Ol' Fuzzy's Cave

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Part 20

Shall we wind up the chapter?

19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. 20 And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: 21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) 22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. 23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: 24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.

25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, makeththe Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

The final nail that seals the crate is the oath that God took when appointing Jesus to be high priest. While the priests of the line of Aaron have to be replaced when they become infirm or die, Jesus continues His priesthood indefinitely, because Jesus cannot die again. Therefore, Jesus is able to intercede forever for the sins of men and women. His attributes are that He is holy, that is separate unto God; has no sin of His own to attend to; different than the sinners; and seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. He doesn’t need to continually make new offerings to God for sins, since the one offering He made is perfect and permanent: Himself.

The Law made ordinary men into high priests, with all their faults and foibles. But the oath of God that made Jesus permanently high priest came after the Law, and it made the Son and Heir a high priest who is never desecrated. Jesus is the last of His line, and the first fruits of the next world. What kind of choice is it to abandon Him?

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Monday, August 28, 2017

A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Part 19

Let’s dig a little deeper in the well.

11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. 13 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, 16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. 17 For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.

The preacher is showing these Jewish Christians the fact that a priest of the tribe of Judah is not acceptable under the Law of Moses. But an older law, the law under which Melchizedek was priest, take effect once Jesus became incarnate. The King of Righteousness has entered the picture, and the law of the priesthood reverts to that under Him. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life; and that more abundantly.” The law of Moses was a law that required death and blood to cover sin. Jesus fulfilled that law by His sinless life, death by judicial execution for a crime which He did not commit and His resurrection from the dead. The law of Moses dealt with things of the body, outward actions. The law of Christ deals with things of the soul, inward intent.

The Law of Moses has the power to convict us of sin, and to cover that sin by the blood sacrifice of an innocent victim, a spotless lamb. The Law of Christ has the power to release us from sin, and forgive us of our shortcomings through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Whose blood was shed as atonement for all. God the Father, through the prophecy of King David, appointed Jesus to be high priest, according to the line of the King of Righteousness.

If Christ is superior to the Law of Moses, why would anyone go back to the inferior way? Similarly, why do we go back to our old ways of idolatry, serving Mammon, money, possessions and status? Once Jesus is Lord of your life, you have no need of the old things. “Lift up your head, you gates. Open wide, you everlasting doors. The King of Glory is coming in.” Don’t shut the door to Christ by turning back to the things from which He has delivered you.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Part 18

Now let’s see what else the preacher said about the King of Righteousness.

CHAPTER SEVEN

1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of Righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; 3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. 4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. 5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: 6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. 7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. 8 And here men that die receice tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. 9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. 10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

This is the basic argument I made of the position of Melchizedek. The Jebusite chronicles were lost between the time of Abraham and the time that David took Jerusalem for his capital. But there is no other mention of the title Melchizedek outside the book of Genesis before the scribe took down Saint Paul’s sermon here. So the preacher was able to use that as an example of Christ, as a pseudo-christophany. No one knows the names of the men who wore the title, but as long as there were Jebusite kings over Salem, or later, Jerusalem. It wasn’t until David became the ruler of that city, all records are lost.

If Melchizedek is the King of righteousness as well as the King of Peace, the priests that follow are descended from him in the priestly, order if not by blood. The next priest of the line of Melchizedek after David took the city is Jesus Christ, Whose titles include the title Prince of Peace. The prince is heir to the throne, and Jesus is Heir to the City of the Lord’s Peace (Jerusalem) as much as He is heir to everything else in creation. Therefore, when He comes into His inheritance, Jesus will be Melchizedek too. He shall be the King of Righteousness over all the is.

The preacher makes a great show of the superiority of the line of Melchizedek over the lineage of Aaron. The reason is that the target audience are those Jewish Christians who were contemplating abandonment of Christ for the Aaronic form of worship in the Temple at Jerusalem. We can look at this in another way too. Jesus is superior to any other form of worship. He is higher than the Buddha, the Brahmens, the Prophets and the shaman. No Pagan form of worship can touch the level of Christ. He is even more valuable than all the currency ever coined on Earth from the beginning of coinage unto the end of time.

Notice the principle the preacher exposes here, the lesser always pays tithe or tribute to the greater. If Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek, it was a recognition on the part of Abraham that Melchizedek was greater than he in the faith of the Most High God. Therefore, since Abraham is greater than his descendants, Melchizedek is superior to Abraham’s descendants. That being the case, the faith of Melchizedek is superior to the faith of Moses and the priesthood of Aaron.

For us it means that there is no better way to get into the presence of God than the faith of Jesus Christ. No matter what people try to tell you or what you may feel about the church in your neighborhood, Jesus is the one and only Way, the one and only Truth and the one and only Life; no person comes to the Father except by Jesus Christ. Turn to Him.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Part 17

Earlier I said the preacher would get back to the King of Righteousness. Well in the conclusion of chapter six he finally does. Let’s look at the verses.

16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17 WhereinGod, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strongconsolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Continuing the discussion from yesterday, the preacher is explaining why God swore an oath. He is merely reassuring the listeners that God’s promises are true. The principle God laid out in the judicial system of Leviticus of using two witnesses to establish the veracity of a claim is shown here in operation. Notice that the event the preacher uses for an example predates Moses by more than a century. Yet God follows the principle before He has laid it down in the Law. “Out of the mouths of two or three witnesses will the thing be established.” That makes perjury difficult without elaborate conspiracies like we have in American courts. It takes more than one person to put a falsehood before the court as true. Not as easy in a highly religious society where the penalty for perjury is equal to the penalty for the crime the perjurers are trying to obscure or deflect.

So God does not commit perjury in His promises. He swore a binding oath and made deposition that it is so. Therefore, we can rest our hopes on those promises as surely as we rest our weight upon the ground. The hope we have extends across the former partition between God and men, because Jesus is the high priest of that hope, and He is both God and man. He is our high priest, not after the order of Aaron, who came after Abraham, but after the order of the King of Righteousness, Melchizedek. Let us put all anxiety, doubt and fear aside, our redeemer is true.

Tomorrow I shall get back to the preacher’s discussion of Melchizedek.

Friday, August 25, 2017

A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Part 16

Moving on to the next verses, let’s see where the preacher is going.

9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

After that stern warning against apostasy, now the preacher is being more gentle by reminding the listeners of the blessing that God has promised to their ancestor, Abraham. He tells them first that he expects better of them than to turn away from the salvation of God in Christ Jesus. Then he reminds them of the just and merciful nature of the Father. The word translated here as unrighteous is ʹαδικαός, which means unjust, unrighteous and unmerciful all in the same word. The negation word before it turns it around. This is a legitimate use of double negative that forms an emphasis on the positive. God is just, merciful and righteous to remember the labors of love carried out by the followers of the Son.

The preacher tells them that he desires their completion of the course by their remaining diligent as they have been to reach the full assurance of hope until the Lord returns. He urges them not to be lazy, but to follow the examples of the ones who have already earned their crowns as children of the King. Then he reminds them of the promise God made to Abraham and the oath He took on His own being, since there is nothing greater than God for God to swear upon.

God is blessing the entire descendants of Israel, including those of us who are grafted into Israel by faith in Christ. All Christians are included in these promises to Abraham. So the wish of the preacher that his listeners continue to the end also applies to us. Brothers and sisters in Christ, if you are ever thinking of leaving the faith of Christ, follow the plea of the preacher in this chapter and remain steadfast until you realize the blessing of God’s eternal grace.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Part 15

Now let us examine chapter six.

CHAPTER SIX

1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit.

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were madepartakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

This passage puts to rest the false doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” In these few words the preacher is giving the ultimate warning to those who are considering apostasy. Taking all the other warnings together, subtle or not, one could still be comfortable with the idea that nothing you do wrong after reciting the formulaic prayer will ever lose your salvation. But, brothers and sisters, if you read this and chose to follow that doctrine you are a heretic, picking and choosing what parts to believe and what parts to throw away. But the revelation of God is whole, all or nothing. So leaving out one single clause is enough to nullify the whole Gospel.

And just what is the preacher saying here? He wishes to move on to the meat of the word, and outlines the part he deems milk. Verse three is a reminder that just because you have begun to study the meat is no reason to neglect doing the things you have learned in the milk. The simple Gospel is laid out from changing your thought paterns (repentance), putting your full faith and obedience in God, being dunked in water (baptism), the laying-on of hands for the transmission of the Holy Spirit (what the Roman Catholics call confirmation, in the Eastern Orthodox Church we call it chrismation), the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment.

But the part that stings is the next five verses. We shall deconstruct them for the benefit of those who cannot grasp it in the stilted language of Queen Elizabeth. There is a certain point at which it becomes impossible to be restored to the faith leading unto salvation. That point is reached by everyone who follows Christ, eventually. But if from that point on, you turn away from the faith, your salvation is forfeit because you would have to crucify Christ anew and put Him to open shame at the time God the Father has appointed Him to Glory. The thing this preacher is saying is not that something outside of you will steal your salvation, nor is he talking about misplacing it. Remember, the preacher is talking to a group of Jewish Christians who are contemplating a return to the old ways of the Old Testament in rejection of Jesus Christ. And some had already done so. So this is a warning against intentionally walking away from the faith of Jesus Christ.

Now look at the conditions the preacher sets. In order to fit the criteria set here one must: have heard the Gospel and believed unto salvation (once enlightened); become Baptized and receive the Body and Blood of Christ in communion (tasted of the heavenly gift); filled with the power and the grace of the Holy Spirit (become partakers of the Holy Ghost); studied the scriptures, both Old Testament and New Testament, and learned of Christ on every page (tasted the good word of God); and have seen miracles inside and outside (and the powers of the world to come); once one has fulfilled all of the conditions, turning your back on God is the final decree of the divorce. All that is left is His alimony payments in the form of life on Earth, food and water.

The preacher is not saying that the devil can steal your salvation, only you can rid yourself of salvation. The preacher is giving a warning to people who ought to know already that they can’t go their own way and expect God to take them in at the end. Some of the worst sinners in history have been apostates from Christianity. If you leave the protection of the sheltering harbor, you must sail in the stormy sea. You become subject to every taunt of the spirits of darkness who seek to destroy your soul. Once the divorce is final, you can’t expect your ex-God to come running to your rescue when you put you foot in the snares of the devil. You were at one time the Bride of Christ, but you rejected Him for the other stuff.

The preacher concludes with an agricultural parable. When a farmer plants his field, God brings rain upon the seeds and causes them to grow into food for the farmer and for his income. But should the field produce weeds, thistles and poisonous plants, the farmer doesn’t try to harvest them. Instead he burns the field to cleanse it of the taint. This is a hint of the torment suffered by one who is eternally separated from God (in other words, in hell).

My conclusion is similar. If you have begun the journey down the road of Christianity, finish the course, follow that road to its end. If you leave the road to get on the highway to hell, you won’t find your own way back, and God has already done what He will for you. If you are thinking of turning back to the things God saved you from, think again.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Part 14

Let us finish out chapter five before we get back to Melchizedek.

11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. 12 Forwhen for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

This passage is an interlude in the discussion on the King of Righteousness so the preacher can point out the failings of his intended audience. Remember, these were Jewish Christians, most of whom were learned beyond their fellow Jews. They should have been the ones preaching and teaching about Christ from the scriptures. Instead, the preacher has to chastise them for forgetting what they have learned in the Bible.

They proclaim themselves to be mature believers in God, but they have fallen to the level of immaturity that requires them to be fed the simple teachings again like a baby needs milk before it is weaned. Just like that baby can’t digest meat and other foods before its stomach is developed enough, these immature believers can’t handle the meat of the Word until their faith develops enough to digest it. The preacher is frustrated at their lack of understanding. And he’s really taking it out on them.

But what about us? We’ve had the Bible all our lives, and we hear a preacher every week. Are we ready to digest the meat of the Word? If you don’t understand the simplicity of the heavy stuff, you too may require bottle feeding from the milk of the Word and not the meat. Examine yourself to see what spiritual diet you need, and then consume it.