We have a high priest in heaven 1
He has something to offer 3
His ministry is better 4
A superior covenant 7
Previous covenant is obsolete 13
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¶ Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have
such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens;
.2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. |
1
- We have such an high priest Marvelous to realize. We need
to find out how to cooperate with His ministry. To see that this was Christ,
see he0911.
2 - The sanctuary From ta hagia. Literally "the holies." The plural here does not prove that He entered both places. Realizing that the sanctuary on earth had two rooms and that it was a model of the one in heaven indicates that reference is to the whole sanctuary. |
| .3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. | Ordained
to offer Their main work was to offer morning and evening for
the nation and the rest of the day for individuals.
Have somewhat to offer We must not miss this point. Christ now, after the cross, has a ministry. A work to do for us. What does He offer? His own blood. |
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For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are
priests that offer gifts according to the law:
.5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. .6 ¶ But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 5 - Tabernacle See ex2630. |
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For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have
been sought for the second.
.8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. .10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. |
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Faultless
The fault implied was not directly with the covenant but with the people
who didn't relate to it correctly ez1660,
ep0215.
At Sinai they agreed to be faithful ex1908
but neglected to realize that in their own strength this was impossible.
There was a better way ro0930ff.
8 - The days come Quoting from je3131 following the Septuagint (translation into Greek). Those verses and their comments help clarify the picture here. 9 - They continued not This was their problem 2ch3616. 10 - New covenant What was new about it? The place where it was written. It would be based on the same laws of God. |
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In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that
which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
9:1 ¶ Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. |
10 - New covenant Often misunderstood. Please see the explanation in connection with Rev. 14. re1407b. |
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Adam and Eve turned their dominion of this world over to Satan when they
chose to obey him instead of God, Gen. 3. ge03.
What Satan did not know was that God had a plan for saving those who claim
the grace offered in Christ. It provides supernatural strength for those
who choose to reject their evil human tendencies inherited from Adam and
Eve. We know that Cain and Abel were aware of the plan because Abel's offering
was accepted by God and Cain's was not ge0403-5.
In fact God told Eve the basics of the plan in the promise of a Redeemer
Gen. 3:15 ge0315.
After living in Egypt for several centuries, the people God had chosen
to represent Him needed a refresher course. You know that God sent ten
plagues before Pharaoh let them go. When in the wilderness, God said He
wanted to live with them ex2508.
They were to set up a sanctuary system there in the desert following the
pattern of the temple in heaven ex2540.
In the sanctuary system we may see the divine plan for our salvation and
our part in cooperating with Christ. People needing forgiveness would bring
a lamb to kill. It represented Christ (Messiah), the Lamb of God who would
die for their sins jn0129.
Or they would pray at the times of morning and evening sacrifices ex29:38-42.
Thus they understood their connection with heaven. Satan wants us to have
twisted ideas about God hoping we will turn away from Him. The sanctuary
system was not added to God's plan. It was a representation of the sanctuary
in heaven where God hears our prayers.
The Jewish people in the time of Christ were taught the rules of the sanctuary
but they added human inventions that made the life of the people one continual
burden in an effort to gain salvation lu1146;
mr0707.
The Christian church fell into apostasy 2th0203.
Instead of seeking salvation by direct prayer to God through the mediation
of Christ 1ti0205,
the people were taught to confess their sins to priests. They were taught
to pray to Mary and other humans they were told were in heaven. In the
Eucharist ceremony a human priest, a sinner, pretends to create the Creator
of heaven and earth! In brief, the church has pretended to be the only
way of salvation. The sanctuary operating in heaven was and is obscured.
The system of human priests headed by a leader now thought to be infallible
left no need for it.
The reformers who began to read the Bible discovered that they did not
earn salvation by conformity to devised ceremonies — that they could go
directly to Christ for salvation. The Reformation, however, stopped short
of a complete reexamination of the Scriptures. Protestants today preach
that Christ's work was completed on the cross. Something was indeed finished.
His sacrifice is complete for all who will accept it. As with the fallen
church, however, Christ's ministry for us as pictured in the Sanctuary
system has no significant place in their theology.
The book of Hebrews tells us where Christ is now and what He is doing for
our salvation. We learn that He lives continually to intercede for us he0725
— to present His blood from the cross for us as we come in sorrow for our
sins asking for strength to follow the pattern He gave us. We learn how
His ministry in the first room of the sanctuary differs from His finishing
work in the second room. We see that the courtyard around the tabernacle
(tent) represents the earth where He died while tabernacle (sanctuary)
itself represents Heaven. This important topic is clarified on another
page
r03d.
Many precious souls do not understand the truth important for our time.
They are living up to the light they have and God understands. However
they and all of us need to continue to study the Scriptures to see an ever
clearer picture of our Lord. And the way of salvation in Him.