Do Seventh-day Adventists celebrate Yom Kippur?

Answer 1

Typically no... Most don't make the correlation between the Fall Feasts and their own Theology. Should they? Well it's nice to know, but how many Catholics (any other Christian denomination for that matter) celebrate/study Passover. Isn't the last supper a spiritual fulfillment of Passover (and yes I realize some argue the differences/intent of the two, but before I bang my head against a wall.... lets not argue)? I think all Christians should study and know the Jewish Feasts and Holidays, but there are very few that are mandated by God for the Christian (which includes the Seventh-day Adventist Church). Its all about how that holiday fits in with your convictions and faith tradition... even Jews don't all worship Passover the same way.

So why is Yom Kippur so important to SDAs... well this is another question entirely, and most SDAs cannot fully explain the connection because we are dealing with deep theological issues... just as most cannot explain complex issues within their own faith tradition. However it mostly has to do with the connection of the following verses and ideas: The justifying of God's sanctuary in Dan 8:14 and the same event found in the judgment in Dan 7:9-14 was typified by Yom Kippur. The Jewish idea that Yom Kippur is Israel's judgment day (see, e.g., affirmation of the loyal in Lev 16:30 but condemnation of the disloyal in 23:29-30), but not the idea that Rosh HaShanah is a judgment day (an idea presented at the beginning of the Mishnah and Talmud (both Babylonian and Jerusalem) tractates on Yom Kippur). In chap. 14 of Cult and Character, Roy Gane discussed this as follows (Hebrew font may not come through to you):

"The rabbis import two extrabiblical concepts. First, there is no Pentateuchal evidence that the day of remembrance signified by Trumpet blasts (hDoŠwrV;t NwørVk-z) at the beginning of the seventh month (Lev 23:24) is New Year's Day or a day of judgment. A new year that affects human destinies is not altogether lacking in the Pentateuch, but it is connected with the Day of Atonement when the Jubilee year of release, the fiftieth year, begins on this day after seven sabbatical year cycles, totalling forty-nine years (Lev 25:8-10). As to yearly observance of the special Day of Atonement ritual complex that restores the community and theocratic cult of YHWH in its midst while the community ceases labor and expresses humility, some have suggested that it could be viewed as enacting a communal rite of passage that "reflects characteristics of annual new year festivals." However, since it is on the tenth day of the seventh month rather than the first day of the first month (cf. Exod 12:2), it is not New Year as such. Once postbiblical tradition came to regard Tishri 1 as New Year's Day, it was a short step to associate it with judgment, in accordance with enduring ancient Near Eastern traditions that placed judgment in the context of New Year celebrations.

Second, the biblical text does not divide people into wholly righteous and intermediate categories. All Israelites who are not already condemned come to the Day of Atonement together in one category: those who have been basically loyal to YHWH throughout the year.

Although the rabbinic notion of corporate judgment on Tishri 1 is not in the Pentateuch, it does agree with the biblical evidence in the sense that some people are condemned before the Day of Atonement. The idea that fates are sealed on the Day of Atonement (b. Rosš Hasš. 16a) also reflects biblical data: Fates of Israelites who have shown themselves to be disloyal before the Day of Atonement are sealed on this day in the sense that they are excluded from receiving the benefit of final rpk. On the other hand, fates of loyal Israelites are sealed on the Day of Atonement in the sense that their freedom from condemnation and reconciliation with YHWH are confirmed through the rituals that purge the sanctuary."

Hope this helps