Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Leviticus 16 outlines the requirements for Yom Kippur. It is a day when the Jewish people seek to expiate their intentional (transgression) and unintentional (iniquity) sins and achieve reconciliation with God. The purpose of Yom Kippur is to effect individual and collective purification by requesting from God, forgiveness of sins. This is done through sincere repentance for one’s own sins against God.
Every year (before the destruction of the Temple of God in Jerusalem), the high priest performed an elaborate sacrificial ceremony in the Temple, successfully confessing his own sins, the sins of the priest and the sins of all Israel. Through the sacrifice of an animal, God would forgive the Jewish people of their iniquity (unknown sin) for that year. It is important to note that God does not allow the Jewish people to sacrifice an animal outside of the Temple of God.
The ceremony concluded when a goat (the scapegoat) which symbolically ‘carried’ the sins of Israel was driven to its death in the wilderness.
Yom Kippur was the only day on which the high priest could enter the inner sanctum of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. There, he would perform a series of rituals and sprinkle blood from sacrificed animals on the Ark of The Covenant which contained the Ten Commandments.
Through this complex ceremony, the high priest made atonement and asked God for forgiveness on behalf of the people of Israel for that year. The Yom Kippur sacrifices continued until the destruction of the second Temple in 70 A.D and the construction of the Dome of the Rock mosque was put in place of the Temple’s in 685 A.D.
Destruction Of The Temple Of God Has Stopped Yom Kippur
Since God does not allow sacrifices to be made outside of the Temple, the Jewish people adapted Yom Kippur after the destruction of the second Temple. The ceremony was adapted into a service for Rabbis and their congregants to perform in individual synagogues. This adaptation essentially omits the animal sacrifice and is based solely on the prayers portion of the ceremony. The Jewish people had to omit the sacrificial portion since God does not allow an animal sacrifice to take place outside of the Temple.
However, the omission of the sacrificial portion of the ceremony in Judaism’s adaptation is not sanctified by God in the bible. This substitution is not scripturally based since atonement is only in the shed blood and not in prayers:
Leviticus 17:11 – For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement.
Hebrews 9:22 – Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
God adamantly commands that in order to receive forgiveness of sins, animal sacrifices (burnt offerings) must be made twice a day (the daily sacrifices) as well as yearly which is Yom Kippur. This is to be a permanent statute that is to be observed throughout the generations.
Exodus 29:42 “It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.”
A Brief History Of The Tent Of Meeting (LINK coming soon)
Leviticus 16 outlines the sacrificial ceremony of Yom Kippur. This chapter clearly shows how absolutely necessary the Temple of God is in order to perform Yom Kippur. The ceremony must be performed in the Holy of Holies. It cannot be done anywhere else.
This is why the current adaptation that Judaism has created is not sanctioned by God in the bible. The Temple and the sacrifice are the most important elements of the ceremony. Without the Temple or the sacrifice, Yom Kippur cannot be completed and there remains no forgiveness of unknown sins (iniquity).
Leviticus 16 Yom Kippur Procedure
1Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD. 2And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
3This is how Aaron is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them. 5And he shall take from the congregation of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.
6Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household. 7Then he shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
8After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat, 9he shall present the goat chosen by lot for the LORD and sacrifice it as a sin offering. 10But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement by sending it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
11When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil. 13He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die. 14And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.
15Aaron shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the veil, and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.
16So he shall make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the impurities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting which abides among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities.
It is clear to see that animal sacrifices play a very important role in ceremonies as the atonement is in the blood
Leviticus 17:11 – For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
Hebrews 9:22 – In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Originally, the Tent of Meeting was the portable earthly dwelling place of the God of Israel. It housed the Ark of the Covenant until the first Temple, commonly referred to as “Solomon’s Temple” was built. The spirit of God rested upon the Tent of Meeting and it was used by the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt and their wilderness experience. Moses was instructed on Mount Sinai on how to construct and transport this Tabernacle through the wilderness and into the Promised Land.
Click Here for a Brief History Of The Tent of Meeting (LINK coming soon)
After 440 years, Solomon’s Temple was constructed. The Ark of The Covenant was moved into the Temple and the Spirit of God rested in the Temple.
Leviticus 16 continued
Leviticus 16:17 No one may be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he leaves, after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.
18Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. 19He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
20When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he is to bring forward the live goat. 21Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task. 22The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness.
23Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen garments he put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there. 24He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his own clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25He is also to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26The man who released the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.
27The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; and their hides, flesh, and dung must be burned up. 28The one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.
29This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselvese and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you— 30because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.
32The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments 33and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the assembly.
34This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement once a year for the Israelites because of all their sins.”
And all this was done as the LORD had commanded Moses.
As we can see in verse 34, it is absolutely imperative that the Yom Kippur ceremony is performed in the Temple of God. The scripture clearly states that this is a permanent statute – it cannot be changed. The instructions on how to perform the ceremony cannot be altered either. There must be the shedding of blood in order for atonement of sins to take place.
Leviticus 17:11 – For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement.
Hebrews 9:22 – Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
The reason why the Temple was destroyed and will never be rebuilt is because a new Temple, more magnificent than all before it has come. That temple is Jesus. The only way to receive forgiveness of sins now, is through accepting Jesus as the Messiah, and to adopt his teachings and commandments as your own.
Jesus Fulfills Yom Kippur
Hebrews 10:1-23 – For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
The Jewish people have been placed in a difficult predicament – either accept the teachings of Jesus to receive forgiveness of their sins or else, die in their sin.
John 8:21 & 24 – Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come…. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
Without accepting Jesus, the Jewish people would die in their sin because the Temple of God is no longer available to perform sacrifice for their sins (iniquity). The Temple Of God has been occupied by the Dome of the Rock mosque which is also written about in the book of Daniel.
Daniel 9:27 – And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.
Daniel 11:31 – Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.
Matthew 24:15 – So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand
The ceremony from Leviticus 16 is also mentioned in the New Testament with Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.
Luke 1:5-11 – In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
This New Testament account of the ceremony took place before Jesus was born, as Zechariah and Elizabeth are the parents of John the Baptist who was born before Jesus. At this point, John the Baptist had not even been conceived yet.
Once Jesus spoke and died due to his message of truth, he became the true Temple. He carried the presence of God, meaning the Holy Spirit. Jesus represents the name of God which means that he represents God’s teachings and standards.
Believing the scriptures like Jesus did, and in his death and resurrection (meaning that due to his truthful message of following God’s word without compromise or exceptions) will ensure that God will raise you from the dead and you will inherit eternal life just like Jesus. We must believe that Jesus was raised from the dead by God due to the truth of his philosophies and teachings.
Jesus’ teachings wash away all iniquity (unintentional sin/unknown sin) since his teachings uncover every sin in our lives. Through his teachings, we now know how to fulfill God’s commandments in our lives. Thus, making the sacrifice and old Temple system obsolete. This new covenant supersedes and makes the old covenant unnecessary. The new covenant is within Jesus’ teachings. If we compromise his teachings, we are not part of the new covenant. In the same way, the Jewish people have compromised the old covenant and so are no longer part of it.
Hebrews 8:1-13 – Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.
The second Temple was not destroyed until 70 A.D. which is seventy years after Jesus’ death. God allowed the Temple system to remain as an acceptable atonement for sins during this time. This means that the Jewish people were receiving forgiveness for their sins under the old system during this time. So Paul is stating that this alternative will soon become obsolete and disappear.
If Jesus were still on earth, he would not be a priest in the Temple. His covenant is superior to the first covenant with its earthly Temple system. Jesus is a heavenly spiritual Temple system through a new covenant.
Continued…Hebrews 8:5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Through the second covenant, God will give each follower of Jesus the Holy Spirit making them all part of the heavenly Temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 – Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1 Corinthians 6:19 – Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
2 Corinthians 6:16 – What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Ephesians 2:21-22 – in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by[a] the Spirit.
Hebrews 3:6 – but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope
1 Corinthians 3:9 – For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Continued…Hebrews 8:11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
Through Jesus’ teachings, our iniquities are forgiven forever.
Continued…Hebrews 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Paul is stating that the earthly Temple system which existed in his time was beginning to become obsolete and will one day vanish altogether. That day came seventy years after Jesus’ death when the second Temple was destroyed by the Roman empire. Furthermore, when the Dome of the Rock was built, God ensured that the earthly Temple system disappeared for good.
Once Jesus came, the ceremony of Yom Kippur and the physical temple and its sacrifices were no longer necessary.
With the absence of a temple and altar today, it is forbidden to offer sacrifices. However, today the Jewish sages have compromised and twisted their teachings, stating that certain prayers are now acceptable as a substitution for the daily and Yom Kippur sacrifices. This adaptation is not stated in scripture as the shedding of blood is required for the forgiveness of sins.
Leviticus 17:11 – For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement.
Hebrews 9:22 – Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Essentially, Judaism has become obsolete. The purpose of any religion is to become one with God by ridding ourselves of sin through God’s forgiveness. This is no longer possible for the Jewish people unless they accept Jesus as the Messiah, the spiritual Temple and the final sacrifice for sin.
Read Next: The Importance Of The Temple Of God
