YOM KIPPUR IS NEXT

YOM KIPPUR IS NEXT The Feast of Trumpets has passed, and the next appointed feast on God’s calendar is Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. It begins at sundown September 20 this year. If you want to understand why this day matters, go back to Leviticus 16. Once a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies. Behind that veil sat the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat. The high priest couldn't stroll in whenever he wanted. He entered with blood. “For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.” Leviticus 16:30 KJV Then you get one of the strangest pictures in the Old Testament. Two goats were chosen. One was killed as a sin offering while the other remained alive. The high priest laid both hands on the head of the living goat, confessed over it the sins of Israel, and the goat was taken away into the wilderness. That's where we get the term scapegoat. One goat pictured the price of sin being paid with blood while the other pictured that sin being carried away. Then Jesus Christ came. Hebrews takes the imagery of the Day of Atonement and points us straight to Him. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 9:12 KJV That word ONCE matters. Under the Law, those sacrifices had to be repeated. Jesus didn't enter with the blood of another sacrifice. He offered His own blood and obtained eternal redemption. Yom Kippur is still the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, but as a Christian it's impossible for me to read Leviticus 16 without seeing Christ. The entire ceremony was teaching Israel something about sin, blood, judgment, mercy, and atonement long before a Roman cross ever stood outside Jerusalem. Then Hebrews pulls the curtain back and shows us what those sacrifices could never accomplish permanently. “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14 KJV The Day of Atonement had to come every year. Jesus Christ only had to come once. #MoreJoyMinistries