The 10th day of the 7th month is Yom-Kippur (“Atonement Day”); you are to have a holy gathering, you are to deny yourselves, and you are to bring a fire offering to the Lord.
Don’t do any work on that day, it is Yom-Kippur, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.
Anyone who does not deny himself on that day is to be cut off from his people; and anyone who does any kind of work on that day, I will destroy from among his people.
You are not to do any kind of work; it is a permanent law through all your generations, no matter where you live.
It will be for you a Shabbat of complete rest, and you are to deny yourselves; you are to rest on your Shabbat from evening the ninth day of the month until the following evening."
-The Lord, speaking to Moses
Yom Kippur starts on October 10th 2008, that’s this Friday at sundown.
How do we figure the date? According to Scripture, the new moon as seen in Israel signals the start of a new month, thus the Biblical 7th month conveniently starts on October 1st this year. Since Yom Kippur is the 10th day of the 7th month, that makes Yom Kippur fall on October 10th this year.
What is it?
Yom Kippur (“yohm kee-pur”) is Hebrew for “day [of] atonement”. The Hebrew word could also be translated "cleansing" or "washing away". It also goes by the name of Yom HaKippurim, “Day [of] the atonements”. It's called the High Sabbath, or a Sabbath of Sabbaths; it’s a solemn day of turning and repenting for the sin you’ve done through the year. It is considered the holiest day in Judaism.
Unlike the other Feasts of God, Yom Kippur is less of a feast and more of an appointed time of solemn observance, when God makes atonement for the sin of his people.
Modern religious Jews observe Yom Kippur it in a variety of ways, usually including:
- Fasting
- Intensive prayer
- Spending most of all of the day in the synagogue
- Repenting to God for sins committed against God
- Repenting for sins committed, knowingly or unknowingly, against others
- Public confessions of guilt and petitions for forgiveness
- Greeting one another with, “May you be sealed in the Book of Life”
- Wearing white clothing to symbolize purity
- Abstaining from eating, drinking, and sex
Some of these are extra-biblical; they are Jewish traditions passed down through generations. Jewish tradition holds that God’s Book of Life is closed and sealed for the year on Yom Kippur, thus some call this the Day of Judgment.
Check out Derek Leman’s first-hand experience in an Orthodox synagogue on Yom Kippur.
While the beautiful Jewish style of observance may be beneficial, the Scriptures have very explicit commandments straight from God about how to observe this:
- Have a holy gathering
- Deny yourself
- Give a fire offering to the Lord
- Don’t work
- Detailed commandments for the High Priest regarding atonement
We’ll discuss these. But first…
Why should I care?
Does Yom Kippur matter to Christians? Why would you, a gentile Church-goer have anything to do with Yom Kippur?
“Foolish Judah, don’t you know Jesus atoned for our sins? He fulfilled Jewish things like Yom Kippur, so we don’t need to observe it anymore.”
The above statement is one I’ve heard from many Christians, and the problem with it is 4-fold:
- It assumes “fulfill” means “abolish” or “end”.
- It assumes Messiah completely fulfilled it.
- It suggests Jesus’ actions lead us to lives contrary to God’s commandments.
- It puts forth the belief that our interpretation of Jesus’ acts are more important that God’s direct commands.
If you stay tuned, I’ll show you how these are false assumptions and faulty thinking.
Fulfill Yom Kippur = abolish Yom Kippur?
Consider this: Paul says that Messiah fulfilled the Passover, yet commanded Corinthians to keep the Passover. Messiah fulfilled Pentecost, yet the apostles, including Paul, continued to celebrate it.
More compelling yet, Messiah said this:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
-Messiah, in his “fundamentals of faith” Sermon on the Mount
Did you catch that? Messiah contrasted abolition and fulfillment. He then says the Law (including the Feasts) will not disappear until “everything is accomplished, until heaven and earth pass away.”
Messiah makes it succinct and clear: fulfillment is not abolition!
Fulfill ≠ abolish
Fulfill = make full, complete
We come to the conclusion that should Messiah completely fulfill Yom Kippur, we still should observe it out of obedience; Messiah's fulfillment doesn't cancel God's commandment. But did Messiah fulfill it?
Did Messiah fulfill Yom Kippur?
Messiah’s own sacrifice-death took away the sin of the world. Does that mean we don’t need atonement anymore? Does it mean we don’t need forgiveness anymore? Is sacrifice all there is to Yom Kippur? No, Atonement is about more than sacrifice.
Atonement is being reconciled with God. Atonement is setting us right with God. Atonement is vindication of the righteous. Atonement is putting evil in its place. Atonement is judgment. If atonement is all these things, did Messiah fulfill all these things?
No, not yet. I don't see vindication of the righteous, for example. This world is all about putting down righteous people. I don't see judgment of the wicked, either. This world is in a never-ending wickedness contest, with prizes handed out to those who do the worst things best!
I believe Messiah isn't finished yet. He hasn't finished his fulfillment of Yom Kippur.
Look at the 7 Feasts of God and their fulfillment in Messiah. In chronological order,
| Feast Name | Date | Messianic fulfillment |
| Pesach (Passover) | 1st month, 14th day | Messiah, whom John called the spotless “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” was sacrificed on Passover. |
| Unleavened Bread | 1st month, 15-21st days | Messiah, the unleavened bread, was buried in the ground during Unleavened Bread. |
| First Fruits | 1st month, day after Sabbath following Passover | Messiah was raised from the dead, or as Paul puts it, "Now Messiah is risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of those who sleep." He rises on the Feast of First Fruits. |
| Shavu’ot (Pentecost) | 50 days after First Fruits, usually in the 3rd month | Acts 2 describes the apostles gathered for the Feast of Pentecost and Messiah, as promised, sends his spirit down on them and they begin speaking many languages, proclaiming God to peoples in their native tongue. |
| Yom Teruah (Trumpets) | 7th month. 1st day | ??? |
| Yom Kippur (Atonement) | 7th month 10th day | ??? |
| Sukkot (Tabernacles) | 7th month 15th day | ??? |
Note that Feasts 1-4 Messiah fulfilled in real-time – that is, he fulfilled them on the actual day, in chronological order. We believe this was not a coincidence.
Now notice the last 3 feasts: Messiah didn’t do anything special to fulfill these on the day. There is evidence from the Scripture that suggests Messiah will fulfill these by:
- Sounding the Great Shofar blast on Yom Teruah, signaling the beginning of the end.
- Judging all the nations on Yom Kippur, possibly returning on Yom Kippur.
- Dwelling with us for 1000 years on Tabernacles.
This would fit well; there are prophecies in the Scripture about Messiah which have not been fulfilled. (In fact, anti-Christian missionary organizations such as Jews for Judaism often cite these “missing fulfillments” as evidence that Jesus was not the Messiah.)
We suggest that they are evidence of 2 comings of the Messiah: one as the priestly lamb, another as the political kingly warrior. Very different roles!
Messiah has not fulfilled the Reigning King role of Messiah. For example, the coming judgment of the world, the political King who reigns from Jerusalem, brings lasting peace, brings the whole world together to celebrate the Feasts in Jerusalem, making Torah go forth from Zion so that everyone knows the Lord -- these things haven't happened yet. I suggest Messiah didn’t completely fulfill Yom Kippur. Not yet.
But what about Jesus’ sacrifice?
The theology that Jesus ended/abolished Yom Kippur by his death is Scripturally unsound. It's true, Messiah's atonement is permanent, and his sacrifice is perfect and once-and-for-all-time!
I further propose that His perfect sacrifice is harmonious with God's Feasts, not contrary to them, nor abolishing them in any way.
Consider the Scripture regarding Yom Kippur:
It is a permanent law through all your generations, no matter where you live.
That’s a tough one to squirm out of, dear Christian!
We must state plainly that God’s Feasts should be kept, no matter how long ago God told this to Moses, no matter how far away we live from Israel. God told us this in plain language when he gave us the Torah. (See for yourself in Leviticus 23!)
Even the most adamant gentile would have to concede that for Israel, Yom Kippur is a permanent law. It’s not going to end, ever! Why would it, after all, it is not one of man’s feasts – it’s not a Jewish feast – it’s one of God’s! And God’s things are eternal.
Speak to Israel and say to them: 'These are My appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you’re to call holy.’
-God speaking to Moses
If the Feasts belong to God, and God told his people to call them holy, forever, what reason do Christians have for dismissing it? Who told you God’s eternal Feasts have been made into temporary Jewish holidays? Who lied to you and said God’s Feasts aren’t for you?
Was it Messiah? No, the gospels records that Messiah kept the Feasts.
When the time came, Yeshua and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to celebrate this Passover with you before My suffering. I tell you, I will not celebrate it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
-Yeshua the Messiah, speaking to his disciples
Was it the apostles? No, the apostles kept God’s Feasts, even after Messiah’s death.
The festival of Shavu'ot (Pentecost) arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
-Acts of the followers of Yeshua the Messiah
Was it Paul? No, Paul kept God’s Feasts himself.
For Sha'ul (Paul) had decided to bypass Ephesus on his voyage, in order to avoid losing time in the province of Asia, because he was hurrying to get to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), if possible in time to celebrate Shavu'ot (Pentecost).
-Acts of the followers of Yeshua the Messiah
Paul even told gentile believers to keep the Feasts.
Get rid of the old hametz (leaven), so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Passover lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed. So let us celebrate the Passover Seder not with leftover hametz, the hametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth.
-Paul, in his letter to Corinth
God’s Feasts – not Jews' Feasts – are for you, gentile follower of Messiah.
How blessed is the man who keeps God's commandments and appointed times.
A shadow of things to come
Messiah’s sacrifice-death atoned for the sins of not only Israel, but the whole world. As the book of Hebrews puts it, Messiah has become the great high priest, the Cohen HaGadol, in heaven, interceding before God on our behalf.
For every cohen gadol (high priest) taken from among the Levites is appointed to act on people's behalf with regard to things concerning God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and with those who go astray, since he too is subject to weakness. Also, because of this weakness, he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as those of the people. And no one takes this honor upon himself, rather, he is called by God, just as Aharon was.
So neither did the Messiah glorify himself to become cohen gadol; rather, it was the One who said to him,
"You are my Son; today I have become your Father."
Also, as he says in another place,
"You are a cohen forever, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek."
During Yeshua's life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions, crying aloud and shedding tears, to the One who had the power to deliver him from death; and he was heard because of his godliness. Even though he was the Son, he learned obedience through his sufferings. And after he had been brought to the goal, he became the source of eternal deliverance to all who obey him, since he had been proclaimed by God as a cohen gadol.
We have this hope as a sure and safe anchor for ourselves, a hope that goes right on through to what is inside the parokhet, where a forerunner has entered on our behalf, namely, Yeshua, who has become a cohen gadol forever, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek.
-The author of Hebrews, speaking to Messiah’s Jewish followers
As believers in Messiah, Yom Kippur is unique for us in the symmetry of old and new: the day of Atonement in the Mosaic covenant, and the final judgment and atonement Messiah will make when he returns.
But we've only scratched the surface! We haven't explored the detailed commandments to the Cohen Gadol in carrying out the atoning sacrifices, and how they're a picture of things coming in the future. We haven't talked about the miracles that occurred every year in the Temple during this time. We haven't talked about the 2 goat sin offerings, one of the Lord, another for Azazel. We haven't talked about how the priest would sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat of the holy Ark of the Covenant inside the Temple's deepest sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, where God's awesome presense, His Sh'khinah glory, resided. We've barely scratched the surface.
The Feasts are so deep, especially this holiest of holy days, Yom Kippur. I can only encourage you to start digging and be blessed in keeping God's Feasts. Let’s keep this God-commanded, God-instituted feast. It’s one of God’s appointed times, so let us not miss our appointment with Him.
You’ve convinced me. What do I do?
Perhaps the best recommendation is, “Read God’s word. It’s the manual for keeping God’s Feasts.” Here’s a brief summary of the explicit commandments God gave to the people, to carry out in “all our generations, everywhere you live”:
- Have a holy gathering
- Deny yourself
- Give a fire offering to the Lord
- Don’t work
A holy gathering: get together with some folks who understand this Feast. Gather with them. Maybe it’s a church (unlikely) or maybe a Messianic synagogue, or a home group, or just friends. Have a Yom Kippur gathering with other believers in Messiah.
Deny yourself: in a rare moment of near-universal agreement, almost everyone understands this to mean “fast”, that is, don’t eat food during Yom Kippur. Acts 20 in the New Testament suggests Paul was fasting on this day. However you carry this out, honor God by denying your fleshly needs for one day and focus only on the Lord.
Give a fire offering: Ok, so without a tabernacle or Temple, we can’t really carry this out. But perhaps an acceptable offering is the offering of worship and praise. King David famously wrote in one of his psalms,
Rescue me from the guilt of shedding blood, God, God of my salvation!
Then my tongue will sing about your righteousness, Master, open my lips; then my mouth will praise you.
For you don't want sacrifices, or I would give them; you don't take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God, you won't spurn a broken, chastened heart.
Don’t work: Honor God by resting completely, no work at all. Take time out of your hectic life and focus on Him and His atonement.
Shalom, may you honor God’s Feasts, even among the gentiles, and may your name be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life this Yom Kippur.
The new Jerusalem has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God's Sh'khinah gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. Its gates will never close, they stay open all day because night will not exist there, and the honor and splendor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure may enter it, nor anyone who does shameful things or lies; the only ones who may enter are those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
-Messiah’s Revelation to John