October 6th, 1973 saw the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War when Israel was attacked simultaneously by Egypt and Syria on two fronts: Sinai and the Golan Heights. Israel fought off the attacks after 3 weeks with heavy casualties and about 3 thousand deaths on Israel's side.

Amazingly, Ps73 describes the Yom Kippur War, which happened on Yom Kippur, i.e. the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. We have just missed one very plausible date for the "mother of all battles" to break out. My purpose in this short article is to establish the link between Ps73 and 1973 Yom Kippur War. If this link is convincing, our confidence in Ps97 being the Psalm of the Rapture is boosted. Many secular Jews have become Orthodox as a result of the Bible Code. If the Code phenomenon is real, (no one has yet found flaws with it, including professors from the leading universities of the world), surely these hidden prophecies in the Psalms are considered "no sweat" to the Lord Almighty!

I will first establish the Yom Kippur part of it in Ps73.

#1 ENTER INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES. "6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance." (Heb 9 NIV) The sanctuary consists of the outer room and the inner room. The inner room is the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place.

Hebrews 9 NIV
2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place.
3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,

Only the High Priest is allowed entry into the Holy of Holies once a year, on the Day of Atonement. Interestingly, Ps73:17 says, "till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny."


#2 TO BE NEAR GOD. This phrase may not evoke much religious passion for Christians other than a general feeling of comfort that we are in Christ. It is very different for the Jews. Only the priests can come near God to minister! Not even the Levites can qualify! Only the descendants of Aaron, the first Levitical High Priest, can come near to minister before God.

Ezekiel 44 NIV
15 "But the priests, who are Levites and descendants of Zadok and who faithfully carried out the duties of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereign LORD.
16 They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table to minister before me and perform my service.

Well, the last two verses of Ps73 certainly talk about coming near God, "27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."


The Apostle Paul uses a similar language in Hebrews.

Hebrews 10 NIV 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

#3 GOD IS MY PORTION. Again, this phrase may not overwhelm us the Christians. But to the Jews, to say God is my portion, is AWESOME! When the Israelites talk about their inheritance from God, they mean their plots of land that flow with milk and honey, surrounding the Holy City, according to their tribes. However, there is no inheritance alloted for the priests! Their portion is their God!

Ezekiel 44 NIV
28 "'I am to be the only inheritance the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession.
29 They will eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings; and everything in Israel devoted to the LORD will belong to them.
30 The best of all the firstfruits and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household.

Listen to the Psalmist in Ps73,

Psalm 73 NIV
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

To have God as our portion is indeed a double portion, the rights of all firstborns.


THE YOM KIPPUR WAR. Ps73 is certainly talking about Yom Kippur and priests. What about war? Israel nearly lost everything from the surprise attack of the Egyptians and Syrians. "2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold." I am going to quote from a book, "Jerusalem in the Twentieth Century" by Martin Gilbert, page 317,

"That night, with the moon illuminating Jerusalem like a floodlight, many citizens feared a Jordanian attack across the river Jordan. A blackout was in force. Only the lights of the Arab suburbs twinkled in the clear, still night. Cars drove with masked headlights.

The bright moon seemed an invitation to the Jordanians to try to regain the lost land between the city and the Jorrdan, and perhaps to reach the city itself. No such attack came. But for twenty-four hours the city, virtually undefended as the battles raged far to the south and north, was in a highly nervous state."

The Psalmist devoted much in Ps73 in describing the wicked and the arrogant, in other words, the enemies of Israel. One typical verse is "6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence." War is therefore implied.


CONCLUSION. If Ps73 describes the Yom Kippur War in 1973, there is a good chance that the Rapture will take place in 1997 as described in Ps97. Interestingly, October 1997 is 24 years after October 1973. 24 is associated with priesthood. "18 the twenty-third to Delaiah and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. 19 This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the LORD, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their forefather Aaron, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him." (1 Chr 24 NIV)

Intriguingly, could Ps73 point to the Rapture in Ps97? "19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! 20 As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies......23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory." (Ps73 NIV)


LORD, whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

A M E N
John Tng