The Reality of yom hakippurim
As Seventh-day Adventists we believe in the cosmic yom hakippurim, in the celestial yom hakippurim, in the endtime yom hakippurim, in the antitypical yom hakippurim if you will. Their unique understanding of yom hakippurim is what set our pioneers apart from other Millerites recovering from the Great Disappointment. But Seventh-day Adventists don’t make anything much of the actual yom hakippurim that falls today. We say the literal yom hakippurim is merely symbolic of our unique Seventh-day Adventist doctrine. We say the grand scope of God’s action in the heavenly sanctuary above makes any literal yom hakippurim here below redundant.
But if this day has no importance of its own, how can it symbolic of something else? If it is no longer valid, how can it point beyond to something bigger and better? In the absence of the type, how can we have a workable antitype? The “anti” in the word “antitype” is not the “anti” of opposition or antagonism. It is the “anti” of correspondence. The antitype is supposed to correspond to the type. The antitype is supposed to illuminate the type. The type is supposed to reflect and point towards the antitype. Neither is supposed to eliminate the other.
For symbols to effectively communicate God’s truth they need to be tied to something within our own range of experience, something we’ve touched and tasted, something we’ve enjoyed, something that resonates with us. We cannot nurture symbolic meaning while studiously ignoring the literal. Without grounding in concrete reality, spiritualmeaning becomes a flight of fancy.
I’m reminded of our Evangelical Christian friends who claim Jesusalready did their resting in God for them, so they don’t need Shabbat. Shabbat is something Jesus does; Jesus obviously does it better, so Evangelical Christians needn’t bother with it. And they’re quite right: since they have no experience of Shabbat, to them it means nothing. I think we’re in the same peril with our sanctuary doctrine. For Seventh-day Adventists the antitypical yom hakippurim has become a textbook exercise. We believe it because we’re loyal to our pioneer heritage, but for us it’s a purely theoretical construct. For us it’s a doctrine with no consequences.
The problem, as I see it, is that since Seventh-day Adventists don’t experience the reoccurring yom hakippurum, the antitypical yom hakippurim seems remote and abstract. Since we don’t experience a reoccurring cycle of reconciliation and communal repentance, the antitypical yom hakippurim doesn’t resonate with us. We generally don’t recognize a need for communal repentance for our communal misdeeds. We hardly practice reconciliation between brothers and sisters at all, let alone on a regular basis. We’ve pretty much confined repentance to a private affair between the individual sinner and God. The whole dynamic of yom hakippurim is foreign to us.
Yet for all our objections to a literal yom hakippurim there are nagging indications that a literal yom hakippurim would be good for us to experience.
One benefit of participating in the literal yom hakippurim is that enables us to experience repentance against a deadline. Many of our Christian friends would lead is to suppose that God’s infinite mercy knows no deadlines and that there’ll always be another chance to reverse our course of action. We Seventh-day Adventists know better: some things in life are actually time-sensitive. There’s a wonderful parable in Midrash Thilim [10:2] about the shut door.
Rabbi Chanina told a parable about a traveler journeying on the highway. As it grew dark, he came to a lodge where the innkeeper said to him, “Come inside away from the wild beasts and robbers.” But the traveler replied, “It is not my habit to enter a lodge at this time.” As he went on his way, the late hour and darkness overtook him, and he returned back to the lodge. He cried and pleaded with the innkeeper to open up for him. The innkeeper answered, “It is not my habit to open the door when it’s pitch black ouyside. It’s not the custom to receive guests at this late hour. When I invited you to come inside, you weren’t interested.” Thus the Holy One blessed be He said to the children of Israel, “Seek HaShem while he may be found.”
“Seek HaShem while he may be found” is a quotation from Isaiah. Let me quote the verse in full.
“Seek HaShem while he may be found; call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked abandon his way, and the man of cunning his thought, and turn to HaShem, and he will show him mercy, and to our God, for he excels to forgive.” [Isaiah 55:6]
“Seek HaShem while he may be found” implies that there will come a day when he won’t be found, that there will come a day when he won’t be near, that there will come a day when the door of mercy will finally be shut. Jesus also tells a parable about the shut door.
“The kingdom of Heaven may be likened to ten girls, who taking their lamps went out to meet the groom. Five were foolish and five were clever. For the foolish took their lamps without taking oil with them. But the clever took oil in vessels with their lamps. When the groom delayed they all slumbered and slept. In the middle of the night there was a shout, “See here, the groom! Let’s go out to meet him! Then all the girls got up and adjusted their lamps. The foolish said to the clever, “Give us some of your oil, because our lamps have almost burned out!” But the clever answered, “Probably there’s not enough for both us and you. Instead, go to the dealers and buy your own.” While they went to buy, the groom arrived. The prepared went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the rest of the girls came along, saying, “Mister, mister, open up.” But he answered, “Absolutely for certain I don’t know you.” Consequently be vigilant, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.” [Matthew 25:1-13]
We can think of the literal yom hakippurm as a dry run for the final deadline of the antitypical yom hakippurim. The human tendency is to put off confronting our sins and the embarrassment of reconciliation. A deadline helps us focus on what needs doing. The literal yom hakippurim is special window of opportunity to make things right with God and our brothers and sisters.
The very name, yom hakippurim, the Day of Expiations, indicates that originally the Torah is talking about a literal 24-hour day, not a long epoch from 1844 till the finalization of verdicts in the last judgment. In the Torah it’s a single day dedicated to standing in the judgment before God’s throne. It’s a human-scale experience of manageable proportions, a palpable experience which we can actually absorb, not a long epoch spanning many lifetimes.
The last prayer service in Israel’s worship for yom hakippurim is called n-i-la. n-i-la means locking. n-i-la is when the gates of repentance in heaven are locked shut. Traditional Jews believe that on Israel’s New Year, rosh hashana, on the biblical feast of shofar blasts, destinies for the coming year are determined in heaven, but not finalized for ten days. The ten days of repentance, the ten days when the shofar is blasted, are the last chance to avert a bad destiny. Traditional Jews believe their destiny is irrevocably finalized at sundown at the end of yom hakippurim. During the ten days repentance Jews wish one another gmar chatima tova “May you finish with a good sealing.” The reference is to being sealed in the Book of Life. Israel’s worship during n-i-la has a sense of urgency. The gates of repentance are being locked. n-i-la is repentance like there’s no tomorrow.
Our own Seventh-day Adventist pioneers relate that in the run-up to the Great Disappointment they enjoyed a sweet outpouring of repentance and reconciliation unmatched by anything they subsequently experienced. Deadlines can do wonders for spiritual life.
Of course, for most of us, tomorrow will be another day. For most of us sundown tonight is not the final deadline. After n-i-la God will be more than happy to reopen the gates of repentance. Once again he’ll hand out forgiveness left and right. In heaven it will be business as usual. And of course, anytime is a good time to get right with God. We shouldn’t really need a deadline to goad us into doing what we ought to do anyway. The obvious fact has been used to discredit the literal yom hakippurim. “One day is as good as the next; Christians don’t need a special day for repentance.” The ancient rabbis were clever enough to get around that objection.
“Said Rabbi Eliezer, ‘Repent one day before you die.’ His disciples asked, ‘A man knows which day he will die?’ He told them, ‘All the more he ought to repent, should tomorrow he die. Then all his days he will be found in repentance.’ Solomon also spoke in his wisdom, ‘At all times let your garments be white and do not stint with the oil on your head.’ [Ecclesiastes 9:8] Said Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. A parable of a king who invited his servants to banquet, but didn’t fix a time. The clever among them groomed themselves and waited at the king’s gate. They reasoned, ‘Can the palace lack anything?’ The foolish among them went about their normal work. They reasoned, ‘Can the kitchen staff prepare a banquet without any external indication?’ Suddenly the king called his servants. The clever among them came into his presence groomed. The foolish among them came into his presence dirty. The king was happy with the clever and angry with the foolish. He said, ‘Those who have groomed themselves for my banquet ̶ let them sit down and eat and drink! Those who didn’t groom themselves for my banquet ̶ let them stand and watch!’” [b Shabbat 153a]
It’s true, mature Christians shouldn’t require a reoccurring season of repentance. At all times our garments should be white. At all times we should be ready to repent. But not all the King’s servants are clever. Some of us are negligent. Some of us are lazy. Some of us are distracted. Some of us are stubborn. Some of us are rebellious. Realistically, we need a deadline and the help of friends to make a clean break. When I look around, I don’t see a Seventh-day Adventist Church which has gotten so good at repentance we don’t need any more practice.
A further benefit of participating in the literal yom hakippurim is the opportunity to experience biblical fasting. Instruction in fasting is an important component of Jesus’ teaching. In Jesus’ day, fasting, along with prayer and almsgiving, was one of the few expressions of personal devotion which Jews far from the temple in Jerusalem could practice.
“Moreover, when you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they contort their faces in order that others may see that they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they receive their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, in order that others cannot see that you are fasting, but your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” [Matthew 6:16-18]
Because of our familiarity with the religions of Southern Asia, it’s easy for us to think of fasting as a spiritual exercise to expand our consciousness, or a discipline to purify the soul from the attachment to the body, or a tool in the quest for the inner self. Biblical fasting is none of the above. Like almsgiving and prayer, fasting is a way of affirming God’s kingship despite appearances to the contrary. During the time of Jesus under Roman occupation, fasting demonstrated that Jews were still loyal subjects of God’s kingdom, even though on account of their sins their King was hiding his face from them and not granting them full privileges of obedience.
Fasting reinforces prayer because it expresses our unworthiness. Fasting says I deserve to be dead. Fasting is a gesture which says my routine existence can’t go on. Fasting reinforces almsgiving because the haves feel hunger exactly like the have-nots. Under conditions of injustice, fasting develops sympathy for the oppressed. Fasting reminds the rich,
“Privileged are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” [Matthew 5:3]
Fasting reminds the rich,
“Privileged are those hungering and thirsting for vindication, for they will be satisfied.” [Matthew 5:6]
Fasting makes repentance physical. Fasting on yom hakippurim brings the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of the antitypical yom hakippurim down to earth where we can feel it. When you feel your tummy rumbling and you maybe get a little dizzy, doctrine isn’t quite so abstract. Most of us learn by doing. What dance is to praise, fasting is to repentance. Fasting engages your entire body in what your lips are telling God. Fasting just makes confession and forgiveness that much more realistic.
Many Seventh-day Adventists are reluctant to experience the literal yom hakippurim because they’ve been told it was nailed to the cross. They’ve been told when type meets antitype, type is supposed to up and disappear. They’ve been told feeble physical gestures are inappropriate to those who possess correct doctrines.
All I can say is sorry, but theory can never take the place of practice. Not even the best theory can take the place of practice. And repentance was not nailed to the cross. The cross and resurrection are what opened up repentance to the Gentiles. The Apostle Paul in Athens announced to the Gentiles.
“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands humanity everywhere to repent. Because he has set a day on which he will judge the world justly by a man whom he has appointed, granting faith by raising him from the dead.” [Acts 17:30, 31]
The times or ignorance are over. We know who God has appointed judge. We know the judge is on our side. It’s time to repent.
For further teaching on yom hakippurim see “Ten Days of Communal Repentance” under “sermons.”
