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 greatest >> 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 the 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 maintains His
priesthood forever, which means He intercedes for us before the Father for the
hope of eternal life, and once we get to heaven He will continue interceding
for us throughout eternity before the Father. 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 comes 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
(243l) 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
(243l) 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 instead of learning about God through His word as in the old
covenant, we will also come to know Him 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 the stick
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).
(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 see and 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
|