“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.Journal,
Is it possible that the world as we know it has entered the countdown of the age? Do we really have cause for concern? Actually no one knows the exact timing for the Lord’s return but we have ample prophetic descriptions of the times to know that everything is coming into place.
The Scriptures above may have a similar parallel that equates the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. with what is soon to take place in the near future. Hebrews was written not long before a judgment of God came on Jerusalem. Thousands of Jewish people encircled the city on crosses. Other thousands would be taken as slave.
While the parallel may not be exact it does carry an eerie sense for what is to come. At the same time these Scriptures hold a strong consolation for those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ. We know that many thousands of Jews are coming to faith in Jesus.
I want to break down the afore Scriptures so that we can see both the consolation for believers and the horror that will descend on those of the world who have no regard for Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
But before I do that please take note of the following video. It has to do with a, “revered rabbi in Israel who died about 4 years ago at the age of 108 who, before he died, said that the Messiah had appeared to him and revealed His name.” (Thanks Doug for the video.)
Is Ariel Sharon still alive? Yes. Go here for the latest report as of November 10, 2010 –
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/10/ariel-sharon-may-leave-hospital
In a prior Journal entry I shared this ad that was put in the Jerusalem Post by an anti-missionary Jewish rabbi:
What Are We Doing Wrong, and What are They doing right? Why Have more Jews Converted to Christianity in the Last 19 Years than in the Last 1,900 Years?” Rabbi Tovia Singer – Jerusalem Post [Of course he was out to sell his 24 tape package for $113.]
Now for our text Scriptures. Let’s begin with…
The testimony of the blood
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb 10:19-22)
The apostolic writer is using Old Testament imagery. Once a year the high priest entered into the holiest of holies. He carried a basin of blood that would splatter on his robe and on his feet, leaving a trail from the sacrificial altar all the way to the mercy-seat of God. Jewish readers would have grasped the significance of this picture.
Through the cross we now have a new and living way, that is, we walk a living trail made alive by the blood of Jesus, and we are now invited to enter into the holiest of holies at will. Not only is the trail a living trail but our very hearts have been sprinkled clean by that same blood. So our hearts have also been made alive.
The significance of having our bodies washed with pure water could well be an allusion to water baptism. The early Christians very much considered water baptism as part of the covenant experience. However, bodily washing may also speak to our acceptance before God as a whole being. Paul refers to this as ‘the washing of water with the word.’
…so that He might sanctify her [the church], having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Eph 5:26-27 NASB)
Holding fast our confession of faith in Jesus
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Heb10:23-25)
Here the cautionary warnings begin. To hold fast their confession is a clear juncture to how salvation begins. Our continual confession of Christ is the benchmark of a living faith. It is possible that some of the intended readers of this letter had never made a clear demarcation in their hearts with regard to the law of Moses and their allegiance to Jesus Christ.
An indicator of this was likely is some of them ‘forsaking‘ the assembling with other believers. This was such a time of duress for the Jewish church. They were being persecuted and reviled for their confession of Jesus. And while many still attended the synagogue, the pressure was on to renounce Jesus. But the Lord said this division even in the family would happen. This was the ‘sword‘ He came to bring. The sword linked to the confession.
Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Mat 10:32-38 NASB)
Did you know that the Messianic community [Christian Jews] in Israel are undergoing considerable persecution? Take time to view this video of the Hebrew Christian Ami Ortiz, the son of Hebrew Pastor David Ortiz, who experienced a deadly bomb that was sent to his home by an orthodox Jew.
The warning of a terror to come
Keep in mind that the book of Hebrews deals with only one sin – The sin of rejecting Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of Israel and of all mankind.
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Heb 10:26-29 NASB)
Once again the ‘sinning willfully’ had to do with the rejection of Jesus Christ. This was a terrifying place to be. If they turned from Jesus, after having heard the message of the gospel, a message that went to Israel first, it was the same as trampling the Son of God underfoot, and as an insult to the Spirit of grace. Judgment was swiftly on its way.
This warning is a clear reflection on something the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah;
In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.” (Isaiah 63:9,10 nasb)
The warning becomes more intense.
For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb 10:30-31 NASB)
What was going to happen to Jerusalem in a short while would be beyond imagination. Jewish factions would turn on one another. And the Roman soldiers would cover the city with a thirst for blood that would be uncontrollable. Thousands of crosses would ring the city. Multiplied thousands would become slaves. A raging fire would consume the temple while blood flowed through the streets of Jerusalem. No longer would there be a vestige of Old Testament Judaism with its sacrifices.
Was this a judgment of God? Absolutely. Jesus described it more than once. When the women were mourning over Him as He carried His cross, the Lord said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” (Cf. Luke 23:28-31)
Note: According to the historian Epiphanius, for some unknown reason there was a temporary pulling back of the Roman forces. During this time the Jewish Christians made their escape to Pella. Over the centuries this tradition was held without question. Certainly we know that the Lord always makes a way for His people, when there seems to be no way.
A final word of consolation
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” (Heb10:35-39)
There you have it. Can there be a parallel to this for the world today? What do you think? Take time to listen to this song – Jesus is Coming Soon
Much love to be found in Jesus,
Buddy
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