Today we are walking in: AWAKEN, YOU THAT ARE SLEEPING!
Eph’siym (Ephesians) 5:14
Wherefore he says, Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Mashiach shall give you light.
Wherefore he says, Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Mashiach shall give you light.
AWAKE
Today we look to the word—AWAKE—H3364—yaqats—to awake (intransitively).
The Torah Testifies……….
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 9:24
And Noach awoke H3364 from his wine, and knew את eth what his younger son had done unto him.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 28:16
And Ya’aqov awoke H3364 out of his sleep, and he said, Surely YAHUAH is in this place; and I knew it not.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 41:4
And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up את eth the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Phar’oh awoke H3364.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 9:24
And Noach awoke H3364 from his wine, and knew את eth what his younger son had done unto him.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 28:16
And Ya’aqov awoke H3364 out of his sleep, and he said, Surely YAHUAH is in this place; and I knew it not.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 41:4
And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up את eth the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Phar’oh awoke H3364.
The Prophets Proclaim………
Shophetiym (Judges) 16:14
And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Pelishtiym be upon you, Shimshon. And he awoke H3364 out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
Melekiym Ri’shon (1 Kings) 3:15
And Shalomah awoke H3364; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Yerushalayim, and stood before the Ark of the Covenant of YAHUAH, and offered up ascending smoke offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
Chabaqquq (Habakkuk) 2:7
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite you, and awake H3364 that shall vex you, and you shall be for booties unto them?
Shophetiym (Judges) 16:14
And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Pelishtiym be upon you, Shimshon. And he awoke H3364 out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
Melekiym Ri’shon (1 Kings) 3:15
And Shalomah awoke H3364; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Yerushalayim, and stood before the Ark of the Covenant of YAHUAH, and offered up ascending smoke offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
Chabaqquq (Habakkuk) 2:7
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite you, and awake H3364 that shall vex you, and you shall be for booties unto them?
The Writings Witness………
Tehilliym (Psalms) 7:6
Arise, O YAHUAH, in your anger, lift up yourself because of the rage of my enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that you have commanded.
Tehilliym (Psalms) 57:8
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
Tehilliym (Psalms) 78:65
Then YAHUAH awoke H3364 as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouts by reason of wine.
Tehilliym (Psalms) 7:6
Arise, O YAHUAH, in your anger, lift up yourself because of the rage of my enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that you have commanded.
Tehilliym (Psalms) 57:8
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
Tehilliym (Psalms) 78:65
Then YAHUAH awoke H3364 as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouts by reason of wine.
Scripture has a message to those who are asleep: Wake up!
The Scriptures show us the symptoms of those who are awake, and of those still sleeping. It is in this manner that Scripture reveals what it means to “awaken” from sleep.
A brief look in Scripture shows certain truths of sleep, and of awakening from sleep. Here are a few basic Scripture principles of awakening from sleep.
Some Basic Awakening Principles for Us Today
“And Ya’aqov awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely YAHUAH is in this place; and I knew it not.” (Bereshiyth 28:16)
Here we see that while Ya’aqov was asleep, he had no awareness of the presence of YAHUAH. After he awakened from sleep, however, he was aware of the presence of YAHUAH.
This process happens likewise to us today when we awaken! We gain an awareness of His presence, and we begin to desire to walk in obedience to Him, wherever that may take us. Here is another:
“And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Pelishtiym be upon you, Shimshon. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.” (Shophetiym 16:14)
Above, we see Shimshon gained strength when he awakened from his sleep. This pictures our spiritual strengthening when we awaken from our spiritual slumber. We become stronger in the Faith, and lose the fear of what others think of our walk with YAHUAH. Here is another:
“And YAHUAH ELOHIYM caused a deep sleep to fall upon A’dam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof.” (Bereshiyth 2:21)
“So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Sha’ul’s bolster; and they got them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from YAHUAH was fallen upon them.” (Shemu’el Ri’shon 26:12)
Here we see that YAHUAH puts a deep sleep on men, in order to accomplish His purposes. This is widespread today in the Body of Mashiach, as Mashiach is now removing from the sleeping Body those that will be fashioned into His Bride. Here is another:
“Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.” (Mishlei 19:15)
Here we see the principle that slothfulness in spiritual matters results in a deep sleep, the same as in natural matters. No Bridegroom would have a Bride who is well-trained in slothfulness. Here is another:
“Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For YAHUAH has poured out upon you the ruach of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers has He covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a cepher that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray you: and he says, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the cepher is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray you: and he says, I am not learned. Wherefore YAHUAH said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men.” (Yeshayahu 29:9-13)
Above, we see that YAHUAH puts a deep sleep even on His own people, preventing them from understanding His Word—when their actions of loving Him do not agree with their words. Because their obedience to Scripture is mixed with precepts and Doctrines of Men, they have received a “counterfeit” Faith in YAHUSHA, and not the true Renewed Covenant of Promise.
Be advised—the above condition persists within the vast majority of YAHUAH’s people today! Here is another:
“All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.” (Yeshayahu 56:9-10)
Above, we see that many of YAHUAH’s watchman-shepherds are walking in disobedience, so He has closed their eyes. They are asleep, and so the wolf is devouring the flock.
This condition forces the sheep to read Scriptures on their own, lest the Blind Leaders continue to lead them away from the true faith. Here is another:
“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house comes, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.” (Marqus 13:35-36)
In Marqus 13 above, and in other passages, we are instructed to watch, and not be found sleeping, but prepared, when the Master returns. We must not only watch in the sense of looking for the signs in the heavens, but watch in the sense of the Hebrew words, meaning keeping, guarding, performing, or celebrating. Here is another:
“But Kepha and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him.” (Luqas 9:32)
Here we see the principle that when men awaken from slumber, YAHUAH opens their eyes. It is only then that men begin to see His Glory! Here is another:
“These things said He: and after that He says unto them, Our friend El’azar sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” (Yochanon 11:11)
Above, we see that awakening El’azar from sleep is pictured as resurrection from death, and is the example for us today, to walk in Resurrection-Life. As we allow the crucifixion and death of self to work in us, we also allow the resurrection life of Mashiach to grow within us, bit-by-bit. Here is another:
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” (Romaiym 13:11)
The apostle Sha’ul is calling us to awaken from sleep, to prepare for the soon-to-arrive goal of our Salvation—the person of YAHUSHA. This preparation is seen, within context, as: ceasing our works of darkness [works of unrighteousness]; and then learning to do works of light [works of righteousness (Yeshayahu 26:9-10)].
In the above Romaiym passage, our lack of preparation is likened to sleep, and likened to the lack of producing the proper fruit. In the following passage in Eph’siym, however, notice what we see:
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever does make manifest is light. Wherefore he says, Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Mashiach shall give you light.” (Eph’siym 5:11-14)
In the above passage, we see the beginning of our preparation as awakening from sleep, in order to produce the proper fruit, and to produce the light—the works of Righteousness that He enables us to produce, only by His Grace, by His living within us.
Here, we see again that Sha’ul calls us to awaken, to produce the fruit, the works of Righteousness, as do the wise. We are to awaken from our “sleep”—from our history of producing the fruit of unrighteousness [darkness], as the foolish ones do, as seen in Eph’siym 5:3-8.
We are then reminded that it is Mashiach Himself who is the source of all our works of Righteousness, or Light—the works of obedience to Torah which He accomplishes by us, by the Grace He supplies to us, from His living within us.
Scriptures Reveal How One May Be Awakened
Here are some Scriptures to show exactly how we may awaken from sleep, and some results seen by those who awaken, and by those who remain asleep:
“My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not the Torah of your mother … When you go, it shall lead you; when you sleep, it shall keep you; and when you awake, it shall talk with you.” (Mishlei 6:20, 22)
Here we see that while we are sleeping, the Torah will guard and preserve us, where we are, even when unaware of Torah; but when we awaken, the Torah will “speak” to us. Here is another:
“He that gathers in summer is a wise son: but he that sleeps in harvest is a son that causes shame.” (Mishlei 10:5)
Above, we see that a son who sleeps during harvest is not wise, but foolish. The harvest is now underway! Here is another:
“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of Elohiym: I speak this to your shame.” (Qorintiym Ri’shon 15:34)
“Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the Torah: for sin is the transgression of the Torah.” (Yochanon Ri’shon 3:4)
Here, we see the basic definition of sleep is to walk in sin, which is transgression of the Torah; and to awaken is to “awake to righteousness,” which Yochanon tells us means to “sin not,” which in turn means “stop transgressing [disobeying] YAHUAH’s Torah.”
We are to awaken—which is to awaken to Righteousness, to the “doing” of Righteousness. There is no other option seen in Scripture, but to remain asleep. The choice is ours—we are to choose this day whom we will serve.
Who Has Been Asleep?
The entire body of the “Last” A’dam [the entire Body of Mashiach—all of His people] have been put to sleep by YAHUAH Himself, because of our disobedience.
As seen in the Yeshayahu passages above, we today are included among YAHUAH’s people. But we have all been doing works of unrighteousness—of sin—of transgressing the Torah. We have been asleep, as it were, and have not been walking in Resurrection-Life, the walk of doing works of Righteousness, of obedience to Torah.
Who Is Being Awakened?
The heart of the Bride is now being awakened. She too has been asleep, within the body of the Last A’dam, but she begins to stir as she listens to Torah, and begins to be a “DO-er” of every word that proceeds out of the mouth of YAHUAH (Shiyr HaShiriym 5:2; Luqas 4:4; Devariym 8:3).
She must then come out from among them, from all who would hold her back from the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom is drawing His Bride, and the multitude that make up His Bride has the desire, and the will, to follow Him (Shiyr HaShiriym 1:4).
We are now being called to listen to the words of Torah now speaking to us. We are now being called to be do-ers of Torah—to leave off works of darkness, and become DO-ers of works of Righteousness. Mashiach YAHUSHA is our Righteousness, and He likewise desires to produce His works of Righteousness in us, if we would but allow Him.
Many, however, as seen in the Yeshayahu passages above, have been given a tainted Faith, and a counterfeit “Renewed Covenant.” It is these who will remain asleep.
Nevertheless, the call is going forth for all to hear, and to heed:
Awaken, You that are Sleeping!
The Scriptures show us the symptoms of those who are awake, and of those still sleeping. It is in this manner that Scripture reveals what it means to “awaken” from sleep.
A brief look in Scripture shows certain truths of sleep, and of awakening from sleep. Here are a few basic Scripture principles of awakening from sleep.
Some Basic Awakening Principles for Us Today
“And Ya’aqov awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely YAHUAH is in this place; and I knew it not.” (Bereshiyth 28:16)
Here we see that while Ya’aqov was asleep, he had no awareness of the presence of YAHUAH. After he awakened from sleep, however, he was aware of the presence of YAHUAH.
This process happens likewise to us today when we awaken! We gain an awareness of His presence, and we begin to desire to walk in obedience to Him, wherever that may take us. Here is another:
“And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Pelishtiym be upon you, Shimshon. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.” (Shophetiym 16:14)
Above, we see Shimshon gained strength when he awakened from his sleep. This pictures our spiritual strengthening when we awaken from our spiritual slumber. We become stronger in the Faith, and lose the fear of what others think of our walk with YAHUAH. Here is another:
“And YAHUAH ELOHIYM caused a deep sleep to fall upon A’dam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof.” (Bereshiyth 2:21)
“So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Sha’ul’s bolster; and they got them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from YAHUAH was fallen upon them.” (Shemu’el Ri’shon 26:12)
Here we see that YAHUAH puts a deep sleep on men, in order to accomplish His purposes. This is widespread today in the Body of Mashiach, as Mashiach is now removing from the sleeping Body those that will be fashioned into His Bride. Here is another:
“Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.” (Mishlei 19:15)
Here we see the principle that slothfulness in spiritual matters results in a deep sleep, the same as in natural matters. No Bridegroom would have a Bride who is well-trained in slothfulness. Here is another:
“Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For YAHUAH has poured out upon you the ruach of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers has He covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a cepher that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray you: and he says, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the cepher is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray you: and he says, I am not learned. Wherefore YAHUAH said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men.” (Yeshayahu 29:9-13)
Above, we see that YAHUAH puts a deep sleep even on His own people, preventing them from understanding His Word—when their actions of loving Him do not agree with their words. Because their obedience to Scripture is mixed with precepts and Doctrines of Men, they have received a “counterfeit” Faith in YAHUSHA, and not the true Renewed Covenant of Promise.
Be advised—the above condition persists within the vast majority of YAHUAH’s people today! Here is another:
“All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.” (Yeshayahu 56:9-10)
Above, we see that many of YAHUAH’s watchman-shepherds are walking in disobedience, so He has closed their eyes. They are asleep, and so the wolf is devouring the flock.
This condition forces the sheep to read Scriptures on their own, lest the Blind Leaders continue to lead them away from the true faith. Here is another:
“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house comes, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.” (Marqus 13:35-36)
In Marqus 13 above, and in other passages, we are instructed to watch, and not be found sleeping, but prepared, when the Master returns. We must not only watch in the sense of looking for the signs in the heavens, but watch in the sense of the Hebrew words, meaning keeping, guarding, performing, or celebrating. Here is another:
“But Kepha and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him.” (Luqas 9:32)
Here we see the principle that when men awaken from slumber, YAHUAH opens their eyes. It is only then that men begin to see His Glory! Here is another:
“These things said He: and after that He says unto them, Our friend El’azar sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” (Yochanon 11:11)
Above, we see that awakening El’azar from sleep is pictured as resurrection from death, and is the example for us today, to walk in Resurrection-Life. As we allow the crucifixion and death of self to work in us, we also allow the resurrection life of Mashiach to grow within us, bit-by-bit. Here is another:
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” (Romaiym 13:11)
The apostle Sha’ul is calling us to awaken from sleep, to prepare for the soon-to-arrive goal of our Salvation—the person of YAHUSHA. This preparation is seen, within context, as: ceasing our works of darkness [works of unrighteousness]; and then learning to do works of light [works of righteousness (Yeshayahu 26:9-10)].
In the above Romaiym passage, our lack of preparation is likened to sleep, and likened to the lack of producing the proper fruit. In the following passage in Eph’siym, however, notice what we see:
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever does make manifest is light. Wherefore he says, Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Mashiach shall give you light.” (Eph’siym 5:11-14)
In the above passage, we see the beginning of our preparation as awakening from sleep, in order to produce the proper fruit, and to produce the light—the works of Righteousness that He enables us to produce, only by His Grace, by His living within us.
Here, we see again that Sha’ul calls us to awaken, to produce the fruit, the works of Righteousness, as do the wise. We are to awaken from our “sleep”—from our history of producing the fruit of unrighteousness [darkness], as the foolish ones do, as seen in Eph’siym 5:3-8.
We are then reminded that it is Mashiach Himself who is the source of all our works of Righteousness, or Light—the works of obedience to Torah which He accomplishes by us, by the Grace He supplies to us, from His living within us.
Scriptures Reveal How One May Be Awakened
Here are some Scriptures to show exactly how we may awaken from sleep, and some results seen by those who awaken, and by those who remain asleep:
“My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not the Torah of your mother … When you go, it shall lead you; when you sleep, it shall keep you; and when you awake, it shall talk with you.” (Mishlei 6:20, 22)
Here we see that while we are sleeping, the Torah will guard and preserve us, where we are, even when unaware of Torah; but when we awaken, the Torah will “speak” to us. Here is another:
“He that gathers in summer is a wise son: but he that sleeps in harvest is a son that causes shame.” (Mishlei 10:5)
Above, we see that a son who sleeps during harvest is not wise, but foolish. The harvest is now underway! Here is another:
“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of Elohiym: I speak this to your shame.” (Qorintiym Ri’shon 15:34)
“Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the Torah: for sin is the transgression of the Torah.” (Yochanon Ri’shon 3:4)
Here, we see the basic definition of sleep is to walk in sin, which is transgression of the Torah; and to awaken is to “awake to righteousness,” which Yochanon tells us means to “sin not,” which in turn means “stop transgressing [disobeying] YAHUAH’s Torah.”
We are to awaken—which is to awaken to Righteousness, to the “doing” of Righteousness. There is no other option seen in Scripture, but to remain asleep. The choice is ours—we are to choose this day whom we will serve.
Who Has Been Asleep?
The entire body of the “Last” A’dam [the entire Body of Mashiach—all of His people] have been put to sleep by YAHUAH Himself, because of our disobedience.
As seen in the Yeshayahu passages above, we today are included among YAHUAH’s people. But we have all been doing works of unrighteousness—of sin—of transgressing the Torah. We have been asleep, as it were, and have not been walking in Resurrection-Life, the walk of doing works of Righteousness, of obedience to Torah.
Who Is Being Awakened?
The heart of the Bride is now being awakened. She too has been asleep, within the body of the Last A’dam, but she begins to stir as she listens to Torah, and begins to be a “DO-er” of every word that proceeds out of the mouth of YAHUAH (Shiyr HaShiriym 5:2; Luqas 4:4; Devariym 8:3).
She must then come out from among them, from all who would hold her back from the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom is drawing His Bride, and the multitude that make up His Bride has the desire, and the will, to follow Him (Shiyr HaShiriym 1:4).
We are now being called to listen to the words of Torah now speaking to us. We are now being called to be do-ers of Torah—to leave off works of darkness, and become DO-ers of works of Righteousness. Mashiach YAHUSHA is our Righteousness, and He likewise desires to produce His works of Righteousness in us, if we would but allow Him.
Many, however, as seen in the Yeshayahu passages above, have been given a tainted Faith, and a counterfeit “Renewed Covenant.” It is these who will remain asleep.
Nevertheless, the call is going forth for all to hear, and to heed:
Awaken, You that are Sleeping!
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