This article is about a Christian holiday. See Yom Kippur known as the "Day Atonement" about Judaism's Day of Atonement Jewish holiday.

The Christian Day of Atonement is based on the English translation of the the Jewish Holyday Yom Kippur. The Bible calls the day Yom Hakippurim (Hebrew, "Day of the Atonements"). The day is commemorated with a 25-hour fast by Jews, but normally a 24 hour fast by Christians who observe it. While not observed by the mainstream of Christianity, the small Christian groups (mostly those with origins in the old Worldwide Church of God) that do observe it usually refer to it as the Day of Atonement.

Some Christians with an interest in Biblical Eschatology believe that the Day of Atonement, the sixth of the Feasts of Israel, will mark the very last day of this age. They believe that the Day of Atonement will be the final day to repent and that this epic future day in holy history will come on the eve of the Last Judgement.

Date

In the Hebrew calendar the Day of Atonement begins at nightfall starting the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishri (which falls in September/October), and continues until the next nightfall. It is always observed as a one day holiday, both inside and outside the boundaries of the land of Israel, in contrast with many other Jewish holidays, which are observed for two days in the Diaspora.

The Day of Atonement will occur on the following dates in the next few years:

• 2006: October 2
• 2007: September 22
• 2008: October 9
• 2009: September 28
• 2010: September 18
• 2011: October 8

Those who

Biblical origin

The original rites and practices for the Day of Atonement are set forth in the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus (cf. Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 23:27-31, 25:9; Numbers 29:7-11). It is considered to be a time for fasting, on which no food or drink are be consumed. Leviticus 16:9-10,20-22 states,

And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness..And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness ( NKJV).

Christians who observe it note the parallels between the first of the two goats with Jesus and the second of the two goats with Satan (the Azazel goat). Specifically, regarding the latter, they cite the following passage from Revelation 20:1-3:

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he



cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.

Those who observe it believe that the suitable man in Leviticus 16 is a parallel to the angel that binds Satan and casts him away in Revelation 20.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul refers to it as "the Fast" (Acts 27:9).

Interpretation

Jewish groups typically teach, "The Day of Atonement absolves from sins against God, but not from sins against a fellow man unless the pardon of the offended person be secured" (Mishnah tractate Yoma 8:9). Hence the custom of terminating on the eve of the fastday (or in the 10-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) all feuds and disputes. Even the souls of the dead are included in the community of those pardoned on the Day of Atonement. It is customary for children to have public mention made in the synagogue of their departed parents, and to make charitable gifts on behalf of their souls."

Christians that observe the Day of Atonement normally teach that on that day they are to be at one with God. And that fasting humbles them and makes them realize how dependent they are on God for all their needs. They also believe that they are dependent upon the sacrifice of Jesus for their salvation, but that Satan does play a role in encouraging people to sin.

One group that observes the Day of Atonement, the Living Church of God, states:

Old Testament meaning

A day of fasting and repentance, known to the Jews as Yom Kippur(Leviticus 23:26-32)

New Testament meaning

Pictures the binding of Satan at the beginning of the Millennium and the world becoming at one with God.

The Christian Day of Atonement, comes after the Feast of Trumpets (also known as Rosh Hashana) and is considered to be part of God's plan of salvation as shown in the biblical (Jewish) holy days. The fasting day also gives them pause before the Feast of Tabernacles which is a time of rejoicing and feasting that begins 5 days later.

The Day of Atonement and Eschatology

Some Christians believe that the Day of Atonement, the sixth holiday on the Hebrew calendar, will come into its ultimate New Covenant fulfilment not only at the end of an annual and Jubilee cycle but also will wrap up affairs between God and mankind on the very last day of this age. They believe the evidence points to the Day of Atonement coming on the eve of the Last judgement.

Bible scholars have noted that the next feast to be fulfilled, the Feast of Trumpets, which is Rosh Hashanah, (or the Jewish New Year), would appear to be the occasion when the epic peace treaty ceding the sovereign land of Israel to a coming global peacemaker for seven years will be signed. This seven year covenant, which promises peace to the Middle East, is mentioned in Daniel 9:27 and is the event which initiates the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks.

The reason they believe this to be so is that the timespan encompassing the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement when they are seven years apart and when they comprise 86 moons on the metatonic cycle, (and not 87 moons), is 2550 days. 86 x 29.530589 days + 10 days = 2550 days (inclusive) between Tishrei 1 in year (X) to Tishrei 10 in year (X + 7). This is precisely the timespan of the 70th week of Daniel with the 30 day extension of the second half of the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks to 1290 days we see prophesied by Daniel. (Dan.12:11). The 1260 days + 1290 days = 2550 days exactly.

See also

• Feast of Trumpets (Christian holiday)
• First day worship
• Messianic Judaism
• Passover (Christian holiday)
• Supersessionism