by Voice of Judah
REHEARSAL FOR THE COMING OF MESSIAH AND ISRAEL’S ATONEMENT
OVERVIEW OF THE FALL SEASON
Below is the picture of the Fall Feasts season so you can reference it if needed. Beginning with Yom Teruah on Tishrei 1, all of the Fall Feasts occur in this month, the 7th month of the biblical Jewish calendar. I’ve included the Ten Days of Awe as they begin with Day 1 on Tishrei 1 (Yom Teruah) and conclude on Day 10 on Tishrei 10 (Yom Kippur).
THE FALL FEASTS SEASON OF THE COMING MESSIAH
KEY
Biblical/Jewish days are reckoned from sunset to sunset (approximately 6pm to 6pm). So a biblical/Jewish “day” is shown in the calendar above as being spread across two standard calendar days.
Days highlighted in yellow mark Teshuvah – the 40 day period for introspection and repentance which begins on Elul 1 and ends with Yom Kippur on Tishrei 10.
(RC) = Rosh Chodesh (In Hebrew – “Head of the month”) This holiday occurs every month of the year. As the months were reckoned on the ancient Israel, biblical calendar – according to the sighting of the New Moon – the first of each month always starts on a “day and hour which no one knows…” Matthew 24:36.
t = Blowing the shofar (trumpet) after morning service during Elul. The shofar is not sounded on Shabbats (sabbath); nor is it sounded on the last day of Elul – making Yom Teruah “the hidden day.”
Lt = The “Last Trumpet” (last shofar blast) which marks the start of Yom Teruah. Paul refers to this marking event of this day in 1 Corinthians 15:52.
YT = Yom Teruah (Day of Shouting, Day of Trumpets). The only feast which occurs on Rosh Chodesh, a “day and hour which no one knows…” Matthew 24:36.
The rehearsal for the resurrection and the rapture.
DofA = Days of Awe. These begin on Yom Teruah (Tishrei 1) and conclude on Yom Kippur (Tishrei 10).
The rehearsal for the Bowls of Wrath in the book of Revelation.
YK = Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
The rehearsal for the defeat of Satan and national atonement for Israel.
S = Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) (superscripted numbers count the number of days of Sukkot).
The rehearsal for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb with His people.
SA (LGD) = Shemini Atzeret (The Last Great Day – in Hebrew: “the assembly of the eighth [day]”). The final (8th) day of Sukkot and the holiday of Simchat Torah (in Hebrew: “rejoicing in the Torah”). This day completes the annual Torah reading cycle, then the Torah reading cycle begins anew with Genesis 1.
The rehearsal for two events: 1) The time during the beginning of the Messianic Age (Millennial Reign of Messiah) when the nations will begin to seek Messiah for understanding as “the Law (Torah) will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem…” Isaiah 2:3, and 2) the time after the Millennial Reign when the Father Himself will come and dwell with His people forever (Revelation 21:1-5).
YOM KIPPUR (ISRAEL’S DAY OF ATONEMENT) (OCCURS ON TISHREI 10)
Rehearsal for the National Redemption and Atonement of Israel
Yom Kippur is known as “The Day.” Yom Kippur is the holiest, most solemn day of the year in Israel. According to the Talmud,1 it is the last day to repent and be forgiven as the heavenly court makes its final judgement on this day and the books are closed. Yom Kippur is the FINAL JUDGEMENT DAY.
In Leviticus 23:26-32, God orders a complete fast for everyone from all food and water.
1 Internet Sacred Text Archive. Babylonian Talmud, Book 2 as translated by Michael L. Rodkinson [1918] Tractate Rosh Hashana. Ch.1, Mishna 2, p.26 (as listed) http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/t02/ros03.htm Accessed on 20 August 2012
Israel Comes “Face to Face” with Their Creator. Yom Kippur is the only day of the year when the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple and perform the unique sacrifices and services for the feast. As such, this is the only day when he would go in and meet with God “face to face.”
Three times he makes a sacrifice and then enters the Holy of Holies to make atonement by sprinkling the blood on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant. As he exits the Temple after each sacrifice he enters the Temple courts and meets the people “face to face”. The Apostle Paul makes a reference to this theme in his letter to the Corinthian church:
“12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12
The ritual of the ancient high priest meeting with God face to face then meeting with the people face to face is a rehearsal for what Zechariah prophesied about the future Yom Kippur when Israel will see their Messiah face to face:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10
The prophet Hosea speaks of this very day, and he also hints of the Wedding Feast which will follow five days later:
“In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband,’ you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them…Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.” Hosea 2:16-20
Isaiah also confirms the events of this future day:
“For your Maker is your husband – the Lord Almighty is his name – the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit – a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger (Ten Days of Awe) I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer. Isaiah 54:5-8
Like Hosea, Isaiah also foreshadows the soon coming Wedding Feast:
The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah (means my delight is in her), and your land Beulah (means married); for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married… as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:2-5
THE NAME IS SPOKEN ON YOM KIPPUR
(Also known as the Tetragrammaton; the Hebrew name for the Holy One of Israel is replaced in the Bible with “Lord” in small caps) The Name was so holy that eventually no one was allowed to utter it except for the high priest, and that only on Yom Kippur.
After each of the three sacrifices and sprinkling the blood on the Mercy Seat, the high priest would exit the Temple, face the people, and pray a confession to God in front of the people using God’s Holy Name. The sense of awe and reverent fear would soar among the people with each prayer, and they would fall prostrate before the high priest as he spoke the Holy Name of God in their presence.
This exclusive use of the Holy Name of God on Yom Kippur is fantastic imagery of God making His identity known to Israel and the world when He returns to the earth as the Son of God, Yeshua (meaning “God our salvation”):
“I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations… Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes…” Ezekiel 36:21-23. (see also Ezekiel 28:24-26, 29:6, 34:27-30, 37:13 and 38:23)
WHITE LINEN GARMENTS WORN BY THE HIGH PRIEST. On Yom Kippur the high priest is required to wear white linen garments when he conducts the special sacrifices of the day.
John sees Messiah and His armies in heaven (believers and angelic hosts) about to come to earth on Yom Kippur, they are dressed in white linen:
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war… He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.” Revelation 19:11-14
Isaiah saw a stunning vision of this when he saw Messiah returning to earth to slay Israel’s enemies with His sword in the Day of the Lord, and the Messiah’s garments are now stained with blood:
“Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength?
‘It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.’
Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?
‘I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come….my own wrath sustained me. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.’” Isaiah 63:1-6
THE GOAT MARKED “FOR AZAZEL”. As part of the unique sacrifices for this day, two goats are sacrificed. The high priest draws lots to determine the fate of each goat.
- One lot called “for the Lord“, is chosen for one goat. This goat is sacrificed as a sin offering for the priesthood and its blood is sprinkled on the Mercy Seat.
- The other lot called “for Azazel“, is chosen for the other goat. (Azazel is a name for Satan in the book of Enoch). This goat becomes cursed as the high priest confesses the sins of the nation over it. The high priest then ties a scarlet colored band of wool on to the goat’s horns and a designated person would then lead the goat into the wilderness and push it off a cliff.
John saw the fulfillment of this rehearsal in the book of Revelation when he saw an angel leading Satan to the “wilderness” where he falls forever in a bottomless Abyss:
“And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him…” Revelation 20:1-3
THE FINAL SERVICE OF YOM KIPPUR: NEILAH. (Hebrew for “locked”) The FINAL JUDGEMENT DAY. The last service on Yom Kippur is called Neilah, which means, literally, “locked.” The 3 books are closed on this day as final judgement is rendered for those remaining on earth. (This is NOT the Great White Throne judgement of Revelation 20:11-15)
“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4
Israel is judged. All those remaining alive realize Yeshua is Messiah and they enter his covenant.
“I will bring you into the desert of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you. As I judged your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 20:35-38
“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’ Romans 11:26-27
“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34
The intermediates are judged. The nations and leaders of nations are in awe-struck silence before the Messiah:
“..so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.” Isaiah 52:15
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” Matthew 25:31-33
The day ends as the new “righteous nation” rejoices in God. This new nation will consist of literal Israel (atoned for and now in the New Covenant), the believers who came with Messiah from heaven, and the intermediates who put their faith in Messiah.
“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.” Isaiah 26:1-2
And Psalm 47 is fulfilled:
Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!
He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet.
He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.
God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
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