TESHUVAH:
A Special Season of Repentance

As we approach the "High Holy Days" in the Fall, which include the most solemn Day of Atonements, we are in a special preparatory time on which we traditionally blow the shofar every day to remind ourselves that they are drawing near. This month of soul-searching parallels the prophetic time in which we are now living, which is a prelude to the dramatic upheavals which will signal the beginning of the end of the age and the Messianic Kingdom. The "beginning of birth pangs" alerts us to wake up and "lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near!"

There are two "days of judgment" on Yahweh's annual calendar. The first is the Feast of Trumpet-blasts (Yom haTeruah) the first day of the civil year, but also considered in some aspects the end of the prior year., because of the concept of overlap in Hebraic thought.

"Rosh haShanah" (as Yom haTeruah is often called, based on the civil calendar) is when the court of 24 elders is seated and "the books are opened" (Dan. 7:9; Rev. 4:1). The first book opened is the "Book of the Righteous", or, the Book of Life. The second is for another clear-cut category, the "wicked", with whom YHWH has stopped striving.

But the third book is less conclusive. It is called the "Book of the Sinners", and refers to the average people who are "missing the target", in whatever way, through ignorance.

It is necessary in Scripture to distinguish between "the wicked" and "sinners". Yahshua said he was "betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Matt. 26:45), and he forgave them, for were not sinning deliberately. In the Torah, only deliberate sins are punished by death; those done ignorantly can be atoned for by a sacrifice. Hebrews 10:26 reminds us that for those who go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. David says he will "teach sinners [Yahweh's] ways" (Ps. 51:13), so there is yet hope for them as long as the gates have not yet been closed.

The 40 days before Yom Kippur, and especially the last 10, are spent in fervent repentance. During this period Israelites typically greet each other with "may you be sealed for the day of redemption" or "may you be written and recorded for the best", and pray to the same end. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that the Spirit of Holiness is what seals us for that day, through faithfulness to the Messiah (cf. 1:13-14). The seal also reminds us of the mark placed upon Cain to prevent him from being judged by anyone but Yahweh, and that mark (and its counterfeit) show up again in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation.

However, even within the Kingdom there are various levels of reward, and our attitude during this time sets the tone spiritually for the doors that will be opened for us in the following year. We fast on Yom Kippur to "afflict our souls" (suppress our wills and appetites, and pay attention to our motives), because they are "gates" by which sin gains entrance. (Gen. 4:7) Therefore, we close them up on the day when Yahweh renders His verdict on the spiritual health of the nation of Israel as a whole.

YHWH prescribed a curious practice in Leviticus 13:21, 33 for dealing with people who had leprosy: if the verdict was still unclear, they were given a 7-day waiting period. Why 7? Because it relates to the judgment scenario mentioned above: after Yahshua comes for those who have believed "on time", there are 7 years of sifting, when many, who are judged to be wicked, are destroyed outright. But the Two Witnesses and 144,000 Israelites (possibly one and the same) give the undecided one last opening to repent.

But this is to their shame. The ten virgins who were not ready when the bridegroom arrived had already missed the wedding itself, unlike the five who were ready. (Mat. 25)