The Yom Kippur Crises In Jerusalem

   In some circles there is great concern that Israel is NOT observing God's calendar, in observing the High Holy Days. Reference is being made to Psalm 81 where God declares He gave Israel up to their own hearts' lust because they walked in their own counsels and did not hearken unto Him.

   Here's how it goes: God declared, in Leviticus, that The Day of Atonement [Yom Kippur] would be celebrated on the first day of the seventh month. The Hebrew Calendar, starting with Passover, counts the 7th month as beginning with the New Moon of our September. If this is followed, Yom Kippur is Tuesday [Sep't 17]! Not yesterday [Friday, Sep't 14].

   Big Deal? To some it is. The Day of Atonement is a Big Deal to observing Jews. They do not have a Temple, nor do they have an altar or Holy of Holies in which to actually celebrate God's atonement. All this was removed with the crucifixion of Christ, Who did away with atonement [the covering of sin], by fulfilling God's Plan of Redemption on The Cross.

   However, religious Jews still observe the atonement as a religious rite, waving live chickens over peoples' heads -- a practice being condemned by animal rights groups. The Point is not atonement, per se, but whether or not Israel is following God's Word or simply operating according to human invention.

   According to Jonathan David, Israeltoday.co.il, "After Israel's captivity, the Jews stopped waiting and watching for the Lord to reveal the exact date of these holy days, by means of the New Moon. Since the 4th century, Jewish leaders have held that Rosh Hashanah / Feast of Trumpets should never fall on a Sunday, a Wednesday or a Friday. Why? Because God's Covenant People were driven out of the land of Israel and scattered throughout the earth, making it hard to know whose observation of the New Moon and which location on earth should have been used to determine the date."

   Will Israel ever get it right?  Yes! When Jesus returns! We are told, in the scriptures, that during the Righteous Rule of Jesus, we will celebrate The Feast of Tabernacles in The Kingdom [Zech. 14]. There is no doubt that it will be celebrated on the correct day!