Tonight at sunset, the holiest day of the year on God’s calendar begins – Yom Kippur.  Yom means ‘Day’ in Hebrew, and Kippur means ‘atonement or cover.’ It is the only day of the year that God commands all Israel, their livestock, and every visitor in the Land to cease from their work, honor a Sabbath, and fast from all food for 24 hours. ( Leviticus 23:27-29, Leviticus 16:29) But the real emphasis is not on the ceasing or the fasting but the blood of atonement.

When the tabernacle was in use or the Temple was present, the High Priest was commanded to enter the Holy of Holies one day a year to present a sacrifice for his sin and the sins of the nation.  It was the only day he could enter.

He stripped himself of his royal robes and dressed in white linen. (Leviticus 16:32-33)  He was now on equal status with every other person and represented them all.

When Jesus went to the cross on Passover, He shed His blood not only for Israel’s sins, but the sins of the whole world from the beginning of time until the end.  (Hebrews 10:8-14) He was our sacrificial Lamb without blemish.

Hebrews 9:22 says, “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” ( no forgiveness for sin)

Jewish people all over the globe have spent the last 10 days soul-searching and repenting of the sins they committed this year. They have done good works, healed broken relationships, and paid restitution where it was due.

One of the names of Yom Kippur is “The Day of Face to Face.”  It is believed that God will consider their efforts to repent and rectify their sins.  If He believes their repentance is genuine, He will grant them atonement for another year.  If He doesn’t, He can render a different verdict. It is a judgment day for them.

Whether we consider this day holy or not, God does. The other fact is that as believers, we have been grafted into Israel by God’s design. (Romans 11:11-22) If He had not grafted us in, we could not reap the covenant promises God gave Israel—salvation being one of them.

While we stand before God blameless because of Jesus’ blood, (Ephesians 1:3-5), He still calls us to remember who we are and sincerely stop our rebellion against His word.  He calls us to turn and follow Him again.  

John wrote this to born-again believers after Jesus’ ascension to heaven.

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. I John 1:5-10

The Temple does not exist any longer, but each of us is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Mark 14:58 says, We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple (sanctuary) which is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.

And 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

We are His temple, and His blood is applied to our hearts, sealing a new covenant.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

And in Matthew 26:28, Jesus declared to His disciples at the Passover table,

“For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

All of this said, on this Yom Kippur, let’s offer David’s prayer:

Psalm 139 :23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;

And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

Let’s celebrate our Living Savior and thank Him for His atoning sacrifice.

Let’s pray for our Jewish brothers and sisters.

Zechariah 12:10 says,

And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace or unmerited favor and supplication. And they shall look [earnestly] upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him as one who is in bitterness for his firstborn.

I believe this scripture refers to the last Yom Kippur our world will celebrate before God’s wrath is poured out on the earth.  Millions will see their Messiah and be saved.  What a day that will be.  Jew and Gentile, one in Messiah.  May we live to see this day.

Take time to meet with Him face-to-face.  He is waiting to meet you with His love.

Shalom ♥

PS–This day is filled with meaning, and it is a significant day for the Bride. I hope to put something together in the next couple of weeks to tell you more. Thank you for your patience.