Heb 1:14 Plans Of An Eternal Nature
Greetings! In my previous posts (on Heb 1:13 and Psa 110) I went over how Psa 110 remarkably serves as an outline for the letter to the Hebrews, bringing great illumination to the entire letter (for more on this and to better follow me in this post, please read Heb 1:13 It’s Not About Angels, It’s All About Jesus and Psa 110 Christ in you, the Hope of Glory).
For now, we’ve come to Heb 1:14, but before going on, there’s one more aspect of Heb 1:1-13 to talk about.
You see, Heb 1:1-13 not only expounds on how Jesus is far better than the angels (He created and assigned specific duties to them), but also shows us how one man — Jesus Christ — fulfilled all the various qualities required in the Messiah to come.
So, let’s take a look at some of the Old Testament (OT) prophecies concerning Christ.
Now, though there are too many OT prophecies of Christ to completely cover in this post, we’ll basically narrow it down to five cumulative “facets” behind the Jewish concept of the Messiah (at the time of Christ):
- A Prophet.
- A Suffering Servant.
- A son of David who would be King (this is the same as the Conquering King and the Shepherd).
- A High Priest.
- A Resurrection.
PROPHET: Israel looked for a great Prophet, because Moses told them to (Deu 18:15-19; Jn 1:21,25; Jn 6:14).
Deu 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.
SERVANT: They looked for a great Servant of God who was going to Suffer (Psa 22:1-31; Psa 40:6-12; Isa 50:4-9; Isa 52:13-15; Isa 53:1-12; Dan 9:26; Zec 13:6-7; Zec 12:10).
Psa 40:6-7 Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast Thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me.
Isa 52:13-14 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonied at Thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.
Isa 53:4-5 Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.
Zec 13:6 And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in Thine hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends.
Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for His only Son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for His Firstborn.
SON & KING: They looked for a son of David who will be an eternal King (this is also referred to as the Shepherd [2 Sam 7:12-16; Psa 45:1,6; Psa 89:3-4; Isa 11:1-10; Jer 23:5; Jer 3:9; Ezek 21:27; Dan 7:13-14; Dan 9:24-27; Zec 9:9-12; Zec 13:6-7; Mat 12:23; Mat 21:9; Mat 22:42-45; Jn 10:7-16]).
2 Sam 7:12-13 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy Seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish His kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for My name, and I will stablish the throne of His kingdom for ever.
Jer 33:15-17 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. 17 For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.
Ezek 34:23-24 And I will set up One Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My servant David; He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd. 24 And I the LORD will be their God, and My servant David a Prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
Ezek 37:24 And David My Servant shall be King over them; and they all shall have One Shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them.
Hos 3:4-5 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.
Though Israel looked for a Son of David and King, they were not given the understanding how, as God’s Son, this King would also symbolically represent “Israel” (even as Christ’s Body represents His Church [Exo 4:22; 2 Sam 7:14; Psa 2:1-12; Psa 45:1,6; Psa 89:1-4,13-33; Hos 2:2; Hos 11:1; Rom 7:1-4; Eph 5:28-32]). Note how Jesus addressed how Christ is God’s Son and not David’s in Mat 22:41-46; Lk 20:41-44; Mk 14:61-62). Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to 2012
It has been said Christians are to be the living representations of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
What a mouthful that statement says, for the gospels tell of youth, ignorance, impulsiveness, coming of age, some arrogance, and then, utter terror on the part of the Apostles. As for Jesus, He came, He ministered to us all, He had great restraint in obedience, and laid down His life so that others might live.
As the Apostles carried on, their youthful impulsiveness and arrogance fell away as they came to understand more and more the boldness in faith so often required to move them beyond their fears.
They came to know their own limitations — they were mere humans — but though Christ all things were possible.
Howbeit, in the end, in their gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John gave no glory to themselves, but took on the humblest means of describing their actions and those of others as they presented the gospel of Christ.
No doubt they had all learned this lesson of humility and grace very “well.”
Rom 5:3-5 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Thus, the four gospels lay the foundations of Christ down in so many different ways upon which every other principle of the New Testament and Old Testament are to be understood.
Oh, what a blessing to participate in the challenges the Lord carries us through! Though they may surely be perplexing, puzzling — even terrifying — at times, He always manages to teach us something new while we wait on Him. And, if we are delayed in one thing the response shall surely be, ”Oh! If not this thing then that!” As long as He gets all the glory, all the honor and all the praise… everything will work out alright.
Isa 49:23b …I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.
May the Lord Jesus Christ increase our wisdom in His ways in 2012.
May He increase our gifts of love and patience as we wait on Him.
May God bless you and draw you nearer to Him this new year.
God is good.
Peace out!
Loris
Psa 110 Christ in you, the Hope of Glory
Greetings! Let’s get started.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.
A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by king David – a visual/auditory prophet - who also wrote many other psalms and prophecies in the Bible (Acts 2:29-31).
The LORD said unto My Lord. When you see the uppercased style “LORD” (Yehovah or Jehovah) used in the OT it refers to the Divine Name of God. This name is so sacred to Jews, it isn’t spoken out loud, but referred to as “YHVH” instead (also known as the “four letters” or “Tetragrammaton”).
H3068. Yehovah, yeh-ho-vaw’; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:–Jehovah, the Lord. Compare H3050, H3069.
The second, normal cased style “Lord” is used for many different Hebrew words in the Old Testament. In Psa 110:1, the Hebrew word “‘Adown” is used and it describes rulers who have a sovereign, controlling type of rule (both human AND Divine).
H113. ‘adown, aw-done’, or (shortened) ‘adon, aw-done’; from an unused root (mean to rule); sovereign, i.e. controller (human or divine):–lord, master, owner. Compare also names beginning with “Adoni-”.
Now, Jesus pointed to Psa 110:1 in Mk 12:36 when He asked the Pharisees why the scribes insisted Christ (the Messiah) was the son of David, since David had called Him “Lord” (2 Sam 7:11a-16; Mat 22:41-46; Lk 20:41-44).
Mk 12:35-37 And Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? 36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. 37 David therefore himself calleth Him Lord; and whence is He then his son? And the common people heard Him gladly.
Thus, Jesus pointed out since David wouldn’t call his own son “Lord,” Psa 110:1 showed 2 Sam 7:14 was not about David’s son, but God’s (Psa 2:7).
2 Sam 7:14 I will be His Father, and He shall be My Son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten Him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.
Sit on My right hand. Sitting on the right hand of the Father is a position of great honor and power, but in order for Jesus to get TO the Father SO that He COULD sit at His right hand, Christ had to die, be resurrected, and ascend to the throne (Mk 16:6; Lk 24:51; Acts 1:9).
The Apostle Peter pointed this out in Acts 3:34-35 when he tied Psa 110:1 in with David’s prophecy of Psa 16:7-10 and used it to explain the necessity of the resurrection of Christ (Jn 20:9; Acts 2:29-36).
Acts 2:34-35 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, 35 Until I make Thy foes Thy footstool.
You see, in Psa 16:7-10 God promised David He wouldn’t leave the Messiah in hell, nor suffer His Holy One to see corruption.
Psa 16:10 For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.
Peter pointed out that since David had died and hadn’t risen from the dead, then Psa 16:7-10 couldn’t have been about David, but instead was a prophecy about the resurrection of Christ (Jn 20:9; Acts 13:33-37; Rom 1:3-4). Read the rest of this entry »
Heb 1:13 It’s Not About Angels, It’s All About Jesus
Welcome to Heb 1:13 which once again brings Psa 110 to the forefront of Hebrews.
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool?
Heb 1:13 is based on Psa 110:1.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.
I say “once again” because Psa 110 was first referenced to Heb 1:3 when it mentioned Jesus sitting “down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Take a quick look below at Heb 1:3.
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Thus, Jesus sitting at the Lord’s “right hand” is a “Key Phrase” in Hebrews that points us to Psa 110, where Psa 110:1 and Psa 110:5 both mention the Lord appearing at the LORD’s right hand.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.
Psa 110:5 The Lord at Thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath.
In Psa 110:1 Jesus is “sitting” and in Psa 110:5 He is “striking.”
Psa 110 also contains the famous Old Testament prophecy of the Lord being a High “Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Gen 18:18-20; Psa 110:4; Heb 5:6,10; 6:20; 7:1-3, 9-12, 7:15-17,20-22).
Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Heb 5:6 As He saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
In fact, in contrast to all the other references given in Hebrews, Psa 110 verses receive more coverage than any other: Melchisedec is referred to well over nine times (Gen 18:18-20; Heb 5:6,10; 6:20; 7:1-3, 9-12, 7:15-17,20-22) and there are five references to Jesus sitting “at the right hand” of the Father (Heb 1:3; Heb 1:13; Heb 8:1; Heb 10:12; Heb 12:2).
There are also several inferences to Zion as the “house” (Heb 3:2-6), the “Tabernacle” (Heb 8:2, Heb 8:5, Heb 8:11-12, Heb 9:1-10:35) and “New Jerusalem” (Heb 11:10, Heb 11:14-16, Heb 12:18-24).
Psa 110:2-3 The LORD shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies. 3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: Thou hast the dew of Thy youth.
It’s clear Psa 110 is vital to the content of the letter to the Hebrews.
And, when all of Hebrews is closely examined, a close correlation with Psa 110 appears, offering us insight into why the topic of angels has been brought up right alongside scriptures evidencing Jesus Christ as Lord God, Creator, and Almighty Son of God.
Psa 110 appears to have been used as a “guide” for the letter to the Hebrews. Read the rest of this entry »
Angels Or Human Messengers?
Greetings! Seeing as there’s so many mentions of angels within the first and second chapters of Hebrews, I want to point out a few things about the words used for “angel” (in both the Hebrew and Greek) before moving forward.
In short, the same Hebrew or Greek words used for angel are also used for “messenger, pastor, ambassador, king, teacher, etc.,” and can refer to both heavenly or human beings. Please look closely at the definitions below and you’ll see what I mean.
H4397. mal’ak, mal-awk’; from an unused root meaning to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher):–ambassador, angel, king, messenger.
G32. aggelos, ang’-el-os; from aggello [probably derivative from G71; compare G34] (to bring tidings); a messenger; especially an “angel“; by implication a pastor:–angel, messenger.
In other words, there usually isn’t one, clear-cut, specific word to word translation from Hebrew “mal’ak” or Greek “aggelos” into English and the deciding factors are always the way the word was written in the original language and the context of that scripture.
The context of scripture is who wrote it, what’s written both before and after what you’re looking at (apply some breadth here), what’s being talking about and are there any references (“Key Words or Phrases“) to other scriptures?
You always have to look at the Bible as whole for understanding.
Thus, when you see the terms “angel, messenger, pastor, or ambassador, king, teacher, etc., consider these things and, if you can, see what the original Hebrew or Greek words are that lie behind the text.
Don’t just assume it means the same thing as it did in some other scripture. Read the rest of this entry »
How God’s Light Shines in the Darkness
Greetings! I put together this little video on Jesus as the Light and the rest of this post is the accompanying scripture to substantiate all that’s contained in the video scripturally. It’s also to help my international readers to follow along. Closed Captioning is functional as of right now, but the video must be started to select the “CC” button and turn it on. If you’re an international reader, I’ve also posted a brief video on How to Select Close Caption Languages in YouTube Videos (click here) showing how to select the various languages available.
I hope you’ll take the time to watch the video (and that it blesses you). Let’s move on.
As we know from studying the Book of Job (and the processes of life itself), sometimes when we’re going through the darker times of our lives, we can become bewildered and desperate, not knowing what to do about our dilemmas. When I’ve found myself in this sort of state, I, too, have desperately grasped at God pleading He show me how His Light can continue to shine in the darkness (and thus help me get through whatever it is I’m dealing with).
The good news is God’s Light is manifestly always there even if we can’t feel or see it. Read the rest of this entry »
Jesus as the Logos; Reasoning
Greetings. If you’ve been following the posts here on Breathing Book, then you know we recently covered Job as a continuation of the Heb 1:10-12 study (which quoted Psa 102:25-27 and took us to Psa 102 and Job). In those posts we discussed various biblical afflictions Satan’s placed on believers and how he continues to attack believers through “Offence.”
So now, whether you are currently in a time of peace or perhaps enduring conflict as a believer before whom Satan continues to place obstacles, this post will go over why it’s so important we continue to believe in the Truth of God’s Word. In other words, we’ll explain the meaning behind Jesus as the Word (Greek “Logos“) or Reasoning of God. Read the rest of this entry »
Apostasy Explained
When Offence Becomes Apostasy
Greetings! In our last post, “Skin For Skin,” we covered how Satan, as the Accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10), uses offence to entice believers into taking offence, either within themselves or in commission against others (Mat 18:7-8; Mat 24:10; Acts 24:16; Phil 1:10). Now, we’re just about done with Job (for now), but before we move on, there’s one more thing about offence that I want to cover and that’s the topic of Apostasy (2 Thes 2:3-4).
You see, as far as Job is concerned, Satan hedged his bets and failed (Job 1:6-12; Job 2:1-7). God saved Job and Job came out restored (Job 42:10). But offence is something Satan already knows believers are going to commit and he knows believers can receive forgiveness from Jesus for it if they’ll just ask. So Satan’s real efforts towards believers aren’t really just to cause them to stumble or give them a few headaches, but what he really wants (and considers a complete success) is when a believer has a buildup of offence to the point of falling away from God, so that they don’t even ask for forgiveness anymore.
This is exactly what happens in 2 Thes 2:3-4, where the Greek word for ”falling away“ (Gk. apostasia) actually means “Apostasy.” Read the rest of this entry »