The American Wisdom Series

Presents pamphlet #2609
Hebrews chapter 9

Do you realize that if it were not for the Old Testament, the New Testament would be impossible to understand because so many of the words of Christ and Paul and Peter, etc., which were directs quotes from the Old Testament, would be gone!

Note: Having said that; If you are having trouble understanding your Bible, maybe you should consider spending more time reading "The Old Testament!"

Then too, Christ said in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 that if you want to understand about the "abomination of desolation" go read the Book of Daniel, so you'll need to read that book to come up to speed on what's happening, won't you?  Yes, It is in the old testament!

Christ also referred to Genesis and Isaiah and Jonah and David and Abraham, etc., etc. The reason I mention this is because without the first covenant with its worldly sanctuary and laws of divine service you would have great difficulty coming to know and understand the true tabernacle. Yes, They are all found in the old testament!

To that end, in this ninth chapter of Hebrews Paul compares the details of the earthly tabernacle, along with the ordinances of divine service, to the true tabernacle, Jesus Christ, and what He has done for us as our High Priest who entered into the Holy of Holies once and for all time. By teaching us in this manner, Paul shows us how perfectly the Old Covenant explains the New by letting us "see" how those shadows represent the true tabernacle, which is Jesus Christ. Col. 2:17 "Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

For you see, the New Covenant is simply the fulfillment of, the reality of, the Old Covenant, that schoolmaster which brings us to know and understand Jesus Christ, the true tabernacle.

In chapter 8 Paul quoted the promise of the new covenant from the Book of Jeremiah after explaining to us that the problem with the first covenant was not the covenant itself, for God kept His promises faithfully, but rather with the hearts and minds of the people. Hebrews 8:8 "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."

Here's how the new covenant would work:

Jeremiah 31:33
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; (The Christian nations of this 21st. century) After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Paul then said in the last verse of chapter eight that in as much as God promised there would be a "new covenant", by the very fact of the declaration itself He made the old covenant obsolete and ready to vanish.
Hebrews 8:8
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:

Note from the editor: Did you notice? In verse 8 both "The House of Israel" and "The House of Judah" are promised a new covenant. Hebrews 8:8  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: Then in verse 10 the new covenant with "The House of Israel" is described with no mention of "The House of Judah".  Hebrews 8:10 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:
Also note: The Jews still don't believe our Lord is their God. Maybe "The House of Judah's" new covenant will start when they recognize who the Ken
ites are and seperate themselves from them! see Live Link to- Ezekiel 37 where Ezekiel tells us about the two houses (sticks) being joined back together.   

Hebrews 8:11

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.
Jeremiah 31:33
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in
 their inward parts
, and write it in their
 hearts
; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
 Paul now continues his teaching by explaining the things pertaining to the first covenant.
Hebrews 9:1
Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
The ordinances of "divine service" and the "worldly sanctuary" were only figures, visible likenesses, images of the true tabernacle, Jesus Christ. In other words, they were earthly things, things our flesh eyes could see, things made and services performed to show us and teach us as a schoolmaster the things which cannot be seen, even His eternal power and Godhead, that power which can forgive sins and grant us "life" eternal. Romans 1:20 "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."

And so it was that the worldly (earthly) tabernacle was made by men's hands according to the "pattern" God gave Moses, and the ordinances of divine service were ordained so that we might be able to clearly "see" and "understand", and come to know Jesus Christ, the true tabernacle and the one and only true sacrifice for sins. He was the "real thing", the reality, the One promised by the sworn oath of Almighty God who would come and "open the way", fulfilling all things. And once the reality came, all those representative "things" were completely done away with (Col. 2:14-17).

To that end, Paul is now going to give us a description of how the earthly tabernacle was set-up and what the ordinances of divine service (vs. 1) entailed pertaining to the Holy of Holies, the Holiest part of the sanctuary, and compare them to Christ. He speaks first of that part of the sanctuary wherein all the priests could go.

[2] For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
The candlestick or lampstand with the seven lamps, the detailed description of which you can read in Ex. 25:31-40, was placed on the south side of the first apartment of the tabernacle, opposite the table of shewbread (Exodus 25:37) and it was lit permanently to give light inside the Holy Place. Wise virgins might find it interesting to know that the priests in the tabernacle were responsible, evening and morning, for trimming the wicks and filling up the seven lamps with the purest of olive oil sufficient to keep it burning throughout the night (see Mat. 25:1-13).
Exodus 27:20-21
And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. [21] In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
You will also find that the shewbread, consisting of "twelve" loafs of "unleavened" bread, was placed on the "pure" table before the LORD and set in two rows of six cakes each.
Leviticus 24:5-7
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. [6] And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. [7] And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Space and time do not permit us to go into great detail about all these things. However, one should take it upon himself or herself to study and learn all he or she can about the tabernacle and the things contained therein and the ordinances of service. Why? Because they teach us all about the true tabernacle, Jesus Christ, and the things of the spirit.1 Peter 2:5 "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

Paul now moves to the ten cubit by ten cubit Holy of Holies hidden behind "the veil".

Hebrews 9:3
And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
This was the veil symbolizing the partition that separated us from the Holy of Holies, which itself was symbolic of God's throne! And it was this thick veil that was rent from top to bottom the instant Jesus Christ died on the cross. One can only imagine the expression on the face of Caiapas the high priest who was in the temple at that moment and witnessed this remarkable, symbolic, miraculous event. So from here on out we won't be requiring the services of Caiapas or any other earthly high priest anymore, will we? Looks like your out of a job, Caiapas!

Paul now recaps what was contained behind the veil in the Holy of Holies.

Hebrews 9:4
Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
Again, if you are not familiar with all these things then by all means begin "To Day" to "dig in" and "stablish" yourself by reading and studying and absorbing their significance. For example, the sacred Ark of the Covenant contained the golden pot of "manna". Have you read and studied how God fed our forefathers in the wilderness and how they "labored" for six days that they might enter into "rest" on the seventh? Our Father supplies that "manna" for us "To Day" and we must also labor to gather it and eat it! Do you "SEE" how wonderfully He teaches us? Like we said in our opening paragraph to this study, if you are not familiar with the "things" contained in the Old Testament you will not fully understand what Christ speaks of in the New Testament, like in John 6 for example:
John 6:27-33
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but [labour] for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Christ was speaking of the "meat" of His Word, the same "meat" Paul spoke of to the "milk drinkers" in chapter five. Remember? By the way, this verse ought to also give some insight to those with eyes to see as to what the "sealing" of the 144,000 in Revelation chapter 7 means. To wit, if you are fortunate enough to have a Companion Bible, read Dr. Bullinger's comments on "sealed" on page 1530.
[28] Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
This is actually a common question people ask concerning what God wants them to do. And the answer is, as you will see in the next verse, to "believe" in Him whom He sent, i.e. Jesus Christ. And "if you can understand the things that are seen" that our Father had made to teach us, then perhaps you can "see" that "believing" in Christ doesn't mean to just believe that Jesus Christ is the Holy One of God, for James writes in 2:19, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
No, to truly "believe" in Jesus Christ one must labor and gather the "manna" from heaven which was but a symbol of the real thing, the Bread of Life, His Word!

Let Christ, the greatest teacher of all, explain it to us:

[29] Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent.
If you understand this, then you will also understand John 3:16.
[30] They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Do you want to know HOW to "see" (as in come to KNOW) and "believe" in Jesus Christ?

Here's how:

[31] Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
We are in that spiritual desert of the tribulation (40 = trial and tribulation) of these last days where there is a "famine" (Amos 8:11-3) for truth all around us.
[32] Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
The manna Moses gave our fathers in the wilderness was a similitude of the REAL THING, the REALITY, which is Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, the Word of God!

Jesus Christ was the Word in the flesh and you have that Word, that precious "manna", if you will only labor to gather it in! With the help of the Holy Spirit, you'll find it in the little "black book". Yes, "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things" (Mark 13:23). It's all there for us to find, but we have prayerfully search and rightly divide His Word of truth.

[33]For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
The "Bread of Life" came down from above and was born in Beth-lehem which is a Hebrew word meaning "House (beth) of Bread (lehem)". Jesus Christ is that House of Bread, the true tabernacle, which giveth life!

 We could go on and on with the simplicity and beauty of these things God has shown us for our understanding. For instance, the tables of the covenant, the 10 Commandments, are also contained in the Ark of the Covenant. Yes, both Truth and Justice are contained in Ark of the Covenant for He is the King of kings and Lord of lords from which all truth and justice flow!

Note: Occasionally we still read articles and see movies about people trying to locate the Ark of the Covenant. However, trying to find the Ark of Covenant is as futile as trying to find the body of Moses, for God took them both away. To that end, if you read the last verse of Rev. 11 you will find out where that Ark is located at present.

Hebrews 9:5
And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
The phrase Paul uses, "of which we cannot now speak particularly", means "it is not now convenient to speak about these things". In other words, Paul is also saying there is much to be said concerning these things but it is not within the scope of his teaching regarding the comparison of the two tabernacles and two covenants to go into great detail and elaborate upon the significance of each one. So you will just have to labor on your own and gather in your own "manna" and eat it! And in doing your due diligence concerning the "cherubims of glory" shadowing (which means overshadowing) the mercyseat, the seat of Christ, remember to include one of the original cherubims given the awesome responsibility by God Himself to protect and uphold the truth and justice which flows from that mercyseat. You will find it written of in the 28th chapter of Ezekiel.

Here's a quick overview:

Ezekiel 28:12-19
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
This speaks of Satan as the following verses will document. Then too, the name "Tyrus" means "rock" in Hebrew. However, this rock is not our Rock (Deut. 32:31)!
[13] Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Satan is also a created son of God. However, he has been "judged" to be the first son who will perish in the lake of fire. Thus he is called the "son of perdition", the son who will perish. Also, if you go to Exodus chapter 39 you will find that the "stones" spoken of in this verse that Satan wore (which is what "covered with" means) match stone for stone those worn on the breastplate of the Levite Priests. In other words, Satan was once a great spiritual leader of our people. Actually, he still is today... only that which he feeds our people is not "manna" but bread cakes filled with "dung" (see Ezek. 4:9-17).

For more about bread cakes filed with dung please read "Dung Crisp", "Dung Toasties", and "Sugar Dung Pops"Pamphlet #1152

[14] Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
There you have it! Satan was once anointed, appointed by God, to cover the mercyseat and uphold truth and justice and he walked not "to and fro" at this time but rather walked "up and down" as in "straight up and down" in the stones of fire with the truth from the altar of God.
 [15] Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
You can read what this iniquity found in him was in  Isa. 14. He wanted to elevate himself, to ascend on high and sit on the mercyseat, i.e. ascend to the throne of God and be like God .So he, Satan, started his own church and political party! Take a look around my friend, for there is nothing new under the sun, especially at the close of this earth age in comparison to the close of the last. (In fact, you will even find the "trumpets" "sounding the alarm" and warning our people of the impending desolation to come, the "tohu va bohu" of Gen. 1:2.) See Jeremiah 4:21-22
 "How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
[22] For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge."
[16] By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
God is going to destroy Satan from the midst of His children, who are those stones of fire represented by the 12 fiery stones of the Levite breastplate. Of course, Satan has his own stones (the kenites/descendants of Cain) in this earth age which can be numerated, as in traced, as per Rev. 13:18. Do you know who they are (see Rev. 2:9 & 3:9)? Those who belong to the two churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia know and teach who the kenites are and those two churches are the only two with whom Christ found no fault.
That ought to tell you something!!!!!

Now here is what happened to pretty boy in the first earth age:

[17] Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

[18] Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

We just read of Satan's judgment and his sentence to die by fire and to be turned to ashes, which means to PERISH forever and ever. That is the same fate spoken of in John 3:16 for those who do not eventually "believe" in Jesus Christ. By the way, you will find contained in these verses of Ezek. 28, which describe the iniquities (wickedness) of Satan in the first earth age,the same "Four Hidden Dynasties" he uses in this earth age, at this time, to corrupt and lead astray God's children, e.g. trafficking, merchandise(economics), sanctuaries(religion),  wisdom (education), violence, i.e. corruption of justice (politics). Revelation 6:1-8

The Four Hidden Dynasties of the New World Order Revelation 6:1-8
"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"

[19] All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
Good riddance! The point is, however, that it is written that Satan, that cherubim who once covered the mercyseat, shall come again as the spurious messiah before Jesus Christ returns and take an earthly seat upon the ark, i.e. sit in the temple of God claiming to be God (2 Thes. 2). And you know what? It is written that the whole world including most Christians shall believe him to be so!
Is it not amazing therefore that many Christians claim a "physical temple" must be built in Jerusalem before Messiah returns? And where did that idea come from?
You guess it! There church! Religion!
One of the "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"   

Let us now return to Paul's comparison of the Old and New Covenants where he now gives us a summation of the ordinances of divine service mentioned in verse one:

Hebrews 9:6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
All the priests were permitted to enter into the first tabernacle, called the sanctuary, wherein was the candlestick, the table and the shewbread (vs. 2).

However, only the high priest could enter into the holiest place, the holy of holies, and then only once a year to make atonement for his own sins and the sins of the people.

Thank God our Eternal High Priest (Jesus the Christ) who is without sin is always in the Holy of Holies and we do not have to wait a year to have our sins atoned for.

[7] But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
We learned earlier that the earthy sanctuary which is only symbolic of the heavenly was ministered to by sinful, fallible man, meaning that the high priest was also a sinner who needed forgiveness for his own sins and shortcomings.
That is one reason why it is so important that we not put our trust and faith in men but rather in Him who is perfect and without sin.

You see, man will eventually let you down but Jesus Christ will never let you down.

And so it was according to the law that no one could enter behind the veil into the Holy of Holies except the high priest, and then only once a year.

And though the earthly high priest was a mortal and sinful man like everyone else, he was nevertheless used as a figure, a shadow, to teach us about the true High Priest who would enter into the true Holy of Holies once and for all time.

Note: The Greek word for "errors" in verse seven is "agnoema" which means "not (ag) to know or understand (noema)". In other words it means ignorances (see Lev. 4:2).

[8] The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
Can you "see" how the Holy Spirit made it plain (deloo), as in declared by this shadow (example), that as long as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which also meant the Old Covenant was still in effect, the way into the true tabernacle was not yet made available?

What does that mean?

It means that, before Christ, salvation had not yet come!

It means that the eternal remission and forgiveness of sins, i.e. eternal redemption (vs. 12), was not possible until the eternal High Priest entered in with His blood, the One whom God promised by His sworn oath to come after the order of Melchisedec.

So all that was done under the Old Covenant was a figure (the Greek word is #3850 "parabole", meaning similitude) until the appointed time when Yeshua, the perfect Lamb of God full of grace and mercy, would come and pay the price for the remission of our sins and iniquities that they may be remembered no more!

Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."

[9] Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Again, these things were only symbolic which they had to be because you "see", the offering of gifts and the sacrifice of animals cannot purify the soul and cleanse our conscience, our hearts and minds, whereby we can enter into His rest and have true peace of mind!

Only Jesus Christ is able to cleanse us and grant us "life"!

Therefore, all those laws contained in ordinances requiring gifts and sacrifices and ritual cleansings were only "temporary coverings" until the time of the New Covenant which we have seen was promised time and again in the Old Testament!

That's right, the promise of the New Covenant was contained in, as in was part of, the Old Covenant.

[10] Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
"Imposed on them" doesn't mean "crammed down their necks"!

It simply means to "cover them" as a "cloak" until the time of redemption, i.e. to cloth them temporarily until Christ would come and we could put on those spiritual white linen garments of His righteousness.

You may recall that the LORD took the skins of animals and covered the "nakedness" of Adam and Eve who needed "covered" after that they had sinned.

You see, sin causes spiritual nakedness!

[11] But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
How much plainer can it be said that the true tabernacle is NOT a building?
In fact, the true tabernacle, the temple of God, is not even of this world,
i.e. this cosmos (Jn. 8:23).
Is it not amazing therefore that many Christians claim a "physical temple" must be built in Jerusalem before Messiah returns?

In verse 11, all the "good things to come" which our High Priest (Jesus Christ) made possible by His shed blood begin with the attainment of eternal redemption (next verse, vs. 12)!

How blessed we are indeed to be made free in Christ our Lord and not have to be bound under the law of sacrifices and ordinances!

He completely did away with ALL of them when He shed His blood on the cross.

Again, make sure to read and thoroughly understand the second chapter of Colossians.

Col. 2:14-17 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; [15] And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. [16] Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: [17] Which area shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Note: Verse 14 does not say that the Law was done away with, i.e. nailed to the cross!
It says the "ordinances"
were nailed to the cross, not the Laws!

So much for religion and the keeping of certain days and the performing of ritual ceremonies, etc. etc. 

Christianity is not a religion of shadows!

Christianity is the reality of all those things, which is Jesus Christ, the Word of God!

"Believe" in Him and you shall not perish (Jn. 3:16) for the second death, the death of your soul in the lake of fire, shall have no power over you!

So "harden not your heart", but rather turn to Him... "To Day"... and be a partaker and inheritor of the "good things to come (Heb. 9:11)"!

Rev. 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

And they shall "walk straight up and down" in His ways and carry the authority of His rod with which He shall rule all nations (Rev. 12:5)!

Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Jesus Christ is our Passover! Jesus Christ is our eternal High Priest! Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God!
[13] For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
[14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Neither the keeping of days, nor the giving of gifts, nor the sacrificing of animals, nor the performing of cleansing rituals, nor the services of any high priest of man, can purge one's conscience or grant eternal redemption!

Only by His perfect sacrifice and His eternal Spirit returning unto us can our sins be forgiven and our souls be completely cleansed from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Next we will see how the death of Christ made it possible for us to claim the promises of our Father's Will, which is His testament.

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Are you a child of God? If so, did you know that your heavenly Father left you a "will", a testament, full of "goodly" promises and blessings, including the incredible promise of eternal redemption and salvation, which is the promise of eternal life... if?

In fact, "it is written" that many of those "goodly" things He has included in His will, i.e. has in store for those who love and serve Him, are beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations! 1 Cor. 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart [mind] of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." The thing is, even though you are an heir, even a joint-heir with Christ under whose feet ALL THINGS have been put in subjection (Heb. 2:8), you must still step forward and claim those promises.

Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if
 so be
that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.
 Paul explained to us that it is the shed blood of Christ, the perfect and unblemished Lamb of God, who through His "eternal Spirit" offered Himself to God, that our sins can be cleansed and purged from our consciences forever and we can obtain the promise of eternal life.

In today's study, Paul is going to explain that it is because He did pay the price and became our High Priest, that He is now the one and only mediator of the New Covenant, which means the one and only mediator between us and God.

Hebrews 9:15 And for this cause [for this reason] He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are  called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
It is by the power of His "eternal spirit"... you know... after the order of Melchisedec, that Jesus Christ is the sole mediator, the sole administrator of the New Covenant.

In other words, we no longer need the sacrifice of animals nor the intercession of fallible earthly high priests.

You see, it was by His death in becoming our Passover, the one and only sacrifice for our sins, that He made possible the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant which neither the blood of calves nor goats could permanently atone for.

We therefore need always remember that those things and rituals pertaining to the earthly tabernacle were but types and shadows of the real thing, which was Jesus Christ!

And when He entered into the Holy of Holies once and for all time He became our High Priest who now sits at the right hand of God as our advocate, making intercession for us!

Then too, it was also by His death that He made possible the promise of eternal inheritance, even salvation which is the promise of eternal life.

You see, our Father made out His will, His testament, and included many blessings and promises in it to be granted to His heirs, "those which are called" (vs. 15)!

Of course we all know that when someone makes a will, the things contained in that will do not become effective until the testator, the one who made the will, dies!

Therefore, the promises contained in God's testament to His heirs, such as redemption and eternal life, were only made possible by His death. That is one of the reasons why Jesus Christ died on the cross.

In other words, as Paul just said, He died so that those which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance!

The wonderful news is, that IF you are one of His, you can even step forward and claim some of those many blessings and promises "To Day"!

Paul now explains to us about "wills".

[16] For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
A will by its very nature, which is an account of things promised to the inheritors upon the death of the one (the testator) who makes the will and testament, is of none effect, meaning it has no legal power, as long as the testator is alive.

He or she must first die, then the will goes into effect and becomes legally binding.

[17] For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

[18] Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.

Notice that the first testament was also inaugurated by the shedding and sprinkling of blood.

Paul documents that for us.

[19] For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
"See" that it was not only the book that was sprinkled with blood, but also all the people!

Then Moses said the following when he instituted the Old Covenant:

[20] Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
Here is the verse in the Law from which Paul quoted:
Exodus 24:8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
And so it came to pass that the New Testament was also enjoined and placed in force with the shedding of blood, only this time it was with the precious blood of the perfect unblemished Lamb of God.

Here are the words Christ spoke when He inaugurated the New Covenant:

Mark 14:24 And He said unto them, This is my blood of the new
 testament, which is shed for many
.
It is important to understand that Moses also sprinkled all the things of the tabernacle with blood, not just the book and all the people.
Hebrew 9:21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
You see, according to the Law, almost all things are "cleansed" with blood.

However, it is only the blood of the Lamb of God that can spiritually cleanse our souls and make our garments white: Rev. 7:14 "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.

And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb
."

[22] And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
So under the law, if there was no shedding of blood, there could be no remission of sins.

Therefore, it was necessary that the "patterns" of things in the heavens, those physical representations (shadows) of the things that are spiritual, had to be purified (cleansed) with blood! But again, those "earthly" sacrifices were not able to cleanse the heavenly (spiritual) things.

It would take "better" sacrifices to accomplish that!

[23] It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Only the "better" sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, can purged sin once and for all, leaving us with a clean slate and a clear conscience (Heb. 8:9)!

 In other words, animals have no spirit; that can return to us and "purge our consciences" for evermore.

Only His "eternal spirit" can do that and give us comfort!

That is why we read in the next verse that Christ Himself never entered into the earthly Holy of Holies, but into heaven itself!

[24] For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Jesus Christ is the real thing, the true high priest, the true tabernacle!

He never entered into the symbolic, worldly, model sanctuary made with flesh hands.

Again, He has entered into heaven itself and now sits on the right hand of the throne of His Majesty on high to make atonement and intercession FOR US!

Therefore, there is no other high priest or sacrifice we need and that is why Christ is the sole mediator of the New Covenant and we are complete in Him.

Paul wrote it to Timothy like this: 1 Tim. 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

This means you can kiss all the keeping of certain days and rituals and traditions of men's do's and don'ts goodbye and good riddance!

[25] Nor yet that He should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Christ shed His blood once and for all time thereby completely fulfilling the law, i.e. all that was ever required by the Old Covenant.

To that end, Paul wants us to be sure we know and understand that it is because Christ was the perfect unblemished Lamb of God and our High Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec, there are no more blood sacrifices required nor services of any other high priest needed... period!

Again, it was through His "eternal power" that He offered Himself to God and shed His blood one time and entered in the Holy of Holies once and for all time.

The reason this is such an important point to understand is because otherwise, without that "eternal power", Christ's sacrifice would not have applied to those who have already lived and died in the flesh, such as Adam and Eve, Noah, etc., who all lived and died in the flesh before He came to this earth and paid the price!

But He did appear "in the end of the world" and paid the price for all, even those all way back to the beginning of this earth age.

That is why it is written He went and preached unto the spirits in prison and offered salvation to all those who waited until the promise of His coming was fulfilled (1 Peter 3:19-20).

[26] For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
You see, the Plan of God was ordained even before the "katabole", the casting down and overthrow of the Satan, the great red dragon in the first earth age. (See appendix 146 in the Companion Bible.)
[27] And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
One of requirements for salvation is that each son of God come down from above (in his turn) and be born of flesh and die the first death, the death of the flesh.

Actually, Christ explained this in detail to Nicodemus in John chapter three.

The fact is, if a person is not willing to come down from above ("anothen" in Greek) and be born of woman, he or she cannot enter into the kingdom.

Such was the case with the fallen angels of Genesis 6 who came to earth without entering in through the bag of water and who then took the daughters of Adam to wife, the union of which produced the mighty Gibor, i.e. giants! (The reason for Noah's flood)

John goes on to explain that even Christ was willing to come down from above and be born of woman and tabernacle in the flesh!

Remember we discussed this in an earlier study?

Our Father did not ask His children to do anything He was not willing to do Himself, such as die once in the flesh!

Note: Since it is written that it is given unto all men ONCE to die, you can totally rule out the false doctrines of reincarnation.

[28] So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time
 without sin unto salvation.
Have you noticed? Things are happening fast in this final generation as the events of prophecy unfold before our very eyes.
We do look for Him to appear the second time, knowing that the false messiah shall come first and cause many to stumble and fall in the great apostasy.

So stay steadfast in His Word and look to those heavenly things; for your redemption draweth nigh!

Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

THEY HAVE BEGUN!
Watch, watchmen, watch!
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


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