Ransom said:
It's not "clear" at all. What a silly thing to say.
The context is very clear. Paul is writing to Hebrews in the time of Jacob's trouble.
The Law of Moses is even mentioned in the passage of Hebrews 10.
Ransom said:
"Brothers"? Are unbelieving Jews in the future the brethren of the Christian author of this book? Do unbelieving Jews have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus? Is he their great priest? Can they, in their unbelief, have full assurance of faith? Is their heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience?
By no means!
Scott, I think your missing something. Do I need to remind you that Paul refers to unsaved Jews as his brethren in Romans 9:3?
Romans 9:3-5
Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for
my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4 who
are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5 whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Therefore, Paul is writing to the Hebrews (his brethren according to the flesh) in the time of Jacob's trouble.
One other thing Scott, there are NO Christians in the time of Jacob's trouble. The Body of Christ is not appointed to the wrath of God (1 Thess. 1:9-10). Therefore, the body of Christ is not going to be in the time of Jacob's trouble.
Again Scott, Paul is not writing to the Body of Christ in the book of Hebrews, he is writing to Jews in the time of Jacob's trouble (Daniel's 70th week). You need to get yourself a King James Bible and start studying it.
Ransom said:
The infallible Scripture said:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
N.B.: "our" hope. Christians and unbelievers do not share the same hope, the promise of resurrection and eternal life. Christ made no such promise to unbelievers, Jewish or otherwise.
You are not quoting from the right Bible. Here is what God's true word says in Hebrews 10:23:
Hebrews 10:23
Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
23 Let us hold fast the
profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised
Now why does Paul say let us hold fast the profession of our faith? Well again; keep what you are reading in context. The context is Jews in the tribulation period. A Jew will have to hold fast his profession of faith by keeping the commandments of God. For a Jew to be made a partaker of Christ and to gain entrance into the Millennial Kingdom, that Jew must hold out faithful unto the end(Matt. 24:13 7 Mk. 13:13), and he does that by not taking the mark of the beast.
Notice Paul also says "without wavering." Why must a Jew not waver? Well because the security of his salvation and profession of faith are at stake! If a Jew in the time of Jacob's trouble wavers and ends up taking the mark of the beast, it will cost him everything, including his salvation. You see, a Tribulation saint can lose their salvation if they do not endure unto the end. Salvation in the time of Jacob's trouble is by Faith AND Works (James 2:14-26).
Ransom said:
The letter to the Hebrews was not written to futuristic Jews. They have no hope in Christ. It was written to Hebrews who had placed their faith in the work of Christ their Messiah, who were undergoing persecution in the here and now, and needed the encouragement of this letter to stay strong in the faith.
Well Hebrews does have an historical application. And the historical application of Hebrews is where Paul is seeking to convince both lost and saved Jews that Jesus Christ's atoning death established the New Covenant and that the New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant of the Mosaic Law.
But as far as who Hebrews is written to Doctrinally, it is definitely Hebrews in the time of Jacob's trouble where Israel will once again be the object of God's main dealings.
Ransom said:
It comes in the immediate next verse:
The Holy Bible said:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
The Hebrew Christians of the first century could be confident of their ability to enter the holy places, since he had made a way for them through the shedding of his blood, since they had a superior high priest who interceded for them before their heavenly Father, since they had been washed clean of their sins, since they could hold to their confession of the faith. Therefore, the author instructs them to do two further things:
First, to encourage one another to meet together. He also instructs them not to follow the habit of those who had given up assembling with their fellow Christians. In light of the present persecution they were experiencing,
and in light of the pending Day of the Lord, it was all the more important for them to gather, to pray for one another, and to encourage one another to stay strong. In fact this is a pattern we see frequently in the book of Acts: in the earliest days of the church, when they felt the persecution of the Jewish leaders, the Hebrew Christians gathered together and prayed, even as the apostles were being led of to jail or even death.
Second, he tells them to encourage one another to love and good works. Paul speaks more at length about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians, where he teaches that they are to be exercised in the body, that is, the visible church. An amputated limb cannot function without the body, and a schismatic "Christian" cannot serve God effectively without the church.
Bibleburner, you can try to tell us that this is not a teaching of Jesus, but by doing so all you prove is your own unbelief, by denigrating the integrity of Scripture. The book of Hebrews, if not written by Paul himself, was written by one of his close associates; the theology is unmistakeably Pauline. Paul was one of Jesus' hand-picked messengers to spread the gospel after his ascension. Those who write the Scripture, therefore, have the Christ-given authority to instruct the church as well as to interpret Jesus' own teachings. Moreover, all Scripture is God-breathed and its authors pen the very words of God as given to them by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). Therefore, to say that Jesus' teaching is authoritative, but the author of Hebrews' is not, is to pit Christ against his own Holy Spirit. Again, this is a denigration of the unity of the Godhead, and a symptom of rank unbelief.
Once again Scott, that verse you quoted is Doctrinally pointed at Jews in the time of Jacob's trouble.
In the tribulation period, Jews will need to assemble together and they will need to provoke one another to good works as they see the Day (Second Coming of Jesus Christ) approaching.
Again; Doctrinally, Hebrews is written do Jews in the time of Jacob's trouble (Daniel's 70th week). It is not written to Christians today.
There are no Christians in the time of Jacob's trouble. You need to get the Dispensations right.
Having said that; there are still spiritual truths which we can apply for instruction in righteousness for us today in the Church Age. But Doctrinally, Hebrews is written to Hebrews. And not the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ will be in Heaven during the time of Jacob's trouble.