We will now look at some of the items laid out in Scripture that tell us clearly what is required for us to 'enter in to His Rest,' which is a euphemism for entering in to the Promised Land, into the City of the King. Participation in these things will further identify to Yahuweh those who are allowed to enter, and who are not.

Many Scripture passages tell us, and show us by vivid example, the Yahuweh's children are defined by their obedience. Indeed, even the blessings of the Inheritance are to those who are obedient. Let's notice the following passage:

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 1:18-20)

Most today understand that verse 18 in the above passage does apply to New Covenant Believers. But let's look at the "rest of the story" seen in verses 19 and 20. Yahuweh is telling us that if we ARE (present) obedient, we SHALL (future) eat the good of the Land. Yahuweh is telling us that our welfare in the Promised Land depends on our obedience, and that our obedience is determined now, before we enter the Land! This can be confirmed in Rev 22:14-15, where the right to enter in to the City of the King is given, as determined by obedience to Yahushua's commandments.

Few today understand the importance of walking in obedience to Yahuweh. Even fewer understand the importance of doing what Yahuweh 'delights' in, and what 'pleases' Him. One of the hallmarks of the Biblical Marriage Covenant is the mark of obedience. As we advance in our walk with Yahuweh, there will be many times that he presents opportunities for us to choose whether we will obey Him, or not. Each day Yahuweh reveals something new to us, with the hope and desire that we will choose to go beyond our comfort zone, and walk in the new thing He has revealed. We must make a choice — a fresh choice each day — whom we will serve (Josh 24:15). Let us proceed now to new ground.

It is obvious to the sincere seeker, which of the Old Testament ("Torah") commandments and sayings of Yahuweh have already found their fulfillment in Messiah Yahushua. What has been obscured by the religionists is the necessity for all Yahuweh's children to likewise fulfill the Torah, with a few exceptions as seen in the Book of Hebrews. Our present difficulty lies in the fact that the Body of Messiah has been lied to for centuries about what constitutes 'Truth' for New Testament Saints. Yahushua is now restoring all (true) things, just prior to His return, as He promised!

Our greatest discomfort comes when we attempt to make the Scriptures fit the 'Doctrines and Commandments of Men' we have been taught. Perhaps by now our inner conflicts become evident, regarding what we have learned about Law and Grace, Grace and works, Grace and Legalism, Old and New, Then and Now, Jew and Gentile, Liberty or Bondage, Life or Death. In His mercy Yahushua has painstakingly revealed each one of these subjects to us in His Word, yes, even in the New Testament! He wants us to know and thoroughly understand the Word of Righteousness. Yahuweh has revealed all these subjects in His Word, and desires that we see how they all fit marvelously, as pieces of a great puzzle, to portray the beautiful and majestic picture that He desires to reveal to His Beloved. He also wants us to be aware of hindrances that are abundant.

As an illustration of the conflict between Truth and Error, let us observe several passages regarding Eternal Life. As we look at these, let us note of the contrast between what we have been taught, and what Yahushua actually says. Yahushua had just been asked by a man what good thing must he do, that he may have eternal life. First notice the question, and then look carefully at Yahushua’s reply:

And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22)

Two things are to be noted. First, this verse indicates that eternal life is conditioned upon obedience to the Ten commandments. This verse is for all New Testament Believers, contrary to what many Pastors would say today (2 Tim 3:16). Many Pastors and Leaders who have been trained in Bible Schools and Cemeteries (full of dead men’s bones) have chopped up, rationalized, compartmentalized, dispensationalized, and discarded much of Scripture, simply because they themselves were taught that, for one reason or another, a particular verse, or chapter, or Book of the Bible, is not for them, but for some other people, or some other 'dispensation' (a man-made meaning given to a Bible word). "That's for the Jews;" "That's not for us — it's for the early church;" "That's for another age;" "That's Old Testament;" "That's bondage;" and on and on, until nothing is left but an empty carcass. All Scripture is for all Yahuweh's children, and is part of their heritage!

Most formally-trained Pastors and Leaders of today would explain it by saying that this passage, along with several similar ones, do not apply to New Testament Saints, because this passage does not seem to fit the modern, twisted notion of what Biblical 'Grace' is. Most would summarise the 'eternal life' requirements by stating that all we must do is "believe" — that is, we must give mental agreement to a set of facts. This is the modern-day definition of the word 'Believe,' and is a devilish definition, void of Biblical Truth. Using this definition of 'Believe,' there is no need for such Biblical practices as repentance, sanctification, holy living, dying to self, obedience, or enduring unto the end. Most would put forth a blanket idea of 'Grace,' but then deny the Biblical 'Grace' that teaches one to be obedient (Rom 1:5), and to live a life glorifying Yahuweh. Thus the religious world has been taught that the main issue is pure mercy and 'forgiveness,' beyond which one may do as he pleases, even if one does not please the Mighty Yahuweh and Prince of Peace.

Most teachers today say that Yahushua, in the passage above, was telling the inquirer something that applied to another time period they call a 'dispensation,' not applicable to the present day, which they call the "Church Age" or the "Age of Grace." (which concept is not in Scripture!). In summary, there are many variations of error seen in the religious world, all trying to explain away the true meaning of the above passage, and to obscure the Truth of to whom the passage applies.

Note however, that in the above passage the questioner was talking about 'New Testament Eternal Life.' The Greek word is 'zoe,' Strong’s number <2222>. We know this because this is the same word that Yahushua used:

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life <2222>: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (John 11:25)

As we remember another familiar verse, we will look at it, and the second point becomes obvious:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life <2222>. (John 3:16)

Most of us are familiar with this verse, aren’t we? From the day we first came to Yahushua for His Grace of Forgiveness, we have heard this verse. In John 3:16 above we see that Eternal Life is conditioned upon 'believing in Yahushua.' In the previous passage, (Mark 10:17-22), Yahushua tells us that Eternal Life is conditioned upon keeping the commandments, and also upon selling all, and coming after, and following Yahushua.

Beloved, is this verse in contradiction to the one shown above in Mark 10:17-22? No, it is not. Yahushua merely reveals in each separate verse, one separate condition of eternal life. To gain a better understanding of Biblical Salvation, and the difference between coming out by the Blood, and entering in by obedience, see The Way of Salvation: According to Scripture.

It is evident in the New Testament that there are many descriptions of Eternal Life, and how one may inherit, or obtain, or enter in to this eternal life. In fact, there are 134 uses of the Greek word 'zoe' in the New Testament. If we were to look at all the instances where this word zoe is used in the New Testament, we would see that receiving Eternal Life is dependent upon at least twenty-five separate and distinct actions on the part of man!

These twenty-five different conditions are not mutually exclusive, and they are not in contradiction to one another. Taken as a whole, they all complement one another, and are like the links of a chain, all contributing to the strength of the entire concept of Eternal Life. Taken as a whole, all the different conditions upon which one may receive Eternal Life merely reveals the wonderful truth and richness of what it means to truly believe in the Name of Yahushua, as Abraham found out. We may conclude from these observations that Yahuweh’s plan of redemption of mankind is a many-faceted means of revealing His identity to mankind.

Beloved, Yahushua is restoring the Truths that the Body of Messiah was robbed of centuries ago. He is restoring the Truths that for many years the cankerworm has eaten, and the palmerworm, and the locust has devoured. He is revealing the Truths of His word, as a "Great Spoil" recovered.

Yahuweh is doing, as it were, a new thing. Yet it is not new, for there is nothing new under the sun. It just seems new to us, but it is simply the restoration of the Tabernacle of David, and the building of the True Temple, and is the ascending of Mount Zion by His children. We certainly do live our years as a tale that is told; That is, everything that has happened in the Bible is our example of how it is going to happen in this last generation! Yahuweh is preparing a People, and is purifying the Bride through obedience, the goal of which is to be completed, and made perfect in love for Yahushua, and for the brethren.

The identity of the Saints of Yahuweh, — the redeemed, the undefiled, — is being made clear. The identity of those that are 'wicked' is also coming into view. As the fruit of the righteous begins to be seen, so the tares are being revealed, all in bundles (bound socially into fellowships), ready to be burned.

Let's notice the following passages, and note how Yahuweh identifies the ones that are His people, His saints:

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12)

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life <2222>, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)

The above verses describe who the saints really are, and how one gains right to the Tree of Life — Yahushua Himself — and how one gains entry into the City of the King. Note carefully that in these verses, there is no believing mentioned, as we have understood the word believe; in these verses there is simply 'doing' — that is, allowing "Messiah-in-you" to bring about the doing of obedience to His Word — which is the Biblical definition of 'believing.'

Notice that obedience to the commandments of Yahuweh is really a summary definition of the word believe. The Reader is encouraged to do a brief study of Abraham, and what Yahuweh said about him, and why Yahuweh credited him with righteousness!

The greatest tragedy of this generation is the teaching of the Traditions, Doctrines, and Commandments of men, in which one beautiful truth of Yahuweh’s word is taken to the exclusion of another, causing many to try to force the pieces of the puzzle together, even when some pieces do not quite fit the way that men’s doctrines say they are supposed to fit!

Hence we have multitudes of splintered beliefs and divisions created among men, who are open only to what they are comfortable with, and closed-minded to any Light from the Spirit of Truth that does not fit the error they have been taught. It is in this way, that the Commandments of Men turn men away from being "DO-ers" of the Truth (Titus 1:14). This sounds as if it were a description of the religious leaders of Yahushua’s day, but sadly it portrays our day.

Beloved, when Yahushua said, "If ye love me, keep 'MY' Commandments" (John 14:15), what was He telling us? Today, almost all the Bible schools and Theological Cemeteries, and their Pastor-graduates, are teaching that the 'Commandments of Yahushua' are found only in the New Testament, from Matthew through Revelation. Those who know who Yahushua is, however, understand that 'MY' commandments appear from "the Beginning" — the Book of Genesis!

Those who say that Yahushua's commandments are only in the 'New' Testament are testifying that they do not know who Yahushua truly is. When Yahushua returns, He will say to all those Pastors and Leaders who did not truly know Him, and to all their followers, "I never knew you...you that work iniquity." Beloved, notice the following verse:

In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (2 Thessalonians 1:8)

We have long thought that this is talking about the heathen, the pagans, the wicked — those that have never come to Yahushua. Unfortunately, there are vast multitudes, great multitudes of New Testament Believers today that are in this category! They have come to Yahushua, have received of His wonderful mercy and Grace of Redemption and forgiveness by His precious Blood, but are still in the Valley of Decision, between two mountains, 'halt between two opinions.' Their Yoke of Bondage has been initially broken. The Spirit of Life has set them free from the Law of Sin and Death, but they have not entered into a new Yoke of Bondage of Love, as a voluntary bondslave to a new Master, in obedience to His Word and His will! Thus they shall not be brought up into the heights of Zion, the City of the King, and will not be allowed to know Him, unless they show by their obedience they know who Yahushua really is, and they begin to walk in obedience to all His sayings. This combination of revealing the knowing by the obeying, as seen in the above passage in 2 Thess 1:8, is what constitutes 'believing' in Yahushua.

We have seen that the sayings of Yahushua are made up of both the New Testament sayings of Yahushua, and the Old Testament sayings of Yahuweh. The great significance can now come into view. Yahuweh wrote the Ten Commandments with the Finger of Yahuweh, onto the stone tablets. These are Yahuweh's sayings, and His words. Notice that Yahushua wielded the Finger of Yahuweh, when He cast out devils. There is a vast amount of New Testament Scripture that reveals the connection between loving Yahushua and keeping the Commandments of Yahushua, and also remarkably, keeping the Commandments of Yahuweh. Many today have not made the connection, or have not realized, that keeping the Commandments of Yahuweh constitutes loving Yahushua, as well as showing love for the Brethren (1 John 5:2-3).

Some Believers today say they keep the Ten Commandments; others say they are only for the Jews, not Gentiles. Still others say they are not for New Testament Saints, but are legalism and bondage. A few today keep and observe the Feasts of Yahuweh. Many today would say they love Yahuweh, and desire to keep His Word. However, they have been taught that the Second and Fourth Commandments are not for us; the meanings have been 'spiritualized' by well-meaning Pastors and Teachers, to mean something else to New Testament Saints.

These Pastors and Teachers think that we will not search the Scriptures for ourselves, to see what it really says. And the spiritualized version of a Truth, which is a particular spin put on the Truth, sounds very close to what Scripture says. The result is that these Pastors and Leaders are stealing our inheritance! We must read it for ourselves, and find the Truth!

How are we to know the Truth? Just what does it mean to spiritualize Scripture? Let us find out. Let us say that we read the following verse:

Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20:13)

We immediately say, "Well, for New Testament Saints, Yahushua told us that murder is the same as hating our brother." That explanation now becomes my definition of what the above passage says. I then conclude that under the spiritualized New Testament meaning of this verse, I may actually kill someone, but I had better not hate him. In spiritualizing the meaning, I have discarded the plain, common-sense meaning, in favour of a spiritualized meaning.

The next example is a little less of a stretch of truth, and is actually believable to many Believers of this generation:

Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)

Reading this verse one might think, "For New Testament Saints, adultery in Yahuweh’s eyes is the same as worshipping an idol or another god." If one were to spiritualize the Exodus verse, he may conclude that it must be OK to commit actual adultery, but he had better not commit idolatry, which is the spiritualized equivalent of adultery. How utterly absurd! Yet the same example of this reasoning occurs as a codified standard in the vast realm of the world of churchianity.

Now let us look at a classic example of spiritualizing Scripture, resulting in a great loss of fullness of the life of "Messiah-in-us." Notice the following passage:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11)

The precious Believing ones today have been taught of a spiritualized Sabbath. They have been told that for New Testament people, the Sabbaths of Yahuweh speak only of a future millennial Sabbath reign with Messiah, and also of a 'spiritualized' Sabbath rest one enters into, as one rests, moment by moment, in His Grace, in the finished work of Yahushua. Two explanations are given, one for the future, and one 'spiritualized' explanation for the present. The Pastors and Leaders that say these things are actually counting on us not reading our Bibles for ourselves!

The result is that the above passage has been spiritualized to a point that its literal meaning has been made of no effect in the lives of those that love Yahuweh! The Body of Messiah in this generation has been taught that the 'Lord’s Day' has replaced the Sabbath Day of the Ten Commandments. In the same line of reasoning, the Saints have been taught also that idolatry is not so important in the lives of Blood-bought and forgiven Saints! See (1 Co 10:14; 1 John 5:21; Rev 2:14, 20). We shall examine these ideas a little later, against the light of Scripture.

Scrambling to plug the holes in their theology, teachers have devised further webs of deception to describe the closely-related teaching of entering into His rest. Some have taught that the Sabbath Day is only symbolic of the seventh millennium, the true Sabbath of Yahuweh, and the weekly sabbath was only a shadow of that Sabbath to come (a half-truth, and a half-lie).

Others have taught that the weekly sabbath is only a spiritual Sabbath, in that the New Testament Saint rests in the finished work of Yahushua, and that the saint no longer has to work in ones own effort to be found righteous (another half-truth, half-lie). It is important to note that both of these popular teachings express truth in regard to both a future, and a present, spiritual aspect of the seventh day Sabbath of Yahuweh, but nevertheless ignore the literal aspect, just as our above examples of murder and adultery. Moreover, in expressing the exclusiveness of the spiritual aspect of the seventh day Sabbath of Yahuweh, the popular teachings ignore the fact that there are seven additional Feasts of Yahuweh that He calls Sabbaths, for a total of 8 Sabbaths of Yahuweh! Let us now see why this issue of Yahuweh's Sabbaths is so important.

We will now note the great importance of the Sabbaths of Yahuweh, which have been hidden from the Body of Messiah, who have been robbed and spoiled by an enemy that does not want to see Yahushua's people enter in to their inheritance. Let's notice the following passages:

Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. (Psalms 95:10-11)

Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (Hebrews 4:11)

Scripture tells us that although Israel was redeemed from Egypt by the Blood of the Lamb, the original generation were refused entry into the Promised Land, all except Joshua and Caleb. In the above passage in Psalms 95: 10-11, we see Yahuweh tells us that they were not allowed to enter His rest, showing us that entering His rest is a picture of entering in to the Promised Land.

The next verse above, in Heb 4:11 warns us that we, too, must labour to enter His rest, lest we too be refused entry into the Promised Land, in the same example as the Israelites, as the context indicates. Since this is such an important example for us, taking up two chapters in the Book of Hebrews, we would do well to find out exactly what it means to enter His rest, and what could prevent us from entering His rest. For a clue to what this means, let's look at the above passage again, this time along with its companion, the previous passage:

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (Hebrews 4:10-11)

In the above passage, Yahushua tells us we must enter into His rest by ceasing from our own works, just as Yahuweh ceased from His works. What is the simple and plain meaning of this passage? Let's look at some possibilities of what it might mean.

First, let's ask, "How did Yahuweh rest from His works?" If we can find how Yahuweh rested from His works, perhaps we too could do the same, as we are told to do! Let's look into this.

So, how did Yahuweh rest from His works? Did Yahuweh decide to postpone His rest until the future millennial Sabbath, the great Day of Jubilee? NO! But his is one explanation given by the Theologians, of what we are to do!

Or, better yet, did Yahuweh trust in the precious Blood of Yahushua, (that was shed for remission of Sins,) in order to allow Yahuweh to 'rest in Yahushua,' thus allowing Yahuweh to 'rest in the Grace of forgiveness of Yahuweh’s own sins,' so that Yahuweh might be made righteous, so that Yahuweh would no longer struggle under a consciousness of Sin?

That explanation is one of several given to us by the Theological Cemeteries and their blind graduates — most of the Pastors and Leaders of this generation — of how they say we are to enter in to His rest! How utterly absurd can the Doctrines of Men become, when held against the Blinding Light and Strong Meat of Yahuweh's precious Word!

Did Yahuweh rest in either of the two ways given in the above examples? Let's look:

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:2-3)

We see the answer very clearly: No! Yahuweh simply ceased his work, and rested on the literal seventh day! We must stop spiritualizing Scripture, and return to the clear and simple meaning of Scripture, and return to the simplicity and rest that is found only in obedience to Messiah Yahushua.

According to the Scriptures, it is plain to see that we enter His rest in our obedience to the Fourth commandment — of resting from our literal works on the literal seventh day, just as Yahuweh rested from His works. It is simply a matter of being yoked to Yahushua, or not. If Yahushua rests on the seventh day, then we do also, if we are yoked to Him. We work when He works, rest when He rests.

The pattern for us is in the Gospels, as testimony to what Yahushua does on the Sabbath day, as well as on the other Feast Day Sabbaths. If we can say, as the apostle Paul did, "Messiah liveth in me," then let us ask ourselves, are we allowing Him to live in us in all His fullness, as revealed in the pages of the New Testament? Or, are we preventing Him from observing the Feasts of His Father while we claim He lives within us, in our bodies, refusing Him simply because of the teachings we have been holding onto? Think about that, Beloved.

The New Testament is full of warnings, exhortations, and teachings, of simple, literal obedience to Yahuweh's Commandments, as well as to all His judgments, ordinances, and precepts, and the consequences of not doing so — even though under the New Covenant they are voluntary! These ideas being commonly taught today about the Old Testament commandments have no foundation in Scripture whatsoever, and are contrary to the entire Old and New Testament teachings. For a Biblical look at the New Covenant see The New Covenant: According to the Scriptures.

So, why don't we hear teaching today about the importance of 'Labouring' to enter His rest? It is because there are many weapons the enemy has arrayed against the Believing ones, the main one of which is the Commandments of Men, which turn men from the Truth (Titus 1:14). We will look at some of these in the next article.

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