Concerning Keeping The Seventh Day Shabbat

Concerning the keeping of Shabbat [Sabbath] on the seventh day. How clear does the Eternal Father have to be, in order for us to get a grip on what His intentions are for His people? Is our heavenly Father double minded? Does He give us His instructions [Torah], only to change His mind at a later date? If He gives His instructions for living to one group of people, only to abolish them at a later date for another group of people, would that not make Him a respecter of persons? Would that not make Him untrustworthy? The words of the Eternal Father are eternal. He says what He means, and He means what He says. There is no shadow of turning with Him [James 1:17], and He is not a respecter  of persons [Acts 10:34], neither does He change [Malachi 3:6].

Genesis 2:2 & 3;

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

Exodus 31:11 & 17;

"And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel saying: Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 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 work on it , that person shall be cut off from his people. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.  Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'"  (NKJV)

Our Creator is setting an example for His children in Genesis. It is the example He expects His children to follow, and it starts right there with the creation. He rested on the seventh day, setting the groundwork for all eternity. Nowhere in Scripture, is there one verse, that does away with, or alters this example. Look closely at the wording in Exodus 31:12 - 17. How long are the children of Israel to observe the Sabbath? What do the words "perpetual covenant" mean? To whom, is this to be a sign between? How long is this to be a sign between them? When did forever end?

Many, who believe the lie of replacement theology, believe, that these verses are now speaking allegorically about the church, because, in their thinking, the church has replaced Israel, and is now the "New Israel." If that were true, wouldn't this covenant also apply to the so-called "New Israel," if indeed the covenant is a perpetual covenant, and the covenant is with Israel forever? Wouldn't it also apply to the "New Israel," or has the Almighty changed, and made Himself to be an untrustworthy liar? Their logic amuses me. If the Almighty changed His mind about the Hebrew people, will He someday change His mind about the Church?

We need to learn, to rightly divide the Scriptures, according to the leading of Ruach haKodesh [the Holy Spirit], and not according to the wisdom and doctrines of men. I am always  amazed, as to how the church, somehow seems to always skip over Romans, chapter eleven, and boast upon themselves, as though the Almighty has forever rejected His people Israel. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Gentile believers are grafted into Israel. It is not the other way around. Israel was the original called and chosen people of the Eternal Father. The words of Paul are perfectly clear in Romans 11:29;

"For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable."

Yet, to this day, there are people who cannot get their hands around this fact. It seems, that people want to read into the Scriptures, what they want to believe, instead of believing what the Scriptures actually say.

Many Christians, have never come to the understanding, that if we are grafted into the olive tree, we are in fact, of the commonwealth of Israel. We are one new man, and are no longer strangers to the covenants. Therefore, we are bound by the same covenants, that the Eternal Father made with them [read Ephesians 2:11 - 22]. There is One people, one Spirit, and one Elohim [God]. There are no Scriptures, that declare the church [ekklesia], to be separate from Israel. The early believers all observed the Shabbat on the seventh day of the week, without exception. It was not until the pagans and Hellenists began coming to Messiah, that there was a departure from the seventh day Shabbat.

The Sunday Sabbath is rooted in  pagan worship of the sun god. I have read volumes on this subject, and continue to do so. I find it interesting, that so many, who claim the Sunday Sabbath is not pagan, are also the same people who question the divine inspiration of Scripture. More likely than not, they approach the Scriptures from the Hellenistic view, rather than the Hebraic perspective from which they were written. The vast majority seem to approach these matters from a secular, intellectual view, void of any spiritual revelation. They are constantly trying to disprove the Scriptures, rather than trying to confirm them. They rely heavily upon the non-canon books,  in an attempt to make their point, and it is their common practice to quote Scripture out of context. They like to quote people like Ignatius, and Justin Martyr  who had a hatred for the Jews. They seldom quote Constantine, even though they consider him to be a great father, and liberator of Christianity. Ignatius, (circa 50 - 110 C.E.)  is considered by many, to be an Apostolic father. Let's examine some of the writings of this man, and it is not difficult to see his hatred for the Jews. In his Epistle to the Magnesians, Ignatius wrote;

VIII. "Be not seduced by false doctrines and antiquated fables. If we still live after the manner of Judaism, we avow that we have not received grace...."

Isn't it odd, that Peter, Paul, John, James and all the other disciples still lived after the manner of Judaism until their deaths?

IX. "If then those who had lived under the old covenant attained to a new and higher hope by abandoning the observance of Sabbaths and by keeping the Lords day - the memorial of Christ's resurrection, whereby we found life through His death, which some deny but which to us is the ground of our faith and the strength of our endurance; if, I say, this be so, how can we live without Him?....."

Again, where did the original Apostles abandon the seventh day Shabbat? It seems they have given a new meaning to "the Lord's Day," that is contrary to the Hebrew Scriptures definition of the Lord's Day, or the Day of the Lord, which is speaking of the tribulation, that is yet to come upon the whole earth. When you look at the context of the words "Lord's Day," it does not mean the day of the Lord's resurrection. It is always pointing forward to a time, yet to come. A great example of this, is the book of Revelation, given to John. He was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. When you continue reading, it should become quite evident, that Yeshua translated, or propelled John forward in time, to the very end of the age, and was revealing to John what was to come to pass in the future, during the Day of the Lord. He was not, by any stretch of the imagination, in the Spirit on Sunday. The context makes that assumption absurd.

X. "Let us not be insensible to His goodness. If He were to treat us, as we treat Him, we should indeed be lost. Therefore, as His disciples, let us learn to live Christian lives. He who is called by any other name than Christ's, is not of God. Put away the sour and stale leaven of Judaism, and replace it with the new leaven of Christ. Be ye salted in Him, that ye may escape corruption. It is monstrous to name the name of Christ and follow Judaism. Christianity did not believe in Judaism, but Judaism in Christianity, wherein all nations and tongues were gathered unto God."

("The Apostolic Fathers" Lightfoot, Part 2, Vol. 2. Hendrickson. 1989 pp 124, 128, 133.)

I suppose, Ignatius had never read Paul's letter to the Romans. Especially Chapters, ten, eleven and twelve. I would imagine, the other disciples, who remained Torah observant Jews throughout the rest of their lives, might have taken offence to this anti-Semitic epistle.

 Any Christian, with minimal study under his belt, understands, that Scripturally speaking,  leaven is a type of sin. Apparently Ignatius did not have a grasp of this fact. Are we to put away the sour and stale sin of Judaism and replace it with the new sin of Christ? Only a man speaking under the influence of anti-Christ would make such an absurd blunder.

As the power of the Church grew, The Jews came under heavy persecution, and were  called "Christ killers." Through the prevailing Hellenistic/pagan Christian theology, the Church Fathers were to become more and more obsessed with Jewish guilt. The following teachings of the Fathers were to be handed down throughout succeeding generations in Christendom. Origen (185-254 C.E.) trumpeted the growing hostility:

"On account of their unbelief and other insults which they heaped upon Jesus, the Jews will not only suffer more than others in the judgment which is believed to impend over the world, but have even already endured such sufferings. For what nation is in exile from their own metropolis, and from the place sacred to the worship of their fathers, save the Jews alone? And the calamities they have suffered because they were a most wicked nation, which although guilty of many other sins, yet has been punished so severely for none as for those that were committed against our Jesus."

( "Against Celcus." In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Rev. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1956), Vol. IV,  pp 433.)

Hippolytus (170-236 C.E.) was obsessed with the belief that the Jews were receiving, and would continue to receive God's punishment for having murdered Jesus. Hippolytus writes;

"Now then, incline thine ear to me and hear my words, and give heed, thou Jew. Many a time does thou boast thyself, in that thou didst condemn Jesus of Nazareth to death, and didst give him vinegar and gall to drink; and thou dost vaunt thyself because of this. Come, therefore, and let us consider together whether perchance thou dost boast in unrighteousness, O, Israel, and whether thou small portion of vinegar and gall has not brought down this fearful threatening upon thee and whether this is not the cause of thy present condition involved in these myriad of troubles."

 (Ibid, Vol. I, p 219.)

As the Hellenists and pagans began to outnumber the Jewish believers, it was not long before the hatred of anything Jewish became commonplace. Paganism and Hellenism homogenized with Christianity to the point, that the worship would not be recognized  by those who worshiped in the earlier days in Jerusalem. Despite the heavy persecution, the church throughout the early centuries remained distinctly Jewish, and it was alive. Miracles were commonplace, and people broke bread regularly in their homes. Ruach haKodesh (the Holy Spirit) was still at work in the true believers.

 Emperor Constantine (272 - 337 C.E.) pretty much put the nail in the coffin of the Hebraic worship. Constantine, like most Romans of his time, had a deep hatred for the Jews. Especially since the destruction of their temple and holy city Jerusalem in 70 C.E., the horrors of Masada in 73 C.E., and the defeat of the Bar Kokhba rebellion in 135 C.E.. By the time of Constantine, the congregations at Rome and Alexandria were already Hellenized, and he began to cleanse the congregations of all the Hebraic elements. In 312 C.E., prior to his pivotal victory over his rival Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine supposedly became a “Christian” after claiming to see in  a vision  “a cross above the sun” in broad daylight, with these words emblazoned, “in hoc signo vinces” (by this sign conquer”). After defeating his enemies and becoming Emperor of Rome, Constantine presided in full royal pomp over the “First Council of Nicea” in 325 C.E.

As a shrewd political genius, his scheme was to unite Christianity and paganism in an effort to strengthen his disintegrating empire. Constantine, being a worshiper of Mithras himself,  knew that pagans throughout the empire worshiped the sun on “the first day of the week,” and he discovered, that many Christians, especially in Rome and Alexandria also kept Sunday, because Christ rose from the dead on that day. Nowhere in Scripture is there a command to worship on the day of Messiah's ressurection. So, Constantine developed a plan to unite both groups on the common platform of Sunday keeping. On March 7, 321 C.E., he passed his infamous national Sunday law, as stated below.

“On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the 7th day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time [C.E. 321].)” Source: Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol.3 (5th ed.; New York: Scribner, 1902), p.380, note 1.

Now a professed Christian, Constantine nevertheless remained a devout sun worshipper. “The sun was universally celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine,” notes Edward Gibbon in his classic Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. xx, par. 3.

Circa C.E. 364, the Catholic Church outlawed Sabbath keeping in the Council of Laodicea, when they decreed their 59 Canon laws. The following is the relevant Canon law: Canon XXIX:

“Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.” (Percival Translation).

 It should be quite clear, that although Constantine did not outlaw the seventh day Sabbath, he paved the way for the Church to do so, at a later time. The source for Sunday worship, can only find its foundation in the pagan Mithras (sun god) worship. It cannot be found in Scripture.

Shalom Ahlaychem, 

Barry W. Gaugler
 © 2012

Colossian 2:16 The Proper Context

Colossians 2:16

 The church, for centuries has used Colossians 2:16, out of context, as a proof text to say, that we are free to eat, or drink whatever pleases us, and we can celebrate any holyday we wish. Is that really what is being said by Paul in these verses? Let's look at some History, and the context of Scripture to get the real picture.

First of all, it is necessary to understand, whom Paul is addressing in this letter. Some say he is speaking to the Jews in the dispersion. Does the context of his epistle verify this? No, it does not. Let's look at the context to verify, to whom Paul is speaking. Chapter 1 verse 27 says;

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

 There are no Jews mentioned in this Chapter. It is clear, that Paul is bringing the gospel to the Gentiles, who were formerly pagans.

Again in Chapter 2, verses 11 - 13, Paul makes it plain to whom he is speaking.

"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses."

It should be evident, that Paul is clearly speaking to those who have not been circumcised in the flesh, but are circumcised in their hearts. A circumcision made without hands.

 Colosse, was a pagan city in Phrygia, which is modern day Turkey. These pagans were being converted to the Messianic belief. They were leaving their former paganism, and were being taught the Hebraic ways. So, when Paul was saying,

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body of Christ,"

it should become quite obvious from the context, that these former pagans were being persecuted, and judged, for now keeping these things. They were not being judged by Jews for keeping these things, that the Almighty gave to the Hebrew people, so they had to be being judged by someone else.

Formerly, they were not eating kosher, partaking in the Lord's table, keeping God's appointed feasts, keeping God's commandment to celebrate the new moons. Nor were they keeping God's Sabbaths. However, now they were keeping these things, exactly as Paul was, and they were being judged in doing them by the pagans. The context is 180 degrees out of phase from what the churches have been teaching for centuries in their lawlessness. Why would Paul have these new converts worship Messiah, in a different manner than the way he, himself worshiped? Think about it.

Context, context, context.

Shalom Ahlaychem,

Barry W. Gaugler
© 2013

The Word God Controversey

The word "God" Controversy

This actually started for me about two years ago, when someone mentioned that the word God was of pagan origin. I had never heard that before. At first I just took it on face value, never giving it much further thought, but still keeping the idea in mind. Recently, a brother and I felt what we at first thought to be  a conviction to not mention this word.  We refused to read the word God out loud, and either replaced it with Yah, or Elohim. I believe the Ruach (Spirit) often works this way in my life when He is prompting me to do a deeper study of my beliefs. This created a confusion in our synagogue, and some thought we were reading from a different Bible. Our leader asked us to read it the way it is written and I refused (until I was able to research and pray on it further) to be a reader from that day forward. Not wanting to be in rebellion, I sensed I was being led to do an in depth study on the word God. This is the result of that prayerful in depth study.

Where did the word God come from? How did it get into our language. Is it acceptable to use it in reading, writing, and in speech. How did it become pagan? Finally, is it really pagan in its origin, or has haSatan (the accuser) hijacked it? These were some of the questions I had to pray about, and search to find the answers. The final result was not what I was expecting, and I must admit, I have a different view than what I started out with, but with some distinct clarifications. I will be using a lot of Reference material and even comments from, brothers or sisters on line, with their permission. I will also use different versions of the Bible where needed. I wanted to do this in 800 to 1,200 words, but that seems to be impossible at this point. I hope the reader will understand.

Where did the word God come from?

The word God, comes from the word Gad, or גד in the Hebrew. According to the vowel points, the letter "a" is pronounced as a short "o", with an "ah" sound.

Gad: (1)  Name of one of Jacob's sons (by Zilpah, the handmaid of his wife Leah) and hence one of the twelve tribes. The tribe of Gad dwelt East of the river Jordan. The original meaning of the word gad (good fortune , deity of luck) appears in the account of his naming (cf. Genesis 30:11) and the word occurs in composite names in the Bible as well as in later literature.

[The Encyclopedia of Jewish Religion - Edited by Dr. R.J. Zwi Werblowsky,  and Dr. Geoffrey Wigoder. 1965]

(Note: The use of the name as [a deity of luck, or good fortune] does not occur until much later in the Scriptures. In the book of Joshua, it appears as Baal Gad in 11:17, 12:7, and 13:5, but here it is mentioned as a location in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon not as a deity.)

It is important to remember, that haSatan is a copy cat and a counterfeiter. It is always important to understand that it is his desire to always take the things ordained of the Almighty, and spin them, counterfeit them, and give them different meanings in order to confuse the believers understanding of our Creator's matters.

From another source;
As is common with the naming of five other sons in Gen 30, Leah connects the proper name of her son (by Zilpah) with the catch phrase, "what good fortune" ----- In exultation at the birth of another son, Leah rejoices in her experience of good fortune.

Although gad occurs later as some kind of divine name (whether semi divine or full-fledged deity is not essential to this discussion, ---it appears unlikely that Leah intended religious overtones in her rejoicing over Gad's birth. It is absolutely absurd to think that the first mention of the name Gad in Scripture was meant to declare him as some form of deity. Leah was simply making a statement that this sons birth was of "good fortune." Nothing more is implied from the context.

[New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis - Volume 1, Page 819]

One more source;
gad II. Fortune. This word only appears twice in the OT. In Genesis 30:11 it is a word play on the name of Gad. And Leah said: "Good fortune!" or as the KJV has it, "a troop comes" dividing the MT into something like bagad  into ba' / gad. Speiser's translation in the Anchor Bible is "how propitious!" It seems preferable to translate it as an appellative, and to connect it with such proper names as Gaddiel (Num 13:10), "El is my fortune";  Gaddi (Num 13:11), "my fortune" Gadi (II Kgs 15:14-17); and the prophet Gad (I Sam 22:5).
The only other place where it is used is Isa 65:11, "You who forsake the Lord... who set up a table for Gad (RSV "Fortune"),  and fill cups of mixed wine for Meni (RSV  "Destiny")." Gad here seems to be a deity of fortune equivalent in meaning to the Greek Tyche. The right described here is lectisterium, i.e. one in which food was spread before an image of a deity.
[Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament - Harris, Archer, Waltke - 1980 Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL.]

How did the word God come to be used in our language?

I have searched through the oldest dictionaries available to me at the present time, and cannot find the English source for the word God. Online however, I can find all different sources for the word God. Personally, I find very little, that can be substantiated with good and sound references. They all seem to point to the early Germanic source coming from the Hindi. My problem with them is that none of them refer back far enough in History to compare with what we have already learned above. The following is copied from Wikipedia, but I find it terribly wanting for good information:

Main article: God (word)

The earliest written form of the Germanic word God (always, in this usage, capitalized^[8]) comes from the 6th century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. Most linguists^[who?] agree that the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".^[9] The Germanic words for God were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the word became a masculine syntactic form.^[10]

In the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.^[11][12] The English word "God" and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, the tetragrammaton (written YHWH), in origin the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, Yahweh. In many translations of the Bible, when the word "LORD" is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton.^[13] Allāh (Arabic: الله‎ allāh) is the Arabic term with no plural or gender used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning "The God" (with a capital G), while "ʾilāh" (Arabic: إله‎ ellāh) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.^[14][15][16] God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of God, with early references to his name as Krishna-Vasudeva in Bhagavata or later Vishnu and Hari.^[17]

Still, they do not get to the source of the word, and seem to be constantly trying to tie it to the paganism, that came long after Genesis. It's like I said earlier, haSatan is a copy cat, and a counterfeiter. He takes the things of our Creator, and twists them to the point, to where many, who are seeking to know the truth, become paralyzed, by fear of practicing paganism, when in fact they are truly seeking to know their Creator. The Author of our Bibles, is constantly reminding us to Fear not!  If we are constantly in fear of using the words God, or Lord, I am forced to ask the question, "Who is bringing this fear upon us?" The only time I can find in Scripture where we are to fear, is, that we are to fear God. Even then, that fear is not meant to be interpreted as being afraid o God, but rather to reverence God.

The following is a correspondence I had with a brother in Messiah named Stephen Otto. It is used with his permission.

You may find this interesting!

This is what troubles me regarding the ISR Scriptures (Mr. Koster's translation)!

It leaves the title “Elohim” un-translated when it refers to the true God, but translates the title “Elohim” as “mighty ones” when it refers to false gods! As a result, they hide the contrast that God is attempting to make. Exodus 1-3 is a great example of this! It states, “And Elohim spoke all these Words, saying, “I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery. “You have no other mighty ones against My face.” Notice that there is seemingly no connection between the words “Elohim” and “mighty ones”. Now let’s use the title “elohim” in both applications, except that we will use an upper case E for the true God and a lower case e for the false gods! “And Elohim spoke all these Words, saying, “I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery. “You have no other elohim against My face.” Now we should be able to recognize the contrast that God is attempting to make!

Some may say that this is a minor issue, but I don’t believe it is! In this Scripture, God is attempting to contrast Himself with other gods and by not being consistent with the title in both applications the contrast is hidden and God’s point neglected! The truth is that the ISR was so focused on keeping God’s name set apart that, not only did they destroy this Scripture, but also every Scripture where they use the title “mighty ones”. Furthermore, the fact that the title “Elohim” applies to both the true God and the false god proves that the title “Lord” can also apply to both!

Interestingly, the HalleuYah Scriptures, a translation based on the ISR Scriptures, took this insanity one step further! Just as the ISR leaves the title “Elohim” un-translated when it refers to the true God, but translates the title “Elohim” as “mighty ones” when it refers to false gods, the HalleuYah Scriptures leaves the word “mishkan” un-translated when it refers to the true temple, but translates the word “mishkan” as “temple” when it refers to pagan temples!

Other problems I see with the ISR Scriptures is the substitution of the word belief for faith, the word grace for favor, crucify for impale, king for sovereign and new for renew, etc!

It is our duty as believers in Messiah to search the Scriptures, that we may find what is true. Yeshua (Jesus) promised His believers, that when He returned to the Father, that the Father would send another Comforter, and He would lead us into all truth. I think the time has come that we start believing what the Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) is trying to teach us and leave the fears and doctrines of men behind us.

I no longer have a fear of using the word God, or Lord. By that same token, I also do not have a fear of using the name Yahweh, or Yehovah. Am I certain that they are the correct pronunciation? No. I am not. Our God is bigger than that. Just as I did not get angry when my children could not pronounce my name properly, I am certain that our heavenly Father (Who loves us more than we are able to comprehend) is not going to have a fit because we may not get His name exactly right. He examines the intents of the heart. Does that mean that we are to use His name loosely? Of course not. He is our Creator and He is our Father. Respect Him as such.

Shalom Ahlaychem,
Barry W Gaugler

  

Escape For Your Life! Don't Look Back!

"So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, Escape for your life! Don't look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."  Genesis 19:17

"Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes."  Matthew 24:15 - 18

[All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version]

I was awakened this morning with a burden of the Ruach (Spirit) heavy upon my heart. I believe the Almighty has laid upon me, the Spirit of a watchman upon the wall and has placed in my hands a shofar to sound the warning that the time is very short. There is no time to dally. I am not speaking about some pre-tribulation rapture, but a call to repentance, for those who are called by the name of Yeshua. The signs are all around us to the point where you almost have to intentionally ignore them, in order to not see them. Today when I turned on my computer, the first thing I saw was that Egypt is swarmed with locusts. Here we are, just a few weeks before Pesach (Passover) and Egypt is having a plague of locusts. Coincidence? Yeshua gave His beloved disciples a warning in Luke 21:34 - 36;

"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

I do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. However, I do believe the Scriptures are clear that Elohim will protect His Israel, from His wrath.  Elohim, is about to pour out His wrath upon all those who have rejected His Messiah Yeshua and do not keep His commandments. Who is Israel? Those who believe upon the nome of Yeshua haMashiach are Abraham's seed. 

 When you look at the coming Blood Moons that are to appear over Israel during Pesach (Passover), in 2014 and then again during Sukkot (Feast of  Tabernacles), that same year, it should be getting your attention. Add to that the total eclipse of the sun on the Hebrew New Year, Adar 29/Nisan 1, followed by two more Blood Moons, also falling during Pesach and Sukkot the following year, it should be clear that Elohim is working within His appointed feasts to give us ample warning. In Genesis 1:14, Elohim gave us a clue, as what to be watching for from the beginning.

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years."

It is easy to understand that the lights in the heavens are needed for understanding night and day and for seasons and years, but the Almighty also says they are for signs. These signs are very important to us, or the Almighty would not have mentioned it back there at the beginning of creation. Let's examine some of these signs mentioned in Scripture concerning the Day of the Lord.

 Isaiah 13:9 & 10;

Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger. To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going  forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Joel 2:10 & 11;

The earth quakes before them , the heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, the stars diminish their brightness. The LORD gives His voice before His army, for His camp is very great;  For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?

Joel 2: 30 & 31;

"And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD."

Amos 8:9;

"And it shall come to pass in that day," says the LORD GOD, "That I will make the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight."

Matthew 24:29;

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

Luke 21:11;

"And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven."

Luke 21:25;

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring."

Revelation 6:12;

"I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood."

These times are upon us. They are even at the door. I pray that we would take this warning to heart and do as Yeshua told us to do. Be watching and praying always, that we may be found worthy,  to escape the destruction that is about to come upon the whole earth. Many will scoff at this and will find themselves going through the most troublesome time that was ever to come upon the face of this earth. Nazi Germany, the starvations in the Ukraine in the first part of the last century , and the dispersion of the Jews in the first and second centuries, will be child's play compared to what is coming soon. Once the door is shut, it is shut for good. Do you have enough oil in your lamps? There will be an Exodus of the believers, but it will not be a pre-tribulation rapture. In case you haven't noticed, the Blood Moons and the darkened sun are coming within the next two years. Make yourself ready. Turn from the traditions of  men and the doctrines of devils and obey Elohim.

This could quite possibly be our final warning. I pray that many would awaken out of their slumber. When this time comes, remember Lot's wife. Don't look back. Don't be concerned with your cats, dogs, family, or anything else you may put a value upon. Escape for your life and do not turn around to look back.

Shalom Ahlaychem,

Barry W. Gaugler

The Heart of King David Revealed in Psalm 119

King David has always been one of my favorite characters in the Tanakh [Old Testament]. King David had a heart for the Almighty, and was even called "a man after Elohim's own heart." It is my prayer that the Ruach Ha Kodesh [The Holy Spirit] would use  this expose' on Psalm 119,  to open your eyes, to the kind of man David was, and what his attitude was when it came to approaching the Almighty. I believe it is a model for what our heavenly Father desires for us to be in His sight. I will be using the King James version for this expose' simply because of its poetic nature. I have always thought that the Psalms sounded their best from this version. I will not touch on every verse, as I believe the Ruach is only wanting to present David's character. What exactly was it about David that made him a man after our heavenly Father's own heart? I believe it was a combination of many things that included his heart attitude toward Elohim, his humility, his fear and his trust. I will attempt to glean some of these characteristics from the passages of Psalm 119 that are attributed to him.

Verse one starts with David writing these words, " Blessed [are] the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD."  David knew that there was a blessing to all who walked undefiled in the law of the Adonai. Yah's law, to David was more than strict regulations and ridged burdensome commandments. David understood that Yah's laws were for his own good, and were given by a loving Father, who had his best interest in mind. David explains his understanding in verse 2, where he declares, "Blessed [are] they that keep his testimonies, [and that] seek him with the whole heart."  David understood that keeping the testimonies of the Almighty was something, that originated in the heart. He sought after the Father in heaven with his whole heart. David acknowledges in verse 5 that there is a power greater than him ordering his steps when he says,

"O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes. In verse 10 & 11, David reminds God, "With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."

I find it interesting, that starting in verse 12, David starts a sequence of making some profound statements that really show us his heart for the Almighty.

"Blessed [art] thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes"  David is asking Yah to teach him. He is not seeking man to teach him, He is asking Yah to teach him His statutes, for he knows Yah is able to teach him. All too often, we seek men to teach us our Father's ways, and what we end up with, is a head full of the teachings of men, and nothing from our Father in heaven. Then in verse 17,  David says, "Deal bountifully with thy servant, [that] I may live, and keep thy word."  Did you catch that? Deal bountifully with thy servant. David is saying, test me. He is asking Elohim to deal with him, to try his heart. He is asking much more than just learning the ways of the Father, and having them in his mind. He is asking Elohim to deal with him, in such a way, that his life would prove the things he learned were applied to his life, and not just knowledge in his mind. Then in verse 18, David says, "Open thou my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." David is pleading that Father would open his eyes. He wants nothing of Yah to be hidden from his sight. He is hungry for Yah to reveal the benefits of keeping his commandments. In verse 25, David says, "My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken me according to thy word." David knows that his life will end one day, but he knows that his soul will be quickened by the word, which he has hidden in his heart. Again in verse 26, he says, "teach me thy statutes."

David says something a little different in verse 27. He says, "Make me to understand the way of thy precepts." Here, he is acknowledging that understanding comes from the Father. He is not saying, help me to understand. He is saying, make me to understand. The pattern of requests that David follows in several of the following verses, reveals volumes about the character of David:

vs. 28: "Strengthen thou me according unto thy word."

vs. 29: "Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously."

vs.31: "O LORD, put me not to shame."

vs.33: "Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes."

vs.34: "Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law."

vs.35: "Make me to go in the path of thy commandments."

vs.36: "Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness."

vs.37: "Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity;  quicken thou me in thy way. "

vs.38: "Stablish thy word unto thy servant."

vs.39: "Turn away my reproach which I fear."

vs.40: "Quicken me in thy righteousness."

When I compare these few verses with what David wrote in Psalm 143, there is a distinct pattern that emerges. Reading in Psalm 143:8 - 11 it says;

"Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble."

Do you notice anything common about all of these verses? In every case, David is depending upon the heavenly Father to perform everything. David does not seem to consider himself able to perform anything apart from Him. I find it strange, that not one time does David say, help me, as if he was able to accomplish anything on his own. He was constantly asking Elohim to perform the work in him. That is a true understanding of Grace. It is our heavenly Father working in us, both to will, and to do His will. I pray we can all come to this understanding.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

Shalom Ahlaychem,

Barry W. Gaugler