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Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Wednesday September 15th, 2021 – it will conclude at sundown on Thursday September 16, 2021.
I have spoken several times on the mo’edim – the appointed times – of YeHoVah, and I do so today to follow up on the clarion call that went out recently in the form of Yom Teruah. I sometimes forget that, at least within Western Christianity, many are not familiar or do not know and understand the significance of these festivals. Know that Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is rightfully heralded as the Holiest day of the year. Let’s look into why…
The Lord spoke to Moses: “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves and present a gift to the Lord.
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You must not do any work on this particular day, because it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the Lord your God. Indeed, any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people. As for any person who does any work on this particular day, I will exterminate that person from the midst of his people — you must not do any work!
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This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live. It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening until evening you must observe your Sabbath.”
Leviticus 23:26 – 32
Now the idea or principle of atonement shouldn’t be new to anyone here – we should be acutely aware that Yeshua / Jesus, is our atonement. The difference in this particular observance, as I see it, is that of personal atonement versus corporate atonement and, although Yeshua is the atoning sacrifice across the board (meaning for both personal and corporate atonement), there are some subtle differences in how this is expressed.
Here’s what I mean; when we sin and then repent, we generally do so individually. This testifies to our individual relationship with and to the King of the Universe. On this day, appointed by God himself, we all are instructed to do this… corporately. This testifies to the relationship of the entire community with and to the King of the Universe. You follow?
Furthermore, if we have a good hard look at the Leviticus 16, we see the differences magnified considerably.
Aaron is to present the sin-offering bull which is for himself, and he is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household. He is to slaughter the sin-offering bull which is for himself, and take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord and a full double handful of finely ground fragrant incense, and bring them inside the curtain. He must then put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the cloud of incense will cover the atonement lid which is above the ark of the testimony, so that he will not die. Then he is to take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the eastern face of the atonement lid, and in front of the atonement lid he is to sprinkle some of the blood seven times with his finger.
Leviticus 16:11 – 14
Here, we see that the Cohen Gadol – the High Priest, who in this particular case was Aaron himself – must first make atonement for himself – individually in order to be presented blameless before the Holy of Holies. Only after he has been cleansed and sanctified can he make an offering of atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Altar and the Tabernacle itself (see Leviticus 16:15 – 19)
Once all of this has been completed, we see the completion of corporate atonement in the following:
“When Aaron has finished purifying the Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar, he is to present the live goat. Aaron is to lay his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, and thus he is to put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the desert by the hand of a man standing ready. The goat is to bear on itself all their iniquities into an inaccessible land, so he is to send the goat away into the desert.
Leviticus 16:20 – 22
Note For any of you who read on through the chapter: we may come back at another time to discuss “Azazel”. It’s an issue which was pivotal in my own faith, but is not the focus of this article…
Why Does This Matter?
For far too long, much of Christianity has regarded the appointed times as having been “for the Jews”, or part of the “Old Covenant” and these perspectives are problematic. In fact, this paradigm leads to all manner of issues as I think you will see before we’re through.
Let’s tackle the “for the Jews” issue first:
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15
This passage is the very cornerstone of the theology for which this site is named. It tells us that we are all part of the same family – the same body – whether we are native-borne or adopted. With that in mind, I’d ask you – if you are to be grafted into a unified commonwealth as a family member, and this is done by the sacrifice of a decidedly Jewish King ~ a literal Son of David, then what part of these appointed times should not apply to you?
Understanding that we are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel through the shed blood of Messiah, I think you can understand my refutation of the second “objection” I addressed previously:
This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live.
Leviticus 23:31
“Perpetual”… “throughout your generations”. Still think that was all done away with? I still see generations and perpetuity. The “Old Covenant” perspective is so rife with issues that I have often wondered how it has remained so prevalent for so long. It is logically fallacious at a minimum;
Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness.
1 John 3:4
I have been beating this drum for so long that sometimes I feel like a broken record; the fact is that there’s simply no getting around this. If you take away the law – the Torah, spoken by God Almighty and recorded by Moses, then you essentially invalidate the idea of sin.
I am well aware of the objections to this. I’ve heard them. I’ve read them. I’ve even, at earlier points in my life believed them. The problem is that they just don’t “hold water” because they aren’t true. I’ve written numerous articles addressing this, but if you’re not familiar, I would suggest having a look at Lawless Faith?.
Last point on this issue;
God calls this day holy – sanctified – set apart. Whatever language your preferred translation uses, the fact is that God set this day, and all of HIS appointed times apart. They are NOT to be profaned by treating them as any other day. They are special and they are HIS.
In fact, it bears mentioning – as I believe more people need to lay hold of this truth – we cannot make anything “holy” in the sight of God. Only HE determines what is and is not “holy”. If we, in our own strength, belief, etc. attempt to make something “holy”, or to add something to that which actually is holy, then all we really accomplish is to profane the holy thing. You cannot make a mud-puddle “clean” by wiping it with white-linen… you only soil the linen.
Here’s the crux; what you and I consider “holy” or “set-apart” is of no value or importance, unless it aligns and agrees entirely with what GOD considers holy. Period. He’s God – who the heck are we?
What do we do?
There is a long standing tradition of fasting on Yom Kippur, and it’s one I personally observe. While scripture does not explicitly state that we are to fast, it does tell us that we are to “afflict” or “humble ourselves” (Leviticus 23:27). Personally, I see fasting as a fulfillment of this command as – each time I think to eat, or my stomach rumbles, I am reminded of why I am fasting and to seek forgiveness and atonement for my many sins.
The congregation to which I belong hosts a gathering on the evening of Yom Kippur in which we recite an exhaustive liturgy. In it, we confess sins both personally and corporately, asking forgiveness, atonement and mercy at every step. To some it may seem tedious or cumbersome – but I see breathtaking beauty in it.
I’m sure that no matter where you stand with regards to what I’ve put forward here, you’ll agree that every nation has no shortage of issue for which we all need to repent:
- We have collectively allowed the slaughter of billions of innocent, unborn children within their mothers wombs.
- We have tolerated and even celebrated sexual depravity and acts which the Lord calls abominations; we have allowed such matters to infect our governments and to become political platforms.
- We have supported political leaders whose platforms are founded upon unrighteousness without regard for God, the Bible, or the beliefs we espouse to hold dear.
- We have turned our faces away from the suffering of the poor, the widows and the orphans, failing to feed, cloth and tend to their needs.
- We have sought to our own needs and desires, failing to put others first and see that their needs are met – and I speak from a nation that could end the starvation rampant in other countries.
- We have spoken evil of other denominations and of other believers, choosing to malign others within the body whom God calls “sons” and “daughters”.
- We have not heeded the Word of the Ancient of Days – preferring our “wisdom” to His.
This is just a start, but I think you get my point – there is no shortage of need for repentance. No matter what nation you hail from, no matter what flag you pledge your allegiance to, I think some if-not-all of the above should hit home to some degree.
“Therefore fear YHVH, and serve him truly and sincerely. Put away the gods your ancestors served beyond the [Euphrates]River and in Egypt, and serve YHVH! If it seems bad to you to serve YHVH, then choose today whom you are going to serve! Will it be the gods your ancestors served beyond the River? or the gods of the Emori, in whose land you are living? As for me and my household, we will serve YHVH!”
Joshua 24:14 – 15 CJB
Obviously, this post represents a deviation from the normal schedule here. Those paying attention may realize that I generally publish articles on Friday mornings… but this is an appointed time, and one I feel more and more believers need to understand and observe. In fact, I believe more and more are actively doing so.
Having said that, I do not yet know if there will be a post this Friday… I haven’t been told yet.
גמר חתימה טובה – G’mar Chatima Tova – May you be inscribed for good [in the Book of Life]
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You