HEBREWS

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1 1-3: Here this, all you Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and whoever else thinks Jesus isn’t God, the second in the trinity, including Muslims who think He was just a prophet.

Here these verses, also, those who for instance say Jesus was just one of many avatars of God. Hear it all you new agers who think many Jesuses and other deities have appeared to men since Jesus was on Earth.

Also, this passage isn't teaching a cessationist view that God would no longer speak to man. We know this because this letter was written thirty years before the Book of Revelation. Rather, this passage is meant to guard against, as stated above, those who claim they have been spoken to by God a message that actually contradicts the Bible. God still gives people personal guidance and He still gives prophecies and tongues to His people.

v3: I want to focus on the phrase "and upholding all things by the word of His power."

The main thing these evolutionists can't figure out is, what, at a basic level, holds the universe together? This phrase in this verse tells us that God keeps things together, literally.

* 1 4-14: Here this, all you Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses who believe Michael the archangel is also Jesus.

Here this also all you so-called Christians who worship or give undue attention to angels.

Here this also all you new agers who worship and pray to angels.

Here this also all you ordinary people, who collect angels, wear and give others angel pins and who even get angel tattoos.

Hebrews 2

Continue to heed God’s words, all the groups mentioned above.

V4: Miracles still confirm the Word today. God’s Word is living and active. If the miracles ceased after the Bible was completed, then many things in the Bible become stuff that happened to people long ago, thus rendering many passages of the Bible irrelevant and dead, thus rendering the whole Bible dead according to the uniformity of the Bible which the Bible itself testifies to. (“All Scripture is inspired by God…”

2 6-8: Hear this, all you who worship man, who have made idols out of professional athletes, pop stars, those who are famous for being famous, actors and actresses, preachers (both famous and not), and even those who have made idols out of friends, family members, teachers, bosses, coaches, and even spouses and children. Rather, look to the One discussed in verse 9.

V14-15: Take comfort, be encouraged and draw strength from these verses, all Christians who are bound with fears and phobias.

v18: In the wilderness, Christ was tempted in the three areas in which Satan tempts people: the lust of the flesh; the lust of the eye and the pride of life.

Hebrews 3

Hear this, those of the Jewish people who are sincerely seeking to follow God.

v6: It is not enough for a Christian to have "believed at one time." We have to walk with Christ and endure to the end of our earthly lives. We may stumble, but we have to keep running the race.

Hebrews 4

Pay attention to this chapter, especially verse 10, all you Christians who are trying to earn your way to Heaven and who view God as harsh and looking to kick you out of His kingdom if you slip up in the least. The good works we do flow out of our faith in Him.

Hebrews 4 1-11: The early church fathers taught the Six Day Theory: God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, likewise, God created the world 4 thousand years before Christ, and, two millennia after the birth of Christ, that is, after a total of 6 thousand years, Christ will return to rule and reign for a thousand years as 1 Peter says. This is the key to understanding the elapse of time itself.

Hebrews 5

Hear this, all you Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Christians.

* Hebrews 6

Hebrews 6 2: Baptism is necessary for salvation. (See Acts 2 38)

Laying on of hands refers to healing.

The doctrines mentioned in verses 1 and 2 were considered the basics in the early church. Nowadays, certain Christians, such as many Baptists as well as those from other denominations, don’t even believe in baptism for the remission of sins or healing.

Hebrews 6 4-8: It is argued that the Greek word translated “fallen away” actually means “fallen aside.” Thus, Christians can never lose their salvation: they just won’t run the race nearly as well as they could have.

While I won’t argue there are those believers who could be described as fallen aside, there have also been believers who have fallen away. To be clear, you indeed can’t lose your salvation: you take yourself out of salvation. (See Charles Templeton and the guy in “Into the Wild” who renounced his faith after learning of Chris McCandless’s death.)

Also, much of the time fallen aside and fallen away is the same difference. If you’ve fallen aside, you will eventually, of your own will, give up your faith in God entirely, unless you mend your ways and come to repentance before that happens of course.

Hebrews 6 10-13: Hear this, all you Christians who think being a Christian involves doing nothing for God. Additionally, read 2 Corinthians.

Hebrews 7

Here this, all you in the United Church of Canada who don’t think Jesus actually rose from the dead. He died on the cross, but this chapter says He lives today as our high priest. Figure that one out. (See also 13 20.)

Also hear this all who believe along the lines of what was taught in “The Da Vincy Code.”

Hebrews 8 and 9

Hear this, all you who think Christianity is about going to a meeting at a building every week.

Hear this also all you Judaizers, especially those of you who perform animal sacrifices. May God grant you repentance, because doing that sounds almost this close to blasphemy of the Holy Spirit to me.

Hebrews 10

Hear this, all you Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, and anyone else who believes in transubstantiation.

Be comforted, strengthened, emboldened, and encouraged, all you God’s people who are bound by the guilt of past and present sin.

V25: The modern-day churches are forsaking the assembling together. Christians all worship the same Lord, but they’ve separated themselves off into tens of thousands of different denominations and churches.

V26-31: For an explanation of these verses, see my commentary on the similar passage in chapter 6 above.

V32-34: Hear this, any of you Christians who think that, if fellow Christians are suffering, it’s all down to God punishing them for sin.

* Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11 1: Do you have faith you are able to go to the store and purchase a chocolate bar? No you don’t because with your natural senses you can see the chocolate bar on the shelf, see the price tag, count the change in your wallet, do the math, bring the chocolate bar to the counter and pay for it. The definition of faith here is the opposite of that.

V3: Hear this, all you Christians who believe in evolution.

V4: Hear this, all you pagans.

V6: Here this, you people who believe you should get into Heaven because you are a good person, not that bad a person, or because you’ve done your best to live a good life.

V17-19: Here this, Seth McFarlane and all you other unbelievers who mock and scoff at the story of Abraham offering up Isaac.

Hebrews 12 and 13

There are a few different interpretations of Hebrews 12 1. Some say the Old Testament figures and saints can see us from Heaven and are cheering us on. I think this is likely. Another interpretation is that since we have all these wonderful examples of Biblical heroes we should live up to them because they were so cool. This has some merit but it is not an interpretation that I put first and foremost. Still others say that since we have all the examples of people who have had faith in God, we need to learn from their examples and apply it to our lives. They didn't let adversity make them fall away and we shouldn't either. I think this is a very good interpretation.

For instance, we have the example of somebody like Moses. Moses could have had all the drunken parties and women and become puffed up with prideful accolades. He possibly could have been the most important man in the world. If I were him, I would have thought, "Gee, my ancestor Joseph was the second most important person in the world, being Pharaoh's Prime Minister and Egypt being the world empire at the time. I'm an heir to the Egyptian throne through adoption by Pharaoh's daughter. It would be quite something for me to become the ruler of the world. I mean, there would be ways to glorify and honour God through doing so, right. I mean, my people are one thing, but the entire world, and everything that comes with it, is the entire world, right?"

Instead, Moses forsook all that sinful life to rescue his people. Incidentally, Moses could have ruled the world, but instead he codified the set of laws which should govern the world.

Therefore, since we have the example of someone like Moses who by faith forsook sin and obeyed God, doing such great things for Him, we shouldn't let sin rule in our lives. It's quite easy to say in the split seconds of the moment, "I don't care about eternity. I'll do this thing or look at this thing or think this thought anyway." "I know I should get serious about this sin, but there are just these things in my past and ha ha it just seems like something I can never seem to beat. Oh well, ho hum."

This should not be our attitude. We need to walk by faith in these matters.

Hebrews 12 2: Hear this, Moslems who think someone else substituted for Jesus on the cross.

Hebrews 12 8: When we do something wrong, even if we're not Christians, we feel guilty. Yet there is a group of people in the world who do not have this reaction. They have no conscience. They are termed "bastards" in this verse. (Hence the reason I use that word on this blog.)

Hebrews 13 4: In this verse we have the rejection of three prominent worldly ideas.

First, the idea that marriage is an outdated and silly institution. In fact, marriage is an honourable thing.

By the way, pay attention to the phrase “in all”, all you Catholics who think clergy should be unmarried.

Second, the idea that sex, even in its proper context, is a dirty, shameful thing.

Third, the idea that all sex, even sex for money and extramarital sex is perfectly fine and even beneficial.

Hebrews 13 7: The elders in the early church were more like guides and not the separate class of clergy we have in the church today.

Don’t get me wrong: I have great respect for the men who have studied Greek and Hebrew at seminary and provide good teaching and interpretation of the Word of God. However, I will not align myself with any particular church or denomination to be spoon-fed the Bible by someone who has more authority placed in him by his people than he ought to.

Hebrews 13 8: I'm glad God doesn't change. That was the thing with the gods of Greek mythology (and other religions): they're capricious. They might say they'll do something for somebody one minute, then get annoyed about something and flood that person's village.

Hebrews 13 9: Hear this all you Seventh-day Adventists and other Christians who teach the food laws are still in effect.

Hebrews 9 15: Hear this, all you so-called Christians who think all you have to do is go to church on Sunday and that’s it.

Hebrews 13 17: Again, the elders in the early church were more like guides. They didn’t exactly “rule over” the other believers in our modern sense of the word. They weren’t the ego-tripping, endoctrinating, cults of personality we have for ministers today.