God's Appointed Times

The House of David

Day Of Atonement

It is about repentance in our hearts for the wrongs we have committed against others and to G-d. We can be saved by the blood of Christ and still go about doing others wrong and sinning against G-d by being disobedient. I like how the Jews come to G-d on this high holy day and seek forgiveness from others they have wronged throughout the year. There are two elements to Yom Kippur and they are:

1.                   Prayer

2.                   Fasting

Teshuvah (Repentance)

Yom Kippur is a day of reconciliation, when Jews strive to make amends with people and to draw closer to G-d through prayer and fasting. The ten days leading up to Yom Kippur are known as the Ten Days of Repentance. During this period you are encouraged to seek out anyone you may have offended and to sincerely request forgiveness so that the New Year can begin with a clean slate. If the first request for forgiveness is rebuffed, one should ask for forgiveness at least two more times, at which point the person whose forgiveness is being sought should grant the request.  It is considered cruel for anyone to withhold their forgiveness for offenses that have not caused irrevocable damage. 

 Although many people think that transgressions from the previous year are forgiven through prayer, fasting and participation in Yom Kippur services, but only offenses committed against G-d can be forgiven on Yom Kippur. Hence it is important that people make an effort to reconcile with others before participating in Yom Kippur services.

Prayer

Yom Kippur is the longest synagogue service in the Jewish year. It begins on the evening before Yom Kippur day with a haunting song called Kol Nidre (All Vows). The words of this melody ask God to forgive any vows people have made to God and not kept.

I wonder how many Christians have made promises to G-d that they haven't kept. This is a great time to renew your promises to the Lord and ask his forgiveness of the wrongs we've done against him and to our fellowman. After all, isn't this the whole objective to the obeying the 10 commandments. They represent our relationship to G-d and to our fellowman. 

 The Jewish concept of sin is not like the Christian concept of original sin. Christians believe that once you are forgiven and saved by the blood of the lamb that you are forever forgiven even if you repeat sin again. But if you'll look closely at the New Testament this is not what it says at all. But that when you sin you must repeatedly ask for forgiveness. 

It’s the kind of everyday offenses like hurting those we love, lying to ourselves or using foul language that Judaism views as sinful as well as Christians. You can clearly see examples of these infractions in the Yom Kippur liturgy, for instance in this excerpt from Al Khet:

For the sin that we have committed under stress or through choice;
For the sin that we have committed in stubbornness or in error;
For the sin that we have committed in the evil meditations of the heart;
For the sin that we have committed by word of mouth;
For the sin that we have committed through abuse of power;
For the sin that we have committed by exploitation of neighbors;
For all these sins, O G-d forgive us!

During the afternoon portion of the Yom Kippur service the Book of Jonah is read to remind people of God’s willingness to forgive those who are sincerely sorry. The last part of the service is called Ne’ilah (Shutting). The name comes from the imagery of Ne’ilah prayers, which talk about gates being shut against us. People pray intensely during this time, hoping to be admitted to God’s presence before the gates have been shut. 

You know Christ is coming back for a spotless, unblemished bride and so we need to take a look at how we have grieved the Holy Spirit, how we have failed to do his commandments, and walk in righteousness that he sacrificed so we could become holy before him. His judgment begins in the House of the Lord.

Fasting

Yom Kippur is also marked by 25 hours of fasting. There are other fast days in the Jewish calendar, but this is the only one the Torah specifically commands us to observe. Leviticus 23:27 describes it as "afflicting your souls" and during this time no food may be consumed.

The fast starts an hour before Yom Kippur begins and ends after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur this coming Friday. In addition to food, Jews are also forbidden from engaging in sexual sexual relations or wearing clothing made of animal skins. The prohibition against wearing leather comes from a reluctance to wear the skin of a slaughtered animal while asking God for mercy.

Christians come before the altar of the the slain lamb of G-d (the cross) to ask forgiveness. This would be a great time as Leviticus tells us to purge our hearts from uncleaness. Jeremiah cried out to G-d and said, Oh Lord, I am living in an unclean nation. Sounds like America today doesn't it. G-d tells us to come out of that kind of living and be holy before Him.

Who Fasts on Yom Kippur
Children under the age of nine are not allowed to fast, while children older than nine are encouraged to eat less. Girls who are 12 years or older and boys who are 13 years or older are required to participate in the full 25-hour fast along with adults. However, pregnant women, women who have recently given birth and anyone suffering from a life-threatening illness are not required to observe the fast. These people need food and drink to keep up their strength and where people know it or not, Judaism always values life above the observance of Jewish law.

Many people end the fast with a feeling of deep serenity, which comes from having made peace with others and with G-d. Oh let us return to our Judeo-Christian roots and bring back the commandments in our nation. Let us bring back prayer in our church and in our homes.


Wilson Voice:


When you begin to study Judaism and the history of the Christian Church we really don't have that much difference, we serve the same G-d and we are both looking for the coming of the Messiah. We have the same patriarchs, the same prophets, and the share the first 5 books of the bible (Torah). We are a branch in grafted into the root, and we are the HOUSE OF DAVID. Christians need to come back to the commandments and the Jewish people need to stop relying so much on rituals and works and know that it is righteousness unto works and not works unto righteousness. The massive Messianic movement is evangelizing to accomplish just this. What we both can do is pray and fast and come before the Lord on his appointed times.