Here's the Democratic National Anthem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAd0jOuQg8o&feature=related
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Friday, October 5, 2007
Passover
I love Passover. I love its sights, sounds, and smells. I love to think about our people, the chosen seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, leaving Egypt for the land God had promised He would give to their decedents, filled with unspeakable joy at knowing their bondage was over. God had a calling for the people of Israel to fulfill, a calling they have today and throughout all their generations.
Of course God had made a plan long before that, when Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden against Him, deciding to do things their own way. We all remember the series of events: they ate the forbidden fruit, saw that they were naked, and in shame tried to cover themselves with leaves to hide from God. How very sad indeed. And of course they remembered what God had told them: eat the fruit of the Tree of Life and you will die. I wonder if they really thought leaves could hide them.
We know that the leaves would in no way cover their nakedness. Oh, perhaps they would have lasted for a few hours, maybe even a day. But when it got down to it, no covering they could produce was of any value. It was God who in His mercy made them clothing of animal skins. Imagine their horror at seeing a few animals (for which they had been responsible) now dead heaps of bloody meat. God had provided a covering for their sin and shame, but it required the shedding of innocent blood. Was this what awaited them?
Many years later, after establishing His chosen people from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He heard their cries as they were bitterly enslaved, and God would answer with the sending of a deliverer, Moshe. Moshe heard from God: have the people slaughter a perfect, spotless lamb, just as God himself had slaughtered animals for Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness and shame.
The lamb was an instrument of redemption for Israel. A spotless, pure lamb would be sacrificed, and its blood smeared over the doorpost. It was this blood on the doorpost what would be seen by the Angel of Death, the blood that would serve as a sign that inside were people who had been redeemed and the blood that would guarantee: anyone behind the door that night would live to leave Egypt. The blood would be smeared over the entirety of the doorpost, not just a three spot splotching of blood, as many believe. It covered the entire doorpost.
It’s interesting to note here that the doorpost is shaped like the Hebrew letter “chet”, which is on either side of the title of the article. It’s particularly interesting that this letter is the first in the word “chayim” which means life. Even that letter itself stands for the word life in Hebrew. So you see, when they saw the blood on the post, they not only knew it was the blood of redemption: they knew that blood means life, as said in Leviticus 17:11. I would encourage you to read the passage, especially in light of Yeshua’s blood atonement, which doesn’t just cover us, our nakedness and shame, but washes away the guilt and removes the shame, because we have life in Him, the spotless Lamb. God had once again made the sacrifice for us because we were unable to make a covering for ourselves. Covering? Not anymore. This perfect sacrifice doesn’t just cover our shame, but it washes clean the stain of sin for all who believe.
Of course God had made a plan long before that, when Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden against Him, deciding to do things their own way. We all remember the series of events: they ate the forbidden fruit, saw that they were naked, and in shame tried to cover themselves with leaves to hide from God. How very sad indeed. And of course they remembered what God had told them: eat the fruit of the Tree of Life and you will die. I wonder if they really thought leaves could hide them.
We know that the leaves would in no way cover their nakedness. Oh, perhaps they would have lasted for a few hours, maybe even a day. But when it got down to it, no covering they could produce was of any value. It was God who in His mercy made them clothing of animal skins. Imagine their horror at seeing a few animals (for which they had been responsible) now dead heaps of bloody meat. God had provided a covering for their sin and shame, but it required the shedding of innocent blood. Was this what awaited them?
Many years later, after establishing His chosen people from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He heard their cries as they were bitterly enslaved, and God would answer with the sending of a deliverer, Moshe. Moshe heard from God: have the people slaughter a perfect, spotless lamb, just as God himself had slaughtered animals for Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness and shame.
The lamb was an instrument of redemption for Israel. A spotless, pure lamb would be sacrificed, and its blood smeared over the doorpost. It was this blood on the doorpost what would be seen by the Angel of Death, the blood that would serve as a sign that inside were people who had been redeemed and the blood that would guarantee: anyone behind the door that night would live to leave Egypt. The blood would be smeared over the entirety of the doorpost, not just a three spot splotching of blood, as many believe. It covered the entire doorpost.
It’s interesting to note here that the doorpost is shaped like the Hebrew letter “chet”, which is on either side of the title of the article. It’s particularly interesting that this letter is the first in the word “chayim” which means life. Even that letter itself stands for the word life in Hebrew. So you see, when they saw the blood on the post, they not only knew it was the blood of redemption: they knew that blood means life, as said in Leviticus 17:11. I would encourage you to read the passage, especially in light of Yeshua’s blood atonement, which doesn’t just cover us, our nakedness and shame, but washes away the guilt and removes the shame, because we have life in Him, the spotless Lamb. God had once again made the sacrifice for us because we were unable to make a covering for ourselves. Covering? Not anymore. This perfect sacrifice doesn’t just cover our shame, but it washes clean the stain of sin for all who believe.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
First Fruits—The True Resurrection Day
Sifrat Haomer is better known to us as First Fruits, and in Israel as Yom HaBikkurim. It's not exactly a well-known feast; there are a few good reasons for this. It comes during the Passover/Unleavened holy days. Those seem to be the focus (particularly Passover) for most people. It is also not well known since it is tied in with agriculture. And of course, most of us don't, as we say in East Texas, bust ground. Most of us city folk are barely acquainted with the finer points of farming.
But Sifrat Haomer is a wonderful feast that God gave Israel, and for those of us who know Yeshua the Messiah, it should be a day of great celebration. Let's take a look at this little-known moed, or appointed time.
Passover arrives, and we celebrate the ultimate meaning of Passover, that of the blood of Yeshua delivering us from the bondage of sin and slavery to the world's system. It is the blood of Yeshua that fulfills Leviticus 17:11: "Life is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." (NKJV) Unleavened Bread follows immediately after Passover, reminding us to live holy lives, not living in sin while claiming salvation. As Sha'ul wrote to the Corinthians, "[we] cannot eat at the table of the Lord and of demons." These two feasts together present a powerful picture to us believers about who we are in Messiah: kedoshim--holy people.
But what of the sin nature that is still within us? or of the desire to do things that we know are sin? How can we reconcile the fact that God has made us holy, yet we struggle with keeping the leaven of sin out of our lives? Try as we may to live sin-free lives, we find ourselves weak and prone to fall (sometimes run?) into sin. And though we ask our merciful Father for forgiveness, sometimes we find it extremely hard to forgive ourselves. It becomes very difficult to think of ourselves as holy men of God. But praise be to Abba! It's not what we think of ourselves that matters! It's what God says about us!
So what does this have to do with Sifrat Haomer, or First Fruits? I'm glad you asked. First Fruits is found in Leviticus 23, the chapter of the Feasts. God tells Moses to instruct Israel to bring the first (best) fruits of their early harvest. This is the harvest of barley. The barley, having been brought in as an offering, was given to the priest, stalk and all. This was before the grain was separated from the hard outer husk known as chaff. Does this sound familiar? The whole stalk was given to the priest. He waved it before the Lord, who accepted the offering on behalf of the one who offered it. It was a joyous time for them in the middle of the Unleavened season. The counting of the Omer was also marked for the coming of the wheat harvest, the better of the two grains.
Here's the good part. Keep in mind that the priest took the offering from the one who gave it and waved it before the Lord, stalk and all. There had not been any separating the grain from the chaff before the offering. In other words, there was a lot of stuff on the stalk that was wrapped around the good grain, much like our mortal bodies, given over to sickness from time to time and once to death, have within them the Spirit of the living God. Such knowledge is too wonderful to comprehend. And we, who have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, are still moving in that flesh that has within it no good thing of itself. Yet G-d still accepts us because of what is within, that pure seed of faith that He placed there. May it continue to grow deep roots in us, watered by the Living Water, grounded in God's word, to go forth and produce much fruit for the kingdom of God. Then when the great day comes, that day when the one who is the first fruits of those who are resurrected from the dead (I Cor 15:23) returns, he will separate the grain from the chaff, and these mortal bodies will put on immortality, the corruptible becomes incorruptible.
Tim Stewart
But Sifrat Haomer is a wonderful feast that God gave Israel, and for those of us who know Yeshua the Messiah, it should be a day of great celebration. Let's take a look at this little-known moed, or appointed time.
Passover arrives, and we celebrate the ultimate meaning of Passover, that of the blood of Yeshua delivering us from the bondage of sin and slavery to the world's system. It is the blood of Yeshua that fulfills Leviticus 17:11: "Life is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." (NKJV) Unleavened Bread follows immediately after Passover, reminding us to live holy lives, not living in sin while claiming salvation. As Sha'ul wrote to the Corinthians, "[we] cannot eat at the table of the Lord and of demons." These two feasts together present a powerful picture to us believers about who we are in Messiah: kedoshim--holy people.
But what of the sin nature that is still within us? or of the desire to do things that we know are sin? How can we reconcile the fact that God has made us holy, yet we struggle with keeping the leaven of sin out of our lives? Try as we may to live sin-free lives, we find ourselves weak and prone to fall (sometimes run?) into sin. And though we ask our merciful Father for forgiveness, sometimes we find it extremely hard to forgive ourselves. It becomes very difficult to think of ourselves as holy men of God. But praise be to Abba! It's not what we think of ourselves that matters! It's what God says about us!
So what does this have to do with Sifrat Haomer, or First Fruits? I'm glad you asked. First Fruits is found in Leviticus 23, the chapter of the Feasts. God tells Moses to instruct Israel to bring the first (best) fruits of their early harvest. This is the harvest of barley. The barley, having been brought in as an offering, was given to the priest, stalk and all. This was before the grain was separated from the hard outer husk known as chaff. Does this sound familiar? The whole stalk was given to the priest. He waved it before the Lord, who accepted the offering on behalf of the one who offered it. It was a joyous time for them in the middle of the Unleavened season. The counting of the Omer was also marked for the coming of the wheat harvest, the better of the two grains.
Here's the good part. Keep in mind that the priest took the offering from the one who gave it and waved it before the Lord, stalk and all. There had not been any separating the grain from the chaff before the offering. In other words, there was a lot of stuff on the stalk that was wrapped around the good grain, much like our mortal bodies, given over to sickness from time to time and once to death, have within them the Spirit of the living God. Such knowledge is too wonderful to comprehend. And we, who have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, are still moving in that flesh that has within it no good thing of itself. Yet G-d still accepts us because of what is within, that pure seed of faith that He placed there. May it continue to grow deep roots in us, watered by the Living Water, grounded in God's word, to go forth and produce much fruit for the kingdom of God. Then when the great day comes, that day when the one who is the first fruits of those who are resurrected from the dead (I Cor 15:23) returns, he will separate the grain from the chaff, and these mortal bodies will put on immortality, the corruptible becomes incorruptible.
Tim Stewart
Yom Kippur, by Tim Stewart
Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is considered to be the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It is the day that the High Priest (Cohen HaGadol) would enter into the Holy of Holies to pour out the blood of the goat sacrificed for the entirety of the nation of Israel. This is the day that the High Priest would also say the name of God, the name that He revealed to Moshe (Moses) in the wilderness when He called him to be the deliverer of His people out of Egypt. It is a day of affliction of the soul, a time to remember that man, born in sin, is separated from Adonai by that sin, but there is also a time of rejoicing because once again, God has provided the blood atonement for forgiveness. It was the
Lord’s reminder that He would keep His covenant with Israel.
I’ll try to keep this brief; but I know that it won’t be easy. There is so much to Yom Kippur and its meaning to those of us who, by the grace of God, have had our eyes opened to the truth. And that truth is that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Right Arm of God, the Living Word. We know that He became our Kipporah, our covering that did not just cover our sins, but completely removed them for all time.
Sacrifices and Man’s Covering
After rebelling against God and realizing that they were naked, Adam and Eve hid themselves, trying to cover their shame by sewing fig leaves together. It was a vain attempt at making a covering for themselves. (Gen. 3) Despite their efforts, it could not be good enough. God, in His mercy, made garments for them from the skins of animals. How shocking it must have been to Adam and Eve to see the price that had to be paid for their sin; how awful it must have been for them to realize what death was, that what they saw before them could well be their fate. But even worse, they would suffer separation from God’s presence, being banished from the Garden of Eden.
The sacrificial system had been established. The shedding of blood for a covering, and later for a means of approaching the Holy One, would be carried on for generations. The sacrifices of Cain, Abel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, along with countless others, were sacrifices made on behalf of the one sacrificing. However, once Jacob and his descendents went into Egypt, the sacrifice would take on a new dimension. When God told the children of Israel to sacrifice a spotless lamb and spread its blood over the doorposts, the family inside would be protected. And when God gave directions for Yom Kippur (Leviticus 23), the sacrifice then would be for the entire nation of Israel. From individual, to family, and then to the nation, God had given blood sacrifices for the express purpose of bridging the gulf that sin had caused in separating man from his Creator.
The Day of Atonement
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the Lord by fire.”’
Yom Kippur follows nine days after Yom Teruah (Day of theTrumpet). The assembly had been declared by the blowing of the shofar, and Israel would begin a time of fasting and confession before the Lord. It was a grave time for the faithful, a time to recall that they all fell short of God’s glory. Yom Kippur is a solemn time. But mixed with the time of affliction was the knowledge that forgiveness was coming.
According to Leviticus 16, in preparation for the day, two goats would be chosen for the community of Israel, apart from the sacrifices for the High Priest. The High Priest, dressed in a special garment, would take the two goats and lay his hands on their heads and confess over them the sins of Israel. One of them would be handed over to a man who would lead it away into the wilderness to be released; it would be known as the scapegoat. The other goat would be slaughtered, its blood caught in a container, and taken by the High Priest into the Holy of Holies, where it would be poured out on the Kipporah, or the covering of the Ark of the Covenant commonly known as the Mercy Seat. It was the only day of the year the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and it was a day that the people of Israel would remain behind while God’s priesthood would intercede for the nation. There was nothing they could do on that day, no works that could earn them any favor: no animals they could offer up: nothing but to stay behind and wait for the forgiveness of God.
Yom Kippur and the Messiah
Leviticus 17:11 says, “…the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” The theme of atonement is found throughout the entire cycle of the Feasts Adonai gave to Israel: Shabbat, the day of rest, reminds us of creation and our purpose for being—namely, to worship our Creator: Unleavened Bread reminds us of our call to holy living: First Fruits reminds us of God’s provision and acceptance, and tells us of a harvest of the faithful into the Kingdom: Shav’uot is the giving of the Law and Holy Spirit: Yom Teruah is the blowing of the shofar to gather the dispersed into the presence of the Lord: following is Yom Kippur, and afterward is Sukkot, the final gathering and tikkun olam, or restoration of the world unto God. Every one of these has its fullest meaning found in Yeshua the Messiah.
He is the perfect fulfillment of Yom Kippur. Lets go back to the very first sacrifice. Adam and Eve tried to cover their own sin, but it was a futile attempt. God, in His mercy, made the sacrifice needed. He would make the first sacrifice and the final sacrifice—that of Himself for the covering of all mankind. Isaiah and Daniel prophesied that the sinless one, Yeshua, would be made a sacrifice for the atonement of mankind. Please read Isaiah 53.
Daniel chapter 9 speaks of the death of the Messiah before the destruction of the Temple. Indeed Yeshua was crucified, or pierced as Isaiah, David, and Zechariah all foretold. It all fit into God’s plan, to redeem Israel and the world. The Right Arm of God, Yeshua, sealed with his own blood the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah in chapter 31. This blood, shed for the remission—not just covering—of sin, brings about the restoration of man to God for all those who believe and trust in Yeshua.
Consider the whole picture: the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies with the blood of a goat. It would be poured out on the Mercy Seat (Kipporah—cover) where the two angels had their wings spread out. The process was bloody and messy, and the High Priest would come out from the Holy of Holies with his garments stained with the blood he poured out. Upon seeing him, the multitude would let out with a shout, knowing that the sacrifice had been accepted and their sins had been forgiven for another year. As well, a member of the priesthood would place a red thread on the door of the Temple. The Talmud records that God would perform a miracle at Yom Kippur, that the red thread would turn white after the offering, indicating that their sin had been forgiven. This is a reflection of the words of Isaiah, where in chapter 1 he said, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be white as snow.” It was yet another sign from God. And wondrously enough, after the death of Yeshua, records the Talmud, the thread never turned white again.
The years would pass, and in the fall of the year (sometime around Yom Kippur or Sukkot) Yeshua was born. The shepherds who were watching their flocks (Luke), who were visited by the angels, had been watching over the animals to be used in the Temple. These shepherds who were trained in knowing what a truly kosher lamb or goat would look like left their flocks to go and see the Perfect Lamb of God, Yeshua the Messiah. When He was crucified, the Curtain in the Temple was rent from top to bottom. This was the sacrifice God accepted for all time, and no more would man be prevented from entering into the Holiest Place because of sin. Through Yeshua’s blood, by which the New Covenant was sealed and in which the Torah was written on the hearts of them who believe, we can now enter in boldly to the presence of Almighty God. Yeshua became our High Priest (Hebrews 5 & 9) who offered up His blood in the truest Holy of Holies, before the throne of Adonai.
But what of the rest? the scapegoat? the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat? the emergence of the High Priest?
You recall that Luke wrote of the trial and of Pilate’s desire to release Yeshua, declaring that he found “no fault” in Him—in other words, He was “spotless” before the law, just as the goat for sacrifice on Yom Kippur had to be spotless, or faultless. You also recall that the crowd would not have Yeshua released, but instead demanded Barabbas. Barabbas had been released while Yeshua became the sacrifice. Barabbas left Jerusalem and went into the wilderness, just as the scapegoat from the very first Yom Kippur.
You also recall that in Luke it is recorded that when the women went to the tomb (Hb aron—or box like the aron containing the Covenant and covered by the Mercy Seat) to care for the body of Yeshua that they saw not the body of Yeshua, but two angels where the body had been laid. This was a picture of the Mercy Seat!
And of course there is the High Priest, Yeshua himself, who, when the great Shofar of the Lord sounds, will step down out of Heaven, the true Holy of Holies, and return to His chosen people, Israel. (I Thess. 5) That will be the great Yom Teruah, day of Trumpets. And as Zechariah records, they will look upon Him whom they pierced and mourn. They will see His garment stained with blood, His own (Rev 19). Revelation 21:3-5, says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling (mishkan—tabernacle) of God is with men. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” They will shout for joy because they will know that their sin is forgiven! He will gather them to Himself in Jerusalem, where the Word of the Lord will go forth, and the great Sukkot, the dwelling of the Lord with His people, and the greatest act of mercy will be known to all Israel (Romans 7). All things will be restored unto God, and we will be in his presence forever, made possible by the covering, that Yom Kippur granted by Adonai almost 2000 years ago.
Lord’s reminder that He would keep His covenant with Israel.
I’ll try to keep this brief; but I know that it won’t be easy. There is so much to Yom Kippur and its meaning to those of us who, by the grace of God, have had our eyes opened to the truth. And that truth is that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Right Arm of God, the Living Word. We know that He became our Kipporah, our covering that did not just cover our sins, but completely removed them for all time.
Sacrifices and Man’s Covering
After rebelling against God and realizing that they were naked, Adam and Eve hid themselves, trying to cover their shame by sewing fig leaves together. It was a vain attempt at making a covering for themselves. (Gen. 3) Despite their efforts, it could not be good enough. God, in His mercy, made garments for them from the skins of animals. How shocking it must have been to Adam and Eve to see the price that had to be paid for their sin; how awful it must have been for them to realize what death was, that what they saw before them could well be their fate. But even worse, they would suffer separation from God’s presence, being banished from the Garden of Eden.
The sacrificial system had been established. The shedding of blood for a covering, and later for a means of approaching the Holy One, would be carried on for generations. The sacrifices of Cain, Abel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, along with countless others, were sacrifices made on behalf of the one sacrificing. However, once Jacob and his descendents went into Egypt, the sacrifice would take on a new dimension. When God told the children of Israel to sacrifice a spotless lamb and spread its blood over the doorposts, the family inside would be protected. And when God gave directions for Yom Kippur (Leviticus 23), the sacrifice then would be for the entire nation of Israel. From individual, to family, and then to the nation, God had given blood sacrifices for the express purpose of bridging the gulf that sin had caused in separating man from his Creator.
The Day of Atonement
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the Lord by fire.”’
Yom Kippur follows nine days after Yom Teruah (Day of theTrumpet). The assembly had been declared by the blowing of the shofar, and Israel would begin a time of fasting and confession before the Lord. It was a grave time for the faithful, a time to recall that they all fell short of God’s glory. Yom Kippur is a solemn time. But mixed with the time of affliction was the knowledge that forgiveness was coming.
According to Leviticus 16, in preparation for the day, two goats would be chosen for the community of Israel, apart from the sacrifices for the High Priest. The High Priest, dressed in a special garment, would take the two goats and lay his hands on their heads and confess over them the sins of Israel. One of them would be handed over to a man who would lead it away into the wilderness to be released; it would be known as the scapegoat. The other goat would be slaughtered, its blood caught in a container, and taken by the High Priest into the Holy of Holies, where it would be poured out on the Kipporah, or the covering of the Ark of the Covenant commonly known as the Mercy Seat. It was the only day of the year the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and it was a day that the people of Israel would remain behind while God’s priesthood would intercede for the nation. There was nothing they could do on that day, no works that could earn them any favor: no animals they could offer up: nothing but to stay behind and wait for the forgiveness of God.
Yom Kippur and the Messiah
Leviticus 17:11 says, “…the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” The theme of atonement is found throughout the entire cycle of the Feasts Adonai gave to Israel: Shabbat, the day of rest, reminds us of creation and our purpose for being—namely, to worship our Creator: Unleavened Bread reminds us of our call to holy living: First Fruits reminds us of God’s provision and acceptance, and tells us of a harvest of the faithful into the Kingdom: Shav’uot is the giving of the Law and Holy Spirit: Yom Teruah is the blowing of the shofar to gather the dispersed into the presence of the Lord: following is Yom Kippur, and afterward is Sukkot, the final gathering and tikkun olam, or restoration of the world unto God. Every one of these has its fullest meaning found in Yeshua the Messiah.
He is the perfect fulfillment of Yom Kippur. Lets go back to the very first sacrifice. Adam and Eve tried to cover their own sin, but it was a futile attempt. God, in His mercy, made the sacrifice needed. He would make the first sacrifice and the final sacrifice—that of Himself for the covering of all mankind. Isaiah and Daniel prophesied that the sinless one, Yeshua, would be made a sacrifice for the atonement of mankind. Please read Isaiah 53.
Daniel chapter 9 speaks of the death of the Messiah before the destruction of the Temple. Indeed Yeshua was crucified, or pierced as Isaiah, David, and Zechariah all foretold. It all fit into God’s plan, to redeem Israel and the world. The Right Arm of God, Yeshua, sealed with his own blood the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah in chapter 31. This blood, shed for the remission—not just covering—of sin, brings about the restoration of man to God for all those who believe and trust in Yeshua.
Consider the whole picture: the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies with the blood of a goat. It would be poured out on the Mercy Seat (Kipporah—cover) where the two angels had their wings spread out. The process was bloody and messy, and the High Priest would come out from the Holy of Holies with his garments stained with the blood he poured out. Upon seeing him, the multitude would let out with a shout, knowing that the sacrifice had been accepted and their sins had been forgiven for another year. As well, a member of the priesthood would place a red thread on the door of the Temple. The Talmud records that God would perform a miracle at Yom Kippur, that the red thread would turn white after the offering, indicating that their sin had been forgiven. This is a reflection of the words of Isaiah, where in chapter 1 he said, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be white as snow.” It was yet another sign from God. And wondrously enough, after the death of Yeshua, records the Talmud, the thread never turned white again.
The years would pass, and in the fall of the year (sometime around Yom Kippur or Sukkot) Yeshua was born. The shepherds who were watching their flocks (Luke), who were visited by the angels, had been watching over the animals to be used in the Temple. These shepherds who were trained in knowing what a truly kosher lamb or goat would look like left their flocks to go and see the Perfect Lamb of God, Yeshua the Messiah. When He was crucified, the Curtain in the Temple was rent from top to bottom. This was the sacrifice God accepted for all time, and no more would man be prevented from entering into the Holiest Place because of sin. Through Yeshua’s blood, by which the New Covenant was sealed and in which the Torah was written on the hearts of them who believe, we can now enter in boldly to the presence of Almighty God. Yeshua became our High Priest (Hebrews 5 & 9) who offered up His blood in the truest Holy of Holies, before the throne of Adonai.
But what of the rest? the scapegoat? the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat? the emergence of the High Priest?
You recall that Luke wrote of the trial and of Pilate’s desire to release Yeshua, declaring that he found “no fault” in Him—in other words, He was “spotless” before the law, just as the goat for sacrifice on Yom Kippur had to be spotless, or faultless. You also recall that the crowd would not have Yeshua released, but instead demanded Barabbas. Barabbas had been released while Yeshua became the sacrifice. Barabbas left Jerusalem and went into the wilderness, just as the scapegoat from the very first Yom Kippur.
You also recall that in Luke it is recorded that when the women went to the tomb (Hb aron—or box like the aron containing the Covenant and covered by the Mercy Seat) to care for the body of Yeshua that they saw not the body of Yeshua, but two angels where the body had been laid. This was a picture of the Mercy Seat!
And of course there is the High Priest, Yeshua himself, who, when the great Shofar of the Lord sounds, will step down out of Heaven, the true Holy of Holies, and return to His chosen people, Israel. (I Thess. 5) That will be the great Yom Teruah, day of Trumpets. And as Zechariah records, they will look upon Him whom they pierced and mourn. They will see His garment stained with blood, His own (Rev 19). Revelation 21:3-5, says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling (mishkan—tabernacle) of God is with men. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” They will shout for joy because they will know that their sin is forgiven! He will gather them to Himself in Jerusalem, where the Word of the Lord will go forth, and the great Sukkot, the dwelling of the Lord with His people, and the greatest act of mercy will be known to all Israel (Romans 7). All things will be restored unto God, and we will be in his presence forever, made possible by the covering, that Yom Kippur granted by Adonai almost 2000 years ago.
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