The Letter to the Hebrews exhorts believers not to abandon Jesus when difficult times arise. It does so by emphasizing the superiority and finality of what God has accomplished in His “Son” over the earlier and preparatory revelations that He provided “in the prophets.” And it does this by comparing the old Levitical system with its incomplete provisions and inadequate sacrifices to the “better” priesthood and “once for all” sacrifice of the “Son.”
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The “last days,” the age of fulfillment, began with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son of God – Hebrews 1:1-3.
When we hear the term “last days” we assume it refers to the final short period of history just prior to the return of Jesus in glory. This is a logical assumption. Yet, the New Testament presents the present age as the era of fulfillment that began with the Death, Resurrection, and the Exaltation of Jesus.
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In his death, Jesus inaugurated the promised and vastly superior new covenant, rendering the old one obsolete.
According to Hebrews, the “word of the Son” surpasses all past revelations “spoken in the prophets.” He went beyond his predecessors, having “achieved the purification of sins,” and therefore, he “sat down” at the right hand of God and inherited “all things.” And among other things, his exaltation signaled the commencement of the “new covenant.”
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SYNOPSIS – The types and “shadows” of the old covenant find their substance in the Son – Hebrews 8:1-5.
The epistle to the Hebrews develops its exhortation for believers to persevere in the faith from its theme of fulfillment – What God has accomplished already in Jesus. His partial word has been superseded by the complete one “spoken” in His “Son.” Most likely, the letter was addressed to a congregation with a significant complement of Jewish believers. It was facing the possibility of persecution; consequently, some members began to withdraw from the assembly and were contemplating a return to the synagogue to avoid trouble – (Hebrews 2:15, 10:32-34, 12:4, 10:24-31, 13:24-25).
Continue reading “SHADOW OR SUBSTANCE?”
The epistle to the Hebrews presents the exaltation of Jesus, His elevation from suffering and death to sovereignty over the Cosmos.
Threaded through Hebrews is the theme of the elevation of the “Son” from a lowly to an exalted state. His rise to sovereignty was through his obedient death and subsequent resurrection. In his sufferings, he was “perfected,” and God vindicated his obedience when he resurrected him, and then exalted him to sit at the “right hand of the majesty on high.”
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Insights into Bible Prophecy 