Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.7MB)

As Yom Kippur draws to a close, we have a final moment to consider our relationship with the Lord. Yom Kippur is a time of self-denial, repentance, and reconciliation. We are reminded of our complete dependence on Adonai for physical, emotional, and spiritual life. But we live in a world that constantly broadcasts the lie that we have everything we need already and can sustain ourselves.

This lie is the same as the one Messiah Yeshua confronted in His letter to the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:14-22. Laodicea was a city that was very wealthy and respected by others. They were convinced that God was pleased with them because of their earthly wealth. But in this letter, they are told they are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

How could they not realize they were poor? How did they not realize they were naked? I mean, normally we know we are either naked or wearing clothes! This is because their perception of reality was wrong; they were not “seeing clearly”. We can also struggle to see things correctly. We might misinterpret someone’s words or actions because we are convinced, they do not like us. A scarier example is when we hallucinate and have delusions. The truth is that we all are spiritually blind until we place our faith in Messiah Yeshua, until we repent and reconcile as He has told us in His Word.

Our closing service is called Neilah, which means “closing” or “locking”. This name is based on the tradition that the gates of heaven close or lock for another year at the end of Yom Kippur. But this is also another example of not seeing things correctly. The gates of heaven are open for us every day, but only if we have been invited to the Lord’s heavenly home.

We invite people into our homes that we have a connection with, people such as our family and friends. Messiah Yeshua is here right now and ready to open the gates of heaven for us if we accept His invitation. He is ready and willing to transform our lives through a relationship with Him. I am reminded of Revelation 3:20, where He writes, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

The Lord stands at the doors of our houses and knocks. He invites us to open the door and enjoy a true connection with Him. For us to eat with Him in our homes and then for us to eat in His home. The Lord invites the Laodiceans, and us, to repent and reconcile with Him.

There is also a sense of urgency in this image. When someone is at your door, you do not leave them standing there for long if you care about them. You stop what you are doing as soon as you can to open the door and let them in. In the same way, the Lord patiently waits for us to open the doors of our hearts, but He will not wait forever. The Lord’s home in heaven is open to us today and every day. But we only have so long to accept His invitation.

As Yom Kippur draws to a close, it is my prayer that each of us would open the doors of our hearts to Messiah Yeshua. That each of us would experience real repentance through His atoning work. May each of us be welcomed through the gates of Heaven by the Lord because of our relationship to Him.