Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
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We are looking at the Feasts of Yahweh, particularly the Fall Feasts, which are: The Feast of Yom Teruah/Trumpets, which was on the first day of the month Tishri. The Feast of Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement, which took place on the tenth day of Tishri. And the Feast of Sukkot/Tabernacles which started on the fifteenth of Tishri and lasts for seven days.
These Feasts are "holy convocations," which is the Hebrew miqra, which means: "rehearsal." In other words, the Feasts of Yahweh were appointed times of worship for Israel that would serve as "dress rehearsals" of prophetic events that were to happen in the future.
The study of the Feasts is a study in typology. Typology is the interpretation of Old Covenant events, persons, and ceremonies as signs, which prefigured Christ's fulfillment in the New Covenant with the church.
We are looking at the 6th feast, which is Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. On the Hebrew calendar, it falls on the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh Hebrew month, which roughly corresponds to September or October.
The theme of Yom Kippur is atonement. 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.
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:
Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. Hebrews 9:6-7 NASB
We see the service for Yom Kippur laid out in detail in Leviticus 16:
"He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. "He shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die. Leviticus 16:12-13 NASB
The Ark was the most significant object in Old Covenant worship. The symbolism of the Ark reached its grand climax on the Day of Atonement. When the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the mercy seat, the glory of God appeared.
The purpose for the Ark of the Covenant was to symbolize Yahweh's visible throne on earth. Yahweh stated that He would dwell in a cloud between the wings of the cherubim above the Mercy Seat (Lev. 16:2). This is also where He would commune with Moses and the high priest who heard His voice from between the wings of the cherubim (Num. 7:89):
"You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. "There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel. Exodus 25:21-22 NASB
The cloud that sat on the Ark typified the presence of Yahweh. The purpose for the Ark of the Covenant was to symbolize God's visible presence on earth.
During the second Temple period, at the time of Yeshua, when the priest went into the Holy of Holies the room was empty. The ark of the covenant was not there, and neither was Yahweh.
What Happened To The Ark?
The last historical mention of the Ark in Scripture is in 2 Chronicles chapter 35, where King Josiah (who reigned in Judah c. 640-609 BC) asked the Levites to return the Ark to the Temple where Solomon had originally housed it after completing and dedicating the Temple sometime in the 10th century BC (2 Chronicles, chapter 5).
So when did the Ark of the Covenant disappear? It seems that it disappeared sometime immediately prior to the Babylonian Captivity in the 6th century BC. Before the destruction of the Temple, Jeremiah, according to the apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees chapter 2 (verses 1-8), we read that the prophet Jeremiah "following a divine revelation, ordered that the tent and the Ark should accompany him and how he went off to the mountain which Moses climbed to see God's inheritance. When Jeremiah arrived there, he found a room in a cave in which he put the tent, the Ark, and the altar of incense; then he blocked up the entrance."
Neither Zeruabbabel's Temple, which was built after Persia released Israel from Babylonian captivity, nor the Herodian Temple, which was built at the time of the Messiah, had an Ark of the Covenant therein.
In Jeremiah chapter 3 we read of a conversation which took place before the Babylonian captivity. God spoke to the Prophet Jeremiah saying:
"Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, 'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the LORD; 'I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious,' declares the LORD; 'I will not be angry forever. 'Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,' declares the LORD. 'Return, O faithless sons,' declares the LORD; 'For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, And I will bring you to Zion.' "Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. "It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the LORD, "they will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. "At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the LORD,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the LORD; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. Jeremiah 3:12-17 NASB
Here God says that the Ark of the Covenant, which up to that time played a prominent role in orthodox Jewish worship, would no longer play that role, nor would it be missed by the faithful. Yahweh made this declaration during the reign of Josiah (v. 6). The only other mention of the Ark of Covenant in Scripture occurs almost 700 years later when it's mentioned briefly in the Book of Hebrews (9:4-5) and in the Book of Revelation (11:19).
Why was the ark taken from Israel? For over a century the Ark remained in Shiloh until the sons of Eli removed it and lost it to the Philistines:
Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas's wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son." But she did not answer or pay attention. And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel," because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken." 1 Samuel 4:19-22 NASB
Just as the glory left the Garden, it left Shiloh that day due to the people's sin. Jeremiah made mention of this event and commented, under inspiration of God, about the sin of Israel there:
"But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. Jeremiah 7:12 NASB
Much later, in David's time as king, the Ark was returned to Jerusalem from the Philistines. Israel accepted the presence of God, and David erected a temporal tabernacle for it. Later, when the Temple was built in Solomon's time, the Ark was transported into this new structure as God's glory filled the Temple.
In time, though, Israel's sin brought God's wrath down upon them again in the form of the Babylonian captivity. The Temple was smashed and the Ark was never seen since. God's glory had departed once again!
Do you remember what happened in the Temple on the day of Passover?
And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Mark 15:38 NASB
When the temple veil was rent in two it exposed the fact of the empty vain worship that had been going on for 400 years. The Holy of Holies was empty. The presence of Yahweh no longer resided in the Temple but in the body of Christ, the redeemed people of every nation.
We talked last week about the scapegoat. Let's look at some Jewish tradition on this subject. According to the Mishna (the earliest rabbinic interpretation of the biblical commandment) the high priest divided a thread of crimson wool, tied one half to the Temple door, and the other half to the horn of the scapegoat itself. They say that the scarlet thread on the Temple door would turn white which was to indicate that their sins were forgiven.
The Talmud records four ominous events that took place forty years before the Temple's destruction, which would be the time that Messiah died: 1) The lot for Yahweh's goat would always come up in the left hand. They thought it was a good sign if it came up in the right hand. 2) The scarlet thread on the Temple door stopped turning white. 3) The Western most light on the Temple Menorah would not stay lit. 4) The Temple doors would open by themselves.
We read in the Jerusalem Talmud:"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open" (Jacob Neusner, "The Yerushalmi," p.156-157).
A similar passage in the Babylonian Talmud states:
"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves" (Soncino version, "Yoma" 39b).
Since both Talmuds recount the same information, this indicates the knowledge of these events was accepted by the widespread Jewish community.
The first of these miracles concerns a random choosing of the ''lot'' which was cast on the Day of Atonement. The lot chosen determined which of two goats would be "for the Lord" and which goat would be the ''Azazel'' or ''scapegoat.'' During the two hundred years before 30 CE, when the high priest picked one of two stones, and each year the priest would select a black stone as often as a white stone. But for forty years in a row, beginning in 30 CE, the high priest always picked the black stone! The odds against this happening are astronomical, over one trillion to one!
The lot for Azazel, the black stone, contrary to all the laws of chance, came up 40 times in a row from A.D.30 to A.D. 70 ! This was considered a dire event and signified something had fundamentally changed in this Yom Kippur ritual.
The second miracle concerns the crimson strip or cloth tied to the Azazel goat. A portion of this red cloth was also removed from the goat and tied to the Temple door. Each year the red cloth on the Temple door turned white as if to signify the atonement of another Yom Kippur was acceptable to the Lord. This annual event happened until A.D.30 when the cloth then remained crimson each year until the time of the Temple's destruction. This undoubtedly caused much stir and consternation among the Jews. This traditional practice is linked to Israel confessing its sins and ceremonially placing this nation's sin upon the Azazel goat. The sin was then removed by this goat's death. Sin was represented by the red color of the cloth. But the cloth remained crimson -- that is, Israel's sins were not being pardoned and ''made white.'' As God told Israel through Isaiah the prophet:
"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. Isaiah 1:18 NASB
The clear indication is that the whole community had lost Yahweh's attention in relation to something that occurred in A.D. 30. The yearly atonement achieved through the typical Yom Kippur observance was not being realized as expected. Atonement apparently was to be gained in some other way.
The next miracle, which the Jewish authorities acknowledged, was that the Temple doors swung open every night of their own accord. This too occurred for forty years, beginning in A.D. 30. These doors were 70 feet high and 50 feet wide. They were made of cedar. The Jerusalem Talmud states:
"Said Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai to the Temple, 'O Temple, why do you frighten us? We know that you will end up destroyed. For it has been said, "Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars' " (Zechariah 11:1)' ("Sota" 6:3).
The fourth miracle was that the most important lamp of the seven candle-stick Menorah in the Temple went out, and would not shine. Every night for 40 years (over 12,500 nights in a row) the main lamp of the Temple lamp stand went out of its own accord -- no matter what attempts and precautions the priests took to safeguard against this event!
It should be clear to any reasonable mind that there is no natural way to explain all these four signs connected with the year A,D.30. The only possible explanation has to be supernatural.
What did the Jewish nation do in A.D.30 to merit such a change at Yom Kippur? On the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Passover sacrifice the Messiah, Yeshua, was cut off from Israel, Himself put to death as a sacrifice for sin. Atonement was now no longer achieved through the two goats as offered at Yom Kippur. Like an innocent Passover lamb, the Messiah was put to death.
Matthew 27:28: They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. Here we see the lamb that takes away the sins of the world, with a scarlet robe. The type of the scapegoat is replaced by the antitype of Yeshua.
Unlike Temple sacrifices or the Yom Kippur events where sin is only covered over for a time, the Messianic sacrifice comes with the promise of forgiveness of sins through grace given by God to those who trust in Yeshua as Messiah. This is essentially a one time event for each person's lifetime and not a continual series of annual observances and animal sacrifices. The mechanism providing forgiveness of sin changed in 30 CE.
The Day of Atonement speaks of blood sacrifice. Blood sacrifice is centrally tied to the sin issue. The substitutionary death of an innocent one was required, since an atonement (covering) for sin was to be made only through the blood:
'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.' Leviticus 17:11 NASB
The penalty for breaking God's Law is death (the shedding of blood). His justice demands it, but in His mercy, He made a provision for a substitute. Since "There is none who does good, No, not one" (Psalm 14:3), God commanded the sacrificing of lambs, bulls, and goats under the Mosaic Covenant.
The Old Covenant was just a forerunner of something greater, a temporary measure until the fullness of time when God would institute the New Covenant. Hebrews says the "law made nothing perfect," "it was only a shadow," and it had many faults. It only covered sin, it didn't take sin away!
The Anti-type of Yom Kippur: It is believed that Moses went up on the Mount of God for the second time on the 1st of Elul, which would mean that he came down the second time, forty days later on Yom Kippur (Exodus 32:30-35). The first thing that Moses did when he returned the second time was to tell Israel that they were forgiven. Notice what Moses said:
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. Deuteronomy 18:15 NASB
This is speaking of Yeshua. The first time Yeshua came down He found Israel in adultery, just as Moses had. Then He ascended back to heaven like Moses and when He returned the second time he brought redemption.
Who is the anti-type of the high priest? Yeshua the Christ:
Therefore, since we have a great cohen gadol who has passed through to the highest heaven, Yeshua, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we acknowledge as true. Hebrews 4:14 CJB
Yeshua fulfilled the anti-type of Yom Kippur as the High Priest and the sacrifice!
The New Covenant is far superior to the Old Covenant in that it affords true forgiveness and cleansing from sin. Atonement means to cover. It does not pay for or do away with; it covers. Kind of like when you buy something with a credit card. It isn't paid for; it is covered by the card company until you pay them for it. There is no atonement (covering) for sin under the New Covenant. There is no need for one. The sin question was settled at Calvary. The Messiah was not our atonement-- He did away with our atonement. To say we have an atonement, is really inaccurate and is never taught in the New Covenant. Yeshua has reconciled us to God. He no longer covers our sins, He takes them away:
The next day he saw Yeshua coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 NASB
So Yom Kippur was the holiest day of the year, we have the holiest man, the high priest, going into the holiest place, the Holy of Holies, to proclaim the holiest name, Yahweh.
The Old Covenant was a shadow of good things to come. The New Covenant is the substance. Under the Old Covenant, the payment for sin was anticipated; under the New Covenant, it is realized! Under the Old Covenant, the sacrifices were provisional and recurring. Under the New Covenant, the sacrifice of Yeshua is eternal and totally sufficient. Under the Old Covenant, men's lambs could only cover sin, but under the New Covenant, the lamb of God takes away sin!
Even now, year after year, the sound of the ram's horn calls Israel to repentance, but there is no atonement in Judaism today. There is no blood sacrifice, no Temple, no priesthood, and no adherence to the Levitical regulations. Christ has been offered as a sacrifice for sin. His is the only sacrifice for sin today. If His sacrifice is rejected, only one tragic alternative remains: men and women will suffer the penalty for their own sin. This penalty is death and eternal separation from God. But to those who have put their trust is Him, He says, "Their sin, I will remember no more!"
Yom Kippur and the Second Coming
If you examine the Scriptures concerning the Second Coming of Christ, you will find that they use Yom Kippur terminology. Here are a few examples:
Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men. Isaiah 52:13-14 NASB
This description of Yeshua depicts a lamb going to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). Isaiah 52:14 depicts a man so marred that He did not resemble a man. Furthermore, Isaiah 50:6 says that His beard was ripped out. Psalm 22:14,17 says His bones were out of joint, and that He was naked before the peering eyes of men. They even bit him (Psalm 22:13).
Recognizing that Isaiah 52:13-14 is speaking about Yeshua during His First Coming to earth, notice verse 15 speaking about His Second Coming:
Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand. Isaiah 52:15 NASB
The phrase, "He will sprinkle many nations," is a reference to the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat of Yahweh by the high priest during Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:14). This is also referred to in Leviticus 1:5,11; 3:2,8,13; 4:6,17; 7:2.
When it says that Yeshua would sprinkle the nations, it refers to what the high priest did on Yom Kippur on the mercy seat of God, so Yahweh would forgive the sins of the people. Yeshua came as a prophet in His First Coming; now He is the High Priest and King:
Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength? "It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save." Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? "I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment. Isaiah 63:1-3 NASB
This passage describes the Second Coming of Christ, and verse 3 talks about His garments being sprinkled with blood. Once again this describes Yeshua, the High Priest, coming back to earth on Yom Kippur.
Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. Joel 2:15-16 NASB
The trumpet (shofar) spoken of here refers to the trumpet ushering in the Messianic Kingdom. "Consecrate a fast"--this speaks of the fast of Yom Kippur. In this passage in Joel, we can see that the tribulation, known as the birthpangs of the Messiah, is over, and the Messiah is coming back with His followers to go to the marriage supper of the Lamb:
Let the priests, the LORD'S ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, 'Where is their God?'" Joel 2:17 NASB
"Let the priests, the LORD'S ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar"--this speaks of an event that took place annually, the priest ministering in the Holy of Holies.
What is being communicated here by the phrase, "spare Your people"? For the answer we must turn to Zechariah 12 and 14:1-9. In these passages, we can see Yeshua coming back after the birthpangs of the Messiah (tribulation), and Jerusalem about to be under siege. His feet are placed on the Mount of Olives. There is a great earthquake, and the Kingdom comes in full power.
Yeshua spoke of this same event in Matthew 24:27-31. In Matthew 24:31, the trumpet that is being blown is called by Yeshua, "The great trumpet." This is the trumpet that is blown on Yom Kippur. This trumpet will usher the return of Yeshua. Because the great trump is only blown on Yom Kippur, and because Yeshua said that He would return with the sound of a great trump, Yeshua was stating very clearly that He would return on a Yom Kippur.
The types make it clear that Christ was to return on the Day of Atonement. The question is: Do we look for this as a future event, or has it already happened? I believe that the Bible is clear that it already happened:
Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, Hebrews 9:6-8 NASB
The background of Hebrews 9 is the Day of Atonement. Verse 7 here talks about the high priest going into the Holy of Holies to make atonement. Now notice, carefully, verse 8. In other words, it is the Holy Spirit who is responsible for the record given to us of the Old Covenant. And the significance of the outer tabernacle being divided and separated from the inner tabernacle was that the way into the presence of God had not yet been given. The Jews were continually reminded, by the physical presence of the tabernacle, that they were not allowed to enter into the presence of God.
The words, "while the outer tabernacle is still standing" might better be translated, "while the first tabernacle still has any standing"--while the Old Covenant was still in force. As long as the Old Covenant was still in effect, men did not have access to the presence of God. Prior to Yeshua's Second Coming, at which He destroyed the Temple and the Old Covenant, no one went to Heaven. Prior to Yeshua's Second Coming in A.D. 70, all who died went to a holding place of the dead and waited for the atoning work of Christ and the resurrection from the dead. Until Christ's Second Coming, man could not go into Yahweh's presence:
who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5 NASB
Salvation was ready to be revealed, when? In the last time, which would happen at the return of Christ:
so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Hebrews 9:28 NASB
This is the only place in the New Testament where the return of Christ is called a "Second Coming." In Young's Literal Translation, it says, "A second time, apart from a sin-offering, shall appear."
Please notice carefully that at the Second Coming of Christ, He was to "save those who were eagerly await Him." Who was it that was eagerly waiting for Christ to return? Again, we must remember the hermeneutical principle of audience relevance. It was the first century Christians who eagerly awaited His return. When He returned in A.D. 70, He destroyed the Temple signifying that salvation was complete, and man had access to the presence of Yahweh.
At His Second Coming, He was to "save"those who eagerly waited for Him. What does the text mean by "save"? "Save" is the Greek word soteria, which we know has a broad range of meanings. The context dealing with the Day of Atonement would tell us that He uses it here of redemption. Full and complete redemption came at the Second Coming:
"Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Luke 21:27-28 NASB
The "these things" in the context of this verse is the destruction of Jerusalem. Redemption was complete when the Lord returned, destroying Jerusalem and ending the Old Covenant.
Exodus typology: The Passover deliverance was not consummated until they entered the promised land. The Passover began with the sacrificing of the Passover lamb introduced in Exodus 12, while Israel is still in bondage. They ate the first Passover while they were still in Egyptian bondage. In Numbers 9:5, they ate of it again, while they are wondering in the wilderness. And then in Joshua, they entered the land:
Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. Joshua 5:9-10 NASB
Throughout the history of Israel, the Passover recalled not only the sparing of the houses marked with the blood of the Passover lamb, but also Israel's subsequent deliverance out of slavery in Egypt; a deliverance that was consummated forty years later in the crossing of the Jordan River. Once their redemption was consummated by their being in the promised land, only then were they truly redeemed from Egyptian bondage. This is true of the second exodus generation. Their redemption was not consummated until the Lord returned for His bride.
Because on the Day of Atonement the priest could be in Yahweh's presence (Leviticus 16:20), another term for the Day of Atonement is "face to face."Face to face is an idiom for the Day of Atonement. It was on the Day of Atonement that the high priest had to go behind the veil of the Temple. At that moment, the nation had to hold its breath, because the nation's fate depended upon Yahweh's accepting the sacrifice. At that point, the high priest was "face to face with the mercy seat of Yahweh." "Face to face" terminology was used by Paul in:
For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 NASB
"The Perfect" here is a reference to the consummation of the New Covenant at the return of Christ. Face to Face is to be in the presence of Yahweh, which happened on Yom Kippur.
'You shall then sound a ram's horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. 'You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. Leviticus 25:9-10 NASB
The Jubilee year (release of captives) could only be proclaimed on Yom Kippur. The ultimate fulfillment of the year of Jubilee took place at the Second Coming of the Lord. Complete restoration of man's lost inheritance took place. So, the year of Jubilee and the Day of Atonement speak of the fullness of the redemptive plan of God for man. It can't be proven, but some say that A.D. 70 was a Jubilee year! Which makes perfect sense.
Yahweh divinely placed the Day of Atonement before the Feast of Tabernacles, which is called "The Season of Our Joy." The children of Israel and all believers in the Lord Yeshua could only rejoice once they were redeemed and their sins forgiven.
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