tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41746472208241346332024-03-18T10:14:29.866-05:00What's in a Name?Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, Acts 4:12.
My wife and I hope that our Blog may be used as a tool to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. We desire to minister His message of salvation to anyone who is willing to hear us. We believe His free gift of salvation is available to all, and we invite whosoever will to come and take freely of the water of life, Revelation 22:17.Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.comBlogger677125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-71468055711340395052024-03-18T10:13:00.003-05:002024-03-18T10:13:49.108-05:00Hebrews Chapter Nine, The Symbol's Impotence<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 9:9 It was symbolic for the present
time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who
performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Pause
for a moment to focus on the first three words of verse 9. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It was symbolic</b>.” What was symbolic?
The tabernacle, and everything that it represented under the Old Testament
Judaic dispensation. While it still stood, the symbol, not the substance, was
with Israel.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
next four words relate the duration that this symbolism was intended to last: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For the present time</b>.” The present
time’s duration terminated with a definite, historical moment. Verse 11 tells
us, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Christ came</b>.” The tabernacle
stood as a symbol of things to come UNTIL the One whose shadow the tabernacle
was finally arrived.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Two
important lessons are taught here. One: the tabernacle and all it encompasses
are symbolic of spiritual truth. Two: the tabernacle was not intended to remain
forever, but would be eclipsed and put away by the perfect offering of Christ,
Hebrews 9:14.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
writer’s exposition of Old Testament truth continues. The temporal symbol had
both gifts and offerings involved. Yet both (gifts and offerings) could not
make the one who performed these things perfect in regard to the conscience.
Here we find that the term “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">perfect</b>,”
which normally means “complete or mature,” in fact infers something different.
To make a valid contrast we must appeal one more time to Hebrews 9:14. The
blood of Christ our Lord, offered to the Father as payment for sin through the
mediation of the Holy Spirit, cleanses the human conscience.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Before
approaching verse 14, the writer is emphatic in stating that the gifts and
offerings under Judaism cannot remove the genuine guilt the offender feels.
Conscience implies “consciousness of sin.” Killing a goat or bull and offering
its blood in the tabernacle falls under the jurisdiction of what the author
will term “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">fleshly ordinances</b>,”
verse 10. If the ordinances imposed upon Israel were fleshly, then they could
not genuinely impact the worshiper’s spiritual state.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">God
told the Jews that the animal killed, or more specifically their blood, would
provide atonement, the Hebrew “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kaphar</i>”
or covering. The blood would cover (not remove) the penitent’s sins until the
time of God’s appointment, when His Son would come to put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself, Hebrews 9:26.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">What
then was the purpose of offering sacrifices for hundreds of years? If one did
not have the guilt of their sin taken away, what was the point? First, God
commanded it. Like Adam in Eden, a command was given, and if the penitent
performed the command by faith, it was imputed to them for righteousness. More
plainly, if the Jewish worshiper sacrificed a lamb because he believed God’s
word and obeyed the commandment, God viewed him as righteous, because one’s
faith saves them. Again, more particularly, one’s faith in God saves them. This
was how God’s legitimate children were separated from professors of the word.
Those who by faith obey what is commanded reveal themselves as His sons and
daughters. Those who provide lip service but refuse God’s lordship of their
lives demonstrate themselves to be false confessors.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Mind
you, this is from a purely human perspective, as James wrote, James 2:14-26.
Paul addressed one’s standing before God in Romans chapter 4, and how works
make us no better before Him. So while an utter lack of interest in anything
pertaining to the kingdom of God seems inimical toward genuine conversion; we
are cautioned in the New Testament that the saints may manifest no works, but
be saved through fire still.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Second,
the tabernacle, and the Law itself, was a teaching tool for Israel, as Paul
related. One learns by repetition. Think back to our school days, and how
letters and numbers and more advanced concepts were introduced little by
little, as we could bear it. Rudimentary concepts were introduced, and then
inculcated in our young minds until we grasped them fundamentally and were
tested to ensure that we understood the material. Then, and only then, did we
progress in the school system. Otherwise, we were held back to repeat simpler
lessons before graduating to harder concepts. It would be pointless to teach a
seven-year-old algebra if we don’t know what 1+1 is yet.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">That
is why the Bible is often referred to as a progressive revelation. God is the
greatest teacher, and His chosen nation Israel had lessons to learn under the
schoolmaster of the Law. Even before Moses, God drew out certain men, issued
them commandments (such as circumcision) promising a future furtherance of
their progeny’s fortunes. But Scripture and history function a little
differently from the school system. The Jews didn’t have a graduating class; in
fact, history attests that the Jewish people under the dispensation of the Law
often failed their tests. In this case it wasn’t a passing or failing grade
that progressed further revelation; it was God’s timing as He inspired His
prophets to contribute more to the word, until the canon of revelation was
complete.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">God
permitted time to elapse, sometimes long periods of it, between prophets and
prophecies, perhaps to further demonstrate that the oracles given were not
given by men’s whims or dreams, but by a greater power, a higher intelligence
coordinating the messages into a seamless, unified whole, culminating with
Malachi before God became “silent” for the space of 400 years. Like the Lord
gave Canaan 400 years to repent before bringing in Israel for judgment upon
them, He granted his people four centuries to consider the prophetic message
and decide whether or not they believed Yahweh. Those who did, prepared by the
Law and Prophets, would recognize and receive the Christ when He came. Those
who did not, such as the collective Sanhedrin, would reject Him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Third,
the Law and temple sacrifice existed as a stout reminder of human sin and moral
guilt. The blood of lambs and bulls was a reminder that sin’s penalty was
death; God revealed no other punishment for sin outside of shedding of blood.
Shedding of blood, He told Israel, remitted sin. In other words, the death of
the guilty party satisfied God’s judgment. But what does it mean to die?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">There
is much speculation in Christendom about the nature of death, and the duration
of God’s judgment. But a conscientious Christian is not permitted to go beyond
the boundaries of what God’s word explains. We know that death does not involve
annihilation of the soul, soul sleep, reincarnation, or anything remotely like
these concepts. The human soul is conscious after physical death. This implies
separation. Separation is what death means, and it is multifaceted.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">First,
a person’s soul is separated from their physical body. By this act, we are
further separated from the world we lived upon until death took us. But there
is more. The most important separation has already occurred in mankind, and it
is one we suffer the moment we are conceived. Being born in sin, possessing a
sin nature, we are separate from God our Creator. This fact is why the other
two instances of separation occur to begin with. God cannot be joined to sin.
Our original nature is sinful, and until we experience the new birth we are
children of wrath, destined for eternal separation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Yes,
separation from the Lord is permanent. It is permanent in its only true sense,
which means it is eternal. That is why Jesus contrasts eternal life, which is
given to the righteous by faith, with eternal death, which is given to the lost
by their rejection of the Son, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43-48, 2 Thessalonians
1:9, Revelation 14:10, 11. Those who reject the Savior spend eternity in
torment, separated from Him who is life, and conscious of the fact that they
chose that it should be so.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
penitent Jew might consider these truths of separation from his Creator as he
offered up his gift upon the altar, Isaiah 59:2. The animal being offered up by
the priests represented that person’s death. The lamb died in the man’s stead.
All that stood between man and God’s wrath upon sin was His command to offer up
an animal on the Jewish altar, the lamb suffering the separation his own sins
deserved. While this stirred up a reminder of sin and its consequence, it left
the penitent still needing genuine freedom from it. Otherwise, as the writer
himself remarks later, would they not have ceased being offered, Hebrews 10:2?</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-5438579880876208882024-03-15T09:06:00.000-05:002024-03-15T09:06:58.737-05:00Hebrews Chapter Nine, Indication<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 9:8 the Holy Spirit indicating
this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the
first tabernacle was still standing.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Pneumatology
is the study of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. Many things have been said about
God the Holy Spirit, and many Christian sects and pseudo-Christian cults claim
that the Holy Spirit is not a person. He is not part of the Trinity, or
Godhead.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">While
our study in Hebrews is not invested in a lengthy study of God the Holy Spirit,
one can’t read past verses such as this one without being arrested by the
nature of its construction. The Holy Spirit indicates to the readership of the
Old Testament that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet open. As
Scripture’s Author, the Holy Spirit used descriptive language to expound how
the tabernacle was an indication that the Holiest of All was not accessible by
means of the Levitical offerings.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Indication
and description are excellent evidences of personhood. The Holy Spirit is not
an energy source or breath, He is God. Through one human author (Moses) He
indicated the transient reality of Israel’s priesthood. In Hebrews, and through
it’s human author, He reveals that the way is now open, but not through the
Jewish tabernacle.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Jesus
our Lord refers to the Holy Spirit as “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">He</b>”
when revealing that when the Lord is gone, He will send the Holy Spirit, John
16:7, 8. The personal pronoun is used only to describe a Being, not a thing or
object. The Holy Spirit’s purpose in this instance will be an agent of conviction.
Determinate purpose is required to convict someone of something; it involves by
inference reason and argumentation. These qualities abide only in those who
also possess the quality of individual personhood.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Turning
to the Book of Acts, or the Acts of the Apostles, we see much activity
regarding the Holy Spirit. The book could honestly be subtitled, “The Acts of
the Holy Spirit,” since He superintends the entire book’s history very actively
throughout. We find Him in Acts chapter 8 maneuvering His servant Philip into a
position to evangelize. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Then the Spirit
said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot</b>,” Acts 8:29. When Philip
did as he was commanded, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the Spirit of
the Lord caught Philip away,</b>” Acts 8:39. The Holy Spirit articulates His
intentions and desires to others in a clear way; this is clearly evidence of
His personhood. He caught Philip away, translating Philip like Elijah or Enoch
from desert land to Azotus, Acts 8:40. And we know of the latter that the Lord
took them. So it was with Philip.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Again
in Acts the Holy Spirit declares His will by stating, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called
them</b>,” Acts 13:2, NASB. This is one work our Lord Jesus mentioned when He
told Saul, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Arise and go into the city,
and you will be told what you must do,</b>” Acts 9:6. Told by whom? God the
Holy Spirit. In Acts 13:4 we read, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">So,
being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went</b>,” NASB. The Holy Spirit
addresses the disciples as head of the church, telling the men gathered that He
has work set apart for them to accomplish. Likewise, He sends them out; above
that, we know from Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians that He also equips them,
1 Corinthians 12:7-11. Verse 11 is explicit in stating that the Holy Spirit
distributes, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">to each one individually
as He wills</b>.” The Holy Spirit’s will determines the spiritual gift each
member of the church is equipped with. To deny the personhood and deity of the
Holy Spirit is to bankrupt the professing church of the very gifts that make it
useful for ministry.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
know in Isaiah 48:16 that the Holy Spirit, along with God the Father, sent the
Christ to His people. In Ezekiel, when the prophet is overwhelmed by the vision
of the Lord of Hosts, it is the Holy Spirit who, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me,
“Go, shut yourself inside your house</b>,” Ezekiel 3:24. The Holy Spirit
entered Ezekiel to empower him for his coming ministry; a most challenging
ministry to the hard hearted and stiff-necked children of Israel, already in
exile as Jerusalem and Judah succumbed to Babylon’s armies, see also Ezekiel
2:2.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Scripture
attests that the Holy Spirit can suffer grief by human misconduct, Ephesians
4:30, Isaiah 63:10. In both instances this is on account of His chosen people
rebelling against His leadership. An energy source cannot be grieved. Grief is
a trait that reveals emotion and reflection. It goes deeper than simply being
sad. It is an intricate part of one’s personhood. Oxford defines “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">grief</i>” as, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">feel intense sorrow, especially because of someone’s death, or cause
great distress to</i>.” When someone wants what is best for you, and you turn
away from their company and counsel, it grieves them. Parents with errant
children can undoubtedly attest to this fact. So too does the Holy Spirit
suffer grief when His children go astray.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Holy Spirit was indicating that the way into the Holiest of All was not made
manifest (obvious, evident, or visible) yet. The very presence of the earthly
tabernacle was an indication to the Jews that their salvation had not been
accomplished yet. They were still anticipating Messiah, and every lamb offered
on the altar was a tacit reminder of His imminence.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Holiest of All, of course, was the chamber where the Ark of the Covenant dwelt,
the curtain barred the curious from entering, and the Shekinah glory resided
over the mercy seat. We have already noted the Shekinah departing the temple
prior to its overthrow at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, Ezekiel 10:18.
The final act to demonstrate the transience of the temple’s purpose occurred
when Christ’s offering for sin was completed. It is written, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Then, behold, the veil of the temple was
torn in two from top to bottom</b>,” Matthew 27:51. What was this indicating?
The way in, the barred way only the high priest could enter once a year, was
thrown wide open. The blood of Christ had been shed; His life was an offering
for sin, and by the offering we had all been redeemed. The curtain was
destroyed, and the Holiest of All (on earth) exposed to curious eyes. Why? It
was indicative that access to God and Heaven was now open through Jesus Christ.
Those waiting in Abraham’s Bosom for the fullness of the time would wait no
longer. Jesus descended and led captivity captive, bringing the saints prior to
the cross into His Father’s presence in Heaven. There was no wall of separation
between man and God any longer; Christ our Lord tore it down. There was no wall
of separation between Jew and Gentile any longer; Christ our Lord tore it down.
What the human high priest, descended from Aaron, could never do with animal
sacrifice, Jesus did with His own blood: provide complete and sufficient
atonement for all people.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-26649585327019623072024-03-13T15:41:00.001-05:002024-03-13T15:41:29.724-05:00Hebrews Chapter Nine, Entering The Holiest Of All<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 9:6 Now when these things had been
thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle,
performing the services. [7] But into the second part the high priest went
alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the
people’s sins committed in ignorance;</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
writer is addressing the preparation of the tabernacle during the wilderness
wandering, when Israel camped for forty years, and only when the tabernacle was
thus prepared would the ministry of the priesthood begin, verse 6.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">One
cannot stress how powerful the pull and history of Judaism was to the first
century Christians. The church began entirely Jewish and was considered a sect
of Judaism called the Way. Jesus had come as Israel’s Messiah and Jewish
patriotism filled the minds of the followers of this new ’sect’, Acts 1:6. But
during the church’s formative years it became increasingly clear that
Christianity was not a sect of Judaism, or its natural progression. Christ
fulfilled and put away the Law, abolishing the necessity of the priesthood and
sacrifice on Jewish altars by His death.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Despite
that, Judaism clung to the disciples of the Lord. The new church remained in
the region around Jerusalem until driven out by persecution, preaching only to
fellow Jews the salvation found in Christ. When God the Holy Spirit compelled
Peter to preach the gospel to Cornelius, the Jews were angry with him for being
in the presence of unclean Gentiles, Acts 11:3. The first church council, held
in Jerusalem, dealt with the Law of Moses and its application to the Jewish
Christians and Gentile converts. The council given by James through Paul and
Barnabas was thoroughly Jewish, Acts 15:20, because Judaism and its (human)
benefactor were everywhere known, Acts 15:21.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Paul
disputed with Peter about Judaism’s importance in Christianity, and its
influence over its adherents in Antioch, Galatians 2:11. Peter understood the
liberty Christ set him free to, having exercised it with Cornelius’s household.
But James’ followers, clearly still staunch practitioners of external Judaism,
intimidated Peter, confused even Barnabas, and sent a conflicting message to
Gentile believers, Galatians 2:14.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Later,
Paul takes counsel from James and the elders when they said, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews
there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law</b>,” Acts
21:20. Rather, it seems these Jewish Christians ought to have been zealous for
Christ, the giver of the Law. Peter once again had the right of it when he
testified at the Jerusalem council, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">why
do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither
our fathers nor we were able to bear</b>?” Acts 15:10. An overabundant zeal for
the Law can deceive its devotee into trusting the Law (their own effort and
righteousness) rather than Jesus Christ. This was the crux of Paul’s teaching:
that salvation apart from the Law was found in Christ, and both Jew and Gentile
would be saved this way, Romans 3:28.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">James
counsels Paul to have himself ceremoniously cleansed with men who had taken a
vow, Acts 21:23, 24. James asserted the same pressure on Paul that he did on
Peter at Antioch, and Paul goes with these Christian Jews to the temple to be
ritually cleansed and identify himself as a keeper of the Mosaic Law. A vow
goes far back in Israel’s history. One example can be found in Numbers 21:2,
which states, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">If You will indeed
deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities</b>.”
There is an “if”, “then” formula with the vows, being conditional, and
contingent with action as an answer to God’s interposition.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">A
disastrous vow, infamous in the Bible’s annals, came from Jephthah, in Judges
chapter 11. He proclaimed that if God delivered the people of Ammon into his
hands, he would offer to God whatever came out of his door to greet him as a
burnt offering upon victory, Judges 11:30, 31. As it happened, his daughter came
out to greet him, and in order to fulfill is vow, he did as he said he would.
Some like to rationalize that Jephthah made his daughter remain a virgin for
the rest of her life; in other words, he never permitted her to marry. But the
context doesn’t permit it. His vow was to offer a burnt offering of what came
out of his house to greet him, and it says explicitly in Judges 11:39, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">he carried out his vow with her which he
had vowed</b>.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Granted,
Paul had taken a vow once beforehand, Acts 18:18. But the issue of Paul’s
message wasn’t to renounce Moses or the Decalogue. It was personal freedom in
Christ to live as a new creation. Jew or Gentile, one was born again into the
family of God and not bound by the constraints of their former life. James
emphasized Law obedience to the Jews, while treating Gentile converts a little
like proselytes to Judaism, giving them several very Jewish commands to follow,
though Paul controverted them in his epistles, 1 Corinthians chapter 8, Romans
chapter 14.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Why
are we considering this? These things happened in Jerusalem around 62 or 63 AD,
according to most Biblical historians. The epistle to the Hebrews was written
prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. It must be noted
and kept in mind that the author is, in a very real sense, dismantling the holy
ground of the Jewish mind with his depiction of the tabernacle’s impotence to
effect genuine salvation in those who attend it. The Way, or Christianity, was
very new to Jew and Gentile; and while its identity was grounded in Judaism, it
was not its extension or outgrowth. Christ tore down the wall of separation
between Jew and Gentile, figurative of the outer wall of the tabernacle’s
court, which Gentiles were not permitted to enter.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
house of ministry with its utensils and furniture, peopled by God’s chosen
priesthood, was a temporal thing whose efficacy consisted primarily in
demonstrating man’s sinfulness and how God had determined to reconcile the
fallen race of Adam back to Him. The priests performed the services required of
them by divine sanction, but that sanction was to prepare a people unto good
works whose faith was not in their temple, but in their God. The Jews were to
be a made an evangelistic vehicle to convert the Christ-rejecting world to true
faith, as God once used them as a retributive tool to punish the wickedness of
the nations that comprised Canaan.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
priests only had open access to the first part of the chamber, the holy place.
The veil prevented open entry or even the ability to look into the Holiest of
All, which the high priest alone was given the honor and responsibility to go
once a year. On the Day of Atonement the high priest would bring blood to
sprinkle on the mercy seat, a cloud of incense obscuring his sight to prevent
his death. This had to have been extremely daunting, to venture into the
presence of God’s Shekinah glory. But if one trusted that God was true, then he
knew the smoke would provide the barrier that permitted a holy God to abide the
presence of a sinful man. This too created the image of our Lord entering the
true Holiest of All in Heaven, with His own blood, before the Father.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
verse clearly states that the blood was an offering. First for the high priest,
and then for the general and entire population of Israel, including those
adopted by proselytism. Here we see the imagery of our Lord clearly revealed.
In the blood offering all Israel is atoned for, good or bad, holy or wicked.
The blood’s value isn’t on how many it can save; it is in whom is offering it.
The blood is of infinite value, for the sacrifice is also the high priest,
harmless and undefiled, who gives His own life to redeem our lost race.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Note
that the high priest went in once a year for the atonement. He did not need to
go back millions of times to atone for every individual in Israel whose sins
needed forgiveness. Though the individual would come with an offering before
priests, this indicated that the person in question recognized their own sins
and shed blood to remit them. The Day of Atonement represented the blotting out
of sin itself, our sin nature, or Original Sin, if you prefer. Christ’s blood,
symbolized by the lamb’s, did away with sin once (one time) for all (all people
for all time). Considering the system of worship and sacrifice, expressed on
Jewish altars for 1500 years, one can see why the Jew would be hesitant to
surrender it, or have a difficult time accepting that it had become obsolete.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-8956833822519994592024-03-11T08:31:00.000-05:002024-03-11T08:31:18.976-05:00Hebrews Chapter Nine, The Overshadowing Cherub<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 9:5 and above it were the cherubim
of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in
detail.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">If
the tabernacle was in fact an earthly shadow of the heavenly things, then this
depiction of the cherubim is quite telling. The highest of the angelic orders,
the cherubim held a position of great glory amidst the ranks of the host of
Heaven. Our Lord informs us that the angels are glorious (filled with glory),
Luke 9:26. In Jude we read, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Yet in the
same way these men, also be dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority,
and revile angelic majesties</b>,” Jude 8, NASB. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angelic majesties</i>” in the Greek is literally translated, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">glories</i>.” The HCSB renders the term “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">glorious ones.</b>”<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
cherubim are always closely linked to God and His throne. We read of their
activity in the person of one fallen cherub: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You were the anointed cherub who covers; you were on the holy mountain
of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones,</b>”
Ezekiel 28:14. The Hebrew word for “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">cover</b>,”
is “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sakak</i>,” and is defined as, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to entwine as a screen; by implication to
fence in or cover over; protect</i>.” The same sense is derived from the Greek
term “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">overshadowing</b>,” or in the KJV
simply, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">shadowing</b>.” The word “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kataskiazo</i>” meant that the cherubim cast
their shadows over, or upon, God’s mercy seat like a screen or cover.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">It
is worthy enough to note that these specific angels are called the cherubim of
glory. It was a position Lucifer forfeit in his rebellion, though his former
position was still acknowledged as superior when Michael the archangel and
prince of the nation of Israel did not speak sharply toward Satan when they
disputed, but left rebuking Satan to God, Jude 9.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
see the cherubim close at hand in Eden, protecting the entrance to the garden,
and God’s presence. We see the cherubim in Ezekiel’s time intrinsically linked
to God’s throne, as He appeared above the prophet in an awe-inspiring
theophany. Again we see the cherubim appear in John’s vision in the Revelation,
surrounding the throne of God in Heaven. We read in Psalms about the cherub’s
nearness to God. He rides upon them, Psalm 18:10. He dwells between them, Psalm
80:1, 99:1. The creation of both the tabernacle and temple heavily involved the
cherubim.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
read in Exodus, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Make one cherub at one
end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the
two ends of it one piece with the mercy seat,</b>” Exodus 25:19. Likewise, the
curtains of the tabernacle had woven images of cherubim on them, Exodus 26:1.
The highest order of angel stood in the nearest proximity of God and His
throne; and they compassed His tabernacle—like Eden—to guard the way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
millennial temple likewise is filled with imagery of the cherubim, even into
the Holiest of All, on the walls and doors of the temple, Ezekiel 41:18-20, 26.
In Solomon’s temple cherubim imagery abounded, alongside oxen and lions, 1
Kings 7:29, etc. In all places where God put His name the cherubim are shown to
have wings, depicted as spread out above the mercy seat of the Ark of the
Covenant. In Ezekiel’s vision of the final earthly temple the cherubim had two
faces: one of a man and another of a lion, while in Solomon’s temple there were
depicted with oxen and lions alike.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Ezekiel
gives an amazing description of the cherubim, Ezekiel 1:5-14. He notes these
things about their persons: The cherubim emerged from the self-engulfing fire
coming from the north; they proceeded from God’s intimate presence. The prophet
tells us the cherubim possessed the form (or shape) of a human male. They had
four wings each, with straight legs like a human’s that ended with calves’
hooves. They sparkled or gleamed like burnished bronze. This appears to suggest
that a sort of metallic glow radiated from their forms. They had human upper limbs,
and when they flew they did not change bodily direction, but pointed ever
forward, like Israel during their wilderness wandering when they broke camp.
The cherubim, Ezekiel relates, had four faces as well as four wings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">There
was a man’s face, a lion’s face on the right side, an ox’s face on the left,
and an eagle’s face. Like their depiction in gold upon the mercy seat, two of
their wings always touched one another’s, while the other two covered their
bodies, similar to the depiction of the seraphim in Isaiah. They were utterly
submissive to the Holy Spirit, which explains the eyes all around their bodies
in Ezekiel 10:12. They possessed godly wisdom and knowledge; they were
completely endowed by the Spirit to perform any service given them with the strength
the Spirit supplied. Ezekiel further states that they possessed a fiery
appearance above that of the burnished bronze. He described them as fiery
torches, racing like lightning, and lightning emerging from the fire, so great
was their splendor. Perhaps it is with a little irony that Jesus, when speaking
of the enemy, says, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I beheld Satan as
lightning fall from heaven</b>,” Luke 10:18, KJV. On a final note, the sound of
the cherubim’s wings while they flew was clearly awe-inspiring. The prophet
describes them: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">When the creatures
moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like
the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army</b>,” Ezekiel 1:24, NIV;
see also Ezekiel 10:5.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
likeness or presence of fire seems to be an ongoing theme with the cherubim’s
appearance. The first instance we find of it is in Genesis 3:24: “[God] <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">placed the cherubim and a flaming sword
that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life</b>,” ESV. The same
Hebrew term used to connote the seraphim in Isaiah chapter 6 is elsewhere
translated “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fiery serpent</i>,” or “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">flying fiery serpent</i>,” in the OT.
Whereas Ezekiel saw the cherubim burning like torches but called them cherubim
(Ezekiel 10:20), Isaiah refers to these angels as seraphim, perhaps because of
their fiery appearance. Scripture attests, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">he makes his messengers winds, his ministers (</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">angels</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) a flaming fire</b>,”
Psalm 104:4, ESV. In the book of Ezekiel the life of the cherubim was said to
reside within the wheels of fire they obediently followed, Ezekiel 1:20, 21.
Fire tends to represent jealousy or judgment in Scripture. This is typified in
the verse, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For the Lord thy God is a
consuming fire, even a jealous God</b>,” Deuteronomy 4:24, KJV. Since the
cherubim are always closely associated with God and His throne, they burn with
the same passion as their Creator. They come from—and selflessly serve—the
self-consuming fire.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">In
Revelation, when John beheld the cherubim leading worship in Heaven he sees
four living beings full of eyes front and back, Revelation 4:6. Once more we
find them in and around God’s throne. Whereas Ezekiel saw the cherubim having
four faces, John sees in four cherubim a different face, though the types of
features remain identical between the witnesses. One is like a lion, another a
calf, another a man, and finally an eagle, Revelation 4:7. This time, like in
the vision Isaiah received in Solomon’s temple, John likewise sees the cherubim
with six, not four, wings. Just as in Ezekiel, however, they have eyes around
and within; utterly yielded to God, they are filled with His Spirit to do His
will. The cherubim praise God at His throne, giving glory and honor and thanks
ceaselessly, Revelation 4:8, 9. Being so close to their King, they know better
than most how deserving of praise He is. Their worship ought to shame us, God’s
redeemed children, who have been ransomed by Christ’s blood from the infinite
debt of sin and death.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">This
was hardly meant to be a thorough exposition on the nature of the cherubim and
their close relation to God and His throne; merely an excerpt to elaborate on
what the writer succinctly calls, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the
cherubim of glory</b>.” It is interesting to consider that when the Shekinah
glory departed the temple in Ezekiel’s day, the cherubim followed, Ezekiel
10:18, 19. The earthly tabernacle had the representation of the cherubim
adorning the throne of God to either side. So too do the genuine cherubim abide
“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">in the midst of and around</b>” God’s
throne, Revelation 4:6. In either case, they overshadow God’s glory, and are by
their proximity and profound loyalty to Him, themselves glorious.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">It
makes sense that he determined not to speak in detail about the matter, since
it would derail his epistle from its urgent purpose: to rescue erring saints
from returning to the sterility of ceremonial Judaism after having tasted the
power and grace of the Holy Spirit given by the only Savior, Jesus Christ.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-51180642257861417042024-03-08T08:19:00.000-06:002024-03-08T08:19:14.976-06:00Hebrews Chapter Nine, The Contents Of The Ark<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">External
religious formality reigned in Israel as Jeremiah attempted to reason with a
people beyond redemption, Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14, 14:11. Like Pharaoh in Moses’
time, they had hardened their hearts beyond recovery, and now destruction
awaited them because of their rebellious choices. Idolatry had warped their
perspective and lessened their view of their national God; God in turn was
stripping them of every vestige of idolatry, including the permanent removal of
the ark.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Despite
this clear explanation about the ark’s disappearance there is a spurious
passage in the Apocryphal book, 2 Maccabees concerning it. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It was also contained in the same writing,
that the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to
go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up and saw
the heritage of God. And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave,
wherein he laid the tabernacle and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so
stopped the door</i>,” 2 Maccabees 2:4, 5, LXX. The author of Maccabees,
writing in Jeremiah’s stead, states in verse 7 that the secret place the ark
was buried would be found when Israel was restored as a people. These verses
are antagonistic to the declaration of Scripture, which states that Israel will
not think about or visit the ark ever again. Maccabees, written around the
times of Greek occupation of Israel and Antiochus Epiphanes’ persecution of the
Jews, was meant to kindle patriotic pride. The scribe that pens 1 Maccabees
indicates that these books were not inspired the way the Bible was; there was
no prophet ordained of God in those days, 1 Maccabees 9:27. While useful for
historical context, the books of Maccabees cannot be subscribed to for plenary
inspiration.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
final reference made to the ark is found in Revelation. It is written, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Then the temple of God was opened in
heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple,</b>” Revelation
11:19. This may be a translated ark taken from earth to Heaven in Jeremiah’s
time, or the original, which the copy was modeled after according to the
pattern shown Moses on the mountain. Whatever the case, the ark is distinctly
Jewish, as it was the throne of Israel’s God in the days of the tabernacle and
temple. In Revelation John sees the ark a final time in Heaven’s temple when it
was opened. This verse precedes chapter 12, which deals with Satan’s violent
persecution of the Jewish people when he was cast to the earth part way through
the Tribulation week (of seven years). If the ark resides in Heaven, then we
know another will not be made, nor will it be found; it has been removed from
the Jewish expectation and humanity’s degraded penchant for idolatry. It’s
singular appearance in Revelation precipitates a series of judgments on the
earth that further showcase that God is returning to His dealings with mankind
through the agency of His earthly people, Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
golden pot of manna goes back to the historic moment of Israel’s sojourn when
God rained bread from heaven upon them, Exodus 16:14. The people named the
substance Manna (meaning “what?” in Hebrew), Exodus 16:31. The Psalmist, when
addressing the bread from Heaven, wrote, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Human
beings ate the bread of angels</b>,” Psalm 78:25, NIV. Either the Psalmist was
waxing poetic with his descriptive prose, or this confirms that angels can (and
do) have food to eat. We know that angels can consume food like humans because
they did so when Abraham entertained God and His angels at his tent, Genesis
18:8.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">God
ordered Aaron to collect an omer of the manna to be kept as a memorial of how
He fed them with bread from Heaven, Exodus 16:33. The pot was then placed
beside the Testimony, or the Decalogue for a witness to future generations,
verse 34. This same manna ceased the day after Israel entered Canaan under
Joshua and ate from the produce of the land for the first time, Joshua 5:12.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">In
the reign of Solomon, when Israel had finished the house of the Lord and
Solomon had dedicated items to be placed in its treasuries, that he brought up
the ark, 1 Kings 8:1. It is unclear how it was made known, but the author of
Kings testifies that, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">nothing was in
the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb</b>,” 1
Kings 8:9. Sometime between Moses and Solomon, the manna had been removed from
the ark.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Another
item to have apparently gone missing was Aaron’s rod that budded. The rod
carries with it a most interesting backstory. It stemmed from the rebellion of
Korah, when the Levites sought the priesthood from Aaron’s family. Korah and
his fellow rebels, driven by envy, were consumed by God in an earthquake and
fire, Numbers 16:33, 35. Despite the clearly divine interposition of events,
the congregation blamed Moses and Aaron, prompting the Lord once more to break
out against them, this time with a severe plague that left 14,700 dead, Numbers
16:49. Aaron’s intercession with his censer of incense appeased God’s wrath,
symbolic of a saint’s intercessory prayer to God, which avails much, James
5:16.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Finally,
to put an incontestable end to all dispute, Yahweh commanded the patriarchs of
each representative tribe to deliver a rod to the tent of meeting. From the
collection of rods God would cause one to sprout and reveal His chosen priestly
line. We read of the results when Aaron’s rod was examined. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had
sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds,</b>”
Numbers 17:8, NASB. The Lord ordered Moses to keep the rod of Aaron and set it
before the Decalogue (like the pot of manna) as a sign against the rebels to
clearly remind them who God had chosen, Numbers 17:10. Interestingly, the
menorah or golden lampstand had cups shaped like almond blossoms, Exodus
25:33-35. It was fitting then that Aaron’s rod bore fruit, so to speak, since
from his lineage the priestly tribe would officiate at the altar, bearing
spiritual fruit in the service of God, on behalf of His people. Only Aaron’s
lineage would be accepted; only Aaron’s lineage would bear fruit approaching
the altar to make atonement for the people. It was symbolic of the Coming One,
whose one time approach to the altar atoned for sin once for all, for all
people, Jew or Gentile.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">It
might have been, like Nehushtan, the pot of manna and the rod that budded were
removed so they were not inordinately venerated by men of perverse minds, that
need the crutch of idolatrous worship to have something carnal to take faith’s
place. In more modern context, the religious climate of Christendom reveals a
church awash in similar activity with shrines, altars, wafers, crosses, prayer
beads, supposed relics (like the “Shroud of Turin”), et al. Corrupting what is
simple comes naturally to sinful man; we complicate things because complication
benefits those who know more than others, and we profit from the uninitiated
that need to rely on the knowledgeable for navigation through the maze religion
has become. Sadly, we have come a long way from what the apostle termed, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the simplicity that is in Christ</b>,” 2
Corinthians 11:3.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-23768450516262074802024-03-06T15:45:00.004-06:002024-03-06T15:45:56.971-06:00Hebrews Chapter Nine, The Ark Of The Covenant<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 9:4b and the ark of the covenant
overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the
manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
epistle now touches upon an item of some small controversy: the Ark of the
Covenant. Brought into popular culture by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Raiders
of the Lost Ark</i> in 1981, the symbol of the ark has long been a topic of
great interest in certain circles of Christianity.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">But
what does Scripture say about the ark? Exodus 25:10 begins the description of
the ark’s creation. Overlaid with gold, crowned with the mercy seat that is
framed by overshadowing cherubim, it was made for two initial purposes. In it
was to be the Decalogue, or the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God,
Exodus 25:21. Secondly, God would manifest in the Shekinah to speak to Moses
about future commandments; there His presence would reside as a visible token
of His association with the nation of Israel.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
ark would remain, for the most part, in the Holiest of All, behind the veil and
visited but once a year by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. But there
were exceptions. During the wilderness wanderings prior to the conquest of
Canaan, the ark traveled with the people. Aaron and his sons had charge of the
ark, covering it with the veil that obstructed seeing it in the Holiest of All,
to make it ready to be moved, Numbers 4:5. The ark first traveled from Horeb on
a 3 day journey to Canaan that would, because of Israel’s rebellion, take 40
years, Numbers 10:33.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">When
rebellious Israel presumed to attack the Amalekites and Canaanites without
God’s approval, it is said the ark remained in camp, alluding to the notion
that the ark was carried into battle by Israel when they made war, Numbers
14:44. We learn that this practice was so in 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel 4:3 states, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the
Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the
hand of our enemies.</b>” The apostate priests, sons of Eli, Hophni and
Phinehas, did just that, 1 Samuel 4:4, 5. God was not with them at that time
either, and the priests died and the ark was taken, 1 Samuel 4:11.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">In
Joshua’s time, after he had succeeded Moses as Israel’s human leader, God used
the ark as a token of His power over creation. The priests bearing the ark
entered the Jordan and the river ceased flowing so Israel entered Canaan
dry-shod, Joshua 3:17. In Eli’s day the ark, not the ark’s God, was looked to
for deliverance a box of wood and gold could not provide. In Joshua’s time they
crossed the Jordan by faith, not in the ark, but in the ark’s Architect. By
Samuel’s time the ark had become an object of idolatrous worship because of the
human penchant for associating some visible, tangible object with God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">However,
wrongly handling the ark, divinely appointed by God through the hand of Moses
concerning its construction and purpose, met with awful consequences. When the
Philistine rulers no longer wanted the ark because it had desecrated the idol
of Dagon they sent it back with a trespass offering, 1 Samuel 6:3.
Unfortunately, curiosity and a lack of reverential fear compelled the people to
not only handle the ark (not being Aaronic priests) but to open it, 1 Samuel
6:19. The people had profaned, or treated as a common thing, the ark that received
the blood of atonement given on behalf of Israel’s populace. Hebrews 10:29
describes the insult of treating the holy as something mundane or profane. If
the ark and the Law’s mishandling were met with such reproach from the Lord,
the writer of Hebrews asks how much worse fate awaits the one who profanes
Christ’s blood?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">In
the NKJV, the verse states 50,070 people died because of the transgression of 1
Samuel 6:19. There is a side note that says an alternate rendering has 70 men
smote by God for looking into the ark. Either could be plausible; 50,000 men
may have had the intention to, and God judged them by what was in their hearts,
or He may have only punished those who actually succeeded in looking, 70 being
a more reasonable number if that were the case. Both the Tanakh and the
Septuagint agree with the NKJV’s primary reading, while the NIV promotes the
secondary translation. The HCSB renders the verse, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">70 men out of 50,000 men</b>.” And the Tanakh does seem to indicate
from its reading that it could be rendered to agree, stating, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">seventy men among the people [</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">]
fifty thousand men</b>.” The word “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i></b>” being bracketed suggests an
addition for clarification not found in the manuscript source.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">A
second incident of mishandling occurs in 2 Samuel chapter 6. When David
attempted to bring the ark into the City of David, the cart is shaken, the ark
was moved and Uzzah, son of Abinadab, tried to steady it. Once again the
injunction against mishandling the ark was ignored, and Uzzah died before the Lord
because of the transgression, 2 Samuel 6:6, 7. One might attribute to the ark
supernatural power because of these incidents. But then by that notion one
might also attribute to the fruit eaten by Adam and Eve supernatural power
because it spiritually slew them, resulting in sin and death entering the
world. It had nothing to do with the ark; it had to do with reverencing and
obeying God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
ark, were it to be found, would become an object of the grossest idolatry. The
bronze serpent Moses raised up in the wilderness had survived until King
Hezekiah’s time. The people named it Nehushtan, which literally means Bronze
Snake, 2 Kings 18:4. Hezekiah destroyed it, like he did with the high places,
sacred pillars, and wooden images. Why? Because the people were worshiping the
serpent. Something in our fallen, sinful thinking craves a physical outlet to
express an outward form of worship. If this were not so, religions such as
Roman Catholicism would not have survived until today.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Finally,
God makes mention of the ark in the book of Jeremiah. He tells Israel, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Then it shall come to pass, when you are
multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the Lord, “that they will
say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind,
nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore</b>,” Jeremiah 3:16. This
verse expresses a clear picture of the ark’s removal. Like Israel in the days
of the wilderness wanderings and their battles against the Philistines, they
had become fixated on the ceremonial and arrogant because they possessed the
objects God ordained for them. When Jeremiah preached to them it fell on deaf
ears because they trusted in their lineage and position as God’s chosen people.
“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Do not trust in these lying words,
saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord
are these</b>,” Jeremiah 7:4. Ezekiel, a contemporary of Jeremiah that
prophesied from Babylon, being part of the captivity, said this of God’s
Shekinah glory. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Then the glory of the
Lord departed from off the threshold of the house</b>,” Ezekiel 10:18, KJV.
This verse may parallel the passage in Jeremiah that indicates the ark of the
covenant will be taken away and recalled no longer; for so the glory of the
Lord would depart from the house called by His name.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-48317164867041391612024-03-04T09:47:00.000-06:002024-03-04T09:47:08.192-06:00Gospel ABC's<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">To commemorate March 4<sup>th</sup> once again, let us
reflect on the fundamentals of the Christian faith, and what we have believed
to be given the title of Christian. Before that, however, I wanted to relate a
conversation I recently had with another professing believer that attends a
church here in Duluth. I won’t mention names, but she and I engaged in a
conversation about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and salvation, and I was sorrowful
to discover that she did not know what the gospel was. Her impression of
salvation, derived it seems from her church, was that good acts outweigh the
bad, and by this one is saved. In summary, she believed the gospel of works
salvation.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m glad to God that I could clarify for her what the gospel
really was, and how we are all saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. More
than that, it saddened me that a professing church did not articulate the
gospel to its congregation. If a church (or an individual) fails in this
aspect, they have failed in every avenue of the Christian life. The purpose of
the church is to educate the flock and bring them into a closer walk with the
Lord; but above that it is imperative to hear and believe the gospel by which
all mankind must be saved. If you have not believed the gospel then you are not
saved and therefore not a part of the church. You may be in the building, but
you are not set apart and born again by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus.
So then, what is the gospel?
</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have heard some critics of the Bible actually level the
charge against it that Scripture does not make it clear how one is saved. This
criticism, while sophomoric, may also be sincere and must be answered clearly,
because the Bible does furnish a concise response. That response is found in 1
Corinthians chapter 15, which we will focus on and exegete, to highlight the
gospel message, and what it should mean to those who have believed, or have yet
to believe, for that matter.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Paul writes this to the Corinthian church: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the
gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand</b>,”
1 Corinthians 15:1. The verb, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">declare</b>”
means, “to state, to announce.” Paul is announcing the gospel, the good news that
he personally preached to this church. Furthermore, he not only preached the
gospel, but also testifies that they likewise received it, and now stand in it.
It is the gospel, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">in which you stand</b>.”
The idea is positional. They stand in the liberty of the good news, having
passed through the open door of salvation Paul showed them. Paul couldn’t
compel them to enter; no, the Corinthian Christians needed to hear and believe
individually.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He has not reached the gospel message itself yet.
Continuing, Paul writes, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by which also
you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you
believed in vain,</b>” 1 Corinthians 15:2. Putting events in order: #1: Paul
preached the gospel. #2: the Corinthians received it, synonymous with having
believed the gospel. #3: they currently stand in the gospel. Notice how “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">preached</b>,” and “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">received</b>” are past tense verbs; Paul did the former, the
Corinthians did the latter. But the verb “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">stand</b>”
connotes a continuous action, which may be paraphrased, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you continue standing</i></b>.” It
is a positional shift from their former worldview, which was contrary to God,
resulting in a stance that placed them firmly in spiritual death. #4: the
Corinthians were saved by the good news. The good news was the catalyst for the
rebirth that brought the Corinthian believers out of their stand in death, to
stand in the liberty of eternal life. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hold
fast</b>,” would be akin to “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">continue
believing</i>.” Paul cautions the church that the stance they have taken
reflects the message of the gospel they were saved by and urges them to
continue believing it, much like John encouraged his own audience, 1 John 5:13.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Paul writes, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">unless
you believed in vain</b>,” he’s warning about the historicity of the
resurrection, and the danger believers face by rejecting its reality, as
championed by some within the early church already, 1 Corinthians 15:12. Peter
attests to the same, when he wrote, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For
we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty</b>,”
2 Peter 1:16. Why is this important? Because Paul’s gospel, the only gospel by
which we may be saved, involves the bodily resurrection of Jesus our Lord. The
HCSB renders that portion of Corinthians, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">unless
you believed for no purpose</b>.” Believing in something that isn’t real won’t
make it so; reality does not acquiesce to the delusions of religious mania. So
in this instance, to believe in vain would be to say that the Corinthians
believed in something that never happened; their faith is misplaced in a Man
that never rose from the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:13-16. The stand the
Corinthians initially took involved the complete reception and retention of the
gospel message, by which they were saved. An incomplete message, or an errant
message manufactured by liars does not, which is why Paul commends holding fast
the word initially given to them, unless their belief was misplaced, because
the resurrection was a fable. Such faith cannot save, because they would be
trusting in a Jesus that never rose from the dead; they would still need a Savior,
1 Corinthians 15:17.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But what does Paul say? He reminded the Corinthian
Christians, now being seduced by ravening wolves that denied the bodily
resurrection, what the gospel message was. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures</b>,” 1 Corinthians 15:3.
In the epistle to the Galatians, Paul assured them that no human agency
revealed the gospel to him. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For I
neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the
revelation of Jesus Christ</b>,” Galatians 1:12. One verse earlier he also
adds, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">But I make known to you, brethren,
that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man</b>,” verse
11. Paul received the gospel from Jesus Himself, likely on the Damascus road,
when the Lord appeared in glory to Paul. Paul, like Peter and John, considered
themselves witnesses of these events, which were real, historical happenings
translated to their hearers so that they may place their faith in the One that
conquered death. Luke records in Acts that one of the last things Jesus told
His disciples before ascending was, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">you
shall be witnesses to Me</b>,” Acts 1:8. A witness relates what they know
factually in an effort to reveal the truth. A correlating passage can be found
in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8, where Paul lists witnesses for the risen Christ,
including Cephas (Peter), the twelve, 500 brethren at once, James, all of the
apostles, then finally Paul. They were witnesses that served to relate their
testimony that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again, having conquered
death. This gospel was the good news Paul preached, and which the Corinthian
church received, making them a link in the chain of testimony.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first portion of the truth the gospel reveals is that
Jesus died on our behalf. And He did so in accordance with the manifold
prophecies that Old Testament prophets spoke regarding Him. Our Lord died, but
not for Himself. He took our sins upon Himself and suffered the penalty God’s
justice demanded: namely, separation from a holy God. Jesus died for all of our
sins. Sin is a revelation of an unholy and ungodly nature. Sin is a rebellion
against what is moral or just. Sin demonstrates man’s spiritual death, and how
we think, say, and do things contrary to the attributes and person of our holy
Creator. Sin is an affront to righteousness, a blemish that marred God’s image
in us, and forced God to remove His holy presence, resulting in spiritual
death. Sin is that unholy part of us that craves autonomy and resists the Holy
Spirit; we secretly desire to eat of the fruit of knowledge and become gods,
like Lucifer the great deceiver falsely promised. Sin is contempt and hatred
for God, and all that He is. Sin isn’t merely imperfection, it’s a catastrophic
loss of life, as the Creator passed judgment on human rebellion. What happens
when there is no life left? Decay settles in, rather speedily at that, and the
condition of that person grows worse and worse while we strive for godhood and
scoff at sin’s ramifications. It causes blindness in how we construe the
results of our actions, and callouses our conscience. While we blame God for
all the “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">evil out there</i>” we pay no
attention to the evil “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in here</i>,” as
we lie, cheat, steal, practice sexual abandon, exalt ourselves, hate, etc.
Christ took this immense wickedness on Himself on the cross, and died to set us
free from its penalty. We have all gone astray, seeking our petty schemes,
hating God and envying each other, but God laid on Christ all of our iniquity.
Do we appreciate the enormity of what Jesus accomplished for us? May it inspire
humility and love for our Redeemer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Continuing, Paul writes, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according
to the Scriptures</b>,” 1 Corinthians 15:4. The gospel is comprised of three
components, all of which focus, not on us, but on Jesus Christ. #1: Christ died
for our sins, according to the Scriptures. The Old Testament prophets,
beginning in Eden with God’s declaration to the serpent, foretell this Coming
One. The suffering Savior would liberate Adam’s sons from the bondage of sin.
#2: Jesus was buried. The gospels are harmonious in their united testimony that
Jesus died on the cross and was buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, Luke
23:53. In fact Luke, being a learned man, took great pains to sort out the
details regarding Jesus’ ministry and death, to deliver this testimony to a man
named Theophilus, Luke 1:3. Jesus’ crucifixion was public, the Pharisees and
scribes bore witness, as did the women that followed Jesus, as well as John. He
was dead before the thieves had their legs broken, and was stabbed in the side
with a spear to make certain. The Roman soldiers would not have permitted Him
to be taken away, having only swooned, since they would be hanging on the cross
next if someone ordained to such a death eluded justice. Manifold witnesses
could attest to His demise, and Luke was confident he had interviewed the
people that could edify him regarding the details, Luke 1:2, 3. Furthermore, he
began his gospel by affirming that many had set out to put the events of Jesus’
ministry and death in order, Luke 1:1. The historical record is conclusive: Jesus
Christ lived and died as the gospels proclaim it; but that is only part of the
story.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">#3: Jesus rose from the dead, according to the Scriptures.
Like His vicarious sacrifice for our sins, the Old Testament prophets, once
more beginning in Eden, foretold that the suffering Savior would also be
conquering King. However, first He must suffer before He would reign. The Seed
of the woman in Genesis 3:15 would be gravely wounded, but the serpent would be
fatally wounded. Hebrews 9:28 attests that Jesus will return, not to contend
with sin (because He already did so on the cross), but to usher in His reign, collect
His bride, and save all of Israel from her enemies. Return to Acts 1:8, where
Jesus tells His disciples that they will be His witnesses: a term employed by
Peter, Paul, and others throughout the rest of the book of Acts, which records
the first thirty-odd years of the church. What were they witnessing to? The
risen Christ, and the fact that He appeared to chosen witnesses, who related
what they had seen and experienced to others. This is the essence of the
gospel; the factual, historical account of Jesus Christ: God incarnated as a
Man, who came as a ransom to save Adam’s children. Furthermore, He would rise
from death to demonstrate that He had triumphed over sin, death, and the Devil,
and that by returning to life, all who placed their faith in Him could also
have perfect confidence that they, too, could experience newness of life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Christians don’t worship a philosophy or system; we do not
advocate religion or something esoteric. We witness that there was a Man sent
by God, and that Man was in fact God the Son, sent from Heaven to save mankind
from sin. These are not cunningly devised fables. Jesus was not a made up
person, because, as Paul affirmed decades later to King Agrippa, these things
were not done in a corner, Acts 26:26. We worship God: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. We are saved into the family of God through faith in the One that died
for us, to pay for the sin that would eternally separate us from a holy God.
This One was buried. This One rose again, and was seen by those, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">to whom He also presented Himself alive
after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty
days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God</b>,” Acts
1:3. The gospel, or the good news Paul proclaimed to the Corinthian church,
reminding them of its salvific power, was (and remains) grounded in historical
reality. Even His enemies didn’t deny His existence or impact on those that
heard Him; rather, they endeavored to be spin doctors, playing damage control
in an effort to sabotage the truth, Matthew 28:13-15. Yet the truth remains.
The gospel alone saves; all else is sinking sand. As we continue our march
forth, let us, who are God’s children through faith, reflect on the ABC’s,
because sometimes the fundamentals still have much to teach us. Amen.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-12830838014135609852024-03-03T08:47:00.001-06:002024-03-03T08:47:38.523-06:00Hebrews Chapter Nine, The Prayers Of The Saints<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 9:3 and behind the second veil, the
part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, [4a] which had the
golden censer</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
first veil permitted the priesthood entrance into the tabernacle to officiate
at God’s altar. The second veil was different, however. That veil remained
largely untouched but for once a year, which we will delve into in more detail
a little later. The first compartment is the holy place or the sanctuary. The
inner part of the tabernacle is the Holiest of All: the inner chamber where the
famous Ark of the Covenant resided.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Holiest of All also possessed the golden censer. The NASB renders the word, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">censer</b>” as “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">altar</b>.” The incense altar is described in Exodus 30:1-10. Overlaid
with gold, Aaron and his descendants were to burn sweet incense on it every
morning and every night throughout their generations, Exodus 30:7, 8.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
symbolism of the incense appears to be the prayers the saints offer to God.
Since the tabernacle is a shadow of the genuine article in Heaven, we turn to
Revelation for a clearer depiction of the incense altar. We read, “[the angel] <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">was given much incense, that he should
offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was
before the throne</b>,” Revelation 8:3. Here in Heaven we have God’s actual
throne, represented on earth by the mercy seat, and the golden altar of incense
before it, with the prayers of the saints reaching God’s throne, as it were.
The censers carried by the priests on earth took their fire from the altar; it
is written that the censers in Heaven carried by the glorified saints were, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints</b>,” Revelation 5:8.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
read in the Psalms, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">May my prayer be
counted as incense before You</b>,” Psalm 141:2, NASB. As Aaron in the OT was
commanded to always burn incense upon the golden altar to perpetuate the cloud
of incense in the Holiest of All, in the NT we have Paul’s command to, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">pray without ceasing</b>,” 1 Thessalonians
5:17. The priest was to offer up much incense; the saints are to always pray,
so the smoke of our incense rises before the Lord on His throne in Heaven.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
know that not all prayer is accepted, just as not all incense was accepted. In
Leviticus chapter 10, Nadab and Abihu offered profane fire before God and died
for their act. In Numbers chapter 16, Korah and his fellow rebels suffered a
similar fate. We know that God does not hear sinners, John 9:31. That is, the
unsaved OR a saint taken in a lifestyle of unconfessed sin. Peter warns that a
man’s prayers may be hindered if we mistreat our wives, 1 Peter 3:7. In other
words, God won’t listen to a man not right with his family.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
are commanded not to use “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">vain
repetitions</b>” as the heathen nations do, Matthew 6:7. Jesus warns that
simply spewing words mechanically avails nothing. Roman Catholic (and Eastern
Orthodox) catechisms certainly fall into this category.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Prayer
is not supposed to be systematized; it is an organic expression of the soul’s
communion with God, given to change as the pray-er changes what he or she
wishes to share with, or ask of, God. My wife’s family has a prayer that goes
like this: “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for this food. Amen.”
This by rote memorization and regurgitation permits no freedom of conversation
with the Lord and one can and does (I’ve witnessed it) speak it without
bothering to consider what they’re saying. Prayer is conversation with God.
Paul writes, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Likewise the Spirit also
helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we
ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered</b>,” Romans 8:26.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">There
is much to say about prayer, but sufficed to say that the golden altar before
God’s throne is alight with the prayers of saints speaking to their Lord, each
prayer different, personal, and precious to Him. In the Holiest of All, the
incense is needed to approach God’s throne.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Then [</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aaron</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">] shall take a censer
full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands
full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall
put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may
cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die</b>,” Leviticus
16:12, 13.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Christian is commanded to pray. We are to be found, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit</b>,”
Ephesians 6:18. Our Lord commended prayer highly. He spoke the parable of the
widow and the unjust judge to teach men that we, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">always ought to pray and not to lose heart</b>,” Luke 18:1. The Lord
taught us how to pray what we call the Lord’s Prayer. Rather, this is a
disciple’s prayer, not to be taken verbatim (because vain repetition is
rejected) but to be modeled.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">In
it we acknowledge that our Father, an intimate term for God, is in Heaven,
connoting His majesty. He is our Father, but He is still God Most High, so we
may speak intimately but not irreverently. We should desire God’s will done on
earth, by praying it alluding to our own personal involvement in perpetuating
His knowledge to the unsaved world. We pray the Lord for the blessing of what
He will grant us, looking only to today, since it is only today that we can
ultimately contend with. We ask forgiveness for sins committed as we likewise
practice forgiving those who have wronged us. We plead a desire to escape the
temptation to sin and deliverance from Satan’s power. Yes, Satan still has
power, and it is directed at the saints. He remains the accuser of the
brethren. Finally we acknowledge that the kingdom is God’s, and its attendant
attributes. There is a glory that belongs only to God the King and Creator.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-35215984652743882492024-03-02T10:36:00.001-06:002024-03-02T10:36:25.074-06:00Hebrews Chapter Nine, Shedding Light<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 9:1 Then indeed, even the first
covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. [2] For a
tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table,
and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Right
away it may be noted that the first covenant (the Sinaitic Law) was divine; it
was a divine service and form of worship of Yahweh, Israel’s covenant God.
Secondly, the sanctuary in which these ordinances were performed was an earthly
sanctuary. God instructs Moses, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And see
to it that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain</b>,”
Exodus 25:40, see also Exodus 26:30.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
tabernacle (with its implements and ordinances) was a pattern of some true
thing they were modeled after. This is a classic case of type and antitype. The
antitype is something represented by a symbol, as in the Old Testament mode of
worship and the tabernacle itself. Christian theology coins the term “typology”
for it.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Further,
the verse begins with the linking adverb, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">then</b>.”
<span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Linking adverbs
show a relationship between two clauses or sentences (e.g. a sequence in time,
cause and effect, contrast between two things). In Hebrews 8:13 the writer
stated that the first covenant had become obsolete, or rather was made obsolete
by God. The KJV or HCSB rendering of “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">old</b>”
was more suitable in terms of relating that the first covenant was decaying,
aging, or growing senile, waxing worse and worse, ready to vanish away. Then
(when the old covenant was active), even it had ordinances and a sanctuary to
shadow the Heavenly realities the first covenant was derived from.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
tabernacle was the first part created by the pattern Moses received. In it were
the lampstand, the table, and the showbread on the table. All of this—this
first chamber often employed by the priesthood—was called the sanctuary, or the
holy place, Exodus 26:33.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
lampstand, or menorah, was seven tiered with three branches budding from either
side of the central tier. Seven, of course is the Jewish number for the day of
rest or the Sabbath, and is associated with completion or perfection. We find
the number seven associated with the Holy Spirit. In Isaiah the prophet writes,
“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Spirit of the (</b>1<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of (</b>2<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) wisdom and (</b>3<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) understanding, the Spirit of (</b>4<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) counsel and (</b>5<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) might, the
Spirit of (</b>6<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) knowledge and of the (</b>7<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) fear of the Lord</b>,” Isaiah 11:2.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Holy Spirit is found also as seven eyes in Zechariah, seven again being the
number of completion or perfection; in other words, of omniscience. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Upon the stone are seven eyes</b>,” we
read, Zechariah 3:9. The stone is Christ, rejected by the builders but choice
and approved of God. The seven eyes is the anointing of the Holy Spirit our
Lord received when He was baptized in Jordan and the Holy Spirit descended on
Him like a dove. Later in Zechariah we read, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">these seven rejoice to see the plumb line (</b>or plummet stone<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) in the hand of Zerubbabel</b>,” Zechariah
4:10. The Holy Spirit rejoiced that David’s descendant diligently finished
rebuilding the post-exilic temple, as Christ would later build God’s temple in
the bodies of believing saints throughout the ages.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">If
further evidence is needed to correlate the Holy Spirit with the seven eyes of
Zechariah’s vision, we look to Revelation. We see, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">a Lamb…having…seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out
into all the earth</b>,” Revelation 5:6. Christ has the seven Spirits of God,
we are told, Revelation 3:1. He ascended to Heaven so that He might send the
Holy Spirit to us, who is the true lampstand of each of the churches of
Revelation, chapters 2 and 3. Note how there are seven churches addressed, and
how it corresponds with the Hebrew menorah from the tabernacle. The Holy Spirit
proclaims Christ; He is the Spirit of God’s Son, Galatians 4:6.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
lampstand sheds its light on the showbread, which God commanded to always be
present on the gold covered table before the veil, Exodus 25:30. Christ, we
know, is the true bread sent from Heaven for men to feed upon and never die, John
6:35. The Holy Spirit’s purpose on earth is to reveal Jesus and convict the
world of its need of Him. To that end the menorah stood back of the showbread,
casting its light against the bread and upon the veil, where the ark and the
mercy seat were found. The menorah’s purpose was to shed light on the bread of
life; it’s light exposed the bread for all who entered to see it. It did not
shed light for its own sake.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">To
be more philosophical about it, light created by man is deliberate; intention
exists behind every light created. The light does not exist for itself, but to
give sight to the blind; the light does not draw attention to itself, but to
the things its presence illumines, and we hardly spare the light a second
thought. God the Holy Spirit desires the world to see Christ, and by seeing Him
believe on His name and receive eternal life. His purpose is to glorify God the
Son, just as Jesus glorified God the Father during His earthly ministry.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Remember
that these types or shadows of the Heavenly substance were all relegated to the
front chamber of the tabernacle, called the holy place, or sanctuary. The
Levitical priesthood entered the sanctuary during their daily duties; in fact
they were commanded to maintain their duties day and night. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A fire shall always be burning on the
altar; it shall never go out,</b>” Leviticus 6:13. The verse denotes ceaseless
work while the first tabernacle (symbolic of the first covenant) stood. The
priests did not rest because their role was to attend to the holy things and
offer sacrifices on the perpetual fire they kept kindled. Allegorically, this
could represent man seeking to enter Heaven by his works. If that is your goal,
the Bible says that you can never put out the fire of your efforts, because it
will take you forever to earn what God gives freely in His Son. There will be
no end to your effort; nor will there be an end to the separation such stubborn
effort earns.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-25656089426767748122024-03-01T09:13:00.000-06:002024-03-01T09:13:56.638-06:00Molehills: LGBTQ & The Church, Part Two<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">So we learn from man’s creation several details regarding
man and woman. Woman is man’s equivalent or equal; but equality does not mean
identicalness, which is a massive fallacy in our current societal thinking. The
erasure of gender in a desperate bid to make men akin to women and visa-versa
horridly confuses roles in the relationship. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Men and women, while equal, are not created identically
physically, emotionally, and mentally. That is why we are comparable; we
compliment one another in what the partner lacks. When the gender boundary
dissolves and love unfettered from truth reigns, we pursue partners that may
simply reflect ourselves, and find nothing comparable in them because they are
now identical, instead of comparable. 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 used to confuse me
awfully. But after much reading, contemplation, and prayer, I have come to the
conclusion that Corinth’s church suffered from what our culture would term,
“gender dysphoria”. Paul used the concepts of men with long hair, verses women
with short hair, usurping roles within the church. But I do not believe it was
hair length Paul was concerned with. The women behaved like men, and the men
may have been behaving effeminately. In 1 Corinthians 6:9, Paul said that some
of the church were once, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">effeminate</b>,”
KJV. The word denotes a catamite: a boy or young man used by other men for
sexual gratification, further affirming this prospect. Paul denounced this
condition of gender erasure as improper (verse 13), against nature (verse 14)
and contentious (verse 16).
</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We know that mankind began their descent from treating
marriage and sex as something sacred, given by God, when they disavowed Him in
their thinking, Romans 1:21, 22, 24. God’s sacrament of marriage, meant to be
between a man and woman monogamously for life, was corrupted by men, who first
needed to corrupt God’s person by dragging Him down to the level of a created
thing. After tarnishing His image and marring His truth, exploiting love in the
name of selfishness and pleasure was not far behind. A diminished view of God
permitted a natural view of man; that man should do what pleases him according
to the impulses of his nature, including homosexual union, Romans 1:26, 27. But
sex was not for pleasure, or to be treated as a toy, something that we may use
at our convenience. It was to unite man and woman in one mind, spirit and body,
to rear up the next generation in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,
Malachi 2:15, Ephesians 6:4, Deuteronomy 6:7.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Further, man and woman in the Biblical narrative are to
reserve sexual union as an act that solidifies the marriage bond, see Genesis
24:67. Paul likens this mystery, sexual union binding a man and a woman as one
flesh, to Christ and the church, Ephesians 5:32. Marriage is a parable or
reflection of the blissful union the saints will enter into, being united
forever with the God that redeemed them. Consider that image against the
backdrop of the mire marriage and sex have been dragged into. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jesus taught this same thing during His earthly ministry,
confirming several cardinal truths Christians must have clarity on. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">But from the beginning of the creation,
God, ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father
and mother and be joined to his wife, ‘and the two shall become one flesh’; so
then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined
together, let not man separate</b>,” Mark 10:6-9. Jesus affirms that from
creation’s inception there has been the man/woman biological relation. This is
not a cultural invention, but simple fact. Furthermore, He asserts “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">for this reason</b>,” (because they are
made male and female) a man will leave the family of his childhood and begin a
new family with his wife, with the intention of rearing children. The two,
husband and wife, become one flesh. How? Sexual union, creating the marriage
bond. This is the union, described by Jesus Himself, which God joins, because
it obeys the edicts God put forth for our race in regard to marriage and
procreation back in Genesis. God will recognize no other form of marriage as
legitimate, because it perverts His intention for such a union.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gender confusion has marred this union, and what was meant
to be a singular event in the lives of mankind, turned sexuality into
spectacle, and raised up one’s gender to the unassailable position of defining
one’s identity. But identifying as something other than what you, by nature,
are created as is incongruent with reality. One cannot determine to be male
when they are not; the same may be said for female. To announce such a thing is
to invite, or perhaps engender coercion, as you compel others to accept and
agree with your delusion. The Creator made us all; He alone possesses the
native authority to name what has been made. We have an identity already, and
focusing on gender identity cheapens the identity we possess as men and women
created in God’s image. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Be it heterosexual, homosexual, non-binary, transgender, et
al, our current culture associates identification with their overall identity.
If it were an equation, it would look like this: what I do = who I am. But that
is a fallacy. Because I am heterosexual, that does not define me as a person.
Being Ian Curtis, a man created in God’s image, unique from all other men, that
defines me. God indelibly stamped me with His unique imprint. Sexual deviance
is a choice made by the individual with moral implications. Morality deals with
right and wrong as far as how humanity was meant to behave toward one another.
It is the law of how we “ought” to be. But how is this defined? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Is morality determined by each generation, evolving, or
devolving, tailored to those with the most sway or loudest voices? If so, then
calling it morality is inaccurate. Rather, it would be popular opinion, and
opinion has nothing to do with right or wrong, so morality is irrelevant. An
opinion may be shaped by morality’s influence (I believe murder is wrong, for
example), but opinion cannot shape morality. Otherwise we are simply left, not
with a standard of what is good, and what falls beneath that standard, but a
standard of “what I like,” or, “what suits me.” Those who believe in moral
relativity and condemn Christians for judging others are themselves making an
objective moral judgment about right and wrong. They are appealing to the idea
that there is a standard, termed “right,” and what Christians are doing falls
beneath this unspoken, universally recognized standard of moral behavior.
Christians recognize (or should recognize) this standard as coming from God,
ingrained in the human conscience, Romans 2:15. Speaking the truth in love, we
are to share this with the generation we are part of, that right and wrong are
objective realities, already defined by morality’s Maker, and sadly, we all
fall short of that mark. The solution is in Jesus Christ, who is the truth
(John 14:6), and is also love, 1 John 4:8. We may be reconciled to God through
Jesus Christ, who forgives us our sins for His Son’s sake.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To pervert the marriage covenant, turn sex into an
expression of love sundered from truth, and renounce the fact of one’s
biological gender is to sin against God and delude oneself into thinking that
believing you can simply identify with anything you fancy invokes a change in
reality. Christians, if you have fallen into the pit of apathy or acquiescence,
remember God’s warning about the souls you are condemning by loving without the
boundaries truth provides to keep us safe, physically and spiritually. “[<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You</i>], <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such
things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those
who practice them</b>,” Romans 1:32.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-21845206274884790792024-02-29T10:28:00.000-06:002024-02-29T10:28:21.751-06:00Molehills: LGBTQ & The Church, Part One<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">Like Creation, marriage and sex (which go hand in hand
Biblically) should have a unified front in the church that Jesus Christ founded
on the day of Pentecost. But it is not so, especially in this day and age, when
liberalism, individualism, and a diluted, perverted caricature of Biblical love
is being paraded throughout the church proper. It would be a simple matter to
say, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">they loved the praise of men more
than the praise of God</b>,” John 12:43. This may be true, but this is not all.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This molehill, which is quickly turning into a Mount
Everest-sized issue within the church, begins with a wrong conception of a
number of Biblical truths. The idea runs along this line: “Christians are
unloving and judgmental. They are the opposite of what Jesus taught, who was
all about love.” True, spiteful, legalistic, unloving Christians are legion.
But a bad student doesn’t negate the virtue of the Teacher, or His teaching.
That would be akin to saying that because some students can’t figure out what
16 <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">÷ 4 is, mathematics must be wrong. They attack the teaching
because of the pupils. Granted, if said pupils claim some degree of intimate
understanding of the material and their results are incongruent with their
claims, there is some legitimacy for the accusations.</span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another objection that “love is love,”
must here be briefly addressed. This blanket phrase is invoked to defend
aberrant sexual attraction under the banner of love, which will be dealt with
in more detail shortly. It is more than just people free to express their love
with whom and for whom they wish. Christians, if a married man approached you
and confessed that he was in love with a woman other than his wife, would you
condone and encourage him, because “love is love”? Love wrongly directed
perverts its intention; it emanates from a source other than God’s depiction of
Biblical love. It is from the world, or the world system which is opposed to
God, and from which we as Christians are called out of, not to continue freely
in, 1 John 2:15-17.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Regardless, the Bible and what it
states about a moral topic must be judged on its own merits, not the
misunderstandings or overzealous speeches of certain professing Christians with
more fire than wisdom. Let’s return to the first comment, about Jesus teaching
love. Yes, our Lord certainly taught about love, extensively at that. But He
also spoke about judgment, and Hell, and sin with equal vigor. Love is a truly
selfless action; it is coupled in Scripture with another concept, named truth.
We read, “[<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love</i>] <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth</b>,” 1
Corinthians 13:6. Truth, in this instance, is a moral revelation from the
Creator about what is right regarding the words and actions of His creatures. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I rejoiced greatly that I have found some
of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father</b>,”
2 John 4, see also 3 John 3. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Love operates within the parameters of
truth. God is the moral lawgiver for the church, and since Jesus our Lord is
God, He had much to say about topics of diverse variety. More than that, He is
the Author of both the Old and New Testament, inspiring prophets and apostles
to speak His words over the course of 1600 years. This progressive revelation,
continuing to add nuance and detail to the Lord’s interactions with humanity,
began revealing truth as only truth’s narrator could provide. From Genesis to
Revelation, the Christian’s all in all is found in these pages, and we are not
to add to, or take from His word, lest we be found guilty and have our part in
the Book of Life and the holy city denied us, Revelation 22:19. Solomon writes,
“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke
you, and you be found a liar</b>,” Proverbs 30:6.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Christians are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)
even if doing so makes the hearers your enemy, Galatians 4:16. Here we learn
something profound about love and truth. We are to tell our fellow men, saved
or unsaved, what they NEED to hear; we are not to tickle their ears as
man-pleasers with what they WANT to hear. Paul wrote that if it was his goal to
please men (with his doctrine) he would not be serving God, Galatians 1:10.
Elsewhere we are instructed not to be pleasers of men, but to serve Christ from
the heart, Ephesians 6:6. Love, then, seeks the spiritual or physical good of
another. Again, love is selfless. It isn’t looking for how we’re pleased, but
how others are profited and God through it is glorified. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jesus Christ, while on Earth, first and foremost always
sought to do the will of His Father. He did not compromise with the doctrines
or emotions of mankind; neither did He pander to them. He confronted them, and
subjected His audience to right thinking, which always would lead one to
repentance and faith. His dialogue was not riddled with emotionalism, which
retards rational thinking, logical decision-making, or considering what basis
our worldview is founded upon. Emotionalism is a supercharged frenzy of desire,
selfishly and proudly refusing to relent, regardless of the argument’s validity
leveled at the worldview you aspire to retain. Emotion refuses reason entry
because reason brings with it illumination. We don’t want correction; we crave
affirmation from like-minded individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus, in love, shattered worldviews because they were fragile and
uncritically defended; their foundation was based on tradition or emotional
zeal, not reality and certainly not truth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, speaking the truth in love, what does the Bible say
about “gender identity”, marriage and sex? Genesis 1:26-28, 2:7, 20-25 depicts
mankind’s origin. God created mankind—both male and female—in His own image, and
after His likeness. We are spirits housed in bodies. Our thinking minds attest
to the reality that man is more than the sum of his physicality. As Isaac Watts
wrote In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Logic</i> about the observation
of matter: since matter does not think, and man does, therefore man’s mind is
not matter. Our brains process thoughts like a computer, but they do not create
them, despite Francis Crick’s peculiar assertion. Furthermore, man and woman
were created. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sexes, biologically distinguished one from another, and
complimentary to each other, had been established from the first. How was
making man and woman still “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">in the image
of God</b>?” In Genesis 2:18 we read, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It
is not good for man to be alone; I will make a helper comparable to him</b>.”
The NASB, in a footnote, indicates that the word, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">comparable</b>,” literally means, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">corresponding to</i></b>.” The definition of
the word is, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have a close similarity,
match or agree almost exactly</i>.” Why did God create male and female in His
image? Because God is a triune being, enjoying perfect fellowship between
Father, Son and Holy Spirit: three persons in one being, that Christians call
God. Being triune, God was never lonely; He understood that man needed someone
equal to him as a partner so he did not have to be lonely, either. What was
another reason man and woman were both created? They were to, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth
and subdue it</b>,” Genesis 1:28. This sexual union, resulting in children, was
meant to be conducted under the sacrament of marriage, see Genesis 2:24. Yes,
marriage is a God-ordained institution for mankind alone, see Matthew 22:30,
Mark 12:25.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-45260938807067452932024-02-28T09:21:00.001-06:002024-02-28T09:21:27.070-06:00Hebrews Chapter Eight, Decaying<p>
</p><p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hebrews 8:13 In that He says, “A
new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete
and growing old is ready to vanish away.</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">God addresses a new covenant through the
prophet Jeremiah, indicating that the temporal and conditional covenant made at
Sinai was—or would be—no longer valid. Otherwise, as stated in Hebrews 8:7, a
second covenant would not have been sought.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Focus now on the word, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">obsolete</b>.” To garner a better understanding of this word and entire
passage, we’ll examine it from a different perspective. The KJV reads, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath
made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish
away.</b>” The HCSB follows the more traditional rendering of the KJV and says,
“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By saying, a new covenant, He has
declared the first is old. And what is old and aging is about to disappear</b>.”
<p></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The RSV, NASB, ESV and NIV follow the NKJV
translation of “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">obsolete</b>,” in this
verse, but the Greek seems to suggest something else. The word is “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gerasko</i>,” and means, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to be senescent</i>.” Oxford defines
“senescence” (the noun form of the term), “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
process by which a living thing gradually gets worse with age</i>.” This agrees
with word “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gerasko</i>” is taken from,
which is simply “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">geras</i>,” and means “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">senility</i>.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The term apparently suggests less something
being outdated, and likened to someone whose extremely advanced age has made
him senile. That is why the KJV and the HCSB both employ terminology
commensurate to someone advancing in years. They, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">decayeth and waxeth old</b>,” or become “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">old and aging</b>.” Someone that has become senile loses his sense of
self. They grow confused, absent-minded, or forgetful. The writer, contrasting
the Sinaitic covenant expressed by Aaron with the eternal covenant in Christ,
states that it is doddering; it ready to vanish away or disappear. The
government of the first covenant, like the men it governed, was not mean to
endure for all time and eternity. It has waxed old and the strength of its
youth is spent. Even in its strength it lacked salvific power; it only had
power to condemn.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It cannot be stressed enough that it is God
Himself telling the Hebrew Christians this. The author is unabashed in relating
that God said a new covenant was coming, rendering the first received by the
Jews old, or falling into the throes of senility. This was punctuated most
effectively with the destruction of the Jewish temple and the cessation of all
sacrifice in 70 A.D. It had vanished away and Judaism radically changed in the
wake of their temple’s loss. But Judaism’s survival demonstrated a rejection of
Christ as the temple and the Law’s fulfillment.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Gieseler, in his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Compendium of Ecclesiastical History</i>, writes, “Even the synagogue
that arose after the Babylonish captivity, adapted as they were to promote a
more spiritual religion, served still more to advance the legal spirit of the
Levitical code. Hence, there arose at this time the most obstinate
attachment—yea, a fanatical zeal for the Mosaic ceremonial, apart from any real
religious feeling and moral improvement, and accompanied rather by a more
general and deeper corruption of the people.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The writer, keenly aware of the Jewish desire
to retain the outward rituals involved with the temple service, launches into a
detailed examination of the tabernacle and its purpose in the next chapter,
letting off with this verse by relating how the first covenant, inextricably
linked to the temple and animal sacrifice, was old and decayed. The better way
had come, ad he encouraged his brethren in Christ to accept this simple and
sublime truth.</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-76976247861374606432024-02-26T08:46:00.001-06:002024-02-26T08:46:52.563-06:00Hebrews Chapter Eight, Israel's Resurrection
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 8:10 “For this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them in their
hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be My people.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">This
verse is reminiscent of the prophecy of Joel, which reads at length: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on
all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream
dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and
women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days</b>,” Joel 2:28, 29 NIV.<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>The prophet Zechariah likewise glimpses this
marvelous, watershed moment in Israel’s history, not yet seen by human eyes: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And I will pour out on the house of David
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit [</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">footnote: or the Spirit</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">] of
grace and supplication. On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of
David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity</b>,”
Zechariah 12:10, 13:1 NIV.
<p></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The first covenant God made with Israel was
conveyed to them by Moses, written by the hand of God on tablets of stone. The
second covenant was conveyed to them by Messiah the Prince, manifesting Himself
in Jerusalem as the Savior Israel had been waiting for, and as Daniel was told,
He would be cut off, but not for Himself, Daniel 9:26. He would be cut off for
the sake of Israel, to atone for their sins, John 11:50. More than that,
Messiah the Prince would not only “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">raise
up the tribes of Jacob</b>,” but become a light to the Gentiles, and salvation
to the end of the world, Isaiah 49:6.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Messiah will come a second time in glory, and
the Jews will recognize Him whom they pierced, and they will mourn and finally
accept their King. Note how nothing is asked of Israel’s people. The Jews have
no contingency to fulfill. God will put His laws in their minds and write them
on their hearts. This is a rather drastic change; the Law originally came to
them externally by means of divine revelation. The tablets (and the whole of
the Law) explained what Israel must do, but did not reach past the eyes and
ears.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The new covenant sees God bringing the new
nature to Israel, the Second Birth, writing His laws in their minds and hearts,
denoting willful obedience to God’s truth that springs from a nature bestowed
only through faith. We are told in no uncertain terms that Israel as a nation
will be saved, Romans 11:26. God’s earthly people, the only nation He has
covenanted with, will have their land, their King, and the peace God promised
them, but on His terms. The Law failed because the people rebelled and sought
idolatry over obedience. The Law, in which they trusted, compounded their sin
by revealing their unwillingness to do as they were commanded, though they said
they would.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The new covenant, once implemented,
immediately reconciles wayward Israel to their covenant God. He implants His
laws in their hearts (see James 1:21), internalizing the Law and its
intentions, and may now be called their God again, while He designates the
title of, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My people</b>,” to those who
once were, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">enemies</b>,” of the gospel,
Romans 11:28, Hosea 2:23.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hebrews 8:11 “None of them shall
teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all
shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. [12] “For I will
be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I
will remember no more.”</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Recalling Zechariah 13:1, quoted earlier,
this promise or series of promises remains unconditional. God, foretelling what
will happen in the latter days to the nation of Israel, says that He will be
their God again, and they His people. The new covenant the writer speaks of
will be the catalyst for this transformation.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Again, what is the new covenant? Christ our
Lord, High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Christ the High
Priest that ascended in the true Holy of Holies with His own blood, offered
through the eternal Spirit to God the Father as a propitiation for our sins.
Jesus and His cleansing blood is better than the Law and temple sacrifice. What
the blood of bulls and goats could not do, He did once for all, by the
sacrifice of Himself.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Habakkuk 2:14 states, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord, as the waters cover the sea</b>.” Malachi writes, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall
be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to My
name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations,” says
the Lord of host</b>s,” Malachi 1:11. Isaiah adds, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea</b>,”
Isaiah 11:9.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This promise, made through the efficacious
atonement of Israel’s Messiah, culminates in a national resurrection. Presently
in the dispensation of the church the Jew is saved like the Gentile, because
Christ is building His church. Though the church began in its infancy
exclusively Jewish it has largely been a Gentile organism for many centuries.
Israel, the natural branch, will be grafted back in to the olive tree that God
has long cultivated, and the result is a national revival and the fulfillment
of God’s promises to His earthly people, Romans 11:26-28.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Notice in Romans 11:27 (cited from Isaiah
59:20), that God’s covenant with Israel is simply that He takes away their sin.
It is written, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">shall a nation be born
at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children</b>,”
Isaiah 66:8. In Ezekiel we find the vision of the valley of dry bones,
representing cast off Israel. God tells the prophet, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">these bones are the whole house of Israel</b>,” Ezekiel 37:11. But God
regenerates them, breathes life into them, and He says of them, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall
live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the
Lord, have spoken it, and performed it,</b>” Ezekiel 37:14. Israel’s national
destiny is to receive what God initially promised through Abraham, prior to the
Law, and solidified once more in David, permitting a glimpse of the glory
awaiting reconciled Israel during Solomon’s reign.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Zechariah records that Israel will mourn when
they understand that they have rejected the Messiah they longed for, Zechariah
12:10-14. Grieve they may, but rejoicing will follow, and Israel will return to
the forefront of God’s focus in His dealings on planet Earth. Does God simply
force Israel to believe? Of course not. Human volition and free will are
integral in any genuine response to the gospel of God’s grace. Remove those and
God becomes a pernicious puppet master, showing His glory to a universe
programmed to respond like a cosmic laugh track to everything He does. God’s
sovereignty permits human choice to simultaneously reveal sin’s nature and His
omniscience.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jeremiah records that none will need to teach
his neighbor divine truth, for all Israel will know God from the least to the
greatest. This was the determiner of acceptance or rejection of an individual,
according to our Lord, Matthew 7:23. The Psalmist says, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You</b>,” Psalm
36:10. Conversely, God says of the wicked, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me…through deceit
they refuse to know Me</b>,” Jeremiah 9:3, 5. Hosea writes, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Yet I am the Lord your God, ever since the
land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me, for there is no savior besides
Me</b>,” Hosea 13:4.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Jews, then, know God in a way that Adam
knew Him before the Fall: a spiritual fellowship between Creator and His
creation. Adam by special creation was a son of God, made so by God’s direct
creative agency. Christ, the Second and Last Adam, likewise was begotten by the
Holy Spirit’s direct agency. That is why our Lord is called the Son of God
after His incarnation. He is also Son of Man, or human, by virtue of descent
from Mary and David’s bloodline. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So too their rebirth will make formerly
rebellious Israel children of God, adopted into the household of faith when He
pours His Spirit upon them. He will put His Spirit in them, and they shall have
a new nature, reborn in God’s image. His mercy extends to Israel, blotting out
their former rebellion, which led them down a hard road of persecution and
wandering. God will gather them into the land of their fathers and cause them
to rest.</span> </p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-13324634922663549602024-02-23T16:47:00.000-06:002024-02-23T16:47:02.388-06:00Hebrews Chapter Eight, A New Covenant<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 8:8b “Behold, the days are coming,
says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah—[9] not according to the covenant that I made with
their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the
land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded
them, says the Lord.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">This
portion of Hebrews chapter 8, verses 8 through 12, is cited from Jeremiah
31:31-34. The writer uses this prophetic utterance to demonstrate that the
seemingly novel thing he is addressing—finding fault with the old covenant
because of the people—is not in fact anything new at all. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Jeremiah’s
prophecy was given around the time of Jeconiah’s captivity; it was before
Zedekiah’s reign and the fall of Jerusalem in toto, but already Babylon was
sorely harassing Israel, which had at this point been reduced to a vassal
state, serving Babylon’s king. Genuine autonomy had been lost with the death of
Josiah and Pharaoh’s appointment of a ruler on Israel’s throne in the wake of
his death. Now a brief succession of godless rulers would bring Jerusalem and
Judah to utter ruin. And it is in the midst of this circumstance that Jeremiah
is inspired to speak words of hope to the people.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Before
reaching that passage, we open to chapter 30 and find the Lord telling Israel,
“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">’For behold, the days are coming,’ says
the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’
says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave their
fathers, and they shall possess it</b>,’” Jeremiah 30:3. Jeremiah verse 7
relates the coming of the time of Jacob’s trouble, and that Jacob (Israel)
shall be saved out of it. After this tribulation from which God will save them,
they will serve the Lord and be ruled by David once more, who may act as a
regent for the Christ, verse 9.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Bible is a very Jewish book. It was primarily written by 40+ Jewish authors,
and the focus of it is Jesus and His people. Israel is God’s focal point when
the Gentile nations become involved. Jeremiah chapters 30 and 31 depict Judah
awash in Gentile control, and the reconciliation God determined for them.
Jeremiah 30:3 declares that God will restore Israel to his land, with no
contingencies necessary on his part; it was entirely God declaring what He
intended to do, and Israel being the recipient of God’s promises.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">While
the Christian may lay hold of Israel’s God, and may rejoice in what is written
in Jeremiah 31:31-34, bear in mind that the prophet’s original audience was
Jewry, torn between beings captives in a foreign land, and dying a miserable
death in their own. The covenant had failed due to the weakness of the people,
and what God foreswore would come upon them courtesy of Leviticus chapter 26
was coming to pass. Turmoil reigned, and circumstance painted the bleakest
portrait for the Jewish mind. The aristocracy insulated itself from reality and
condoned (or promoted) the false teachings of priests and prophets that soothed
Israel’s worry with lies, Jeremiah 5:30, 31.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
prophecy then begins with a new covenant with Israel and Judah: neither of
which are the Christian church or the Gentiles, no matter how much proponents
of Anglo-Israeli religion want it to be so. The idea of the ten lost tribes
being Anglo-Saxon, and later becoming Europe and America respectively is
ludicrous and founded on anti-Semitic pride. First, there are no lost tribes.
That suggests that God lost control of His pre-determined plan for Israel as a
nation. That is preposterous. We know in Hezekiah’s day men from Asher,
Manassaeh, and Zebulun attended the Passover, with Levi, Benjamin and Judah
already present in the southern kingdom, 2 Chronicles 30:11.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Further
along we find Anna the prophetess from the tribe of Asher, Luke 2:36. In Acts
4:36 we learn of Barnabas, of the tribe of Levi. The epistle of James states
that the twelve (apparently not lost) tribes of Israel were, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">scattered abroad</b>,” James 1:1. They were
part of what was termed the diaspora: or Jewish men and women living outside
the pail of Israel after the Babylonian exile.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
prophet Ezekiel, when learning details about the thousand-year reign of Christ,
foresaw the renewal of Israel, and every tribe that comprised it, restored to
their land. In Ezekiel chapter 48 to be specific, we learn of the return of Dan
(verse 2), Asher (3), Naphtali, (4) Levi (22), Benjamin (23), Simeon, (24),
Issachar (25), Zebulun (26), etc. All of these are allocated lands around the
sanctuary, or the Millennial temple, Ezekiel 48:8. John’s vision in Revelation
agrees with this, for he sees the twelve tribes being sealed to bear the
testimony of the Christ throughout the tribulation period, prior to the
Thousand Years, Revelation 7:4-8.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Granted,
Manasseh replaces Dan on this list (Revelation 7:6), but this hardly accounts
for lost tribes. Revelation’s list occurs during the seven-year tribulation, or
the time of Jacob’s trouble, and excludes Dan. The Millennial list of Ezekiel
chapter 48 includes Dan (Ezekiel 48:2), in fact listing his tribe first among
the twelve. Dan is not lost; no tribe is lost. Anglo-Israelism is an
anachronism of anti-Semitism disguised as enlightened religion. It endeavors to
pilfer God’s promises exclusively given to Israel, and will incur a just
retribution.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
days are coming. It is future tense, but not indefinitely so. God the Holy
Spirit deliberately includes Israel (indicative of the northern kingdom) and
Judah, comprising the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. God references the covenant
made after Israel was taken from Egypt: the Sinaitic covenant, symbolized by
the tablets of stone, or the Decalogue that Moses carried down from the
mountain. It is said God, Israel’s Father (see Jeremiah 31:9) will led His
people by the hand as a parent leads their small child. This verse demonstrates
God’s role of Heavenly Father in Israel, and the spiritually juvenile status of
its people.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Frankly
explaining the matter, God says of Israel that they did not continue in His
covenant, and He disregarded them. This simple accusation encompasses a
thousand years of Biblical history from Moses’ day to Malachi’s. The people
forgot God almost at once and worshiped a pagan idol while Moses was away,
committing fornication as part of the worship, invoking God’s wrath. They
challenged the Lord at every turn, as Hebrews earlier records in chapters 3 and
4. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
congregation had earlier avowed, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">All
that the Lord has spoken we will do</b>,” Exodus 19:8. In the course of a month
and 10 days of Moses’ absence, the people profaned themselves in every
conceivable way, committing rebellion and mutiny. In their wanderings they
desired to return to slavery in Egypt rather than serve God who had saved them,
Exodus 32:4, 6, Numbers 14:4. The fault in the covenant, the fault with the
Law, was in the people, Jeremiah 7:23, 24. Fallible, sinful people cannot keep that
which is entrusted to them. That is why the Holy Spirit says that it is sin to
presume, or to promise, because we have no power to follow through and many
times we likewise lack the will because the flesh is weak. Ergo, a new covenant
was sought.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-76344617158481911352024-02-21T16:30:00.000-06:002024-02-21T16:30:15.414-06:00Hebrews Chapter Eight, The First Covenant's Weakness<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 8:7 For if that first covenant had
been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. [8a] Because
finding fault with them, He says:</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">There
is a saying that a chain is only as good as its weakest link. God is perfect,
and the Law is holy and good. But Paul observed that the Law, which was to bring
life, brought death instead, because the Law was contrary to its recipients.
While the Law was holy and good, mankind is unholy and evil.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Evil?
Unholy? Yes. The tenor of the Bible carries this message from beginning to end.
“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Every intent of the thoughts of [</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">man’s</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">] heart was only evil continually</b>,” Genesis 6:5. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked; who can know it?</b>” Jeremiah 17:9. The gospel is only
beneficial for the sick, the spiritually dead, those who know themselves to be
sinners. The good news of Christ’s death cannot reach ears that are stopped by
pride. Man is evil and unholy. To be unholy simply means “not holy.” There is
no demoniacal intention behind the word. Hollywood horror movies have done much
to associate the word with the worst of the worst. But the apostle Paul calls
an entire generation of people to come, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">unholy</b>,”
2 Timothy 3:2. It means the absence of holiness, whose fixation is no longer on
God and the things above, but on self and its gratification.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Elsewhere,
Paul affirms that, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the law is good if
one uses it lawfully</b>,” 1 Timothy 1:8. But he also adds, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the law is not made for a righteous person,
but for the lawless and insubordinate,</b>” 1 Timothy 1:9. The Law wasn’t given
at Eden, it was given at Sinai to increase man’s awareness of sin and
accountability, Romans 5:20. It was made, we are told by divine inspiration,
not for righteous people, but for those who are lawless (without law) and
insubordinate (disobedient or noncompliant). The Law’s ultimate purpose was to
find fault, to expose the weakest link, to demonstrate that we—humanity—cannot
save ourselves. The Law isn’t a spiritual life preserver; it is a rulebook only
the perfect can actually fully obey. While it reveals God’s perfect holiness,
it in turn reveals mankind for the spiritually bankrupt and unholy race we are.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
writer coins it in simple terminology: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">finding
fault with them</b>.” The faultiness of the Law was the weakness of those to
whom it was given. Adam’s successors are no more capable of obedience than
their progenitor. Those who knew it could not be faultlessly kept turned to the
God who gave it, beseeching mercy. In turn they received grace and went from
being unholy to holy. The holiness they received is not something native to us;
it is imputed by the Holy Spirit, adopting us into the household of God, Romans
6:22.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Those
who attempt to earn their way to Heaven through Law-works suffer the curse the
Jews did in the days of Haggai the prophet. Yahweh chastised the people for
ignoring the Lord’s house and turning each to their own homes. They did not
have God’s interests at heart and went about ordering their lives in a backward
way, to their own hurt. They were lawless and insubordinate. While the Jews
suffered physical want, the passage Haggai utters could easily be applied to
us, should we seek to earn what God offers for free.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Consider your ways! You have sown much, and
bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not
filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns
wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes</b>,” Haggai 1:5, 6.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Does
this sound anything like what Jesus wants for us, His followers? “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I have come that they may have life, and
that they may have it more abundantly</b>,” John 10:10. Adam and Eve, when they
sinned and understood their sudden nakedness, turned not to God, but religion,
to save themselves. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">They sewed fig
leaves together and made themselves coverings</b>,” Genesis 3:7. They were
lawless and insubordinate. When they were at length reconciled to God, it was
the Lord Himself that clothed them, shedding animal blood to atone for their
sin, Genesis 3:21. The Jews were mistaken in the notion of believing that in
the Law itself they possessed eternal life. Jesus warned the same when He told
His Jewish audience, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You search the
Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they
which testify of Me</b>,” John 5:39.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
writer produces the valid point that had the first covenant been faultless,
there would not need to be another. We read in Isaiah, written around 700 B.C.,
the theme of a new covenant. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For I, the
Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work
in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant</b>,” Isaiah 61:8.
The phrase “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">will make</b>” connotes a
future tense regarding a people who had already received the first covenant on
Sinai hundreds of years prior, Exodus 19:7, 8.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
worker of iniquity, choosing religion over faith, earns coin to put into a bag
with holes in it. The bag is bottomless because the value of eternal life is
infinite. Finite beings cannot purchase what is utterly beyond our scope.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">None of them can by any means redeem his
brother, nor give to God a ransom for him—for the redemption of their souls is
costly, and it shall cease forever—that he should continue to live eternally,
and not see the Pit</b>,” Psalm 49:7-9.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
NASB renders verse 8, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For the
redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever</b>.” The
ESV translates the verse, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">for the
ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice.</b>” The point
illuminated here is the willful termination of human effort once understanding
arrives. We are made, by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God,
to understand our sinful position before God. The Psalmist writes that it is
impossible to achieve the effect we desire by our own effort, so stop trying.
The result, he writes, is that we may receive eternal life and not enter the
Pit, or decay, a colloquialism for Hell.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
emphasis of this passage is not that God found fault with the Jews. Mind you,
the Law was only given to the Jews, and no other, Psalm 147:19, 20. Rather, the
emphasis is on why fault was found with the first covenant, the dispensation of
the Law. Namely, it was because of us. The weakness of the flesh is contrary to
the holiness of the Law, Romans 7:9. The carnality of a man void of spiritual
life is equally contrary to God’s nature, Romans 8:7, 8. So a place was found
for a second covenant. Or perhaps more to the point, the first and eternal covenant
had been determined prior to creation in which God the Trinity determined to
save mankind by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Law merely amplified our need of the Lamb. Just as a country’s laws reveal to
its populace what may or may not be legally performed, it has no power of
itself to impress its demands on us. That choice, our volition, is what gives
the Law power, or robs it thereof. We may speed or we may not; we may steal or
we may not. The Law opposes that which is contrary to the safeguard of its
commonwealth. Yet its commonwealth is comprised of people like you and I, who
must, each one, decide if we will obey the laws, and determine the reasons why.
Lawless and insubordinate people abound; many fill our prisons. Many roam free.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">But
we are one and all guilty of infracting the law of our country at some point in
our life. This law seeks only to provide mutual safety and comfort for the sake
of order. God seeks obedient hearts that will submit, not only for the sake of
order, but because as our Creator He knows what is best for us as a people and
individuals. His Law would in fact provide peace and safety to those who adhere
to it because it would keep us from many hurtful choices. But it does not save,
nor can it be used to garner eternal life.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-65587103991476103732024-02-19T11:48:00.000-06:002024-02-19T11:48:38.429-06:00Hebrews Chapter Eight, Superiority<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 8:6 But now He has obtained a more
excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which
was established on better promises. </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Turning
from Hebrews, we will find the apostle Paul’s testimony about the glory of the
old and the new covenant in the third chapter of 2 Corinthians. Pausing on his
explanation to the church at Corinth will be edifying for the verse we’re
presently on, so we will go at length into his discussion.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“[</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">] also made us sufficient as ministers of
the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills,
but the Spirit gives life</b>,” 2 Corinthians 3:6. We know that the new
covenant was enacted by the shedding of our Lord’s blood to pay the ransom for
mankind’s sin, Mark 14:24. The covenants, then, are valued by the merit of the
blood both victims shed. The Son of God’s blood was infinitely more meritorious
than that of bulls or goats.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
letter Paul makes mention of is in reference to the Torah, the body of
commandments prescribed to the Jews by Yahweh on Horeb. There seems to be
something of a misconception in passages such as these, taken out of context by
some sects of Pentecostals or Catholic Mystics. The idea is that the letter, or
doctrine, kills, while the Spirit—that is, fresh or personal manifestations of
Him—brings life. Fundamental, orthodox Christianity is turned on its head by
this notion, a rather unbiblical one since teachers and common Christians’
confessions of faith are to be measured by the very doctrine such sects oppose,
see 1 John 2:26, 2 John 9, 10.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, and it is everything the Christian needs for
faith and practice in this life. He would only and always lead His children to
the word of God, because He is the Spirit of God. The only way one may test the
spirits, as John commends, is by a proper understanding of Scripture, rejecting
supposed professors that do not agree with revealed truth, 1 John 4:1-3, 6.
Ephesians also relates that Christ gave, among other gifts, evangelists and
teachers to the church for it’s equipping. They are given to the end that the
body of Christ may mature in knowledge and not be hoodwinked by contrary
doctrine emanating from the deceitfulness of the sinful human heart, Ephesians
4:11-14. This may only occur if sound doctrine is faithfully taught and obeyed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">I
once heard an officer specializing in counterfeit bills say that he didn’t
study the counterfeit currency; he focused his attention on genuine bills.
Having such an intimate understanding of the genuine article made him wise to
what was fraudulent, because it didn’t feel like the real thing. So too will
sound doctrine protect those who adhere to it, since it is inspired by the Holy
Spirit, or God-breathed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">But if the ministry of death, written and
engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look
steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which
glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more
glorious?</b>” 2 Corinthians 3:7, 8. Paul plainly calls the Law the ministry of
death.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">To
prevent any misunderstandings, Paul refers to the ministry of death as being
written and engraved upon stones, as received by Moses from the finger of God
on Mt. Sinai. Like the divine appointment of the tabernacle read in Hebrews and
Exodus, Paul still calls the ministry of death glorious. The Law revealed God’s
perfect nature and flawless justice to mankind. But His holiness was
unapproachable, and our sin nature disqualified anyone from being able to keep
the Law, Acts 15:10, Galatians 2:16.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
radiance Moses received while on the mount was a picture of the holiness of
God’s revealed will. One look at it and we blush and have to turn away. Only
the most deluded or proud can think for a moment that they can keep the Law and
earn Heaven. The Law’s radiance did not encourage comfort; it induced fear
because it revealed the impassable gulf between a holy God and sinful man. It
did not form a bridge to connect one to the other; it was a frightening light
revealing the sorrowful estate Israel, and Adam’s entire race, was in.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
very notion of the glory passing away or expiring, betrays its temporal nature;
a fact solidified more clearly in 2 Corinthians 3:11. Israel’s obedience to the
Law was not forever, just like no man stays under a tutor his entire life. We
learn beneath a schoolmaster while we are young; upon reaching adulthood we
enter into the responsibility of employing what we have learned for the
betterment of our lives. The Law taught, but could not save. It explained, but
could not provide the power necessary for obedience.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
ministry of the Spirit is more glorious than the ministry of death. Christ
offered Himself to the Father through the Holy Spirit, Hebrews 9:14. And it is
that same Holy Spirit who comes to seal every believer and live in us, to
provide us with power to obey that the flesh cannot produce. He provides power
because His presence changes the foundations of our motivation. Love replaces
ambition, and gratitude supplants fear. His ministry is far more glorious.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For if the ministry of condemnation had
glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what
was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that
excels, For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more
glorious</b>,” 2 Corinthians 3:9-11. In verse 7 Paul called the Law the
ministry of death; now he refers to it as the ministry of condemnation. To
condemn means to judge, or to find guilty. It conveys a punitive atmosphere,
one that is not conducive to our wellbeing, Colossians 2:14.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
apostle contrasts the covenants, finding that the first’s glory is bankrupt by
way of comparison to the new covenant of Christ’s shed blood for the
forgiveness of sin. Again the apostle refers to the Law as “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">passing away</b>,” connoting the idea of
expiration or termination. Why? Because Christ fulfilled the Law in perfect
obedience. While Israel was under Law the way into the Holiest of All was not
open, Hebrews 9:8. Direct access to the Father had not been accomplished
through the Atonement, and so the Old Testament saints awaited in Paradise for
Messiah the Prince to accomplish through His blood what the Law could not:
namely, perfecting those who through faith come to Him. In Christ we have access
to the Father by faith.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
new covenant is “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">what remains</b>.” When
the Law departs the Son remains. The shadow is eclipsed by the arrival of the
substance. No more waiting was necessary, and this urgent and invaluable
message was something the Hebrew Christians desperately needed to hear, since
they were slipping and drifting into legalism once again, Hebrews 2:1. Our
Lord’s priesthood is eternal, and His sacrifice efficacious to the uttermost.
If John’s gospel was written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
and to place our faith in Him, the writer of Hebrews penned his epistle as a
commentary, or Midrash, on Old Testament Christology. His mantra, though
unspoken, is woven throughout every chapter: Christ is better.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-14153275787184970272024-02-18T15:35:00.000-06:002024-02-18T15:35:03.995-06:00An Ode From My Daughter<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">With
my eldest daughter’s permission, I wanted to share this excellent poem she
wrote two days ago for a school English essay. It is untitled, and I present it
the way it was written, with minor grammatical correction. I enjoyed this very
much, and I hope you do as well. God bless!<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Sleep
soundly tonight, my child, lest you linger too long on tragedy and what all the
world has borne.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Or
at least lay quietly in bed, and converse with the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">When
you ask Him, “Will you be here with the morning light?” He’ll answer, “I’ll be
here all through the night. You could never count the stars above, but just
know they don’t exceed My love, an endless loop to keep you safe, and to wrap
your wounded body in My grace.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">But
when my eyes are blind and my heart is numb, and I hear the bell toll for when
the devil comes, will I know you’re there? Will I feel Your hands? I need to
know I haven’t lost Your care.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">“Listen
child, there is nowhere you can run, where the devil whispers, there I’ll come,
and I’ll cast away his façade, and when I’ve caught you in My wings and hold
you tight this I’ll sing: Rest deeply during this night, and in the morning
find your path and take flight, spread your wings, O child of Mine, for I
delight in you, and in My name you still have songs to write.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-70419572690187919192024-02-16T08:09:00.001-06:002024-02-16T08:09:38.133-06:00Hebrews Chapter Eight, Shadows<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 8:4 For if He were on earth, He
would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to
the law: [5] who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was
divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See
that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
author makes the differentiation that if Christ were on earth He would not be
part of the priesthood. Why? The priests who served the tabernacle erected by
Moses served under the Law, and also served the shadow of the heavenly things
they were patterned after, Exodus 25:40.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
earthly priesthood, given under the dispensation of the Law by the hand of
Moses, was several things.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">#1:
It was temporal. Hebrews 8:13 establishes the fact that the Sinaitic covenant,
in which Israel received the Law, was not meant to endure forever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">#2:
It was concerned with ceremonial, or fleshly ordinances. The Law and the
tabernacle made the penitent ceremonially clean, but not spiritually clean,
Hebrews 9:10, 10:1.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">#3:
The Law itself was weak and unprofitable to Israel (and by extension, anyone
else who seeks to be saved by it). The Law only exposed man’s faults, Hebrews
8:8. The Law was an indivisible unit, 613 different laws given to Israel by
God. If someone broke one of those laws just one time, they were guilty of the
breaking all of the Law, James 2:10.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">#4:
The Law did not, and still cannot, save you. Rather, the Law condemns, or
curses the one who attempts to be justified by it, Galatians 3:10-12. The
adherent of the Law, which is more than just the Decalogue, must uphold without
fail all 613 laws written in, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the book
of the law</b>.” That is a blatant reference to the five books of Moses, or the
Torah.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">#5:
The priesthood perpetuated sacrifice to remind Israel that they were still
guilty before God, Hebrews 10:3. The blood of bulls and goats indicated that
death releases one from the debt of sin. It also taught that vicarious
atonement could be made to transfer sin’s debt from the guilty party to an
innocent. The symbolism was meant to direct the Jewish mind to the Coming One,
Messiah, who would do just that for them, Isaiah 53:6, 10.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">If
the Aaronic priesthood served the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, then
it stands to reason that the Levitical priesthood was itself a copy and shadow
of the true and eternal priesthood in Heaven, after the order of Melchizedek.
For their part their duty was to perpetuate the sacrifice of the lamb on Jewish
altars to foreshadow the One who would take away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself. If the Aaronic priesthood—being temporal, ceremonial and weak—was a
shadow of Christ’s true priesthood, then Melchizedek’s priesthood was (and is)
a Heavenly one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">But
as the earthly priesthood foreshadowed a singular event to come, the divine
priesthood, of which Christ is High Priest and sacrifice, was the substance.
Melchizedek and his order were attested to be eternal, without beginning or
end, and Jesus was the inheritor of the mantle. Unlike the earthly priesthood, whose
priests were prevented by death from continuing (Hebrews 7:23), Christ sits as
an accomplished High Priest forever. That being said, it seems that Jesus
always possessed the prerogative of the mantle, waiting until He incarnated as
the Son of God to receive it, being a Heavenly and eternal priesthood.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">This
may shed more light on Melchizedek’s person, too. Unlike Aaron’s priesthood,
which was as temporal as the men who served under it, the former order, first
noted in Genesis 14:18, was already established and without end, Psalm 110:4.
It does appear a distinct possibility that Melchizedek, who was originally
priest of God Most High in Abraham’s time, and Christ, who is priest forever
according to his order, are one and the same. The mantle need not pass on to
another when one lives by the power of an endless life, Hebrews 7:3, 8, 15-16.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Make
no mistake, however. The Law and the tabernacle, which was the Law’s beating
heart, were divinely appointed. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Moses
was divinely instructed</b>,” it is written. The word “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">pattern</b>” in the Greek is, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tupos</i>,”
and can mean, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">by implication: a stamp or
scar, by analogy: a shape, style, resemblance or model (for imitation)</i>.”
Although, or perhaps rather because the tabernacle was patterned after divine
revelation of Heavenly things, it was to be held in the utmost reverence and
the sternest punishments were meted out for misuse.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
tabernacle was a teaching tool. Like a schoolteacher uses a model of the solar
system to give students an inkling of the placement and motions of the
celestial bodies far beyond earth’s outer limits. The tabernacle was a place of
divine contemplation. It was intended to bring the conscientious sinner into a
proper mindset to consider, or meditate upon, the things of God. The model of
the solar system hardly does the reality justice, but it suffices in invoking
through imitation the grandiose reality invisible to the naked eye far beyond
earth’s reaches. So too was the Law a vehicle of God’s revelatory purposes to
guide them to Him, who shows mercy.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-74725579316615027432024-02-14T15:06:00.001-06:002024-02-14T15:06:23.258-06:00Hebrews Chapter Eight, Appointed<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 8:3 For every high priest is
appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that
this One also have something to offer.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Leviticus
chapter 16 describes the high priest’s sacrifice, or atonement, for his own
sin. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin
offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his
house</b>,” Leviticus 16:6. Aaron attained to the role of high priest by divine
appointment; that cannot be overstated. What the Aaronic priesthood did in the
interim between the genesis of the tabernacle and the fulfillment of the Law by
Christ was ordained by God.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Why
was Aaron appointed? “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">To offer both
gifts and sacrifices</b>.” Without exception every high priest that succeeded
Aaron was not to come before God empty handed. On the Day of Atonement in
Israel, when the high priest was permitted once a year to enter the veil into
the Most Holy Place, he first put incense on the fire before the ark of the
covenant to obscure its sight, Leviticus 16:13. Entering with a censer filled
with the coals taken from the fire of his sin offering, as well as handfuls of
incense, which represents the prayers of the saints, Aaron would take some of
the bull’s blood and sprinkle it on the mercy seat from the east side, and
before the mercy seat as well, Leviticus 16:14.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
know from Revelation 5:8 that the censer represents the prayers of the saints.
“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The twenty four elders fell down before
the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints</b>.” The eastern direction seems to hold a certain
importance with our Lord, especially in terms of His tabernacle or the place of
meeting. We first meet this detail when we read, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the
man He had formed</b>,” Genesis 2:8. Interestingly, Adam was not created in
Eden, but from the earth outside the garden, and then translated into Eden to
tend it. The entrance to Eden was from the east, since it was there that God
placed cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life after Adam’s expulsion,
Genesis 3:24.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Likewise
the entrance to the tabernacle created in the desert was on the eastern side,
Exodus, 27:13-16. The Millennial temple as described in Ezekiel likewise
showcases God’s use of the east. The eastern gate of that temple would always
have its door shut, since, God tells the prophet, it was the gate through which
He personally entered, Ezekiel 44:1, 2. Ezekiel 47:1 adds the bit of
information that the temple itself faces east. Solomon’s temple likewise had it
entrance affixed to the east, 1 Kings 6:8. This also appears to be the
direction from which the Lord will come, so to speak, Matthew 24:27.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">As
Aaron entered the Most Holy Place with the blood of a bull, a censer, and
incense, we see the nature of the gifts offered. These aren’t gifts or
sacrifices of man’s election. They are items God commanded to be brought to Him
if man is to come before Him in an acceptable manner. Aaron (and his
successors) came in faith with these offerings, believing Him who told them to
do so. The high priest’s journey behind the veil demonstrated that one might
only approach God on His terms. One of His terms is the shedding of blood. The
bull’s blood, representative of Christ’s suffering on our behalf, was sprinkled
on God’s footstool, where He appeared to Israel enthroned between the golden
Cherubim. The incense created a cloud through which the high priest did not
gaze directly upon the Shekinah glory and court death. On earth, our Lord’s
prayer, recorded in John chapter 17, was an intercessory prayer for His
followers. The smoke of the incense was a window through which the high priest
may look upon God and not die. Jesus our Lord taught that the road to salvation
was narrow, because the margin for error was nil. One entered entirely by grace
through faith, and that only in Christ our Lord the Savior. No gift or
sacrifice can substitute for humble obedience to revealed truth, 1 Samuel
15:22.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally it is said that this One, the Son who
is perfected forever, also have something to offer. Though God swore that the
Christ, His Son, would be priest forever according to Melchizedek’s order, it
did not negate the necessity for our Lord to enter into that ministry without
an oblation. The purpose of the priesthood, as defined by the Aaronic ministry,
was one of sacrifice. The priests sacrificed animals to make atonement for the
people, accepting said sacrifices in God’s stead. In short, their acceptance of
them was demonstrative that God Himself accepted the offering by the hand of
those He ordained to minister at His altar. Jesus our Lord was not exempt. Nor
is Scripture the remotest bit silent when it comes to defining the nature of
the sacrifice He brought when we read, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">who
does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for
His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He
offered up Himself</b>,” Hebrews 7:27.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-37333200316590028832024-02-12T13:46:00.000-06:002024-02-12T13:46:11.564-06:00Hebrews Chapter Eight, Getting Back On Topic<p>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 8:1 Now this is the main point of
the things we are saying: we have </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">such a High Priest, who is seated at the
right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, [2] a Minister of the
sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.</b>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
have now exited the parenthetical portion of the epistle. The writer, in an
effort to extrapolate about the superiority of Jesus in regards to His High
Priesthood and relation to Melchizedek, went down a bypath in chapter 5. The
pause in his advance happens in Hebrews 5:11 and 12 when he relates that while
he has much to say about the topic, the hearers have grown dull, and need milk
rather than solid food.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Paul,
suffering the same imposition in Corinth, writes to them, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as
to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food;
for until now you were unable to receive it, and even now you are still not
able; for you are still carnal</b>,” 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. The issue in Corinth
was one of denominational boundaries. Or rather, proto-denominational
boundaries. Certain disciples claimed to follow Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas
(Peter), or Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:12. Apparently this division was in part
inspired by who had been baptized by whom, verse 13-15.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Yet
Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 1:17 and 3:6, 7 that human instrumentality
was not the focus of his ministry, or any other’s ministry. Jesus Christ
crucified was his focus, 1 Corinthians 1:18. Denominations demonstrate how
carnal we can be, even when endowed with the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven. Mind
you, some schisms are good. They are not denominational disputes, but genuine
spiritual battles for cardinal truths in the Christian faith. Roman
Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventism, et, al.,
have departed from orthodox Christianity by abandoning Jesus Christ as God and
Savior and substituting Him with human works to make up for their counterfeit’s
lack of saving power. Such divisions are necessary, 1 Corinthians 11:19, 1 John
2:19.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Having
led the Hebrew Christians to consider the superiority of Jesus Christ as
opposed to the Aaronic priesthood and its manifold frailties, he now returns to
the matter at hand. The author states that the main point of what he is
attempting to convey is that we, as believers, have such a High Priest. His
work finished, He is seated at God’s right hand in Heaven. Paul attests to the
same truth, writing, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Christ is sitting
at the right hand of God</b>,” Colossians 3:1. Mark wrote, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">So then, after the Lord had spoken to them,
He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God</b>,” Mark
16:19.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">It
has already been firmly established that the Old Testament priests did not sit.
Their task was never done. Why? Because the earthly tabernacle was not created
to genuinely remove the punishment of sin once for all. It was, along with the
Law, a teaching tool God gave over to cultivate Israel. The Law reflected man’s
guilt by showcasing God’s perfection. The tabernacle demonstrated by many
symbols that God likewise had a means of removing man’s sin from him. Man’s sin
would be transferred to the lamb of God’s appointment, a lamb uniquely chosen
by Him to once for all contend with the issue of sin. Man led our race into
sin, following Satan into bondage and death. By Man again, we might be reborn
and freed from bondage, bought back to become in Christ what we were intended
to be in Adam: His sons.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Having
accomplished this in Calvary, our Lord ascended into Heaven, Luke 24:51, Acts
1:9. His work is finished; He is not being sacrificed any longer on Roman
Catholic altars, or any other altars, because His work is accomplished. We
cannot add to it, or take from it. He signified this by sitting at the Father’s
right hand, waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool. His ministry is
now one of mediation for the saints. He pleads the efficacy of His blood before
the Father on our behalf, for those who have been ransomed by His blood and
purchased from every nation under Heaven.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
are told that Jesus is the Minister of the true tabernacle. It is a structure
God built, and not men. This will be dealt with in more detail later in this
chapter, but sufficed to say the earthly tabernacle, Solomon’s temple, and
Zerubbabel’s temple are shadows of the true temple. If the high priest on earth
was a representation of our Lord’s ministry, then we see something of His
ministry in Heaven. The High Priest was to enter the Holy Place behind the veil
alone, once a year, with blood to sprinkle upon the mercy seat. But rather than
bulls or goats, Jesus bore His own blood, offering His life to God in our stead
when He went behind the veil, into the Holiest of All. Not being from Levi, He
did not enter the sanctuary of the priests appointed by Law. Rather, our Lord
entered the sanctuary of God, appointed by the Father. The writer is
emphatically clear that this tabernacle, and all that transpired within, was
that which the Lord erected, and not man. Adam’s fallen race had absolutely
nothing to do with our salvation. We do not, and cannot, contribute. Failure to
make this distinction is the difference between faith and religion, or Heaven
and Hell.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-65567498422047316182024-02-09T09:31:00.001-06:002024-02-09T09:31:49.416-06:00Molehills: The Theistic Evolution Dilemma, Part Two<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">Like reproduction, which passes along the choicest genes to
the worthy heirs of tomorrow, death cycles the old into the new, making things
incrementally better, step by minute step. Death is a blessing (if such an
absurdity exists in a materialistic, relativistic worldview) endowing future
generations a greater aptitude for survival. That is, until death takes them as
well, and the cycle repeats. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">This brings us to another nihilistic issue with
evolutionary thought. Purpose does not exist. Solomon once bemoaned about the
nature of life under the sun, that is, without acknowledging God’s presence and
purpose, both for material existence and for us individually. He found it to be
vanity, and that man ought to pursue whatever hedonistic urge seizes him,
because death will come soon enough, and then our ultimately pointless lives
will end, and it will be as though we never were. Like society must fabricate
artificial morality to appease the culture, purpose outside of ultimate meaning
must be sought after, or rather, created by, those who embrace Darwin’s answer
to life. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The answer is: your life serves no purpose, save to make the
next generation just a little bit more adaptively versatile than you. The
purpose we make in life is ultimately lacking any significance, because in a
world where reproduction and death are how human progress is defined, our
contributions to art, music, literature, medicine, even science itself, become
fruitless diversions to distract from the fatalistic reality that our life, and
reality itself by extension, are the product of a long chain of purposeless
accidents, and ultimate reality, with its attendant answer that religion sought
to provide, are placebos. Solomon was apparently much more correct than even he
may have realized. Life is a vanity of vanities, or grasping after the wind.
The purposes we find could more adequately be described as purposes man
fabricates, because purpose is not objective reality; man invents this in the
chemical reactions of his brain to sustain himself once the reality of our
insignificance really sinks in.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psychology is another child of Darwinian Evolution, having
gained traction in the early portion of the 20<sup>th</sup> century under the
auspices of Jung, Freud, Maslow, etc. Psychology largely explores human experience
from a mechanical, pragmatic direction. More plainly, if human thought and
consciousness is nothing more than chemical reaction inside the brain (as
Francis Crick insists), then specialized doctors of the mind are necessary to
fine tune our thoughts when things go far afield. Enter psychotropic drugs and
therapy as mankind’s new savior, dispensed—for a fee—by a naturalistic
priesthood. Once again Christianity and Darwin collide with terrible results.
If man is a spiritual being made in God’s image, then our brain does not think;
our brain processes our thoughts while the spirit that operates the mechanism
does the actual thinking. If the physical brain suffers impairment, doctors,
not psychologists, ought to be consulted. If we suffer from anxiety, depression,
etc., the matter is a spiritual one, because it is not the brain that is
depressed, but the person. God, being a Spirit, is perfectly capable of leading
the sufferer to the liberty we each crave. Psychotropic drugs alter brain
chemistry in unknown ways and can mask the symptoms of our suffering, but
cannot cure it. Why? Because such drugs can’t reach a person’s spirit, where
the seat of the matter lay. But since Darwin’s day, man is viewed as a
glorified animal, and the “science, so called” of psychology was raised up to
contend with the “mental issues” this evolved animal suffers from. If
Christianity is true, then psychology and Darwinism is wrong. If Darwinism is
in fact the genuine picture for existence, mankind will need more than therapy
to swallow the bitter pill of a material existence, victimized by one’s own
thoughts, while we in turn victimize others. Accountability, self-control, even
reason itself is lost in the system of healing oneself: a process that for most
will last until death. Freud commended indulgence in the flesh; Skinner went
about treating man as a stimulus response machine. Who is right? The answer
cannot be found, because the idea of “right” is absurd and irrelevant in modern
relativism.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Life’s value is relegated to a subjective, case-by-case
pragmatism in Darwin’s world. Hitler justified genocide on this principal.
Women’s rights activists justify murdering their unborn children under the
banner of freedom of choice. The old or ailing justify it likewise. If man is
made in God’s image, then it is the highest insult to the Creator that man
kills fellow man on a whim. But if Darwin is right, then human life has
essentially no value outside of a personal, subjective attachment some may have
to the individual in question. Certainly it has no intrinsic or objective value
greater than a fly, a dog, or any other living thing. When objective reality is
removed, and the transcendent reality of a Maker is denied, subjective
relativism fills the void. It is “what works for me.” For abortionists, human
life rests in the hands of the mother, who may keep or kill her child as she
sees fit, for the sake of her sexual liberty. Here we see how sex, meant in
evolution to procreate, and in the Bible to do likewise ironically, is turned
into a pastime, with unborn children being an inconvenience, termed a fetus,
which may be jettisoned at leisure. The value of human life disintegrates
beneath the lens of Darwinian Evolution. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The argument could be made, from an evolutionary standpoint,
that if women abort their children, those children were unfit to survive,
because only the fittest adapt to pass on their genetics. But how is the
fittest determined, exactly? Those that survive long enough to reproduce and
pass on their genetic contribution to succeeding generations. Individually,
human life means pathetically little; the species as a whole means nothing,
either. No matter our vaunted greatness, we have, step by painful step, been
brought to this platform in modernity, only to be pushed off by those who come
after in the struggle for survival. Quoting Solomon, we read, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I returned and saw under the sun that—the
race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise,
nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and
chance happen to them all,</b>” Ecclesiastes 9:11. In a world without God,
Solomon declares, all that really is left is time and chance. It sounds like a
mockery toward the theory of Darwinian Evolution. The swift, strong and wise
have no more hope ultimately than their opposite, when time and chance reign as
the guiding force of human growth. And bear in mind that Darwinian scientists
insist that time and chance operating in a closed system for billions of years
is what alone produced our universe, and us in particular. When human life has
become entirely disposable for the convenience of others, one can see the
ramification of Darwin’s theory played out in human experience.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evolution, by implicit admission, denies supernatural
causation. There is no God, no Eden or Adam, no Redeemer to pay for Adam’s sin,
no Heaven for the saints that have believed. It is a farce created in the weak
and superstitious minds of yore, when man explained nature by invoking divinity
rather than science. Darwinian Evolutionists claim that, due to their theory,
God’s essential existence is demonstrably false, and the universe could have
begun (and indeed did begin) with entirely natural, scientifically verifiable,
causation. Although ultimate origins certainly fall out of the realm of
empirical scientific demonstration, this is the assumption upon which the
scientific community operates. Nietzsche once said, “God is dead, and we have
killed Him.” Modern science touts that its progress demonstrates that God never
existed, except in the deluded minds of the faithful, whose brains apparently
had not evolved enough to shed the genetic material of religion and
superstition. If you, a professing Christian, do not believe the Genesis
account of creation, but have cast your lot in with Darwinian Evolution as the
explanation for all that is, you have undermined and sabotaged your own faith.
You believe a quaint (perhaps harmless?) white lie. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have capitulated to the secular power, whose bias lies
in naturalism, with a priesthood whose doctrine is evolutionary advancement,
and whose sacraments include psychology, abortion, and moral liberty to pursue
what was formerly considered sin. Rather than sitting on the victorious side,
such people fall into the camp of what Paul describes, saying, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">although they knew God, they did not
glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and
their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools</b>,”
Romans 1:21, 22. This passage describes man exchanging the truth of God for
naturalism, or the worship of the creation in place of a divine, supernatural
agency as the universe’s First Cause. As Solomon wrote, there is nothing new
under the sun, and Darwinism is no exception. From a wrong premise came wrong
conclusions, leading into spiritual darkness and bondage. We are not, we are
told, to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. By espousing such a doctrine,
untested and untestable, and patently false by the very predictions it makes
about life, Christians yoke themselves with materialism, naturalism,
relativism, subjectivity, fatalism, and the Satanic spirit that inspires it’s
continuance. God is witness to creation in general, and man’s inception
specifically. We may take Him on His word, as children who believe the Heavenly
Father, or we may be blown about by every wind of doctrine cunning men
fabricate under the ennobled title of science, falsely named, 1 Timothy 6:20,
21, KJV.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-91143534079700894432024-02-07T15:32:00.000-06:002024-02-07T15:32:00.827-06:00Molehills: The Theistic Evolution Dilemma, Part One<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">It is debatable if the battle for the book of Genesis is
considered a molehill. But for the interest of this series, I constitute it as
such, since Christendom should be standing harmoniously on the truth of God’s
word about how our universe, planet, and conscious life came into being. Sadly,
most of the church, fearing the “truth” as it is found in Darwinian Evolution,
has capitulated, compromised, and abandoned Genesis as a fairy tale. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is an allegory that no genuine, studious, or intelligent
Christian takes seriously. Why? Because science has empirically disproven the
Genesis account, and clinging to it as a literal testimony of God’s creative
power is to demonstrate religious mania, fundamentalism, narrow-minded
ignorance, and a blind faith that clings to disproven tradition in the face of
overwhelming contrary evidence.
</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But is Genesis a fairy tale? Is the account of the
universe’s creation, as well as humanity’s, folklore, meant to be taken as
symbolism and not with the same Biblical scrutiny Christians put toward the
rest of God’s word? One thing is certain: what one believes about ultimate
causation has a profound effect on how we view morality and value life, both
our own and that of others. Furthermore, many contemporary advocates of
Darwinism, such as William Provine, Chris Hitchins, or Richard Dawkins (the two
former now deceased), have elegantly pointed out that compromising the Biblical
account and mingling it with Evolution is tantamount to implicit surrender for
the church. Why? Because Darwinian Evolution, by definition of its proponents,
is a directionless, purposeless mechanism that exploits natural selection and
mutation. It does not need guidance, or an external catalyst (read in: God) to
justify its processes. If one concedes that Darwinian Evolution is an
empirically proven scientific fact (which it is not), then God is an
unnecessary feature, relegated to a place of imaginary glory in the deluded
minds of church faithful; some kind of panacea to spiritual ills that do not
exist. They primarily do not exist (and neither would the God that heals them)
because Darwinian Evolution explicitly champions naturalism, or materialism:
meaning that that which is physical exists, while that which is immaterial
(anything defined as spiritual) does not. It is the invention of superstitious
men from older times, before the light of modern science shown to reveal the
fallacy of such thinking.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Darwinism has pioneered numerous paradigm shifts in human
thought, perhaps none of which have had a genuinely beneficial effect on the
culture.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Theistic Evolution posits the notion that God implanted a
soul within a hominid long ago, thus birthing modern humanity. Since fossil
finds the likes of Lucy have appeared, the bridge, so claimed, between ape and
man has shortened. Man is just another product of Dawkins’ blind watchmaker,
who does not know or care; neither of which evolution itself could possess,
because such attributes define personhood. So a man is the sum of his molecules.
Francis Crick famously wrote that our minds (read In: our physical brains) are
nothing more than neurons and nerve bundles. In short, our thoughts are the
consequence of chemical interactions and that free will and thought itself have
no immaterial or spiritual quality. Thoughts are a physical affect of a cause
located in the human brain. More recently, this theory has been tweaked in some
quarters, claiming that humanity’s consciousness is derived from a quantum wave,
and that the human brain is a quantum system. Perhaps this quantum wave is
posited as a rebuttal to the argument about thought being abstract, and
therefore immaterial. Rather, it sounds like a sensational effort to avoid
supernatural causality.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sex is a tool in evolution to propagate the species, with
the hardiest specimen, with the fittest genes, mating more frequently and
passing such genes on. Our “sex-drive” stems back to a bygone era of our
hunter-gatherer days, when men found mates, sometimes by force, to continue
advancing their bloodline and the species as a whole. Sex is not something
special; neither is it romantic, or to be shared in the bedroom between husband
and wife. These are conventions man devised as we evolved culturally, and
determined somehow that the hunter-gatherer way of doing things (which must
have been rather successful) was no longer necessary. Darwin turned sex into a
tool of advancement for the fittest, with nothing of greater attachment to it
when it was shared in marriage. Freud, who went a little farther, made sex a
liberating catharsis. Man was to indulge his hedonistic urges, rather than
suppress them, because religion (an old cultural narrative in need of
abandonment) taught self-control and created misery. Sexual freedom—with its
rape, pornography, homosexuality, bestiality, pedophilia, etc.—was what man
needed. Freud’s theories would never have survived in a largely Christianized
culture, prior to Darwin’s theory.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eugenics, practiced famously by Adolph Hitler and Margaret
Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, is another child of Darwinian Evolution.
What evolution did “naturally,” so would its devotees artificially. Darwin
himself was a racist, and his theory provided the legitimately perfect
mechanism for justifying systemic racism. Animals fought for territory, for
food, for mates. Humans are animals with a greater capacity for outwitting
their rivals. The weak would perish, and the strong would endure to contribute
their genetic potential to a selective pool filled with admirable, selfish,
self-centered, violent traits that bolster only those that recognize that
superiority in life means asserting oneself above and at the cost of others.
Altruism is not a byproduct of evolutionary creation. Kindness, charity,
welfare, and even love, are antithetical to evolution’s purpose, if one may
attribute that word to a mindless process void of direction. Specimens that
produce weak-minded, selfless spawn would be weaned out as unfit; such behavior
is contrary to the overarching picture of species survival.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eugenics, envisioned initially by Sanger, was a tool employed
in part to sterilize blacks and Hispanics, and from such a worldview inspired
by this insidious theory, who could fault her? It appears difficult and tenuous
for anyone outside of evolution itself to determine who is fit, by virtue of
natural selection, or the law of tooth and claw. But this theory promotes a
materialistic and amoral worldview. Amoral? Yes, morality is as unreal as God
in a naturalistic worldview. The propagation of favored species has nothing to
do with morality, and Darwinian Evolution has nothing to do with God, who, by
His existence, posits objective morality. To pause briefly, one must understand
that morality is objective, or it must be viewed externally as something
objective to be recognized as something moral. If is internal and subjective,
it is not morality; it is preference and opinion. Morality defines what is
right in terms of human behavior; opinion voices someone’s personal view of a
moral issue, right or wrong. In a naturalistic worldview, there is no morality,
as mankind would traditionally define it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The hunter-gatherer of yesteryear is now constrained by the
cultural normative, but what is normal, or deemed acceptable in a culture’s
mutating tradition still falls short of speaking to morality. Was Sanger wrong?
Was Hitler? Not according to Darwin’s theory, because wrong, which implicitly
states that right exists, suggests an external authority's arbitration. There
is preference, as the thoughts our brains produce allow, but there is not
morality. Good and evil collapse in the vacuum religion’s death affected. What
I consider good is not necessarily what my neighbor does, and who is right? The
argument is circular, because by asking who is right, I’m implying there is a
source to resort to that can arbitrate the matter, which there is not, when man
arose from a hominid, scratching and clawing his way to our current state.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morality then, as the term could be applied, is a blanket
word, a catchphrase for what the current society views as normative. A
generation ago sodomy was not acceptable. Now it’s en vogue, among other sexual
preferences, contrary even to evolution’s utilitarian use of the tool, since
reproduction is sex's purpose, if we can grant anything an objective purpose in a
world where morality does not exist and relativism (individual preference determining
truth on a microscopic level) reigns. Evolution goes hand in hand with Atheism,
itself a religious belief. Atheism is not evolution’s child—at least not
Darwinian Evolution. Rather, one might say Atheism is it’s grandparent, and
Darwin made evolution its legitimate heir. Here is one major reason why
Christianity and Darwin’s brainchild cannot coexist. Evolution is man’s answer
to supernaturalism. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If evolution is true, then there was no Eden, no Adam, no
original sin, and no Savior to come and redeem us from it. Death existed prior
to mankind, or hominids, or mammals in general. The Bible is a lie, and Christ
Himself believed that lie, preaching that, ”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female</b>,”
Mark 10:6. Likewise, Jesus taught that there was a worldwide Flood, Matthew
24:37-39. Darwinian Evolution does not require supernatural intervention; in
fact, the theory predicates itself on a mechanism (natural selection) working
in a closed system, void of outside influence. By accepting this godless and
unproven theory (macroevolution has never been demonstrated in human history),
Christians implicitly accept Darwin’s substitute for divine agency in the
creation, God’s ability to intercede in human affairs, and even Christ’s life
and resurrection. Jesus came because He was restoring lost humanity to a right
relationship with God, that Adam by his sin had lost. Without Adam and sin,
resulting in death, Christianity is a pointless collection of some wisdom
sayings given by fallible men woefully disconnected from reality. Death,
according to Darwin, is both natural and beneficial. It is not the result of
sin, as the Bible claims, but a process, or rather, another effective tool in
the arsenal of evolution.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-89253455482008918642024-02-05T12:30:00.000-06:002024-02-05T12:30:27.986-06:00Hebrews Chapter Seven, The Son's Preeminence<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 7:28 For the law appoints as high
priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the
law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">This
is the author’s summarized thoughts as he finishes his parenthetical pause,
beginning around Hebrews 5:11 and culminating in this verse. The diversionary
teaching came on account of the readership’s poor understanding, and how,
though they were Christians for some time they needed to rehash the
fundamentals of the Christian faith.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">A
contrast was made between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ, affirming the numerous
similarities between them. A secondary contrast was made between the Aaronic
priesthood and Jesus’ eternal one, revealing an utter dearth of similarity. The
Mosaic priesthood existed under the Law, and for the tabernacle. Christ’s
priesthood is enduring and eternal. One is weak in that it has no power to
perfect the penitent that performs it, while Jesus in the power of an endless
life saves to the uttermost all who come to God through Him since He always
lives to make intercession for us.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">What
is the weakness spoken of? It is the same weakness all humanity shares. We have
a sin nature. We are under the curse of sin, living in bodies doomed to die.
Our lives are very finite, and they are often filled with desires incongruent
with God’s revealed will. The priests appointed by the Law recognized their own
shortcomings. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">He can have compassion on
those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to
weakness</b>,” Hebrews 5:2. The next verse carries on that thought,
demonstrating that, because of the inherent weakness in them—referring to the
sin nature—the priests needed to sacrifice not only for the people, but
themselves, too. We know contextually this weakness means sinful conduct, or
else sacrifice would be unnecessary.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Laid
out against this picture of a succession of men, prevented by death from
continuing, is Jesus our Lord. Whereas these men, because of weakness,
sacrificed even on their own behalf, we are informed Jesus did not, because He
did not need to. Why? The inference strongly suggests our Lord had no sin. The
Law appointed fallible men; the word of the oath, spoken in David hundreds of
years later, appointed the Son.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">What
does the verse mean, that Jesus has been perfected forever? The NIV and ESV
both agree with the translation, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">has
been made perfect forever</b>.” This brings to recollection Hebrews 2:10, which
states, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For it was fitting for Him, for
whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory,
to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings</b>.” That
suffering is a reference to His death on the cross, Hebrews 2:9. Christ’s
obedient death, going to the cross, was His purpose for coming to this earth,
John 12:27. Jesus referenced His impending death as being “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">perfected</b>” when He was warned by the Pharisees that Herod wanted
Him dead, Luke 13:32. His obedience was vindicated on the cross, and the
sacrificial Lamb became the mediatory Priest. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Indeed,
our Lord has been made perfect forever. But it was not a process of trial and
error, or a passionate struggle between obeying the Father or the lusts of the
flesh. These are blasphemous thoughts to attribute to Jesus Christ. God knew
His intentions to save mankind before creation, Acts 15:18, 2 Timothy 1:9,
Titus 1:2. Paul writes of our Lord’s perfection, that He has, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped
out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to
us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having
disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing
over them in it</b>,” Colossians 2:13-15.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Our
perfected High Priest will save the Jews by faith, and the Gentiles through
faith. He has been given all power in Heaven and earth, vested with the title
of High Priest in the order of Melchizedek by an oath from the Father. As the
author encourages his Jewish audience, so this epistle encourages all to come
to Christ and abandon human effort and works. Jesus Christ is greater than all,
and saves to the uttermost.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-3007587117011086822024-02-02T20:49:00.001-06:002024-02-02T20:49:24.161-06:00Hebrews Chapter Seven, Once For All<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 7:27 who does not need daily, as
those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for
the people’s, for this He did once</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> for all when He offered up Himself.</b>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Continuing
the contrast between the Aaronic priesthood and Jesus Christ, the author makes
another telling point. Our Lord, unlike the priests that worked under the
Mosaic Law, does not need perpetual sacrifice. The priests under Aaron never
ceased their work; they did not sit but kept the fire kindled day and night. And
every officiating priest still needed sacrifices offered on his own behalf, as
well as Israel’s commonwealth.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">But
Jesus, we are informed, did this once for all by the sacrifice of Himself. Like
a burnt offering, Jesus offered Himself to the Father in payment for sin. When
did this happen? On the cross, of course. But make no mistake: our Lord’s
payment for sin had nothing to do with His ill treatment at their hands both
prior to and during His crucifixion. The misunderstanding that suffering purges
sin is fostered by the Roman Catholic pale, and even today there are men and
women in various countries that wear hairshirts, or practice self-flagellation
with a whip called a discipline to perform penance. Extreme sects have gone so
far as to have themselves crucified to associate with Jesus’ physical suffering
on the cross.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">None
of this is efficacious for the removal of sin. What Christ did on our behalf
is. But it was not the physical torment He endured that paid for our sins. Yes,
there is the verse, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by His stripes we
are healed</b>,” Isaiah 53:5. The NASB renders this passage, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by His scourging we are healed</b>.” The
Tanakh, Septuagint, and DSS all agree that the passage is rendered, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by his bruises we are healed</b>.” This is
an interesting unity, because if we skip ahead in Isaiah we read, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He
has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin</b>,” Isaiah
53:10. The bruising our Lord received was not from men; it was from the hand of
God. Why? Because Christ became the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:10), and the desert
He was released into was the wasteland of His death for sin, for OUR sin.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Father made our Lord an offering for sin; more to the point: He made Christ’s
soul that offering. Spiritual torment was what our Lord endured on the cross,
and that being between Him and the Father. Men had nothing to do with it, and the
brutality they afflicted Him with only magnified their guilt; they by no means
contributed to their salvation. We read, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Now
when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the
ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying…</b>”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?</b>”
Mark 15:33, 34. Hell is the absence of God’s presence. This is what Christ our
Lord endured on our behalf, suffering Hell’s torment, separated from the Father
as God poured out His wrath upon His own Son in payment for our sins. Payment
on our behalf was being offered and accepted. That is why our Lord could
victoriously declare, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It is finished</b>!”
before dismissing His spirit, John 19:30, Matthew 27:50. The loud voice Jesus
exclaims with in Mark 15:37 may well have been His final three words before
dying, as John recorded.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Death
is the payment for transgression. Jesus suffered the spiritual death that
awaits the lost, taking it in our stead, and dispensing eternal life in its
place for any who come to God through Him by faith. He died on the cross to
evidence that payment had been successfully rendered. In fact Jesus could not
have died a moment sooner; no person on earth (or Heaven, or Hell) could have
taken His life from Him since He was sinless and did not owe the debt of death
that humanity possesses through Adam’s inheritance. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Jesus
said, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I lay down My life that I may
take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again</b>,” John 10:17, 18.
This is a lengthier explanation of what our Lord told the Jews when they asked
for a sign and He told them, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up</b>,” John 2:19. Several
times people attempted to take His life before the time, Luke 4:29, 30, John
8:59, 10:39. However, every effort failed, and we are told why quite concisely.
This was because, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">His hour had not yet
come</b>,” John 7:30. Peter would later explain that God determined an hour in
which, by His foreknowledge and consent, evil men did what they did to Messiah,
Acts 2:23. On their part it only incurred more guilt; on God’s part His plan
formed before the world’s foundation bore fruit, Revelation 13:8, Isaiah 53:11.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Christ
our Lord did not need to offer sacrifice for His own sin, because He did not
have any sin to atone for. He is, as verse 26 declares Him to be, separate from
sinners. This fitting High Priest, who is higher or loftier than the Heavens,
is fitting for such as us because He does not need daily oblation. His one time
meritorious and universal act vouchsafed salvation for all of humanity
throughout all time. The Epistle of Hebrews was written to the Jewish
Christians to elevate their thinking about the person of Jesus, and the
invaluable worth of His atonement.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174647220824134633.post-52477190874928003752024-01-31T15:54:00.001-06:002024-01-31T15:54:27.732-06:00Hebrews Chapter Seven, Loftiness<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hebrews 7:26d and has become higher than
the heavens; </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The
Greek word for “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">higher</b>,” in this verse
is, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hupselos</i>,” and means, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lofty in place or character</i>.” The same
term is used in Acts 13:17, where it is written, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people
when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted (</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hupselos</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) arm He brought them out of it</b>.” Loftiness is in view, and since
we may dismiss literal, physical loftiness from both verses, the idea is
positional.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Jesus
Christ is higher (loftier) than even the Heavens that He dwells within. Lofty
in character suggests the emphasis on the person of Christ Himself. Such a High
Priest is fitting for us, who is higher than the Heavens. Christ is greater
than the angels, the messengers of God and flames of fire. He is greater than
Moses, or the Mosaic Law. He is greater than the tabernacle. Christ is superior
to all things because all things were made through Him and for Him. Even His
dwelling place, Heaven itself, is what it is because of Him who dwells there.
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We
know that Heaven is where God dwells. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The
heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s</b>,” Psalm 115:16. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Heaven…is God’s throne</b>,” Matthew 5:34.
“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">He who sits in the heavens laughs</b>,”
Psalm 2:4, NASB. But Heaven is only Heaven because God dwells there. Hell, and
by extension the Lake of Fire, are what they are because of God’s absence. They
will be places of eternal torment because the prisoners are there forever, and
God will never be. Contrarily, Heaven, or the Third Heaven, is what it is
because God will be there forever, and so too shall those who trust in Him. A
king on earth is made so by the country that crowns him, and his glory is in
his treasure, his army, his citizens. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Many
things unite to make a king. But on earth a king is made by his country; in
Heaven all things began with the presence of the King. Heaven is, and earth is.
Existence is sustained and life is given. Nations rise and fall and the seasons
go their way. All things subsist because of the King. It is He that makes
things glorious; His presence endows the universe with life and purpose, and
His Spirit on this earth gives millions a reason to fight the good fight of
faith. Heaven is a kingdom, Matthew 3:2, 4:17, Daniel 2:44. But the splendor of
Heaven’s kingdom is a reflection of the beauty of its King, just as the moon
reflects the majesty of the sun. Jesus our Lord is loftier than the Heavens,
for even they cannot contain Him who made them, 2 Chronicles 2:6.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Ian Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027275808408069964noreply@blogger.com0