Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
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We are studying the "Feasts of Yahweh" found in Leviticus 23. The study of the feasts is a study in typology. These Feasts of Yahweh were given to Israel by God, so His people could understand the coming of Christ and the role that Christ would play in redeeming man back to God following the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Although most non-Jewish Bible believers have heard of the feasts, the deep meaning and the importance of these feasts are almost universally not understood.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Gentile believers in Colossae that the Feasts of Yahweh, the New Moon, and the Sabbath Days were a shadow of things to come to teach us about Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). Yeshua was the substance or fulfillment of the greater plan that God revealed and foreshadowed in these seven important festivals. These seven feasts represent and typify the sequence, timing, and significance of the major events of the Lord's redemptive history.
We have studied the four Spring Feasts--Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost. These four feasts were a prophetic foreshadowing of the First Coming of the Lord Yeshua the Christ. The anti-type of Passover was the death of Christ on Calvary. The anti-type of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was the deliverance He purchased. The anti-type of First Fruits was the resurrection of Christ. The anti-type of Pentecost was the arrival of the New Covenant.
The Fall Feasts were a prophetic foreshadowing of the Second Coming of Christ. So far, we have only looked at the first Fall Feast, which was the Feast of Trumpets. The anti-type of the Feast of Trumpets was the destruction of Jerusalem and the resurrection of the Dead that took place in A.D. 70. The two remaining feasts are the Day of Atonement and Tabernacles. We will study the Day of Atonement today and next week and then Tabernacles in two weeks.
Listen, believers, most all theologians will agree that these seven feasts relate to these redemptive events, but they fail to see the topology of the forty year exodus. Therefore, they are still looking for the Fall Feasts to occur in the future. They have separated the Fall Feasts from the Spring Feasts by thousands of years, which destroys many different types given in the Tanakh; the main one being the exodus out of Egypt. The book of Hebrews makes it clear that the exodus and forty years are a type that is fulfilled in the New Covenant.
Let's look at the sixth feast of the Lord, which is Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement:
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "On 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. "If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. "As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. "You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. "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." Leviticus 23:26-32 NASB
Then in chapter 16 where the ceremony for Yom Kippur is laid out it says:
"This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; Leviticus 16:29 NASB
The Day of Atonement was Israel's sixth instituted holy day and occurs in the autumn of the year. On the Hebrew calendar, it falls on the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh Hebrew month, which roughly corresponds to September or October.
"The Day of Atonement" is the English equivalent for Yom Kippur. Kippur is from the Hebrew root kaphar, meaning: "to cover." Therefore, the word atonement simply means a covering. It was on Yom Kippur that an atonement (covering) was made for the previous year's sins. The atonement, or covering, consisted of blood sacrifice of an innocent animal.
The Type
Yom Kippur was the most solemn day of the year for the people of Israel. It was often simply referred to as "The Day." It was a day that atonement was made for the priest and his family, the community, the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting, and the altar. It was a solemn day. The Day of Atonement also was known as the "Great Fast" or "The Day of the Fast."
When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, Acts 27:9 NASB
Yom Kippur was designated by Yahweh as a day in which "You shall afflict your souls." By definition, this was understood to mean: "fasting." Yom Kippur was not the only fast within Judaism, but was the only fast mandated by Scripture. The Israelite who failed to devote himself to fasting and repenting on Yom Kippur was to be "cut off from his people" (Lev. 23:29) Yom Kippur was also a day with prohibitions against all forms of work. Those who likewise chose to ignore this regulation would suffer the death penalty (Lev. 23:30).
Yom Kippur was also a very solemn day for the priesthood of Israel. Only on that singular day of the year was the high priest permitted to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple and stand before the presence of Yahweh's glory. We see the service for Yom Kippur in Leviticus 16:
Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died. The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. "Aaron shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. "He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on. Leviticus 16:1-4 NASB
The high priest was required to wear holy garments woven from white linen instead of his normal colorful garments overlaid with the golden breastplate. His linen garments were worn only on that day and never again.
It was absolutely critical to the nation that their high priest not become ritualistically unclean and, thereby, disqualify himself from performing his Yom Kippur duties. To safeguard against this possibility, the priest was required to leave his home one week before Yom Kippur to stay in the priest's headquarters in the Temple area. During the week, the high priest was twice sprinkled with the ashes of a red heifer to circumvent the possibility that he had become unclean through touching a dead body. Such was the normal cleansing process for ceremonial defilement (Numbers 19:1-10).
Dispensationalists talk about the fact that they are breeding red heifers today in Israel. But the red heifer does no good without a priesthood. And there can be no priest hood because all the genealogical records were destroyed in A.D. 70 when the Temple was destroyed.
These searched among their ancestral registration, but it could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood. Nehemiah 7:64 NASB
It was of immeasurable importance that an Aaronic priest be able to demonstrate that his mother and father were Israelites and of the tribe of Levi and of the family of Aaron. That was essential:
as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the LORD; so that he will not become like Korah and his company--just as the LORD had spoken to him through Moses. Numbers 16:40 NASB
Without a priesthood the Temple would be useless and pointless. No genealogical records, no priesthood; no priesthood, no Temple.
Back to Yom Kippur: A substitute was also appointed for the high priest in the event he should die, or despite all precautions, become unclean. This substitute was usually next in line for the high priest's office, and, as such, the most powerful individual in the Temple after the high priest. He was the captain of the Temple and exercised direct command of the officers of the Temple guard (Levites patrolled the Temple facilities, enforcing Mosaic Law). It was the captains of the Temple who gave Peter and John quite a fit in the Book of Acts:
As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, Acts 4:1 NASB
The high priest did not perform the Temple services on a regular basis, but during the week leading up to Yom Kippur, he alone conducted the sacrifices. All aspects of his duties for the coming holy day were faithfully practiced, whether it was sprinkling blood with his thumb and forefinger, burning incense, lighting the lamp stand, or rehearsing his movements throughout the Temple. There could be no mistakes, or the result would be a monumental catastrophe and humiliation for the nation--Israel's sacrifices would be disqualified, leaving the sins of the people uncovered.
Although the Jewish day began at sunset, the Temple service for Yom Kippur did not begin until dawn the next morning. The ashes on the altar were cleared away, and four fires, instead of the normal three, were lit to set the day apart as distinct. On any other day, the high priest would merely wash his hands and feet with water from the priestly laver before performing his service. On Yom Kippur, he was required to totally immerse himself in a special golden bath near the Court of the Priests. This was carried out behind a large linen curtain, which revealed the shadow of his movements to the public view. This assured that no changes were made to the required procedures. The high priest put on his golden garments with great care. His majestic purple robe was hemmed with tiny golden bells so the people could hear him work as he represented them. Over the top of his robe, he wore a golden breastplate which was studded with 12 precious stone --a constant reminder that he was the representative of the 12 tribes of Israel before the true and living God.
After dressing, the high priest washed his hands and feet to perform the regular daily service. Following the morning service, the high priest returned to his bath chamber to change into his white linen garments for Yom Kippur. Five times during the day, he changed clothing, and five times he followed the same cleansing procedure. Each time, he washed his hands and feet, removed his garments, totally immersed his body, put on his change of clothing, and washed his hands and feet a second time.
The afternoon Temple service was the main focus of the Yom Kippur observance. Through the sacrifices of this service, atonement was made for the sins of the priesthood and people of Israel for the preceding year.
The high priest began the afternoon service by moving to the Court of the Priests, where a young bull awaited him between the altar and the Temple porch. Since this bull was the sin offering for the high priest and the priesthood, the ceremony took place near the Temple where the priests ministered. The high priest would press his two hands against the head of the young bull, as a sign of identification with it as his substitute, and make a confession of his sin. Three times during his confession, he would pronounce the covenant name of the Lord (YAHWEH). Under Jewish oral law, this holy Name was forbidden to be spoken on any other occasion lest it be taken in vain (Exodus 20:7) by mispronouncing it or misusing it. Each time the Name was uttered by the high priest, the people of the priests would fall on their faces in worship and repeat, "Blessed be His name whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever!"
Sidebar: Why did the Jews stop using the name of Yahweh?
Does the Torah ever forbid saying the Name of Yahweh? No, it does not! But the Jews may have come to have this misconception against saying "Yahweh" due to a misinterpretation of:
'Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death. Leviticus 24:16 NASB
The Hebrew word translated "blaspheme" here is naqab. Notice how this same word is translated in:
So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, Numbers 1:17 NASB
The word "designated" here is also naqab. Naqab can also be translated "to say clearly" or "to declare distinctly." If we translate naqab this way in Lev. 24:16 notice what we get: "Moreover, the one who 'declares distinctly' the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death." We get a total prohibition against saying "Yahweh."
Since the Jews over the centuries made the oral tradition of interpreting the Law a hedge or fence around the actual written Law of the Torah to help ensure the latter wasn't violated, the same practice was adopted here. To play it safe, they decided never to say the Name "Yahweh" even though the inspired Scriptures use the Name almost seven thousand times, demonstrating the error of this tradition.
Nothing in the Torah prohibits a person from pronouncing the Name of God. Indeed, it is evident from Scripture that God's Name was pronounced routinely.
Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "May the LORD be with you." And they said to him, "May the LORD bless you." Ruth 2:4 NASB
In the Original Hebrew the word LORD is YHVH (the Hebrew letters Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey), the actual NAME of the Creator. So we can see Boaz and the reapers greeted each other by saying out loud the Name of the Creator, Yahweh, not the word LORD. The common people did say the Name in normal conversation.
Malachi, probably written around 433-430 BC, is the last book of the Tanakh. In this small book of only four chapters, the Name "Yahweh" appears over 40 times. The Name "Yahweh" was never lost to the prophets who wrote the Hebrew Scriptures. If anything, they constantly encouraged Israel to revere and magnify the Name. The prophets never commanded or slightly implied that Yahweh's name not be spoken or written!
The Jewish tradition of not using the Name "Yahweh" did not begin during the time of the Tanakh. And we know from the Apocrypha, written in approximately 200BC, that the Jews still used the Name Yahweh. The Apocryphal writings are not considered to be divinely inspired for many good reasons, one of which is they are never quoted or referred to by Yeshua or His apostles. The New Testament has over 600 quotes from the Tanakh and not one from the Apocrypha. However, these books are highly regarded for their historical value and understanding regarding the religious beliefs and activities of the Israelites. They reveal that some two hundred years after Malachi, the Jews still revered and used "Yahweh," the Name of God.
The Mishnah confirms that there was no prohibition against pronouncing The Name in ancient times. In fact, the Mishnah recommends using God's Name as a routine greeting to a fellow Jew ( Berakhot 9:5). However, by the time of the Talmud, it was the custom to use substitute Names for God. Some rabbis asserted that a person who pronounces YHVH according to its letters (instead of using a substitute) has no place in the World to Come and should be put to death. Instead of pronouncing the four-letter Name, Jews usually substitute the Name "Adonai," or simply say "Ha-Shem" (lit. The Name).
Most sources seem to think that it was a hundred to a hundred and fifty years before Christ, that the Jews stopped using the Name Yahweh, because they were afraid of using it in vain. It's important to remember that this was a recent development in Judaism. Ancient Jews, such as King David, spoke the name Yahweh often and even casually--just look at the Psalms! But shortly before the time of Christ, a new resurgence of legalism led to the refusal to speak God's Name out loud.
Jerome continued the practice of translating "YHWH" as "LORD" when he made the Latin Vulgate, translating "YHWH" as "dominus," which is the Latin word for "Lord." Some early English translations were made from the Vulgate, and continued the practice by using the English word "LORD." As you can see, by this point in the translation-chain, the Name of God, Yahweh, had been completely erased from the Bible and replaced with the word "LORD." And why? If Yahweh intended for the word "LORD" to be used, He would have inspired the original writers to use the word "LORD." Instead He inspired them to use His proper Name. Translators should have respected that and preserved the Name of God through transliteration. But in an attempt to keep from using the Name of God in vain, the Jews had obliterated the Name of God --an even worse blunder!
English is one of a handful of languages in which mainstream Bibles translate YHWH as "the LORD." This is really a terrible practice because it hides the Name of God. As a result, many American Christians do not even know God's Name. The Complete Jewish Bible uses Adonai, which means: "LORD." English translators replaced Yahweh with the indiscriminate title of LORD.
On June 29, 2008 in a letter to Catholic bishop's conferences around the world from the Vatican's top liturgical body, the "Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments," by an explicit "directive" of Pope Benedict XVI; the Vatican issued a directive that the Name of God revealed in the tetragrammaton YHWH is not to be pronounced in Catholic liturgy or in music. Catholics at worship should neither sing nor pronounce the Name of God as "Yahweh," the Vatican has said, citing the authority of Jewish and Christian practice. So the Church has worked hard to remove the Name of Yahweh, the Creator God from our vocabulary.
Many think that this verse is the reason the Jews quit using the Name Yahweh:
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. Exodus 20:7 NASB
What does this mean? To most Christians it means you don't say the word "God" unless you are talking to Him or about Him. If some say, "Oh God," many Christians think they are taking the Name of the LORD in vain. If someone asks God to damn someone, most Christians would say that is taking the Name of God in vain.
Why would calling on God to damn someone be so bad? What does the verb "damn" mean? The American Heritage Dictionary defines the verb "to damn" as: "the act of pronouncing an adverse judgment upon." To call upon God to damn something is neither sinful nor unbiblical. In fact, you can find people throughout Scripture, especially in the Psalms, who call upon God to bring judgment on their enemies. In other words, they are asking for God to damn those who they feel are ripe for His judgement. In this sense, asking God to damn someone is as biblical as asking God to bless someone.
Why don't Christians get upset when someone says, "God bless you" when someone sneezes? Do you think that in their mind they are talking to God, beseeching Him on your behalf for a blessing? So why is saying "God bless you" not just as much a violation of the third commandment as asking God to damn someone? Is it more biblical to ask for God's kindness or judgment? Now I am NOT advocating that Christians go around asking God to damn people. I'm just saying this is not the meaning of the third commandment. Are we clear on that?
What we must understand is that "God" is not the Name of God, but a common word used to refer to deities in general. How can a generic classification be considered a formal name? It would be like you saying that my name is "person." The Name of God is Yahweh:
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. Exodus 20:7 NASB
So what does this verse mean? The Hebrew word for "name" is shem; this comes from neshemah, which we see in:
Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 NASB
The word "breath" here is neshemah. Your shem is your breath. In Hebraic thought your breath is your character, it's what makes you you. It's what makes you different from everybody else. You can replace the word "name" in the Bible with "character."
In Hebraic thought, a name is not merely an arbitrary designation, a random combination of sounds. The name conveys the nature and essence of the thing named. It represents the history and reputation of the being named.
In English, we often refer to a person's reputation as his "good name." The Hebrew concept of a name is very similar to this idea.
An example of this usage occurs in Exodus 3:13-22: Moses asks God what His "Name" is. Moses is not asking, "What should I call you?" Rather, he is asking, "Who are you; what are you like; what have you done?" That is clear from God's response. God replies that He is eternal, that He is the God of their ancestors, that He has seen their affliction and will redeem them from bondage.
So we could translate: "You shall not take the 'character' of Yahweh your God in vain." This could literally be translated: "You shall not falsely represent the character of Yahweh." When followers of Yahweh live and act ungodly, we take His name in vain:
Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30:8-9 NASB
You profane the Name of Yahweh by your actions:
the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. 1 John 2:6 NASB
You may feel that you're spiritual because you don't say, "Oh God!" But do you live in a way that honors His character? If you lie and steal and fail to love your neighbor, you are misrepresenting the character of Yahweh. Think about that! You shall not falsely represent the character of Yahweh.
"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13 NASB
Does this mean that at the end of your prayer all you have to do is say, "In Yeshua's name," and Yahweh will give you whatever you asked for? No, this is not "a magic get your prayer answered formula." What He is saying is: Whatever you ask in My character--if you ask what I would ask, I'll give it to you.
Back to the Day of Atonement. The high priest would pronounce the covenant Name of Yahweh while ministering in the Temple. The high priest was next escorted by two priests to the eastern side of the altar. On his right was the deputy high priest (the priest appointed to take his place in case he became unable to fulfill his duties). On his left, he was escorted by the chief priest of the division of priests chosen to minister that week. In all, the priesthood was divided into 24 courses of priests, with each course serving one week on a rotating 24-week schedule (1 Chr. 24:19).
Two goats stood there, side by side, awaiting the high priest. They were identical in size, color, and value. They faced the Temple and gazed at the high priest and his entourage as they approached:
"He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting. "Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. "Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering. "But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat. Leviticus 16:7-10 NASB
Two golden lots were placed inside a golden vessel sitting on the stone pavement nearby. One was inscribed with "FOR YAHWEH," and the other with "FOR AZAZEL." The high priest shook the vessel and randomly took one lot in each hand. As he held the lots to the foreheads of the goats and determined the outcome, he declared them "a sin offering to the Lord." The two goats together were viewed as one singular offering.
The goat upon which the lot "For Azazel" fell was immediately identified by a crimson strip of wool tied to one of its horns. It was then turned around to face the people, whose sin would later be placed on its head.
The scapegoat was called the 'aza'zel. This appears to be a contraction of two Hebrew words. 'az, which is one of many Hebrew words for a goat and means:"to be strong," and 'azal, which means: "to cause to go away, or be removed." So this word together means: "the goat that was removed or sent away." Tindale, the 16th century translator of the Old Testament, was apparently responsible for translating this word first into the English escapegoat, which was later shortened to scapegoat.
The goat determined FOR YAHWEH was left to face the large stone altar; the place where it was shortly to be offered as a sin offering.
In the days of the second temple, the scapegoat was actually killed so that it (carrying Israel's sins) could not wander into an inhabited place at a later time. To prevent such a tragedy, the scapegoat was led to the edge of a rocky crag and pushed off backwards by the priest.
The best interpretation of the Azazel is understood by Alfred Edersheim in his book, The Temple, Its Ministry, and Services. Edersheim says that the later Jewish practice of pushing the goat over a rocky precipice was undoubtedly an innovation, in no wise sanctioned by the Law of Moses, and not even introduced at the time the Septuagint translation was made, as its rendering of Leviticus 16:26 shows. The Law simply ordained that the goat, once arrived in "the land not inhabited," was to be "let go" free, and the Jewish ordinance of having it pushed over the rocks is signally characteristic of the Rabbinical perversion of its spiritual type. The word "azazel", which only occurs in Leviticus 16, is by universal consent, derived from a root which means: "wholly to put aside," or "wholly to go away" (page 258).
I see the Messiah represented in both the goat who was slaughtered and its blood taken into the Most Holy of Holies, and as the goat who bore our transgressions upon Himself and was lead into the wilderness. The idea of releasing the goat into the wilderness shows the removal of our sins; that God removed our sins by placing them on Messiah.
The high priest returned to the young bull a second time and pressed his hands on its head. This time he confessed the sins of the priesthood, where as before he had confessed his own sin upon its head. The bull was then slaughtered by the high priest, and its blood collected in a golden bowl. A nearby attending priest was handed the bowl and given the task of stirring the blood so that it would not congeal.
Next, the high priest took a golden fire pan or censer and walked up the ramp to the altar. He carefully filled the fire pan with live coals from the fires burning on top of the altar. Then he took two handfuls of incense and placed them in a golden ladle. With the fire pan in his right hand, and the incense in his left, he ascended to the Temple and passed through the Holy Place where the lamp stand, the table of showbread, and altar of incense were located. At the rear of the Holy Place, he paused to make his way through the veil (the thick curtain which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies). Once inside the Holy of Holies, he stood in quiet solitude. Only the soft orange glow of the coals lit the room.
The high priest poured the incense onto the coals and waited a few moments for a fragrant cloud of smoke to fill the room before making his way back through the thick curtain.
In Solomon's Temple, the Ark of the Covenant resided in the Holy of Holies, and the Shekinah Glory of Yahweh rested above it. After the Babylonian Captivity, the ark was never recovered. The Holy of Holies remained an empty room with only a singular stone (called the "foundation stone") projecting three fingers in height (2 1/4 inches) up from the pavement. The high priest then took the golden bowl filled with the bull's blood and returned to the Holy of Holies. He carefully sprinkled the blood before the Ark of the Covenant. He sprinkled it once upwards and then seven times downwards, as though he were cracking a whip. All the while he counted aloud to prevent any errors. He then exited the Holy of Holies and placed the bowl in a golden stand. The high priest continued outside to the court of the Priests to slaughter the goat set aside for the Lord. He collected its blood in a golden bowl and entered the Holy of Holies a third time, sprinkling the blood of the goat in the same manner as that of a bull.
Afterwards, he sprinkled the outside of the veil with the blood of the bull. Then he repeated the procedure with the blood of the goat. Finally, he poured the two bowls together and sprinkled the horns (protruding points on each corner) of the altar in the courtyard.
Attention was then drawn to the remaining goat:
"Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. "The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:21-22 NASB
The high priest proceeded to lay his hands on its head and confessed the sins of the people upon it. The scapegoat was then led by a priest through the Eastern Gate more than 10 miles into the wilderness never to be seen again.
While the scapegoat was being led into the wilderness and the people awaited word that it had been accomplished, the afternoon service continued. The high priest finished sacrificing the bull and the goat on the altar, and their remaining parts were taken outside the city to be burned (Hebrews 13:11-13). Then the high priest addressed the people. He read the Yom Kippur passages from Leviticus and quoted the Numbers passage by heart to verify that all commandments had been duly accomplished. Finally, the remaining offerings for Yom Kippur were offered; these were the burnt offerings, as opposed to the sin offerings.
The high priest entered the Holy of Holies a final time to remove the fire pan and incense ladle. He then bathed, for the fifth time during the day, and changed into his golden garments. As the cool autumn night quickly approached, he performed the regular evening Temple service, and drew Yom Kippur to a close.
The modern observance of Yom Kippur bears little resemblance to its biblical observance. Modern observance is based more on traditions of men than commandments of God. So as modern day Israel goes through the motions of the rehearsal of this feast they have missed the reality by two thousand years. They no longer sacrifice on Yom Kippur, there is no more scapegoat, no more priest hood, no more Temple; because it was all fulfilled in A.D. 70 when Yeshua returned in judgment on Jerusalem and resurrected His saints. The shadow is over, the reality has come. Our sins are not covered over, atoned for; they are gone. Our debt is paid in full by our loving Lord Yeshua. May His name be praised by the lives we live:
I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever. Psalms 45:17 NASB
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