Yom Kippur, the Holiest Day of Yah’s Calendar Year

 

Yom haKippurim is considered by many in our Faith and orthodox Judaism as the holiest day of Yah’s biblical calendar year.

 

On this holiest of days, Yah mandated His chosen ones to “afflict their souls,” which we’ll talk about a little later. However, beyond the affliction of one’s soul, there is a great deal of spiritual relevance and meaning that is attached to Yom Kippur, which every Kingdom-bound disciple of Yeshua Messiah should be acutely aware of, especially if they desire to get the most out of their observance and keeping of the day.

 

And this is the aim of this teaching today: To highlight what I describe as the variegated shadows of Yom Kippur, or When Payback is a Bear to the Enemies of Yah and His People.

 

Yom Kippur is Multifaceted in its Meaning and Relevance to the Kingdom-minded Disciple of Yeshua Messiah

 

The term “variegated” is applied to objects exhibiting different colors, hues, streaks, patches, marks, and so forth. Indeed, many aspects and paradigms are associated with Yom Kippur, and I want to share just a few of them with you here today.

 

And please be aware this is meant to be a partial overview of Yom Kippur. To do so would take us several hours. And even after completing what we believe would be a comprehensive overview of the day, we would still not cover it all. And just as our Father in heaven is multifaceted in His Being and His Ways, so too are His moedim or set apart days.

 

The writer of Hebrews described Yah’s set-apart days as “shadows of good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1). And so, just as shadows can be multi-faceted in their reflection of the object that’s casting the shadow, are the pictures, paradigms, and meanings that each set-apart day releases before the child of Yah.

 

The Variegated Shadows of Yom Kippur include, but are not limited to:

 

1. Personal and communal introspection and remembering what Yeshua has done for us.
2. Prophetic, historic, earth-shattering events of the End Times. When Yah tribulates those who have tribulated His chosen ones, payback will be a bear for the enemies of Yah and His chosen ones.
3. The final portions of Yehovah’s plan of salvation, redemption, and restoration for Yah’s human creation.
4. A portrait of the ancient Hebrew wedding process.

 

Let’s Define Atonement

 

Our English phrase for “The Day of Atonement” is “yom ha-kip-purim” in Biblical Hebrew, the “ha” being the article or translated as “the.” Thus, as it relates to The Day of Atonement, Yom ha-Kippurim is “The Day of the Atonements.” The phrase carries the meaning of “to cover over as that of a lid (suggestive of the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant).

 

Anciently, the paleo-Hebrew form of Kippurim is spelled “kaph”-“yad”-“pey”-“waw”-“resh.” Since each paleo-Hebrew letter possessed unique meanings, when they came together to spell “Kippur,” the word’s prophetic shadow meaning cannot be overlooked:

 

• Kaph–𓂧(depicts an open palm) means “to tame or subdue as one who has bent to another’s will.”
• Yad– 𓂝 (shows a closed hand) denotes the functions of a man’s hand and arm.
• Pey– 𓂋 (depicts an open mouth) means to speak or deliver words.
• Waw-𐤅 (describes a tent peg) It denotes a tent peg or a stake.
• Resh– 𓁶 (depicts a man’s head) means a chief; someone who is head or top.

 

When we view this ancient word within its prophetic, ancient context, the Person or image of the Levitical Cohen haGadol emerges. He served as the intermediary between Yah and His chosen people, Yisra’el. But this ancient word also paints for us the prophetic shadow picture of our present-day Cohen haGadol, Yeshua haMashiyach who submitted Himself to the will of His Father (kaph); who bore the nails of His crucifixion in His hands (waw and yad); who spoke only His Father’s words (pey); and who serves as our Cohen haGadol of the order of the Melek-zedek (resh) in the heavenly Mishkan or Temple.

 

The Hebrew term Kippur means atonement. The act of atonement is that of expiating or covering over sin.

 

Sin is defined as the transgression of the Creator’s Torah: Yah’s instructions in righteousness. Yehovah is holy; He’s set apart. Holiness is one of His defining character traits. Sin is a defining human character trait. Unfortunately, Yah’s set-apart character prevents Him from dwelling with His human creation unless the sins of His chosen people are correctly adjudicated through the process of atonement.

 

The Cruciality of Atonement

 

Atonement is that crucial act by which humanity’s sins are expiated and covered over. Atonement is the only thing that facilitates any viable reconciliation between the Creator and His human creation. Before Master Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf on Calvary’s execution stake, the covering over or expiation of sin was facilitated through animal blood sacrifices that Yehovah instructed had to be offered in a precise manner. The Day of Atonement or Yom haKippurim was a national day of atonement whereby the Aaronic High Priest–aka the Cohen haGadol–would enter the Tabernacle’s Holiest of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a select bull (to atone for the sins of the Cohen haGadol) and a select goat (to atone for the sins of the Hebrew nation). This ceremony is spelled out in Leviticus/Vayiqra 16). This precise ceremony and ritual had to be repeated yearly on the 10th day of the seventh month, otherwise called Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement.

 

However, 2,000+ years ago, the blood of Yeshua Messiah, who serves as our present-day, yet eternal Cohen haGadol, was shed on Calvary’s execution stake. His shed blood covered over our sins once and forever more. And it is this shadow picture that the original covenant Yom Kippur pointed His chosen ones to. That being Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice for any who would seek to be “at-one-ment” with the holy Creator of the Universe. When we are “at-one-ment” with Yehovah, we are effectively in good standing with Him so that He is free to dwell with us and we with Him. Our Faith in the Person and the atoning work of His Son, Yeshua Messiah, results in our being justified before Him and the court of heaven, having our sin debt paid in full.

 

And so, Yah ordained from creation that the only method for dealing with individual and communal sin is through the shedding of innocent blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

 

Torah teacher and author Tim Hegg, in his commentary on Yom Kippur, stated it quite well:

 

“Here is the mystery of atonement: God makes a way for a sinner to be made clean, and thus to be a fitting companion for Him” (torahresources.com).

 

Torah and Yom Kippur

 

The specific mechanical rituals of Yom Kippur are stipulated in Leviticus/Vayiqra 16. A few months ago, I posted a detailed overview of this chapter entitled “Only One Way to God–Thoughts and Reflections on Torah Reading 87.” If you haven’t taken the opportunity to read that post, I encourage you to do so, especially if you are interested in having the Yom Kippur ceremony broken down for you in its Yah-given sequence and meaning.

 

Then we have Leviticus 23:26-32 and like Yom Teruah and the other moedim (aka set-apart days; the feasts) of Yah, we are given an overview of Yah’s requirements and expectations for the day. (Since I’ve covered these two critical passages in previous posts in great detail, I will bypass discussing them and leave you, if you are so led, to check them out .)

 

Yom Kippur and the Modern Day Orthodox Jew

 

Since there is no longer an operating Temple or Tabernacle and the Aaronic Priesthood has been shelved for the time being, how, then, do religious Jews deal with the sin issue standing in the way of their “at-one-ness” with Yah, especially given their profound rejection of Yahoshua Messiah as their savior? From 70 A.D. to today, religious Jews have been forced to alter their view and actions as it relates to how their sins are atoned for. And leave it to none other than their rabbinic sages to come up with the answers to their inescapable dilemma.

 

The sages started with the essential baseline act of any human being seeking atonement for their sins: “repentance” and “teshuvah.” At least they realized that blood atonement sacrifices were worthless without repentance and teshuvah. Confession of sins and repentance that leads to teshuvah are the essential pillars in rightly establishing and maintaining a genuine “at-one-ment” covenant relationship with the Almighty, especially in the renewed covenant era: Faith in the Person and ministry (atoning sacrifice) of Yeshua Messiah; confession of one’s sins to Yehovah; and teshuvah that is founded upon repentance, with full pardon or justification of one’s sins according to Father’s grace. These are non-negotiable elements of Abba’s glorious “Plan of Salvation, Restoration, and Redemption.”

 

However, without a High Priest to act as their proxy before a holy and righteous God and a Mercy Seat upon which to sprinkle an acceptable blood sacrifice, Judaism places the onus upon the actions of religious Jews to somehow provoke or to garner Yah’s mercy and compassion upon them, which they believe will lead to their individual and communal atonement. Or, as the religious Jew might otherwise express it, Ensuring that their name is inscribed in the Book of Life for the coming calendar year.

 

What is the religious Jew’s responsibility as it relates to assuring that their name is inscribed in the Book of Life for the coming calendar year? Well, Judaism believes that when one engages in solemn acts of “afflicting their souls” through the commanded “fast” on the Day of Kippurim in addition to performing additional acts of humility, which include “no bathing, combing of hair, wearing of leather shoes, showing profound remorse for one’s shortcomings over the last year, and mending broken and damaged relationships before sundown on Yom Kippur.

 

Regarding this rabbinic approach to atonement for the religious Jew, Hegg states it best: “The more one denies oneself on the day, the more one is assured of forgiveness. The question of whether one’s name is written in the Book of Life hinges…on what one does or does not do in the days preceding Yom Kippur, as well as on how one afflicts one’s soul on the day itself” (ibid).

 

Messianic Believers Erroneously Following Judaistic Prescriptions for Atonement

 

Sadly, many renewed covenant Messianics, no doubt seeking to pattern their lives more in accordance with the dictates of the Jewish sages than in accordance with our Rabbi and Cohen haGadol Yeshua Messiah, go through these and similar acts soul affliction, fearful that if they do not adequately follow suit, their name will be blotted out of the Book of Life. I’ve personally met and interacted with them. It is heartbreaking to witness what translates as an act of denial of the saving power of Yeshua, their supposed savior, which could be construed as a true falling from grace.

 

I’ve posted several teachings that touch upon believers in Yeshua Messiah foolishly engaging in acts of obedience to religious and rabbinic dictates to earn their salvation. Indeed, such acts as these, which our Jewish cousins engage in each calendar year, are one of many points our denominationalist cousins see as Messianics through their Torah-keeping–be it the so-called oral and or written–working towards earning their salvation. But we who know better and understand which side our spiritual bread is buttered know that we could never purchase, in particular through acts of law or Torah keeping, our salvation or our name being inscribed in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Paul summed it best:

 

(8) For by grace are ye saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of Yehovah. (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:7-8; KJV modified).

 

Why Must a New Covenant Believer Keep Yom Kippur?

 

So then, the question that Messianics must answer for themselves is: If indeed we are saved by grace through Faith, why do we go through many of Yah’s prescribed instructions for Yom Kippur? What is the point, if any, for one to engage in the required affliction of one’s soul (such as the day-long Fast), the taking off from or engaging in work of any kind, of convocating, and offering unto Yah our sacrifices (or our offerings)? Why should we do these things? Should new covenant believers instead celebrate the freedom we enjoy in Messiah “in light of the atonement secured for us by the death, resurrection, and intercessory ministry of our Messiah Yeshua” on that day (ibid)?

 

And the answer to these critical questions is a resounding YES! As renewed covenant believers, disciples, Netsarim, Yisra’elites are obliged to keep Yah’s commandments in Spirit and in Truth to the best of our ability and understanding. To the best of our knowledge and ability, we must keep all the commandments still applicable in His Torah, even those tied to Yom Kippur. And we remember those instructions that we can’t keep, such as those related to the sacrificial rites, and apply their meaning to our walk with Messiah and the knowledge of our Master Yeshua Messiah.

 

The Blessings of Keeping Yom Kippur

 

Yom Kippur provides us the opportunity to engage in a deep and profound retrospection of ourselves and our relationship with Yehovah, asking Yah to search us and reveal to us anything that He does not like in us so that we may take swift and prompt actions to eliminate those sins and aspects of our lives that so easily beset our walk in Messiah (Hebrews 12:1). We obey Yah’s instructions for Yom Kippur because He said so, and because we love and want to please Him. We also engage in such solemn acts of contrition on Yom Kippur because they remind us that we have not arrived, that Yah has not completed the work He started in us (2 Corinthians 13:5). And we are further reminded that these solemn acts of contrition and introspection remind us of the immeasurable cost of our redemption and restoration. Our Master “paid it all” on our behalf. “All to Him we owe. Sin had left a crimson stain” on our record in heaven.” However, through His atoning work, “He washed us white as snow.”

 

Furthermore, Yom Kippur reminds us that we are, in fact, a work in progress (Galatians 6:4). It affords us the opportunity to assess how we treat one another and how we treat our Elohim. We come to realize just how much control our flesh has over our day-to-day walk in Messiah. To honestly determine within ourselves if we have forgiven those who’ve trespassed against us, just as Yah has forgiven us of the trespasses we’ve committed against Him. So, we humble our souls on this set-apart day as a means of introspection and personal assessment.

 

(This reminds me that I did an important teaching on what “afflicting one’s soul” must look like if it is to be truly accepted as genuine by Yehovah. If you weren’t privy to listening to or reading that post, please do so. It is entitled “The Heart of Yom Kippur-Day of Atonement 2022.” If you check out that teaching, I promise it will change your whole perspective of what an acceptable Yom Kippur affliction of one’s soul is supposed to look like in the eyes and mind of our Father in Heaven.)

 

Coupled with these acts of solemnity, we rejoice and celebrate the freedom we enjoy in Yeshua, our Master (Galatians 5:1).

 

Let us now turn our attention to some of those variegated shadows of Yom Kippur so that we may enrich our understanding of the day, keeping in mind, beloved, that Mashiyach (aka Messiah) is the end (aka, the “telos” or the consummation or goal) of Torah (Romans 10:4). And the means by which that goal or end or consummation is met is through the “righteousness of Yehovah” that He makes available to any who would trust in the Person and ministries of His Son Yeshua Mashiyach.

 

Yom Kippur from the Perspective of Yah’s Plan of Salvation

Drawing from Leviticus/Vayiqra 16’s detailed instructions on how the Day of Atonement was supposed to transpire, we can see the Creator’s Plan of Salvation unfold before us.

1. The Levitical High Priest symbolizes Yahoshua HaMashiyach.
2. The goat that was vicariously sacrificed (it stood in the place of the offerer, taking on his punishment) and whose blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies represents Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice that was offered on our behalf (Hebrews 9:11-12, 26). Yeshua’s sacrifice was permanent and did not have to be repeated annually as in the Yom Kippurim ceremony (Hebrew 10:1-14).
3. The Azazel (interestingly, the name of one of the 70-Watchers who left their assigned abode, came down to earth, and mated with humans that resulted in a complete defilement of Yehovah’s creative order, all documented in the Book of Enoch) or the “Scapegoat” (as translated in the Authorized or KJV translation in Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26) are representative of the enemy; hasatan, aka the adversary (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4). He and his ilk are responsible for all of the ills of this life–sins, death, illness, violence, evil, and destruction of Yah’s creation (Ephesians 2:1-3; 6:10-17). That being the case, Yah’s plan of salvation, restoration, and redemption, which featured Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice, also featured the removal of the adversary from the human equation. The enemy’s removal from the human equation (i.e., eliminating the enemy’s evil influences upon humanity) will allow humanity to decide and choose, absent the enemy’s evil influence, whether or not he will choose Yehovah and His Way of life as their way of life. The Azazel, representing hasatan and his cohorts, were not ceremonially sacrificed or killed as was the sacrificial goat whose blood was sprinkled upon the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. Instead, it was after the High Priest conferred upon the head of the Azazel the sins (i.e., vicariously placed the sins of the nation upon the Azazel goat) that it was led into the wilderness by what scripture describes as an able-bodied or strong man whose job it was to abandon the Azazel in the wilderness a distance from the camp. Thus, spiritually and prophetically speaking, sin was removed from the nation on Yom Kippur by the Azazel being led and abandoned in the wilderness, away from the people, until the following year when the ritual would be repeated.

 

Why wasn’t Azazel killed? It wasn’t destroyed because the existence or life of hasatan and his ilk cannot be ended like that of Yah’s human and animal creation. Only Yah can accomplish that feat. Thus, Yah’s plan of salvation, redemption, and restoration has built into it a temporary removal or incarceration of the evil one (Revelation 20:1-3) and their permanent removal when cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:7-10). In the Lake of Fire, the enemy will be forever tormented. The most crucial aspect of the enemy’s eternal punishment is not being subjected to that lake’s eternal flames and impenetrable darkness but being eternally separated from their Creator.

 

The enemy knows that his existence has an expiration date stamped on it. That’s why he will be filled with rage and wrath when expelled from the throne room. He knows his time is short. Yet he still believes he can outsmart the Creator, which to me is a sure indicator that he is maniacally insane. Indeed, payback in this regard will be a bear. One could say that the permanent elimination of the adversary/enemy/hasatan/the devil/demons/fallen ones is the capstone to the prophetic shadow picture embedded in Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement.

 

Let me mention here that the Lake of Fire will not be a place of eternal torment for humans whose names are not inscribed in the Book of Life as religiosity stubbornly teaches (Revelation 20:11-15). Nothing in Revelation 20:11-15 indicates that humans subject to the Great White Throne’s judgment will be converted to spirit beings at that time. Presuming that these condemned souls will be resurrected in human form, their being cast in the Lake of Fire will completely wipe away their being and memory for all eternity. John describes this historic event as the “second death” of those condemned at the Great White Throne’s judgment (20:14). Even at this critical time, Yah’s grace will spare them from the eternal torment that the devil and his ilk will be subject to.

 

Praise Yah. We who are the redeemed of Yah will not be subject to the Great White Throne judgment. Unlike these unfortunate Great White Throne-judged souls, we will exist in glorified bodies that cannot and will not suffer death. We will be in a state of existence of true, eternal “at-one-ment” with the Holy Creator of the Universe. Hallelujah.

 

The 10 Days of Repentance (aka, the 10 Days of Awe) that lead to The Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur

 

During these days leading up to Yom Kippur in ancient Israel, farmers would be completing their wheat harvesting, separating the wheat from the chaff. After that separation, the chaff would be burned. Spiritually and emotionally, these ten days would be a time of assessment and reflection for each farmer, for they could see the fruits of their labor and recognize that what they harvested resulted from what they had sown over this past growing season (Yah’s provenance aside). A bumper crop would indicate to that farmer that he had made wise and proper decisions regarding the sowing and maintenance of his crop. Conversely, a lean yield would suggest that he may have made some unwise or improper decisions regarding his crop. Depending on the state of his harvest, this would be a time of rejoicing or disappointment, for it was ultimately a time for dealing with the realities of his life situation as he looked ahead toward the coming year.

 

From a spiritual application perspective, some view these ten days of introspection as the optimal time to prepare oneself for the coming Day of Atonement. It’s a time for assessing oneself, especially concerning how they conducted themselves over the last year. It may involve identifying, confessing, and repenting of their sins. This lead-up to Yom haKippurim lends itself to the thinking by some Jewish sages that it is a shadow or representative of the looming Day of Judgment.

 

These interim days are critical to the observant Jew because they provide them with the opportunity to repent of their sins and failures, right the wrongs they caused, and reconcile relationships that they may have caused to go into disrepair. And so the wise will take advantage of it while the unwise will let the opportunity slip away. What is that opportunity, you ask? Well, it is the freely available opportunity for Yehovah’s forgiveness, His atonement, His redemption, and reconciliation. This thinking has it that those unwise ones who fail to take advantage of this free opportunity for atonement and reconciliation will be judged accordingly on Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. According to the sages, that judgment is manifested in their name being blotted out of the Book of Life.

 

The Jewish sages agree that the Day of Atonement is the year’s holiest day. In Yisra’el, from sundown on the 9th of the 7th month till sundown on the 10th, religious Jews deny themselves by engaging in a total fast; no cars are driven; all the shops are closed; the nation goes into complete shutdown.

 

Yom Kippur, by the way, is not a pilgrimage feast. Yah’s people were not required to leave their homes and to assemble themselves before Yehovah at the place where He had chosen to place His Name. During our Master’s earthly ministry, Jerusalem was where the Temple stood and operated. Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, is a pilgrimage feast. Thus, the observant Jew would have just five days to get to Jerusalem for the 8-day celebration. By the start of Sukkot, they would have completed their harvest, gathered their belongings, prepared their families, and taken to the road for Jerusalem, where upon arrival, they would build their sukkahs and commence the celebration of the feast.

 

Yom Kippur is a Shadow of the End Times

 

Many believe, as do I that we are at the tail-end of what is referred to as the “Time of the Gentiles,” whereby Yah has provided an open door for those of us who are not descended from Jacob (aka Ya’achov), who, through the provisions of the renewed covenant, are being engrafted into the commonwealth of Yisra’el. One can envision that the Fall Feasts, in particular the days between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur, and Yom Kippur itself, are prophetic shadow pictures of the wrap-up of the 2,000-year long “Time of the Gentiles” and the time when “All of Yisra’el shall be saved” (Romans 11:26). The shadow picture painted by Yom Teruah, as we discussed last week, is that of the resurrection of the dead in Messiah saints and the instantaneous translation of those who are alive at His appearing (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). This event will be the time of His appearing when His chosen ones, from every generation, will be caught up together to meet Him in the clouds, initiating an eternity where Yah’s saints will be ruled by Yeshua Messiah and dwell with Abba Yah.

 

Up to this point in history, as Master Yeshua described to His chosen disciples, iniquity shall abound. The love of many shall wax cold as never before in the annals of human history (Matthew 24:12). These ten days of Awe or Repentance also foreshadow the time when the abomination of desolation as spoken of by the Prophet Daniel takes place in Jerusalem. Those Messianic Jewish souls residing in the country will be forced to flee to the hills to survive the onslaught of the enemy (Matthew 24:15-28). Judah will be attacked by her enemies, and her extermination will seem most certain until Yah once again fights for them and defeats Israel’s and His enemies. Then and only then will the scales drop from the eyes of the Jew who once vehemently rejected Yeshua as their Messiah and Savior. The Prophet proclaims that Yehovah will “pour upon the House of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications. And they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for His only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for His firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10; cf. John 19:37). The Apostle writes of this time that “all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, ‘There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Romans 11:26; KJV).

 

Yom Kippur a Shadow of the Great Tribulation

 

Yom Kippur also portrays the time of the Great Tribulation when Yehovah will tribulate those who had tribulated His beloved ones (Matthew 24:21, 29; 25:31-46; Revelation 19:11-16). It will be a time of intense suffering that culminates in establishing the millennial reign of Yeshua Messiah, portrayed in the Feast of Tabernacles. Clearly, if the Day of Atonement depicts Yah’s Plan of Salvation and His Reconciliation with His human creation beginning with the Millennial Reign of the Son of Yehovah headquartered out of Yerushalayim proper, it must be preceded by a time of judgment and great sorrow where Yah’s elect will be tried in the crucible of persecution, death, and destruction brought on by the enemy, aided by his human proxies. (This is where the pretribulation rapturists are sorely out of sync with Yeshua’s and John’s prophesies.)

 

Those who endure to the end are described by an angel to John (aka Yochanan the Revelator) as having “come out of the great tribulation and having had their robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14; LEB).

 

There must be heartache before there can be joy, beloved.

 

Now, I’ll leave the sequence or order that this all will play out in relation to Yah’s Plan of Salvation and Plan for Man’s Redemption and Reconciliation for the eschatologists to sort out. All I know is that the Feasts of Yehovah, including the set-apart days we find ourselves in right now, all remind us of good things to come. Some aspects of these set-apart feasts are wonderful and joyous in meaning and application. Others, such as these 10 Days of Repentance or 10 Days of Awe (which, by the way, is NOT a true feast of Yah but a rabbinic invention or tradition, let’s just say), and the Day of Atonement, are more somber and sobering. They force us to take stock of our relationship with the Almighty and our neighbor. Despite these ten days of Repentance not being sanctioned, set apart days of Yah, they certainly help the would-be Child of Yah come to terms with their present spiritual situation. How solid is their relationship with the Almighty? How stable is their relationship with their neighbor? What areas in their life need fixing? Are they ready to receive their King if He were to break the sky today? Will they be overjoyed at His appearance or terrified at what He might say to them when He meets them? Will He say to them, “Well done thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things” (Matthew 25:21-23). Or will He tell them, “I don’t know you. In fact, I’ve never truly known you. So depart from Me, you worker of iniquity” (Matthew 7:23)?

 

So, beloved, let us take this most opportune time at this most solemn time of Yah’s biblical calendar year to reconcile all these concerns and get our spiritual house in order, for today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

 

Yom Kippur From the Perspective of an Ancient Hebrew Wedding

 

Lastly, we will briefly explore Yom haKippurim from the perspective of it being representative of a portion of an ancient Hebrew wedding, with Yehovah being the Father seeking a worthy bride for His beloved Son, Yeshua Messiah. That bride will be the redeemed, perfected, translated, and glorified Body of Messiah.

 

Like all the Feasts preceding it, Yom HaKippurim is a memorial day. Recall that Yom Teruah–aka the Day of the Blowing of Trumpets–memorialized both the day that Yehovah revealed Himself to Yisra’el from Mount Sinai, accompanied by the exceeding loud blasts of heavenly trumpets (Exodus/Shemote 19). Additionally, Yom Teruah memorializes the future return to earth of Yeshua Messiah, whose return will be accompanied by blasts from the Trump of Yah (1 Thessalonians 4). Some choose to substitute the term memorial with rehearsal. Regardless, both terms, when properly applied to these set-apart days, firmly imply that Yah’s set-apart people, who are called by His Name, are required to remember the reason for the season, not just in thought, but more so, by their obedient actions on these days.

 

I’ve said all of this to set the stage for our seeing Yom Kippur from the perspective of the ancient Hebrew wedding process and ceremony. The feasts, an ancient depiction of an ancient Hebrew wedding process and ritual, have recently gained much popularity in and around Messianic circles. I am more in tune with the feasts representing or depicting Yah’s Plan of Salvation, Restoration, and Redemption for humanity. But I can also find great value in the ancient Hebrew wedding paradigm.

 

So, some believe that Yom Kippur is a prophetic shadow of Yeshua returning from His preparations to gather His bride and take her to His Father’s house. Recall that Yeshua tells His disciples just before His betrayal by Judas and His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection from the grave, the following:

 

(1) Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in Yah, believe also in Me. (2) In My Father’s house are many mansions (or “mon-ay” meaning abiding or dwelling places). If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14; KJV).

 

As we can see, this paradigm certainly has some biblical standing: Right from the mouth of our illustrious Master Yeshua Messiah, He, as a bridegroom, has gone to prepare a dwelling place for His soon-to-be bride.

 

Now, something may appear off to you regarding Yom Kippur being likened to an ancient Hebrew marriage or wedding process and ritual. Yom Kippur is the most solemn and holy day of Yah’s calendar year. At the same time, a wedding is always portrayed as the most joyous day of a couple’s life. How do we reconcile such a discrepancy? Recall that many who adhere to the Feasts of the LORD being a foreshadowing of Yah’s Great Plan of Salvation, Redemption, and Restoration with Yom Teruah-The Day of the Blowing of Trumpets–being the day in which Yeshua, the Bridegroom, comes to retrieve His bride-to-be and ushers her off to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). But here, in the wedding paradigm, we have the Bridegroom retrieving His bride-to-be as depicted on Yom Kippur.

 

However, the supporters of this paradigm do have answers to this seeming discrepancy. But before we resolve this discrepancy, let me briefly outline how this wedding paradigm shakes out on Abba’s biblical calendar.

 

The first step in the wedding process is called the “shiddukhin.” The “shiddukhin” is that time in the wedding process when Yehovah (the Father of the Bridegroom) selects a suitable bride for His son. An example of this is seen in the story of Avraham sending his servant Eliezer to fetch a suitable bride for his beloved son Yitschaq (aka Isaac). Eliezer selects Rebecca or Rivka for Isaac. The “shiddukhin” portion of the ancient Hebrew wedding process is embedded in the Spring Feasts of Yehovah (i.e., Pesach-Unleavened Bread-Firstfruits). Together, these feasts are pilgrimage feasts that always fall in the first month of Yah’s calendar year.

 

The second step in the wedding process is called “erusin.” The “erusin” is when the formal marriage announcement is made. From that time forward, even up to the wedding day, the marriage becomes lawful and binding” (Norman Willis; The Day of Atonement; Nazarene Isra’el). Generally, a formal, written marriage, wedding, or engagement is drafted and signed by both parties, and the announcement is witnessed. Such a document is called a “ketubah.” When Yisra’el agreed to the terms of Yehovah’s proposal to her at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19), that agreement was documented in the Book of the Covenant. It served as a “ketubah.” When Yeshua sent His Father’s Holy Spirit to His disciples on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), that gift served as a token or ketubah or agreement of the marriage that is to take place between Yeshua and His bride.

 

This pivotal day, called the “erusin,” is embedded in Shavuot, or Pentecost.

 

The period between the erusin and when the Bridegroom will fetch His bride-to-be is an intense work time on the bride’s and bridegroom’s parts. The bride will earnestly work on preparing her wedding dress (Revelation 3:4; 16:15) and assembling her bridesmaids for the coming nuptials (Matthew 25:1-11). In contrast, the Bridegroom will work on building an addition to His Father’s “house” to serve as a dwelling place for Himself and His bride (John 14:1-3). Once the Bridegroom’s dwelling place preparations are completed, His Father releases Him to go and fetch His bride-to-be.

 

In advance of the Bridegroom arriving to fetch his bride, a herald is sent to announce his imminent arrival to the bridal party. This announcement comes in the form of shofar blasts. Of course, this portion of the marriage process is embedded in Yom Teruah, or the Day of the Blowing of Trumpets.

 

It is during the days between the herald’s announcement of the Bridegroom’s impending arrival to fetch his bride that the bridal party readies themselves to meet the Bridegroom and head off to the official wedding ceremony and celebratory supper. (This is beautifully depicted in the parable of the 10-Bridesmaids, Matthew 25:1-13). This event is what Yom Kippur is supposed to represent within this ancient Hebrew wedding paradigm.

 

And just so we tie up that loose end of rectifying how a joyous occasion such as the bride and the bridal party being whisked away to be with the Bridegroom for the long-awaited marriage, with the somberness and solemnity that Yom Kippur naturally engenders, advocates of the wedding paradigm suggest that it’s all about the true bride of Messiah giving up and leaving behind the life she once knew in exchange for the new life she will have with her Husband, Yeshua Messiah. It’s about denying oneself the pleasures of this life in exchange for the pleasures of the Kingdom that awaits her. Indeed, one of the mainstays of our Faith is dying to self: Being able to say no to the things of this world and yes to Yeshua and the ways and rule of the Kingdom in their lives. It is challenging to accomplish, especially when we attempt to die to ourselves through our wherewithal. In fact, for some of us, completely dying to self is a lifetime process, but the reward is eternal. And this is where the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (aka, the Ruach HaKodesh) comes into play. The Holy Spirit helps us through the process of dying to self by giving us the desire and ability to obey Yah and His Ways.