Tagged: year of jubilee

March 18, 2012

The first trumpet – Revelation 8:7

Previously: The seventh seal – Revelation 8:1-6

The scripture

Rev. 8:7 – The first [angel] blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up (HCSB).

The four angels standing at the four corners of the earth are prevented from harming “the earth or the sea or the trees” until the 144,000 are sealed (Rev. 7:2-3). But now, with the sounding of the first and second trumpets, a third of the earth and trees are burned up, and a third of the sea becomes blood. The hiatus is over and massive destruction of the sin-cursed world begins to take place.

Are we to believe that hail, fire and blood are literally mixed and hurled to the earth? What’s the significance of “a third,” a recurring fraction in the first four trumpet judgments? How can “all” the green grass be burned in the first trumpet judgment if the “locusts” that ascend out of the abyss are prevented from harming the grass in the fifth judgment? And do the trumpet judgments follow the seal judgments chronologically or run concurrently with them? Let’s take a closer look.

The first angel blew his trumpet

The trumpet employed by each angel in this series of judgments is the shofar, or ram’s horn, and is translated so in the Complete Jewish Bible. This horn has special significance for Israel. Loud blasts of the shofar accompany the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai and cause the people to tremble (Ex. 20:18). The shofar is incorporated into the Jewish feasts of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, or Atonement. Some Bible commentators believe the coming rapture of the church will be associated with Rosh Hashanah and the trumpets described in 1 Cor. 15:52 and 1 Thess. 4:16. They also believe the trumpets of Yom Kippur will herald national judgment on Israel, leading many Jews to receive Jesus as Messiah during the Tribulation.

David H. Stern writes, “The idea that the Great Judgment of the Last Days is heralded by blasts on the shofar has its roots in the Tanakh [Old Testament]. ‘YHVH [Yahweh; God] will be seen over them, his arrow will go forth like lightning, and Adonai YHVH will sound the shofar and will move in the storm winds of the south…. And YHVH their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people (Zech. 9:14, 16)” (Jewish New Testament Commentary, p. 814).

Additionally, the shofar is to be sounded on the Day of Atonement in the Year of Jubilee, every 50^th year, to signal the release of slaves and debt. For Christians, this may be seen as symbolic of Christ’s work on our behalf, redeeming us from the slave market of sin and paying our sin debt with His blood. His finished work on the cross frees us from the debtor’s prison of sin.

Whatever the significance of the shofar in the case of the trumpet judgments, its sounding precedes unprecedented acts of God upon the earth (the first four trumpet judgments) and its wicked people (the last three trumpet judgments).

Hail and fire, mixed with blood

After the angel sounds the first trumpet, John sees hail and fire, mixed with blood, hurled to the earth. R. Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and D. Brown note there is a common feature in the first four trumpets; the judgments affect natural objects – the earth, trees, grass, the sea, rivers, fountains, the light of the sun, moon and stars. But the last three trumpet judgments affect men’s lives with pain, death and hell (A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, Re 8:7).

Further, the language used to describe these judgments is drawn from the plagues of Egypt, with five or six out of the 10 plagues corresponding to trumpet judgments: hail, fire (Ex. 9:24), water turning to blood (Ex. 7:19), darkness (Ex. 10:21), locusts (Ex. 10:12), and perhaps death (Rev. 9:18).

If we step back a little, we can see a pattern in all three sets of judgments – the seals, trumpets, and bowls. As the Dictionary of Biblical Prophecy and End Times notes, “In all three series of seven, the first four judgments focus on the earth, while the last three are more cosmic in nature. The seals and trumpets follow a 4+2+1 pattern, while the bowls follow a 4+3 pattern. There is an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals and the sixth and seventh trumpets, but no interlude between the sixth and seventh bowls as the pace becomes too intense” (p. 405).

It’s also important to note that some commentators see these three sets of judgments playing out in chronological order – the seals first, followed by the trumpets and, finally, the bowls – while others see them as repeating and overlapping, especially since each series culminates at the end of time with a storm-earthquake. One’s view of the end times (historical, for example, or futurist) no doubt influences a belief in either consecutive or overlapping series of judgments, or perhaps it’s the other way around. In any case, it is difficult to overlook the similarities between the three sets of judgments.

Grant Osborne, in his book Revelation, identifies seven major themes in the three judgment series:

These judgments are poured out on unbelievers, while believers are protected (Rev. 3:10; 7:1-8; 9:4; 16:2).
These judgments are God’s response to the prayers of the saints for justice and vengeance (5:8; 6:9-11; 8:3-5).
The sovereignty of God is emphasized throughout.
God does not command evil to do His will; He simply allows it to operate.
Unbelievers respond by refusing to repent and by cursing God, thus demonstrating depravity (9:20-21; 16:9, 11).
These judgments are acts of mercy, providing a final opportunity to repent (9:20; 14:6-7; 16:9, 11).
There is a progressive dismantling of creation, preparing for the final consummation.

As for the first trumpet, it no doubt ushers in a terrible storm, but commentators are divided as to what that storm symbolizes. Some argue this is a symbolic storm of heresies; others, a mixture of doctrinal errors such as the Arian heresy that denied the deity of Christ; or a tempest of war falling on the state. In any case, the hail and fire, mingled with blood, remind us of the seventh plague God sends against Egypt (Ex. 9:18-26). The prophet Joel also promises blood and fire in the last days (Joel 2:30).

Although it’s difficult to picture hail and fire mixed with blood, imagine the apostle John, from his first-century perspective, trying to describe events that are perhaps centuries in the future. If the futurist perspective is correct, for example, how is John to describe 21^st century (or later) warfare and weapons? Could the locusts be attack helicopters, and the burning mountain falling into the sea a nuclear warhead? We simply do not know.

As we read these descriptions of hail and fire mixed with blood, strange-looking locusts, and blazing mountains falling from the sky, we are well advised to cling to the clear teachings of each passage and be willing to be proven wrong on our assumptions about apocalyptic details. For example, it is clear that God is bringing judgment to bear upon the earth; that much suffering ensues; that the wicked refuse to repent; that the Lamb is in control; that His people are protected; and that the earth is being prepared for what Jesus called “the regeneration” (Matt. 19:28 KJV) and what Peter referred to as “new heavens and a new earth” (2 Peter 3:13).

Next: A third of the earth was burned up (first trumpet continued): Rev. 8:7

November 3, 2008

Isaiah 5: Worthless Grapes

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Download chart: Kings of Judah and Key Events During Isaiah’s Ministry (pdf)

Prologue

Where we are:

Part 1: Judgment	Part 2: Historical Interlude	Part 3: Salvation
Chapters 1-35	Chapters 36-39	Chapters 40-66

When this takes place:

Most of chapters 2-12 likely was written during the reign of King Uzziah.

Key verse:

Isa. 5:5: Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.

Quick summary:

Isaiah uses a parable to foretell judgment on Judah, and then pronounces six woes on the people as he catalogues their sins.

Take note:

The parable of the vineyard in verses 1-7 is similar to the parable of the vineyard owner Jesus tells in Matt. 21:33-44. At the same time, the woes pronounced on the wicked in verses 8-30 have a familiar ring. Jesus’ woes on the Jewish religious leaders in Matthew 23 are aimed at their arrogance, hypocrisy and self-righteousness. There appears to be a good reason Jesus quotes Isaiah so often: Just as the prophet foretells pending judgment on Judah for its sins, the Messiah foretells judgment on Israel for its vapid spiritual life.

Parable of the vineyard (Isa. 5:1-7)

This parable foretelling judgment on Judah is eerily similar to the parable of the vineyard owner Jesus tells in Matt. 21:33-44, predicting the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of Israel that occurs in 70 A.D. with the most notable consequence being the temporary setting aside of God’s spiritual blessings on Israel in favor of the church. In Isaiah, the pending judgment is national and focused mainly on the leaders’ social injustice. In Matthew, the pending judgment also is national but centers on the leaders’ spiritual coldness – particularly their rejection of Jesus as Messiah.

D.A. Carson summarizes the parable in Isaiah 5: “The parable brings home, as nothing else could, the sheer unreason and indefensibility of sin – we find ourselves searching for some cause of the vine’s failure and there is none. Only humans could be as capricious as that” (New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, Section Isaiah 5:1).

There is no mistaking the meaning of this parable. The vineyard is “the house of Israel” and the fruitless vine “the men of Judah” (v. 7). Like a wise, experienced, and caring husbandman, God has done everything necessary to make Judah a shining testimony of His greatness. He plans the vineyard, setting it on “a very fertile hill” (v. 1); prepares the soil, breaking it up and clearing it of stones (v. 2); plants it “with the finest vines” (v. 2); operates and watches over it, building a tower in the middle of the vineyard (v. 2); anticipates its fruitfulness, hewing out a winepress (v. 2); and expects it to “yield good grapes” (v. 2). So when the vineyard “yielded worthless grapes” (v. 2), God could legitimately ask, “What more could I have done for My vineyard than I did?” (v. 4).

God has blessed Israel and given her advantages no other nation on earth has ever experienced. Centuries later, after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus and before God revisits judgment on Israel through the destruction of the Temple and the Diaspora, the apostle Paul reminds his Jewish readers of their special place in God’s heart (Rom. 9:4-5). Nevertheless, Isaiah warns his fellow countrymen what God is about to do. He will remove His hedge of protection so it will be consumed (v. 5); tear down its wall so wild beasts and human plunderers will trample it (v. 5); abandon its care so that “thorns and briers will grow up” (v. 6); and even withhold rain so that it becomes a “wasteland” (v. 6). In practical terms, God is going to give up his special care of Israel so invaders will destroy it. He will even withhold the “rain,” likely a reference to the heaven-sent teachings of the prophets.

There is an interesting play on words in verse 7. Good looks for “justice” (mishpat) but finds “oppression / injustice” (mispach); He looks for “righteousness” (tzedakah) but hears “cries” (tzedkah) of wretchedness (The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge).

Woes for the wicked (Isa. 5:8-30)

Isaiah notes six distinct types of sin resulting in woes from the Lord. As D.A. Carson summarizes in the New Bible Commentary, “The attack has all the bite of personal portraiture. Here are the great, for all to see; they emerge as extortioners (8-10), playboys (11-12; cf. 22-23) and scoffers, whose only predictable values are cash ones (18-23)” (Section Isaiah 5:1). Specifically, the sins are:

Disregarding Jubilee. “Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field, Until there is no more room, So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!” (v. 8). The jubilee restoration of land every 50 years is designed to protect against greed, but the inhabitants of Judah are selfishly hoarding property (see Lev. 25:13; Micah 2:2). As a result, God will cause many houses to become desolate and the land to yield its fruit grudgingly (vv. 9-10).
Drunkenness. “Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink …” (vv. 11-12). God’s people are indulging in strong drink and revelry without regard for the Creator and Provider of their food and drink. Their parties begin early, when it is especially shameful to drink (see Acts 2:15; 1 Thess. 5:7) and continue into the night. In verse 12, Isaiah refers to the tambourine among other musical instruments that are part of the reveling. The Hebrew word is tophet, and the tambourine are used to drown out the cries of children sacrificed to Moloch. Therefore, God will punish His people for their reckless living by sending them into exile, where they will suffer hunger and thirst – a stark contrast to the gluttonous food and drink found at their banquet tables (v. 13). Sheol, the abode of the dead, has “enlarged its throat” to accommodate the number of Jews who will die in exile (v. 14). In addition, the splendor of Jerusalem will be taken away, the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased (v. 15). But “the LORD of hosts will be exalted in judgment” (v. 16).
Obstinate perseverance in sin. “Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes” (v. 18). The rabbis used to say, “An evil inclination is at first like a fine hair-string, but the finishing like a cart-rope.” Jamieson, Fausset and Brown comment, “The antithesis is between the slender cords of sophistry, like the spider’s web (Is 59:5; Job 8:14), with which one sin draws on another, until they at last bind themselves with great guilt as with a cart-rope. They strain every nerve in sin” (A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, S. Isa. 5:18). While buried up to their necks in sin, the Jewish people seem to be questioning whether God is really in control of the nation, and they challenge them to show Himself by delivering them despite their obstinacy (v. 19).
Perverted values. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness …” (v. 20). Matthew Henry writes that such people “not only live in the omission of that which is good, but condemn it, argue against it, and, because they will not practise it themselves, run it down in others, and fasten invidious epithets upon it-not only do that which is evil, but justify it, and applaud it, and recommend it to others as safe and good” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, S. Is 5:18).
Arrogance. “Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion and clever in their own sight” (v. 21). Many in Judah think they know better than the prophet and therefore disregard the Word of God through Isaiah. The New Bible Commentary calls them “calmly omniscient.”
Alcoholic excess and perversion of justice. “Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine … who deprive the innocent of justice” (vv. 22-23). They know the value of money, but little more. The judges in particular bankroll their self-indulgence with bribes that favor the rich and deny justice to the innocent. They mix their drinks, not with water, but with spices for intoxication (Prov. 9:2, 5; Song of Sol. 8:2).

As a result of these sins, the people of Judah would be burned like dry grass, and their beauty vanquished like a flower turned to dust. When God’s judgment comes, He will use Egypt and Assyria, and later Babylon, as His rod of punishment. These ferocious powers descend on Judah as if God has raised a banner and called people from “the ends of the earth” to war (v. 26). While these violent conquerors are to be feared like a growling lioness or the roaring sea, they are under the sovereign hand of God and do as He pleases. This chapter ends darkly, with nothing but pending judgment, like storm clouds gathering on the horizon.

Closing Thought

Gary V. Smith comments: “These woes assure the reader that God will judge sin severely. The lament conveys the truth that God is terribly saddened when his people reject him or his revealed instructions. Nevertheless, in the end he will hold all people accountable for their actions, especially his own privileged people” (The New American Commentary: Isaiah 1-39, p. 182).

September 1, 2008

Jesus in the Feasts of Israel: The Day of Atonement (Part 2)

The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt 1854

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Audio file (part 1)

The Day of Atonement foreshadows two significant events: Jesus’ sacrificial death, and Israel’s repentance at the Messiah’s return. “They will look at Me whom they pierced” and repent, the Lord declares in Zech. 12:10. God will deal with the nation’s sins and remember them no more (Isa. 43:25; Jer. 31:34). Isaiah prophesied that the nation would be born spiritually in a day (Isa. 66:8; Rom. 11:26-27). This will be the prophetic fulfillment of the Day of Atonement as Israel comes face to face with its Messiah at the end of Daniel’s “70th week” (Dan. 9:24-27), a seven-year tribulation period that begins with the rise of an evil world ruler known in Jewish theology as Armilus and in Christian theology as Antichrist. Throughout the tribulation, many Jews will turn to Christ in the midst of great persecution, acknowledge Him as Lord and receive Him as Savior. At the same time, God will pour out His wrath on a wicked and Godless world. At the end, perhaps on the very Day of Atonement, the Jews will receive their Messiah as He comes in power and great glory as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Note the similarities between the work of the high priest on the Day of Atonement and the work of Jesus in His sacrificial death:

The high priest does all of the work – offering 15 blood sacrifices, lighting the candles, etc. Jesus, our “great high priest” (Heb. 4:14), did all the work of redemption so that salvation is by grace alone through faith (Eph. 2:8-9).
The high priest humbles himself, wearing simple white linen clothing. Jesus humbled Himself by becoming a man (Phil. 2:5-8).
The high priest must be spotless, having his sin atoned for before he may enter the presence of God behind the veil. Jesus was sinless (2 Cor. 5:21).
The high priest enters the Holy of Holies only once a year, taking the atoning blood of bulls and goats behind the veil into the presence of God. Jesus offered His own blood once and for all, and the veil of the Temple – symbolizing the separation between holy God and sinful man as well as representing the body of Christ – was torn in two (Matt. 27:51).
The blood the high priest takes into the Holy of Holies can only cover sin. Jesus’ death at Calvary took away sin (Heb. 7:27; 9:12, 25-28; 10:4; John 1:29).

In addition to the high priest, the goats also foreshadow the work of Messiah. Both goats have to be spotless, as Jesus was sinless. The goat “for YHWH,” whose blood is shed, symbolizes the substitutionary death of the Messiah. The goat “for azazel” symbolizes the finished work of Jesus in taking away our sins, never to be remembered again. Just as the high priest takes the blood of the goat “for YHWH” into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the people, Jesus entered the heavenly Holy of Holies with His own blood as the once and final payment for our sins.

Finally, in Lev. 25:8-17, God gives instructions for the Year of Jubilee (every 50th year). He tells the Jews to sound the trumpet on the 10th day of the seventh month, which is the Day of Atonement. Why not the first day of the seventh month – or, for that matter, the first day of the first month to mark the beginning of this special year? The reason becomes clear when we see the results of the Day of Atonement. In the Year of Jubilee, land reverts to its original owner, slaves are set free, all debts are cancelled, and the land rests. What a marvelous picture of the results of Christ’s sacrificial death. Jesus cancelled our sin debt, redeemed us out of the slave market of sin and set us free, promised us a place in heaven, and gave us rest. The sorrowful self-denial of Atonement is turned to joy as Jesus, the Lamb of God, invites us to enter His rest.

August 25, 2008

Jesus in the Feasts of Israel: The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt 1854

This is the sixth in a series of articles on Jesus in the feasts of Israel.

Download or listen to audio file (part 1)

Name	Scriptures	Time / Date	Purpose	Fulfillment
Day of Atonement	Lev. 23:26-32; Num. 29:7-11	10^th day of Tishri (September/October)	To make annual atonement for sins.	The crucifixion and Israel’s repentance at the return of Christ.

Background

Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is Israel’s most solemn holy day. Kippur is derived from the Hebrew word kaphar, which means “to cover.” On Yom Kippur, atonement is made for the previous year’s sins by the priests and people through the sacrifice of spotless and innocent animals. The event takes place in the fall, on the 10th day after the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) and completes the “Days of Awe,” the 10-day period of self-examination and reconciliation from Trumpets to Atonement.

God designated Yom Kippur as a day in which “you must practice self-denial” (Lev. 23:27, 32). It is a day of fasting and repenting of sins for the previous year. It is such a vital day that God said the person who refuses to devote himself to fasting and repentance “must be cut off from his people” (Lev. 23:29). In addition, all forms of work are prohibited. Those who ignore this command are to be put to death (Lev. 23:30).

Yom Kippur is an especially significant day for Israel’s priesthood. On this day only, the high priest enters the Holy of Holies and stands in the presence of God’s glory. Many animal sacrifices are offered on this day. Besides the daily burnt offerings with their required grain and drink offerings, additional offerings are made, including a bull, a ram and seven lambs for the people, and a ram for the priesthood (Num. 29:7-11).

The Biblical Observance

The high priest normally does not perform the Temple sacrifices, but during the week leading up to Yom Kippur, he serves beside the priests, and on the Day of Atonement performs all of the services alone. He stays the entire week before Yom Kippur in the Temple area, and is sprinkled twice with the ashes of a heifer to make sure he has not somehow become unclean by touching a dead body (Num. 19:1-13).

The morning service. Even though the Jewish day begins at sunset, the Temple service for Yom Kippur does not take place until dawn the next morning. The high priest, who normally washes his hands and feet before serving in the Temple, on this day totally submerges himself in a special bath behind a large linen curtain where only the shadow of his movements may be seen. He then dresses in his high priestly garments: a purple robe hemmed with small golden bells, and the golden breastplate studded with 12 precious stones as a reminder that he represents the 12 tribes of Israel. Then, the high priest washes his hands and feet and conducts the morning service. He returns later, washes his hands and feet again, bathes again, and dresses in his white linen clothing for Yom Kippur. In all, the high priest bathes and changes clothing five times, and offers 15 blood sacrifices, on Yom Kippur.

The afternoon service. This service is central to the observance of Yom Kippur, as atonement is made for the priests and the people. It begins as the high priest places his hands on a young bull, as a sign of identification with his substitute, and confesses his sins. Three times during his confession, he pronounces the covenant name of the Lord (YHWH – Yahweh or Jehovah), and each time the priests and the people fall on the faces and say, “Blessed be His name whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever.”

Next, two priests – the deputy high priest and the chief priest of the division of priests chosen to minister that week – escort the high priest to the eastern side of the altar, where two identical goats await. The high priest casts lots for the goats. One is determined to be “for YHWH” and the other is “for azazel.” Together, the two goats constitute a single sin offering for the Lord. The goat “for azazel” is immediately marked with a red woolen strip tied to one of his horns. The goat “for YHWH” is left facing a stone altar where he will soon shed his blood. There is some debate about the meaning of azazel. Some believe it’s either a term for Satan, a demon who lives in the desert, or a pagan god in the form of a goat, while others contend that the term comes from the Hebrew word azel, which carries the idea of “escape.”

The high priest returns to the bull a second time, placing his hands on the animal’s head and confessing the sins of the priesthood. He then slaughters the bull and collects its blood in a golden bowl. An attending priest stirs the blood so it will not congeal.

Next, the high priest takes live coals from the altar and two handfuls of incense and makes his way through the thick veil that separates the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. Inside, he pours the incense onto the coals and waits for a fragrant cloud of smoke to fill the room so that he will not see God face to face and die. In Solomon’s Temple, the Ark of the Covenant was in the Holy of Holies and the Shekinah glory of God rested above it. After the Babylonian captivity, the Ark was never recovered. The Holy of Holies was an empty room except for a single stone, called the foundation stone, projecting about two inches above the floor.

The high priest leaves the Holy of Holies momentarily, returning with the golden bowl of bull’s blood. He sprinkles the blood in front of the altar – once upwards and seven times downward. Then he again leaves the Holy of Holies and places the golden bowl on a golden stand.

He sacrifices the goat “for YHWH,” collects the blood in another golden bowl and enters the Holy of Holies for a third time, sprinkling the goat’s blood the same way he has sprinkled the bull’s blood – always counting aloud to prevent errors. After, he sprinkles the outside of the veil with the bull’s blood, then the goat’s blood, and finally he mixes the bull’s blood and the goat’s blood and sprinkles the horns of the altar in the courtyard.

Now the attention focuses on the remaining goat – the one “for azazel.” The high priest places his hands on the goat’s head and confesses the sins of the people. The “scapegoat” is then led by a priest 10-12 miles into the wilderness and released, never to be seen again. Some Bible commentators say that in the days of the second Temple, the priest would lead the goat to the edge of a rocky ledge and push him off so that he plunged to his death; if this is so, it is more than God required, for He commanded that the goat be released. In any case, the goat, symbolically carrying the sins of the people, could not be allowed to return. While this is happening, the high priest finishes sacrificing the bull and the goat on the altar. Then he addresses the people, reading the Yom Kippur passages from Leviticus and Numbers. Last, the high priest offers burnt offerings on the altar.

One last time, the high priest enters the Holy of Holies to remove the fire pan and incense ladle. He bathes and changes into his golden garments just as the cool autumn night approaches.

The Modern Observance

Yom Kippur today bears little resemblance to the biblical observance, primarily because after the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. there was no longer a prescribed place to offer the sacrifices. A leading rabbi in Jerusalem at that time, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, led the nation to abandon atonement through blood sacrifice in favor of mitzvot, or good works. As a result, human traditions have replaced biblical practices in the observance of this feast.

Synagogue services are the focus of Yom Kippur today. These services draw huge crowds, much like Easter services in Christian churches. The synagogue is decorated in white and adorned with white flowers to symbolize cleansing from sin, and worshipers even wear white as a reminder of the white linen the priests wore on this High Holy Day.

In very orthodox circles, the tradition of Kaparot is observed. It involves the killing of an innocent animal, normally a chicken, to atone for sin.

The Fulfillment

Note the similarities between the work of the high priest on the Day of Atonement and the work of Jesus in His sacrificial death:

The high priest does all of the work – offering 15 blood sacrifices, lighting the candles, etc. Jesus, our “great high priest” (Heb. 4:14), did all the work of redemption so that salvation is by grace alone through faith (Eph. 2:8-9).
The high priest humbles himself, wearing simple white linen clothing. Jesus humbled Himself by becoming a man (Phil. 2:5-8).
The high priest must be spotless, having his sin atoned for before he may enter the presence of God behind the veil. Jesus was sinless (2 Cor. 5:21).
The high priest enters the Holy of Holies only once a year, taking the atoning blood of bulls and goats behind the veil into the presence of God. Jesus offered His own blood once and for all, and the veil of the Temple – symbolizing the separation between holy God and sinful man as well as representing the body of Christ – was torn in two (Matt. 27:51).
The blood the high priest takes into the Holy of Holies can only cover sin. Jesus’ death at Calvary took away sin (Heb. 7:27; 9:12, 25-28; 10:4; John 1:29).

In Lev. 25:8-17, God gives instructions for the Year of Jubilee (every 50th year). He tells the Jews to sound the trumpet on the 10th day of the seventh month, which is the Day of Atonement. Why not the first day of the seventh month – or, for that matter, the first day of the first month to mark the beginning of this special year? The reason becomes clear when we see the results of the Day of Atonement. In the Year of Jubilee, land reverts to its original owner, slaves are set free, all debts are cancelled, and the land rests. What a marvelous picture of the results of Christ’s sacrificial death. Jesus cancelled our sin debt, redeemed us out of the slave market of sin and set us free, promised us a place in heaven, and gave us rest. The sorrowful self-denial of Atonement is turned to joy as Jesus, the Lamb of God, invites us to enter His rest.

Next: the Feast of Tabernacles