Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

What happens in the hereafter?

There is a great deal of confusion regarding the reason for mankind’s creation (or being) and most people have a natural affinity to try and determine what happens to us when we die, or more specifically what is our ultimate destiny? The main reason why most believers have a problem understanding this important question, is because those of us from the lost ten tribes of the house of Israel as part of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have been deceived about it by Esau under the guise of Christianity, to keep the bride consisting of the house of Israel, together with the house of Judah (known as the commonwealth of Israel) away from the bridegroom for the past 2000 years. In addition YHVH placed in each of the children of Israel a nephesh or enquiring mind that was once connected to Him at Mount Sinai and would dearly like to know why we were placed on earth.

Instead of teaching believers the true gospel about the coming kingdom of Elohim as Yahshua taught His disciples (and also us His modern day disciples) to pray ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’, Christianity taught their followers that as the reward of ‘the saved’ they go to heaven when they die. To be able to understand more about the way we form the lost ten tribes of Israel have been deceived by Esau, we will try to address most of the Scriptures they use to justify this false premise of theirs and most other man-made religions. To begin with they cite Messiah’s words to one of the two criminals who were hanged withHim on the Mount of Olives. Whereas the first criminal hurled abuse at Messiah in Luke 23: 39 saying: “Are You not the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!” The second rebuked him in verse 40 - 42 saying: “Do you not even fear Elohim, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?(41) And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” (42) And he was saying, “Yahshua, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” Yahshua answered in verse 43, saying: “Truly I say to you today, you shall be with Me is Paradise.” Because the Greek language, into which Luke translated the book of Luke, has no punctuation this is one of the most miss-understood sentences in the Renewed covenant. Yahshua definitely did not tell this criminal that he was going to be in paradise later that very day, when Messiah died, but that he will one day be resurrected when Messiah comes to rule the world in what is yet to be future and will then be in paradise with Him. We know that Messiah’s kingdom did not start the moment He died, but will only be established when He comes again one day. That is when Elohim will transform the earth into paradise as it used to be in Adam and Eve’s time.The second reason for not understanding this, is because most ‘believers’ do not read the Tanach or so-called ‘Old Testament’ any longer and are therefore not familiar with Isaiah’s prophecy about Messiah in Isaiah 11, when He returns to establish the kingdom of Elohim on earth and transform it into paradise, as witnessed in verses 1 – 10, as follows: “Then a shoot will spring forth from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit. (2) And the Spirit of YHVH will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of YHVH. (3) And He will delight in the fear of YHVH, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear; (4) but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked (from Rome).(5) Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, and faithfulness the belt about His waist. (6) And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. (7) Also the cow and the bear will graze; their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox. (8) And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. (9) They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of YHVH as the waters cover the sea. (10)Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious.”

Instead of believing 2000 years of deception perpetrated by Satan, these agents of Satan continue to contradict what Yahshua taught in John 3: 13, saying: “And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man.”Do you believe Yahshua the Word of Elohim, who became flesh, or your minister who taught you that your soul goes to heaven at death? Yahshua warned believers about this very thing in John 5: 43 & 44, saying: “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name, you will receive him. (44) How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only Elohim? Both father Abraham and King David, whom Elohim called “a man after My heart, who will do all My will’ are still in their graves awaiting to inherit the Promised Land eternally. We read   about Abraham in the faith chapter in Hebrews 11: 8 – 10, as follows: ‘By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. (9) By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; (10) for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is Elohim.’ Verses 39 & 40 of Hebrews 11 confirm that our fathers in the faith are still waiting to inherit what Elohim promised them, in this way: ‘And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, (40) because Elohim had providedsomething better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.’ The last part of Hebrew 11: 35 reveals what is meant by the ‘something better for us’, as follows: ‘in order that they might obtain a better resurrection.’The first resurrection will be the better resurrection as witnessed in Revelation 20: 6, in this way: ‘Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of Elohim and of Messiah and will reign with Him for a thousand years.’ For those who believe that they will reign with Messiah in heaven, we read aptly from Revelation 5: 10, as follows: “And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our Elohim; and they will reign upon the earth.”  Even though David is also mentioned in Hebrews 11 as one of those who will be in the first resurrection, Rav Kepha confirms that he is still in his grave in Acts 2: 29, 34 & 35, saying: “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. (34) For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘YHVH SAID TO MY MASTER, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, (35) UNTIL I MAKE THINE ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR THY FEET.”’” The question is: Do you believe in the resurrection of the dead? If you do, then why do you want to go to heaven if Yahshua is coming back to resurrect the dead?

Yahshua’s parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16: 19 – 31 is another of the most outstanding texts used by Churchianity to try and prove that those who believe what they teach will be to spend eternity in heaven and those who don’t will go there to an eternal hell fire. But, by carefully studying this portion of the Scriptures, we understand the lesson Yahshua was aiming to teach using this parable. To commence with we need to understand that whilst Yahshua was alive in the Promised Land, the people who lived with Him, were mostly from the house of Judah.  Those from the house of Israel were taken captive by the Assyrians during 721 – 718 BCE and taken north-west over the Caucus mountain range into what is today known as Europe. The proverb about Lazarus has nothing to do with what Churchianity came to believe about this parable. It has to be viewed from a spiritual point of view. However, both Lazarus and the rich man mentioned in the parable are Jews. The rich man had a great deal of spiritual truths available to Him and was pictured as being very wealthy. Lazarus on the other hand was poor in spirit (or knowledge of the truth) and was spending time alongside the rich man’s property, to try and get even the crumbs of the knowledge he served up at his table, which he kept to himself and did not share with someone who dearly wanted to have some truth. We see from Luke 16: 22 that Lazarus, the poor but nevertheless righteous beggar died. Later he was carried to ‘Abraham’s bosom’. According to last part of Isaiah 61: 1, Yahshua’s first advent was “To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners.” This section of the Scriptures had to do but still have with those of us from the lost sheep of the house of Israel whom Yahshua came specifically to bring back into the covenant relationship we made with Elohim, together with the house of Judah at Mount Sinai. We know according to Galatians 3: 29, that If we return to the covenant through Yahshua, the ‘one seed’ of Abraham (Galatians 3: 7), we are again considered as heirs with Abraham to receive the promises Elohim made to him and his descendants. We are accordingly like all Torah observant Jews in an intimate (or bosom) relationship with Abraham, spiritually speaking. We are to be in close contact with him in sharing faith in the promises to become Spiritual born again children of Elohim, at Messiah’s return. This is the way in which righteous Lazarus was taken to “Abraham’s bosom”. But, when will Lazarus and Abraham receive the fulfillment of the promises that YHVH made to Abraham. Lazarus will be in the first better resurrection with Abraham and others who qualified for it (asper Hebrews 11: 35), but did not receive it yet, as they are waiting for those of us who will also be in the first resurrection, since they will not be made perfect without us as witnessed in Hebrews 11; 39 & 40 (quoted earlier). But, what will happen to the sinful rich man?

We see from Luke 16: 22 that the rich man also died. Next we see him lifting up his eyes, showing that he has been resurrected and calling to Abraham for a few drops of water on his tongue. He is in mental agony since he realizes that he was resurrected as one who knew Torah, but is doomed to burn to death, because whilst living in luxury, he did not share his spiritual and other wealth with his poorer brethren. The rich man is pictured at the very moment of his coming up out of his grave in the second resurrection. Abraham and Lazarus will have already inherited eternal life in the Kingdom of Elohim, as witnessed in Matthew 25: 34, in this way: “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” They will have been immortal for over a thousand years before the rich man is resurrected to be burned in the lake of fire, as witnessed in Revelation 20: 4 – 5 and 15, as follows: ‘And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Yahshua and because of the word of Elohim, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years. (5) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. (15) And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.’ Until then, the rich man will have been dead in his grave for many years, having no consciousness of the passing of time, as recorded in Ecclesiastes 9: 5, in this way: ‘For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.’ At his resurrection, the rich man will see the flames of the lake of fire beginning to surround him. He knows these flames will destroy him forever. Being in great mental agony, he asks for just a little water to cool his tongue which has become dry from his mental anguish, but knows his request would be denied.

The parable of Lazarus and the rich man shows undeniably that all those in a covenant relationship with Elohim, have to obey the Torah and the Prophets. The great “chasm” between the two resurrections will be the difference between mortality and immortality. Many of the condemned, like the rich man who had all the knowledge available to make it into the kingdom, but did not share it with others and instead let it die with him, wanted to at least warn his relatives, not realizing that more than a thousand years have passed since they died and that all other people will already have had their chance to receive salvation. We read Abraham’s answer to the rich man in Luke 16: 25 – 26, as follows: But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. (26) And besides all this, between us and you is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’But for those who think the rich man was evil because he did not want to share his earthly goods with Lazarus, we see from therest of the discussion between him and Abraham in Luke 16: 27 – 31 that he like Lazarus was a Jew, in this way: “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father’s house - (28)for I have five brothers – that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ (29)But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ (30)But he said, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ (31)But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”The underlined words tell us thisparable does not have anything to do with Churchianity and does not prove eternal life in a hell fire, but Yahshua was teaching His mainly Jewish audience about the two resurrections from the dead for the righteous and the wicked, the one to eternal life and the other to the lake of fire. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man also shows undeniably that all those in a covenant relationship with Elohimhave to obey the Torah and the Prophets and that it is accordingly also applicable to us from the lost sheep of the house of Israel, who returned to the covenant we made with YHVH at Mount Sinai, through Yahshua, if we finally want to qualify to be in the kingdom of Elohim. YHVH created mankind from physical matter, to develop His set-apart, righteous character in them over time and to make them eligible to receive the gift of eternal life as children of Elohim. He created us from the dust of the ground, subject to death, so that if we fail to develop righteous character we could be released from our misery by death.YHVH has no desire to torment or torture anyone, He is love and will condemn no one because of ignorance, but will ensure that every single human being will ultimately have the opportunity to learn the truth and have a real chance for salvation. If YHVH granted eternal life to those who persistently rebel and fail to develop righteous character, they would simply bring misery on themselves as well as others for all eternity, like Satan did.

Even though our fathers in the faith and others did not receive what was promised them and their descendants yet, this is exactly what will happen in the near future, as Ezekiel prophesied to the mountains in Israel, saying in Ezekiel 36: 1 – 11: “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of YHVH. (2) ‘Thus says YHVH Elohim, “Because the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The everlasting heights have become our possession,’ (3) therefore, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says YHVH Elohim, “For good cause they have made you desolate and crushed you from every side, that you should become a possession of the rest of the nations, and you have been taken up in the talk and the whispering of the people.”’” (4) ‘Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of YHVH Elohim. Thus says YHVH Elohim to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the forsaken cities, which have become a prey and a derision to the rest of the nations which are round about, (5) therefore, thus says YHVH Elohim, “Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for a prey.” (6) ‘Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says YHVH Elohim, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have endured the insults of the nations.’ (7) “Therefore, thus says YHVH Elohim, ‘I have sworn that surely the nations which are around you will themselves endure their insults. (8) But you, O mountains of Israel, you will put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come.  (9) For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be cultivated and sown. (10) And I will multiply men on you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities will be inhabited, and the waste places will be rebuilt. (11) And I will multiply on you man and beast; and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were formerly and will treat you better than at the first. Thus you will know that I am YHVH.’

However, there is still one burning question that those who believe in going to heaven would like to have answered. Reading from 2 Kings 2: 8 – 11, we are given the following information about Elijah: ‘And Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. (9) Now it came about when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” (10)  And he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” (11) Then it came about as they were going along and talking, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.’ For many centuries people have been taught that Elijah was taken from this planet to the realm where Elohim lives and from which He rules, even though the Scriptures clearly states that no one except Messiah has ascended into heaven where Elohim’s throne is located, as we read previously from John 3: 13. The above Scripture clearly show that Elijah was taken up into heaven. However, I would like to point out that there are three heavens mentioned in The Scriptures. The first is the atmosphere surrounding earth to a depth of about forty miles, in the lower part of which birds fly and we read about it in Genesis 1: 20: ‘Then Elohim said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”’  The second heaven is the space of the whole universe, the starry expanse that is billions and billions of miles across, spoken about in Genesis 1: 14 – 16, as follows: ‘Then Elohim said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years; (15) and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth; and it was so. (16) And Elohim made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.’ A second witness to this is given in Ezekiel 32: 8: ‘All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you and will set darkness on your land, declares YHVH Elohim.’  The third heaven is the unseen place or throne from which Elohim controls the whole universe, as we read from Isaiah 66: 1 as follows: ‘Thus says YHVH, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest?’ We read further about it from 2nd Corinthians 12: 2, as follows: ‘I know a man in Messiah who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, Elohim knows – such a man was caught up to the third heaven.’ Deuteronomy 10: 14 and Psalm 148: 4 refers to it as ‘the highest heaven’; and Ephesians 4: 10 refers to it, as ‘above all the heavens’.

The first heaven, or atmosphere, is the one into which Elijah was taken. We live and move in that heaven, inasmuch as we need air to keep us alive. Elijah was taken up to a high altitude, but still remained in the first heaven. Elijah was taken from his previous domain in Israel, but he did not die at that time. He was taken to a different environment some distance away where he was not known, to peacefully live out the rest of his life there. Even so, Elijah kept in touch with the events happening both in Israel and Judah. A full four years after his disappearance, when Jehoram, an evil man was king of Judah, Elijah wrote to Jehoram, warning him that he would soon become diseased and die because of the terrible things he had done, as we read from 2 Chronicles 21: 12,‘Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, “Thus says YHVH Elohim of your father David, “Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of Asa king of Judah.’ Some Bible commentaries try to hide this fact, by writing that Elijah must have written this letter before he went to ‘heaven’. How long did Elijah live after sending this letter is not recorded in the Scriptures, but we will be able to ask him, when he is resurrected at Yahshua’s return one day. That is when all of those who qualified will be resurrected and be taken into the first heaven or the clouds, to meet Yahshua coming down from the third heaven to rule the earth for the next thousand years. Another example of a person being snatched away by the Set-apart Spirit is found in Acts 8, after Philip immersed the eunuch in verses 38 – 40, as follows: ’And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he immersed him. (39) And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Master snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. (40) But Philip found himself at Azotus; and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all cities, until he came to Ceasarea.’

 

However, our Jewish brothers who like us believe in the resurrection of the dead and Messiah’s coming to bring back the lost sheep of the house of Israel, as well as to rule the kingdom of Elohim in the foreseeable future, have another take on what happened to Elijah. They hold that Elijah indeed went up to heaven in a burning chariot of fire, but that his body burnt up in the chariot and his life (soul) died on the way to the third heaven, whilst his spirit which combined with the Set-apart Spirit given him because of obedience will remain, until he will be in the first resurrection with our fathers in the faith. This makes complete sense, since it also proves that those of Elohim’s chosen people who remained Torah observant and were burnt to ashes during the second world war by the Nazis, will be in the resurrection of the righteous one day. This also brings to mind the bobba maaseh or old wives tale that we and most Jews believe, regarding the ‘luz bone’ which is the essence of YHVH in a believer. By eating three times from the meal prepared for the Sabbath shows that we respect the entire Sabbath period – 24 hours of it and not start ournormal activities before it is totally over. The luz bone may even be destroyed, but the essence of Elohim in us cannot.When Yahshua returns one day He will establish the Kingdom of Elohim, with its headquarters in Jerusalem. Beginning with a remnant of the descendants of Jacob, He will bring them back to use them as a model nation and example for the rest of those who remain alive after the Great Tribulation and the Day of YHVH, as we read from verse 12 of Ezekiel 36, in this way:  ‘Yes, I will cause men—My people Israel—to walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their inheritance and never again bereave them of children.’ He will use them to show those who survive the great tribulation and the Day of YHVH, how to live a life of peace and prosperity, serving Elohim according to His ways.

 

But, we see further from verses 17 – 28 that YHVH will first have to clean up His people before allowing them to return to the mountains of Israel, as follows: “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. (18) Therefore, I poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. (19) Also I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the lands. According to their ways and their deeds I judged them.(20) When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of YHVH; yet they have come out of His land.’  (21) But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went. (22) Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says YHVH Elohim, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. (23) And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am YHVH," declares YHVH Elohim, “When I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. (24) For I will take you from the nations, gather you from the lands, and bring you into your own land. (25) Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean: I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. (26) Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (27)  And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.  (28) And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people and I will be your Elohim.”  YHVH is presently calling a remnant from the lost ten tribes out of the religions of the world, to become first fruits with their Jewish Brothers when Messiah comes to establish Elohim’s kingdom on earth. He is presently busy preparing first fruit believers, by cleaning them up from the filth that they believed in the past, as well as the unclean foods that they ate whilst in the so-called Babylon of confusion, where they pretended to serve G-d, but did not obey His teachings given in the Tanach and especially the Torah.

 

But we need to realize that YHVH is not going to come back to the world and society in its present condition. The prophet Amos gives us a prophesy which modern society does not want to hear in Amos 9: 9 - 15, saying:  ‘“For behold, I am commanding, and I will shake the house of Israel among the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, but not a kernel will fall to the ground. (10) All the sinners of My people will die by the sword, those who say, ‘The calamity will not overtake or confront us.’ (11) In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old;  (12) That they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by My name,” declares YHVH who does this. (13) “Behold days are coming,” declares YHVH, “When the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; when the mountains will drip sweet wine, and all the hills will be dissolved. (14) Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them, they will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit.  (15) I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them, says YHVH your Elohim’The prophet Ezekiel confirmed the restoration of a remnant of the lost ten tribes to the Promised Land in Ezekiel 36: 33 – 35, saying: ‘Thus says YHVH Elohim, “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places will be rebuilt. (34) And the desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passed by. (35) And they will say, ‘This desolate land has become like the Garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate, and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ The prophet Zechariah tells us that at that time people will again be joyous and happy when YHVH will bring us back from our exile in Zechariah 8: 4 – 8, saying: “Thus says YHVH of hosts, ‘Old men and old woman will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. (5) And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets. (6) Thus says YHVH of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares YHVH of hosts. (7) Thus says YHVH of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west;  (8) and I will bring them back, and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem, and they will be My people and I will be their Elohim in truth and righteousness.’

 

This will all happen when Messiah returns one day in the near future on Yom Teruah after He  has been crowned King of kings and Master of masters. Yahshua went to heaven to be crowned by the Father, but one of the reasons for His return to earth is to bring rewards of rulership to His resurrected saints. We see from Luke 19: 16 – 19 how Yahshua will reward those who used their talents and abilities,with which Elohim has blessed them, saying: “And the first (servant) appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ (17) And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities.’ (18) And the second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ (19) And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Resurrected believers will become a royal priesthood, but will also judge among the people during the millennium, as recorded in verse 4 of Revelation 20, as follows: ‘And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Yahshua and because of the word of Elohim, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years.’  Let’s thank our heavenly Father for giving us these clear visions of what He is planning for us on earth in His word. Halleluyah!