Sabbath - Part 4

Lucifer, the First Sabbath Breaker

We can gain yet more insight into this matter of Sabbath rest by looking at the scripture account of the first violation of Sabbath. As the book of Genesis opens, the first violation of Sabbath has already occurred, and the judgment of Yahweh has fallen upon the one who entered into striving. We see this judgment described even from the opening verses of Genesis.

Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth became formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep...

Between verse one and verse two of Genesis a judgment fell upon the earth. This judgment resulted in the earth being made into a wasteland. This wasteland is described as being “formless and void” and covered in darkness. God did not create the earth originally as a wasteland, it became one due to rebellion and God’s judgment on this rebellion.

Isaiah 45:18
For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), "I am Yahweh, and there is none else.”

Due to the errors the translators have incorporated into the most popular English translations of the Bible, this understanding of judgment falling between verse one and verse two of Genesis has been obscured and hidden to the masses. As one examines the scriptures, rightly dividing them, they see that a judgment did indeed fall and that the remainder of the first chapter of Genesis is not speaking of the first creation of the Earth, but of the re-creation of the Earth after it had been judged.

A very clear witness of this fact is the scripture from Isaiah above that says that Yahweh did not create the earth as a waste place. But we see in verse two of the opening chapter of Genesis that it has become a waste place. We need not stop there, however, for the very words and phrasing that describe the state of the world after Yahweh judged it are found duplicated in other passages of scripture.

Jeremiah 4:23
I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.

This scripture in Jeremiah serves as a key to unlocking our understanding of Genesis 1:2. We see the identical description of the earth given with all three elements being repeated; the earth is formless, void, and covered in darkness. We need only look to the context of this passage in Jeremiah to perceive that this is describing the judgment of Yahweh falling upon the earth.

Jeremiah 4:8-26
"For this, put on sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Yahweh has not turned back from us. And it shall come about in that day," declares Yahweh, "that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled, and the prophets will be astounded... Your ways and your deeds have brought these things to you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart... Disaster on disaster is proclaimed, for the whole land is devastated; suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant. How long must I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For My people are foolish, they know me not; they are stupid children, and they have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, but to do good they do not know." I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all its cities were pulled down before Yahweh, before His fierce anger.

It is evident from the context of this passage that we are reading about the judgment of Yahweh falling upon those who are disobedient. In the midst of this passage we have a description of the results of His judgment. The earth is made formless and void, and light is removed from it. The fruitful land is made a wasteland.

Is there any doubt that what we read in the second verse of Genesis is describing a similar state of judgment? The phrase “without form and void” occurs in exact repetition in both of these verses. This understanding of the earth lying in a state of judgment is lost to much of Christianity due to the lack of understanding of the translators, and the traditions of the day. Most of the popular translations represent the opening verses of Genesis in the following way. (Note the highlighting)

Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep...
(NAS)

This erroneous translation makes it sound as if God created the earth as a wasteland, when in fact He did not. Yahweh did not create the earth to be formless and void and covered with darkness. It became this way after rebellion occurred and His judgment fell.

The word the translators have erroneously interpreted as and is the Hebrew word wa. This word is used as a conjunction, and in many other places the translators have rendered it as but. We see this demonstrated in the very next chapter of Genesis.

Genesis 2:6
But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
(NAS)

The word rendered but in this verse is the same word wa that the translators rendered as and in Genesis 1:2. Again, as we look at the word rendered was in Genesis 1:2, we see that it is equally rendered as became in many other instances. The word in the Hebrew is described in the following manner in Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary.

1961  hayah (haw-yaw);
a primitive root [compare 1933]; to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):

Again, we need not look far to see that the translators understood that the word had this meaning.

Genesis 2:7
Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became [hayah] a living being.
(NAS)

Why did the translators choose to render these words in Genesis 1:2 as they have done? It was simply because they either did not understand the scriptures, or they did understand, but it did not fit with the orthodox teachings of the day. Let us look one more time at how these scriptures should be properly rendered.

Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth became formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep...

What was the state of this original earth of Genesis 1:1 before it was judged? The scriptures reveal that it was in some ways similar to the earth that was re-created in the following verses of Genesis. There was a Garden of Eden upon that earth as well.

Ezekiel 28:12-15
Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh God, "You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.’”

This passage of scripture is describing Lucifer before he sinned. He is described in type as the king of Tyre, but we can see clearly from this passage that no common king is being described. It is not a man that this passage speaks of, but an “anointed cherub” who had “the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”

Lucifer is described in his beauty and perfection. He was adorned with many precious jewels. He had access to the presence of God. And we also see that God placed him in the Garden of Eden.

We never see recorded in Genesis a description of this Lucifer, this perfect and beautiful creature being in Eden. Rather, we see him first appear as a serpent. Lucifer was described as “full of wisdom” and the word for serpent comes from the same root as the word sapient, which means wise. Furthermore, we have this description of the serpent.

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made.

The word cunning speaks of wisdom that has been corrupted and has been turned to evil purposes. The first appearance of Lucifer in the re-created earth of Adam and Eve reveals that he has already fallen, iniquity has been found in him. Lest some should question whether the serpent is actually Lucifer, we will add the following scripture.

Revelation 12:7-9
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

When was Satan thrown down to the earth? It was after iniquity was found in him. It was after he rebelled against Yahweh. It was then that he was referred to as Satan (the adversary), and as the serpent. This is the only description we have of him in Genesis.

When did Lucifer exist in his perfect state in the Garden of Eden, as Ezekiel records? It was in a prior earth. It was the earth of Genesis 1:1, before the earth was judged, made formless and void and covered in darkness. In his perfect and beautiful state Lucifer (the Light Bearer) was in the Eden of God.

But something happened to cause Lucifer to fall from his once unblemished state and to become corrupted. Something occurred that led Yahweh to judge him and to cast him down to the earth along with the angels that followed him in rebellion. Something occurred which led Yahweh in His wrath to destroy the earth and make it a wasteland and to seal it in darkness as a judgment, awaiting a day when He would re-create it.

We find the account of Lucifer’s transgression in two passages of scripture. One is in the book of Ezekiel. Let us look at the remainder of this passage.

Ezekiel 28:15-18
"You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; it has consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you.”

We see a further description of Lucifer, and the account of his transgression in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 14:3-15
And it will be in the day when Yahweh gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved, that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased, and how fury has ceased! Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution. The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they break forth into shouts of joy. Even the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, 'Since you were laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.' Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; it arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; it raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. They will all respond and say to you, 'Even you have been made weak as we, you have become like us. Your pomp and the music of your harps have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you, and worms are your covering.' How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.”

In both of these passages we see Satan associated with a king and a kingdom of the earth. Indeed, Satan is described as the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31, 16:11). He rules over the kingdoms of men, and these kings and kingdoms take on his characteristics. Even as he tempted Eve in the same way that he transgressed, to be like God, so he perpetuates his sin and his characteristics in the kingdoms of man. But clearly, this passage in Isaiah, like the passage in Ezekiel, is referring to Lucifer, not a mortal king. Satan was clearly cast out of heaven, and this is related in the following words.

"How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations!”

Yahshua spoke to His disciples of witnessing this event.

Luke 10:18
And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.”

What a tragedy that the greatest of created beings should transgress the will of Yahweh and be judged. More tragic still is that he led one third of the angels to follow his pattern of disobedience, and that he should tempt mankind to commit the same grievous error.

In examining this passage of scripture from Isaiah we can discern that Lucifer’s transgression was a violation of Sabbath. Lucifer was a created being and all created beings were to be subject to the authority of Yahweh. They were to have no initiative of their own. They were created for Yahweh’s pleasure and they were to find their highest fulfillment in doing that which Yahweh created them to do.

Lucifer, however, began to look at his own beauty, wisdom, and perfection and he thought it unreasonable that he should be subject to Yahweh in all things. He desired to determine for himself what his way would be. He no longer desired to be subject to God. He wanted to be like God, to determine for himself what was good and what was evil. Rather than being at rest, having no initiative of his own, he began to manifest self-will. This is revealed clearly in his words.

"But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”

Five times Lucifer said, “I will.” He was full of personal initiative. He began to want to determine for himself what was good and what was evil. He wanted to take unto himself that which belonged to Yahweh alone, the right of determination. He wanted to purpose and to choose for himself. He no longer wanted to be subject to another, not even the One who had created him.

This is the great transgression of Lucifer, he violated the Sabbath rest of God. He was not content to do the works of God, he wanted to do his own works. He was not God, but he wanted to be like God in having the ability to choose his own way.

What a contrast this is with the Son of God. Yahshua was God, yet He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped or held onto. Instead, He freely emptied Himself and took upon the form of a bond-servant, one who lived to do the will of another.

Lucifer was not equal with God, but he desired to become equal. Yahshua was equal, but he laid His equality aside. What a rebuke this is to the error of Satan. The Son of God humbled Himself when that which was created through the Son of God would not walk in the same humility.

Satan came and tempted mankind to repeat his error, to desire to determine their own way, to find right and wrong, good and evil within themselves, rather than looking to Yahweh to know these things. Yet the Son of God made it possible for us to return to the position of humility and submission that Adam abandoned.

Philippians 2:5-13
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Yahshua the Messiah, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross... So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

To will and to work for His good pleasure rather than our own is Sabbath rest. This is what Lucifer rejected. He was not content to will and to work for Yahweh’s pleasure. He wanted to pursue his own pleasure. To do so is to set oneself in opposition to God. To do so is to enter into striving.

Five times Lucifer said, “I will,” thus demonstrating an initiative of his own. Seven times in the gospel of John we have Yahshua’s recorded words that He did nothing of His own initiative. As an eighth witness it is also recorded that the Spirit does nothing of His own initiative (John 16:13). In seeing this we can ascertain that the great struggle of all creation is to come into this place of rest where the creation also does nothing of its own initiative. Will mankind follow Yahshua into the Sabbath rest of God, or will they continue with Satan in a place of striving?

We read in the scriptures that Satan’s initiative led to his being cast out of heaven along with the angels that joined him. The wrath of Yahweh was revealed and the earth was made a barren, fruitless wasteland and was covered in darkness. This is equally the state of any man’s life that chooses the path of initiative. Their lives become darkened as they have no understanding of Yahweh’s will for their lives. Though their lives may be full of activity, all of their fruit will be unacceptable before God. Their lives will become a barren wasteland. They will fail to fulfill the purpose for which they were created.

The promised land of rest is a fruitful land flowing with milk and honey. Those who would enter in must turn away from the error of Satan, they must choose to have no initiative of their own. They must seek only to know the mind of the Father and to do His will. Only then will they know Sabbath rest.

---

This is an excerpt from the book Sabbath:

http://www.heart4god.ws/sabbath-rest-of-god.htm

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Sabbath - Part 3

Having read the previous chapter, you should be starting to get a glimpse of how truly foundational is this issue of the Sabbath. It is tragic that such deception and darkness has overtaken the body of Christ until the meaning of Sabbath has been reduced to a set of doctrines regarding the cessation of labor during one day of the week. The only understanding among the majority of the saints is that Sabbath refers to some desire that the Father has that mankind should not work one day out of seven. For most Christians, the true significance of Sabbath remains hidden.

As we have seen, Sabbath actually refers to man dying to all personal initiative. It pertains to man being truly governed by Yahweh so that all of his actions and all of his words have their origin in Him. Sabbath is man ceasing from his own labors and entering into a state where every moment of life is in harmony with the revealed will of the Father. This requires that man must always be sensitive to the voice of the Spirit, for it is the Spirit of God that discloses to the saint the mind and will of the Father.

I Corinthians 2:10-12
For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God.

When Yahshua walked the Earth He said that He was always beholding the Father. He did not begin His earthly ministry until the Spirit descended upon Him and abided with Him. Yahshua is our example and it is to Him, and the pattern of obedience in which He walked, that we are being conformed (Romans 8:29).

For this reason it is essential that the saint who would walk in true Sabbath rest should be in constant communication with the Spirit of God. Unless we know the mind and will of the Father, moment by moment, we cannot walk as He would have us. In the 8th chapter of his epistle to the Romans, Paul tells the saints in Rome that those who are mature sons of God are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14).

In every decision, at every turning and crossroads, man is not to have any initiative of his own. He is not to decide the course he would take. Man is not to be led by his own passions and desires, by the leading of his soul. Man is to have no will in any matter other than to know the Father’s will and to do it. This is to be his highest aim and single objective.

It will necessarily and frequently occur that the desires of our souls will be in contradiction to the revealed will of the Father. Sometimes the gulf between our soulish desires and the Father’s desire will be exceedingly great. In these times we are to put to death the desires of the soul that we might follow obediently the course the Father has determined for us. This is the subject of Yahshua’s following discourse.

Matthew 16:24-25
Then said Yahshua to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.”

The life Yahshua is speaking of is the soul life of man. It is the mind, will, and emotions of man. Man’s mind can contrive many paths to walk down that seem good and acceptable. Man’s emotions can passionately urge the pursuit of a particular course. Man’s will can determine to walk down paths of his own choosing. Solomon stated that “there is a way that seems good unto a man, but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25). The apostle Paul also spoke of the necessity of turning away from the desires of our flesh that we might walk the path that the Spirit guides us down.

Romans 8:13
For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

How did man come to be in this state where present within him is an innate sense of good and evil that is out of harmony with the mind of God? The opening chapters of Genesis reveal the answer.

When Adam, whose name means man, was originally created he did not have an innate soulish sense of good and evil. Adam received his guidance and his understanding of what was good from God. We are told that God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden and He gave him the charge to tend it. We are also told that God caused many trees to grow from the ground, some of which were good for food, but the fruit of one tree was forbidden.

Genesis 2:8-17
And Yahweh God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil... Then Yahweh God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."

At this point in Adam’s life, he had no internal sense of good and evil. He neither had this capacity in his soul, neither did he have the indwelling Spirit of God to make known the will of God to him. Adam walked with God and communed with Him on an external level. The Father made known His will to Adam through means of this relationship. It is revealed a bit later that it was the manner of God to walk in the Garden and to meet and speak with Adam there.

Genesis 3:8-9
And they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. Then Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"

Adam, in his original created form had no sense of good and evil present within him. All of his ways were determined by communication with Yahweh. Yahweh spoke to Adam and made known to Adam that which He would have him to do. Both good and evil were made known to Adam by direct communication with Yahweh God. Yahweh told Adam the things that were good and desirable; Adam should tend the garden and eat of its trees. Yahweh also told Adam what constituted evil. There was only one thing that was described as being outside of the will of Yahweh. Adam was not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Things were very simple for Adam. If he did the things Yahweh commanded him to do he was walking in obedience and adhering to good. If Adam did the one thing Yahweh commanded him not to do he would be walking in disobedience and this would be evil. Both good and evil for Adam were made known through direct communication with Yahweh. In this we see that good equates to doing Yahweh’s expressed will, while evil is doing that which is not His will.

We know the tragic occurrence that took place in the Garden of Eden. We are told that the serpent came and deceived Eve. He tempted her to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree. What he revealed in the temptation is highly important.

Genesis 3:5
"For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Let us examine these words closely. The temptation that Satan brought to Eve was the temptation to “be like God,” and the particular attribute that was characterized as unique to God was the ability to know “good and evil.” Up until this time neither Adam nor Eve were able to determine good and evil themselves. There was only one who determined good and evil, and this was Yahweh. What Yahweh declared to be good was good, and what He declared to be evil was evil. He alone could make such judgments. He alone had the authority to determine what was allowable and what was forbidden, what was righteous conduct and what was unrighteous conduct. Yahweh alone could determine what activities should be performed, and which should be abstained from.

In all of creation, Yahweh did not create a single being that was endowed with the  authority to determine for itself good and evil. All created things came forth from Yahweh, and for all things to be at rest they had to be in a state of perfect harmony with His will. No created being had the authority to will things of its own initiative. All things found their will in the mind of the One who was the Creator.

What the serpent offered Eve was the ability to do something that was reserved for the Creator alone. Eve could determine her own way. She could decide for herself what activities were good and which were evil. She could, within her own being, find the ability to govern herself.

Some saints have the mistaken idea that the tragedy of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was that evil activities came forth. They look at Cain murdering Abel, they look at the selfishness, lying, coveting, adultery, and all manner of evil that came upon the Earth and they say, “This is the great evil of eating of the forbidden tree.”

The great evil was not these things. The great evil was that man began to look within himself to perceive what was right and wrong. Man ceased to always look to Yahweh to discern what His will was. Man now had his own initiative and a will that was severed from the will of God. It was not that man began doing bad things that was the great tragedy, it was that man began to have a will of his own that initiated things apart from the mind of Yahweh.

If man had eaten of the forbidden fruit and then he had always chosen to follow that which he determined to be good and right, he would have been just as much of a transgressor as one who always chose to follow the course that his soul told him was evil. It didn’t matter whether man was doing good or evil. What mattered was that man was now finding his sense of what was good and evil in a place other than the mind of Yahweh.

This is the intent of the scripture we previously looked at from Matthew chapter 7. Yahshua said that many will come to Him on the day of judgment saying, “Didn’t we do many good things in Your name; we cast out demons, we prophesied, we performed miracles” (my paraphrase), but He will respond that they are lawless and they will not enter into the Kingdom of God.

It matters not whether we choose a path of good, or whether we dedicate ourselves to do evil. If that which we do is based upon our own soulish sense of good and evil then it is detestable to the Father. Only those who do the will of the Father in heaven will enter the Kingdom of God, and we will only know the will of the Father as He reveals it by His Spirit.

We must die to that part of us which was quickened and made alive when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree. We must return to a place where “knowing good and evil” is again only an activity of Yahweh. We must quit being “like God,” usurping His authority in determining what is good and evil, and we must seek to always know His mind.

It is not the evil deeds of the soulish man that are such a subtle snare to the saint of God, it is the innate and fleshly knowledge of what is good. The saint, thinking that he can determine good himself, looks within his soul to find the path he should walk down. His mind may see no evil in the path he has chosen. It may appear wholly decent and good, even godlike, but this is the very peril of the fruit from which Adam and Eve ate. The serpent spoke to Eve and said, "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God..." (Genesis 3:5).

When the serpent deceived Eve, he knew the temptation would be set before Adam to choose a path of independence from Yahweh. Adam need not look to Yahweh to tell Him what was good and what was evil. Adam need not always seek to know the mind and will of God. Adam could determine these things within his own being. He could choose his own path. He could follow his own righteous inclinations and think himself righteous for following a course of his own choosing.

The saint of God does this as he sets himself to perform activities that seem good, but which he has no specific command from the Father to do. The saint can do something that has the appearance of righteousness, such as prophesying or casting out demons, but it is only truly righteous if the activity was initiated by the Father.

Paul informs the readers of the book of Hebrews that the one who has entered into the Sabbath rest of the Father is the one who has ceased from his own labors. It matters not whether the labor is good or evil, if it did not originate with Yahweh, it is man’s labor. This is striving. This is the fruit of eating of the forbidden tree. What the serpent actually set before Adam was the temptation to violate the Sabbath rest of Yahweh. Man, from the fall of Adam, has been in a state of strife for he has been willing and initiating many things that the Father did not command.

The great tragedy today is that the body of Christ has not discerned that it is this innate sense of good and evil that they must die to in order that they might perceive by the Spirit what the good and perfect will of God is in their lives. Most saints have not discerned that they must die to the habit of looking within their soul to find the path they should walk down.

Rare is the saint who can separate the voice of the Spirit from the voice of his own soul. When the saint looks within to see what he should do and he is met with the soul’s answer of the good path before him, a path that eschews evil, he decides that this is the path he must choose and that he must look to God to help him walk this path. Such a saint fails to understand that he must die to the good he finds within his soul that he might discern the voice of the Spirit and find empowerment to walk the path God would have him walk.

This is a most important matter, and one that cannot be stressed too much. I would guess that one out of a hundred thousand decisions made in Christendom today are actually at the leading of the Spirit. All else arises from the soul of man. Look to yourself. Are you listening to the voice of your soul, or the voice of the Spirit of God? Do you recognize that there is present in your soul a sense of righteousness that does not have its source in God? Have you falsely supposed that the sense of right and wrong within your soul is in harmony with God’s will for your life?

The saint of God who has been born again of the Spirit must learn to discern the difference between the voice of his own soul and the voice of the Spirit. Many, failing to discern that there is a soulish sense of good and evil present within them, wrongly assume that they are walking according to the will of God when they have only consulted with their own soul and they have not yet discerned the witness of the Spirit of God.

It may seem to some that I am belaboring this point, but it is a most critical point, perhaps the most critical matter in all of the Kingdom of God, yet it is not perceived by the majority. Consider the way the apostle ends his treatise on entering into Sabbath rest in the book of Hebrews. Some have felt like he was suddenly changing topics in the following verses, but they are all of a consistent theme.

Hebrews 4:11-12
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

In order to enter into Sabbath rest we must be able to separate between the voice of the soul and the voice of the spirit. We must refuse the good course the soul brings to mind that we might follow the leading of the Spirit of Christ. We only enter into Sabbath rest as we cease from the works that arise from the soul’s sense of good and evil.

Let us end this chapter by taking another look at Yahshua’s words, the words of the One whom we are to imitate.

John 5:30
“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Yahshua’s life was an example of perfect Sabbath rest. He initiated no activity of His own. He only went those places the Father directed Him to go by the Spirit. He only performed those deeds the Father revealed that He should do. He was even perfect in His speech, only speaking what the Father commanded Him to speak. He did the will of the Father in heaven.

It should be noted to the one who would contend that Yahshua did command His disciples to cast out demons, heal the sick, etc., that a very important matter preceded this charge. Yahshua was not giving His disciples a general command for them to participate in these activities as they saw fit, according to their own understanding. He desired that they be led of the Spirit in all that they did. He commanded that they should walk even as He walked, and He always did that which the Spirit revealed to Him to be the will of the Father. We find in scriptures that when He commissioned His disciples to go forth and minister as He had ministered that He very notably commanded that they were to receive the Spirit before they began to minister.

John 20:19-22
When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Yahshua came and stood in their midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  therefore Yahshua said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 24:49
"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

Yahshua did not begin His ministry until after the Spirit descended upon Him and rested on Him. In the same way, His disciples could not begin their ministry until after Pentecost when the Spirit was given to them. Why was this so?

It is the Spirit that discloses Yahweh’s mind to us. The saint cannot know what the Father would have them do until they receive the Spirit. Yet many do not know this is the reason the Spirit has been given to them. They often fail to see the necessity of the Spirit guiding them into all of their activities for it seems easy enough for them to determine what their activity should be. The scriptures state that the saints of God are to do those things which the Father has prepared beforehand for them.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's workmanship, created in Yahshua the Messiah to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The saint of God who would turn away from the tree of strife, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, must return to a place where they are discerning the mind of the Father. He no longer walks with man in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening. We must have another way to discern His mind. The way He has provided is the indwelling Spirit of God who searches the mind of the Father and makes His will known to us.

Those who would enter into the 7th day of creation since Adam must come to a place of rest in their being. They must enter the Sabbath rest of God by ceasing from their own activity and works. They must do only that which the Father reveals by His Spirit.

---

This is an excerpt from the book Sabbath.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Sabbath - Part 2

The word Sabbath in both its Hebrew and Greek forms means to repose, to rest, to cease from exertion. It speaks of coming into a state of restfulness where Yahweh’s creation is not striving in any manner, but all is in complete harmony with the Creator.

Today mankind frequently associates the term Sabbath with a day that occurs once a week in which physical work is not performed. This is viewing Sabbath on a purely physical plane, and it leads to many false understandings. When one understands Sabbath aright they will understand that a person can be in a state of complete rest before God while physically they appear to be laboring. The Jews did not understand this so they condemned Yahshua and His disciples as Sabbath breakers. The Jews saw Yahshua’s disciples threshing grain in their hands on the Sabbath day and they condemned them for it (Matthew 12:1-8). Similarly they condemned Yahshua for healing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:10-14).

The problem for the Jews then is the same problem many have in Christianity today. Men look at things outwardly, on the surface, without discerning what it is that God is intending. Yahweh desires that all men come to a state of rest before Him. He desires that men should cease from their own labors and that they only do the things He leads them to do. Yahweh desires for man to come to an end of personal initiative; for man to set himself to do nothing that arises from his own soul. This is the Sabbath that He desires.

Yahshua proclaimed that He was Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). His whole life was an example of true rest before the Father. The essence of this rest is found in His following words.

John 5:30
"I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

John 8:28
Yahshua therefore said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.”

John 8:42
Yahshua said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.”

John 12:49
"For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak.”

John 14:10
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”

In these words, which Yahshua often repeated, we see what it is to truly enter into God’s rest. Entering into His rest requires ceasing from one’s own labors (Hebrews 4:10). Sabbath is not defined by what a man is doing externally, it is defined by being in a state of perfect harmony and agreement with God. When a man no longer seeks his own will; when he no longer goes his own way; when he is no longer guided by his intellect and reason; when he has died to all personal initiative; when he only does the will of the Father - then he has entered into rest.

It is revealed in Yahshua’s words that the rest we are to enter into extends even as far as the words we speak. Yahshua proclaimed that He did not speak a word of His own initiative. He only spoke that which the Father gave Him to speak. This is perfect rest. It is true Sabbath.

It mattered not whether Yahshua and His disciples were doing something physically that looked like work on the Sabbath day. If they were doing the will of the Father then they were at perfect rest, they were fulfilling Sabbath. Sabbath is not determined by external observation, it is an inward state of complete agreement with the Father. Sabbath is perfect obedience. It is doing precisely what the Father wills for man to do, no more and no less.

When Yahshua was condemned by the Jews for healing on the Sabbath, He revealed to them what true Sabbath was, but they did not have ears to hear it.

John 5:16-17
And for this reason the Jews were persecuting Yahshua, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."

In another place Yahshua said that He was always beholding the Father, and He was doing those things He saw the Father doing. Yahshua healed on the Sabbath day because He saw the Father healing on the Sabbath day. This is what He declared to the Jews that they did not understand. True Sabbath is doing what the Father is doing. True Sabbath is obedience to what He reveals we are to be doing.

If Yahshua had observed the Father healing on the Sabbath day, and He had refused to do so Himself, He would have been a Sabbath breaker. When the Father makes His will known to us in any instance, we are at rest when we obey. We fail to enter into rest when we refuse to obey.

The Jews only saw the external type that was given to represent Sabbath. They saw the Law which said that work was not to be done on the seventh day. Yet they failed to see what the Law was truly typifying. Yahweh was not concerned that man should rest from all physical labor one day a week. However, He was immensely concerned that man should not do anything that originated outside of the will of God. The Laws concerning the Sabbath day were merely types and shadows, but the Jews could not get past the types and shadows to see the true fulfillment.

Yahshua was fulfilling Sabbath completely by never doing anything of His own initiative. Sabbath was not fulfilled by adhering to that which was a shadow of the Sabbath. Yahshua walked in the substance while the rest of the Jews were walking in shadows and figures. The Jews would refrain from physical labor one day a week, but they failed to truly walk in Sabbath. If they had known true Sabbath rest they would not have condemned One who was walking in complete harmony with the will of the Father.

The whole Godhead is in a state of Sabbath rest. There is only one will, the will of the Father. The Son is in complete agreement with the will of the Father, being fully surrendered to the carrying out of His will. Likewise the Spirit is in complete agreement with the Son, carrying out His will.

John 16:13
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

Yahweh is looking for man to also enter into this place of rest where there is no initiative anywhere in creation other than Yahweh’s own initiative. When the Father wills one thing, and others will something else, no matter how noble or good it appears, this is defined as striving. Striving is willing something that has not originated in the mind of the Father.

Christianity is striving continuously. They are always willing things the Father is not willing. They are continuously setting their hands to do things which they have not received by the Spirit of God. It does not matter how noble or right it seems. A person can share the gospel with another human being and be striving. A person can heal the sick and be striving. A person can cast out a demon and be striving. A person can prophesy and be striving. A person can perform all manner of miracles and be striving.

How can these things be? How could it be striving and sin to do any of these things? The answer is revealed in the following words of Yahshua.

Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

The Lord reveals that on the day of judgment there will be many who will come to Him thinking they will receive praise and honor, yet dishonor and punishment will be their portion. What is the sin that these have committed? Their actions were that they were prophesying in His name, they were casting out demons in His name, and they were performing miracles in His name. What could possibly be wrong with these activities? Why are these people condemned as those who practice lawlessness?

Yahshua is not speaking against adulterers, thieves, or murderers here. Such transgressions were clearly forbidden in the ten commandments. If one has eyes to see, however, they will realize that what is spoken of here is also in violation of one of the commandments. The commandment is “remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.”

As we have already defined Sabbath, it is entering into the rest of God. Sabbath is only doing that which the Father leads us to do. Whether one does an apparently good act, or an evil act, it is still a violation of Sabbath if the Father is not the originator of it. Any activity arising of man’s own initiative, even seemingly good deeds, is a violation of Sabbath. Yahshua did all of the things He spoke of in this passage; He prophesied, He cast out demons, and He performed miracles. However, He never did any of these things of His own initiative. He only did that which the Father instructed Him to do.

It was very possible for Yahshua to do miraculous works of His own initiative. Before He began His ministry He was tempted in this very point. After fasting for forty days in the wilderness we are told that He was hungry. Satan came to tempt Him and his first temptation was for Christ to turn the stones into bread and thereby satisfy His hunger. Yahshua could have done this.

One might ask, “What would be the evil of such an act?” Yahshua was hungry. He was the Son of God. It wouldn’t have hurt any man or any part of creation to turn the stones into bread. It would have only violated one thing, it would not have been the Father’s will.

Matthew 4:3-4
And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

Yahshua understood this matter of Sabbath and doing the Father’s will, and His answer to Satan addresses this very important point. In essence He said, “True life is found in doing only those things which God reveals to us.” In another place Yahshua said, “My meat is to do the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 4:34). The Father already had a provision for His Son’s hunger. After Satan departed we are told, “and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him” (Matthew 4:11).

Christianity at large does not understand this most vital concept. If put in a similar circumstance, how many saints would consider whether doing an act within their power is the will of the Father? Most only think of what they are able to do. They give no thought to whether the Father would have them do it. It is possible to prophesy, and many do so very often. Few consider whether the Father would have them do so. They only concern themselves with “Can I prophesy?” They do that which seems good to them, falsely believing that any prophesying is pleasing to the Father if it is a true word of prophecy.

Many saints are involved in casting out demons, and again most only concern themselves with whether or not they can do so, not considering whether it is the will of the Father. The same is true of performing miracles, including miracles of healing. There are some who say that it is always the Father’s will to heal and there is no need to seek the mind of the Father in this issue. Such people are deluded and they should take the words of Yahshua to heart. He said, “Many will come to Me in that day” and they will say, “Did we not do these things in Your name?”

The word many in this passage can have the connotation of meaning the majority. How incredible to think that the majority of saints will stand before Christ in judgment and they will falsely believe that they were pleasing God when they were doing all of these works of their own initiative. Yahshua clearly defines in this passage what pleases His Father. The one who will enter into the kingdom of heaven is “he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”

The saint who only considers what he can do is on the wrong track. His first thought should always be to discern the mind of the Father in any matter. If the majority of saints are displeasing to the Father, then there is no value in being in the majority. Simply because the masses of Christendom are thinking and acting in a certain manner is no reason to join them. What comfort will there be in knowing that you and a majority of saints hear the words, “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness”?

To those who still doubt the meaning of Yahshua’s words here, consider why He referred to these who were doing this prophesying, casting out demons, and miracles as those “who practice lawlessness.” Lawlessness is the state of being out from under authority. Lawlessness is having your own law, disregarding the established law.

Yahweh is the only true law. He alone has the power to determine what man should do. Yahshua proclaims that men who do the will of the Father in heaven will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Those who fail to do His will are considered lawless, even if their actions are seemingly good, and even if they appear to be of a supernatural nature.

You may wonder that the saints could perform such supernatural deeds if the Father is not directing them to do so. How could they have the power to do these things unless the Spirit is guiding and leading? The scriptures plainly reveal that men can do so. Yahshua could have turned the stones to bread, and likewise Yahshua has given the same power and authority that He walked in to mankind. Consider the implications of the following passage of scripture.

I Corinthians 14:27-33
If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and let one interpret; but if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

The church in Corinth was a church that was out of order. There was great confusion in their meetings, and this confusion was not the will of God. What was the source of confusion? Were people fighting and screaming and fornicating and indulging in every form of debauchery in their meetings? No! (Although, these things did exist among them.) Their chaos was the result of people exercising spiritual gifts. They were speaking in tongues and prophesying, but it was sheer bedlam.

Did Paul say that these people were prophesying and speaking in tongues by the power of Satan? No, he never asserted any such thing. The anointing of God was present in these things, but these saints had not learned that they needed to submit all such activity to the Father and to seek His mind and His will. To exercise these spiritual gifts apart from the leading of the Father is lawlessness, and lawlessness leads to chaos, which is what they had in their meetings.

Did you note Paul’s words, “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets”? In essence he is telling them, “Just because you can do a thing doesn’t mean you have to do a thing. Just because you can speak in tongues doesn’t mean you must. Just because you can give a word of prophecy doesn’t mean you have to do so. You can control yourself. The spirit within you is subject to you.”

Some saints mistakenly think that every time they sense a tongue or a prophecy is present within them that they must speak it out, even if it causes a disruption to the assembled body. No! Paul is saying, “You can control it. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”

The Father is not honored when people speak a tongue, when they prophesy, when they cast out demons, when they perform miracles. He is only glorified when people do these things as He directs them. Yahshua did not heal every leper. He did not open the eyes of every blind man. He did not heal all those who were sick. He only did those things the Father led Him to do. He did nothing of His own initiative.

What a critical matter this is. Christianity is running over with personal initiative. There is little consideration for the will of the Father. People only consider what they can do, disregarding whether it is the will of the Father. For this reason the majority will appear before the Lord on that day of judgment and He will say, “Depart from Me, you lawless ones.”

If the Corinthian believers had considered the words of Yahshua they would have seen their own error. He said, “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak” (John 12:49). Yahshua could have spoken many profound things. He could have proclaimed mysteries. He could have spoken astonishing revelations. When He taught He could have spoken plainly instead of cloaking His meaning in parables. He could have done all of these things, even as saints today can speak many things, but He did not do so. He only spoke that which the Father commanded Him to speak, and so should we.

There are many things people can do today, but they are not all the will of the Father. Many saints mistakenly believe that because something is supernatural that the Father must be the author of it. This is not true in the supernatural realm anymore than it is in the natural.

In the natural realm we are told that all things in heaven and earth have been created by God, and in Him all things consist or hold together (Colossians 1:16-17). The presence of God is everywhere in His creation, and we are told that He is “over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6). Yet just because He is present in His whole creation we cannot argue that everything done by man is the will of the Father.

Man was created by God, and man’s abilities were given to him by the same. The power of procreation is one such ability, and indeed there is much that is supernatural in this ability of man. We cannot say that because man can go out and have relations with any woman he desires, and that this intimacy can result in offspring coming forth, that it is the will of God that man do so. In fact, we have clear words from the Father telling us that it is His will that man should NOT be promiscuous in this manner. Yet the Father allows man to do this if he should desire.

It is no different in spiritual matters. The Holy Spirit has given gifts to men in the church, and they can exercise them much as they please, but it is not the will of the Father that they do so. A saint cannot assert that because he was able to prophesy that it was the Father’s will, anymore than he can say that because he could raise up offspring by a woman that is not his wife that it was the Father’s will. The scriptures state that spiritual gifts are good, given to edify the body, and it also states that children are a blessing from God. However, both spiritual gifts and the power of procreation can be misused in a lawless manner.

As one considers this, and as they understand what Sabbath truly means - perfect agreement with the Father and His will in every situation, it is possible to see that virtually all of the sins of this world are the result of Sabbath breaking. They are the result of man doing something of his own initiative.

Entering into the Sabbath rest of God is to embrace death to initiative. We are at rest when everything that the Father wills becomes our will. We are at rest when we have no initiative of our own, no will of our own in any matter. Even if we should discern that the will of the Father will lead us to places that are painful we should seek to proclaim as did Yahshua, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Thy will be done.” This is Sabbath rest.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Sabbath - Part 1

Foreword

A word of explanation is necessary at the start of this book. In this work you will find the writer using names in reference to God the Father and God the Son that are more faithful to their Hebrew original than the names and titles generally in use by the church today. The name Yah, or Yahweh, will be found in reference to God the Father, and the name Yahshua will be utilized when speaking of the Son.

This usage is not intended to be divisive, nor does it serve as a renunciation of the usage of titles such as Lord or God. Neither is it a condemnation of those who choose to call the Son of God Jesus. My intent as a teacher of the Bible is simply to illumine and instruct. There is great meaning in the Hebrew names of the Father and the Son, and these names are directly related to one another. Many of the people whose lives are portrayed in Scripture also serve as types and shadows of God, bringing to light truths that might otherwise be hidden.

For example, Joshua, the Israelite leader who led the people of God across the Jordan and into battle to take possession of the land of Canaan, bears the same name as the Messiah. They both were called Yahshua. Like Joshua in the Old Testament, the Son of God began His ministry at the Jordan River as He was baptized by John. Both men labored to establish a kingdom dedicated to Yahweh, the first external and natural, the latter internal and spiritual.

Yah is the name used in reference to the Father on forty-nine separate occasions in the Old Testament. Most Christians have utilized this name of God without knowing that they were doing so. Whenever the word hallelujah is uttered, the speaker is literally exclaiming “Praise Yah,” for this is the meaning of the Hebrew word from which it is derived. The longer name Yahweh is found an additional 6,828 times.

The name of the Son is likewise significant, for Yahshua is understood to mean “Yah’s Salvation.” The Gospel writer indicates that this is the meaning of the name given to the Savior at His birth.

Matthew 1:21
“And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Yahshua, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.”

It has been the practice of this writer for many years to use these names, which more clearly represent their Hebrew originals. It is my hope that their employment in this book might aid the reader by bringing forth light on relationships that are obscured, as well as promoting an increased intimacy with God the Father by calling Him by His memorial name, instead of a title which men have substituted.

Introduction

It has been nearly 6,000 years since Adam was created by Elohim. It has also been 2,000 years since Yahshua (Jesus) walked this Earth in fulfilling the ministry that His Father entrusted to Him. It is recorded for us in scripture, that in the mystery of Yahweh’s plan of the ages, a thousand years correlates to one day, and one day to a thousand years. We find this truth revealed in II Peter 3:8, Psalms 90:4, as well as in other passages.

II Peter 3:8
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

When Yahshua walked among the Jews He chided them because they could forecast the weather, but they could not discern the day in which they lived.

Matthew 16:2-3
He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”

In contrast, when David went to Hebron to establish the kingdom we are told, in a very favorable mention, that among those who joined themselves to him were 200 chief men from among the sons of Issachar, “who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (I Chronicles 12:32). It is an important matter with Yahweh that His children have an understanding of the days in which they live.

As we examine Peter’s words we can discern that not only have 6,000 years elapsed since Adam’s creation, with man poised to enter the 7th millennium, but man equally stands ready to enter the 7th day of Yahweh’s divine timetable. We can understand much of what this 7th day will hold as we look at what occurred on the 7th day of creation, and what the 7th day represents throughout scriptures.

The 7th day is a day of rest. The 7th day is the Sabbath. In the epistle to the Hebrews, Paul wrote that there yet remained a Sabbath rest for the children of God to enter into (Hebrews 3, 4). He gave great cautions lest any of the saints of God should fall short of entering into this rest. Entering into this rest holds far more significance than most saints have considered, and many are oblivious to the peril of failing to enter in.

The Sabbath is much more than just a day that occurs once a week in which physical labor is to be avoided. It was given to be a symbol of something much greater. In understanding the symbol we can see that its significance has such importance as to touch on Satan’s original sin, as well as mankind’s transgression in the Garden of Eden. By violating the principles that the Sabbath represents all the sins listed in the ten commandments of Yahweh ensued, including lying, covetousness, envy, and murder. It is in returning and entering into the true fulfillment of the Sabbath rest of God that these transgressions will be overturned.

We live in that very transitional period of the ages when man will enter into the 7th millennium, the Sabbath rest of Yahweh. However, not all will enter in at the appointed time. Some will be prevented due to disobedience and unbelief. This book will address this peril in the hope that some will awaken from their slumber and apply all diligence to the pursuit of entering into the Sabbath rest of God.

There are other significant scriptures that speak of the awesome day in which we live. It has been nearly 2,000 years since Yahshua walked this Earth and completed His ministry. It has been nearly 2,000 years since that great Pentecost when the Spirit was given to indwell mankind. In the ensuing years man has known what it is to be divided as his flesh has warred against the Spirit, and the Spirit has warred against the flesh (Galatians 5:17).

This torn and fractured state of mankind has been appointed to last for a specified period of time appointed by the Father. The Scriptures declare that our healing is fast approaching when no longer will man be torn asunder, but he will be made wholly into a creature that fully agrees with Yahweh in spirit, soul, and body. We find this prophecy in Hosea.

Hosea 6:1-2
“Come, let us return to Yahweh. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him.”

For 2,000 years, two days in Yahweh’s timetable, man has been torn as he has known the agony of the war of flesh and Spirit raging inside his members. The victory has been assured. The life of Christ overcomes the death of sin. It is appointed unto men to experience this warfare in their members, but a glorious day is quickly coming when the warfare will end and life will fully overcome death.

For 2,000 years, from that awesome Pentecost when man received the promised indwelling Spirit of Yahweh, man has known the agony of being a divided house. The flesh has tried to resist and wage war against the life of the Spirit, and the Spirit has been seeking to put the flesh to death. We stand at a juncture in time that is doubly important. We can look forward with anticipation to entering into the Sabbath rest of Yahweh and also being freed from the torn and embattled state that man has known for 2,000 years.

There has been very little rest in the first six days of mankind. Man has known misery and suffering. For six days the whole creation has been subjected to the futility of the curse, and with groaning and travail it has been longing for its deliverance when the sons of God are finally manifest in their restored state (Romans 8:19-23). Full deliverance will come when we lay aside these mortal bodies that are subject to the curse of sin, and we are clothed with immortality; when we will lay aside this corruption and put on incorruptible bodies (I Corinthians 15:53).

We live at the transitory date when man will enter the 7th millennium, the Sabbath day of creation. Our healing awaits us. A true Sabbath rest awaits us. May your soul and spirit be stirred as you anticipate the awesome things which will soon appear.

Hebrews 4:1
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

Understanding the Present Hour

Before proceeding into the subject matter of this book, it is necessary to address some issues that could cause the reader difficulty. Much of what is written in this book is contrary to what is commonly accepted and taught in Christianity today. This will undoubtedly cause some concern to certain readers. It is often difficult to receive some truth that we have not previously heard, but it is even more difficult when the truth is in clear contradiction to what has been preached by myriads of pastors, evangelists, and teachers until it has become the accepted standard, or norm, of our day.

Unfortunately, there are few saints who actually understand what is clearly foretold in scriptures, that the last days before the return of Yahshua would be a time when great error would exist among the saints of God. Once one understands this, then they can appreciate that when truth is proclaimed it will be very common to find that it flies in the face of the accepted beliefs of the day in which we find ourselves. Let us look at a few scriptures that reveal this understanding, that the days preceding Yahshua’s return would be days of profound deception and error.

II Timothy 3:1-7
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Note very carefully here that Paul identifies the day he is speaking of to Timothy. “But realize this, in the last days difficult times will come.” How many ministers today are proclaiming that we live in the last days? It seems that many recognize that the hour is late, but they have failed to discern what the state of Christianity would be at this late hour. Paul begins this passage by saying, “in the last days difficult times will come,” and he concludes by saying that people would be “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” In between these two statements Paul describes the heart of mankind in these days, and it is due to the corrupt state of the heart of man that these days are difficult.

Timothy was charged by Paul to preach the word, and things were already difficult in those days, but consider the difficulty of any minister who finds himself proclaiming truth to those described in this passage. Indeed, their task would be very formidable. Yet Paul doesn’t stop here. Paul is still maintaining the same train of thought when he speaks the following words.

II Timothy 4:1-4
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

When should one expect this time to come when men will not endure sound doctrine? Paul already has informed us that he is speaking of the last days, the days in which we now live. If men are not heeding sound doctrine, what are they listening to? They are listening to great accumulations of teachers that are speaking the things their wayward hearts want to hear. They are turning aside unto myths and fables.

It should be obvious that the days we live in are the subject of Paul’s discourse to Timothy, for we are in the last days, yet what preacher will admit that it is his congregation that has hired him to tell them the things they want to hear? What preacher would confess that he is simply tickling the ears of those listening to him, that he is teaching falsehood and myth?

We live in very difficult days, for the masses of Christendom have departed from truth and they prefer to hear things that agree with their own lusts. Paul said that in the last days men would be “lovers of self, lovers of money... lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God.” What sort of things do you suppose that such men would like to hear?

Perhaps they would like to hear a message of financial prosperity. Perhaps they would like to hear a message that says that God wants to pour out blessing after blessing of material goods upon those who are His children. Is this not what is being proclaimed today from so many pulpits? Yet men do not realize that Paul was warning Timothy about those who are within Christianity in this very day, people who have accumulated teachers unto themselves to tell them the things they want to hear.

In contrast, sound doctrine has no home among such saints who are lovers of self,  of money, and pleasure. It is with difficulty that Yahshua’s words are shared with them.

Luke 16:13
"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Mammon is the system of world materialism and it is identified with the love of money and all that money can purchase. Myriads of saints today are in that tragic condition of trying to straddle the fence. They want to serve God and mammon at the same time. To accomplish this feat they have developed false doctrines that proclaim that it is the will of Yahweh that every saint should be running over with the goods of this world. Yahshua, however, said that His kingdom followers should not concern themselves with issues of what they would eat and drink, or what they would clothe themselves with, but they should seek first His righteousness and His kingdom.

The Pharisees who heard these words scoffed at Yahshua, for we are told that they loved money. Multitudes also scoff today for they share the same affliction.

Luke 16:14-15
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things, and they were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

We live in a day in which men are proclaiming those things that they esteem, while neglecting the things God esteems. I have picked just one topic, albeit a major one, that is being falsely taught today to demonstrate that men have departed from truth and have sought out teachers that would tell them things in accordance with their desires. Men in their love of self and love of money have devised all manner of false interpretations of scripture to justify their lust for things. Absent is the message of the disciple’s cross and the proclaiming of the Christ’s words that if we would save our soul life, we must lose it, but if we lose it we will save it. Absent is the message of taking up our cross daily and following Yahshua.

Matthew 16:24-27
Then said Yahshua to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.”

The message of self denial is not found in the houses of prosperity today. Every man will be recompensed for his deeds, yet the recompense will be very grievous for those who have accumulated to themselves teachers to tell them the things they desire to hear. The very issue of self denial is at the heart of a true understanding of Sabbath, for in Hebrews we read these words of Paul.

Hebrews 4:10
For the one who has entered His rest [Sabbath] has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

If we are to enter into God’s rest, we must cease from doing our own works. This is self denial. This is the work of the cross in the lives of the saints. Because men have not ceased from their own works, preferring to indulge the selfish desires of their hearts, they have strayed from truth and have embraced falsehood and myths. The issue of serving mammon is but one issue in which this has happened. There is virtually no area of truth that has remained unaffected due to the difficulty of the days we live. In the book of II Thessalonians, Paul described the dire state of these days with the word “apostasy.”

II Thessalonians 2:1-3
Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Yahshua the Messiah, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first...

Once more Paul is writing about the days that precede the return of Yahshua. He is writing of the days we live in, and he states that Yahshua will not return unless the apostasy occurs first. Strong’s Dictionary of Greek words defines apostasy in the following manner.

646  apostasia (ap-os-tas-ee'-ah);
feminine of the same as 647; defection from truth (properly, the state) ["apostasy"]:

As one looks further into the meaning of this Greek word, it is seen that it shares a similar root with the Greek word meaning divorce. The apostasy of which Paul speaks is literally a divorcement from truth. Taken in relationship with Paul’s other statements we can discern that the last days will be a time when those who claim to be followers of Yahshua will divorce themselves from truth, and they will in turn be wed to myths and fables. They will figuratively heap up for themselves teachers that will proclaim error and falsehood unto them.

This is the perilous circumstance that we find ourselves in today. It is not the masses that are proclaiming truth, but the remnant. Truth is not widely preached and received, rather it is largely rejected, having been replaced with falsehood. How did this circumstance come about? Again the apostle Paul informs us of the reason.

II Thessalonians 2:10-12
Because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved... for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

Because men have preferred lies over truth, the Father has sent a deluding influence upon them so that they might believe what is false. This passage and the others we have looked at are not talking about the world, but those who claim to be followers of God. Paul earlier said they would have “a form of godliness, but deny the power of it.” This is speaking of the church. The true power of godliness is the power to transform men’s lives, but men have preferred not to be transformed. Instead they have desired to transform the scriptures to support the pursuit of their soulish life and its desires.

Those who read this book, and other writings that are proclaiming truth in this hour, must realize that what is written here is out of synch with the masses of Christendom because the masses of Christendom are themselves out of synch with God. Yahshua said He was the truth, yet the truth is not loved in the last days before Yahshua’s return, and as a result the Father has sent delusion upon mankind so that they might believe what is false, which is what they prefer.

As one examines the scriptures with an understanding heart they will perceive that it has ever been the case with mankind that only a remnant has really known what the Father was doing in the day in which they lived. In the days in which Moses led the children of God forth from Egypt and into the wilderness, there was truly a large body of people who were known as God’s chosen people, but not all understood what they should have known.

Psalms 103:7
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.

What a gulf separates knowing Yahweh’s ways, and witnessing His acts. Of the millions of Israel, only one man was said to have known the ways of Yahweh in the day in which he lived. We see the same thing in the days of Daniel, of Jeremiah, of Elijah, etc..

Certainly this was also the case in the day the Father sent His Son to be born and to walk this Earth in the form of man. There were myriads of Jews dwelling in and around Jerusalem. The temple and the synagogues were a center for the people to learn the things of God. Was it to these centers that Yahweh sent His messenger to prepare for the coming of His Son?

John 1:6
“There came a man sent from God whose name was John...”

What was John’s message? Was it not to prepare the way for Messiah to come? If there were myriads of devoted Jews in that day, a priesthood, as well as many teachers of the Law, then why did not God use these men to proclaim His truth and to prepare the way for His Son? Why did He not have the message proclaimed in every synagogue?

It is ever the remnant that Yahweh works through. He chose a man who was little esteemed. He had him to grow up in the wilderness, not in the centers of power. And He had him accomplish his ministry away from the synagogues and the temple. Why should it surprise the understanding saint to hear that those who will prepare the way for the second coming of Yahshua will follow a similar pattern?

In the gospels we are told that Yahshua “came to His own, but His own received Him not” (John 1:11). Knowing this was the case of His first appearing to mankind, and that history ever repeats itself, the importance of the following scripture should give rise to serious consideration, as it speaks of His second coming.

Luke 18:8
“However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"

Yahshua is here speaking of His second coming to the Earth. At His first coming there was a whole nation of people who claimed to be followers of His Father. There was a well used religious system centered around the Temple and the synagogues. People were studying the scriptures continuously, and they claimed to be waiting for the appearing of Messiah.

Do we not have a similar scenario today? There is a body of people, huge in number that claim to be followers of Yahshua (Jesus). There is a religious system that is utilized regularly. In place of synagogues there are church buildings on every street corner and at every crossroads. This great body of believers also claims to be awaiting the return of their Messiah.

With all of this teaching and religious structure in place, those who claimed to be waiting for Messiah did not recognize the day of their visitation when He appeared 2,000 years ago. Yahshua was despised and rejected. Certainly the Jews and their leaders would never have admitted to having a wrong understanding of Messiah and what His appearing would be like, anymore than would those in Christianity today. Yet Yahshua asks whether He will find faith on the Earth when He returns. Incredibly, Yahshua describes the last days prior to His return, unto His disciples in the following manner.

Matthew 24:10-13
"And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. And because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.”

Many will fall away; many will be mislead; most people’s love will grow cold; men will be lovers of self, lovers of money; men will not endure sound doctrine; men will turn aside to myths and fables; Yahshua will in no way return unless the apostasy occurs first; will He find faith on the Earth?

These things should sober any sincere follower of Christ. It is the remnant who will be saved. The true flock of Yahshua is called the “little flock” (Luke 12:32). Why then do the churches preach that there will be a huge body of believers worldwide who will be raptured at the appearing of the Lord? Are they not deceived? Yahshua Himself questioned whether He would find faith on the earth at His return.

I urge the reader to keep these things in mind as you proceed to read the pages of this book. Great deception has fallen upon the church in this hour, and it was foretold over and over that this would be the situation on the Earth prior to Yahshua’s return. Do not be surprised that so much that is written here is in contradiction to that being preached in thousands of pulpits throughout the world today. One should expect no less when the scriptures are properly discerned and the descriptions of the days we live in are rightly perceived.

May you have eyes to see and ears to hear as you study the things written herein.

---

This book was written in 2001. The Lord has kept this message at the center of all my writings from that date forward. Most Christians do not understand what Sabbath is. It is far more than one day out of the week. It is of ultimate important, even as failing to keep Sabbath was a capital crime in the Old Testament.

Exodus 31:14-15
You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Seeing that the Sabbath of rest was so holy to the people of the Old Testament this book seeks to make it known to the sons of glory (both male and female sons).

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

The Remnant Bride - Part 18 & 19

The Bridegroom

I stand as one who knows that tremendous things are being offered to me, things that defy understanding. I cannot come near to comprehending the glory of these things. John walked in greater closeness to Yahshua than any of the other disciples. He remained focused on the surpassing greatness of Yahshua, as is revealed in his gospel. He never forgot that love was the foundation upon which his relationship to Christ Yahshua was built, as is evidenced in his epistles. Yet this man, who was so close to Yahshua while He walked this Earth, fell prostrated as a dead man when he beheld Yahshua in His heavenly glory.

Revelation 1:12-18
And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His breast with a golden girdle. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. And in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

What an awesome revelation of Yahshua the Messiah John had. It was not coincidental that it was John, the beloved disciple, to whom this revelation was granted. John epitomizes those who make up the Bride of Christ. Those saints whose hearts are bound to Yahshua will see Him as no others will. Yet, even great love did not prepare John for an unveiled look at his beloved Lord.

How it must have stirred John to think that this awesome Son of God was the same Yahshua who allowed him to lay his head on His breast. What tremendous favor was his. How exhilarating to think that this same radiant and glorious God still desired intimacy with John and with all those He had chosen from out of the world. John, the disciple who looked at Christ through eyes of love and adoration, was given further glimpses of the Savior he loved. He describes Him for us.

Revelation 5:6-10
And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came, and He took [the book] out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book, and to break its seals; for You were slain, and did purchase for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."

Revelation 19:11-16
And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

John saw Yahshua in His glory, the same glory that was His from before the foundation of the Earth. How much more Yahshua must have been increased in John’s sight when he considered that He had freely laid aside this glory in order to redeem fallen man (Philippians 2:7). This Glorious One clothed Himself in humility to ransom those who were His enemies (Romans 5:10).

We have been ransomed, but we have not been left at the place of salvation. A promise yet remains to us. A promise of betrothal. A promise of unity. A promise of eternally standing with the One who purchased us with His own blood.

Our Bridegroom asks for our devotion, our love. Competing affections must be overcome. Our Bridegroom gave all to purchase for Himself a Bride. He asks that the Bride give all for Him. Yahshua did not merely tell those who would follow Him that they must love Him, He went so far as to specify the degree to which they must love Him.

Matthew 22:37-38
And He said to him, “‘You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment.'”

Those who are the Bride agree that this is not only reasonable, it is desirable. There are no other gods before Christ in their lives. As David, they have invited God to inspect their lives and to correct all that needs amending.

Psalms 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

It was revealed to John that much sorrow and tribulation would precede Christ”s final triumphant return. However, his heart was gripped with the glory of union with Christ. His words are the words of one who has seen the Bridegroom.

Revelation 22:17
And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come."

 Let there be no delay.

Come, Lord Yahshua!

This book is not intended to answer all questions regarding the Bride of Christ. Instead, it is offered in hopes that it will stir up many saints to begin seeking the answers for themselves. There is much complacency in the body of Christ, much of it due to Satan’s deception in clouding our view of eternity and our understanding of the reward that awaits us.

The church today has lost much of its savor. Its distinctiveness has been diluted until her taste is similar to that of the world around her. When Christ comes to steal away, as a thief in the night, that which is appealing to Him, He will leave behind that which is unappealing. Many saints will be devastated as they realize that it was their idolatry, their love of the world and the things in it, that disqualified them from being chosen.

This book is offered in hope that some may awaken out of their slumber and break off their attachments to the world as they glimpse an inheritance and reward that far outshines all that the world offers. It is my hope that a passion for Yahshua the Messiah will be rekindled and that a pursuit of the One who pursues us will be renewed.

Yahshua mentioned one thing that would cause Him to remove a church’s lampstand, forgetting one’s first love (Revelation 2). His word to the church of Ephesus was to remember where they had fallen from, repent, and do the deeds they did at the first. In Christ’s words to the church of Ephesus we see that love, works, reward, these three are inseparable.

Our Lord does not desire service without love, nor does He desire words of love and devotion that are not proven in the way we live our lives before Him. Yahshua desires a harmony in our lives. Love first, followed by obedience and devotion. It was saints that were passionate for Christ who turned the world upside down in the first century and it will be similar saints who will do so again in these last days before Christ’s return.

Arise Bride, your Bridegroom awaits you. Be vigilant. Look to the One who is the lover of your soul. He is the fairest of the fair. He is the lily of the valley. He is the bright and morning star. He is  the pearl of great price. He is the treasure that has been lost and must now be found.
Come, Lord Yahshua!

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws    

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063