Paul’s
Epistle to the Hebrews
“I want you Messianic Jews on 3rd
to believe and be home in Jesus.”
The Plate: Abram ‘hits the ball’ and
leaves Haran (Gen
12:1)
On 1st base: Called Abram the Hebrew
Receives God’s oracles
(Acts 7:38; Rom 3:2)
On 2nd base: The Jew given Mosaic
law
Aaron the
‘enlightened’
(Heb 5:4; 6:4; Ex 30:8)
On 3rd base:
The Jew believes Christ as the Messiah
The ‘illuminated’ (Messianic)
(Hebrews10:32)
Home:
Believe on Jesus the Saviour 'the end’
(Heb
3:6,14; 4:9;
Heb 12:1; Acts 16:31)
To whom and when is Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews written?
As a 2nd time prisoner of Rome (Heb 13:24 ) in the mid to
late 60’s, God through Paul, speaks to ‘illuminated’
(Messianic) Jews
(Heb 10:32), who in ‘the former days’ (Heb 10:32) around 64 AD, had
‘compassion’ toward
him when first in ‘bonds’ (Heb 10:34). For leaving the Aaronic fold and for
helping
Paul and the saints (Heb 6:10), their Mosaic brethen ‘according to
the
flesh’ (Rom 9:3), made them ‘a gazingstock by reproaches and
afflictions’
(Heb 10:33).
Who were these ‘illuminated’ Jews?
Leaving Moses doctrine (‘enlightened’) (Heb 6:4) by
believing ‘the doctrine of Christ’ (Messianic) (Heb 6:1; Lk 2:26), God
calls them
the ‘illuminated’ (Heb 10:32 ) or ‘once enlightened’ (Heb 6:4).
But aren’t
the ‘illuminated’ Jews of Heb 10:32 the same as the ‘enlightened’ ones
of Heb
6:4?
No. The ‘illuminated’ (Messianics) (Heb 10:32) were one base
advanced from being the ‘enlightened’ (Mosaics) (Heb
6:4) with Aaron who ‘lighteth
the lamps’ (Ex 30:8). The Messianics ‘believeth
(continue to believe) in the Lord’ (John 3:16; 1:9) and
were ‘the
light’ (Matt 5:14,16).
Now, Paul exhorts them to ‘believe on the Lord’
(Acts
16:31) to be ‘light in the Lord’ (Eph 5:8,14) as
Christians (Acts 11:26). Abraham (and Moses) received ‘the oracles of
God’ (Rom
3:2) as ‘the first principles’ (Heb 5:12) and the Messianics
received ‘the
doctrine of Christ’ as ‘the principles’ (Heb 6:1).
What is the theme of the Book of Hebrews?
With Christ’s fulfillment of the law (Rom 10:4), the
‘illuminated’ (the Messianic or doctrine of Christ) (Heb 6:1) was
dispensationally
superceded by Paul’s gospel (1Cor 9:17). In addition, they were
returning to
the ‘enlightened’ blood of
Paul urges them to abandon the Messianic principles of 3rd base
(Heb 6:1 Heb 6:2 ), by
leaving Christ as Messiah and ‘author’, and believe on him as
Saviour
and ‘finisher’ as the only requirement for arrival at
home base
(Heb 12:2).
The epistle’s context of ‘the end’ (Heb 3:6,Heb 3:14 ; Heb 6:11; Heb 13:7 ) is ‘rest’ in Jesus (Heb 4:8 -Heb 4:11 ) and not
endurance during
‘Jacob’s trouble’ (Jer 30:7). The whole epistle, has God coaxing and
reasoning
the Messianic, one last time, to believe and have perfect
salvation
(Heb 5:9 ), before the arrival of Emperor Titus to destroy Jerusalem in AD
70.
What about the Gentile?
Despite being devoid of the richness of God’s
‘enlightened’ oracles (Aaron) (Rom 3:2) and the doctrine of Christ, the
Gentiles in the stands, are blessed with imputed home runs (Rom 4:11),
and all
this, without even stepping onto the field, let alone stepping-up to
the plate!
This provocation by God (Rom 10:19) would be an undoubted slap in the
face to
those on 2nd and 3rd bases.
But aren’t ‘the new testament’ and ‘the new
covenant’ the same?
No. With the ‘first covenant’ (Heb 8:7) came
remission of sins with animal blood (Heb 9:22), but ‘the new testament’
(Heb 9:15)
redemption, came through, and in, his blood (Col 1:14; Rev 1:5). Prior
to the rapture and Israel’s 70th week ‘new
covenant’
(Heb 8:8; Dan 9:27), the ‘illuminated’ will need Jesus Christ’s blood
righteousness
(Rom 5:9; Heb 10:3).
What is the
‘sin’ (Heb 12:1) that stops the Messianic from trusting the blood of
Jesus?
The Jews’
besetting sin (Heb 12:1) was ‘unbelief’ (Heb 3:12,19; 4:6,11), which
hindered the
‘illuminated’ from coming to ‘the end’ (Heb 3:6,14; 6:11; 13:7) in the
Saviour’s ‘rest’ (Heb 3:11,18; 4:1,8,9,10,11).
Their ‘day
approaching’ (Heb 10:25 ) was not their 70th week, but their day of
perfect
salvation (Heb 5:9 ).
By
reminding them of their past failures in former times of unbelief
(Heb 3:7 Heb 3:13 Heb 3:15 Heb 4:7), God would now have them ‘believe to the saving of the
soul’
(Heb 10:39).
What does it mean for the Messianic to ‘sin wilfully’ (Heb 10:26)?
Would you reject the current #1 baseball star and force
a 100 year old former legend, back out onto the diamond to play?
Of course not, what a derision and mockery!
But some were putting the ‘glorious’ (2Cor 3:11)
and once sanctifying, holy, enlightened (Mosaic), covenant blood (now
rendered
powerless with a ‘Use By’ date), to the unholy use of washing away sin.
This wilful sin of despising the Son of God and
his blood (Heb 10:29) draws them back unto perdition (Heb 10:27 Heb 10:39), as no more
sacrifice for sins were needed after the perfect blood.
But doesn’t ‘labour … to enter into that rest’ (Heb 4:11) mean
overcoming in
the Tribulation?
No. Prior
to salvation (not for salvation), people can labour with many things
and the
Messianics were labouring with persecutions, and unbelief. Should they
‘believe’ (Heb 10:39 ), their rest in Jesus was assured (Heb 6:11).
How does
God urge the Messianic to run to ‘the end’?
Paul urges
them to now “hold the beginning of our (although Paul is
saved he
uses a ‘Let’s make it a joint effort’ language) confidence (from
Moses
to the Messiah) stedfast unto the end (into Jesus the Saviour)”
(Heb 3:14),
to receive ‘the promise’ of the permanent, indwelling Holy Ghost (Heb 9:15 Heb 10:36 ; Gal 3:14).
What about the Messianic in 2024?
Do they
call themselves Christians or Messianic Jews? Did Paul ever call
himself a
Messianic Jew? Today, mocking Christ’s blood (Eph 1:7), these gnostic
‘illuminated’
indulge in,
(albeit bloodless), God-hating, religiously-entertaining, burlesque
pantomimes
of ‘a shadow’ (Heb 8:5; Heb 10:1).
The Jewish dilemma has always been “…hearing ye shall hear, and
shall not
understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: ….lest at
any time
they … should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and
I
should heal them.” (Matt 13:14-15).
With the Hebrew alphabet having 22 letters, the first
book of the
New Testament, Matthew, has God giving the Jew their own ‘alpha’
kingdom gospel. Being the 22nd chronologically written book
of the
New Testament, Paul’s epistle of Hebrews is the last
appeal by
God to the Jew before Emperor Titus arrives, and, as such, is the Jew’s
‘omega’
kingdom of God gospel.
In the first instance, it is to the Mosaic Jew and in
the last
instance, it is to the Messianic. What more can God do? Paul’s
epistle
to the Hebrews is a closed book for Mosaics, Messianics, and sad to
say,
Christian scholars of today (Lk 2:46).
Well, this
is all a bit new and anyhow, I’m still not convinced!
My job is
neither to plead or push as the Lord convinces better than anyone. My
best
advice is to earnestly seek the Lord and humbly ask him “Dear Lord,
I want
you to show me the truth about Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews, all of
the truth,
nothing but the truth … at ANY cost.” As we know, a terror
surrounds the judgment seat of Christ (2Cor 5:11).
Harley Hitchcock
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