ENTERING HIS REST: BIBLICAL REQUIREMENTS AND HINDRANCES

Proverbs chapter 27



Today we are walking in: Entering His Rest: Biblical Requirements and Hindrances






Exodus 3:18


And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, H4057 that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.




Today we look to the word-WILDERNESS- H4057 midbar --wilderness, pasture, uninhabited land




The Torah testifies.......................................




Genesis 16:7


And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, H4057 by the fountain in the way to Shur.




Exodus 4:27


And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness H4057 to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.



Numbers 14:33


And your children shall wander in the wilderness H4057 forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. H4057




Deuteronomy 1:31


And in the wilderness, H4057 where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.





The prophets proclaim..................






Isaiah 42:11


Let the wilderness H4057 and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.



Isaiah 43:19


Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, H4057 and rivers in the desert.



Jeremiah 9:12


Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, H4057 that none passeth through?



Ezekiel 20:13


But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: H4057 they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, H4057 to consume them.






The Writings bear witness.............








Joshua 1:4


From the wilderness H4057 and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.




2Chronicles 1:3


So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. H4057




Nehemiah 9:19


Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: H4057 the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.



Psalm 65:12


They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: H4057 and the little hills rejoice on every side.



Psalm 78:15


He clave the rocks in the wilderness, H4057 and gave them drink as out of the great depths.








Whom Do You Say That I Am?


Entering His Rest: Biblical Requirements and Hindrances


As we look at this subject of entering His rest, we must first give warning to the Citizen, that this is not an easy subject. What is to be said may not seem to be politically correct, but in order to maintain Biblical Truth, it must be said.


In this teaching I have not attempted to sugar-coat the presentation, but have tried only to deal with the objective Truths of what the Scriptures actually say. Scripture tells us that open rebuke [what is given to help someone] is better than secret love [what is not given to help someone, and is thus not really love] (Proverbs 27:5).


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 Yah those who are allowed to enter, and who are not.


If Ye Be Willing and Obedient
Many Scripture passages tell us, and show us by vivid example, the Yah’s children are defined and identified by their obedience. Indeed, even the blessings of the Inheritance are to those who are obedient.


Let’s begin, as we notice the following passage:


Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Most High: 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 Most High hath spoken it. (Isaiah 1:18-20)
Most today understand that verse 18 in the above passage does apply to New Covenant Citizens. But let’s look at the rest of the story seen in verses 19 and 20. Yah is telling us that if we are [present] obedient, we shall [future] eat the good of the Land. Yah is telling us that our future welfare in the Promised Land, depends on our current 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 Yahusha’s commandments.


Few today are being taught the importance of walking in obedience to Yah. Even fewer still are being taught the importance of doing what Yah ‘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 Yah, there will be many occasions in which He presents opportunities for us to choose whether we will obey Him, or not. Each day Yah 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, according to the Scriptures. We must make a choice — a fresh choice each day — whom we will serve (Joshua 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 Yah have already found their fulfillment in Messiah Yahusha. What has been obscured by the religionists is the necessity for all Yah’s children to likewise fulfill the Torah, with only a few exceptions as seen in the Book of Hebrews.


Our present difficulty lies in the fact that the Body of Messiah has for centuries been given traditions and decrees of Rome, instead of the Truth of scripture. The result is that most Citizens today are in a state of famine, of what constitutes ‘Truth’ for New Testament Saints. Yahusha is now restoring all [true] things, prior to His return, just as He promised!


Our greatest discomfort comes when we try to make the Scriptures fit the ‘Doctrines and Commandments of Men’ we have been taught. Perhaps by now our inner conflicts have 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 order to avoid the discomfort, many will simply not dig in to the Scriptures, to seek for the Truth.


Yahusha, in His mercy, 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 (Hebrews 5:13). Father desires that His children would learn His Ways, and walk in them!


Yah has revealed all these subjects in His Word, and desires that we would 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 people.


He also wants us be aware of the abundant hindrances that can prevent us from walking in ‘The Way.’


Yahusha’s Word vs. What You Have Been Taught


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 Yahusha actually says.


Yahusha 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 Yahusha’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 Yahusha said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, Yah. 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 Yahusha 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)


In the above passage, 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 Citizens, contrary to what many Pastors would say today (2 Tim 3:16).


Many Pastors and spiritual Leaders, for example, have been trained in Bible Schools and Seminaries, and have chopped up, rationalised, compartmentalised, dispensationalised, and discarded much of Scripture. In their formal training, they learned what other men said, rather than what Scripture says. They were taught that, for one reason or another, a particular verse, or chapter, or Book of the Bible, is not for Gentile Citizens today, but for some ‘other’ people, or some ‘other’ dispensation [This is a man-made meaning that was given to a good Bible word, and as a result of this man-made doctrine, has become a great source of error in the Body of Messiah].


Some of the results of the man-made dispensation error teach, “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 of the Scriptures but an empty carcass. The Scriptures tell us that all Scripture is eternal, and is for all of Yah’s children, and is part of their heritage — their inheritance!


Most formally-trained Pastors and Leaders of today would explain the above passage, by saying that this and several similar passages do not apply to New Testament Citizens. Perhaps these statements are made, because this passage does not seem to fit man’s modern, twisted notion of what Biblical ‘Grace’ is!


Most would summarize the ‘eternal life’ requirements spoken by Messiah, by stating that all we must do is believe — that is, we must give only 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 spiritual Leaders today put forth an un-Scriptural, blanket idea of ‘Grace,’ but then deny the Biblical ‘Grace’ that teaches one to be obedient (Romans 1:5), to live a life glorifying Yah. Thus the religious world has been taught that the main issue is pure mercy and an unscriptural notion of ‘forgiveness,’ beyond which one may do as he pleases, even if what he does displeases the Mighty Yah and the Prince of Peace. This idea is summarized for us in Jude 1:4, describing those who have substituted the decrees and traditions of Rome in place of the Truth of Scripture.


Most spiritual teachers today say that Yahusha, in the passage above, was telling the inquirer something that applied to another time period they call a ‘dispensation,’ and not applicable to the present day, which they call the ‘Church Age’ or an imaginary ‘Age of Grace.’ [This 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 this 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 Yahusha used:


Yahusha 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 Yah 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 Yahusha 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 Yahusha.’ In the previous passage, (Mark 10:17-22), Yahusha tells us that Eternal Life is conditioned upon keeping the commandments, and also upon selling all, and coming after, and following Yahusha.


Fiveamprayer, is this verse of John 3:16 in contradiction to the one shown above in Mark 10:17-22? No, it is not. Yahusha merely reveals in each separate verse, one separate condition for each of two stages, of entering in to the Promised Land, also called eternal life.


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 reveal the wonderful truth and richness of what it means to truly ‘believe’ in the Name of Yahusha, as Abraham found out. We may conclude from these observations that Yah’s plan of redemption of mankind is a many-faceted means of revealing His identity to mankind.


True Identities Are Being Revealed
Fiveamprayer, Yahusha 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,’ as treasures recovered in a battle.


Yah 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 before, and seen in the Bible, is our example of how it is going to happen in this last generation! Yah is preparing a People, and is purifying a Company of people that will become His Bride. He is preparing them through their learning obedience, the goal of which instruction is to be completed, and made perfect in love for Yahusha, and for the brethren.


The identity of the ‘Saints’ [the set-apart-ones] of Yah, — the redeemed, the undefiled, — is being made clear. The identity of those that are redeemed, but who continue to be ‘wicked’ in their actions, is also coming into view.


As the fruit [their doings, or works] of the righteous begin to be seen, in the same way the tares are being revealed, all in bundles [bound socially into denominations and congregations], ready to be burned.


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


Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of Yah, and the faith of Yahusha. (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 — Yahusha Himself — and how one gains entry into the City of the King.


Note carefully that in the above 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 Yah is really a summary definition of the word believe. The Citizen is encouraged to do a brief study of Abraham, and what Yah said about him, and why Yah credited him with righteousness!


The greatest tragedy of this generation is the teaching of the Traditions, Doctrines, and Commandments of men, in place of the Scriptures. One result of this replacement is that one beautiful truth of Yah’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, divided into congregations that are open only to what lies within the comfort zone of their own understanding, yet closed-minded to any Light from the Spirit of Truth that does not fit what they already understand.


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 Yahusha’s day, but sadly it portrays our day.


My Commandments


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


Those who say that Yahusha’s commandments are only in the ‘New’ Testament are testifying that they do not know who Yahusha truly is. When Yahusha returns, He will say to many Pastors and Leaders who did not truly know Him, and to their followers, “I never knew you…you that work iniquity.” It is thus to our advantage to test everything against the Scriptures alone!


Fiveamprayer, notice the following verse:


In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not Yah, and that obey not the gospel of our Most High Yahusha Hamachiach: (2 Thessalonians 1:8)


We have long thought that this passage is talking about the heathen, the pagans, the wicked — those that have never come to Yahusha. Unfortunately, there are vast multitudes, great multitudes of New Testament Citizens today that are in this category! They have come to Yahusha, 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.’ As babes however, Yah offers us great mercy, as He gently leads those who desire to follow Him, and learn from Him.


As more mature Citizens, Yah is urging us to ‘get off the fence.’ As Citizens, 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 many 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 Yahusha really is, and they begin to walk in obedience to all His sayings. This process of coming to know Him, by our obedience to His Word, as seen in the above passage in (2Thess 1:8), is what constitutes ‘believing’ in Yahusha.


We have seen that the sayings of Yahusha are made up of both the New Testament sayings of Yahusha, and the Old Testament sayings of Yah, which are also Yahusha’s sayings. The great significance can now come into view. We recall that Yah wrote the Ten Commandments with the Finger of Yah, onto the stone tablets. These are Yah’s sayings, and His words.


Notice also that Yahusha wielded the Finger of Yah, when He cast out devils. There is a vast amount of New Testament Scripture that reveals the connection between loving Yahusha and keeping the Commandments of Yahusha, and also remarkably, keeping the Commandments of Yah. Many today have not made the connection, or have not realised, that keeping the Commandments of Yah constitutes knowing who Yahusha is, and loving Yahusha, and also defines how we show love for the Brethren (1John 5:2-3).


Stealing Your Inheritance


Some Citizens 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 Yah. Many today would say they love Yah, and desire to keep His Word. However, they have been taught that the Second and Fourth Commandments are not for us. The meanings of these commandments, as much of Scripture, have been ‘spiritualised’ by well-meaning Pastors and Teachers, to mean ‘something different,’ so as not to apply to New Testament Saints.


Many Pastors and Teachers think that we are not able to search the Scriptures for ourselves, to see what it really says. And the spiritualised version of a Truth, which is a particular ‘spin’ put on the Truth, sounds very close to what Scripture actually says. The result is that some of the Pastors and spiritual Leaders are stealing the inheritance of their many followers! We must read the Scriptures for ourselves, and find the Truth!


How are we to know the Truth? Just what does it mean to spiritualise Scripture?


Let us find out, as we make up an example of what it means to ‘spiritualise’ Scripture.


Let us say that we read the following verse:


Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20:13)


We may immediately say, Well, this must be for New Testament Saints, because Yahusha told us that we are not to hate our brother; and murder is the same as hating our brother. That explanation now becomes my definition of what the above passage says.


I could then conclude that under the spiritualised meaning of this verse, it is alright to literally kill someone, but not hate him, which is the spiritualised equivalent. By this example, we can see that in spiritualising the meaning, the plain, common- sense meaning is discarded, in favour of a spiritualised meaning or explanation.


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


Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
Reading this verse one might think, For New Testament Citizens, adultery in Yah’s eyes is the equivalent of worshipping an idol or another Yah. If one were to spiritualise the above Exodus verse, one may conclude that it must be OK to commit literal adultery, but it is not OK to commit idolatry, which is a spiritualised adultery.


How utterly absurd this would be! Yet the same example of this reasoning occurs as a codified standard in the vast realm of the religious world today. Let us see why.


We will now look at a classic example of spiritualising Scripture, resulting in a doctrine that most Pastors and spiritual Leaders today have bought into, bringing great loss to the Body of Messiah, as a lack of fullness of the life of Messiah-in-us.


Notice the following passage:


Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy [set-apart as special]. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Most High thy Yah: 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 Most High made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Most High blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11)


The precious Believing ones today have been taught by their Leaders a spiritualised understanding of Yah’s Sabbath days. Citizens worldwide have been taught the decrees of Rome regarding this passage, stating that for New Testament Citizens, the Sabbaths of Yah speak only of two spiritualised meanings, and are not to be kept literally.


Two separate, spiritualised explanations of this passage are generally given. First, it is spiritualised by some, who see this as merely a explanation for a ‘future’ event. This man-made explanation describes the future, millennial kingdom, which is actually a true, prophetic picture of what the seventh- day Sabbath Day portrays, but only in a prophetic sense of fulfillment. Along with this explanation, Citizens are told they are not to keep this commandment in a literal sense, but to keep instead the ‘New Testament Sabbath’ [which is a man-made Sabbath decreed by Rome].


Second, the teaching of the Sabbath Day is taught by many as a ‘spiritualised’ explanation for the present. Many Citizens today have been taught of a ‘spiritualised’ Sabbath rest, but not of the ‘literal’ keeping of the Sabbath Day. One man-made explanation goes on to say that to keep the Sabbath is to “enter a state of rest,” which one supposedly enters into when one “rests, moment by moment, in Father’s Grace, in the finished work of Yahusha.” Along with this explanation, Citizens are told they are not to keep Father’s Sabbath Days in a literal sense, but are to keep only the ‘New Testament Sabbath’ [the man-made Sabbath decreed by Rome].


The Pastors and Leaders that say such things are not seeking Yah, and are not studying the Scriptures. Perhaps they are assuming their followers are not reading their Bibles for themselves!


The result is that the above passage (Exodus 20:8-11) has been spiritualised to a point that its ‘literal’ meaning has been made of no effect in the lives of many precious Citizens, ones who truly love Yah! The Body of Messiah in this generation has been taught that a man-made notion of the ‘Most High’s Day’ has replaced the ‘Sabbath Day’ of the Ten Commandments.


Using the same line of reasoning, the Citizens today have been taught also that idolatry is not so important in the lives of Blood-bought and forgiven Citizens! See (1Corinthians 10:14; 1John 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, many Theologians have spun further webs of deception, to describe the closely-related teaching of ‘entering into His rest.’ As we saw above, some have taught that the Sabbath Day is only symbolic of the seventh millennium, the true Sabbath of Yah; and the weekly sabbath was only a shadow of that Sabbath to come [this is half-truth, and half-lie].


Fiveamprayer, many Bible teachers today are teaching that the weekly sabbath is only a ‘spiritual’ Sabbath, in that the New Testament Saint rests in the finished work of Yahusha; and that the New Testament Citizen no longer has to ‘work’ in ones own effort to be obedient, to be found righteous [another half-truth, half-lie]. Scripture tells us, however, that we must labour [work; expend great effort] to enter into the same rest Father entered (Hebrews 4:10-11). Perhaps the great effort is required, in order to defeat the great many man-made doctrines that would lead us astray!


It is important for the Bride-Company to note that both of these popular teachings are not 100% error, but express a mixture of truth and error. The truth aspect is in regard to both a future, and a present, spiritual aspect of the seventh day Sabbath of Yah; the error comes by ignoring 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 Yah, the popular teachings ignore the fact that there are seven additional Feasts of Yah that He calls ‘My Sabbaths,’ for a total of 8 of Yah’s Sabbaths!


Let us now see why this issue of Yah’s Sabbaths is an important issue for the Bride.


Labouring to Enter His Rest


We will now note the great importance of the Sabbaths of Yah, which have been hidden from the Body of Messiah, who have been robbed and stolen from, as spoil from a battle, by an enemy that does not want to see Yahusha’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 [go astray] 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 Yah 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 passage above (Hebrews 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 Yah 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, Yahusha tells us we must enter into His rest by ceasing from our own works, just as Yah 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 Yah rest from His works? If we can find how Yah 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 Yah rest from His works?


Did Yah decide to postpone His rest until the future millennial Sabbath, the great Day of Jubilee? NO! But this is one explanation given by the Theologians, of what we are to do!


Did Yah trust in the precious Blood of Yahusha, [that was shed for remission of Sins,] in order to allow Yah to ‘rest in Yahusha,’ thus allowing Yah to ‘rest in the Grace of forgiveness of Yah’s own sins,’ so that Yah might be made righteous, so that Yah would no longer struggle under a consciousness of Sin?


That explanation is one of several given to us by the Theological Seminaries and their blind graduates — most of the Pastors and Leaders of this generation — as an explanation 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 Yah’s precious Word!


Did Yah rest in either of the two ways given in the above examples? How did Yah rest from His works?


Let’s see what Scripture tells us:


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


We see the answer very clearly in the above passage: Yah simply ceased his work, and rested on the literal seventh day!


We must stop spiritualising 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 Yahusha!


According to the Scriptures, it is plain to see that we enter His rest in our literal obedience to the Fourth commandment — of resting from our literal works on the literal seventh day, just as Yah rested from His works.


What we do is simply a matter of whether we are yoked to Yahusha, or not. If we are yoked to Him, we work when He works, and we rest when He rests. If Yahusha rests on the seventh day, then we do the same.


The pattern for us is in the Gospels, as well as the epistles, as testimony to what Yahusha [and the Disciples] did 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 these questions:


Questions to Ask Ourselves


Are we allowing Messiah to live in us in all His fullness, as revealed in the pages of the New Testament?


Are we preventing Messiah [who lives within our bodies] from observing the Feasts of His Father, in obedience to Scripture?


Do we say that Messiah lives within us, within our bodies — yet continue to refuse to allow Him-in-us to walk in obedience to the Scriptures, simply because of the teachings we have received?


Fiveamprayer, the New Testament is full of warnings, exhortations, and teachings, of simple, literal obedience to Yah’s Commandments, and to all His judgments, ordinances, and precepts. The Scriptures tell us of the consequences of doing so, and of not doing so — even though under the New Covenant, we are given a choice (Matthew 11:29), and they are voluntary!


There are many, man-made ideas commonly taught today, saying that the ‘Old Testament’ commandments are not for New Covenant Citizens. These ideas are not true, they have no foundation in Scripture whatsoever, and they contradict both ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Testament 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 ‘Doctrines and Commandments of Men,’ which turn men from the Truth (Titus 1:14). We will look at some of these in the next teaching.