Rabbi Jim Appel
Yom Kippur (Hebrew for the Day of Atonement) is one of the Moadim, one of the Appointed Times of the Lord that, in the Bible, He commanded Israel to keep. It is an 'appointment' set by the Lord. When someone makes an appointment, they have a reason. As author Rabbi Jim says, 'If someone in my congregation makes an appointment with me, they wouldn’t like it if I controlled the whole time and never asked them what they wanted to see me about.' God has set the agenda for Yom Kippur, and we need to find out what it all is.' To Jewish people, Yom Kippur is the most holy day of the whole year. It is the holiest of the autumn High Holy Days, a very serious, somber, sacred day. In the Bible, Yom Kippur is the day the Cohane HaGadol (High Priest) entered the Most Holy Place, also called the Holy of Holies, taking the blood of the sacrificed animals and sprinkling it on the Mercy Seat to make atonement for the sins of the people. Also he had to cast lots over two goats, one to be chosen as the scapegoat and the other to be sacrificed. But since 70 AD after the Temple was destroyed, none of that can be done anymore. So how do traditional and Messianic Jewish people observe this day today? And what agenda did God have in mind for this day for these End Times? What power does it hold for your personal walk of faith and for spiritual warfare? You might be surprised.
