The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD. Leviticus 23:26-27
The Holy Days of Our Lord “Day of Atonement” From the Mount of Olives, Zola tells us about Yom Kippur. Once a year, the priest entered into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies. Here, a sacrifice was made for the corporate sin of the nation. We show you a recreation of the Tabernacle located in Timna Park, on the Red Sea. Guests: Michael Lavie, Herbby Geer. On location in Israel, we created this presentation of the holidays our Lord celebrated. Given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, these celebrations comprise one of the most fascinating studies of Biblical types and shadows. Few churches or seminaries teach what we take up in this series. Closed Captioned.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, [Concerning] the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, [even] these [are] my feasts.
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day [is] the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work [therein]: it [is] the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. These [are] the feasts of the LORD, [even] holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. Leviticus 23
The Holy Days of Our Lord “Day of Atonement”
Jewish names and themes for the day
There are a few key themes and names for this day according to Jewish tradition. Together they give a fuller understanding of the ultimate fulfillment of this day. And that fulfillment is at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The Great day
The day of Atonement was known as ‘the great day’ or simply ‘the day’. As mentioned earlier, it was the holiest day in the Jewish year and was the culmination of the ‘days of awe’. According to Jewish thought, It is believed that the fate of those whose names were not written into the book of life by the feast of trumpets have until the day of Atonement to find forgiveness and salvation from God. Prophetically, it speaks of the day Jesus returns at His second coming. Those that are not saved by this day are not given another opportunity. That day is their last chance.
Face to Face
The day of Atonement was also known as the day of ‘face to face’. This was because it was the one day a year where the high priest could come into the presence of God. This has a dual prophetic fulfillment concerning the two comings of Jesus Christ. At the first coming it speaks of the Lord Jesus going back into Heaven before God as our high priest through His own blood (Heb 9:11-12). The phrase ‘face to face’ is also used by Paul to speak of the day when all believers will see Him:
1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
The phrase also speaks of the day when the nation of Israel shall look on the one they pierced and find atonement for their sins:
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Affliction The Tribulation Jacob’s Trouble
Jeremiah 30:7 says, “That day is great, so that none is like it.”
The only time period that fits this description is the period of the Tribulation. This time is unparalleled in history.
Jesus described the Tribulation using some of the same imagery as Jeremiah. In Matthew 24:6-8, He stated that the appearance of false christs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, and earthquakes are “the beginning of birth pains.”
Paul, too, described the Tribulation as birth pains. First Thessalonians 5:3 says, “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” This event follows the Rapture and the removal of the Church, in 4:13-18. In 5:9, Paul reemphasizes the absence of the Church from this time period by saying, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The wrath spoken of here is God’s judgment on the unbelieving world and His discipline of Israel during the Tribulation.
These “birth pains” are described in detail in Revelation 6-12 Part of the purpose of the Tribulation is to bring Israel back to the Lord.
For those who have received Christ as Savior from sin, the time of Jacob’s trouble is something for which we should praise the Lord, for it demonstrates that God keeps His promises. He has promised us eternal life through Christ our Lord, and He has promised land, seed, and blessing to Abraham and his physical descendants. However, before He fulfills those promises, He will lovingly but firmly discipline the nation of Israel so that they return to Him.
The day was also known for ‘the affliction of the soul’. Thus the Israelites would fast on this day and abstain from anointing their body, wearing leather shoes and cohabitation. The true affliction of the soul will come when Israel sees their Messiah and realizes that they had rejected and killed their Messiah Jesus.3 This is portrayed in the following prophecy (following on from Zec 12:10 above):
Zechariah 12:11-14 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. (12) The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, (13) the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, (14) and all the rest of the clans and their wives.
It is also portrayed as a type in the recognition and reconciliation of Joseph with his brothers (which, you may remember, comes during a seven year period of famine and difficulty!) amongst many tears.
Genesis 45:1-15 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. (2) And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. (3) Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. (4) Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! (5) And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you… (14) Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. (15) And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
Scriptures on The Day of Atonement Listed
Leviticus 16:3
“Aaron shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
Leviticus 16:29
“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you;
Leviticus 16:2
The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
Hebrews 9:7
but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.
Leviticus 16:15-16
“Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. “He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.
Leviticus 16:17
“When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel.
Leviticus 16:24
“He shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.
Leviticus 16:11
“Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.
About Zola Levitt Ministries
We hold to a strictly literal and inerrant Bible interpretation, salvation through Christ alone, a soon pre-tribulation Rapture of all believers and the establishment of a thousand-year kingdom on Earth.
The evangelism of the unbelievers and the exhortation of the believers take precedence over all other activities of this ministry.
Zola, What We Do
Founded in 1979, we are principally a teaching and evangelistic association.
- Our national television program, Zola Levitt Presents, airs on nearly a hundred independent stations and teaches the Bible with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy, and the Jewish roots of Christianity.
- Our free monthly Levitt Letter newsletter users gives a concise Biblical perspectivewith updates on recent events in Israel. The Levitt Letter is mailed to almost 40,000 households and 9,200 online per monthly.
- Our Institute of Jewish-Christian Studies correspondence course teaches the Jewish roots of the Christian faith to more than 3,000 currently-enrolled students.
- Our online store carries a large number of teaching materials.
- We offer several tours each year to Israel, Greece and locations in the U.S.
- We offer speakers for churches, civic groups, university conferences and the like to speak on the subject of the Holy Land, End-times Prophecy, and general bible discussions.
Zola Levitt Ministries has sent hundreds of books to the Holy Land and planted thousands of trees throughout Israel.
Zola Levitt was the most beloved and well-known Messianic Jewish Bible teacher and Middle East commentator of his day. He was a Jewish Christian thoroughly educated in the synagogues and brought to the Messiah in 1971. He held music degrees from Duquesne University and Indiana University (doctoral coursework completed), and an Honorary Th.D. from Faith Bible College. He played the oboe, English horn, recorder, and piano.
He is best known for hosting the weekly national television program Zola Levitt Presents. He formerly hosted two top-rated radio talk shows — The Heart of the Matter in Dallas, and the nationally syndicated Zola Levitt Live.
Zola was a widely published author with more than 50 books in several languages, and the composer of some 200 spiritual songs, personally performed on most of his albums.
Zola lectured and hosted on more than 100 tours to Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, the areas of the seven churches, Mediterranean islands, European capitals, etc. He taught a course on “Christ in the Old Testament” at Dallas Baptist University and gave seminars at other education institutions.
Zola Levitt, founder and patriarch of Zola Levitt Ministries, died peacefully on April 19, 2006 at his home in Dallas, Texas, following a courageous two-month battle with lung cancer. He was 67 years old.
Those he left behind mourn his passing but celebrate his “promotion the Head Office.” They include his beloved wife Sandra; a son Mark, who takes the lead in administrating this ever-expanding worldwide ministry; a son Aaron, who participates behind the scenes, helping with writing, editing, and more; and a stepson Will. With Ken Berg—Zola’s faithful producer of 28 years—and a dedicated staff of professionals, the Levitt legacy continues, as it will until the Second Coming of our Lord.
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