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Fall Feasts Series
Yom Kippur
Atonement and Forgiveness
The perpetual cycle of the Jewish “Holy Convocations” (Lev. 23:3) includes one appointed time
that has become the most holy day of the year according to Jewish tradition. Yom Kippur is Hebrew
for the “Day of Atonement” And it is a fast, not a feast. It is observed on the tenth of the month of
Tishrei, falling after Rosh Hashanah or the “Head of the Year.” These two Holy Days are separated
by the Yomim Nora’im or “Ten Days of Awe.”
The observances of Rosh Hashanah, the Ten Days of Awe, and Yom Kippur are closely related;
however, only Rosh Hashanah (Lev. 23:23-25) and Yom Kippur (Lev. 23:26-32) are part of God’s
Levitical calendar. The observance of the “Ten Days of Awe” was added by the rabbis to facilitate
the transition from repentance to forgiveness.
This article will examine these observances from three perspectives: biblical, rabbinic, and
prophetic or messianic. Jewish tradition will always be taken into account, but only in light of
biblical truth.
Biblical Perspective
The Holy God of the universe has always desired for the Jewish people to be holy.
The word “holy” comes from the Hebrew word kadosh, which means “set apart.” God gave
the Jewish people the Law of Moses to set them apart. Yet even then, in His infinite wisdom and
unconditional love for us, He established Yom Kippur, the Jewish Holy Day when His grace is
best displayed.
Knowing that the children of Israel could not remain holy by their own power, God set aside one
day of the year when all Israel would come together and wait with nearly unbearable anticipation
for the High Priest to perform the sacrificial duties for atonement.
As Leviticus 16 tells us with colorful detail, only once a year was the High Priest allowed to
enter the Holy of Holies in the very heart of the Jewish Temple. First, the High Priest would have
to atone for himself by providing both a sin offering and a burnt offering (Lev. 16:3). After offering
sacrifices to the Lord for himself and the other priests, he would be ready to make an offering for the
atonement of all of Israel (Lev. 16:5-7).
The blood of the sacrificed animals was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat (the cover closing the Ark
of the Covenant) located in the Holy of Holies. Blood sacrifice was a key factor because blood was
and is a symbol of life (Lev 17:11).
The animals to be used for the atonement of the Israelites were two male goats. One goat was
slaughtered and its blood applied on the other goat, known as azazel (meaning uncertain). The
azazel or “scapegoat” was then escorted to the outskirts of town, into the wilderness. Tradition tells
us that the scapegoat was then kicked off a cliff to its certain death, taking with it all the sins of
Israel to be remembered no more.
The picture was one of atonement and forgiveness by God’s grace through the shedding of blood,
and this picture has not changed.
As a matter of fact, since God gave Israel the Mosaic Law, the forgiveness of sin has always
required a blood sacrifice – for which the children of Israel needed the Temple. When the Temple
was destroyed in 70 AD, it left our people with a dilemma: without the Temple, how was Israel to
perform sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin?
Rabbinic Traditions
Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai, a first-century rabbi who was a student of Rabbi Hillel, convened
with other rabbis and they decided to “adapt” the Judaism of the time to a new Judaism without
a temple. Pharisaic Judaism became Rabbinic Judaism, which teaches to this day that in lieu of a
sacrifice, Jewish people are now called to do tefilah (prayer), teshuvah (repentance), and tzedakah
(charity). Thus Yom Kippur today carries the meaning of its biblical counterpart, but many of its
original practices have been abandoned.
Nevertheless, in some Jewish communities around the world, we can still witness a ritual
known as Kapparot on Yom Kippur. Jewish people wave a live chicken in circles over their heads as
they recite a special prayer acknowledging the chicken as their substitutionary atonement.
Messianic Perspecive
The truth is that 2,000 years ago, someone came to be our azazel. Yeshua (Jesus) came to carry
our sins on His shoulders (Rom. 5:8, 8:3) and be our sacrifice. Today, Jews who have put their trust
in Yeshua’s death, burial, and resurrection no longer need a temple because they no longer need
a repeating sacrifice. Instead the price has been paid once and for all as a free gift from God (Eph.
2:8-9).
In Leviticus 23, God tells us three times that Yom Kippur requires the “humbling of the soul”
(vv. 27, 29, 32), which explains why Jewish people fast on that day, although that would be
considered a humbling or affliction of the body.
The future will bring both spiritual and physical afflictions during Israel’s final atonement in the
End Times. This affliction of the body as prophesied in Zechariah 13:9 will bring about the affliction
of the soul, when all Israel (Rom. 11:26) will mourn and call on Yeshua at the end of the Great
Tribulation (Zechariah 12:10), saying in one accord: “Baruch Haba B’shem Adonai” or “Blessed is
He Who comes in the Name of the Lord” (Luke 13:35).
The perfect God has given us a perfect program as delineated by the fall holidays in His holy
calendar: Rosh Hashanah prepares us for repentance; Yom Kippur reminds us of our atonement,
now in Yeshua; and finally Sukkot invites us to dwell or “tabernacle” with God.
Discussion Questions
Compare and contrast the theme of the Holy Day of Yom Kippur as detailed in Leviticus 16 and
further discussed by Paul in Romans 3:23-26.
What is the prophetic significance of Yom Kippur (Zech 12:10, 13:9, Rom 11:26, Luke 13:35)?
Is Yom Kippur a Feast or a Fast (Lev 23:27, 29, 32)?
By which means was atonement made on Yom Kippur (Lev 16, Lev 17:11)?
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