"Awake, sword, against My Shepherd
and against the Man who is My companion -
it is Yahweh Sebaoth who speaks.
I am going to strike the Shepherd
so that the sheep may be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the weak.
And it will happen throughout the territory -
it is Yahweh who speaks -
that two-thirds will be cut off (will be killed)
and the remaining third will be left.
I will lead that third into the fire,
and refine them as silver is refined,
test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon My Name
and I shall listen;
and I shall say: 'These are My people';
and each will say, 'Yahweh is my Elohim (God)'"
(Zechariah 13:7-9, JB).

Shabbat shalom and welcome back to this second Sabbath assembly. In this important messianic prophecy that we have just read, which is about the first coming of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), "the Shepherd", and the verses immediately after it (Zech.14:1-21), we are given precise information about the nature of judgment and how it affects Yahweh's people who are very much caught up in the events of the time and in the process are refined and purified. Though the judgment is against the wicked, judgment inevitably impacts the righteous too, and it is allowed to do so because the righteous must profit from what would seem to otherwise be an exclusively negative, if not catastrophic, situation: they are transformed by the tribulation they share with the wicked while the wicked are annihilated by it.

This is one of the reasons I have been sharing this 18-part series on Transformation these last four months and why I am called to insert an extra prophetic message today before we conclude the last part next week. For though severe chastisement and destruction must befall the wicked who refuse to repent save in name - and I am speaking specifically of the disobedient and rebellions amongst those who claim to be Yahweh's people but who are not - this does not mean that the righteous part or Remnant - those who are justified by their faith, those who are the saved - are spotless and not in need of correction too. That is why this prophecy says that the Remnant of the saved must also pass through the "fire" and be "tested" and "refined" as silver and gold are extracted from their respective ores.

Who of the Remnant is in need of such refinement? The answer is all - everyone - though this does not mean that all will experience the tribulation in exactly the same way. Today I am not going to elaborate on what this tribulation will consist of because we all know basically what it consists of as we are passing through the opening stages already, and have been now for a year or two. What I want to do in this second sabbath assembly today is to share a vision Yahweh gave me four days ago, on 17 October. But befrore I do that let me make a few clarifying remarks about the passage in Zechariah I just read out to you because it does contain some important truths that need to be understood.

The passage speaks of the "Shepherd", the Messiah Yah'shua (Jesus), being struck, as indeed the Saviour was when He was crucfied 2,000 years ago. At the time this appeared to the first talmidim (disciples) to be a monumental disaster, a catastrophe destroying all their hopes. The problem was that they had been taught falsely by their religious leaders that the Messiah would be a conquering hero like King David, a political liberator from Roman oppression. And though indeed many messianic scriptures did indeed speak of a triumphant Messiah coming to free them from all kinds of oppression, they did not know that He would be coming twice, and on each occasion to perform a different task. The first task was one of atonement (the work of the cross) and the second more along the lines of what they had been expecting.

We are experiencing an exact parallel situation in the Penultimate Judgment right now. Believers are more-or-less divided into two camps, at least in the Evangelical and Messianic communites:

• 1. Those who are waiting to be whisked away in a mythical rapture before the Great Tribulation; and
• 2. Those who think the Great Tribulation has already begun, or which is about to, and are expecting the Second Coming any day now.

Just as the Judahites of the first century AD were in error concerning the prophetic events of Yah'shua's (Jesus') first coming, so believers in the 2020's are in error concerning the prophetic now. There are other views around too, to be sure, as there were then, including those who believe there are several raptures (up to three), those (amazingly) who believe the Millennium has already come (some of the Preterists and Amillennialists) and those who think Yah'shua (Jesus) returned invisibly in 1914 (the Jehovah's Witnesses). Whatever false views may be held by segments of the Body of Christ, these have to be shattered in the same way that the false views concerning the coming of the Messiah had to be shattered in the first century. Passing through Tribulation is one of the many ways that Yahweh cleanses mind, heart and spirit of false things, especially when believers refuse to yield to the truth but would rather cling on to their man-made traditions. Tribulation for these is not specifically to punish but to cleanse and purify. It's to enable them to see clearly again and get back on the Derech (Way). Remember, remember, that everything Yahweh ultimately does is not punitive (even if punishment most certainly a part of the equation for the wicked) but redemptive. So whenever you read prophetic literature like the Book of Zecharian you must bear these things in mind.

You need not, therefore, suppose that when Yahweh says through Zechariah that Yahweh turns His hand "against the weak" that is the action of someone being mean or even tyrannical. This isn't Elohim (God) stomping His feet on the heads of the helpless because that is how the unsanctified mind will read this passage and become resentful and indignant. That is certainly how Satan wants you to read this passage! Remember, remember, that everying that Yahweh does, or permits Satan to do, is ultimately redemptive in purpose and is rooted in love even if things may not make much sense at first.

Let me explain. To begin with, let's understand what the Hebrew word tsa'ar means which is what the Jerusalem Bible, which I quoted from, translates as "the weak". Your New King James Version (NKJV) renders it "little ones" as do most other English versions. That is because tsa'ar can either mean a 'little' or 'small one' but it can also mean 'one who is brought low', in other words, rendered helpless or weak, or humbled, by circumstances like sickness or oppression, for example. That is why I suspect Yahweh led me to the Jerusalem Bible. What does this passage mean? That Yahweh is going to, either, crush the weak and helpless believers, or, that He will refine those who have been lowered to a place of surrender and submission through difficulties so that He can speak and minister to them directly? This is where knowing the character of Elohim (God) becomes vitally important so that He is not misjudged and falsely accused. This is why we have talked much about Yahweh's character in this series.

So what does it means when He 'turns His hand against' these weak ones? Again, you have to be so careful when dealing with English translations and you must dig deep into the meaning of original words for accuracy's sake. The Hebrew verb here is 'shoob' and literally means to bring someone back to their starting point but only the context can tell you exactly what that means. It can even mean to 'circumcise' and even to 'rejoice', again, depending on context. That is why the understanding of Scripture is never to be by private interpretation but must always be by the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) which will convery to the reader the consistent character of our Creator (2 Pet.1:20). And our Creator is "love" (1 Jn.4:8,16) and not the monster atheists, who do not have the Ruach (Spirit), portray Him as being because they do not know Him.

Now I am not saying that the brutal realities of life in this fallen world can sometimes stretch our faith to the limit because they can, and do. My faith has been stretched many, many times. But what we have to do is decide what kind of a Person Yahweh our Heavenly Father is. If He is love, and you have experienced it (which you absolutely will do when you are born again), then you will know He is not a monster doing horrible things to people, and you will understand the two other important parts of the equation of mortality:

• 1. That heaven and hell intersect this world because it is fallen and we are served a mixture in life; and
• 2. Man has (frighteningly it sometimes seems) free will to choose good or evil, even as he wishes, even though this choosing can, and does, lead to frightful things in society - agency is a frightening gift because it implies accountability and responsibility which fatalists (like Calvinists and Moslems) refuse to accept.

Many people lose their faith over such issues but know this: this passage in Zechariah is not about Yahweh crushing helpless innocents but is referring to His covenant people who have made a choice for Him and in so doing have given Him permission to do to them whatsoever He wants in order to bring them to their senses when needs be, whenever they fall, in order to purify and refine them so that they can become the sons and daughters of Heaven as we as true believers claim we want to be. That is why everybody passes through tribulation, whether individually or collectively as societies and nations. The latter is such a time today which is why you need to be fully equipped for what's coming so that you do not lose heart or question your faith (Lk.18:1; 2 Cor.4:1,16; Gal.6:9; Eph.3:13).

So what kind of a believer does Yahweh want us to be? I think a good illustration of this would be the heart of King David who, though he was a sinner and committed two dreadful sins (adultery and murder), denying Yahweh just as the apostle Peter would do as we saw earlier in today's first message, he repented immediately and learnd some important lessons. But most importantly of all, He was spiritually transformed by the lesson he had learned. So I'm going to read Psalm 131 to you, jerusalem Bible again, so that you can catch a glimpse into the heart of a man willing to be disciplined by fire:

"Yahweh, my heart has no lofty ambitions,
my eyes do not look too high.
I am not concerned with great affairs
or marvels beyond my scope.
Enough for me to keep my soul tranquil and quiet
like a child in its mother's arms,
as content as a child that has been weaned.


"Israel, rely on Yahweh,
now and for always!" (Ps.131:1-3, JB).

Do you think you can all do that? Are you willing to? And are you willing to let Yahweh show you what obstacles there are in your thinking and feeling life that may be preventing you from communing with your Father in Heaven and receiving the love and assurance you need? Do you understand that He loves you and that as a concerned Parent He will discipline you in order to bring you to your senses, to spiritual maturity, and to the the place inside where you can enjoy the tranquility and quietness that David speaks of? There are always many ways the soul can choose to go but for the love of mercy, please choose the one He has ordained for you and don't stubbornly insist on the ones Satan may have whispered lies to your heart, stoking up bitterness, resentment and hatred, out of a desire to see you suffer unnecessarily, and even to destroy you. Yahweh's ways are not ours (Is.55:8) and that is because He is Elohim (God) and you and I are not. No amount of accumulated knowledge will save you - it may help somewhat but in the end it does all boil down to trusting - to faith. Read about those faithful ones in the Scriptures who lived by their faith and who were made right with Elohim (God) because of their faith.

I guess that simply leaves me with the vision I haven't shared with you yet as we translate the general into the specific. Things are moving really fast in the world and still believers are ignoring the words of the nevi'im (prophets) because they continue trusting in false doctrines like the rapture to whisk them away from responsibility and tribulation or because they think that Yah'shua (Jesus) will be along in a few months and 'take care of everything'. Please don't make either mistake. Actually there are two visions I feel able to share with you, so I'll share the most recent first. This occurred the day after the main one I announced at the beginning which I'll share afterwards.

In this second vision was shown a sea of fire much like the many dozens of similar visions Yahweh has been sharing with me over recent years. Hopefully you are in no doubt that the world is being bathed in fire now what with pandemics, lockdowns, totalitarianism and economic uncertainty. But in this vision I saw, in rows of maybe 5 or 6, many sharp white spikes poking out of the fire, rather like the teeth of a comb. What this means is that there are going to be some rather unpleasant events that will be 'sharp' and possibly even wound a great many. This could mean financial deprivation, more 'panedemics' and lockdowns (perhaps even a 'new' and more deadly virus like Marburg/Ebola), I don't know which, because I wasn't shown. Suffice to say, don't get complacent but stay alert and prepared. Don't imagine we're going back to the way things were before the 'pandemic'. There is more testing to come for our own good, need I remind you.

But now to the main vision the day before, one which I feel is very important which I have hesitated to share until now. This is actually good news even if in the short term it may appear otherwise. But then these are abnormal times and we have got to remember that. I found myself, in the vision, inside the confines of what would best be described as a small fort. I was facing one of the battlements from the inside where the main gate or keep was located that was rounded at the top. I could see the green pasture beyond through the gate even though I was higher up in, I suppose, a watchtower. One thing I am certain of is that what lies beyond is the Outer Court of the 'Temple' which, as I have been preaching for some time now, has been invaded by the Enemy (Rev.11:2). That is why I have been urging you to get into the Tabernacle or Temple itself by throwing yourself into Yah'shua's (Jesus') arms for real and not simply intentionally...to be done at a future, 'more convenient' date while you 'do' whatever it is you think you can 'do' without Him. I then saw a 'door' descend from above, like a thick shutter, descending to close the gate. It seemed to be made of wooden slats. The moment the door hit the ground, it began to dissolve and beyind it I could see bricks being laid, at great speed, with invisible hands to block up the entrance entirely. It was all over in a few seconds so that where the 'gate' had been had now merged entirely with the wall and battlement. There was now no door or gate in or out of the fort, at least not for now.

There is absolutely no doubt what this vision means. It does not mean, just to get one possible misinterpretation out of the way, that you should barricade yourself in your home. The meaning is primarily spiritual. What it means is that now, without delay, you need to commit yourself to a life fully in Christ as a cohen or priest inside the temple of your heart. To meet what's coming requires 100 per cent commitment because you don't want to be outside in the 'Courtyard' whenever what's coming comes. Neither should you panic because none of us knows the future, or very little about it at any rate. What we can know, and do, is to ensure - through making a covenant with Yahweh, as we do each Shavu'ot (Weeks, Ekatost, 'Pentecost'), to be true, faithful and obedient to His Son, Yah'shua (Jesus).

It means dusting off neglected Bibles, it means having a real, earnest prayer life and not just stumbling through life aimlessly, and it means resuming seeking the Face of Yahweh with determination. This is between you and Yahweh - it's what we should all be doing already but because of carelessness or rebellion we have made compromises with the world. I want you secure in Him, to make an end to experimentation, and to simply trust Him at His Word in Scripture. I don't expect you to do this in response to anything I have said here but rather to seek Him privately and get right. He's waiting to reveal Himself to you as He really is, not as the world or false Christian/Messianic tradition imagines Him to be, to disperse the dark clouds of doubt, and to make you aware of the most important thing of all: His love for you.

Until next week, Yahweh bless you all! Amen.