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HEBREWS CHAPTERS 7 & 8 KJV WEB See previous page Heb 7,1-28 (80l) Thy kingdom come >> Prayer >> The priesthood >> Jesus ministered to people through His ministry toward God – This was the point of the writer of Hebrews: Jesus is a different kind of priest than the Levitical priesthood. There was a change in law from the Levitical priesthood to the priesthood of Christ (v12); it transitioned from the Law of commandments to “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8-2). The law has been nullified (not abolished), in that the law is still in effect among those who walk in sin, but for those who seek Jesus have transitioned from obeying the requirements of the law to obeying the Holy Spirit. It was significant that Jesus did not come from the tribe of Levi, so we could distinguish Him from the Levitical priesthood. Instead, He was supposedly a descendant of David from the tribe of Judah through his stepfather, Joseph, though legally He was not a descendant of Israel at all, for His Father was God, and genealogy was not traced through the mother. Throughout the ages when they conducted the temple sacrifices of worship, Jesus could not be counted among them, for His priesthood was unique in that He lives forever to make intercession for us. It says that the greater man, Melchizedek, blessed the lesser man, Abraham, who transferred the blessing to his son, Isaac, who in turn transferred the blessing to Jacob that Israel might inherit the promises made to the fathers to become a nation numbering like sand on the seashore and like stars in the sky. See also: Old Covenant priesthood; Heb 10-22; 103g Heb 7,1-11 (141c) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus is the Son of God – Melchizedec was not a type of Christ in the flesh, like the Levitical priesthood that practiced its daily rituals for centuries, engraining into the people that their messiah would come and give His life as the sacrificial lamb. Rather, He was a type of Christ in the Spirit, who conducts His ministry from heaven seated at the right hand of the power of God. His name means: king of righteousness and king of peace. It is ironic that Scripture would speak about peace in the same context as "the slaughter of the kings." The passage in Genesis chapter fourteen that speaks of this event was prophesying that God would one day use the descendants of Abraham to one day return to Canaan and wipe out its inhabitants in the name of righteousness in hope of obtaining peace. Moreover, the story of Joshua leading Israel into the land of promise was meant as a glimpse of fulfilling endtime prophecy as God goes to war with the world for persecuting and martyring His saints at the end of this age. Heb 7,1-3 (239k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Let not many of you become teachers >> Dividing accurately the word of truth – The writer of Hebrews didn’t know any more about this man than we do, for we are both using the Old Testament as our source, who also lacked genealogical information to make his assertions about Melchizedec. We know that the Scriptures were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that we cannot use the Bible to launch novel ideas, though the writers of the Bible often did just that. They often took their liberties and made grand statements from small comments, such as in this passage, building a case using a statement the psalmist made in 110-4. I’m not criticizing the writers of the Bible or saying they had shoddy research practices; I'm just making the observation that they occasionally made large cases from small evidence. However, we don't place our faith in their research methods, but in the fact that they were inspired by the Holy Spirit in what they wrote. We don't have authority to follow their pattern and make assumptions about the Scriptures, for though we may be inspired by the Holy Spirit, we are not sanctioned to write the Bible. Those who have believed beyond their faith have made this mistake and have historically distorted the Scriptures in their interpretations instead of enlightening us, yet we can have confidence in Hebrews’ interpretation of Melchizedec that he was a type of Christ, which on His Father’s side did genealogically come from nowhere. The words to underscore in verse three is that Christ remains a priest perpetually, for Melchizedec stands for a type of Christ, not in the flesh but in the Spirit, who has ascended into heaven and is conducting His priestly ministry seated at the right hand of the Father. Heb 7-1 (57fa) Paradox >> Opposites >> Lesser is blessed by the greater -- This verse goes with verses 7-9 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 7,2-10 (235b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Tithing >> Be faithful in your tithes >> Tithing is a true sign of faithfulness – Abraham was blessed, not from paying tithes, but from the blessing of Melchizedec, and then paid tithes in gratitude. Abraham did not buy Melchizedec’s blessing but gave him a tenth of the choicest spoils on his own accord. The tithe was not a requirement but a response after receiving His blessing, which is quite different from buying the blessing. By the same token, when temple worship was in effect in the Old Testament, the Levitical priesthood by the authority of Scripture collected a tenth income from the people of Israel to finance the temple services. This is the relationship with a pastor and his congregation. The fact that Melchizedec lived in a mortal body and received tithes says there are others who receive tithes in the name of One who is testified that "He lives on." This passage encourages the paying of tithes, not as a tax, but in response to a blessing from the pastor of our local church in our case. Those who pay tithes give unto Christ as Abraham gave a tenth of the choices spoils to Melchizedec. Heb 7-2 (41g) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> God’s righteousness is His doing (125k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> God is at peace >> The God of peace – Melchizedek met “Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him.” The name Melchizedek means “King of righteousness, and then also King Salem, which is King of peace.” Melchizedek blessed Abraham for slaughtering certain kings living in the area, who went to war and captured Abraham’s nephew, Lot. How does ‘King of righteousness and King of peace’ concur with blessing a man who has fresh blood on his hands? We’ve heard the saying, “keeping the peace.” They call the police ‘peace officers,’ yet they have guns. Sometimes, in order to keep the peace, they have to pull their guns, and for those who refuse to live in the way of peace, the only choice is to get rid of them, and that is what Abraham was doing. Also note that the city of Salem was mentioned only once more in Ps 76-2 which says, “In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.” This sounds like the psalmist is using the name Salem to mean the city of God; in fact, it was used as an early name for Jerusalem, which means "possession of peace." When we add up the hints regarding the meaning of this passage, they all point to the idea that this man Melchizedek was a rare appearance of Christ. As Abraham was returning from the battle, Melchizedek met him and honored him for what he had done. In exchange for Melchizedek’s blessing, Abraham gave him a tenth portion of the choicest spoils. Melchizedek was a type of Christ, who we know is the king of peace. He blessed Abraham for going to war and destroying the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah for reasons we are all familiar. Jesus in no way condoned the use of violence, but taught peace at any cost, even at the cost of our own lives as martyrs. In the age of grace God has called us to walk by faith and love, teaching us to turn the other cheek (Lk 6,27-31). We should maintain an attitude of peace as Jesus taught in bringing Christianity to the world, yet at His second coming He will wreak vengeance on all His enemies and destroy those who do not believe, so there is a place in the ministry of Christ that understands and condones war, just not for His disciples. God knows better than anyone that those who refuse to walk in the way of peace only know war, and for that reason there is no other solution but to eliminate them. Those who hate peace will continually seek to sabotage peace in the world. (235a) Tithing (Key verse) KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 7,3-8 (248k) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> The Highest Values >> Some things take precedence over others – When it says, “He lives on,” it means He is still alive, but the implication is that He never had a beginning, as it says in Rev 1-8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” There are cults that say Jesus was a created being, which is heresy, but we must remember the point the writer of Hebrews is making, that Melchizedek the priest was revealed in the new covenant as Jesus Christ. The Levitical priesthood performed the services of temple worship at the hands of mortal men, whereas the Great High Priest, the person of Jesus Christ, who is God in human flesh, performs His services in heaven at the right-hand of the Father. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek before he had Isaac in the same way that Israel tithed to the Levitical Priesthood. Indeed, Abraham initialized the ministry of Melchizedek before Levi was born, making Him first, thus taking precedence over the priesthood of Aaron, and when we look at Scripture, we see in many cases that the order of events matters to God. Heb 7-3,4 (252a) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) >> Jesus is worthy of our worship >> Worship Jesus for His inherent worthiness Heb 7-3 (205g) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> New covenant >> The new one is a better one -- This verse goes with verses 11-28. Christ came through the tribe of Judah, which was a tribe that had never officiated at the altar or conducted temple services; instead, the Levitical priesthood had that responsibility. Jacob had twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel, and one of his sons was Levi. The tribe of Levi was given the Levitical priesthood. Aaron the Levite (v11), Moses' broth, was the first high priest. It says that Levi (his tribe starting with Aaron) paid tithes as well as received them, who was born 150 years after Abraham met (215f) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God views time in eternity >> God’s time is forever (243j) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The indestructible kingdom >> The head of the body is indestructible >> Jesus is indestructible -- This verse goes with verses 14-17 (244h) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The word of God is eternal >> The word of God transcends the creation -- This verse goes with verse 16 (253b) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the external qualities of the Father >> Son is infinite and eternal like the Father – Christ has become a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. His name was mentioned earlier in Heb 5-6, and then in the last verse in chapter six. He was mentioned in Gen 14,17-20 and then in Psalm 110-4, where the psalmist writing under a prophetic anointing gave him the title of perpetual priest. Had the psalmist not mentioned him, the writer of Hebrews may not have mentioned him either, and Melchizedek would have faded into obscurity. The writer of Hebrews is making the point that Melchizedek had no origins. This is contrary to the theme of the Old Testament, which is rich in traceable genealogical content. Genealogy was used for the purpose of maintaining the twelve tribes of Israel and for maintaining the lineage of Christ. They had to keep track of the tribes of Israel, because they had a messiah who was coming, who supposedly descended from the tribe of Judah. The Jews need to continue tracking their genealogy, because God is not done with them yet. In the book of Revelation it speaks of 144,000 Jews, twelve thousand from every tribe of Israel. In contrast Melchizedek had no genealogical background. He simply appeared. (For this reason we should not be surprised that the antichrist has untraceable origins to a counterfeit Christ.) This is what made Melchizedek stand out in the Old Testament, the writer of Hebrews using him to represent Christ, suggesting that He too had no beginning. Heb 7-4 (118a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Making spiritual observations Heb 7-6 (151b) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears witness of the Old >> The Patriarchs >> Abraham >> Promises to Abraham – The promise of eternal life has a long legacy that started at the formation of Israel through Abraham, whose descendants multiplied through Jacob, who had twelve sons, who became the twelve tribes of Israel, whose son Judah became the tribe from which David would later arise. He was Israel’s greatest king, from whose tribe came Jesus Christ through His stepfather. Had Jesus literally come from Judah, he would have had a beginning, but because He had no earthly father, though legally stated as a Judahite through Joseph, He both satisfied his heritage having come from kingship, and satisfied His status as an eternal being through His heavenly Father. His lineage from David points to His kingship, while His lineage from God points to His priesthood. He came first as a priest, and he will come again as a king. It says that He was “the only begotten from the Father” (Jn 1-14), meaning Jesus was the only person whose physical body originated directly from God. That is not to say Jesus came into existence at His physical conception in Mary’s womb, for His soul is the eternal Spirit of God, who was conceived in Mary, and the outcome was Jesus Christ. See also: Jesus knows only those who belong to Him; Jn 10,27-30; 228d KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 7,7-9 (57fa) Paradox >> Opposites >> Lesser is blessed by the greater -- These verses go with verse 1. Abraham blessed Isaac, and Isaac blessed Jacob, the lesser is blessed by the greater, and the blessing in this way was transferred throughout the generations, but the blessing originated from Melchizedek, whose identity was undoubtedly Jesus Christ. He appeared more than once in the Old Testament; it says that Jacob wrestled with God, and who was his opponent in Gen 32,22-32? He was a man with no origins, like Melchizedek. This man changed Jacob’s name to Israel (one who wrestles with God and men and wins). Jacob received a blessing from Him, which went to the firstborn son. The blessing was not something he had to work for, but the son inherited it as a natural consequence of being firstborn. The blessing was given as an oath, based on the promise that God made to Abraham that He should be the father of many nations, and the promise is yet to be fulfilled, and its ultimate fulfillment will come in the life to come. That is, the promise has always been eternal life. Abraham’s promise from God was for a messiah to come through his lineage, who would come and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, and Melchizedek’s blessing was a voucher to accompany the promise. Heb 7-7 (56k) Paradox >> Opposites >> Least are gre atest >> Smallest in the eyes of men are big to God Heb 7-8 (254f) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> Jesus is the substance of God’s life >> Jesus is the manifestation of God’s life -- This verse goes with verses 23-25 Heb 7,11-28 (189c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> Acceptable sacrifice – The hope we have in Christ is the sacrifice of Himself. It was the true offering that God had intended for mankind from the beginning that all the sacrifices the Levites made over the centuries only symbolized. His was the one true sacrifice that was perfectly acceptable to the Father, who ordained Jesus to be the object of God’s forgiveness. The sacrifices the Levites made forgave the people, not based on the sacrifices themselves, but based on their obedience to the Law. In other words, God forgave them through their temple worship based on the fact that He commanded them to perform those sacrifices, for the Father was looking forward to the one true offering that He required of His Son. Had Jesus not offered His flesh for the sins of the world, God would not have accepted the sacrifices of the Levites either. This brings up an important point that God honors obedience, in our case obedience to the new covenant. We read the Bible to do what it says, and then the Holy Spirit will reveal His specific will to us that we might obey Him, and when we do, He opens doors that when we step through them leads us into fellowship with God. (205g) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> New covenant >> The new one is a better one -- These verses go with verse 3 Heb 7,11-22 (151f) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears witness of the Old >> The law -- These verses go with verse 28 Heb 7-11 (41b) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Jesus is without sin >> He fulfilled the law Heb 7,14-22 (107c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Word of God creates faith Heb 7,14-17 (243j) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The indestructible kingdom >> The head of the body is indestructible >> Jesus is indestructible -- These verses go with verses 23-25. Jesus has proven Himself indestructible by evidence of His resurrection in that they killed Him and He bounced right back to life again. There is nothing man or demon can do against Him. For this reason His kingdom also will be indestructible and will remain forever according to the power of God who raised Him from the dead. Heb 7-14 (37e) Judgment >> Jesus’ humanity >> He was part of the lineage of David – When we think of Jesus descended from David through the tribe of Judah, this tribe was not in any way associated with priesthood, rather with kingship. We know that Jesus is the Great High Priest and that He is also the King of kings and Lord of lords; He wears both hats in equal shares. Jesus is a king to the nations but a priest to His people, who intercedes for them before the Father, and He will continue interceding for them throughout eternity. At the same time he will reign as King of the universe. We will never be able to approach the Father apart from Christ, because our perfection came through Him. (63a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Righteous deception >> God deceives His people Heb 7-16 (244h) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The word of God is eternal >> The word of God transcends the creation -- This verse goes with verses 24&25 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 7-18,19 (90d) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >> It takes Jesus’ place until He arrives – God gave the Law to Israel through the priesthood of Aaron, but apart from the Law a Priest appeared on the order of Melchizedek to save His people from their sins. The Levitical Priesthood was only a symbol of Him who would come later in Jesus Christ. The Levitical Priesthood was imperfect; it insufficiently appeased God regarding man's sin. It acted as a mere placeholder, giving time for Messiah to come and give His life’s blood that God might perfectly forgive His people. (205kb) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> Faith versus works >> The faith of God versus the faith of men >> Faith versus the law >> Saved by grace through faith Heb 7,21-28 (83g) Thy kingdom come >> Jesus intercedes for us >> Jesus is our Great High Priest – The oath the Father made to His Son was similar to the oath he made to David, that there would certainly be a King to sit on His throne (1Chronicles 17,11-15). It places immeasurable credence on the Scriptures, and shows the value that God places on His written word, that He can speak to His prophets and they faithfully pen the words for generations after them to read, being the same as God speaking from His heavenly throne. He placed His seal on His Son as a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, meaning Jesus would become a priest for all time. The Levitical priests did not enter their office by an oath but by a commandment, being born into it, physically inherited the ministry apart from any promise, meaning that a promise of forgiveness was not associated with their ministry. Only through obedience to commandment should Aaron’s priesthood appeal to God to pass over sins, but the Father decreed that His Son should receive a perpetual priesthood based on a promise that was predestined to be fulfilled, since His word cannot be overturned. The priesthood is in two parts: sacrifice and intercession. Without intercession the sacrifice is meaningless, and without a sacrifice the ministry of intercession is illegitimate. After He offered His flesh on earth, representing the outer court where the sacrifices were made, Jesus ascended to heaven, into the Holy of Holies, to present Himself to the Father, who fully accepted His sacrifice and invited Him to sit at His right-hand, from which He would not cease to intercede for His worshipers. Heb 7-21 (205a) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> According to promise >> God never changes – The writer of Hebrews is comparing the law of Moses to the Levitical priesthood, saying they both equally come short of God’s expectations of forgiving sin, so that God has furnished His own High Priest, who officiates in the very presence of God. There was no oath associated with the Levitical priesthood, suggesting that the oath given in Ps 110-4 gave Christ’s priesthood credence. We today don’t put much stock in an oath, because our society is full of liars and perjurers and people who don’t honor their word. So, we need papers signed, and even they don’t mean much in the court of a determined lawyer, but an oath means everything to God who cannot lie or change His mind. For this reason it is possible we do not fully appreciate this passage that refers to the oath giving assurance to our salvation in Christ. Heb 7,23-28 (137d) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Jesus is the foundation of God’s favor in our lives Heb 7,23-26 (173b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the Catholic faith >> Relationship between Jesus and His mother >> Jesus is our mediator, not Mary (or the apostles) Heb 7,23-25 (114h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Jesus does God’s work >> All his works are done through the father >> Jesus exercises His will through the will of His Father (243j) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The indestructible kingdom >> The head of the body is indestructible >> Jesus is indestructible -- These verses go with verse 28 (254f) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> Jesus is the substance of God’s life >> Jesus is the manifestation of God’s life -- These verses go with verse 8 Heb 7-23 (240f) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Natural disadvantage >> Natural disadvantage of the flesh >> Limitations of the flesh KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 7,24-28 (11e) Servant >> Jesus is our standard (39k) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Jesus defeated the law of sin (43k) Judgment >> Satan destroyed in the absence of sin >> Perfected in weakness – God rescued us from the wrath of God and from eternal judgment through our Great High Priest, who lives in heaven, who intercedes for us directly with the Father, and through His priesthood we have forgiveness of sins by faith in His blood sacrifice. Jesus didn’t suffer on the cross only; He suffered throughout His entire life more than we will ever know, beginning at His birth. He suffered our mortality. Before Christ, our suffering was our own, but after He died on the cross and rose from the dead, ascended to the Father, our suffering is His suffering, and His is ours. God equates our suffering with His suffering in the sense that we endure it by faith in His blood sacrifice. We will see Him face-to-face in heaven after this life has ended, and He will give us a glorified body that cannot sin, and He will perfect our soul so we are never tempted again. Our happiest moment in this life compared to heaven has suffering completely riddled through it. If God perfected His Son through suffering, He will perfect us through suffering too. The perfection of suffering under the hand of God is that we worship Him just as job did, who is our model. When we go through hard times, we continue to believe in Him, and our faith becomes worship. The one who worships God through suffering is the most blessed of all people on earth, because of the glory and honor that he is destined to receive in the age to come for his faith. Heb 7,24,25 (244h) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The word of God is eternal >> The word of God transcends the creation -- These verses go with verse 28 Heb 7-24 (243o) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> There shall be no end to His increase >> He shall reign forever and ever -- This verse goes with verse 28 Heb 7-25 (81l) Thy kingdom come >> Pray without ceasing >> For the Church >> Anointing to pray – Much as Jesus loved His disciples, the Father loves us. Jesus is our great Intercessor; He prays for us to the Father. Jesus often spoke of the Father in the gospel of John, but we the Church rarely mentions Him and His role in our salvation. The Father sent the Son; had He not, Jesus would not have come on His own initiative. Therefore, we belong to the Father first and then to Christ. The Father sent the Son in order to redeem a people for Himself, who has called us to intercede for the brethren and for the world. We pray to the Father in Jesus’ name, and Christ intercedes for us, so Christ is a Mediator of mediators. God is the purpose of all things; he deserves all the glory for our salvation, and Jesus said to Phillip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn 14-9). (83d) Intercession (Key verse) (114j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Working God’s grace through Christ >> Salvation is through Christ Heb 7,26-28 (41c) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Jesus presented Himself to God without sin for us (172j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the Catholic faith >> Jesus never to die again >> Because His death was sufficient – We have a picture of Jesus Christ, a perfect man without blemish, separated from the rest of us. He offered up Himself as the sacrifice that would end all sacrifices to God the Father, who accepted His Son because of His sinless life, and for that reason there will never be a need for another one. So, why do the Catholics think the bread and the wine must change into the body and blood of Christ? If the offering of Christ’s flesh was sufficient, why do they continue this blasphemous pagan ritual? They say that if the Catholic priest doesn't bless the bread and the wine, it is not a legitimate communion. Once they enslave the people to the Catholic priesthood, they can demand their money, and the people feel obligated to give it or be in dread of the eternal flames of hell. It is a well-orchestrated deception that has continued for many centuries. (209j) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Jesus is the lamb of God >> The Great High Priest offered up Himself Heb 7-26,27 (30h) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> God favors you by His grace >> He favors you through His son (44a) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Complete >> It is finished >> Fulfill God’s will (189i) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Martyr >> Jesus was a martyr (229j) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Partaking >> Partaking of Jesus >> Partaking of Jesus’ gift Heb 7-26 (67c) Authority >> Jesus at the right hand of the father >> He is interceding for us there (89a) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Being sensible is always wise (133b) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holiness >> God is holy >> Jesus is holy (191h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> God sanctifies us through His calling – We don’t have a small high priest; we have a Great High Priest, one who was called by God to sacrifice Himself to be accepted in heaven. We know that some of the popes have called themselves innocent, but the Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In contrast, Jesus really was innocent; He never committed a sin; he was undefiled, the spotless Lamb of God. Jesus stood alone in His innocence, having never committed a sin, having never done anything to violate the Law or defile His conscience. Whenever temptation came, He resisted it, and as a result God exalted Him above the heavens. The first heaven refers to the atmosphere surrounding the earth; the second heaven is the universe itself, and the third heaven is where God lives, beyond this natural creation. It is a place called the New Jerusalem; it is the city of God. Jesus ascended above this natural creation to the level of the Father, who seated Him on His throne. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 7-27 (83d) Thy kingdom come >> Results of prayer >> Prayer ministers to God – The difference between Jesus the high priest and all the high priests before Him was that they had to offer sacrifice for their own sins before they could offer sacrifice for the sins of the people, but Jesus didn’t have to do that, because He was without sin. His sacrifice was the Father’s means of forgiving the people, not just for that year but forever, and not just for the people who lived at the time, also for those who lived before and after Him. We all receive this gift by faith; we don’t have to work for it. There is nothing we can do to please God except simply believe in His blood sacrifice for the remission of our sins. This circumvents human pride, and God doesn’t want anyone in His heaven who feels He deserves to be there. Jesus was a man of great prayer, pouring many hours into His life and ministry, and into the lives of His disciples, and into the Church who would be born through the blood of His cross. All the high priests before Him made continuous sacrifice for sins, but Jesus made one sacrifice for all time and then sat at the right-hand of the power of God, and it is there that He intercedes for the people as the Great High Priest. When we pray for the people and preach the gospel to those in the world, we are acting like a priest more than anything else we could do. Prayer is the force of our ministry; it is how we develop faith to go forward. Without the word of God and prayer, whatever ideas to preach the gospel of the kingdom would quickly dissolve. Heb 7-28 (71i) Authority >> Ordained by God >> Jesus is ordained by God (132e) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> God gives his spirit as a pledge >> Spirit pledges the presence of God (151f) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears witness of the Old >> The law -- This verse goes with verses 11-22 (243j) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The indestructible kingdom >> The head of the body is indestructible >> Jesus is indestructible -- This verse goes with verse 3 (243o) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> There shall be no end to His increase >> He shall reign forever and ever -- This verse goes with verse 24 (244h) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The word of God is eternal >> The word of God transcends the creation -- This verse goes with verse 3. The word of the oath was made in psalms 110-4, but the initial passage where it speaks of Melchizedek interacting with Abraham was in Gen 14,17-20, long before Moses. Unlike us who believe things only when we see them and say things and never do them, when God says something, it comes to pass, and when He makes an oath, it is a promise to create something in the future, but in His time. _________________________________ HEBREWS CHAPTER 8 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 8,1-6 (80l) Thy kingdom come >> Prayer >> The priesthood >> Jesus ministered to people through His ministry toward God – Jesus’ priesthood exists in heaven. He did not function as a priest when He was on earth in the flesh and was crucified, but when the Father raised Him from the dead and He ascended to heaven, this is when He switched roles from a Lamb to a Priest. Had Israel received Him, He would have honored their faith and become their king, but the chances of that happening were as unlikely as the Father being wrong about sending His Son to die for our sins in the first place. Indeed, they rejected Him. A day is coming when Jesus will wear a crown and be our king forever. The Levitical priesthood of the old covenant was performed throughout the millennia, every annual sacrifice and every gift they offered, even the design and structure of the tabernacle, all pointed to one sacrifice that Jesus made with His own flesh. If thousands of years were devoted to illustrating one sacrifice, then how many millennia are devoted to His kingship that is waiting for Him in the not so distant future? It is questionable how many knew what they were doing when the Levitical priesthood performed their duties throughout the centuries, yet those with insight knew, such as David and the Old Testament prophets, but the rest of Israel were mostly in the dark about God's real purpose for their nation. (246d) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> The true tabernacle – The True tabernacle refers to heaven. Hence, the earthen tabernacle that God commanded Moses was a reproduction of the heavenly sanctuary, which means that heaven is a holy place, and it has a Holy of Holies. The holy place is the New Jerusalem, and the Holy of Holies is God's throne, which is the holiest place in creation, and the outer tabernacle is the new earth that God will create after the Millennium. He will destroy the present creation and build a new heavens and a new earth in its place. When it says that the Lord pitched the true sanctuary, it indicates that heaven (the New Jerusalem) was created. That is, although the New Jerusalem is eternal in that it will forever remain, it didn’t always exist; it too is a creation of God. This is significant in that it suggests that God existed in eternity past before He created anything for an unknown segment of eternity, and every segment of eternity is an eternity in itself. This suggests that God existed in pitch-black darkness for an undeterminable amount of time that for all intents and purposes was forever in the past, and the Bible says that He also dwells in an environment of fire and smoke. All these are attributes of hell. When God sends someone to hell, he is sending him to a place that is very familiar to Him, except that hell is not hellish to God. This means hell is hell because of sin. Paul said in 1Cor 15-56, “The sting of death is sin;” the sting of hell is sin. See also: True tabernacle; Heb 8-1,2; 140f / God experienced hell before He created anything (It is His environment of choice); 2Cor 13-11; 126a Heb 8-1,2 (133e) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holiness >> The body of Christ is holy >> The temple of God is holy – Our bodies are the temple of God, according to 2Cor 6-16. Another word for temple is “sanctuary”. Jesus was the True sanctuary, where God placed His Holy Spirit, the fullness of the anointing. He has preeminence over all things, and we model after Him. We represent Him to creation. (140f) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> God builds your spirit with His own hands – The true tabernacle is not on earth but in heaven. We are told in Revelation that there is a great wall surrounding the city of God, and there is a gate made of a single pearl that gives access into the city. Prior to His death Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, and He passed through the gate that led into the city, and there was a great celebration, because everyone thought Jesus was coming to deliver Israel from its oppressors and to be crowned king. Shortly after that the same people who rejoiced condemned Him, saying, “His blood shall be on us and on our children” (Mat 27-25). After He shed His blood, God raised Him from the dead and He ascended to heaven. Our crucified Lord returned to the Father under new circumstances, as Savior of the world, passing through the pearly gates into the holy city, and all the angels of heaven rejoiced, for this is the true tabernacle and city that the Lord pitched, not man. God commanded Moses to design the tabernacle according to the specifications given to him on the mountain, which were specifications similar to the layout of the New Jerusalem. Therefore, how welcome will we be and at home will we feel living in our heavenly city? See also: True tabernacle; Heb 8,1-6; 246d (217c) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God is independent of His creation >> No one can walk in His glory without His consent – If anybody walks in the glory of God, it is because he is following the dictates of Christ, who follows the dictates of His Father. Nobody picks up an arbitrary set of works and performs them with the result of walking in the glory of God. A person who lives in the glory of God is following the Holy Spirit, walking on the trail of good works that God has prepared for him beforehand, that he should walk in them (Eph 2-10). Heb 8-1 (66d) Authority >> Lordship of Christ >> Jesus is Lord of heaven (67c) Authority >> Jesus at the right hand of the father >> He is interceding for us there – Jesus is our Great High Priest “at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens.” His priestly role had little to do with his life in the flesh, but used His flesh as an offering that He presented to the Father, and then He took on the role of Priest when He ascended to heaven. When He came into the presence of God, He had a bountiful gift prepared that gave reason for God to forgive mankind their sins. If God asks, ‘Why should I forgive you,’ our answer should be, ‘Because of the sacrifice that Jesus offered on my behalf.’ Believing in the finished work of the cross is the only way God will allow anyone into His heaven. See also: Born in sin, needing salvation; Tit 3-3; 145f KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 8,3-6 (35a) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> He is generous with the flesh of His Son (173b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the Catholic faith >> Relationship between Jesus and His mother >> Jesus is our mediator, not Mary (or the apostles) – Had Jesus returned to the Father without an offering there would have been no change in covenants, and no reason for God to forgive us. ‘Why should I forgive mankind?’ That is what God asked Himself, and He answered His own question with the blood of Christ. Now that Jesus has gone to the cross, when a person stands in judgment before Him, He might ask His Son, ‘why should I forgive Him?’ Jesus can now say, ‘Because I shed my blood for Him, and he acknowledges Me as his Savior, and he has received the Holy Spirit as the seal of his redemption.’ In the eyes of God there is an equal exchange, the sacrifice of Christ for our faith. Without the sacrifice there can be no forgiveness, and without faith, salvation is incomplete. This is good enough reason for God to forgive our sins. Jesus stands as our mediator; we have a friend in the court of appeals who vouches for us, though we are guilty as charged, yet our faith in Jesus' blood sacrifice is reckoned as righteousness. There is no need for Mary to be our intercessor. See also: Salvation; Heb 8-1; 67c Heb 8-3 (82j) Thy kingdom come >> Prayer >> Thankfulness >> Sacrifice of praise (87e) Thy kingdom come >> Ministry to God through obedience >> Seeking the glory of God (189b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> Holy offering (190a) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Masochism (Self-made martyr) (235j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Giving (your inner self) >> Taking on the role of a priest in your giving Heb 8,4-13 (90d) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >> It takes Jesus’ place until He arrives Heb 8,4-6 (205g) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> New covenant >> The new one is a better one – There were essentially two covenants that God made with Israel: the covenant with Abraham and the covenant He wrote in the blood of Christ, and both were based on faith. The word “better” is used 13 times in the book of Hebrews to say that “[Jesus] has obtained a more excellent ministry” than the priests of the old covenant. When we think of the difference between the new covenant ministry that Jesus has in heaven as a mediator between God and man, compared to the ministry of the old covenant priesthood on earth, which served as a mere copy and shadow of things that were to come, the contrast is nearly infinite. Heb 8-4,5 (12m) Servant >> Jesus is our example of a servant (80f) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to learn the ways of God >> Understanding His will Heb 8-5 (90j) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> We do not nullify the law through faith; we fulfill it -- This verse goes with verses 10&11 Heb 8-6 (83g) Thy kingdom come >> Jesus intercedes for us >> Jesus is our Great High Priest (109h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit the teacher >> Spirit teaches us about the word of God >> Spirit teaches us about Jesus (137d) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Jesus is the foundation of God’s favor in our lives – The word “better” signifies that the New Testament is better than the old, with Jesus as the foundation of God’s favor in our lives. Before Christ, it was just man attempting to communicate with God, and that didn’t work very well, because there needed to be a mediator. God and man don’t get along very well without a referee between us, because of sin, and now that God has judged our sin through Christ, we can go to heaven and live with Him forever. Jesus makes sense to us; He came to live among us; He became one of us, and now we have become one with Him, as Jesus is one with the Father. He can relate to God and to us, interfacing between us like the middle gear in a set of gears. He is the God-man; this is the teaching of Hebrews. In the eons to come when we have a question about God that we don’t understand, we can go to the Lord and He will answer us on human terms, and if it is one of those answers that we must experience in order to understand it, He will lead us through that experience that we may come to know Him on a yet higher plane, yet there are some mysteries about God that will persist throughout eternity. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 8,7-13 (8f) Responsibility >> Prepare to interact with God >> Law prepares you for the Spirit – Instead of writing the laws on a piece of paper or on tablets of stone, He now writes them in our heart. The product of the cross is the forgiveness of sin, and the byproduct of the cross is that God imbues us with His Spirit. He comes to live in our heart and teach us about God, and He bears fruit for God that concurrently fulfills the laws of God, enhancing our conscience, helping us know the difference between good and evil. That is, the Holy Spirit eliminates our need for the law, and without the Holy Spirit the law is a duty and a command. In essence, the law has been made obsolete. We can read the laws to this day in the Old Testament, but God has since placed them in our heart, so we no longer want to steal or kill or commit adultery, etc. Rather, we now want to love the Lord our God with all our heart and our brother as ourselves. We still sin, but now we sin against our own will. (135m) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Similarity in the body >> The things we have in common >> Common salvation (141a) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus as the great Shepherd – Why do we still have preachers (shepherds), since the Holy Spirit teaches us about God? Our need for preachers is to give us further revelation and wisdom in the knowledge of God to help us continue to live and walk in faith. We don’t need them to tell us the difference between good and evil, for the Holy Spirit does that. It is automatic for us to know these things, though we have all met someone who doesn't know the difference between good and evil. They are a sharp contrast to the Christian, showing the contribution that the Holy Spirit makes in our lives. (170f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Temporary >> Whatever is temporary will perish – The new covenant has replaced the old covenant because of its inadequacy. That is, to the degree that Jesus conducts His priesthood from heaven is better than old covenant temple worship, in which the priests used the blood of bulls and goats to forgive sin, this is the degree to which the ministry of the Holy Spirit is better than the law of Moses. Therefore, if the new covenant is better than the old, how much better will our lives be in eternity compared to our current lives in the flesh? The opportunities to serve the Lord and glorify Him, building up rewards for faithfulness that we will offer Him on that day, pales to eternity when we take hold of that which is life indeed. No earthly language has been invented to describe the glory of heaven. (190f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Circumcision >> Undressing >> Dismantling the outer tabernacle (205h) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> New covenant >> The old one is obsolete – Old covenant temple worship is ready to disappear means that it will not reappear, yet nearly every Christian who knows anything about endtime prophecy expects Israel to rebuild the old covenant temple, but God is saying that temple worship is obsolete and has disappeared, indicating that Israel will get no help from God in rebuilding its temple, further indicating that the temple is not necessary to fulfill endtime prophecy. This suggests that the temple probably will not be rebuilt, meaning that we must reinterpret the Bible passages that we currently purport is telling us that it will be rebuilt, namely Mat 24-15,16. Even if Israel did rebuild its temple, they will not sacrifice on its altar (Daniel 9-27). See also: Temple of judgment; Rev 16,1-12; 245g (205ka) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> Faith versus works >> The faith of God versus the faith of men >> Faith versus the law >> The work of faith versus the works of the law – There were two covenants, the old and the new, Abraham versus Christ, but Israel in the time of Christ interpreted their covenant in terms of Moses. Where does Abraham fit, then. The covenant that God made with Abraham is similar to the new covenant in that both are based on faith; he then acts as the foundation for the new covenant, especially the part where God commanded Abraham to leave everything behind and pilgrimage in a foreign land. This is the epitome of walking by faith. It says that the change in covenants was between Moses’ law and Jesus’ blood, suggesting that Abraham’s covenant did not change. This shows how advanced Abraham was in his faith and the sophistication he had with God that there would be no need for amendment in the way he pleased God throughout the millennia. Abraham was a new covenant Christian in the days following Noah's flood, that far back, even before the old covenant was inaugurated through Moses. Paul said that Abraham was the father of our faith (Rom 4,11-16), meaning that his example is with us to this day as to how we should walk with God. So Abraham’s covenant is no different from the covenant of the Spirit, which is a byproduct of the cross. The law came to supplement Abraham’s covenant; its purpose was to end all disputes about sin, then Jesus came fifteen hundred years later to replace the law of Moses with a covenant that He would make in His own blood. The covenant of Moses showed us our sin, and then the covenant of Christ removed that sin. How much greater is the covenant of Christ than the covenant of Moses? One removes all question of guilt, while the other removes all guilt without question! See also: New Covenant is better than the old; Heb 7,1-28; 80l (214f) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> Dispensation of God’s revelations >> Dispensation of Christ Heb 8-7,8 (52e) Judgment >> Judging Church with world >> Law judges sin >> God judges the lost through the law (55b) Paradox >> Opposites >> A flawless God mandating a covenant with flaws Heb 8-8 (37g) Judgment >> Redemption of man >> His blood is the gift of His grace (71i) Authority >> Ordained by God >> Jesus is ordained by God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 8-9 (20l) Sin >> Disobedience >> Paying no attention to the word (87b) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word from the heart >> We have no choice but to be doers of the word (93l) Thy kingdom come >> Following Jesus >> The multitude follow Jesus (161f) Works of the devil >> Wandering >> Wander from the commandments of God (197d) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual laziness >> Rebelling against where God wants you to go >> Refuse to enter His rest – God grew tired of Israel in the process of delivering them from Egypt. He loathed them wandering in the wilderness. He scarcely endured them entering the promise land, defeating their enemies, building their capital in Jerusalem, their temple of worship through Solomon, and He finally gave them up to their apostasy, ending in bondage to the Babylonians. He saw their stubbornness and handed them to a strong angel to lead them into the promise land, who had more patience than Almighty God (Exodus 23,20-23 and Ex 33,1-5), whose greatness and glory refuses to be dishonored. God does not enjoy our stubbornness. Maybe we think He can’t live without us or that we are cute when we disobey Him or that He has to forgive us based on His own covenant, but the lesson we learn from Israel's disobedience is that if it weren’t for the mercy of Christ, we would all be destroyed. However, there is good news, for it was the Father who sent His Son in the first place (Jn 3-16), proving His love for mankind. (198c) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Ungrateful – When we read the Old Testament and the whole story of Israel, what stands out the most is their stubbornness and ingratitude; this is what God hated most about them. Our lives are only seventy or eighty years of misery, ninety if we are unlucky, and then it is finished, and if we believed in God, we get to go to heaven and live with Him forever and ever. Why can’t people believe in God? It is because they are stubborn and ungrateful. Ingratitude is more than a sign of unbelief; it is a satanic force that induces a cascade of disobedience with the negative power to destroy our lives. Israel was bitter and unbelieving, all because of their ingratitude. Had they just been thankful that He cared for them enough to deliver them, everything would have been different. (202a) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Man’s will over God >> Man is unwilling to walk in God’s grace (203j) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Withdraw from obeying God >> Withdrawing from the narrow way (206e) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to the love of God >> Conditions to the father’s love (237d) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> The Rapture >> Receiving the kingdom in God’s time – We would think God should have rescued Israel from the bondage of Egypt sooner than 400 years. Why did God wait so long? After 400 years of slavery and abuse, the heart of Israel grew bitter. They had heard the stories from generation to generation that Abraham was their father, and that he heard the voice of God, who chose him from among all the families of the earth to become a nation of God’s own possession. They held out hope that this would have application to their lives one day, but in a span of four hundred years slowly these stories faded into obscurity and became legends. They got tired of believing and waiting and eventually gave up hope in God. He actually waited for their hope to die and their hearts to harden before He called them out of Egypt. Why did He do that? These are the ways of God; we think we know Him, but He does things like this. He also promised to delay in the last days (Mat 25-5). He waits until people give up hope; then He comes, testing mankind to see who is worthy of His joyful kingdom and His promise of everlasting life. God has given us everything we need to believe in Him; He created the entire universe and our galaxy and a solar system and the earth; He created everything living and non-living, all bearing witness of His existence and character. Although God cursed the universe because of Satan, just the fact that it exists demonstrates His ability. If He has that kind of power, then what kind of person is He? He must have infinite wisdom! Wouldn’t His wisdom lead Him to love and compassion? These are things that His creation teaches us, and He thinks it is enough for us to believe in Him for a lifetime, no matter what happens. After 400 years Israel gave up on God, and His attitude was that they should not have forsaken Him. In the last days, people will give up on Him again, and His attitude will be the same; as they died wandering in the wilderness, so they will die worshipping the antichrist. He does not accept any excuses saying, “I did not care for them.” Israel’s bitterness is still following them. They still don’t believe in their Deliverer. He came and demonstrated the character of God, died for their sins, and they rejected Him. God doesn’t care for those who give up on Him. In the last days He will call Israel again, and this time they will answer His call with obedience and faithfulness. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 8,10-13 (30f) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Favor with God through His word – Note that this prophecy is prefixed with the statement, “After those days.” After what days? After the days of the old covenant. That is, the new covenant age has brought an end to the old covenant, and so our relationship with God is not an amalgamation of both old and new, just the new. We still read the Old Testament for its rich wisdom, relevant stories and unfulfilled prophecies, but as it says in verse 13, one covenant has replaced the other. Therefore, anyone who thinks God still believes in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth doesn’t know that such living styles are now condemned. (245i) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Manifestation of God’s righteous judgment >> Manifestation of Jesus’ victory over sin – This Old Testament prophecy taken from Jeremiah 31,27-40 has been fulfilled, but not in its entirety. God has written His laws in our hearts by giving us His Spirit, which is the essence of the new covenant, and though people have taught their fellow citizens to know the Lord, still not all know Him, suggesting this prophecy will be fulfilled in the last days leading to the Millennium. Prophecy is most often fulfilled as a divine process, and not as a single event. Some prophecies are fulfilled in events, such as when Israel regained its sovereignty as a nation in 1948. God and man have different perspectives: God views the activities of men based on His clock, while man views the fulfillment of God’s plan as a sequence of events. For example, according to God's perspective the transition from the age of grace to the Millennium will be that which was predestined to occur. Jesus will come and set up His kingdom and live here for a thousands years and those following Him will move from paradise to earth that has been ravaged by war. Those in heaven may have seen the travesty that occurred on earth during the great tribulation but because it didn’t pertain to them, they merely perceived it as a lot of smoke and fire. This is the way it is for people who live with God; they have no cause to be alarmed, for there are no bumps in the road for them. The most terrible period in human history appeared to them as mere commotion. God is looking at the clock, who knows the designated time to intervene and set up His thousand-year reign. For Him everything is by the clock, not by a set of events that supposedly should take place. The minute hand has raced around its face millions of times, but one day it will point to the hour and minute of Christ's second coming. Therefore, “Whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear,” refers both to the old covenant and to the old creation that will be replaced by the new covenant and the new kingdom that Christ will establish in the Millennium, a kingdom that will last forever and ever. Heb 8,10-12 (106n) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Purpose of hearing from God >> God gives us instruction – We still have teachers of God’s word in the new covenant and they are necessary, and we also have evangelists informing the world of God’s grace. So, when it says, “They shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, 'know the Lord,' for all will know Me,” he meant that we will learn about God through His word and through the Spirit. (132k) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Holy Spirit is in the hearts of men – This is an Old Testament verse prophesying about the age of grace, and it is perhaps the best description of it, differentiating between old and new covenants. The old covenant was based on law, whereas the new covenant is based on God placing His Spirit in our heart, so there are no longer external mandates but an internal desire to please the Lord. Paul wrote about this in 2Cor 3-3, “You are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” The old covenant was insufficient with Moses penning down the words and preserving them over the millennia for Israel and the world to read and obey. Whatever was written on the page is what they knew about God, but in the new covenant He can also communicate His specific will to each person through the Spirit. (136j) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Body of Christ is the temple of God (152i) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Prophets >> The Church holds the position of a prophet >> Church operates under a prophetic anointing >> Receiving a prophetic word from God – Every believer in Jesus a prophet who has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him (Jn 16-13). Nevertheless, there are entire denominations that believe and teach that there are no prophets in the new covenant era, yet they themselves are holding the position of a prophet if they have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. They have the potential to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit (Rev 2-7), which is no different from any prophet of the Old Testament. To say that there are no prophets in these last days is like saying there is no water in the ocean; they can’t see the forest through the trees. (239e) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachable students >> The teachable are taught by God Heb 8-10,11 (90j) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> We do not nullify the law through faith; we fulfill it -- These verses go with verse 5 (110h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the truth >> Hearing the Spirit – The Bible is much like a bundle of sticks; we throw them on the fire and it gives us light, warmth and wards off wolves at night. The stick alone gives no light, nor can it warm us, but when we throw it on the fire, it is transformed into light, heat and smoke, bringing terror to all the surrounding predators that suddenly become afraid of us and keep their distance. Sticks represent passages in the Bible and fire is the Holy Spirit. Fire without sticks will die, and sticks without the fire have no power to enlighten us, but when we put the two together, we discover the knowledge of God that can change the world. This knowledge the world cannot comprehend because it does not know Him. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. He came as the word of the Spirit. He knew everything that God was saying and doing, and we have the capacity to know these things too, but we must “pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts” (2Pet 1-19). Analogy (Heart is like a sharpshooter); Rev 2-4; 161d (208h) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Relationship with God by the Spirit Heb 8-10 (74b) Thy kingdom come >> The heart >> God wants a relationship with your heart (78j) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind by the word of God >> Study the Bible KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 8-12 (31l) Gift of God >> Gift of His grace >> Forgiveness is a of God’s grace (120f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> Forgiveness is an act of mercy >> God passes over our sins Heb 8-13 (58g) Paradox >> Opposites >> Old covenant versus the new covenant (118m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >> Law of the spirit >> Newness of the spirit transcends oldness of the letter – God views things as a smooth transition, whereas we feel every bump in the road, because we are little and He is big, like viewing Mount Everest twenty miles away and then viewing the entire earth from outer space, seeing no bumps or dimples on it but as a perfectly round ball. The part of the old covenant that is not obsolete is the prophecies they contain that have not yet been fulfilled, including the prophecy of a new heavens and a new earth. Once this prophecy if fulfilled, everything in this natural realm will be burned up including every Bible, though God will make sure to preserve His word in heaven. The new covenant soaked in the blood of Christ will also remain forever in heaven, as will the Spirit-filled believer, but the Law of Moses is already obsolete. (216j) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God Is Independent Of His Creation >> You cannot control God’s desire for you >> man is not in control of his own destiny See next page