Yom Kippur By The Book

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FAQ: Isn't Judaism equally as useful as Christianity for sinners seeking God's
forgiveness? Isn't that the whole purpose of Yom Kippur, a.k.a. the Day of
Atonement?

REPLY: Pinning one's hopes on the Day Of Atonement is futile. For one
thing: there is no place to perform the ritual seeing as how there is neither a
Temple nor a fully functioning Levitical High Priest on duty in Jerusalem at
this time. In point of fact, neither of those two essential elements of the Day
of Atonement have been in Jerusalem since 70 AD. But that's not the worst
of it.

There is a special goat involved in Yom Kippur commonly called a scapegoat,
which Webster's defines as a person who is unfairly blamed for something
that others have done; in other words: a fall guy. But that does not quite
accurately define Yom Kippur's special goat. It's actually an escaping goat;
viz: a fugitive; here's why.

It's a biblical axiom that the soul that sins, it shall die, i.e. the wages of sin
is death (Ezek 18:20, Rom 6:23). Well; the special goat is allowed to live
rather than executed, so justice for the worshippers' sins remain pending;
hanging over their heads like a sword of Damocles.

NOTE: Leaving a goat out in a wilderness place to fend for itself isn't a death
sentence. No; far from it. Goats are survivors. They can get by in
environments that quite a few other species would find quite disagreeable.
And though the Jews were in a wilderness place during their wanderings,
there was vegetation enough to nourish the herds. (Ex 34:3)

Yom Kippur's purpose then, isn't to exonerate the people; rather, to remind
them that although Yom Kippur's ritual sanitizes them sufficiently for
worship purposes per Lev 16:30, their sins are still on the books, yet to be
brought to justice.

NOTE: Never, ever, wish your Jewish friends and/or associates a pleasant
Yom Kippur. It's okay to wish them a satisfactory Yom Kippur but never a
pleasant one because it's not a feel-good day like Christmas and birthdays.

Quite the contrary Yom Kippur is specifically a day for them to be depressed;
viz: a day of sadness and self-affliction per Lev 16:29-31, Lev 16:31, Lev
23:27, and Lev 23:32, which is from a Hebrew word meaning to mistreat,
humiliate, oppress, break the spirit, demean, abuse, weaken, injure, abase,
etc. On that day; Jews are required to think of themselves as disgusting,
deplorable, and despicable. Jews that think and/or speak well of themselves
on that day accrue an instant curse upon themselves. (Deut 27:26)
_

 

[Rockerduck]

Jesus did away with Mosaic Law. Jesus is now our high Priest.

 

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FAQ: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob enjoyed a satisfactory association with
God. How were they able to do so without Yom Kippur?

REPLY: The laws of God do not go into effect until He gets around to
introducing them.

For example Deut 5:2-3 which says:

"The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our
fathers that He made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive
here today."

FAQ: Melchizedek was a high priest in Abraham's day. Why didn't he
perform the Yom Kippur ritual for Abraham?

REPLY: Well; for one thing: Yom Kippur was unheard of in Mel's day. For
another the ritual requires the services of a Jewish high priest, in particular a
man who descends from the tribe of Levi. Well; none of Israel's tribes were
out and about in Mel's day. From the little that's known about him, Mel was
a Gentile-- in point of fact, Abraham was a Gentile too, viz: although
Abraham fathered the fathers of the Jews, the old boy himself was a
Chaldean, a.k.a. Babylonian, a.k.a. Iraqi.
_

 

[Bob]

Jesus did away with Mosaic Law. Jesus is now our high Priest.

Thank you for your post.

A friend asks, “Why do we need a priest to intercede for us with God. Didn’t Martin Luther say we could pray to God directly?”

Blessings.

 

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Yom Kippur by the book is a sabbath day.

● Lev 16:29-34 . . And this shall be to you a law for all time: In the seventh
month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall practice self-denial; and
you shall do no manner of work, neither the citizen, n nor the alien who
resides among you. For on this day atonement shall be made for you to
cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before Yhvh.

. . . It shall be a sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall practice
self-denial; it is a law for all time. The priest who has been anointed and
ordained to serve as priest in place of his father shall make expiation. He
shall put on the linen vestments, the sacral vestments. He shall purge the
innermost Shrine; he shall purge the Tent of Meeting and the altar; and he
shall make expiation for the priests and for all the people of the
congregation. This shall be to you a law for all time: to make atonement for
the Israelites for all their sins once a year.

(This particular sabbath floats, i.e. it's regulated by a liturgical calendar
rather than a civil calendar)

The important thing to note is that a single Yom Kippur isn't adequate
because as soon as the ritual ends, the people begin accumulating sins
towards next year's ritual.

Another thing to note is that the ritual does nothing to exonerate the people,
i.e. although it suffices to wash them, it does not acquit them. We could say
Yom Kippur's ritual gives the people a reprieve, but it does not exempt them
from being called on the carpet someday.
_

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

.
FAQ: Isn't Judaism equally as useful as Christianity for sinners seeking God's
forgiveness? Isn't that the whole purpose of Yom Kippur, a.k.a. the Day of
Atonement?

REPLY: Pinning one's hopes on the Day Of Atonement is futile. For one
thing: there is no place to perform the ritual seeing as how there is neither a
Temple nor a fully functioning Levitical High Priest on duty in Jerusalem at
this time. In point of fact, neither of those two essential elements of the Day
of Atonement have been in Jerusalem since 70 AD. But that's not the worst
of it.

There is a special goat involved in Yom Kippur commonly called a scapegoat,
which Webster's defines as a person who is unfairly blamed for something
that others have done; in other words: a fall guy. But that does not quite
accurately define Yom Kippur's special goat. It's actually an escaping goat;
viz: a fugitive; here's why.

It's a biblical axiom that the soul that sins, it shall die, i.e. the wages of sin
is death (Ezek 18:20, Rom 6:23). Well; the special goat is allowed to live
rather than executed, so justice for the worshippers' sins remain pending;
hanging over their heads like a sword of Damocles.

NOTE: Leaving a goat out in a wilderness place to fend for itself isn't a death
sentence. No; far from it. Goats are survivors. They can get by in
environments that quite a few other species would find quite disagreeable.
And though the Jews were in a wilderness place during their wanderings,
there was vegetation enough to nourish the herds. (Ex 34:3)

Yom Kippur's purpose then, isn't to exonerate the people; rather, to remind
them that although Yom Kippur's ritual sanitizes them sufficiently for
worship purposes per Lev 16:30, their sins are still on the books, yet to be
brought to justice.

NOTE: Never, ever, wish your Jewish friends and/or associates a pleasant
Yom Kippur. It's okay to wish them a satisfactory Yom Kippur but never a
pleasant one because it's not a feel-good day like Christmas and birthdays.

Quite the contrary Yom Kippur is specifically a day for them to be depressed;
viz: a day of sadness and self-affliction per Lev 16:29-31, Lev 16:31, Lev
23:27, and Lev 23:32, which is from a Hebrew word meaning to mistreat,
humiliate, oppress, break the spirit, demean, abuse, weaken, injure, abase,
etc. On that day; Jews are required to think of themselves as disgusting,
deplorable, and despicable. Jews that think and/or speak well of themselves
on that day accrue an instant curse upon themselves. (Deut 27:26)
_

The Law, the rituals and requirements were fulfilled by Jesus. They pointed to the Savior, Messiah. They were shadows of Christ and the Law, a pedagogue.
The Jews are blindly stuck in this symbolism that delivers nothing. They still hope for their Messiah to come; just haven't realized that He is Jesus. They will - Romans 11 says they will. A remnant (1/3) will be saved of all the Jews.
We are now seeing the Beast gathering ten nations against Israel. Iran is leading this war, which will continue to escalate until Jesus comes and defeats it. We are close. The seven heads of the Beast (controlled by Satan) are the empires: Egyptian, Babylonian, Medo- Persian, Assyria , Greek, Roman and Ottoman. The seventh suffered a deadly blow in 1921, but did not die, it has been resuscitated to life, spread throughout the world to over 80 nations, has infiltrated the West and now will once again attack Israel and Christians as well. We have seen and experienced their terrorism.

 

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Mankind was created in the image and likeness of God. (Gen 1:26-27)

But then came the forbidden fruit incident whereby Mankind lost its God
given conscience and fell prey to a humanistic conscience. (Gen 3:22)

Yom Kippur by the book addresses the people's conduct but does not
address their humanistic conscience, whereas Christ's atonement does.

● Heb 9:13-14 . . .The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer
sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they
are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our
consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living
God.

● Heb 10:21-22 . . Since we have a high priest over the house of God, let us
draw near to God with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our
bodies washed with pure water.

People's conscience is their guiding light. But the actions of a humanistic
conscience can, and often do, lead people into disagreement with God. In
addition; the humanistic conscience is capable of convincing folks they are
innocent when at times they are not.

● Jer 17:9-10 . .The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even
to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his
doings.

NOTE: Even if Yom Kippur were to address the people's humanistic
conscience, it would have to be done over and over again on an annual basis
due to the limited value of the ritual's atonement, whereas Christ's
atonement does it but once and never has to do it again. (Heb 10:1-14)
_

 

[Bob]

Thank you all for your perspectives.

The link below respectively differs. (The intent is not to persuade you in any way regarding your faith, but to observe that those of different faiths might have completely different views of themselves.)

Blessings.

 

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The link below respectively differs.

I don't bother with links.
_

 

[Bob]

Thank you for your response.

Here is a synopsis of his view:

Whereas Protestants believe that faith alone is sufficient for salvation, and Catholics believe that faith plus works is required, Judaism states one earns salvation through merit. Also: it also says that anyone of any faith can earn salvation through merit.

Note, Yom Kippur aside: Christians are expected to pray for forgiveness regularly (per the Lord’s Prayer), and Catholics (in particular) should attend confession.

Christians would say that professing Christ, and living as He taught, guarantees an advocate before God, whereas Judaism says there is no guarantee (and some Christians would also say that all those who are not Christians are in fact doomed).

Blessings.