Yom Kippur is just around the corner again!

YOM KIPPUR/DAY OF ATONEMENT - THE HOLIEST OF GOD'S APPOINTED TIMES - is once again on the horizon. Celebrated on Tishri 10 (which, this year (2024) on our Gregorian calendar begins at sunset on September 12), this "Fall Festival" High Holy Day always falls in the September/October time frame.

Leviticus 16:29 tells us: "It is to be a permanent regulation for you that on the tenth day of the seventh month you are to deny yourselves and not to do any kind of work, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you. For on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before ADONAI from all your sins. It is a Shabbat of complete rest for you, and you are to deny yourselves. This is a permanent regulation." (CJB)

NOTE: This COMMANDED High Holy Day is not just for the Jews; it is for ALL who have accepted YHWH (can also be written as Yahweh) as their God Most High, and His Divine Son, Messiah Yeshua. (See Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:13-16, Isaiah 56:6, Galatians 3:28 and Romans 10:12-13.)

On this solemn day we are to "deny ourselves" (i.e., fast, refrain from work of any kind, and repent and bare our souls to YHWH, asking Him to forgive us anything we may have done throughout the year that was not pleasing to Him).

Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins will not succeed; he who confesses and abandons them will gain mercy. (CJB)

1 John 1:7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Y’shua his Son cleanses us from all our sins. 8. And if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all our iniquity. 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not with us. (AENT)

This mo'ed (Appointed Time) also represents the need for the sacrifice/sin offering that must be made for the sins of the nation. As the Bible tells us, Messiah shall descend to put to an end the sins of Israel (Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21) .

At that time the Jews will mourn for the "One who was pierced" and FINALLY recognize that Yeshua was the Messiah, all along! This day will be fulfilled upon the Second Coming of Messiah to the Earth (Matt. 23:37-39, Hos. 5:15 thru 6:1-3, Zech. 13:8,9 Zech. 12:10, Zech. 13:1, Ezek. 16:61-63).

(TO REITERATE: "Israel" includes not just the Jewish people; but ALL who believe in and follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! And yes CHURCH, this includes you, as well. Jesus did not put an end to YHWH's Torah; he offered himself on the cross to remove our "certificate of sin and debt" so that we could enter into the Presence of YHWH.)

IN SHORT - this mo'ed signals the call for "Teshuva" - repentance - for the time is short and Judgment is coming upon the Earth, whether people are ready, or not! (See the Books of Daniel and Revelation.) Teshuvah basically allows us to erase our sins through a four-step process:

ONE: Leave the Sin. Leaving the sin consists of stopping the commission of the sinful act. You cannot do teshuvah if you continue to do the sin - period!

TWO: Regret. Regret is sincerely regretting one's wrong action. You must be genuinely ashamed and embarrassed over your sins. (This is where "God knows your heart" comes into play...)

THREE: Confession Before Yahweh. Confession before Yahweh means confession spoken out loud, in which you formulate in words the commitments and attitudes you have reached in your heart. It should go something like this: "I have sinned, I have done such and such; I deeply regret my actions, and I declare before Yahweh, Who knows my innermost thoughts, that I will never do this sin again."

(Note that this confession is directly to Yahweh. No one needs to confess to an intercessor as Catholics are told.)

FOUR. Acceptance for the Future. Acceptance for the future consists of resolving in your heart never to commit the sin ever again.

PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT these 4 steps are only for sins committed against Yahweh! For sins committed against a person, you must first ask forgiveness from that person and then ask Yahweh to accept your teshuvah.

And - these four steps are only valid if you do teshuvah AFTER an unintentional sin. You cannot say: "I can do this sin, then do teshuvah and He will forgive me..." It simply doesn't work that way! The Bible tells us that the sin offerings of Leviticus were for unintentional sin. There never was atonement for intentional sin, and there still is no atonement for deliberate sin...

Hebrews 10: 26 "For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." (CJB)

The good news is, Torah tells us that no matter how far we stray or how many times we sin, Yahweh will wait for us to return to Him.

Make sure YOU are ready! Your eternal life depends on it...

(Yom Kippur fast  begins right before the High  Shabbat starts at  sunset, so be sure to eat before then! Readings are as follows:  Morning: Lev. 16:1-  34, Num. 29:7-11, Isa. 57:14-  58:14, Mt. 27:1-32. Afternoon: Lev.  18:1-30, Jonah 1:1-4:11,  Micah 7:18-20, Mt. 27:33-66.)