YOM KIPPUR

Rabbinical Judaism teaches this is what should happen when the Messiah comes:

Isaiah 2:1-5

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

and

Isaiah 11:6

 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Those are only two of the many beautiful promises given in the Bible regarding the reign of our Messiah. Since these promises are obviously not yet fulfilled, many Jewish people say this proves Jesus cannot be our Messiah. Yet as Believers in Jesus, we UNDERSTAND THOSE VERSES SPEAK OF WHEN HE RETURNS.

There are Bible passages that tell us the Messiah would have a different purpose when He comes the first time. And over 2000 years ago, Jesus fulfilled that purpose.

YOM KIPPUR ACCORDING TO BIBLICAL JUDAISM

Leviticus 16:18-22 – And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

Leviticus 23:26-32 – ²⁶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

Also ON THE TENTH DAY OF THIS SEVENTH MONTH THERE SHALL BE A DAY OF ATONEMENT: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

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.

Today many Jewish people believe if they can manage to fast for 24 hours on Yom Kippur, this will fulfill what God requires of them. That’s what the rabbis teach—actually they only started teaching this after 70 A.D. Before 70 A.D., every Yom Kippur was observed in this way. Yet according to our Torah, atonement can only be made through blood:

Leviticus 17:11

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

So what changed everything? Jesus told His disciples in Luke 21:5-6 – Then, as some spoke of the TEMPLE, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, Jesus said, “These things which you see—the days will come in which NOT ONE STONE SHALL BE LEFT UPON ANOTHER THAT SHALL NOT BE THROWN DOWN.”

And approximately 30 years after Jesus was crucified, was resurrected and ascended into heaven this happened:  In the year 66 AD the Jews of Judea rebelled against their Roman masters. It was during this time that the rather well-known event happened at Masada:

A group known as the Sicarii, a radical Jewish faction defended a mountain-top fortress complex called Masada against the Romans, who laid siege by encircling the fortress leaving no way out, with a wall and massive ramp. When the walls were breached in 73/74 AD, the Romans found nearly 1,000 inhabitants had died by mass suicide. It has been interpreted in modern times as a symbol of heroism that became influential in early Israeli national identity.

Several years later, the Roman legions surrounded Jerusalem and began to snuff out the Jewish stronghold. By the year 70 A.D., attackers had breached Jerusalem’s outer walls and began a systematic ransacking of the city. The assault culminated in the burning and destruction of the Temple. NO TEMPLE = NO ALTAR = NO SACRIFICE = NO ATONEMENT

THE COUNCIL OF YAVNEH

This Council is associated with a gathering of Jewish religious leaders which is most often dated around 90 A.D.  At this council they sought to reorganize religious and communal life. Yavneh was on the Mediterranean coast. The primary purpose was to unify the Jewish community around a standardized biblical text and to ensure consensus on religious practice after the tragic loss of the Temple. Key concerns included:

Preservation of Identity:

With the Temple destroyed, the unifying features of Jewish faith shifted more heavily toward the study of Torah, the prophets, and the other recognized Writings.

Rabbinic Leaders and Key Discussions:

The formation of what would become rabbinic Judaism sparked a fresh approach to worship and practice since the sacrificial system was no longer feasible without the Temple. These rabbis, focused on Scripture’s authority, placed careful emphasis on the phrasing and context of God’s commandments. As recorded in the Mishnah and later Talmudic writings, the rabbis safeguarded the text to ensure that their teachings remained consistent with the long-accepted scriptural tradition. The new pillars of Judaism were to be:

• Torah
• Worship, (which was to replace the sacrifices done at the Temple
• Showing of kindness (works versus blood atonement)

When this was soon criticized, one Jewish leader quickly responded, “What did you expect Jewish people to do after the Temple was lost? Since there was no more possibility to offer sacrifices, prayer then became the obvious substitute!”  ERGO, on Yom Kippur, skip three meals!

TURNING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

Hebrews 10: For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’ ”

Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

“For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

IS IT A MISTAKE THAT AS OF TODAY GENTILES COMPRISE MORE OF THE BELIEVERS IN JESUS THAN DO THE JEWISH PEOPLE?

ISAIAH 49:6 – And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

PSALM 118:22 – The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.

BUT NEVER FORGET, THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY:

ROMANS 11:25-36 – For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.