PREPARATION FOR THE THIRD SEASON FEASTS: THE CONGREGATION OF LAODICEA (Revelation 3:20)

Elul 26 (8 September 2026)

The KING is in the FIELD! AWAKEN the BELIEVERS!

CONGREGATION SEVEN: LAODICEA (Revelation 3:20)

MESSIAH YESHUA TOLD THE CONGREGATION OF LAODICEA:

“Here, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If someone hears MY VOICE and OPENS the DOOR, I will COME IN and EAT with him, and he will EAT with ME.”

The Complete Jewish Study Bible explains: YHVH our God’s readiness to receive REPENTANT people is well known from the Tanakh (the Old Testament). We read in Zechariah 1:3 “RETURN to Me, says YHVH-Tzva’ot (YHVH of Heavens’ Armies), and I will RETURN to you, says YHVH-Tzva’ot’” This is restated in the New Testament in Acts 2:38 and is the ground for Messiah Yeshua’s statement in Revelation 3:20. In Jewish culture (the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Benjamin, known as the Jews), meal sharing includes table fellowship, affection, intimacy and mutual confidence (read Luke 15:2, John 14:23 and Acts 11:3). In short Messiah Yeshua I promising to be intimately and truly present with anyone who genuinely asks Him.

We read in Luke 12:35-40 a parable of the servants waiting for their master’s return in verses 36-37 we read: “Be dressed ready for service and KEEP your LAMPS BURNING, like servants waiting for their MASTER to return from a wedding banquet, so that when HE COMES KNOCKING they can immediately OPEN THE DOOR FOR HIM. It will be good for those servants whose MASTER finds them ready, even if He comes in the middle of the night or toward day break. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house broken into. You also MUST BE READY, because the SON of MAN will come at an hour when you don’t expect Him.” (Also read Matthew 24:45-51).

We read about EATING the WORD in several parts of Scripture, like in:

Job said in chapter 23:12b “I treasure HIS WORDS more than my daily food”.

We read in Jeremiah 15:16 “When I found YOUR WORDS, I devoured (consumed) them; YOUR WORDS made me GLAD; they gave me JOY; because YHVH-Tzva’ot (YHVH of Heaven’s Armies), You had me bear Your Name.”

And in Ezekiel 3:1-4, 7 & 10 we read: “He said to me, ‘Human being, EAT what you see in front of you; EAT THIS SCROLL (the WORD). Then go and SPEAK to the HOUSE of ISRAEL (the Northern Kingdom, the Ten Tribes under Ephraim). So I opened my mouth, and He gave me the scroll to EAT, as He said, ‘Human being, EAT this scroll I am giving you; FILL your INSIDES (your heart and mind) with it (we also read in verse 10, YHVH says to Ezekiel: “’Human being, RECEIVE in your HEART and HEAR with your EARS ALL MY WORDS that I SPEAK to you.”). When I ATE, it tasted as sweet as honey.”  We know that David also referred to the WORD of YHVH as tasting as sweet as honey in Psalm 19:10 & 119:103). And then we further read in Ezekiel 3: 7 “But the HOUSE of ISRAEL will not be willing to listen to you, because they aren’t willing to listen to ME; since ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL (the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Benjamin known in the New Testament as the Jews and Northern Kingdom, the Ten Tribes under Ephraim) are obstinate (stubborn) and hard hearted.”  

This means the prophets had to read and meditate on the word, digesting it with their soul, renewing their hearts and minds with it in order to speak it to God’s people, unfortunately Bible history tells us, few wanted to listen to their own detriment.

In Matthew 6:11 Messiah Yeshua taught the disciples as part of their prayer to Abba Father to ask Him for their DAILY BREAD. This consists of addressing our physical need for FOOD but also our SPIRITUAL NEED for HIS WORD. Also read Luke 11:3.

And in John 4:31 & 34 the disciples were urging Messiah Yeshua to eat something after a long journey to Samaria and He answered them: “I have FOOD to eat that you don’t know about…MY FOOD is to DO what the ONE (the Father) who sent ME wants and to bring to COMPLETION.

And in John 6 Messiah Yeshua gives us the perfect answer when He says in verses 48, 51, 53-57 “I AM THE BREAD which IS LIFE…I AM THE LIVING BREAD that has come down from heaven; IF ANYONE EATS THIS BREAD, HE WILL LIVE FOREVER…Furthermore, the BREAD that I WILL GIVE, is MY OWN FLESH; and I WILL GIVE IT for the live of the world. Yes, indeed! I am telling you that unless you EAT the flesh of the SON of MAN and drink His blood, you do not have LIFE in yourselves. Whoever EATS MY FLESH and DRINKS MY BLOOD HAS ETERNAL LIFE – that is (this means), I will raise him up on the LAST DAY. For MY FLESH is TRUE FOOD, and MY BLOOD is TRUE DRINK. Whoever EATS MY FLESH and DRINKS MY BLOOD LIVES IN ME, and I LIVE IN him. Just as THE LIVING FATHER sent ME, and I LIVE through THE FATHER, so also whoever EATS ME will LIVE through ME.” John later explained it further in 1 John 3:24 “Those who OBEY HIS (MESSIAH YESHUA’s) COMMANDS REMAIN UNITED WITH HIM and HE WITH THEM.” And in 1 John 4 John explains that GOD THE FATHER IS LOVE! And in verse 13-17  “Here is how we know that we remain UNITED with HIM and HE with us: HE HAS GIVEN to us from HIS OWN SPIRIT. Moreover, we have seen and we TESTIFY that THE FATHER has sent HIS SON as DELIVERER of the world. If someone acknowledges (admits, confess) that YESHUA IS THE SON of GOD (the Father), GOD (the Father) REMAINS UNITED with him, and he WITH GOD (the Father). Also we have come to KNOW and TRUST the LOVE that GOD (the Father) HAS for us. GOD (the Father) IS LOVE; and those who REMAIN IN THIS LOVE REMAIN UNITED WITH GOD (the Father), and GOD (the Father) REMAINS UNITED WITH THEM. Here is how LOVE has been brought to maturity with us: AS THE MESSIAH IS, so are we in the world. This gives us confidence for the DAY of JUDGEMENT.”

We again see at the end of time God will provide His WORD through John to whom He revealed the end times as captured in the Book of Revelation. And in Revelation 10:8-10 He gave John similar instructions as he did to Ezekiel, telling him to eat a little scroll  turning his stomach bitter although it will taste like honey in his mouth And then He told John he must PROPHESY again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings. And in Revelation 11:1-13 the TWO WITNESSESS of God have to prophesy for 1260 days and even angels will be used to spread the GOOD NEWS (read Revelation 14:6-13), but sadly many will still choose the world, its idols and its pleasures as we read in  (Revelation 16:9, 11 & 21).  

But there is always HOPE, if we HEAR and want to RETURN to HIM. We know our bodies are now considered as the TEMPLE of YHVH our GOD, with His HOLY SPIRIT living inside of us (1 Corinthians 3:16 & 19-20 and 2 Corinthians 6:19-22). If we therefore compare it with the TABERNACKLE IMAGERY, our bodies are the outer court, our souls are the Holy Place and our spirit are the Holy of Holies. Inside the Holy Place of the Tabernacle the TABLE of SHEWBREAD stood. It represents the place we EAT the LIVING BREAD after we accepted the price paid by Yeshua our Messiah on the cross for our sins (symbolized by the bronze altar in the outer court) and dies to our old self in the waters of baptism (symbolized by the bronze laver/ washbasin) in front of the HOLY PLACE. Yeshua the Messiah stands at the DOOR of the HOLY PLACE of our HEARTS and MINDS (our Souls) knocking; and we are to DECIDE with our FREE WILL whether we are going to OPEN THE DOOR of our HOLY PLACE (our hearts and minds/ thought life) to let Him enter. He will never force His way into our lives, HE KNOCKS and ASKS if we HEAR HIS VOICE, to OPEN for HIM to ENTER and EAT WITH US. This eating with us is a reference to the TABLE of SHOWBREAD where He wants to offer us HIMSELF, the WORD of YHVH, the ONLY LIVING BREAD able to NURTURE our SOULS (our hearts and minds) and PROVIDE us with the PERFECT LOVE we need and ENABLES us to LOVE GOD our FATHER, OURSELVES and OTHER PEOPLE.

It is therefore a picture of COMMUNION, at the cross His blood was spilled for us to save us from our sins, and at the Table of Communion we eat His Body (we take His Word into our souls, becoming part of our hearts, how we feel and minds, how we think) and therefore becoming one with Him, becoming like Him and following in His footsteps in OBEDIENCE to the GOVERNING LAW of the KINGDOM of GOD the FATHER (the Torah, Genesis to Deuteronomy, summed up in the TEN COMMANMDENTS, God the Father’s LAW of LOVE, serving as HIS COVENANT with HIS PEOPLE, telling us HOW to LOVE HIM, OURSELVES and OTHER PEOPLE and have LIFE ABUNDANTLY). MESSIAH YEHSUA’s blood was also sprinkled on the MERCY SEAT covering the ARK of the COVENANT with the TEN COMMANDMENTS (the summary of the Torah) inside of it. Serving as a picture of PROTECTION of all those who choose to accept His sacrifice for them on the cross and believe in Him as their SAVIOR, against its POWER to condemn people to eternal death when we accidentally contravene this LAW of GOD the FATHER’s KINGDOM.

In John 14:22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him), wanted to know why Messiah Yeshua is revealing Himself to them and not to the world. And we read in verse 23 “Yeshua answered him: If someone LOVES ME, he WILL KEEP MY WORD; and MY FATHER WILL LOVE him, and WE WILL COME to him and MAKE OUR HOME with him.”

Messiah Yeshua stands at the door of our souls (the Holy Place of each of us, our hearts and minds). He is knocking and waiting for us to invite Him in. There are many believers who leave Him standing outside for one or more of the following reasons:

• Some are afraid.
• Some are too busy.
• Some don’t hear Him knock.
• Some think He will not treat them well.
• Some are afraid of what He may ask them to give up.
• Some have walls of bitterness and unforgiveness.
• Some are afraid of what He might ask of them to do.
• Some are afraid that He will not like what He see because they feel imperfect and unworthy.

The fact is, Messiah Yeshua already knows each one of us inside out. He wants us to let Him into our hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit to lead us into the full life He has already paid for us to have.

But what we must also remember, is we have the time to open the DOOR to our souls NOW, while He is still knocking and calling us, because there will come a time when it is too late.

We read in Song of songs 5:2-6 “I am asleep but my heart is awake. Listen! I hear my darling KNOCKING! OPEN FOR ME, my sister, my love, my dove, my flawless one!…(the bride to be hear the bridegroom knocking in the middle of the night, then we read her excuses because she was not ready for his coming:) I’ve removed my coat; must I put it back on? I’ve washed my feet, must I dirty them again?” He then reach for her with his hand through the hole by the doorlatch and she decides to get up and open for him, but we read in verses 6b, d & e “…but my darling had turned and gone – I sought him, but I couldn’t find him; I called for him, but He didn’t answer.”

SOUL SEARCHING

1. Am I HEARING the VOICE of MESSIAH YESHUA calling me TODAY to open the door to my HOLY PLACE, my heart and mind, to Him to give me abundant life (life in its fullest measure)? John 10:10b. 

2. If I have not yet opened my HOLY PLACE (my heart and mind) to Him, what is my reason and how can I OVERCOME it?

3. Do I spend time “EATING the WORD” with MESSIAH YESHUA, strengthening and nourishing my soul (heart and mind)?

REPENTANCE, RESTORATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT

• When MESSIAH YESHUA comes into our HEARTS and MINDS through EATING HIS WORD DAILY, we DEVELOP HIS MIND and we become like HIM.

• HIS WORD, “eaten by us daily” does the following in our lives:

• • It becomes the SPIRITUAL BREAD nourishing our SOULS to stay alive and thriving (Deuteronomy 8:3 and Mathew 4:4).

• • When we KEEP the LAW (the Torah, Genesis to Deuteronomy summed up in the Ten Commandments) /the WORD of YHVH, it will make our WAY PROSPEROUS, and we will have GOOD SUCCESS (Joshua 1:8).

• • The WORD of YHVH is TRUE and a SHIELD for all who take REFUGE in Him (Psalm 18:30).

• • The LAW of YHVH (the TORAH, Genesis to Deuteronomy, summed up in the TEN COMMANDMENTS) is PERFECT, REVIVING (give new life, strength and energy to) the SOUL (the heart and the mind/ the thoughts) Psalm 19:7.

• • The UNFOLDING of the WORD gives us LIGHT and UNDERSTANDING (Psalm 33:4).

• • The WORD HEALS us and DELIVERS us from destruction (Psalm 107:20).

• • We can KEEP our WAY PURE by GUARDING it according to the WORD (Psalm 119:9, Proverbs 4:26-27, 1Timothy 6:11-16).

• • The WORD can be SOTRED UP in our hearts (including our minds/ thoughts) that we might not sin against God the Father (Psalm 119:11).

• • It is a LAMP to our feet and a LIGHT to our PATHS, ensuring we never walk in darkness (Psalm 119:105).

• • The WORD is our HIDING PLACE and our SHIELD, our HOPE (Psalm 119:114).

• • When we FIND YHVH our GOD’s WORDS, and EAT THEM, it becomes to us a JOY and the DLEIGHT of OUR HEARTS, for we are CALLED by IS NAME (Jeremiah 15:16).

• • The WORD is like a FIRE and a HAMMER that breaks the rock to pieces and therefore it can also REMOVE our HARDENED STONE HEARTS (Jeremiah 23:29).

• • When we HEAR the WORDS of MESSIAH YESHUA and DO them, we are like a WISE man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24 & Psalm 12:6).

• • When we HEAR it and KEEP it, we are BLESSED (Luke 11:28).

• • When we RECEIVE SALVATION through MESSIAH YESHUA and FOLLOW HIM as HIS disciple, HE OPENS our MINDS to understand the WORD (Luke 24:45).

• • The WORD gives us LIFE (John 6:63).

• • When we ABIDE in (observe and obey) the WORD, we are TRULY the disciples of MESSIAH YESHUA, and we will KNOW the TURTH and the TRUTH of the WORD WILL SET US FREE (John 8:31-32).

• • We ABIDE (remain, dwell) IN MESSIAH YESHUA (remain united with Him) and HE IN us when we RECEIVE, READ and DO the WORD (we become a part of HIM, the BRANCH of the VINE) and therefore we are able to BEAR much FRUIT, proving we are His disciples and in this way the Father is glorified (John 15:1-8).

• • The WORD prunes us to bear more fruit (John 15:3).

• • The HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES us into ALL the TRUTH/ the WORD (John 16:13).
• • It sanctifies (purifies) us (makes us holy) in the TRUTH (John 17:17).

• • The GOSPELS (the GOOD NEWS as written in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) is the POWER of GOD the Father for SALVATION to everyone that BELIEVES (Romans 1:16).

• • When we HEAR the WORD, we come to FAITH in MESSIAH YESHUA (Romans 10:17).

• • The WORD gives us HOPE (Romans 15:4).

• • It becomes the SWORD protecting us against evil forces (Ephesians 6:17).

• • We SHINE as LIGHTS in the world when we HOLD FAST to the WORD of LIFE (Philippians 2:14-16).

• • When it dwells in us richly, we are able to teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in our hearts to God the Father (Colossians 3:16).

• • When we RECEIVE and ACCEPT the WORD, it works in us (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

• • It teaches us, reproofs us, corrects us, and trains us in RIGHTEOUSNESS that we can be complete as God the Father’s children, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

• • The WORD is the sharp two-edged SWORD of the HOLY SPIRIT, helping us to discern our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts, helping us to stay free from a deceptive heart and thoughts and being able to repent and turn back when we discover deceit or defilement (Hebrews 4:12).

• • The WORD is like a SEED that can be RECEIVED by us with MEEKNESS and SAVE our SOULS (James 1:21).

• • We are BORN AGAIN through the LIVING and ABIDING WORD of GOD (1 Peter 1:23). This is because the WORD of GOD RENEWS our MINDS, when we READ, RECEIVE and IMPLEMENT it we RECEIVE the MIND of MESSIAH YESHUA and OBEY GOD the FATHER like HE DOES (Romans 12:1-2 & 2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

• • The WORD of YHVH REMAINS FOREVER and it is GOOD NEWS (1 Peter 1:25, Luke 4:18, Mark 13:31, Isaiah 55:10-11 & 61:1).

• • Through the WORD (being like spiritual milk when we are born again as a new person in Messiah Yeshua) we grow up into SALVATION (1 Peter 2:2).

• • The WORD is like a SEED that can be RECEIVED by us with MEEKNESS and SAVE our SOULS (James 1:21).

• We EAT the WORD by

1). READING the WORD and BELIEVING GOD SPEAKS TO US – asking the HOLY SPIRIT to help us HEAR what GOD is saying to us.

2). STUDYING the WORD on SPECIFIC TOPICS we need help with like overcoming FEAR.

3). STORING UP THE WORD in our HEARTS by memorizing verses to be able to USE it as our SWORD against spiritual attacks.

4). SUMBITTING to the WORD – OBEYING what it says, implementing it in our lives.

5). SPEAKING the WORD – sharing it with others like you would share a MEAL with FAMILY MEMBERS and FRIENDS and give FOOD to the hungry on your path.