Yom Kippurim -- Soon to be Eclipsed?

[Rebbe]

BRI International Internet Yeshiva Parashah Notes, September 2011

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"I teach nothing new but all things original" -- Rebbe

Parasha Ha'azinu (listen)
Deut 32.1-52
Haftorah 2 Sam 22.1-51


In keeping with the apostle Paul's instruction to Timothy to "preach the word in season" (2 Tim 4.2) -- and this present season is the "fall festival" season of Rosh HaShanah, Yom HaKippurim, and Sukkot and as we have already discussed the meaning of Rosh HaShanah or Yom Teruah -- there are some thoughts I would like to share in relation to Yom HaKippurim: the Great Fast Day.

A priest and a rabbi are discussing the pros and cons of their various religions, and the discussion turns to repentance.
 
The rabbi explains Yom Kippur, the solemn Day of Atonement, the Great Day of Fasting, while the priest extols all about Lent, with its 40 days of self-denial and consequent absolution from sins.

After the discussion draws to a conclusion, the rabbi goes home to tell his wife about the conversation, and they discuss the merits of Lent versus Yom Kippur.

She turns her head and laughs. The rabbi says, "What's so funny, dear?"

She says, "Forty days of Lent - one day of Yom Kippur ...so, even when it comes to sin, the goyim (Gentiles) pay retail..."

Ha'azinu! Listen! Give ear! I have a question: Are WE of all people bound by our traditions?

Let me say something right at the beginning of this mini-lecture. Jewish Messianic brothers and sisters of the International Messianic Community of Faith oftentimes look down our right royal noses at Gentile Constantinian Christians who are in prison to their religious traditions and ideologies. And in my opinion the church ought to be given a spiritual enema to relieve it of the trappings and accumulation of such religious degradation. Their beloved traditions of Lent, Easter, Xmas, Sunday orientation, Bibles black-covered, their "Old Testaments" and "New Testaments," and even the names of the apostles (and the name of their Christ) all have their genesis in pagan heathen rites and ceremonies and outright caustic Babylonianism. They have taken the Son of Man and Son of God and baptised him in all the unrighteous, dirty, rotten, filthy scum-ridden sewerage of an ancient demonic past and then in the swill of folly attributed it to the LORD of glory, to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

And yes, for this and other transgressions Gentile Christians ought to hang their heads in shame.

But how flexible are Jewish believers in Mashiach? Especially when it comes to traditional rites and celebrations?

I recall once, many years ago sharing with a fellow-Jewish believer the truth about the Wailing Wall -- the modern symbol of Jewish apostasy and demoting defilement.

(The western wall of the Temple, as we here know, is nothing more than the last remaining wall of the Roman fortress Antonia which adjoined the Jewish Temple. When we watch devout observant Jewish covenanters rocking back and forth at the Wall, praying and praising the Lord, and dancing before it, we are watching idolatry in action. They do not realise they are committing idolatry but they are, for they are praying to God at the very wall of arrant Roman Imperialism -- the remaining brazen attribute of a cruel paganism -- and worshipping before the structure which symbolised the destruction of the sacred Jerusalem Temple and the resultant Diaspora of the Chosen People of the living God.) She listened intently then cried, "Yes, maybe so. But I am off to Israel in a few weeks and I WILL be visiting it because of what it means to the Jewish people whom I love!"

Tradition. And, Tom Foolery coupled with it. What I have just described is a case of interminable negative tradition. But there are hidden reasons in the biblical revelation which God utilised to teach Israel lessons about themselves and their sinful natures. I want to show you one of these hidden "truths" -- really speculation -- to illustrate the importance to God of Yom Kippur which is the Great Fast Day.

You will no doubt know that Adam and Eve sinned by refusing to eat kosher. One of God's first commandments was in regard to what we should put into our stomachs. And of course Adam and Eve knew better than God, like some Christians today. God gave them the choice of two fruit trees in Gan Eden -- "the tree of life" and "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The fruit of the one tree was good for food and the other was not. God recommended they not eat of the tree of dualism but they knew better in this instance and as a result the world was plunged into spiritual darkness. We all know the story.

But if we take the first chapter of the Genesis creation account literally (and I admit I am drawing a long bow here) we will notice that there was fruit already on the branches of the trees in the Orchard of God (Gen 1.11,12,29): so the first day of creation HAD to have been in Autumn (for that part of the world) or the month of Tishri (which is the seventh month in the Mosaic agricultural calendar). Notice that Adam and Eve were very much aware of the ready existence of fruit on the boughs (Gen 2.9,16,17; 3.1-3,6). They ate the wrong food and ongoing cataclysmic disaster resulted for all their descendants. Isn't it interesting that karmic debt demanded that because sin was introduced by the eating of fruit from a fruit tree, in an orchard (which is precisely what the Hebrew states), that the Messiah had to die an atoning death in an orchard nailed to a fruit tree? Isn't it intriguing that the Menorah of the Jerusalem Temple was in the significant form of an almond tree? But this aside, let's speculate some more.

The late Dr Ernest Martin once shared with me (and later put into writing) that if taken in a crude sense Genesis 1.1 would represent the first day of the seventh Hebrew month, Tishri. The seventh day was the first Sabbath observance recorded in the Bible and our first Parents kept the (later) fourth commandment of God on Tishri 7 -- and Martin logically adds "then it could well be that sin was introduced to the world three days later on Tishri 10 the very day that later became the Day of Atonement in the time of Moses. This makes perfectly good sense. If the serpent introduced sin on that day, it is reasonable that sin would also be dealt with in regard to Israel and their Old Covenant relationships with God on that day? And since the first sin involved eating, God could very well have emphasized his abhorrence of sin by commanding the Israelites to abstain from food on that day which was the anniversary of the introduction of sin" (Ernest L. Martin, Fasting - Its Use and Abuse, Doctrine Article: August 1, 2001).

Whatever the case in relation to this speculation, and it is speculation, at Sinai God introduced the festival Sabbaths to Israel and this included the celebration of Yom Kippur on the tenth day of the seventh month. And it was to be observed in perpetuity by Israel. Now, having said this, there will come a day soon when the rabbinic authorities in the State of Israel and around the world will turn the day of fasting and mourning into one of delight and feast indulgence! Believe it or not!

Notice first of all that Yom Kippur is not mentioned in Ezekiel's list of millennial festivals (Eze 45.18-20). We need to ask, Why?

I have a question in turn related to that question. If Yeshua the Messiah has already PAID the penalty for our sins (all of them -- past, present and future) and has CLEANSED us spiritually from all unrighteousness (and he most certainly has done so) THEN why do we need to be reminded of our sins annually on a special day of fasting? Either Mashiach has PAID the penalty for our sins, iniquities and transgressions OR they continue to hang over our collective heads like a veritable "sword of Damocles"!

Are we by continuing to observe Yom HaKippurim recrucifying the Mashiach?
 
The prophet Zechariah wrote his scroll after a series of visions which he received concerning the End of the Age. He penned the first eight chapters of his scroll, and the rabbinic authorities added some of Jeremiah's manuscript fragments to the scroll -- from chapter 9 through to chapter 14.

Now many commentaries view the first eight chapters as having a relevance back there in Zechariah's own day and age. But they overlook that he is looking down to our own age today. And, of course, when its convenient for them they pick and choose relevant texts and entire passages which are far future from the time when he wrote them. So they are not in any way consistent. In Zech 7.1-7 God makes a severe announcement.

"And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chislev. Now they of Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to speak unto the priests of the house of the LORD of legions, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

"Then came the word of the LORD of legions unto me, saying, Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even these seventy years [the period Israel was in captivity in Babylon], did you at all fast unto me, even to me? And when you eat, and when you drink, do not you eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? Should you not hear the words which the LORD cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?"

In a later chapter God answers His own charges and those of His people:

"And the word of the LORD of legions came to me, saying, This is what the LORD of legions says: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love truth and peace" (Zech 8.18,19).

What were these fast days which God delineated which were to be turned into "cheerful feasts"?

Now, to be fair to the Bible commentaries, in the days of Zechariah the official fast days were as follows:

[1] "The fast of the fourth month" -- this was the 9th day of the fourth month (Tammuz - July) commemorating the breach of the city walls of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.

[2] "The fast of the fifth month" -- this was 10th day of the fifth month (Ab - August) commemorating the destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah required Israel to read Lamentations on the eve of that fast day (which eve would have been the 9th).

[3] "The fast of the seventh" -- this is presumed to be the fast of the tenth day of Tishri (Sept/Oct) for Gedalya lamenting the assassination of this righteous Governor who was pro-Chaldean and therefore supportive of Jeremiah the prophet who was deemed a traitor by the Jewish people.

[4] "The fast of the tenth" month (Tebeth - January) remembered the day on which Nebuchadnezzar set his face against Jerusalem -- the start of his siege of Jerusalem.

Now these were indeed the fast days BACK THEN IN THE IMMEDIATE POST-EXILE PERIOD when Zechariah lived.

But most Jews today only observe TWO essential fasts (unless they are a very small minority who may actually observe all of these ancient four fast days) -- and really, I know of NO JEW TODAY who still mourns and fasts over the death of Gedalya! No, religious Jews fast over the destruction of the Temple (well, they "sort-of" fast) and they certainly fast on YOM KIPPUR.

But Zechariah is looking forward INTO THE END OF OUR TIME TODAY. His entire prophecy focuses on the conclusion of the age, and he lists a fast in the seventh month as being CHANGED by rabbinic authorities into a time of JOYOUS FEASTING and FESTIVITY. There can be little doubt THAT DAY IS YOM HaKIPPURIM. And indeed, why not? It will not be celebrated in the Millennium when Yeshua reigns. It will have already been superseded by the Jewish recognition that Yeshua is their Messiah and that he has already paid the FULL penalty for their sins and the sins of the entire world. The religious Jews of the End of Days will be Nazarene Christians.

Fasts recalling calamity upon the Jewish nation are to be replaced with festivals of joy and gladness when Messiah comes and is ruling from the Temple of God and the Throne of David in Jerusalem. As I reiterate, this is absolutely commendable and appropriate. Despite the opinions of scholars (Christian as well as Jewish) who insist that Yom Kippur is not included in the list and should more properly be referred to as the fast of the 3rd day of the seventh month which anciently recalled the assassination of Gedalya (Jer 40.8-41.18) very few Jews today even know who Gedalya was!

Very soon we will see with our own eyes the expansion of the borders of the present State of Israel and this will occur as a consequence of massive immigration of Jews from all over the world, but especially from Russia and its satellites. They will also make aliyah from places like South America and Australia. This mass migration to the Holy Land will not be as a result of war and conflict -- as all the modern Christian authorities claim -- but will be the fruit of the future awesome prosperity in Eretz Yisrael -- yes, prosperity.

"Cry yet again! [This is a message concerning the End of Days] Say: This is what the Eternal Master of Legions states. My cities through PROSPERITY shall yet be spread abroad; and the Eternal shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem!" (Zech 1.17).

What event will cause the rabbinic authorities to cancel fasting on Yom Kippurim?

The laying of the corner stone of the Temple! It's spelt out in Zechariah but most have overlooked it.

"Again the word of the LORD of legions came to me, saying, Listen to what the LORD of legions says; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury [yes, fury toward the enemies of the Jewish people]. This is what the LORD says; I will again turn my attention toward Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a 'city of truth' [because the HOLY SPIRIT of truth will dwell there after being outpoured on the city]; AND 'the mountain of the LORD of legions [the Temple] the holy mountain'" (Zech 8.1-3).

"The holy mountain of the house of the Lord" IS the Temple! And in connection with the laying of the corner stone of the Temple ON THE RIGHT TEMPLE MOUNT will be a time of unparalleled REJOICING for Jews all over the world. The Messianic Age will have officially arrived. This is to occur IMMEDIATELY prior to the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah.

"This is what the LORD of legions says; Let your hands be strong, you that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of legions was laid, that the temple might be built" (Zech 8.9).

When will the foundation stone be laid? What year will this awesome fulfillment of prophecy take place?

I cannot tell anyone the year, but I can tell them the date. Its been in the Bible for millennia!

This date has been recorded for those of us who live in the period known in Scripture as the "end [or, consummation] of the age" (1 Cor 10.11). We can know for certain the date of the laying of the foundation stone in the correct place on the proper Temple Mount which is actually over the ancient Gihon Springs. That date is yet for the future -- and its the 24th day of Kislev, our December. That is a day prior to the normal celebration of Hanukkah.

"On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month [Kislev], in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet...CONSIDER NOW from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month [Kislev], from THE DAY THAT THE FOUNDATION OF THE LORD'S TEMPLE WAS LAID - consider it " (Hag 2.10,18).

God wants us to "consider" this important and significant date in His salvific economy. It is the date for the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. It will have assistance from Iran (which cannot occur under the present circumstances) and a "hands on" approach of a future Zerubbabel ("born in Babylon").

What is especially intriguing for me is the fact that God labels those who presently wish to rebuild the Temple as "unclean" (Hag 2.10-14). Why are these people with good intentions considered "unclean"?

The answer is astounding as it is simple.

While the Temple is being restored, which will once more grant a holy sanctification to the Land of Promise, the rest of the State of Israel will remain putrid with ritual and ceremonial uncleanness. While there is a presence of idolatry in the region, the Ruach HaKodesh will not have free course in the hearts and minds of those who wish to serve God under the terms and conditions of the New Covenant!

"Then Haggai answered and said, So is this people! And so is this nation before Me, says the LORD, and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean" (Hag 2.14).

It is this very thing that God predicted through the prophet Ezekiel would have to change BEFORE work on the Temple could begin.

"Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your fellow exiles, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession. Therefore say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Although I have removed them far away among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I was a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone. Therefore say, Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they will go there, and they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it" (Eze 11.14-18).

A new Temple and a new priesthood is on the horizon -- but it will be a clean Temple built by clean hands. A Yeshua-oriented revolution is coming to Israel, and civil war will be the result. Don't be a Christian missionary entering Israel when THAT occurs, especially is this the case if you belong to a church filled with idols and idolatrous doctrines. Zechariah tells us all about that civil war if we have eyes to see.

Certainly, with the LIVING Yeshua as King Messiah reigning BODILY on the Throne of David as Israel's resurrected Lord and Saviour, extending the GREAT NEWS ("Gospel") to the entire earth, why not celebrate with joyous thanksgiving in lieu of mourning, and mental and bodily affliction over the death of Mashiach for the sins of the world?  

To be alive forevermore sin-free without any thought of the fear of death, living eternally in monumental never-ending bliss with the loving, carefree, dynamic and creative Messiah is something to be joyous about, is it not?

Ha'azinu! Are we listening? Or are we already rejecting what we are hearing today because of our beloved traditions?

Am I right? Or, am I wrong in this matter? Is the Bible trustworthy? Can it be relied upon, even in times when everything around us seems to point in the precise opposite direction to that which the Bible espouses?

Time will tell.