Yom Kippur
When we hear the word holiday, we usually think of something positive, since holidays usually bring us joy. But this is not the case with Yom Kippur. This is a fearful holiday, because on this day it is decided whether God will forgive our sins or not. We might think that this holiday is no longer necessary, since Jesus already sacrificed Himself for our sins.
Let’s start with the meaning of the holiday’s name. Yom Kippur means Day of Atonement—that is, the day when we make atonement before God for our sins. But this fearful day must be preceded by repentance. Because the sacrifice offered by the high priest, by itself, only brought atonement for those who sincerely repented of their sins and turned away from them. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews also speaks of this, saying that the celebration of Yom Kippur reminded the people of their sins year after year, since the blood of animals is not able to take away sins. That is why I said earlier that the meaning of the holiday lies in atonement, not in the taking away of sins.
We might think: Great, then we don’t have to deal with this holiday anymore, since Jesus is able to take away sins. But not so fast, brothers and sisters… It is exactly this kind of thinking that leads many Christians to offer only shallow repentance, saying a quick prayer for forgiveness to God without truly changing, without truly turning away from their sins.
The holiday of Yom Kippur pointed forward to Jesus, and until His coming it was absolutely necessary for people to make atonement before God for their sins. We no longer need to keep the liturgy of the holiday—and in fact, we couldn’t even if we wanted to, for several reasons, but mainly because the conditions are no longer in place (there is no temple, no Holy of Holies). Still, the holiday remains a holiday—for Jews and non-Jews alike—because for those who care about fellowship with God, it matters to set right with Him whatever stands in the way of a good relationship. For in order to establish and maintain a good relationship with God, what could be simpler for us to do than this:
„Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)
And how we can become holy—we can know this from the will of God, that is, from His law.
God expects preparation for the holiday and its observance. In the Torah we can read the order of it, which we will soon read together, yet one of the most important elements of the holiday is missing: the place (the Temple). Since the Temple no longer stands in Jerusalem, we might conclude that the holiday also ceased with it. But God did not allow the Temple to be destroyed almost 2,000 years ago in order to abolish everything connected with it, but rather to point to a new place and a new way—that is, to Jesus.
So let us read the passage connected with the holiday:
„The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died, and the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. "Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. "Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil and put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel. "And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. "Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. And he who lets the goat go to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned up with fire. And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. "And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins." And Moses did as the LORD commanded him.” (Leviticus 16:1-34)
The purpose of this holiday is obvious: to regret our bad deeds and to seek forgiveness from God. Regret our bad deeds by itself is worth nothing, but without it, forgiveness of sins is impossible. Just think of Judas Iscariot, who regretted betraying Jesus, but instead of facing what he had done, taking responsibility, and pleading for God’s forgiveness, he took his own life.
As we read, two goats were chosen by lot—one for the Lord, the other for Azazel. We have already spoken about Azazel earlier; more can be learned about him in The Book of Enoch. He was one of the “watcher” angels who took the daughters of men as wives. Azazel taught people how to make various iron weapons, how to mix colors, how to paint eyelids—that is, how to wage war and practice sorcery. That is why the Lord judged Azazel, saying: “Assign to him all sin.”
That is why the goat for Azazel had to be sent into the wilderness, the one upon which the sins of the people of Israel were placed. The goat had to be taken to the wilderness, because the Lord commanded the angel Raphael to bind Azazel in the desert of Dudael.
This holiday also foreshadows the final judgment. For the Lord has appointed a day on which He will judge everyone. He calls us to afflict ourselves, so that when the day of judgment comes, we may be ready. The degree of our self-affliction shows how deeply we regret our sins, how much we loathe them! But self-affliction can also be done in a routine (liturgical) way, which is of no benefit to a person.
„And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath."” (Leviticus 23:26-32)
It is not enough merely to take upon ourselves the outward signs established by the Lord—for example, not working on this day, afflicting ourselves with uncomfortable clothing, abstaining from food. Rather, there must first of all be inner spiritual anguish, from which these outward signs and manifestations flow.
For if there is no proper spiritual connection, then the outward manifestations are of no value.
The day of Yom Kippur is at the same time a wonderful opportunity to prepare ourselves for the day when we will stand before God’s throne for judgment. For that day will be at least as fearsome as when God descended upon the mountain in fire, amid loud trumpet blasts and a great earthquake. Even Moses himself was filled with fear and trembling.
On this holiday we can show God that we are not attached to earthly things, but that we are seeking a new home, a dwelling place where righteousness lives.
Antal Farkas
(October 1, 2025)
