Category Archives: Yom Kippur

-Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement

Posted on by
Reply

YOM KIPPUR– DAY OF ATONEMENT

Today is Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement in God’s Biblical calendar. Starting at sundown Sunday 9/24 and continuing for 25 hours through sundown on Monday 9/25/23.

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered .” —Psalm 32:1 ESV

Even more blessed are those whose sins are totally washed away by the blood of Jesus!

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. –1 John 1:9 ESV

For Christians it is a great day to repent and ask for forgiveness. Ask the Holy Spirit if there is anything you need to receive forgiveness for and to show you anyone you need to forgive:

…and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.  –Luke 11:4 NLT

During Bible times, all Israel refrained from work on this day, fasted, and offered themselves before the Lord for forgiveness. (See: Leviticus 23:26-32)

Today, Jews world-wide observe Yom Kippur for a 25-hour period, beginning at sundown. It is considered the Shabbat of all Shabbat therefore work is prohibited. Five additional prohibitions are included in the observance: 1) no eating or drinking; 2) no bathing; 3) no anointing the body with oil; 4) no wearing of leather shoes; and 5) no sexual relations.

Many Jewish folks attend a service on this day—at the end of the observance a shofar is blown and all sins for the previous year are considered covered.

-Yom Kippur: The Biblical Day of Atonement

Posted on by
Reply

image

(Yom Kippur service –runneralan2004 via Flickr)

Today is Yom Kippur –the Biblical Day of Atonement—actually it began yesterday evening at sundown on Sunday September 27 and ends at sundown today –Monday September 28.

Most associate it with being a Jewish holiday and that it is—the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. A day when Jewish folk fast & pray and take a look at their lives-particularly the last year and commit themselves to do better—they seek forgiveness for sins committed against others (beforehand) and against God. Traditionally it is also the day when God decides the fate of each human being over the next year.

You might ask—What does that have to do with Christians?

In one respect, what Jewish folk do on this day should be an on-going process for Christians-we should always be seeking to reconcile ourselves to those around us and we should continually be asking for forgiveness from our Heavenly Father in the name of His Son Jesus.

However, it is always good to recognize that today is a special day on God’s Biblical calendar. While we may not want to celebrate the special days like Jewish families do, there are still important Biblical principles to be learned and observed non-the-less.

I know quite a few prophetic ministers who take this day in particular very serious and usually spend it in prayer and fasting—believing that it is a time of evaluation—a time when ministries are pruned or expanded.

In my own life, most of the significant changes having to do with ministry seem to always happen this time of the year.

Blessings, Michael