What Is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) — Meaning Explained
The Day of Atonement was the holiest day in Israel's calendar when the High Priest made sacrifice for the sins of the entire nation, foreshadowing Christ's ultimate atonement.
The Day of Atonement was the holiest day in Israel's calendar when the High Priest made sacrifice for the sins of the entire nation, foreshadowing Christ's ultimate atonement.
"For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD." — Leviticus 16:30 (KJV)
What "What Is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)?" Actually Means
Described in Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) was the one day each year when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for all of Israel's sins. He first offered a bull for his own sins, then selected two goats—one was sacrificed as a sin offering and its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat, while the other (the scapegoat) symbolically bore the people's sins and was sent into the wilderness. The entire nation fasted and did no work. Hebrews 9-10 explains that this annual ritual pointed to Christ, who entered the true Holy of Holies in heaven with His own blood, obtaining eternal redemption once for all. The Day of Atonement is fulfilled in Christ's finished work on the cross.
Anchor Verses (KJV)
Leviticus 16:30
"For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD."
Hebrews 9:12
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."
Leviticus 16:22
"And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited."
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Atonement (כִּפֻּר (Kippur) / ἱλασμός (Hilasmos))
The covering or removal of sin through sacrifice
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