The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, \u201cOn exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord. You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God . . . It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.\u201d (Leviticus 23:26-28, 32, NASB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yom Kippur begins tonight at sunset. This is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Known as the Day of Atonement, it is meant to be a day of serious introspection and repentance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leviticus 23 details God’s commands for the annual religious festivals to be celebrated by His chosen people, which He spoke to Moses. The text refers to them as “My appointed times,” to be “proclaimed as holy convocations.” (v. 2) These include the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread; First Fruits; Pentecost; the Feast of Trumpets; the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur); and the Feast of Booths. All these holy days were celebrated by Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) during His time on the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s awesome to consider God’s appointed times. The Creator hung the billions and billions of stars in the sky (He knows them all by name!), as well as the sun and the moon. He Who invented time put the celestial bodies where they are to help us earth beings navigate, and discern days, months and years. Here in Leviticus 23, he used this calendar to appoint days to remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this Day of Atonement for 2021, let’s remember this day as one which our Savior observed during His earthly ministry. Let’s also wish our Jewish friends g\u2019mar chatima tovah, which means “a good final sealing.” A traditional Jewish belief is that a person’s fate is for the next year is sealed, or finalized on Yom Kippur. (see My Jewish Learning, “How to Greet Someone on Yom Kippur,” https:\/\/www.myjewishlearning.com\/article\/how-to-greet-someone-on-yom-kippur\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn more about Yom Kippur and how the appointed days point to Messiah, see the attached YouTube video (47:22 in length) by Pastor Paul Wilbur, below the music video. Worship:\u00a0 Kadosh (Holy), by Paul Wilbur\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My hope is in the name of the Lord and in His promises!<\/p>\n\n\n\n