was fully satisfied by Jesus in His death. If the Bible is understood from its original language and context, it is plain to see that Jesus and Paul criticized the traditions of men that were contravening the traditions instituted by God in His Word, since the rabbis liked to add so many unnecessary Oral Torah to the Written Torah of God (but not all Oral Torah are evil, such as the reading of the Torah in the synagogue, which Jesus himself observed when He declared that He was the Messiah prophesied in Isaiah 61).
The atonement sacrifice by our Lord Yeshua was such a high price to pay. It would dishonor God if we failed to understand fully what that price bought for us–not just salvation (although that in itself is INVALUABLE and INDISPENSABLE), but ALSO the opportunity to KNOW our Creator, the King of kings Himself, and thus to live our lives worthy of His calling, just like Yeshua, the Living Torah, lived! This is the complete message of hope from the gospel of the Lord. What great hope it is!
Heaven must receive Him until those times of which God has spoken from the earliest ages through the lips of His holy Prophets–the times of the reconstitution of all things. (Acts 3:21)
In fulfillment of Acts 3:21, God had accomplished restitution to Israel, two great manifestations of which are: 1. the restoration of this nation as a State in the land promised to Abraham and 2. the revival of the ancient/biblical Hebrew language after hundreds of years of extinction. He also sent many revivals (e.g., reformation in Martin Luther’s time, tongues, gifts and miracles in 1901, five-fold ministry revivals in the 60s-90s) throughout history to restore all things before His Son returns in full splendor. I believe that the restoration of correct understanding and obedience to God’s word as He had intended it through the return to the Hebraic roots of our faith (NOTE: This is not about Judaizing or becoming Jewish. It’s about knowing the culture or ways instituted by the Lord, not men.), both to physical Israel (descendants of Abraham) and spiritual Israel (grafted-in believers) is the final transition to which the Lord is taking His Bride, to fulfill His scriptures on the preparation of the Body of Messiah into a spotless Bride for her soon-to-come Groom!
Some of us may find this hard to swallow because it is not what we have been used to. Studying the ancient Hebrew language and culture can be intimidating not only because it’s difficult but also because it is iconoclastic. Not all iconoclasm and unpopular thinking is rebellious or evil, however. Jesus and His talmidim were also iconoclasts (they turned the world upside down!), as were Noah, Abraham, Joshua, Caleb, Martin Luther, William Seymour and others–they all went against human tradition and popular thinking not for the sake of being different, but for the sake of truth, for God’s glory. If we are honest to the Holy Spirit and to God’s Word, we will not hesitate to find this out. After all, our knowledge and intimacy with the Lord–yes, our eternal destiny, is at stake! There is nothing to lose, there’s only gain, when we pursue knowledge and understanding of the Lord. We can begin this trek by asking, “Why did God choose the Hebrew language to reveal His word? Why did He write through Jewish authors? What is the mindset of the Holy Spirit?”
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he UNDERSTANDS and KNOWS me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23,24)
The Lord’s plans and timetable will keep rolling (and He uses the annual feasts and the weekly Sabbath for His people to keep track of them), whether we are aware of them or not, whether we are going with them or against them and even if we are apathetic to them. But it is unmistakable: God, the Master of wisdom and clarity, is doing something very concrete and observable to fulfill His plan, so that His remnants may not miss it! All praises to Him! Glory to Yeshua!
