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THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

Isaac Gabizon, Beth Ariel, Montreal, Oct. 8, 2011

Today we are looking at the Jewish Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur. – This is the most holy day of the Jewish calendar. – And according to this calendar, Yom Kippur falls on this day, today, – where the majority of Jews, all over the world, religious or not – will gather in synagogues to pray.  In fact, if in normal times you would ask a Jew if he goes to synagogue, he would say that he does at least once a year, on Yom Kippur – and this is the day.

So it is a very important and solemn period of time for Jews everywhere.

Most of the day of Kippur is spent in the synagogue fasting and in prayer. In Orthodox synagogues, services begin early in the morning and continue until nightfall. The services end with the blowing of the tekiah gedolah, a long blast on the shofar. It is then that they could break the fast.

The name “Yom Kippur” means “Day of Atonement,” and that pretty much во многом explains what the holiday is. It speaks of sin and repentance. –

That in itself is quite relevant значимо, since the concept of sin does not play a major part in modern Judaism. – But on Yom Kippur, the whole day is dedicated to one’s forgiveness of sins.

This confession is given in two basic parts during the day. – The first: Ashamnu, which speaks of general sins. – They would say for example – we have been rebels, we have been aggressive, we have been slanderous клеветали…

The second is more personal. – It is called the Al Cheit, is a longer and more specific list. – The individual would say, for example: For the sin, I have sinned before you forcibly or willingly против воли или нарочно, and for the sin, I sinned before you by acting heartlessly…etc….

And many, during this day will wear white, which symbolizes purity and calls to mind the promise that our sins shall be made as white as snow, as we see it in Isaiah 1:18.

Some people will even wear a kittel саван, the white robe in which the dead are buried. Showing that on this day, they are dead to sin.

And the concluding service of Yom Kippur, known as Ne’ilah, is quite unique to the day.

It usually lasts a full hour. The ark where the scrolls of the Torah are kept Ковчег со свитками Торы – every synagogue has an ark where they keep the Torah – that is the five books – hand written on parchment – So the ark is kept open throughout this service. – The people must stand in front of it –

During this time, there is a tone of desperation отчаяния in the prayers of this service. The service is sometimes referred to as the closing of the gates…

They believe of it as the “last chance” to get in a good word before the day ends – because on Yom Kippur the Book of Life is believed to be closed and sealed for a whole year.

It is day that has personally marked my youth. – Being very young, I could not understand why in my house and in the synagogue nobody was speaking or engaging in any kind of conversation – but they were only praying, and carrying a sad countenance с печальным лицом.

Even among my friends, it was understood that we do not play during Yom Kippur, and if we meet, we would speak with a very low voice, even outside in the street.

The atmosphere in the synagogue was so heavy and all one will see was a sea of white and blue talits. – Those shales the Jews wear over their shoulders, but on this day, many wore it over their heads. –

I would seat next to my father for the day in the synagogue, and even then, one thing that impressed me most was the people’s endurance выносливость and faith in what they were doing.

They were so concentrated in their prayers they would hardly lift up their eyes away from the book. – And this lasted the whole day. And very few of them would leave the synagogue for a rest. This day was a test of endurance and faith. – This faith reminds me of the one that Isaiah speaks about in Isaiah 18:2 – a passage that speaks of the return of the Jews in their land. – There – according to the Hebrew rendering, we read: “A nation armed with a steadfast endurance with a great expression of faith, whose rivers despise.” к народу крепкому и бодрому, и [всё] попирающему, которого землю разрезывают реки.

This faith – this zeal усердие, as Paul would call it, this inner conviction that is in the Jew – the religious as well as those who barely просто come to synagogue, is clearly seen in their dedication on this day.

And this conviction is there in them, as if to prepare them for yet another confession that is prophesied – the final confession – the most important one to come – the one that is required for the Second Coming of the Messiah – the one that will usher the way to the Messianic Times – the Millennium – the next feast on the calendar – Succot.

For Israel – the Scriptures teach that national repentance is the prerequisite предпосылка for a renewed relationship with God – a repentance that looks very much like the one we see on Yom Kippur.

This confession is seen across the Scriptures. – It is the condition that God requires from all the remaining Jews, so that He will bring them back to their land for peace. – This confession was spoken of by Moses. – It is the prophecy of Lev.26:40-42, where it is spoken of. – Listen to these Words as they were pronounced before the Diaspora, even before the Jews entered the land of Israel 3500 years ago: If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. тогда признаются они в беззаконии своём и в беззаконии отцов своих, как они совершали преступления против Меня и шли против Меня, [за что] и Я шел против них и ввел их в землю врагов их; тогда покорится необрезанное сердце их, и тогда потерпят они за беззакония свои. И Я вспомню завет Мой с Иаковом и завет Мой с Исааком, и завет Мой с Авраамом вспомню, и землю вспомню;

If they confess – God says – then I will remember my covenant… and I will remember the land

This has not happened yet. – There has never been a confession as the one that God requires –

And this is not a lone passage, as this is repeated over and over in the Scriptures –

One of the most touching prayers in the OT is that of Daniel. – It was after the 70 years of Babylonian Diaspora and just before Ezra and Nehemiah began a return to the land of Israel back in around 450 BC, – when Daniel realized that the 70 years had elapsed истекли. He understood to pray for all the people of Israel. – He rightly thought that the Messianic Times would come. – He thought that the Messiah was to come and listen to what he prayed in Daniel 9:4-7: And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel,  those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. И молился я Господу Богу моему, и исповедывался и сказал: `Молю Тебя, Господи Боже великий и дивный, хранящий завет и милость любящим Тебя и соблюдающим повеления Твои! Согрешили мы, поступали беззаконно, действовали нечестиво, упорствовали и отступили от заповедей Твоих и от постановлений Твоих; и не слушали рабов Твоих, пророков, которые Твоим именем говорили царям нашим, и вельможам нашим, и отцам нашим, и всему народу страны. У Тебя, Господи, правда, а у нас на лицах стыд, как день сей, у каждого Иудея, у жителей Иерусалима и у всего Израиля, у ближних и дальних, во всех странах, куда Ты изгнал их за отступление их, с каким они отступили от Тебя.

He really thought that this is it – this was the time of the establishment of the Messianic Times –

Daniel’s theology was so right. – Until, and right after this prayer, God sends him Gabriel the angel to yet, give him another prophecy he did not know before. – In this prophecy, God tells him that it was not for now that the Messiah would come. – It would take another 490 years, sectioned in such a way, that we still are waiting for the last 7 years to be fulfilled. This is what the angel tells him in Dan.9:24: “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. Семьдесят седмин определены для народа твоего и святаго города твоего, чтобы покрыто было преступление, запечатаны были грехи и заглажены беззакония, и чтобы приведена была правда вечная, и запечатаны были видение и пророк, и помазан был Святый святых.

It would not be for now Daniel – another 490 years are added – into which the interval of the time of the church – which he did not know about – was inserted – a time that has lasted up to 2500 years so far – because our God is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance долготерпит нас, не желая, чтобы кто погиб, но чтобы все пришли к покаянию, as 2Pet.3:9 indicates. But we learn here that a confession was to be made before the Millennium. (graph *).

At this time, and as the prophecy of Daniel says – it will be the end of sins. – It would be a time of reconciliation with God – a time to bring in everlasting righteousness привести вечную праведность – but just not right now.

And the question we ask today is that if Israel repents, year after year – on the Day of Atonement – on a national level – why then Messiah does not come back? – Why then is the Messianic kingdom not established after each Yom Kippur, year after year?

What is missing in Israel’s repentance?

What is the missing link in their repentance?

This is not hard to find – is it?  The missing link is the Messiah Himself. – How can we ask for forgiveness, if we forget the One who provides this forgiveness? –

The One the Jewish prophets spoke as the Lamb that is gives his life for the transgression of My people says Isaiah. The One Daniel in the same prophecy calls the Messiah the Prince, who will be killed, and he adds but not for Himself that is for the nation of Israel – when they confess their sins as they do on this day of Yom Kippur –

And it is in the Gospel, just before His crucifixion and resurrection that the Messiah put forth this same condition to Israel – and there He added the missing link – Mat.23:37-39: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! “See! Your house is left to you desolate; “for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ “Иерусалим, Иерусалим, избивающий пророков и камнями побивающий посланных к тебе! сколько раз хотел Я собрать детей твоих, как птица собирает птенцов своих под крылья, и вы не захотели! Се, оставляется вам дом ваш пуст. Ибо сказываю вам: не увидите Меня отныне, доколе не воскликнете: благословен Грядый во имя Господне!

That is the condition – until they say ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’” until they finally recognize their own Messiah whom they now despise. – Jesus then would not come before that.

And they will, perhaps only a very small remnant will, but the nation of Israel, will one day look on Yeshua Ha Messiah and in unison recognize Him as we see in this so great prophecy of Zechariah 12:10 which speaks of the times of the very end, it says…: Then they will look on Me whom they pierced. они воззрят на Него, Которого пронзили…

Then Yeshua will come and save them from their enemies and bring them back to their land.

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And so, Yom Kippur speaks about this thing that separates Israel from God – this thing that separates man from God – SIN.

And one prerequisite предпосылка is to recognize, to see the Messiah – to understand what sin is – otherwise, how can one understand who He is – why He came – why He died and resurrected – all of this is related.

To know the Messiah is to know about sin – and the unfortunate thing к сожалению is that the concept of sin was lost somewhere in modern religions. – And this contributes to alienate the people from their God.

Sin in the Tanach is so much spoken of – but rarely so today.

The rabbinical concept of sin is so much like that of the other man made изобретённые religions. – It is linked with one’s deeds – not with one’s nature.

Judaism teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being. – It uses the term “sin” to include violations of Jewish law that are not necessarily a lapse отклонение in morality.

For them there is no such thing as original первородный sin.

If you believe this, you surely do not need the Messiah. – We will not find the need for a Savior.

No wonder they interpret Isaiah 53 – the suffering Servant as being the nation of Israel itself – because sin is not as bad in their mind.

Even David – admits the doctrine of original sin and says in Ps.51:5: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Вот, я в беззаконии зачат, и во грехе родила меня мать моя.

There was nothing particularly wrong with David’s mother except that she is like anyone of us – born sinner – and Job confirms this when he says in Job 15:14: “What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? Что такое человек, чтоб быть ему чистым, и чтобы рожденному женщиною быть праведным?

As Paul said in Romans 5:12: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned — Посему, как одним человеком грех вошел в мир, и грехом смерть, так и смерть перешла во всех человеков, [потому что] в нем все согрешили.

Here we have the teaching of the original sin – sin entered through one man and spread to all men. – The truth is that even if we did not have a sinful nature – we are not better than Adam and we would have fallen anyway. – Jesus is the only person that did not sin.

And notice what God says in Genesis 5:3: …Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image. Адам жил сто тридцать лет и родил [сына] по подобию своему по образу своему…

No more was man in the image and likeness of God. – The sons of Adam could not be called sons of God – as Adam was – after sin, they were the sons of man – because sin has entered their lives.

This is what the Scriptures, the Torah, the Tanach teach about the original sin.

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And if sin is no more sin as presented by Moses, – why then where all the sacrifices ordered? – And one cannot think of Yom Kippur without looking at the context in which it was given. – Because on that day, God ordered some very, very special sacrifices, sacrifices that uniquely spoke of sin and the atoning work of the Messiah Himself. One full chapter is given for the things that are ordered to be done on this day. – These are found in Leviticus 16.

This chapter is very complex and there are so many details. But one thing that clearly comes out. – One thing is that sin is so serious with God. – And it needs to be dealt with, if one wants to approach God. – Let’s read the first two verses – read them and tell me, if one can approach God as he sees fit?

This is the beginning of Yom Kippur 1-2: Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. И говорил Господь Моисею по смерти двух сынов Аароновых, когда они, приступив пред лице Господне, умерли, и сказал Господь Моисею: скажи Аарону, брату твоему, чтоб он не во всякое время входил во святилище за завесу пред крышку, что на ковчеге, дабы ему не умереть, ибо над крышкою Я буду являться в облаке.

Yom Kippur begins by reminding Aaron that his sons died because the wrongly approached God. – They offered something they thought was OK. – But not so with God and so they died. – And next God tells Aaron the High Priest that he, himself, cannot come to Him at just any time –

See one cannot approach God the way he thinks he can?

Can anyone fabricate another way to confess sin? Would that be acceptable to God?

Man made religion have devised many ways to approach God. – But is this according to God’s directive or are they all in danger of suffering the fate of the two sons of Aaron?

And it is beginning with Vs.3 that complex system of sacrifices is given, in order for just one person to be able to come to the presence of God – one person, only once a year, on this day.

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And the priests throughout the history of the Temple, until the time of the destruction of the Temple in 70 ad, they understood the importance and the seriousness of this day. – In the Talmud there is book consecrated to the Yom Kippur. – It is simply called “The day” – Yoma.

There we are told that the High Priest underwent five immersions and ten washings before he entered. They wanted to make sure he was clean, as God ordered him to be. And great attention was given in the preparation of this day. The Talmud says that seven days prior to Yom Kippur, the high priest was moved to a special apartment in the Temple court where he studied with the elders every detail of the sacrificial cult for the Day of Atonement. Every detail was repeated many times over to make sure all was done according to the commandment. They say that on this day, they were afraid for the life of the High Priest.

And we are told that it was on this day of the year, that the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, would enter the Holy of Holies and only there could pronounce the four-letter Name of God.

According to tradition, YHVH was regularly pronounced with its proper vowels by all Israelites, at least until the destruction of the First Temple in 586 b.c.e.  After this time, its use was restricted to the High Priest, who will pronounce it only on Yom Kippur. – In this place, that symbolizes the presence of God.

When the Temple was destroyed, the word lost its vocalization. By the time of the Talmud, the term “Adonai” was generally substituted for YHVH, as is still the custom in the standard prayer formula, “Baruch ata Adonai.”

The pronunciation Yahweh or Jehovah are not the proper pronunciation – we have lost it in time.

It is then possible that the right pronunciation of Tetragrammaton was known, and could only be pronounced by the High Priest until the destruction of the Temple in 70 ad.           ///////////////////////////

See how difficult, how complicated this day is? And all of this stems from the God’s high demands on this day.

And why do you think that God makes it so difficult?

This whole thing is simply to bring your attention to the Messiah through whom you can approach God at any, any time. God is not hiding anywhere. – He wants too much to reveal Himself to you. – But you have to come through the right channel.

This is why it begins with a stern строгим warning – it, in fact, really shows you the grace behind it.

And it is in the following verses where we can see the Messiah rising out of the complexity of all the commandments – as if He says – “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” ибо иго Мое благо, и бремя Мое легко (Mat.11:30) – Come unto me –

He is not only seen in the sacrifices, but also in the High Priest himself. –

Did you know that it was the only day when he was asked to remove his glorious and colorful clothe he wore during the year and wear a simple garment – this command is in VS.4 – But why the change?

Here we see a picture of our Messiah coming to earth as a human being. He laid aside the garments of His glory and took upon Him the form of a servant – it speaks of His humiliation so we may have salvation.

Because the true High Priest is the Messiah, who came from heaven, and made Himself a man, so He can die and resurrect for us – as Phil.2:7 says: but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. но уничижил Себя Самого, приняв образ раба, сделавшись подобным человекам и по виду став как человек;

Some may think that this is so foreign чуждо to Judaism – perhaps it is to modern Judaism, but it is at the core суть of the Torah – and of the teaching of the Jewish prophets.

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And why is it that the High Priest alone could enter the presence of God in the Holy of Holies? – And why is it that no other Levite could assist in this ritual? The high priest had to officiate alone.

Because no man can approach God except through the Messiah who is our mediator. – You cannot approach God with your works and your goodness, you cannot even help the Messiah to be the Mediator. – God is too high, too lofty величествен, too pure for this. – But He sent the Messiah to be our Mediator, and Yom Kippur portrays Him so well. – This feast is a call of grace.

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I want to bring your attention to only one sacrifice in this chapter. – It is about the goats that are offered. – There are beautiful truths behind these types here. This is seen from Vs.15 – 34.

Briefly – it speaks of two goats that were presented to the High Priest.

Lots were cast бросались жребии to determine which goat is for Jehovah C the one to be sacrificed. The other was for Azazel. – Just let’s read Vs.7-8: He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. И возьмёт двух козлов и поставит их пред лицем Господним у входа скинии собрания; и бросит Аарон об обоих козлах жребии: один жребий для Господа, а другой жребий для отпущения;

Now who is Azazel and why is God put at par поставлен рядом with this Azazel?

You have God and Azazel.

So much is written about Azazel. – Some believe it is the name of the goat – but the goat is given to Azazel.

Others believe that Azazel is the name of the place it was sent. – Others say that it is a personal being, either a spirit, a demon or Satan himself. They see the goat as a scapegoat. – This is where we find the origin of this word Scapegoat that we use in our language and which designates somebody who is made to take the blame for others.

Still others read in it a sending away – and paraphrase the verse by saying “the one for Jehovah, and the other for an utter removal полного удаления.”

But, through the presence of these two goats one can think of the beginning and the end of the ministry of the Messiah. The work of the Messiah began right after He was sent to the wilderness to be tempted by the evil one –  Could this goat typify the Messiah as he went to confront противостоять Satan as we see it at His Temptation?

After this even, He began His life on earth and the conclusion of these temptation are seen in Heb.4:15 where the writer says: For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Ибо мы имеем не такого первосвященника, который не может сострадать нам в немощах наших, но Который, подобно [нам], искушен во всем, кроме греха.

The Messiah then is the High Priest and the sacrifice as well.

And see how the sending away of this goat occurred Lev.16:21-22: “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. и возложит Аарон обе руки свои на голову живого козла, и исповедает над ним все беззакония сынов Израилевых и все преступления их и все грехи их, и возложит их на голову козла, и отошлет с нарочным человеком в пустыню: и понесёт козёл на себе все беззакония их в землю непроходимую, и пустит он козла в пустыню.

As the goat is sent away, Aaron lays both his hands on it. – In the ordinary sin offering, only one hand was laid on the animal’s head. On the Day of Atonement, however, the high priest laid both hands upon the head of the scapegoat and confessed upon it all the iniquities. And the High Priest confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel исповедает все беззакония сынов Израилевых – you cannot but think of the words of Isaiah 53:6 when he says: And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all Господь возложил на Него грехи всех нас.

On Him was laid all our sins, past, present and future –

And we read that he was send to an uninhabited land. – The Hebrew is a cut off land – eretz gezera. – This word in the Hebrew speaks of something that is separated, put apart. – As it is said in Isaiah 53:8 that the Messiah will cut off from the land of the living отторгнут от земли живых – same word. –

Yeshua left His place in Heaven, to a cut off place, where He was cut off – as when He went down to Sheol, so that we may be saved from it.

He died so that we may have life, and eternal life.

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And what about the other goat, the one sacrificed in the Temple? – Why was its sacrifice accomplished? – It not only atoned for the all men present, priests and people. – But it also says that it cleansed the Temple. – The holy of holies was purified from their uncleanness. – Why did it need to be cleansed and what does this cleansing touch the Temple in heaven?

Without going too deep into it, the Book of Hebrews tells us that the blood of the Messiah did also cleanse the Temple in heaven – Heb.9:23: Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Итак, образы небесного должны были очищаться сими, самое же небесное лучшими сих жертвами.

Why did the sanctuary in heaven need to be cleansed? – Because Satan was there – and his influence is taken away by the sacrifice of Yeshua.

Yom Kippur could be summed up for us by the writer of the Book of Hebrews – in Heb.8:1-2: Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. Главное же в том, о чем говорим, есть то: мы имеем такого Первосвященника, Который воссел одесную престола величия на небесах и [есть] священнодействователь святилища и скинии истинной, которую воздвиг Господь, а не человек.

This is the good news of Yom Kippur –

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In the prophetic plan of the Feast of Israel – Yom Kippur represents the last 7 years of Daniel’s prophecy of 490 years. – It represents the time of the Tribulation. – It is “the day” as Yoma is in the Talmud. – The Day – The Day of the Lord spoken so often by almost all the prophets of God.

As each of the feasts of Israel represents an event in the end times, – Yom Kippur represents that time prior to the Second Coming of the Messiah. – A time of war, as the prophets tell us. – But the last thing that we see from the part of the Israelites that precede the Second Coming, is repentance.

We remember that the first cycle of four festivals was fulfilled by the program of the First Coming.

Then the second cycle of three feasts will be fulfilled by the program of the Second Coming.  And Yom Kippur is the one that symbolizes the time when God comes and judges the earth.

Today, there is no more Temple. – And they say that prayers and confession of sin replace the sacrifices. – But the truth is that the final sacrifice was given. – The Messiah, the Lamb of God, has already given His life for us and He is now the True High Priest that took over заступил – and through whom we may know and hear the true name of God. – This High Priest is Yeshua Himself. – This is His function at this moment. – It is through Him that we now find again the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel.

And this is what is at the core of the teaching of the Torah –

The wrapping up смысл of the whole system of sacrifices – we find in Lev.17:11 where God says: ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ потому что душа тела в крови, и Я назначил ее вам для жертвенника, чтобы очищать души ваши, ибо кровь сия душу очищает;

At Yom Kippur – in the Day of Atonement – the question still remains – where is the blood?

Under whose blood are the confessions of sins done? Or did God change His mind about the whole Torah?

And this Biblical notion of atonement by blood – has not been completely lost in Rabbinical Judaism. The redemption through the blood is still being understood by many religious Jews. – This is why some of them use the blood of chicken on the day of Yom Kippur. – This might appear ridiculous to many, but it stems вытекает from the biblical fact that redemption is done by blood.

On the day before Yom Kippur, they go very early in the morning and take a chicken. – Hold it by the legs and turn it around themselves. – There a special Hebrew prayer is recited: “This is my substitute.  This is my exchange.  This is my atonement.  This fowl will go to its death and I shall enter a good and long life of peace.” “Это – моя замена. Это – мой обмен. Это – мое искупление. Эта домашняя птица пойдёт в свою смерть, а я войду в хорошую и долгую мирную жизнь.”

This is a practice of Orthodox Jews only.

But the blood of animals cannot anymore atone for sin – because the Messiah has come.

I want to bring the last mention of the word atone in the Tanach. – It is found in the very prophecy of Daniel of the coming of the Messiah in Daniel 9:24. – See how noteworthy it is here. Оно достойно нашего внимания. – As Daniel had just confessed the sins of Israel and was eager жаждал for the Messianic Kingdome to be established, – there – at this point – he is given a new revelation. – He is told that the Messianic Kingdom was not going to be established right away and that – before it does – the Messiah so eagerly awaited was to come to die to provide atonement to the people. – See how God told him all these things: “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. Семьдесят седмин определены для народа твоего и святаго города твоего, чтобы покрыто было преступление, запечатаны были грехи и заглажены беззакония, и чтобы приведена была правда вечная, и запечатаны были видение и пророк, и помазан был Святый святых.

Where is the word atonement or pitch in there? It is the Hebrew Word for reconciliation – Kapar – covering – Only the Messiah can do this for us –

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I want to conclude with an extraordinary необычной story. – It is one story that we find right in the holy book of modern Judaism. – It is legend that took place, year after year, until the Messiah came.

This story is from them. It is a story that we as believers, should not miss – a story that we ought to share when presenting the Messiah. – It is one that we remind ourselves every year at this time.

This story is in the Talmud – the holy book of rabbinical Judaism. Let me give you the background of this legend first:  Based upon Isaiah 1:18, where Isaiah stated: though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow Если будут грехи ваши, как багряное, — как снег убелю it became a Jewish custom to tie a red ribbon around the neck of the live goat – the one that we call the scapegoat.

And the Talmud says that as the live goat was sent out into the wilderness, the red ribbon would miraculously turn white. – This the rabbis understood symbolized that God had forgiven Israel’s sins for that year.

And this happened year after year.  And guess when the Talmud says that the ribbon stopped turning white? See what it says –

Let me bring you to the TALMUD, in the book of  YOMA 39;B, this is one of two passages – there we read: Our Rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot [‘For the Lord’] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-coloured strap become white; nor did the westernmost light shine; and the doors of the Hekal (of the temple) would open by themselves… Наши Раввины учили: В течение последних сорока лет перед разрушением Храма жребий [‘Для Господа’] не приходил в правую руку; и тёмно-красная лента не становилась белой; и не горел самый западный светильник; и двери храма открывались сами собой…

They say that 40 years before the destruction of the Temple, the crimson-coloured strap did not become white тёмно–красная лента не становилась белой. First, what year was 40 years before the destruction of the Temple? 70 ad – 40 = 30 ad, the approx. Year of the crucifixion.

And from this time on, the crimson-coloured strap the one they use to tie around the neck of the scapegoat, stopped turning white.

This I find extraordinary – that they – themselves – testify that at the time of the crucifixion of Yeshua something unusual happened. – What they consider a sign from the Lord – had stopped. – WHY?  Because their Messiah was present on earth.

Now, understand what is happening here – that by their own writing, they recognize that something changed –

And what else they say happened 40 years before the destruction of the Temple?

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And the western candle in the candlestick in the sanctuary refused to burn continually… И западная свеча в подсвечнике святилища перестала непрерывно гореть …

These are in reference to the candlestick in the Holy Place – there were to burn continually – but they stopped burning at the crucifixion of the Messiah –

This I believe the Lord allowed to happen showing that the final Sacrifice had been given – that Yeshua had now come and that it was not through the temple that God now covers our sins – but that our sins are atoned by the blood of the Lamb who is the Messiah.

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And this was not the only sign – our God is a very generous God. – There were at least eight other signs given at around the very same time –

Four are given in the Talmud and Five in the Gospel:

1 – The ribbon attached to the Azazel did not change from red to white Talmud

2 – The light of the candlestick in the Holy Place just went off. Talmud

3 – The doors of the Temple opened and shut by themselves. Talmud

These were heavy doors that required many men to handle – they must have made such a noise, when Yeshua was crucified –

4 – The Sanhedrin had to move out of the Temple grounds. Talmud

This fourth one is seen in the book of Sanhedrin E – we read: Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the Sanhedrin was exiled and took up residence in Hanuth. За сорок лет до разрушения Храма, Синедрион был сослан и избрал своим местом пребывания Hanuth.

That says that the Sanhedrin who were gathering at a place called Hall of Hewn гранёных Stones – a place built into the north wall of the Temple Mount, half inside the sanctuary and half outside, with doors providing access both to the temple and to the outside – from this place they had to move to another place called on the Temple Mount outside – called Hanuth.

This tells us that something drastic радикальное happened in Israel at the time of the death of the Messiah.

All of these signs were available to the priests and the people of Israel. – It is not wonder that we read in Acts 6:7 that many priests came to believe: Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. И слово Божие росло, и число учеников весьма умножалось в Иерусалиме; и из священников очень многие покорились вере.

The priests are singled out выделены in this verse – they had a great signs presented to them.

As for the Gospels – they give us five other signs – do you remember what they are?

5 – The veil of the temple was torn – Mat.27:51.

6 – There was darkness all over the city and perhaps all over Israel and perhaps beyond – Mat.27:45.

7 There was an earthquake – with no casualties, because the Messiah was taking it in, all by Himself – Mat.27:54.

8-The rocks were split – Mat.27:51.

9-The graves were opened – Mat.27:52.

10– Many believers resurrected and went walking to the city – Mat.27:53.

With all of that – no one can accuse God of being silent. – Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds.

Not only the Scriptures testify of Yeshua – but even their own history. – God, in His grace, uses all that is necessary to bring about the salvation of His people.

Is not our God a Great God – unmatched in His forgiveness and grace?

Yom Kippur calls us to consider all that He is for us.

Let’s pray.