By Callie Mitchell, SAVED News International Editorialist Correspondent, Jerusalem, Israel
Fall Holy Days came early this year, all falling in September. Usually I write about the feasts from Leviticus 23 in advance so you all can participate with your church communities and families, but oftentimes, it isn’t until after the feasts that I have fresh revelation.
This year that unveiling occurred on the day of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur was the most important day of the year during the time of Temple Worship. It was the day the highest Cohen, or Priest, went into the Holy of Holies and offered a blood sacrifice, a Kippur, or covering, for the sins of Israel. This offering did not satisfy the wrath of God, but only delayed it yearly until the ultimate atonement and covering could take place through Messiah Yeshua’s work on the cross.
Yom Kippur is preceded by Rosh HaShanah (the Feast of Trumpets), and then The Days of Awe. We celebrate Rosh HaShanah as the New Year, and the next 10 days are a time for personal reflection and the repentance of sin, but these events also have powerful prophetic symbolism. The trumpet blow signifies a call to repentance. The Days of Awe are thought to be a shadow of the 10 days of tribulation in Revelation 2:10. That time of tribulation is when the judgments of God Almighty will come upon the earth. We will see many repent and turn to the Lord, while for others; their love will grow cold. This refining by fire culminates on Yom Kippur. Prophetically, Yom Kippur signifies the Day the Lord’s grace will come upon those covered in the blood of the slain lamb, and wrath on those who refused His salvation. After that, the redeemed of the Lord are “ingathered” as represented by the final feast in the fall sequence, Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Ingathering).
The Levitical Feasts are commanded in God’s word to be an everlasting ordinance, so in my heart I believe we should acknowledge the Holy Days, even today after the cross. As a family, we fast along with the Jewish people on Yom Kippur. We pray for their salvation, and we praise the Lord that we know we are atoned for and covered by Yeshua’s shed blood!
This year my husband, Devin, pointed out how powerful it was that the entire nation was acknowledging their need to repent and be saved.
Most have not yet realized that their atonement is through Messiah Yeshua, but to see them humbling themselves before the Lord is quite powerful, especially in an age of moral relativity. How often do you see an entire culture publically recognize a need to repent? That happens in Israel every year, and in some ways I think it puts the church to shame. How often are we truly called to evaluate the sin in our lives, turn toward the Lord? One day the wheat and the chaff will be separated. Where will you be? If you haven’t yet, ask Yeshua to be your Kippur!
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