Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It actually started at sunset last night. God has declared and decreed that this one day, every year, would be the Sabbath of All Sabbaths, FOREVER!!!
Leviticus 16:29-34 “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do NO work At ALL, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. 30 For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 32 And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; 33 then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year.” And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.
Not only is it THE Sabbath of All Sabbath’s, it is also a day requiring that ALL who are trusting in Father God to forgive their sins because of His Anointed Priest, ministering in the Holy Sanctuary, that they should “Afflict their Souls.” These 24 hours should be a time of fasting, prayer and meditation on the Holiness and Goodness of God. The Israelites were required to do this when they didn’t know that the Last & Perfect Sacrifice had been offered and accepted for the atonement of their sins. Today we who have accepted Yeshua Jesus as our Savior, God and LORD, do know this. We also know that NO Amount of blood from the purest of animals is needed to add to the Sacrifice Jesus willingly shed to buy the forgiveness of our sins through a very horrible and painful death. We know that Yeshua Jesus is our Great High Priest, and is ministering, NOT in a Sanctuary built by human hands, but probably by His Own Hands.
The Day of Atonement
Leviticus 23:26-32 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”
This is what some of the words used in these verses means.
Leviticus 16:29 “Statute” H2708 – {appointed} {custom} {manner} {ordinance} Brown-Driver-Brigg’s Definition – Statute, ordinance, limit, enactment, something prescribed.
“Afflict” – H6031 – through the idea of looking down, bow down or browbeating: abase, chasten, humble
Leviticus 16:31 “Sabbath” – H7676 – {intermission} that {is} (specifically) the Sabbath:- (+ every) Sabbath
“For ever” – H5769 – properly {concealed} that {is} the vanishing point; generally time out of mind (past or {future}) that {is} (practically) eternity; at any {time} (beginning of the) world (+ without end)
Leviticus 16:34 “Everlasting” H5769 – Same as “For Ever”
Leviticus 23:24 “Convocation” H4744 – something called {out} that {is} a public meeting (the {act} the {persons} or the place); also a REHEARSAL {assembly} {calling}
Leviticus 23:29 cut “off” – H3772 – to cut ({off} down or asunder); by implication to destroy or consume;
Brown-Driver-Briggs Definition – to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, behead, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant, to hew
“Destroy” H6 – Properly to wander {away} that is lose oneself; by implication to perish ({causatively} destroy):- {break}
Brown-Driver-Briggs Definition – perish, vanish, be destroyed, die, be exterminated, to destroy, kill, cause to perish, to give up (as lost), to blot out, do away with, put to death, of divine judgment
Mo’ed Hebrew for H4150 – properly an {appointment} that{is} a fixed time or season; specifically a festival; conventionally a year; by {implication} and assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation: by {extension} the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed before-hand): – appointed ({sign} {time})
The Day of Atonement is the day that names written in God’s book were “sealed” for the upcoming year and not “blotted out.” Jesus had something to say about names being “blotted out” of His Book of Life,
Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Later in Revelation, John speaks of how those that have been “sealed” will be protected from the terrors and horrors that will come upon the rest of humanity in the tribulation period,
Revelation 7:2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Revelation 9:3-6 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
In the New Testament, which many Christians focus mainly on, there is the Greek word “kairos.” It is Strong’s Concordance G2540 and is used 87 times. 64 of them, it is written as “time” and 13 times it is written as “season.” It is strongly related to the Greek word G5550 – “chronos” and is most often written as “time” and incorporated into our words about time keeping, “chronological.”
Not very long ago while praying, I asked God, “what is the difference between “kairos” and “Mo’ed,” what I believe is its Hebrew counterpart? In my mind a thought came, Mo’ed are MY Appointed Times that I have set, declared and decreed. “Kairos” are appointed times I interact with men personally that they notice.
The understanding I got from that is God’s “Mo’ed’s,” His Holy Convocations, His Appointed Times are when men get to “choose” if they desire to meet with God in the way He has declared and decreed He wants it done. God is a God of order and design. If God does something, it’s NOT a knee jerk reaction because of something else. God had ALL of Eternity past to consider how His Appointed Times, the “dressed rehearsals” concerning the major events of His Plan of redemption, salvation and restoration of what the Garden of Eden experience between Him and man should be.
Think of the multitude of intricate things that make up our human bodies and multiply that times an unfathomable number of all the things God created, all by design. Many of the things God designed into parts of His creatures and creations science has still not understood its operation.
Sadly, many of God’s Holy Convocations pass by and go unnoticed by a lot of people that call themselves Christians. They don’t care to know much about them because they say “that applied to Israel” but have No Problem claiming to be “Spiritual Israel” and pride fully think, “oh, they messed up rejecting Jesus, now we’re God’s people, grafted into the tree Paul teaches about.” Or they have No Problem going into the Old Testament to claim the blessings and promises of God and only cherry pick the part of a verse they want to “claim, declare and decree,” God said it, I believe it. Like in this verse everyone wants to “claim” only the last 8 words of and disregard the “conditional” part to be met,
Exodus 15:26 26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
Sadly, many Christian churches don’t even mention when the Holy Convocations of God approach or are at hand to prepare our hearts, minds and actions for what their fulfillment will bring. Passover, Firsts Fruits and Shavuot “Pentecost” were ALL dressed rehearsals for the actual events that have shaped God’s Plan for the redemption, salvation and restoration of ALL Things to the way God designed them to be. They were dressed rehearsals that were fulfilled. The remaining of God’s feasts are also types and shadows pointing to the fulfillment of them and they will be fulfilled as the others were also to their full extent, NOT Only in theory.
Meanwhile, most Christians have joined the world to anticipate and long for the pagan holidays of ancient days that have roots in idol worship and have only been “Christianized” to ADD God to them in an effort to make them acceptable to Him. Most Christian won’t go to a pagan idol or outwardly worship some other god but have No Problem observing the ones that have been “dressed up” to look Christian. At the same time, these same Christians attempt to shun everything about God’s Feasts and Holy Convocations for half of the year.
My point is why do so few Christians know about or observe that Appointed Times that God has declared and decreed to be observed, FOR EVER by those who say they are His people. Remember the part of verse Leviticus 16:29 “or a stranger who dwells among you.” That’s God saying, even the non Jews who are joining themselves to me need to do this too or be cut off, destroyed!!!
Israel got in trouble with God for not observing the Sabbaths He had set for them to observe and rest in them.
ALL of God’s Sabbaths are Holy to Him, God takes them VERY Seriously. God takes note of the way we observe any and all of His Sabbaths. Israel had to learn a hard 70 year lesson because of not observing God’s Sabbaths for 490 years. Breaking God’s Sabbath isn’t the only reason they sent into exile for 70 years but it was used to determine the length of their punishment.
2 Chronicles 36:20 And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is the Sabbath of ALL Sabbaths. How important is it to God that on this day He would declare and decree specific directions on what we should and shouldn’t do? God wants us to remember in a special way what the Atoning Blood that Yeshua Jesus painfully shed for us and bought for us redemption and salvation should be remembered in affliction of our being, in reverence and humility. Considering that what Jesus suffered is what I deserved to suffer before spending an eternity in torment and hell. A day to afflict myself “before” (H6440- in the face of) God is a small thing He asks of me.
In the Garden of Eden, God gave a simple direction of what NOT to do. They did it anyway and all of humanity has dealt with origin sin everyday since then. How much detail and emphasis has God put in giving clear and concise directions on how His Holy Convocations should be observed. This one has all that along with warnings and threats like in the garden of death, being “cut off” or “destroyed” for not obeying this directive. Even with that, many Christians have the “I can take it or leave it” attitude like it’s a buffet where you take what you like and just leave the rest.
Can I just get you to think about this simple question, How Long Is For Ever, or Everlasting to our Eternal God?
Although animal sacrifices on God’s altar ended thousands of years ago, I still pray that God would “let the fire fall, let the wind blow, and let His Glory Come Down” upon me to burn away the chafe of my heart and mind. Living a consecrated life to please God is not an easy thing to do in this self center and prideful world we live in. Especially if you’ve lived a great portion of our life without having that desire at all. Mountains must be climbed and obstacles must be “overcome” to become an overcomer. Thankfully everything is possible through all Yeshua Jesus Christ has bought and paid for with His own Precious Blood
I know what’s coming, I have no fear, coping with the rain, hoping for sunshine, I’m on the front line, That’s Why I Sing
In The Word 