Traditionally the last Sabbath before Yom haKippurim - which literally means 'Day of Atonements' but which most commonly abbreviate to 'Yom Kippur', the Day of Judgment in the prophetic calendar which begins at sunset tomorrow evening and lasts 24 hours over two calendar days - is known as SHABBAT SHUVAH or the Sabbath of Return. We are at the end of the Teshuvah or Repentance Season, and specifically the last 10 Days of Repentance between Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets/Shouting) and Yom haKippurim. Note the number 10 and its correspondence to the Ten Commandments. What makes today especially significant is that it is the last 'Sabbath of Return' or Shabbat Shuvah of this decade-long Penultimate Judgment that we have been talking about for so long.

Therefore with this special occasion in mind, may I invoke Yahweh's blessing on this assembly and upon all of those listening to me from around the world, by saying Shabbat Shuvah Shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah - may this final Sabbath of Return of the decade of Penultimate Judgment, which marks the near end of a long period of repentance for all Messianic Israelites, be a memorable one. This will be my last word to you before Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles that will conclude this year's cycle of sacred moedim or appointments on which our Heavenly Father has commanded us to assemble as a nation, albeit still in dispersion around the world, as we patiently await the Secong Coming. And though this is not the year of the Second Coming, it is a very, very important year nonetheless, especially for me and my generation, because this is the closest we are ever going to get to that wonderful day. Nevertheless it is also very important for you of the Last Generation who must soon start making tentative steps towards the literal Final Gathering. We are additionally 10 years into the Final Exodus so there is a lot to be done in only three decades. This, then, is the 'Year of Ten'.

I have been waiting for Yom haKippurim, which begins tomorrow, for a very, very long time. The turmoil all around us in this now chaotic world which teeters on the very edge of a third world war, if it is allowed, is surely testimony enough that something very important is happening. This whole planet, and not just believers in particular, has been under ferocious assault in the last few years, and in particular the last three. The wickedness that is being perpetrated against the human race which itself continues in open rebellion globally and has brought all this upon itself, without much sign of repentance, has yet to be fully witnessed. There is a mass genocide underway perpetrated by some very, very evil people who are to be brought to judgment tomorrow and the days ahead. No words will be spoken for you to hear when this hour arrives but you will see something that is clearly indicative of Yahweh's wrath being released. If any of these people are to be saved...and it won't be many because they have no shame or remorse for their sins...they literlly have a little over 24 hours to get right with the Creator before they start being usshered one by one into His Courtroom for a fearful sentence and punishment.

For us, though, there is some sober thinking to be done, and some recalling of Yahweh's words to our nation over the millennia. I speak neither of those countries we were born in, nor of which we may be citizens today, but the Heavenly Nation of Messianic Israel. For the Kingdom of our Elohim (God) is, and always has been, a nation with laws and citizenry. In the New Covenant of Messiah Yah'shua (Jesus), this nation consists of all those who have genuinely repented of their disobedience toward the Creator my making teshuvah and being born again - spiritually regenerated - by surrendering their lives totally to Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), and subjecting themselves to Kingdom Rule, whose Constitution and Law Book is the New Covenant Torah of mitzvot (commandments). This rule consists not only of His Moral and Ethical Law but also the attendance requirements at these divine moedim or appointments - weekly (the sabbaths), monthly (the new moons), annually (the 7 festivals) with special moedim every 7 (Sh'mittah/Sabbatical) and 40 (Yovel/Jubilee) years, respectively. These together form our national rhythms, seasons, habits or patterns of Kingdom life by which we both live and obtain chayim (life) in this world, and by which we are recognised, set-apart or made holy (sanctified) as a testimony to the world for we are all witnesses to the Heavenly Way.

To make you aware of just how important and necessary these assemblies are I want to quickly run through six key passages of Scripture with you that trace the history and prophetic markers of this sacred time. It is a part of the story of Messianic Israel to which we both belong and in which we play a necessary and vital part. For those who have already participated in some of these this year, in faith and obedience, there are great and tangible blessings to be had, even if you haven't yet fully understood what's going on in the invisible, supernatural realm. We do as we are told, because of our love for Yahweh, and then anticipate by emunah (faith) the promises He has made that are connected to this obedience and surrender to the Divine Will.

So let me first of all take you back in time to the earliest years when the nation of Israel was but two or three centuries old. It had been wandering in the Wilderness of Sinai for 40 long years as part of a long purging process to qualify it for entrance into the Blessed Land - 40 years that correspond to the 40 or so days of the Season of Teshuvah (Repentance), that we are supposed to have been marking, which end tomorrow at sunset as Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonements) begins. That day, many thousands of years ago, marked the Final Judgment of those pagan nations who not only inhabited the Holy or Blessed Land promised to Abraham and his descendants but who were themselves fully ripened in iniquity. The children of Abraham had been forbidden to conquer the Land of Promise before this time (when Joshua assumed the leadership of the Nation of Israel following Moses' death) precsiely because the Canaanite nations in question weren't yet fully ripened in their sins or beyond repentance! And though the story of the cleansing of the Land appears brutal to moderns for whom truth, shame, guilt and repentance have little meaning anymore, it was perfectly just. Yahweh's timing was accurate and precisely ordained because it was time, just as tomorrow's beginning of judgment against the unrepentant élites of my generation will be perfectly just because it will be totally earned. How this plays out will be made manifest to all over the weeks and months ahead.

So join with me in Deuteronomy chapter 31 if you would like to follow (Evidence Bible, p.272). I shall be reading from the New King James Version (NKJV). I would like to have read the whole chapter out to you, which I invite you to read later today after the service, but we are pressed for time, and will therefore confine ourselves to the first 6 verses only:

"1 Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them: 'I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also Yahweh has said to me, 'You shall not cross over this Jordan. 3 Yahweh your Elohim (God) Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as Yahweh has said. 4 And Yahweh will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. 5 Yahweh will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every mitzvah (commandment) which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for Yahweh your Elohim, (God), He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you" (Dt.31:1-6, NKJV).

These same words Joshua would later repeat and which I am sharing with all of you today. Do not be afraid of what is coming because the Enemy camp is extremely agitated at this time - they will not go without a fight. You must fight, not with carnal weapons, but as Joshua and Israel 'fought' at Jericho, a reason I have been at pains every year to rehearse that famous Jericho March in a New Covenant context, a practice that has now become part of our tradition. This is the divine tavnith or pattern we are commanded to follow. And provided there is no deviation from this pattern, and provided covenant is not broken, there will be no tragedies or disasters such as occurred at Ai (Josh.7). I am deadly serious about this. You have got to learn to do things Father's way if you do not yourselves want to be overrun and conquered. For we are now called to conquer, not by carnal means but by spiritual. If we will do this, victory is assured, and what the devil's locusts have consumed of our fields until now will be restored to us. But you must be surrendered, you must be obedient, not just in token but for real. This is a time of payback... Yahweh's way, not ours.

Turn with me now to the Book of Hosea, and to the 14th chapter, beginning at verse 2 (Evidence Bible, p.1236)

"2 Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Say to Him, 'Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. 3 Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride on horses, nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, 'You are our gods.' For in You the fatherless finds mercy.'

"4 'I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall grow like the lily, and lengthen his roots like Lebanon. 6 His branches shall spread; his beauty shall be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon. 7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall be revived like grain, and grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

"8 'Ephraim shall say, 'What have I to do anymore with idols?' I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; your fruit is found in Me.'

"9 Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of Yahweh are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them'" (Hos.14:2-9, NKJV).

Again we see the generosity our Heavenly Father to the genuinely repentant, to those who are serious about making teshuvah and ending their idolatry by turning around 180³ from their old life of sin. Here, then, is the pattern for returning to Yahweh after a period of rebellion. You will have by now noticed, I hope, that the word 'shuvah' (which means 'return' in Hebrew) and which this Sabbath is traditionally named for, is similar to the word teshuvah (which means 'repent'), because repentance is all about 'returning', that is to say, 'returning home' to Yahweh. 'Come home!' the father of the prodigal son said in the language of Yah'shua's (Jesus') parable. 'Return to Me'.

Skip a few pages forward with me now to the Book of Joel, beginning at chapter 2, verse 15 (Evidence Bible, p.1240), the opening words of the chapter of which, "Blow the trumpet in Zion" (v.1), you will recognise from a song we often sing, and which is repeated again in the segment we're going to now read:

"5 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
16 Gather the people,
Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
17 Let the cohenim (priests), who minister to Yahweh,
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, 'Spare Your people, O Yahweh,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is their Elohim (God)?''" (Joel 2:15-17, NKJV).

Tomorrow at sunset we shall commence a fast and to pray for Yahweh's people worldwide, and especially for the Remnant and deliverance from their aflictions. Pray for deliverance from the oppressors and healing for the many made ill by the design of wicked people in high places! And pray for reprieve and respite for many need time for convalescence. Pray for the end of ungodly wars. Pray for humanity.

Next we go to Micah, chapter 7, beginning at verse 18 (Evidence Bible, p.1279):

"8 Who is an Elohim (God) like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 You will give truth to Jacob
And mercy to Abraham,
Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old" (Micah 7:18-20, NKJV).

With this in mind, we now turn to Isaiah, chapter 55, beginning at verse 6 (Evidence Bible, p.1007), where we seek some perspective in our relationship to our Heavenly Father, and the object of our repentance which is the joy of Sukkot (Taberacles) - will again recognise in this passage one of the themes of our worship music:

"6 Seek Yahweh while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to Yahweh, and He will have mercy on him; and to our Elohim (God), for He will abundantly pardon.

8 "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways', says Yahweh. 9 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

10 "'For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Davar (Word) be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void (empty, nullified), but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. P> 12 "For you shall go out with simcha (joy), and be led out with shalom (peace); the mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to Yahweh for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

56:1 "Thus says Yahweh: 'Keep justice, and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.'

"3 Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh speak, saying, 'Yahweh has utterly separated me from His people'; nor let the eunuch say, 'Here I am, a dry tree.' 4 For thus says Yahweh: 'To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, 5 even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.'

"6 Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to Yahweh, to serve Him, and to love the name of Yahweh, to be His servants -- everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant -- 7 even them I will bring to My qadosh (holy, set-apart) mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.' 8 Yahweh-Elohim, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, 'Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him'" (Is.55:6-56:8, NKJV).

The faithful remember the covenant always, for the ahavah-, Chesed-, agapé-love with which they love is the greatest of loves, being covenant-love; and the faithful will always remember the Sabbath, to honour it, and not treat it like any other day. When we do what pleases Yahweh, this is better to Him than any 'family rights' we may have as sons and daughters. Here the eunuch represents everyone who has been disadvantaged by circumstances, by handicaps physical and emotional, or the victims of abuse and of crippling diseases amongst the many other burdens that humanity must carry, yet who remains faithful nonetheless. I think of those who self-mutilated because they were not affirmed the way Yahweh created them as they should have been and were pressured into being something else that they were not and could never be, a plague of our own times. I think of those damaged inside who do not know what they are because of hormone imbalances caused by the many poisons in the air, water and foods we eat which we are fed by the wicked ones and by those greedy for profit who are only too willing to trample human rights in the process to make a dollar. All these vistims Yahweh loves, and will bless abundantly if they will pursue covenant-faithfulness and abandon idolatry. There is hope for everyone - nobody is excluded from Messianic Israel whose desire is honourable, noble and good whatever their personal problems may be.

And finally, let us turn to Paul's letter to the Romans, beginning at chapter 10 and verse 14 (Evidence Bible, p.1620):

"14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of shalom (peace), who bring glad tidings of good things!' 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, 'Yahweh, who has believed our report?' 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Davar Elohim (Word of God). 18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:

"Their sound has gone out to all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world."

"19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:

"I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,
I will move you to anger by a foolish nation."

"20 But Isaiah is very bold and says:

"I was found by those who did not seek Me;
I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me."

21 But to Israel He says:

"All day long I have stretched out My hands
To a disobedient and contrary people" (Rom.10:14-21, NKJV).

You know, one of the great tragedies and sadnesses of life is when those who were called refuse their calling (Mt.20:16; 22:14) and that calling is given to others who were not originally called? The Saviour tells a story of a bridegroom sending out invitations to his wedding and one by one they make excuses (Lk.14:16-24). In the end, he sends his servants out to call out even the beggars on the street. Those who were originally called - the Israel of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their literal descendants, the covenant nation, who had every advantage in terms of knowing the truth from birth - who refuse to come, must be set aside for those who had no covenant-nation advantage of any kind at all yet who respond gladly to the call. Yes, it is harder teaching and discipling those who who did not grow up with either the Torah or the Gospel, it may require so much more work and patience and investment of time as they make mistakes in areas of life in which they were not righteously habituated when growing up - but better that than ungrateful heirs who because of their refusal to trust and obey and who therefore must, of necessity, because of the Law of Justice and Equity, needs be cut off and cast away.

Whether as wild branches or natural (Rom.11) it does not, in the end, matter. What matters is love-in-truth, and faithfulness-in-adversity. That's what counts, no matter our origins, great or small, privileged or disadvantaged. The wages are, in any case, all the same, are they not, whether for the later-comers or early arrivals (Mt.20), male or female, those of this race or that race, rich or poor, slave or freeman - it doesn't matter in this Great Kingdom of our Heavenly Father! It doesn't matter, for there is no chauvanism in His Kingdom. All are equal partakers in the gift of salvation who come with repentant hearts. All we have to do is trust and obey. Such will return; the rest will not, and therefore, cannot. Everyone has a free choice. No one is handicapped enough that they cannot choose, even a repentant, dying thief on a cross next to the Saviour. Therefore choose today whose you shall be. And do not delay. Yah'shua (Jesus) is waiting for you. Go to Him. Run to Him. And remain in Him.

We shall assemble again in two days' time, on Yom haKippurim, but nothing will be said. Just come with repentant hearts before the judgment seat of Yahweh-Elohim. You will see some things but you will not hear anything. This will not be like previous Yom haKippurim services. All that has been said by the genuine nevi'im (prophets) will then be released and there is nothing anyone will be able to do about it, whether the righteous or the wicked. Once the prophetic word is spoken on earth, it cannot be stopped. My work is therefore almost done. I pray you will forgive me for my shortcomings over the years. Yahweh bless you and keep you, may His grace - His undeserved loving-kindness, His unmerited favour - abundantly flow to you, and from you to others, and may your witness be true, is my prayer in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name. Amen.