Day of Atonement, or Yom haKippurim in Hebrew for “Day of Coverings”
The prophet Yokhanan (John the Baptizer) said of Yeshua (Jesus), “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29 NASB 1995). This study explores Hebrews 1–10, a thorough explanation of what Heaven is teaching and reminding us about in יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים Yom haKippurim (Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement), that it is an annual memorial of Yeshua as the ultimate high priest of Heaven to take away our guilt and allow us to go confidently to God.
For everyone except Israel’s high priest, the Tabernacle/Temple service of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is all about faith — no one else is present there. It takes several layers of faith to believe that what the high priest is doing would heal the rift between Heaven and Earth. So it’s only that Yom Kippur finds its fullness and its enduring lessons-in-practice through faith in Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus).
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The Torah reading מות Acharei Mot (“after the deaths,” Leviticus 16–18) takes us through the mysterious and somber rituals of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
Some may read the Letter to the Hebrews in the Apostolic writings and think that because Yeshua (Jesus) was offered once for all sins, transgressions and iniquities then Yom Kippur is a relic of the “old covenant” between Heaven and Israel.
Instead, we learn throughout the Bible that this annual memorial is really an essential lived-out reminder of Yeshua’s “new covenant,” through which Heaven transforms the whole world into a land of peace. Let’s explore four reasons why Yom Kippur is even more important for believers in Messiah Yeshua to celebrate.
If Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is merely a time to fast, and get your ticket punched with your messianic family and friends, you are wasting your time and theirs.
This time is not just a time to afflict one’s body by abstinence from food and water, but more importantly, a time to afflict one’s soul by facing up to your sins, transgressions and iniquities and giving them over to the Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), so He can heal your heart and soul.
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is unique among the appointed times of the LORD. It’s the only holy day in which the people do very little, while one man, the high priest, does everything. Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), our high priest, sacrificed Himself for us and carried our sins away too, as the symbols of Yom Kippur memorialize. All the people are asked to do is humble themselves, do no work and bring an offering to the Tabernacle/Temple.
Without a Temple, what can we bring to God? It’s not about following the Torah to the letter with a physically perfect abstinence from food and water, but as Yeshua taught us, it’s about caring for those around us as we want them to care for us. The Torah is a covenant of life, not of death.
Life is a terminal condition. The only hope to live forever is to avoid rebellion against the Source of all life, to repent when we do rebel against the God of Israel and to put oneself in the hands of the LORD’s Messiah always. The Torah reading אחרי מות Acharei Mot (“after the death,” Leviticus 16–18) centers on Yom haKippurim, (“Day of Coverings,” or Day of Atonement). We learn from Isaiah 53 and Hebrews 10 that we can’t accept the offering of Yeshua (Jesus) for our sins, transgressions and iniquities and for our salvation without acknowledging that we had a hand in the death of the Christ.
Every mistake, goof up in our Torah walk can fall into one of three categories: sin, transgression or iniquity. Sin is missing the mark on accident. Transgression is doing something wrong when you know better. Iniquity is when you do something wrong as an act of rebellion.
Discover in this study why God blots out our sins, transgressions and iniquities, and why we want the Messiah to present us to God free of our long list of shortcomings.