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Yom Kippur: The Holiest Day of the Year

By admin on Sep 17, 2007 in Homeschool

We are now in The Days of Awe. Yom Kippur begins at nightfall September 22, 2007 .

…In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work … For on that day he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the LORD. -Leviticus 16:29-30

In the Bible, Yom Kippur bears three names: the Day of Atonement, the Day of Judgment, and the Sabbath of Sabbaths. Yom Kippur occurs on the tenth day of Tishri. This is a holy day of the Lord that remains “a statute forever.” Day of Atonement is the day in which the people of Israel are to be judged by God and the sins of the nation of Israel are atoned. The Day of Atonement is also referred to as “the Day of Redemption.” This day pictures the transference of sin. It is a time of fasting, cleansing, and reflection which is to be observed once a year.

The Day of Atonement served as a reminder that the daily, weekly, and monthly sacrifices made at the altar of burnt offering were not sufficient to atone for sin. Even at the altar of burnt offering the worshiper stood “afar off,” unable to approach the Holy Presence of God, who was manifest between the cherubim in the Holy of Holies. On this one day in the year, atoning blood was brought into the Holy of Holies, the divine throne room, by the high priest as the representative of the people (New Bible Dictionary).

It is customary to wear white on this holiday, which symbolizes purity and the promise that our sins shall be made as white as snow (Isa. 1:18). Some Jews wear a kitel, the white robe in which the dead are buried.

A Shadow of Things to Come

The commandment itself explains the weakness of the law. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect (Heb. 10:1).

The Jews knew something was missing. There is a multitude of sacrifices. The sacrifices attempt to supplement one another but there is still something missing, because Hebrews 10:4 says: For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Obviously, this means of taking away sin was temporary. The sacrifices, are only a forerunner, like John the Baptist, or to prepare the way for the better hope (Edersheim 1994, 241) described in Hebrews 7:19: For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

Christians know that Jesus has provided our atonement: “...for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 2:23-24). God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. Jesus’ death surpasses and replaces the atonement ritual of the Jewish Temple.

The book of Hebrews explains the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement as a pattern of the atoning work of Christ. Jesus is our high priest, and His blood shed on Calvary is seen as symbolized in the blood of bulls and goats. As the high priest of the Old Testament entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of his sacrificial victim, so Jesus entered heaven itself to appear before the Father on behalf of His people (Heb. 9:11-12) (Killian n.d.).

The Old Testament offerings served as a pattern and a prophecy of Jesus, who, through His better sacrifice, cleanses the conscience from dead works (Heb. 9:13-14). God always determined what was an acceptable offering and what was not. He finally provided His Son, the Lamb of God, as the sacrifice for the sins of the world (John 1:19; 3:16).
The moment Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom (Matt. 27:50-51). The earth quaked beneath men’s feet. This event is important because it established Jesus as being the new High Priest and Lamb of God. No longer must there be an annual sacrifice for sin on our behalf; instead, He has made payment for us once and for all. Jesus, through a new and living way has entered heaven itself, the true Holy of Holies, where He ever lives to make intercession for His people. The believer need not stand afar off, as did the Israelite of old, but may now through Christ approach the very Throne of Grace! Yes, it is now possible for each of us to have direct access to God through the blood of Yeshua HaMashiah (Jesus Christ)!

bible holidays
The Biblical Holidays tell of Jesus first and second coming!