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The Fruit of the Ruach (Spirit) Is His Work – Not Ours

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11 Then [YeHoVaH] said, “Let the land sprout grass, green plants yielding seed, fruit trees making fruit, each according to its species with seed in it, upon the land.” And it happened so. 12 The land brought forth grass, green plants yielding seed, each according to its species, and trees making fruit with the seed in it, each according to its species. And [YeHoVaH]  saw that it was good. – Genesis 1:11-12, TLV; the bracketed words are my emphasis

3 to console those who mourn in Zion,
to give them beauty for ashes,
    the oil of joy for mourning,
    the garment of praise
        for the spirit of heaviness,
    that they might be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of [YeHoVaH],
    that He may be glorified. – Isaiah 61:3, TLV; the bracketed word is my emphasis

 3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to spread some seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some seeds fell by the road; and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil. They sprang up immediately, because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched; and because they had no roots, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew and choked them out. 8 But others fell on good soil and were producing fruit. They yielded a crop—some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

23 “Now the one sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands. He indeed bears fruit, yielding a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.” – Matthew 13:3-9 and 23, TLV

22 But the fruit of the Ruach is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control—against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23, TLV

The gifts of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), which are given to born again, saved, justified, Spirit-filled, and being sanctified Yeshua believers, empower them for service – they (the spiritual gifts) give Yeshua’s believers spiritual Power that enables them to do ministry work. Without a doubt, YeHoVaH makes it clear in Genesis chapter one that the service Yeshua’s believers are called to do is symbolized by YeHoVaH’s planted, cultivated, and harvested seed that makes fruit according to its species. For sure, some of the ministry works Yeshua’s believers are called to do are as follows:  function as evangelists, participate in missionary activities, minister to the needy, teach Bible classes, and so forth.   

Again, in Genesis chapter one, YeHoVaH says that every fruit tree makes “fruit, each according to its species with seed in it,” and Yeshua says that a tree is known by its fruit – either good or bad (see Luke 6:43-45). What the Father and the Son say about fruit-bearing trees are why it important for Yeshua’s believers to understand that it is the Work of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) that empowers them with spiritual gifts that make it possible for them to function as evangelists, participate in missionary activities, minister to the needy, teach Bible classes, and so on. Furthermore, it is the Work of the Ruach HaKodesh that yields the following fruit in Yeshua’s believers: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Recently, some Christians commented on my Facebook posting about evangelism being the central work of Yeshua’s believers that evangelism isn’t the chief work believers are called to do. These Christians either claimed that love or worship is the principal work of Yeshua’s believers. I responded by telling them that neither godly Love nor godly Worship is WORK. I added that godly Love is a FRUIT of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirt), and I declared that this kind of Love originally/initially comes from a SEED humans did not plant, did not cultivate, and did not harvest.  

The Divine Truth, where each Yeshua believer is concerned, is that it is Yeshua who Plants a SEED in “good soil” (every born again and saved spirit that hears the sown Word and understands It). After Yeshua plants the SEED, it is Yeshua’s Ruach HaKodesh who cultivates that SEED until it matures – grows into a tree of righteousness, which spiritually means that each Yeshua believer is spiritually being transformed into the image of Yeshua who is symbolized as the Vine or the Tree from which spiritually mature/healthy branches (believers) not only sprout but also bear much fruit (see John 15:1-3).

Once there is fruit on a tree of righteousness, it is the Lord’s Ruach HaKodesh who harvests that fruit from each branch – gathers the fruit which has a seed within it. Spiritually speaking, Yeshua’s fruit-bearing believers won’t initially be gathered until the time of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Nevertheless, the spiritual point here is that the fruit of the Ruach HaKodesh is every Yeshua believer’s transformed spirit, and the harvest is that of saved, justified, Spirit-filled,  and sanctified living souls – both the living souls who are dead and alive in Yeshua. Put differently, Yeshua’s believers on earth who bear much fruit only do so because of the Ruach HaKodesh’s progressive Work that is happening in their spirits (good soils). This ongoing sanctification Work of the Ruach HaKodesh results in the spirits (good soils) of Yeshua’s believers yielding, again and again, much fruit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They continue to bear fruit until they have been transformed into Yeshua and become overcomers who are ready to receive their glorified bodies.

Secondly, where the kind of godly Worship YeHoVaH expects is concerned, this kind of worship is done in Spirit and in Truth (see John 4:24). Without a doubt, the Spirit part of godly Worship refers to the Work of the Ruach HaKodesh. He stirs within good soils the holy desire to celebrate YeHoVaH, as well as the holy desires to rejoice in YeHoVaH and to give thanks to YeHoVaH. This worship of YeHoVaH in Spirit happens after the Ruach HaKodesh awakens in the spirits of Yeshua’s believers a spiritual awareness of YeHoVaH’s Glory, Beauty, and Power. Moreover, this worship of YeHoVaH in Spirit also happens after the Ruach HaKodesh opens the spiritual eyes of understanding within Yeshua’s believers and then empowers their spirits so that they are able to show YeHoVaH how much they comprehend and appreciate everything – all the Godhead’s treasures – YeHoVaH has made available to them through His Son, Yeshua. Again, the spirits of Yeshua’s believers only pertains to the born again, saved, justified, Spirit-filled, and being sanctified spirits that hear the sown Word and understand It.

Now, as far as the Truth part of godly Worship is concerned, this part also refers to the Work of the Ruach HaKodesh because He is the only One who knows all of YeHoVaH’s Truths, as well as knows ALL truths. Only the Ruach HaKodesh can teach, explain, inform, and reveal YeHoVaH’s Scriptural Truths, and only the Ruach HaKodesh can teach, explain, inform, and reveal YeHoVaH’s Scriptural Truths to Yeshua’s born again, saved, justified, Spirit-filled, and being sanctified (transformed) believers’ spirits. Since human interpretations and opinions do not create the atmosphere in which YeHoVaH-exalting worship takes place, this Divine Truth is why the said believers’ godly worship in Truth not only must be informed and conformed by the Ruach HaKodesh’s Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding of YeHoVaH’s Scriptural Truths but also must be founded, embedded, and focused on the Ruach HaKodesh’s Scriptural Revelations of the Truths about YeHoVaH and Yeshua. In other words, the spirits of Yeshua’s believers who are worshipping YeHoVaH in Truth can not do so if their worship is based on the traditions of men or on erroneous human interpretations or opinions about YeHoVaH’s Scriptural Truths.

So again, godly Love and godly Worship are the Works of the Ruach HaKodesh – not our works. Furthermore, the uncomfortable Divine Truth is that we do the work of an evangelist, and all the other ministerial services we are called to do, because we love YeHoVaH and Yeshua enough to want to obey their Commands, as well as love YeHoVaH enough to desire to Worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. However, we must realize that we only can do the work of an evangelist; love YeHoVaH, Yeshua, and our fellow human beings; or worship YeHoVaH in Spirit and in Truth when the Ruach HaKodesh’s Work makes it possible for us to have the spiritual power, will, fruit, and gifts to do so. Shalom . . . .  

Presidential Election Results in 2020

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YeHoVaH has broken the rod of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
  which struck the people in wrath
    with continual strokes,
which ruled the nations in fury,
    with relentless persecution. – Isaiah 14:5-6

On November 5, 2020, a Republican shared an image that had the same wording as the wording in the image I posted with this blog entry. There can be no doubt that these words were meant to insult the Democrats’ character – and specifically the character of the presidential candidate, Joe Biden.

Not liking this posting’s wording, I posted the following comment, with a few adjustments for this blog entry, on the said Republican’s shared posting:


Nebuchadnezzar is already in office and has been there since he was elected in 2016. Furthermore, many Democrats (that includes me) and Independents have been living in exile in Babylon and behaving just like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. More importantly, we have behaved more like Yeshua and the persecuted early, mostly Jewish believers than the majority of the people who elected America’s Nebuchadnezzar in 2016.  

For this blog entry, I have added the following:

Praise YeHoVaH! We are free at last and looking forward to our Promised Land returning to some resemblance of normal.

Congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris! Shalom . . .

Trustworthy and Insightful Managers

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…Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities! – Luke 12:48b, MSG

Yeshua’s watchfulness and readiness parable (see Luke 12:35-40) is the context in which He speaks the above verse to His close Disciples. In that parable, Yeshua explains how important it is to be alert and prepared for His return.

After Peter asks Yeshua if He is speaking just to His Disciples or to everyone, Yeshua Hamashiach uses another parable. In His second parable, He defines a watchful and ready person as a “faithful and wise manager” (Luke 12:42) who has been given the responsibility of using the gifts/resources he or she has to further YeHoVaH’s heavenly Kingdom and proclaim His Glory on earth by, for example, giving food and other needed essentials to the disadvantaged and doing so at “the proper time” (Luke 12:43).  

There can be no doubt that Yeshua is saying everyone – whether saved or unsaved – has been given gifts/resources. He adds that some people are given great ones and others are given greater ones. Moreover, He makes it clear that regardless of what gifts/resources each person has and regardless of how many or how much of them each person has, the bottom line is that everybody’s faithfulness to YeHoVaH and Yeshua requires that he or she behaves like a  trustworthy and insightful manager who uses responsibly – wisely and unselfishly – the gifts/resources entrusted to him or her.

Contrary to popular opinions, no one is supposed to use whatever YeHoVaH has entrusted to him or her to make his or her own individual life comfortable, secure, wealthy, famous, and etc. In other words, no human being can afford to take his or her responsibility lightly. If he or she does, Yeshua says that when He returns that person will suffer severely for his or her unfaithfulness (that person“…will be harshly whipped” – Luke 12:47, TLV). In contrast, the individual Yeshua finds faithfully and unselfishly doing what he or she is expected to do with the gifts/resources he or she had will receive a great reward, as well as will be put in charge of everything Yeshua owns (which is everything YeHoVaH owns).  

Responsible stewardship should be everyone’s goal – especially everyone who is a Yeshua believer and follower. In the end, each Yeshua believer and follower who is found to be a faithful steward will receive a greater reward in Heaven than anything he or she ever could have had on earth.

Selah . . . .

When His Holy Spirit Leaves

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So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spew you out of My mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have made myself wealthy, and I need nothing.’ But you do not know that you are miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white clothes so that you may dress yourself and so the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed, and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. – Revelation 3:16-18, TLV

None of us who claims to be Yeshua’s Disciples will want YeHoVaH to cancel our right to be in His Presence. However, the truth of the matter is that there are far too many carnal Yeshuaians who want a relationship with Yeshua on their terms instead of on His terms. These carnal Yeshuaians are today’s Laodiceans – individuals who serve the Yeshua of their own making.

Yehovah says that He will spew these carnal Yeshuaians out of His Mouth. In other words, the Holy Spirit (the Presence of YeHoVaH) will leave them the second they miss the Rapture.

The Laodicean believers who end up being left on Earth while the true Bride of Overcomers is in Heaven need to know that the Holy Spirit left some of them because their unbelief caused them to leave YeHoVaH – they departed from the Truth and became apostates. The Holy Spirit left other Laodicean believers because they loved the world and the things of the world – had one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom of YeHoVaH.

Let the true Bride of Yeshua pray for everyone who does not know and has not accepted the Lord. Let the true Bride of Yeshua also pray that YeHoVaH will open the eyes of the Laodiceans’ understanding so that those believers who currently are fence straddlers might become Overcomers who prepare and watch for their Bridegroom. Shalom.

Keep it real … Live it out … Watch it work!

A Servant’s Heart

01 Wednesday Apr 2020

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5 Slaves, obey your human masters, with respect and reverence, with sincerity of heart, as you would the Messiah— 6 not just under your master’s eye as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Messiah doing God’s will from the soul. 7 Serve with a positive attitude, as to the Lord and not to men— 8 knowing that whatever good each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. – Ephesians 6:5-8, TLV

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. – 1 Peter 1:22, TLV

In a sense, we work for Yeshua. We are employed by Yeshua to minister (to serve) men and women in Yehovah’s Kingdom on Earth. Now, no one is a slave in Yehovah’s Kingdom. We are brothers and sisters, which is why we need to know that in order for any of us to be seen as great in the Kingdom we must have a servant’s heart.

Unfortunately, there also are many Yeshua believers in Yehovah’s Kingdom on Earth who are servants in the pejorative sense of the term. They are modern-day slaves – the property of either just or unjust worldly masters.

Be that as it may. What Yehovah wants every Yeshuaian minister – whether free men and women or bondservants – to know is that all of His Kingdom Dwellers have to make the Gospel of Yeshua attractive in every way, primarily by exhibiting Yehovah’s holy Attributes and Morality while meeting people’s spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. This truth is why Paul gives five ways for believers in Yeshua who are bondservants to develop a servant’s heart – to always be ready to happily serve others selflessly and compassionately.

First, they are to be obedient to their human masters just like they are obedient to the One and only true Master – Yehovah. Next, they are to please their human masters just like they are to please Yehovah. Third, they are to hold their tongues and not talk back to their human masters just like their tongues are not to be used to murmur, tempt, curse or disrespect Yehovah. Then too, Yeshuaians who are slaves also are to work for everything they get without stealing from their masters’ possessions. Yehovah even tells these Yeshuaians that they are not supposed to covet what their masters own. Fifth, Yeshuaians who are slaves are to show their masters that they are trustworthy and loyal workers.

As Yeshua followers, Yehovah expects us to show the world that our behaviors are representative of Yeshua’s righteous and holy Character and Morality, which are the same as Yehovah’s. Put differently, we have to be powerful witnesses for Yeshua in the presence of our employers, no matter if we work as free men and women or as bondservants.

Let us be Yehovah’s Crowning Glory. Let us also remember that the world will know if we have the heart of a servant when we respond as happily and selflessly as we would to the people who treat us like we are their slaves! Shalom.

Hear Then Obey Yehovah’s Will . . . .  

Be Ye Also Ready

02 Monday Mar 2020

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42 Therefore stay alert; for you do not know what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. – Matthew 24:42-44, TLV

What person, who has an idea about the time of day or night that a thief plans to rob him or her, would not watch for the arrival of this thief? A wise person will either wait — fully armed and ready to do battle with the robber — or he or she will alert the police, who will wait in the wise person’s house for the alleged thief so that they can catch him or her in the act of breaking and entering. Any person taking these precautionary measures is the Goodman Yeshua speaks about in His Matthew 24:43-44 Kingdom mini–parable.

Here is the point Yeshua is making: If non-believers and carnal unbelievers are smart enough to keep watch over their homes to prevent someone from breaking in, robbing, and/or harming their families, then certainly born again and saved spiritual believers also are smart enough to be like Yeshua’s Goodman. Even though Yeshua’s Bride will not be aware of the actual day and time when Her Bridegroom will return, She has the gift of spiritual discernment. Spiritual discernment helps Yeshua’s Bride know and recognize the signs of the time that will lead to Her Pre–Tribulation Rapture.  

Yeshua tells His Believers how they can avoid being caught off guard. They have to watch for the Bridegroom’s return, and they also have to do Yehovah’s Perfect Will, which, in this case, means they need to handle their own spiritual responsibilities — they need to make sure their spiritual temples are prepared for the Rapture. Their Lord, Master, King, and Bridegroom’s Return will not surprise them, if they also are filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit so that He can make them ready, willing, and able to present their bodies as living sacrifices — as spiritual overcomers whose lives are holy and acceptable to Yeshua.

Be a “goodman.” Know the signs of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Look for the signs of your Savior’s Return, and be prepared when Yeshua comes for you.

Is the Holy Spirit filling you? Are you allowing the enemy to come into your individual temple and rob you blind? Is Satan stealing anything from you that the Holy Spirit needs to transform you into Yeshua’s image? Shalom.

Keep it real…Live the Word…Watch it work! 

Even If Many Professed Yeshua Believers Think It Is Hooey, There Will Be a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

06 Thursday Feb 2020

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But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” – Matthew 24:43-44, TLV

Not everyone who claims to love Yeshua, as well as not everyone who claims to be born again and saved, will be “caught up” on the clouds where he/she will meet Yeshua before the Tribulation Period begins. That’s right! Not everyone who defines him or herself as a follower of Yeshua will be in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Let there be no doubt about it, regardless if a professed Yeshua believer no longer believes in a pre-Tribulation Rapture, or if he or she never believed in it, the pre-Tribulation Rapture will happen.

In the Holy Bible, more than once, YeHoVaH shows His Children that His Wrath or Judgment cannot come until His Righteous Children are secure/safe. For example, in the Old Testament, only Noah and his family were considered righteous enough to enter the Ark and be secure/safe. Put differently, Noah and his family didn’t have to feel YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment that was poured out upon the entire earth (see Genesis 6:6-7, Genesis 6:13-22; Genesis 7:6-24; The Flood).  Similarly, in Genesis 19:22 and Genesis 19:24-25, Lot and his family safely escaped to Zoar before judgment was poured out on Sodom and Gomorrah (Fire and Brimstone). These Scriptures make it clear that only the folks YeHoVaH considered to be unrighteous felt His Wrath or Judgment.

Likewise, in the New Testament, YeHoVaH shows His Children that His Wrath or Judgment will only be poured out on the individuals who are considered to be unrighteous people. This Truth – YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment is not meant for those who are considered to be His righteous Children – is why there will be a pre-Tribulation Rapture. Once again, more than once, YeHoVaH says in His holy Scriptures that His Wrath or Judgment cannot come until His Righteous Children are secure/safe.

The above-stated Truth about who feels YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment is why there will be several types of unrighteous people who will miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture – YeHoVaH’s Ark in the end times. The following are the three groups of unrighteous people who will not enter the pre-Tribulation Rapture:

1. Unbelievers – the people who haven’t accepted Yeshua as Lord and Savior. Specifically, they are the ones who are described in Revelation 21:8; their final judgment, once the Tribulation period is over, will be the Lake of Fire.

2. Unbelieving believers – saved individuals who profess they know Yeshua, yet they don’t believe in what the Scriptures say about becoming overcomers, nor do they believe in what the Scriptures say about the power of YeHoVaH. Unbelieving believers, who are unrighteous because of their unbelief, can’t be raptured. Now, the precise kind of unrighteous unbelieving believers is described in Hebrews 2:1 as the individuals who didn’t pay close attention to what they heard and ended up becoming deceived apostates. These unrighteous unbelieving believers are also described in Hebrews 3:7-8 as the individuals who hardened their hearts to the Holy Spirit’s teachings and then fell away from the Truth; and in Hebrews 6:6, these fallen away from the Truth unrighteous unbelieving believers are devoted apostates who can’t be renewed again to repentance. 

3. Unbelieving believers – in their unbelief, they mock the Truth that they hear and claim it will not happen (e.g., those who mock the pre-Tribulation Rapture) [see 2 Peter 3:3-4].

The above-mentioned three groups of unrighteous unbelieving people will miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture; however, the unrighteous unbelieving Yeshua believers will also miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture because they failed to meet Yeshua’s five godly conditions that would allow them to be counted worthy/righteous enough to be raptured. Here are the five godly conditions that must be met in order for believers in Yeshua to be prepared for and worthy to be chosen in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Believers in Yeshua must be and do the following:

1. Must be an overcomer – Revelation 21:7 (see also Revelation chapters 2 & 3 . . . the one who overcomes references); all Yeshua believers must overcome the world, or the desires of the world; must overcome the flesh; and must overcome the devil

2. Must watch and pray for Yeshua’s thief in the night appearance – Mark 13:33

3. Must pray to be accounted worthy to escape the things that will happen in the end times – Luke 21:36

4. Must look for/anticipate Yeshua’s second appearance – Hebrews 9:28

5. Must cleanse themselves (get rid) of all filthiness so that they can achieve holiness – 2 Corinthians 7:1 (to get rid of every weight and entangling sin) – Hebrews 12:1

To be sure, there are things that only YeHoVaH via His Holy Spirit can cleanse in Yeshua believers. However, there are some things believers in Yeshua can do/can sacrifice to show YeHoVaH how much they hate sinning, how much they love Him, how much they want to be obedient and faithful, and how much they want to be like Yeshua.

Sadly, just as most believers in Yeshua won’t even try to purge themselves of every weight and entangling sin that is within their power to get rid of, there also are far too many professed Yeshua believers who refuse to believe/accept that Yeshua will come for His own like a thief in the night. The latter uses the fact that Yeshua is no sinner as their reason for their disbelief in the Scriptures that use the thief in the night simile. These Yeshua believers fail to understand that the thief in the night simile (image) is 100% figurative language, and, as figurative language, this simile means Yeshua isn’t a literal thief. However, the uncomfortably Truth they miss when they refuse to accept and believe the Scriptures that describe Yeshua as a THIEF is that, like a thief, Yeshua will indeed come secretly for His own.

This thief simile is found in the following biblical verses and found in one verse as a metaphor:

43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. – Matthew 24:43, TLV

2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. – 1 Thessalonians 5:2, TLV

4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the dark, so that the Day might overtake you like a thief. – 1 Thessalonians 5:4, TLV

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will melt and disintegrate, and the earth and everything done on it shall be exposed. – 2 Peter 3:10, TLV

3 So remember what you have received and heard—keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. – Revelation 3:3, TLV

15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief! How fortunate is the one who stays alert and keeps his clothes on, lest he walk around naked and they see his shamefulness.” – Revelation 16:15, TLV

It is in an Olivet Discourse’s mini-parable that Yeshua also compares His Overcomers to a collective Goodman who actually not only is prepared for the Thief but also watches for Him. Once again, Yeshua’s Overcomers are the righteous believers He is coming to get so that He can TAKE them with Him to a safe place before YeHoVaH pours out His Wrath and Judgment upon the entire earth for the very last time.

Now, right before the Goodman mini-parable (see Matthew 24:43-44), Yeshua describes the pre-Tribulation Rapture in two mini-parables. The Lord teaches about an individual who is working in the field and about a person who is grinding at the mill who are TAKEN by Him, while the second field worker and the second grain grinder are left behind (see Matthew 24:40-42). A similar pre-Tribulation Rapture description is also in Luke 17:34. In this mini-parable, Yeshua teaches about one of the two who are in bed is TAKEN, and the other is left behind. This mini-parable in Luke 17 is followed by the mini-parables about the two field workers and, in some translations, the two grain grinders.

In Matthew 24, the two pre-Tribulation Rapture mini-parables end with a warning to believers to be prepared and to stay alert so that they won’t miss the One who comes for them like a thief in the night (see Matthew 24:42). This warning is then restated as a parabolic statement in the Goodman mini-parable (Matthew 24:43-44). The Goodman (homeowner or master of the house) is robbed by a thief all because the Goodman was neither prepared nor on the lookout for the thief’s unannounced coming and, as a result, was not able to prevent the unfavorable outcomes – his house broken into, and his possessions stolen.  

Just like the Lord is using the TAKEN righteous field worker and grain grinder as metaphors for His righteous Vineyard Workers or Overcomers,  He also is comparing, by contrasting, the Goodman metaphor to His righteous Overcomers – His truly righteous believers. The bottom line is this: Yeshua’s parabolic statement in the Goodman mini-parable is that His Overcomers must stay prepared and stay alert because none of them knows the precise hour when Yeshua will return. In other words, Yeshua’s parabolic statement explains, by contrasting the Goodman in the mini-parable with the righteous Overcomes in the two preceding mini-parables, how serious Yeshua is about His righteous Overcomes being ready/prepared and staying alert so that they will not miss meeting Him in the air when He returns for them.     

Now, while the Greek language has different meanings for the verbs to “take” and to “receive,” and these different meanings have different Greek verbs, the Greek verb paralambano is the same to TAKE verb that is used in John 14:3 (“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be”), in Matthew 24:40 (“Then two men will be in the field, one taken and one left”), in Matthew 24:41 (“Two women will be grinding at the mill, one taken and one left”), and in Luke 17:34 (“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken along and the other left”). In all four of these verses, paralambano means that the individuals who are TAKEN (snatched away/caught up) are Yeshua’s Overcomers who are saved from YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment. Additionally, in all four of these verses, the folks who are left behind are the ones who receive YeHoVaH’s Judgment – His Wrath. In this case, YeHoVaH’s Judgment or Wrath is the seven-year Tribulation Period.

What is important to mention here is that the righteous Overcomers who are TAKEN in Matthew 24:40-41 (also see Luke 17:35-36) are TAKEN during a daylight moment while they are doing daytime jobs. In contrast, the one TAKEN from the bed​ who is sleeping ​(Luke 17:34) is TAKEN during a nighttime moment. It should be evident that these referenced Scriptures show how Yeshua has dealt with the issue of different time zones on this earth – some are rapture during the day (daylight time) and some are rapture in the night.

NOTE:

In Luke 17, some manuscripts add the following verse: “There will be two in the field. One will be taken along, and the other left.” – Luke 17:36

Finally, believers in Yeshua can only receive from YeHoVaH that which they believe He will do for them. Put differently, if believers in Yeshua don’t believe it is possible for something to happen; for example, if they have unbelief about what is presented in certain Scriptures about a pre-Tribulation Rapture, then they will not be in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. They can’t receive that part of salvation because they refuse to believe in it.

So, once again, the reasons why so many who say they are saved, born-again believers of Yeshua will miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture are because they will not take to heart the Scriptures that warn them about their need to get prepared, stay ready, and stay alert – keep looking out for Yeshua’s Return – and because they don’t believe in a pre-Tribulation Rapture.  Matthew 13:58 says “And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”  Romans 11:20 says “True enough. They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith….” First Timothy 1:13 says, “even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. Yet I was shown mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,” but then Paul says in Hebrews 4:6, “So then it remains for some to enter into it; yet those who formerly had Good News proclaimed to them did not enter because of disobedience.” Lastly, Paul in Hebrews 4:11 says “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through the same pattern of disobedience.” The point here is crucial. If Yeshua believers do not believe in the pre-Tribulation Rapture, their unbelief not only prevents them from being raptured before the Tribulation Period begins but also because their unbelief is a form of disobedience they cannot enter into the Shabbat rest.

It should be clear from the above-cited verses that apostle Paul also describes Yeshua believers’ unbelief as disobedience (see also Hebrews 3:18-19). This unbelief and a lack of trust/faith prevent unrighteous unbelieving believers from entering into eternal rest. Their kind of unbelief is the same as the unbelief that caused many Israelites to perish in the wilderness – to never see the Promised Land. In comparison, just like the unrighteous unbelieving Israelites couldn’t enter the Promised Land of Israel, Yeshua believers with unbelief won’t be able to enter into the Shabbat rest with Yeshua in Heaven (the Promised Land for believers in Yeshua) – see Hebrews 4:9, and see Hebrews 4:1-2).  All believers in Yeshua must be Overcomers in order to receive Overcomers’ promises, but they will never be Overcomers if they have any bit of unbelief.

To be sure, not believing that a pre-Tribulation Rapture will happen is indeed unbelief. This unbelief is also the same kind of unbelief that prevented Yeshua from doing any miracles in His hometown synagogue. It is also the kind of unbelief that will prevent Yeshua from TAKING the unrighteous unbelieving believers during the pre-Tribulation Rapture – the only rapture event that no one will know or be able to figure out the day or the hour of Yeshua’s Return.

Any raptures that happen during the Tribulation won’t be hard to figure out, as the Scriptures mention Raptures happening at a particular time during and after the seven-year Tribulation. Therefore, neither the mid-Tribulation nor the post-Tribulation Rapture will happen secretly, so Yeshua will not be returning like a thief in the night for those raptures.

If Yeshua believers think that a pre-Tribulation Rapture is hooey, then they will not be TAKEN (caught-up) in it. Furthermore, their unbelief in a pre-Tribulation Rapture is a form of disobedience, so they also may not enter into Yeshua’s Shabbat rest. It will depend on whether they are able to renew their minds to righteous thinking during the Tribulation Period.

A word to the wise should be sufficient!

Stubborn As Mule

11 Wednesday Dec 2019

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I composed this poem on December 8, 2019, after seeing so many Christmas postings in my Facebook newsfeed that professed Christians posted. It is hard to believe that – in this twenty-first century – so many who declare they are Christians are still kicking against the goads (are still refusing to hear YeHoVah’s Voice about not following/not keeping the traditions of men). They have closed their souls and their ears to His Truth – choosing to be unfaithful to His Will and His Ways. Perhaps the real problem is that they are Christians instead of Netzarim (faithful servants/disciples/saints of Yeshua).

By stubbornly refusing to obey YeHoVaH, Christmas celebrators and believers are driving their individual goad in deeper and deeper. Choosing to be unfaithful to YeHoVaH’s Divine Truth, by rejecting the Holy Spirit’s teaching/revealing, causes the necessary pain that comes from His Discipline, which eventually will happen to them, if it hasn’t already begun. Selah . . . .

Why would you be so stubborn as to close your hearts and your ears to me? You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just like your forefathers! – Acts 7:51, TPT

Yeshua Never Died on a Good or a Black Friday

01 Sunday Dec 2019

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31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. – John 19:31, NLT

In this blog article, I am doing what all saints of Yeshua should do. I am setting the record straight about the Black Friday graphic with Yeshua on the cross flanked by two criminals. Many versions of this graphic have been posted for years on Facebook, but, sadly, they all have been posted not only to confirm Yeshua died on a Good Friday but also to confirm that that Good Friday was a black Friday. The truth is that Yeshua never died on any Friday – neither good nor black or otherwise.

To start with, there were three days of preparation during the so-called Holy Week Yeshua was crucified. The one mentioned in the above Scripture was not on Friday – at least not the week Yeshua died.

During the Holy Week, there were two Sabbaths – a High Holy Sabbath and a regular Saturday Sabbath. The Jews prepared for both of these Sabbaths on the days before they took place.

Moreover, the  13th of Nisan – Tuesday – has been called the “preparation day” for the Passover, which included Passover and Unleavened Bread. On Nisan 13, all leaven was removed out of the Hebrews’ homes.

On this 13th day of Nisan, Yeshua had His Disciples prepare for His Passover meal. Yeshua’s Seder meal actually would be eaten after 6:00pm, which would be the beginning of Nisan 14 since, once again, a Jewish day has always been from sunset (evening) to sunset (evening).

Likewise, the 14th day of Nisan – Wednesday – has always been the day of Passover since the Israelites came out of Egypt. They also have always been allowed to work on this day.

During the week Yeshua died, Nisan 14 (Passover) also was the day that the Jewish religious leaders had the Temple’s guards drag Yeshua in front of Pilate’s (the Roman governor’s) residence around 6:00am (see Matthew 27:1-2; John 18:28-29). Additionally, it was on Passover, from noon (the sixth hour) until three in the afternoon (the ninth hour) that Yeshua was crucified. During these hours, darkness came over all the land. Lastly, it was on Passover that the Jewish people in Yeshua’s day prepared for the next day’s High Sabbath.

Yeshua hung on the cross until right before the 15th of Nisan – Thursday – was about to begin. Nisan 15 has always been the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yeshua was removed from the cross and then placed in a borrowed tomb right at the start of Nisan 15 – a day that otherwise would be very uneventful, except for the holy convocation.

The 16th day of Nisan – Friday – was called “the morrow after” the Sabbath (the day after Nisan 15th’s High Holy Sabbath). Nisan 16 was the day on which the firstfruits of the barley harvest were cut and bundled. During the week Yeshua died, Nisan 16 also was the day of preparation for the regular Saturday Sabbath.

The 17th day of Nisan – Saturday – in the year Yeshua was crucified was the regular 7th-day Sabbath. At the start of this day, Yeshua had been in the grave two nights and two days. By the start of Nisan 18 – Sunday, the first day of the week – Yeshua had fulfilled His prophesied three days and three nights in the grave. His resurrection also made Him the first fruits of the dead, because He rose on the day of First Fruits when the cut barley sheaves were waved before YeHoVaH.

Yeshua rose from the dead right when Sunday evening started. Sunday was the Day of First Fruits. Remember, a Jewish day is from sunset (evening) to sunset (evening). Without a doubt, the above timeline is consistent with Yeshua’s words that He would be dead and in the grave for three days and three nights.

Shalom . . . . .

Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Booths, or the Feast), 2012

30 Sunday Sep 2012

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Sukkah: 1723 engraving by Bernard Picart

Adonai said to Moshe, ‘Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot for seven days to Adonai. On the first day there is to be a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work. For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; on the eighth day you are to have a holy convocation and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; it is a day of public assembly; do not do any kind of ordinary work.’~ Leviticus 23:33-36, CJB

Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles (also Feast of Booths, Festival of Ingathering, or the Feast) comes five days after Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), which is an annual Fall Feast that Jewish people accept as their holiest day of the year—the day on which they are “in unity” with Adonai. In other words, they are now the closest they can be to Adonai and to the most perfect or typical example of their own souls. For sure, it is on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) that Adonai decides both to accept His chosen people’s repentance and to forgive their sins. Indeed, in the Scriptures, Moses expresses this truth about Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) to the Israelites. Moses writes that it is “…on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before Adonai from all your sins” (Leviticus 16:30, CJB).

The point here is that like Yom Kippur, Sukkot, which follows Yom Kippur, also is an annual Adonai commanded Fall Feast; however, unlike Yom Kippur, Sukkot is a seven-day festival (eight in the Diaspora). Furthermore, the reason why, from antiquity until today, Adonai’s Jewish people have looked forward to Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles (Feast of Booths, Festival of Ingathering, or the Feast) with great anticipation is because on the Day of Atonement they not only have received Adonai’s forgiveness and cleansing of all of their preceding year’s sins, but also He has judged them worthy to receive life, health, and happiness for the new year. Therefore, the 15th of Tishri festival, which begins at sunset on September 30, 2012, is marked for its time of extraordinary joy—the joy that comes from having the closest possible relationship with Adonai. This amazing joy also is the reason why Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles is considered to be the most special time of the year, and why even today Jewish people refer to this Fall festival as The Time of Our Joy.

In ancient times, for this Fall festival, the single and married Jewish men would travel (make the third of three commanded “pilgrimages”) from wherever they were living back to the Temple in Jerusalem. To celebrate Sukkot, they would set up their temporary dwellings (sukkahs; booths; tents) in the Temple’s courtyard and live in their temporary dwellings throughout the duration of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles.

Today, Jewish people might build and decorate their own sukkahs, or gather in the sukkahs at their temples or synagogues, or go to various beautiful places around the world where Adonai also has chosen to “put His name” (cf. Deuteronomy 12:5). What is most important is that in the 21st century, during the Feast, Jewish brethren leave behind their daily routines and come together not only to fellowship and rejoice before Adonai in complete peace, harmony and unity (cf. Leviticus 23:40), but also to eat and live in their temporary dwellings during Sukkot.

What also is very important about Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles is that from antiquity to today this festival looks back at the forty-year period of time when the Israelites wandered in the desert after Sinai. At that time, the Israelites could see the Presence of Adonai, who was dwelling among them. Also they had all of their needs taken care of, as neither their shoes nor their clothes wore out. Lastly, the Israelites also had righteous leaders in the persons of Moses, Joshua, and the judges.

Then too, from antiquity to today the Sukkot festival also looks forward to the 1,000 year Messianic Kingdom, when Yeshua will “tabernacle” among His people and rule from Jerusalem. The Lord’s millennial reign will be a time when all of the nations in this world would learn about the great blessings that Adonai bestows upon the people who follow the ways of the God of Israel.  Moreover, everyone in the entire world will experience shalom (peace), because shalom will spread out from Jerusalem and encompass the entire world.

Finally, for Christians and Messianic Jews, the three Fall Feasts are the last biblical feasts that Yeshua has yet to fulfill. The next big event on the prophetic timetable is the “Rapture,” the time when Yeshua calls His Bride/Body of Believers and then snatches them (the dead and the alive in Christ) out of this world by first gathering them together in the air in the clouds.

Thus, the “Rapture” event very well could be fulfilled during the very next Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets or “Jewish Civil New Year”). Once again, the “Rapture” is the time when the transformation/glorification of the resurrected righteous dead and the caught up righteous living takes place (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

Then, on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Yeshua’s Bride stands before His judgment seat (2 Corinthians 5:10) and is judged according to the works She did for Her Lord. Next, after He judges Her worthy, She not only will become “at-one” with Yeshua but also will receive Her fine linen robe and crown of righteousness (cf. Isaiah 61:10; 2 Timothy 4:8; Revelation 19:7-8).

Lastly, on Sukkot, Yeshua consummates the marriage, and then for the next seven years He and His Wife hide away in their Bridal Chambers (the mansions the Lord went away to prepare for Her so that He can come back and receive Her unto Himself). There She and her Husband will “tabernacle” together until it is time to return with Yeshua to destroy His enemies at the Battle of Armageddon (cf. Isaiah 26:20; John 14:2b-3; Revelation 19:11-17). Afterwards, there will be the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (cf. Matthew 22:2; Luke 14:15; Luke 22:15-18; Revelation 19:9). Hallelujah!