Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

The Day of Atonement, pictures the fifth step in Elohim’s Master Plan; deposing Satan from his position as world ruler, and his removal to a place completely removed from mankind. Satan will be “bound’ for a thousand years, no longer able to deceive mankind to sin. The Day of Atonement is perhaps the most unusual Set-apart Day, because it is the one day on which Elohim has commanded His people the commonwealth of Israel to abstain from food and drink for twenty four hours, from sunset on the ninth day of Tishrei to sunset on the tenth day of Tishrei on the Hebrew calendar. Yahshua Messiah, the future ruler of the earth, qualified to rule by being completely submissive to Elohim’s government and perfectly humble. One of His last acts with His disciples included establishing the Passover ordinance of foot washing to picture humility. His suffering and death to pay the penalty of human sin and to remarry His bride, made up of a remnant of Torah observant Jews and returning Israelites who were suitably immersed in Messiah’s saving name for the forgiveness of their past trespasses and who remain faithful to the end, was an act of extreme humility, of complete submission to the Father’s will, and of perfect love for His people.

True believers from both houses of Israel in like manner must humble themselves, before they will be allowed to rule the world under Messiah. No ruler in Elohim’s Kingdom can be arrogant or selfish, as Yahshua explained to Yaa’cov and Yochanan in Mark 10: 42 – 45, saying to them: “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. (43) But it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; (44) and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. (45) For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Fasting on the Day of Atonement is a powerful reminder of the state of mind necessary for salvation; of humility, sincere sorrow, earnestly seeking Elohim and His Torah way of life. The world including many Israelites who have lost their identity today is filled with splendor and pride and does not realize that they are cut off from Elohim, because of sin caused by Satan, as witnessed in Isaiah 59: 2 in this way: ‘But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your Elohim, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.’ Only Torah observant Jews and those few whom YHVH is calling from the house of Israel (who used to believe that they are Gentiles, including a number of real Gentiles) are now reconciled to Him. The rest of mankind must wait until after Satan’s imprisonment after the 1,000 year reign of Messiah on a future Day of Atonement, after which they will be humbled and ready to be reconciled with Elohim.

Even after the terrible events pictured in the book of Revelation by the six seals and six trumpet plagues, mankind will not repent and return to Elohim, as witnessed in Revelation 9: 20 & 21, as follows: ‘And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; (21) and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.’ We see that even after the seven last plagues; the wrath of Elohim, many people will still be rebellious, as we read from Revelation 16: 10 & 11, in this way: ‘And the fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, (11) and they blasphemed the Elohim of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.’ The main reason why human beings won’t repent at that time, is as we read from Revelation 12: 9, as follows: ‘And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.’ If you are able to recall how the world absolutely goes crazy during their pagan holiday seasons (Xmas and Easter), it is not difficult to understand how Satan has blinded people to the true gospel (2 Corinthians 4: 3 & 4[1]) and deceived the whole world to do the exact opposite of what YHVH requires of His followers (Jeremiah 10: 1 – 5[2]). We see according to Revelation 18: 3 that the people are spiritually drunk, and will even attempt to fight Messiah at His return, as we read from Revelation 16: 13 & 14, in this way: ‘And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; (14) for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of Elohim, the Almighty.’ Yes, Satan and his demons are behind this deception.  

We see from Ephesians 2: 1 & 2, that the present world is ruled invisibly by Satan, as follows: ‘And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, (2) in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.’ But, the world to come will be ruled by Yahshua Messiah assisted by the first fruits from both houses of Israel, to be born again in the first Resurrection, as witnessed in Revelation 20: 6, in this way: ‘Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of Elohim and of Messiah and will reign with Him for a thousand years.’ We see from Revelation 19: 11 – 16 that Yahshua will replace Satan as supreme ruler, as follows: ‘And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. (12) And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. (13) And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of Elohim. (14) And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. (15) And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of Elohim, the Almighty. (16) And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND MASTER OF MASTERS.”’

As much as Yahshua will replace Satan as the supreme ruler of the earth, so will the resurrected first fruit believers in Yahshua and Torah observant Jews replace the demons to rule over the nations, as witnessed in 1 Corinthians 6: 2 & 3, in this way: ‘Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? (3) Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this life?’ A second witness is found in Revelation 2: 26, as follows: “And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.” In addition, Rav Shaul shows that Elohim will crush Satan under our feet in Romans 16: 20[3]. After Messiah’s return to enforce Elohim’s government on earth, Satan will be bound in a symbolic chain and locked up to prevent him from deceiving mankind, as witnessed in Revelation 20: 1 – 3, in this way: ‘And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. (2) And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, (3) and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.’

Let’s now turn to Leviticus 23 to see how this fifth step in Elohim’s Master Plan is pictured by a symbolic ceremony in the Torah. We read from verses 27, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to YHVH.” We see that even though we are fasting on the Day of Atonement, YHVH wants us to assemble before Him on that day. The churches of the world misunderstood most aspects of Elohim’s Set-apart Days and have almost universally decided not to keep these annual reminders of Elohim’s plan, and therefore do not have a clue about His plan of salvation for all mankind. They have especially misunderstood the symbolism of the Day of Atonement; and no wonder, since this day more than any other Set-apart Day is hated by Satan, as it pictures his defeat. Leviticus 16 details what Elohim commanded the Levitical high priests to do on the Day of Atonement. Even though these rituals are no longer performed, they picture the binding of Satan; the fifth step in Elohim’s plan to restore His government on earth and eventually bring knowledge of the salvation of all mankind. These rituals that Elohim gave the high priests to perform, was to remind the Israelites of their sins, that the penalty for sin is death, and that they would need a Savior to pay the penalty for their sins. Once Yahshua became the sacrifice for the sins of the world, the sacrificial law in respect of sin was satisfied. It is for that reason that sacrifices in respect of sin are no longer offered today. Yahshua’s death atoned for both the houses of Israel as witnessed in John 11: 49 – 52, as follows: ‘But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, (50) nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.” (51) Now this he did not say on his own initiative; but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Yahshua was going to die for the nation (the house of Judah),  (52) and not for the nation only, but that He might also gather together into one the children of Elohim (the house of Israel) who are scattered abroad.’  Nevertheless, His death will also atone for the rest of mankind, once YHVH opens their minds to understand the Scriptures after Messiah’s millennial rule, during the Great White Throne judgment, when all knees will bow before Him, accepting Him as their Savior.

Even though these rituals are no longer performed, we are still able to see their symbolic meanings. But, we need to understand a few important facts regarding Elohim’s Tabernacle and the Levitical priesthood. Once the nation of Israel agreed to worship YHVH, Moses recounted the words of Elohim to the people and explained to them in detail how YHVH should be worshipped (Exodus 24). The first instructions He gave were for His Tabernacle (Exodus 25 – 27 & 30). Aaron and his sons were divinely appointed, not elected. Elohim was in charge. The Tabernacle included a courtyard enclosed by curtains, an altar, a laver and a central tent. The tent was divided into two sections by a veil. The section behind the veil was referred to as the Holy of Holies. The front section of the tent was called the holy place. The Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle represented Elohim’s throne in heaven. The Ark of the Covenant, with the wings of the cherubim spread overhead, was contained in the Holy of Holies (Exodus 25: 10 – 22). Inside the Ark were the tablets of stone upon which Elohim wrote the Ten Commandments. The lid of the Ark, which was called the mercy seat, was where YHVH manifested Himself. Only the Levitical high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement to perform a special ceremony depicting the binding of Satan. Elohim thus emphasized how important this day is, symbolically linking it to man’s access to Him.  We turn to Leviticus 16 to go through the rituals that were to be performed on the Day of Atonement. We read from verse 2: ‘And YHVH said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at 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 over the mercy seat.”’ Verses 29 & 30 confirmed that Aaron was only allowed to enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, as follows: “And this shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls, and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; (30) for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before YHVH.” We also see from verse 4 that before entering the Holy of Holies, the high priest had to bathe and dress in his special priestly garments, in this way: “He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash, and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on.”

Next we see from verse 6 that the high priest sacrificed a young bull to make atonement for himself, as follows: “Then Aaron shall offer the bull for a sin offering which is for himself, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household.” The sacrifice was made on the altar in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. We see from verse 17 that only the high priest was allowed in the courtyard, in this way: “When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel.” Yes, this was not a public ceremony – it was between the high priest and Elohim alone. The high priest then took a firepan full of hot coals from the altar, with two hands full of finely ground sweet incense and went into the Holy of Holies (verse 12). We see from verse 13 & 14, “And he shall put the incense on the fire before YHVH, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, lest he die. (14) Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.” Verses 5 & 7 tell us that the high priest beforehand took two goats from the congregation, as follows: “And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. (7) And he shall take the two goats and present them before YHVH at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” We continue to read from verse 8, “And Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for YHVH and the other lot for the scapegoat. (The footnote against the word scapegoat in the New American Standard Bible reads: lit., goat of removal, or else a name: Azazel.) We see from verses 9, 15 & 16: “Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for YHVH fell, and make it a sin offering. (15) Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which 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, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. (16) And he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions, in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.”

The second goat was presented alive, as witnessed in verse 10, in this way: “But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell, shall be presented alive before YHVH, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.” The English word ‘scapegoat’ is not a correct translation of the Hebrew word Elohim inspired. The original word was Azazel, a name used among the early Semitic dwellers in the Sinai desert, referring to Satan the devil. James Moffat therefore translated it as "Azazel the demon” in the Moffat translation of the Bible. Modern commentaries often misunderstood this azazel goat, which is not surprising, since Satan has deceived the whole world and many believe that he does not exist. As we’ve seen from Ephesians 2: 2, Satan is the real cause behind human sin. We see from verse 21 of Leviticus 16, that the high priest laid both his hands on the head of the live goat, symbolically putting the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions on the head of the goat and sent it away into the wilderness, by the hand of a man standing by. We read from verse 22: “And the goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.” Even though bulls, goats and rams were a normal part of the daily sacrificial rituals, two things were particularly unusual about the rituals done on the Day of Atonement. The high priest entered the Holy of Holies and one goat was ceremonially led into the wilderness. We notice from Leviticus 16: 10 and 22 that the azazel goat remained alive, whilst the goat for YHVH was sacrificed. The reason for this being; that Satan is a spirit being and therefore unable to die, as Yahshua said in Luke 20: 36. The wilderness represents the black darkness spoken about in Jude 13, to which wandering stars or fallen angels (Jude 6) will ultimately be banished forever.

What connection do these two rituals have to do with the fifth step in Elohim’s plan in restraining Satan? We turn to the book of Hebrews to find the answer. We see from Hebrews 8: 1 – 2, that the innermost part of the physical Tabernacle, made with hands, represent Elohim’s heavenly throne, as follows: ‘Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, (2) a minister in the sanctuary, and in the true tabernacle, which YHVH pitched, not man.’ Verses 4 & 5 of Hebrews 8 inform us that the priestly ceremonies foreshadowed things in heaven, in this way: ‘Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; (5) who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by Elohim when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for , “SEE,” He says, “THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.” We also see from Hebrews 3: 1 that Yahshua Messiah is now our Eternal High Priest, as follows: ‘Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Yahshua, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.’ A second witness comes from Hebrews 6: 19 & 20, in this way: ‘This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, (20) where Yahshua has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ The book of Hebrews was written to people who were familiar with the priestly functions. The author shows that Yahshua fulfilled all of their symbolism and has become a high priest of a much higher and eternal rank. Of necessity there had to be many high priests in the time of the Tanach, because each would eventually die and a new one would be installed, but Messiah, being immortal, is now High Priest forever, as we read from Hebrews 7: 23 & 24, as follows: ‘And the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers, because they were prevented by death from continuing, (24) but He, on the other hand, because He abides forever, holds this priesthood permanently.’

In addition Yahshua being perfect and sinless did not have to offer sacrifices for himself, as the Levitical high priest had to (Hebrews 7: 26 & 27). Therefore Messiah, in sacrificing His sinless life, could permanently pay for our sins, as we read from verse 28, ‘For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.’ It is clear that Aaron and his descendants, the high priests in succeeding generations pictured Yahshua Messiah. Their role on the Day of Atonement symbolized what Messiah did in atoning for our sins. A sin offering was a sacrifice required from a person who sinned. The sacrifices pictured that the penalty for sin is death. However, we see from Hebrews 10: 4, ‘For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.’ So, it is clear, the sacrifices were only foreshadows picturing Messiah’s sacrifice, once for all. The blood of the bullock that was offered as a sin offering was taken into the Holy of Holies, as we read from Hebrew 9: 7, 21 & 22, as follows: ‘But into the second only the high priest enters, once a year, not without taking blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. (21) And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. (22) And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.’  In the Ark of the Covenant beneath the mercy seat were two tablets of stone on which were the Ten Commandments. Since these laws had been broken, making it necessary to make a sin offering, the sacrificial blood was sprinkled on and before the Ark, symbolically atoning for transgressions of Elohim’s eternal spiritual laws.

The high priest’s special garments represented righteousness and the bathing before putting on these garments, represented a clean heart or conscience, as we read from Hebrews 10: 22, in this way: ‘Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.’ The cloud of sweetness created by the high priest when he entered the Holy of Holies represented the prayers of true believers, as witnessed in Revelation 8: 3 & 4, as follows: ‘And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. (4) And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before Elohim out of the angel’s hand.’ The high priest used sweet incense, picturing our prayers to Elohim. The incense was beaten fine, showing that we should be detailed in our prayers. In ancient Israel as witnessed in the Tanach, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies behind the veil once a year. But after Yahshua’s death, the veil supernaturally tore from top to bottom, symbolically opening the way to Elohim’s throne, as witnessed in Matthew 27: 50 & 51, in this way: ‘And Yahshua cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. (51) And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split.’ This essentially indicated, that we are now allowed direct access to Elohim the Father through our prayers, needing no intermediary, but Messiah. We read accordingly from Hebrews 10: 19 & 20, ‘Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Yahshua, (20) by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.’ By praying in and through the name of Yahshua, the prayers of returning Israelites ascend to Elohim’s throne by the authority of our High Priest. Only the high priest and a few assistants were involved in performing the ritualistic observances on the Day of Atonement. But, the whole population or congregation of Israel also had a part of its own to play. That part is to fast and abstain from work on the Day of Atonement. What connection is there between the removal of Satan and our having to fast? Satan works in humans by appealing to the lust of our flesh and the pride of life, as witnessed in 1 John 2: 16, as follows: ‘For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.’ By fasting we deny our fleshly lusts and it humbles us, therefore diminishing Satan’s influence in our personal lives; picturing in each of us Satan’s eventual complete suppression and removal from all of mankind.

We are commanded in Leviticus 23: 28 – 32, “Neither shall you do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before YHVH your Elohim. (29) If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. (30) As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. (31) You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. (32) It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest to you; and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your Sabbath.” But, how should one “afflict” his body on this day?  We get the answer from Ezra 8: 21, in this way: ‘Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our Elohim to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.’ We see further from the Scriptures that fasting means going without both food and drink, as we read from the first part of Esther 4: 16, in this way: “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.” The word ‘afflict’ is translated from the Hebrew word ‘anah’, which means ‘to be afflicted, to humble oneself, to oppress, to depress, to fast.’ Elohim inspired the same Hebrew word in Deuteronomy 8: 2 – 3, as follows: “And you shall remember all the way which YHVH your Elohim has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. (3) And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of YHVH.” The question is: why are sacrifices for sin not required any longer, but we are still required to fast on the Day of Atonement? The difference between them is that the rituals were commanded to be performed by the high priests as a type of the sacrifice of Yahshua the Messiah, but fasting was commanded for the entire congregation, as a perpetual statute throughout their generations.

All “laborious” work, meaning physical and mental labor associated with earning a living is prohibited on all weekly and annual Sabbaths. Minor work required for food preparation is allowed for all the Feast Days of Elohim, except for on the Day of Atonement. We see from verse 31 of Leviticus 23, that like on a regular weekly Sabbath, “You shall do no work at all” on the Day of Atonement.  But, we should not mourn as we fast and afflict our souls on the Day of Atonement. Even though we sorrow for sin and its results, we can rejoice that Elohim will in His plan, completely eliminate it as we read from Revelation 21: 4. Though we may feel weak by our fast, we can be exited with hope of eternal life. The word ‘atonement’ means ‘to make at one with.’ The Day of Atonement symbolizes Elohim and man being made at one: literally the Day of At-one-ment! All of us have sinned and have become separated from Elohim.  Our need for reunification – atonement – with Elohim is emphasized by the word ‘atonement’ appearing 49 times in the book of Leviticus. We see from Matthew 4: 1 – 11 that Yahshua conquered Satan through fasting, thereby qualifying to rule the world.  In Elohim’s calendar, every day begins at sunset as per Genesis 1: 5, 8, 13 & 19. We also see from Leviticus 23: 32 that the fast on the Day of Atonement is to commence at sunset or in the evening from the ninth day of the seventh month, to sunset in the evening of the tenth of the seventh month. We also see that the Day of Atonement was kept by believers in Messiah, after His death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, as recorded in Acts 27: 9, as follows: ‘And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Shaul began to admonish them.’  The footnote against the words ‘the fast’ in the New American Standard Bible reads: i.e., Day of Atonement in September or October. These early Nazarene believers in Messiah set the example for us the latter day Nazarene followers of Messiah.

We see further from Leviticus 25: 9 - 10, that the Day of Atonement was the beginning of a time of release in ancient Israel, in this way: ‘You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. (10) You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.’ The Jubilee Year was given to the Israelites so that their poor might be released from debts they were unable to pay. Every fiftieth year all debts were pardoned and those who had sold themselves into slavery were freed. Land lost through poverty was restored to the family originally owning it. This was done on the Day of Atonement, thus connecting this Set-apart Day with a release from bondage. This is typical of man’s future Atonement release from spiritual bondage; released from all spiritual debts and sins – freedom from the temptations and deceptions of Satan and his demons – and of the restoration to each nation of its own Elohim ordained land.

In addition to fasting on the Day of Atonement, all believers should occasionally fast on days of their own choosing, except for those with medical limitations. We know that Yahshua our Messiah fasted, an example being before He started His ministry in Matthew 4: 2. We see further that Yahshua instructed His followers how to fast in Matthew 6: 16 – 18, saying: “And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. (17) But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, (18) so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” Yes, fasting should not be a ‘show’ as it is not a proof of spirituality. The effectiveness of fasting is between us and Elohim. The purpose of fasting is to get closer to Elohim, to spend more time studying His Word, more time in prayer and meditation, striving to learn His will and way. Fasting should humble us to help us to be willing to yield to Elohim’s will, whether it is according to our own desires or not. Fasting shows us how dependent we are on food and water; fasting is a test to see which we will put first – will it be the lust of the flesh or the sincere desire to get closer to Elohim. We read from Isaiah 58: 6 & 7, what our attitude should be during a fast, as follows: “Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? (7) It is not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” We see from Acts 13: 2 & 3 that Elohim’s servants fasted to learn His will, in this way: ‘And while they were ministering to YHVH and fasting, the Set-apart Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Shaul for the work to which I have called them.” (3) Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.’ Fasting is an excellent time to examine ourselves spiritually, to recognize our shortcomings and overcome them. Fasting, when done in a right attitude, will help us submit to Elohim’s will, to become more at one with Him, to accept His answer to our prayers, to have greater faith, and to resist Satan’s temptations. 

When Messiah returns to earth in power and glory, He will have Satan bound for a thousand years. No longer will Satan be able to work in the children of disobedience. The minds of men formerly blinded spiritually by Satan, will be opened to Elohim’s Set-apart Spirit. Freed from the influence of Satan, the world will become responsive to Elohim’s way of life. For the first time, humanity as a whole will understand Elohim’s Master Plan of salvation. People will then begin to understand their wrong ways, repent and receive forgiveness of their sins by accepting Yahshua as their Savior. Only then will man become at one with Elohim, as pictured by the Day of Atonement. Halleluyah!

 

 

[1] 2 Corinthians 4: 3 & 4: ‘And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of Elohim.’

[2] Jeremiah 10: 1 – 5: ‘Hear the word which YHVH speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says YHVH, “Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens although the nations are terrified by them; for the customs of the peoples are delusion; because it is wood cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They decorate it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers so that it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, nor can they do any good.’

[3] Romans 16: 20, ‘And the Elohim of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Master Yahshua be with you.’