Yom Kippur / The Fast

By: Ron Warren/ Zeny Perez/ Tom Flores

This feast is known as "The Day of Atonement". Yom Kippur is the Atonement (covering) for the previous year’s sins. That atonement or sacrifice was the blood sacrifice of an innocent animal as recorded in Leviticus 17:11.

You will find this feast recorded in Leviticus 23:26 –32. It is considered the most holy day in the Jewish biblical calendar. It is considered the logical extension of what was started on Rosh Hashanah. What was started on that day, repentance and self-evaluation, was completed on Yom Kippur with atonement and regeneration. Yom Kippur/day of atonement points to the future day when Israel repents of her sins and turns to the Messiah for salvation.

Yom Kippur stands alone as a biblical fast day. On this day, white is usually worn, symbolizing the hope of the high holy days, and the cleansing of our sins according to Isaiah 1:18. This day will close with the final blast of the shofar. It is believed that the fate of each individual is sealed at that time for the upcoming year. Our hope is the hope of a sweet and blessed spiritual year, which is illustrated in the break-the-fast meal following sundown

As a Messianic believer, I rejoice in the confidence that the Messiah has paid the price that God required. This is why I wear white on this day. I know my God has forgiven me, but my biggest prayer is to forgive myself. This comes from how I handle the 10 Days of Awe.

The Word “Kippur”

It is written in Leviticus 23:26-28, “And the L-RD spoke unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the L-RD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.”

The word: “Kippur” means “Atonement”. Related to this word is the Hebrew word “kapporet”, which is called the cover to the Ark of the Covenant. This Lid of the Ark, called the Mercy Seat, is where God spoke to Moses “face to face”. The horns of the Golden Altar located near the Ark, was where the blood of the atoning animal was offered once a year during Yom Kippur. In this way, the blood of the sacrifice “covered” the sin of the person bringing it. This type of atonement covers the sin, but it did not allow it to be completely erased. This atonement was temporary.

The practice of fasting as a means of affliction can be found in the Talmud Tractate Berachos 5a. In this section it teaches that afflictions and sufferingspurges a person entire body of sin.  Although the origins of the ritual of fasting are obscure, several current theories claim that it originated as (1) a spiritual preparation for partaking of a sacred meal (W.R. Smith); (2) a method for inducing a state of susceptibility to visions (E.B. Tylor); and others. Scriptural citations have been adduced to support all these theories, but fasting in the Bible clearly emerged in response to more spiritual needs.The Hebrew root for fasting, Tzom(צום), can be used both as a verb and a noun, e.g., "David fasted a fast" (II Sam. 12:16), a meaning verified in the next verse: "he ate no food." Fasting was also practice by Yeshua’s talmidim especially after HE had ascended to the Father as found in the book of Acts chapter 13. Negation of a basic physical need as a fulfillment of a mitzvah in pursue of higher spiritual state, one that brings more consciousness to the condition of needing more HaShem than our own personal needs and one of individual and corporate repentance.

With the entrance of sin came the punishment of sin – Death. God is righteous when He says that the wages of sin was death, and every man deserves to die. Here is where the mercy of God comes in. He has lovingly provided a means by which mankind can redeem himself. The historical sacrificial system was effective in covering sin; but it proof to be a “shadow,” pointing to the true body of sacrifice found in the perfect Lamb of Sacrifice. Even though it was a temporary solution, it was God’s solution for Israel for un-intentional sin.

It is written in Romans 5:8-9, “But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, the Messiah died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”  Yeshua now becomes the means by which all men must satisfy the atoning requirement of God. This type of atonement is not just a covering, it is a permanent atonement. Where does that leave us as believers who have accepted the sacrifice of Yeshua?

It is written in Psalm 15:1-2, “..LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” Even as the Cohen Gadol (High Priest) applied the blood to the mercy seat in order to affect atonement for the nation, so Yeshua has ascended to the heavenly Tabernacle in order to apply the merits of His own death on behalf of His people, to affect their eternal atonement and redemption. As we celebrate Yom Kippur, we do so with the full recognition that our own High Priest “always lives to make intercession for us”. Referring to Yeshua our High Priest, in the Heavenly Temple.

Yom Kippur in the New Testament

For believers in Yeshua, the scapegoat is a picture of the Messiah, who was sent “as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Like the scapegoat, Yeshua receives our iniquities and transgressions and takes them from us; unlike the scapegoat, his sacrifice is good for all time, rather than needing to be repeated from year to year.

For believers we take introspection for ourselves and intercession for loved ones, knowing that Yeshua is the One that makes us at one with God. Believers in Yeshua who observe Yom Kippur recognize that, although we particularly focus on our need for repentance and forgiveness on this day, we have received ultimate, lasting forgiveness and atonement through Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of God.