Yom Kippur begins tomorrow night (Tuesday, October 4, 2022) before sundown and ends Wednesday night, October 5, 2022. It is the second of the Fall Feasts.
Leviticus 23:26-32 CJB “Adonai said to Moshe, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is Yom-Kippur; you are to have a holy convocation, you are to deny yourselves, and you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai. 28 You are not to do any kind of work on that day, because it is Yom-Kippur, to make atonement for you before Adonai your God. 29 Anyone who does not deny himself on that day is to be cut off from his people; 30 and anyone who does any kind of work on that day, I will destroy from among his people. 31 You are not to do any kind of work; it is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live. 32 It will be for you a Shabbat of complete rest, and you are to deny yourselves; you are to rest on your Shabbat from evening the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”
Unlike all other feasts, Yom Kippur is not a celebration, but a time of reflection, repentance, and reconciliation.
Peter wrote, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may lift you up at the appropriate time.1” Yom Kippur is an appointed time by God, a time set aside so that we can humble ourselves before God and get right with Him before the Feast of Tabernacles.
One of the ways we humble ourselves is through fasting. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, when you pray, when you fast, and when you give2. All three are part of the Fall Feast season. We also humble ourselves by eschewing sex, washing, applying lotions or oils, and wearing leather shoes. We also wear white on Wednesday to symbolize purity and remind ourselves of eternity3.
On Yom Kippur we accept the invitation to draw near to God through fasting, praying, and giving so that when Tabernacles comes we are ready for the celebration.
Just as Jesus fulfilled Passover and FirstFruits in His death and resurrection, He fulfilled Pentecost with the giving of the Holy Spirit. So too will He fulfill Trumpets with the catching away of the Church, Yom Kippur with judgment, Tabernacles with His millennial reign, and the eighth Day Assembly with eternity.
While we wait for the ultimate fulfillment, let us honor our Lord’s sacrifice for our sins by humbling ourselves through prayer and fasting on Yom Kippur. We know as believers, our names are written in the Lambs’ Book of Life, which gives us even more reason to make sure we are walking closely with God on this side of Heaven.
I pray that if you decide to fast tomorrow Evening through Wednesday night you have a meaningful and easy fast. This is an appointed time, God doesn’t miss His appointments, draw away with Him tomorrow, and be blessed.
- 1 Peter 5:5-6 TLV
- Matthew 6:1-21
- 19 Yom Kippur Facts
Scripture Readings for the day of Yom Kippur: Wednesday, October 5, 2022:
Morning Scripture Reading: Lev. 16; Num. 29:7-11, Isa. 57:14-58:14, [M: add Isa. 52:13-53;12,] Rom. 3:21-26; Heb.7-8.
Afternoon Scripture Reading: Lev. 18 [M: add Lev. 17], Jonah, Mic. 7:18-20, Heb. 9-10.
- Scripture readings are taken from The Complete Jewish Study Bible.
Casey D. Bell 