TiL- Hebrews 1:1-4

Welcome to the truth in love podcast tonight. We are going to start in the book of Hebrews and the truth and love podcast is beginning. Dan how's it going?

Good, man. How are you doing?

I'm doing good I'm not doing as good as you because you told me that and I'm jealous that you got 10 inches of snow and we've not Seen a flurry.

Well. If you move north of the Mason-Dixon line. You do tend to get snow more often than if you live south of the Mason-Dixon line. That's absolutely true. Yeah, we're I mean, we're only a few short hours from Canada.

So.

You get the drift from Canada and the lakes.

Well, we do get some lake effects. No, not nearly as much as Buffalo. Oh my goodness. They get hammered. But we do have it. We'll have it float across every once in a while with Buffalo's getting nabbed.

We'll end up getting a couple two three inches just kind of float on through. Just hang out for a little bit.

Well speaking of snow I know you and I were talking offline about things that we could talk about and it just don't know me. One of the things That I did see today or recently. Speaking of snow I'm just going off an article that I saw.

I'm not a scientist and I can't confirm any of this but Iceland just had 50 years of their coldest winters or or something like that and.

I think it was a jab at the the global change.

Yeah, the climate changers that are saying the ice caps are melting and everything. But they've they've had their coldest winter in 50 years something like that some of that effect.

Yeah.

Who knows.

Well.

Let's look at let's look at this. I pulled up an article for you and I want you to respond to what this guy's saying. We're gonna hit on some some in times things because it's it comes up. It comes up over and over again.

It'll calm down that'll come up again but this is a. This is a topic that Dan and I like to talk about. And I'm sure we are we're not nearly can finish talking about it. But this is from this is our Fox News.

The title of the article is here's why Christian scholars who study in time say this is not the end of the world. All right. So I'm gonna I want to stop at each little section here and let you respond.

When the coronavirus pandemic spreading across the globe and Lingering question has resurfaced. Are we witnessing the end of the world? Tom Meyer a Bible professor who has the book of Revelation memorized Has written a verse-by-verse commentary on the final chapter of the New Testament.

What is happening in the world isn't new it has happened before said Meyer Also known as the Bible memory man in an interview with Fox News. What do you what do you say about that comment? What is happening in the world isn't new it's happened before.

Kind of right on that one if you even if you did think that the coronavirus pandemic was The worst thing ever. I mean you had black day with the black death Knocked out. What was it two out of every three or three out of every four people in Europe?

I mean, I don't think anybody would argue it that the coronavirus was at that level. But I mean even if you were to say This type of stuff has happened before.

I think. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, and I think on this particular opinion we would have a lot of agreement because Bible interpretation On this subject is very short-sighted. We see what's happening to us and we we've got to remember what's happened throughout history and Much much has been worse than it is now.

Well.

So here's the next line. We should think of the current outbreak as a preview of things to come. The slightest taste of what life will be like during the Great Tribulation as recorded in the book of Revelation Meyer said.

He went off the world so quickly. The book of Revelation does not detail the tribulation. Well, I mean kind of does but Matthew tells us that the tribulation occurred in 70 AD. Yeah, yeah, so.

So in our opinion, it's it's not a taste of things to come as far as the Great Tribulation being fulfilled in the future.

Yes, but I mean, here's the thing though. Especially not with the level of Sickness that we saw through the the coronavirus. I mean it was it was it was nasty for some people. I mean.

I.

Even even my wife ended up in the hospital for a little bit. I'm not saying that it doesn't exist or anything like that, but I Don't know like in times. Biblical proportion type Type event I that's a stretch big stretch.

Yeah, I mean, especially when you look at the the amount of people that have you know, maybe passed on Per year and you come across the years where the pandemic was supposed to be the worst and the numbers didn't change all that much.

You would expect. If it was really, you know end times getting a taste of of death then there would be more death, yeah.

Absolutely. The book of Revelation the last book of the Christian Bible is Interpreted by many evangelical scholars as a description of Jesus returning to earth at that point. It depicts believers being Raptured to heaven and those left behind suffering tribulation, but Christians have varying views on this.

Hey, I agree with that. Here's that last part.

People do have varying views on that Me being one of them. That's right.

So I think those that try to put the rapture in Revelation.

Squeeze it in there when it's not there. Well, you do see Christ return. You do see people being called to Jesus. But To say that those events are one in the same as what's being described as a pre tribulation rapture.

It's just you're you're asking for too much. It's the same when you go to like first Thessalonians 4 to try to say that that is describing a pre tribulation Rapture you there's no time indicators. It doesn't tell you when these things are gonna happen.

It in fact makes it sound like it's gonna be loud and at the end. When it's all gonna take place. So while the real events taking place Jesus returning. People being raised up from the dead. People being caught up in the air with Christ all real events.

It doesn't prove what people know. Would call a secret or pre tribulation rapture, right? that event. That that event that the people would say is different or separate from or in addition to the second coming.

We would see those events is all being wrapped up in the second coming which we don't believe has happened yet. At least we shouldn't get ourselves in trouble.

Big trouble. Yes. Look at the Internet. Well, we're not. We're not big enough for people to talk about yet. So we could convert to a full preterism and back to partial and about ever know the difference.

I am I am big enough to where my elders would get on me and right.

And.

Really? Honestly, that's as big as I care to be. Was I know my elders will slap me and slap me outside the head if I'm getting out of line. I'm that's a good thing. Oh, yeah. It's a great great group of guys.

Hopefully they would slap me too. Oh, yeah, we'd take a road trip. Oh.

And just a side note speaking of this.

I keep.

This subject keeps coming up every every so often in my mind and in my study and just thinking about it, but it was a fact that Jesus death on the cross. There was those who came from the tomb. Yep, and walked around and I'm I don't hear many people talking about that.

And where that lines up with with. You know partial preterism. Eschatology and and all that. Very interesting.

What's really? Really interesting about that is that people don't like to talk about it because they don't have a place for it in their theology period right and that's. That's part of what I think we'll discuss the reason for that when we start talking about Hebrews.

Because people want to take it and systematize all of their theology they go at it through systematics. And so when you come across a passage like that, there's no easy cubbyhole. Compartment no eschatological.

Soteriological. No, there's no Doctrinal box that you can fit that into easily. But yet it's a part of revelation that's been given to us. It's something that we should know now. I think it does make a lot more sense when we we understand it in the light of you know Christ's resurrection his bringing people back from the dead.

Know what he did with Lazarus. You see the language throughout the Old Testament of shaking and what will be shaken and what won't be shaken, right? I'm Steve. I mean.

It.

It's actually really kind of kind of neat that when life is Purchased, you know Satan is defeated when life is purchased at the death of Christ. People who are in proximity can't help but get up and walk around.

Mm-hmm. That makes sense. Now where do I want to put it into systematic theology? I Don't know. Talk about the larger scope of God's revelation to us of his revealing himself to us as creator and.

And.

Savior and King. That it makes a lot more sense that someone who is redeeming and bringing about the the redemption of the cosmos that at his Procurement of salvation those who had Tasted the sting of physical death would get some reprieve from it.

That that makes sense, right, right.

All right. Let's continue on with this article here. Myers explains. Christians will be delivered but unbelievers will Suffer for 42 months until Jesus returns to earth to destroy the Antichrist and establish his rule in Jerusalem for a millennium.

So he's coming from a dispensational pre-millennial point of view here. Trying to trying to find it huh. Trying to find it so that the 42 months is.

I'll give them that 42 months. People who didn't believe Jesus's word to get out of town. Right, right. Absolutely smooth would suffer. Mm-hmm. That being before a Return to destroy the Antichrist and I don't.

You lost me there and that's that would that be the time time and half a times at the end of Daniel.

Time times and half a time refers to I believe a three and a half year period. No time. Mm-hmm times. Half a time should be about 42 months, right? Yeah, okay.

Yeah.

According to the according to the Christian professor who studied Israel Global pandemics like we are all currently suffering through are a wake-up call to the world to get right with God now through Jesus the Jewish Messiah.

Now here's the thing if you look at. Especially like William Hendrickson's commentary. He's an all-millennial guy. He takes an idealist approach. He views the the parts of Revelation that talk about trumpets as Warnings, you know, the trumpets are warnings.

They're broken down in the thirds. A third of the water a third of the trees a third of the grass a third of the Sun and the stars. All of that taking place. Those things taking place as warnings. Then you look at the bowls of wrath being.

When God's judgment is actually poured out and he sees those things is happening all throughout history. It makes sense. I Think that would be more of an application to what the text is actually Saying because the text I believe is actually describing the time between the time when when The Jewish nation is being judged.

During the 70 AD. But if you look at what took place then. You say well, this is the type of things that happens to nations as they're judged. These are the warning signs and here's what wrath looks like.

That that makes sense. At least to me, I don't know if it makes sense to anybody else.

But it makes sense to me if a person were just completely ignorant about what the Bible says about the end times. They may think This right now, this is it Jeff Kinley a Bible prophecy author told Washington Post.

He said one of the major signposts which doesn't have to do with war or famine or disease in the Bible has yet to occur. The ancient temple must be rebuilt in Jerusalem He said referring to the building of the third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

It was rebuilt.

It wasn't the third temple, but it was rebuilt. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

That's right. But the temple being rebuilt That's prophesied in the Old Testament was rebuilt and that was the first century or the the second temple in Jerusalem. That was destroyed in 70 AD.

Yeah. Yeah, well people will say that there are things that are going to take place. There were prophesied to take place at a temple and since they haven't occurred yet and temples been destroyed. That means that you know by Logical reasoning the next thing that would happen is that there's a rebuilt temple.

But as far as you know saying this is where the Bible says a third temple is going to be rebuilt. Yeah, I don't.

Well, and and we'll stop at that one. That's that's plenty good enough. But I think one of the other. One of the other calls for that third temple being rebuilt is that Jesus has to have a place to sit down there there has to be a place for.

The.

The Antichrist who proclaims himself to be God for him to sit down Jesus to kick him out and Jesus to Sit down and and rule on our earthly throne on an earthly kingdom.

Well, there's a big problem with that. Yeah. They believe that Jesus is coming back to sit upon the throne of David, right. The throne of David was never in the temple.

Even even if a third temple was rebuilt That wouldn't be the throne of David. It's long gone.

They would they would have to rebuild the temple palace. Or the the the kingly palace the royal palace and then establish the throne of David again. Right. The temple isn't where the throne I mean unless they're trying to say that that the the throne of David was somehow a picture of them coming of Jesus coming back to sit upon the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant which have to go find that Ethiopian bishop or whoever whoever has it to.

You watch the history channel, too, huh? Yeah. Well actually it's it's in the. In the Orthodox Church one of the things that they believe is that they had they hold the Ark of the Covenant and That it's it's kept with one of their Ethiopian bishops bishops I'm not entirely sure.

One of them but one of their priests.

So I.

Mean that is that is an interesting theory or Idea that it's. It's been down there this whole time.

Yeah, well the the the story goes that there was there was catacombs underneath Jerusalem the same ones that Isaiah was an Isaiah. Or maybe Jeremiah. Not sure what one of them was was hidden in the catacombs and Then the Ark of the Covenant was there.

When everyone got taken out they were the people who took them out also found the Ark of the Covenant and it either was saved and it fled before The armies could get it or the armies took it and it migrated down to Ethiopia somehow.

Gotcha.

Were you ready to look at the book of Hebrews? Oh, yeah, man. All right. Let's let's take a look at it. Let's dive in. I'm looking forward to getting into a book with you again, Dan and I hope the Lord takes us all the way through the book of Hebrews.

It's I think it's gonna be a really good study for us and Yeah, you know to get us kicked off.

You won't say something. Yeah, I was. I've been asked to preach at a church. That's kind of in transition.

Between.

There all right, there's a missions organization called village missions and their whole thing their whole. Reason for being is to make sure that rural churches don't die because they don't have a pastor.

So what they do is they raise up missionaries help them find support. Make sure that they're trained properly and then place them at churches. Rural rural churches that don't have a pastor. So the this church in particular has one of my good friends as the pastor now.

He's retiring at the end of February. And so Until that new pastor gets there. They needed someone to help preach. So they're gonna have me preach. Few times maybe a couple two three times a month even at the most during the summer or whatever.

But they really don't know when their next pastor is gonna be there. So I thought well instead of you know just Picking something hopscotch and through the Bible every every week. Just pick a book that I like and run with it.

So Hebrews.

Now is this mission is this missionary organization or mission organization along with the Presbyterian Church, they're not okay.

Okay. Nope. In fact, if you if you know of a local church, that's in need of a a Pastor a village missions may be able to help. They are running a little behind right now. They have 26 churches that are awaiting pastors.

Also if you feel called to a.

A.

Rural church ministry and you've been qualified and called and your church wants to. Maybe partner with the village missions. They may be something to look into.

Maybe maybe village missions would like to allow us to.

Promote them on our truth and love network. Too bad already did you did? Just now. Oh I.

Mean I mean officially, oh.

Maybe I don't know. Yeah, that'd be a good partnership. Hey Rob, you could you could come up here. There's a bunch of reformed Baptist people up there. Nice. Yeah, come on be my neighbor. Anyway back to Hebrews.

Back to Hebrews.

Give me something to ponder there. We don't have to ponder right now. Hey, I wanted to spring that to you live.

So everybody can see your reaction.

So, well I heard something really I thought profound Looking into this. Dr. Moller. One of the as you're beginning with the introduction and you're beginning with Starting to study Hebrews that this always comes up.

Who wrote Hebrews. And Paul yeah, and what other people have, you know different ideas different relations about who they're wrong. What this is this is what he said concerning the issue. And I thought it was really profound his conclusion of not on who wrote Hebrews, but it was this and it was something to the effect of You know God's Word is his infallible and they're inspired all-sufficient.

Word.

And so what he wants us to know is in there and there's books of the Bible that we know. Who authored those books. We know we know about Peter. We know about Paul and the books that he authored. Pretty much all the books of the Bible.

Especially the New Testament. We know the author of those books and they often mention themselves in those books. But Hebrews does not and so therefore he concluded it was God felt that or decided or knew that.

We didn't know need to know the the author and and one of his thoughts was When we know the author of a certain book we it can affect our interpretation and how we look at that book because we know. We know who they are.

We know how they write especially those people who Study linguistics study the original language and you can tell by their writing style who wrote what and that's how. Sometimes you can compare books and how they're written.

You can know their author. He he said not knowing the author of Hebrews keeps us from Interpreting at least in that way in a biased way. Since we don't know the author. Which I thought was was pretty profound.

God God didn't intend for us to know the author so we we interpret what the original.

Author.

The divine author wants us to know.

Sure in the book. So it makes sense. Yeah, even though it's Paul I just I took the time to read.

I.

Took the time to read Hebrews tonight after supper and before we came on and You run all the way down through the end and it says I appeal to you brothers Bear with my word of exhortation for I've written to you briefly You should know that our brother Timothy has been released with whom I shall see you if he comes soon.

So as His traveling buddy Timothy's traveling buddy that wrote Hebrews Greet all of your leaders and all the Saints and Those who come from Italy send you greetings and Paul was imprisoned in Italy. So I Personally think that Paul being imprisoned in Italy knowing that Timothy was also in prison.

He was gonna get out. They're gonna come from Italy down there see the people but like you said, we're not given Definitive answer here, right? So what matters more? I think what matters more is what he said Give heed.

What does it give heed? No. Bear with my ex my word of exhortation take what I say to heart look at what I have told you and Do something with it. Trust in the Lord do something with it. Yeah, I think that's what's important here.

Well in and just. Knowing what I know about the book of Hebrews already.

You.

Can you can hear that and you can you can feel that that that plea to You know take it to heart because he's he is he's proclaiming Christ proclaiming Christ proclaiming Christ and He he's wanting it to stick.

He's wanting it to he's wanting them to exalt Christ to to have the head knowledge and heart knowledge and Be be all consumed with the supremacy of Christ in their life and not go back to the old ways, but continue to look to Christ and continue to look to Christ and like I said be all consumed with with his supremacy and so you know, it's a Jesus is is greater than this.

J. Jesus is greater than that. He's better than this. He's better than that. I mean, it's just The author is just crying out to his readers look to Christ look to Christ. He's you know pleading with them almost.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's it's interesting because he he looks at who his audience is and then he says well what is the What's gonna resonate with these folks the most? And then he kind of gives that to him. But in the process of doing that he provides us with one of the most wonderful beautiful and helpful pieces of hermeneutic.

Ever.

Like the Holy Spirit just like drop this information into the Bible and it's just wonderful because you you can read through. Another reason why I chose Hebrews is because I I've I've I've Generally preached from the Old Testament.

I don't know why I just maybe there's more of it and I just picked more of it. I don't really know why but I've been challenged by a friend of mine to preach through the Preach in the New Testament more and this satisfies both because there's so much of the Old Testament Quoted Annie speaking of Old Testament things throughout most of most of the book.

So when you look when you look at this.

Um.

This is basically a biblical theology. It's it's not a systematic. It's something it's a biblical theology where you look at. What's laid out in front of you? It shows you the revelation of God to us.

Then it shows the different aspects of different ways in which God has revealed himself to us. Through just plain old revelation through Salvation through Moses Abraham Melchizedek. You look at it and it's showing you all along the way.

This is the revelation of God to man and sprinkle throughout. Because God revealed himself to us this way we are responsible to him. For instance in the first chapter you have him talking about how Christ is Superior to the angels or the previous messengers how he how God had spoken at Various times to the prophets and now he's spoken to us through his son and then the very first warning.

Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we've heard Lest we drift away from it for since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable and every transgression or disobedience Received a just retribution.

How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord when it is attested to us by those who heard. While God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit Distributed according to his will so you have us you're being set up where you're seeing.

This is God's revelation to us. He has spoken Before in the Old Covenant through prophets to men and in these last days we have Christ. He moves on and says no talks about the law we had the law what was more full than the law.

We have been given Christ. They had Abraham we have Christ there was Melchizedek. We have Christ so you see a.

A.

It shows the.

A.

Luke book of Luke. At the end of the road to Emmaus Jesus is talking to people and those people say No, they didn't know who he was. They should have but they didn't and Jesus started from the beginning with Moses and the prophets and explained to them how all of the scriptures were about Him.

I Mean he may as well have Spoken to them the book of Hebrews, right? We're this is how. This section of the Old Testament is about Christ. This is how? Creation was about Christ. This is how revelation is about Christ.

How. The law is about Christ and it just goes on and on and you see that all throughout the book of Hebrews.

It's really neat. Oh Absolutely, and that that's another reason why I'm excited about going through Hebrews with you is because those guys on the road to Emmaus I think it was after Jesus left them. They were speaking to each other and they said Didn't didn't our hearts burn within us when we listen to him.

Right, and and I'm so looking forward to as we as we see Christ. In this text as Hebrews the author of Hebrews looks back at the Old Testament and we understand it in light of that and we see Christ that Our hearts are going to burn within us as we as we see our Savior.

We see our Lord.

Right. Yeah, absolutely. So if Man my brain just turned off I had a good point.

Well, as you were talking about as you were talking about how Hebrews Points back to the Old Testament from an interpretation. Go ahead.

Yeah, so if we understand Hebrews properly. And we follow the hermeneutic of Hebrews Then we should be able to have that burning. Our hearts should burn within us when we read through the Old Testament.

And a lot of people find the Old Testament kind of boring they don't like it. This is no history or whatever and there's all these begats in there and then they just they look let me get to the good Stuff when we run to Romans real quick.

Well, let me run into the New Testament. But what we miss out on when we do that is 39 other books of the Bible where we should have our hearts set on fire when we recognize Christ woven all throughout the Old Testament.

Leading up to the fullness of his revelation in the New Testament and then giving us our marching orders and our great hope of salvation going on into the future.

Absolutely. And by the way, the comment lines are open. Let us know that you're watching. Ask a question chat with us. We'd love to hear from you. But what I was saying from an interpretation perspective.

As you were talking about Hebrews quoting the Old Testament and and knowing the audience of the book. I just reflected on. I read that David Chilton quote about how Revelation is.

Is.

The book of the New Testament quotes from the Old Testament the most. And so you've got another book here doing the same thing quoting from the Old Testament and so like you were saying How do we read the Old Testament?

We read it like the the authors of these books in the New Testament Hebrews and and John and Revelation they were they were looking back and they were they saw that it was pointing to Christ and and they they learned or they knew the language and they knew the prophecy and and applied it to the New Testament and in that way and in its proper way.

And I think it's so important for us to to look at Hebrews not as a 21st 22nd century.

A.

American Christian, you know reading reading myself into the text even though even though the Bible is timeless and It's gonna there's going to be application for us. We we read it and interpret it initially in light of the author's original audience.

Especially we can't pass over those those small things that sometimes we we gloss over because we don't necessarily understand them. Well, let's look back at the Old Testament. I mean he put it in there for a reason.

So let's look back at how they understood it in the in the Old Testament. Why why it's included in this text and and you from from the original audience perspective? They would have understood what he was talking about.

And so that's how we need to look at it understand not necessarily how it initially applies to us, but how it applied to them and Understand it in that way.

Yeah, because if our interpretation is somehow different than what the Holy Spirit meant for us to understand it Then we're wrong. So that's why if we see the New Testament Using a particular passage in a certain way Then that is the way that we should understand that passage to be interpreted because it's a Holy Spirit inspired Interpretation of that text, right, right.

I.

Think that hits that's gonna ring true. Even these first few verses That we look at. Do you have anything else you want to say about the the introduction? Leading us into the beginning of the study.

Yeah, okay.

Well, just first first and foremost. First and foremost starting off. Versus one through three, maybe tonight. What we'll try to get through. But. We'll try but at the very very beginning then. You see you see a Reflection of the Old Testament to me.

I see a reflection. The author of Hebrews Begins at the beginning. With the author himself God just like the book of Genesis does in the beginning God.

Right only he. He gave us the framework for the beginning of all the Star Wars movies, too. No long ago. Long long galaxy far far away. At many times in many ways. Actually, it's in a galaxy right here.

But yeah, he's I mean he starts with he starts with God. That's his starting point and then that should be our starting point that wishes. We should start with God because he is the the creator sustainer.

Is it's his universe. It's his galaxy. Right, and so he he begins with God and God is God is speaking. And this goes back to the what we were talking about in our last video the Word of God. God is God was speaking.

He communicated to us. How many communicated to us long ago.

Yep in many ways in in many ways and many times. Mm-hmm.

That's first one. Yeah. To the Father God after he spoke long ago to the fathers in The prophets and in many portions and in many ways. So God is communicating to his people. So God has got he's giving us a message and he's speaking to his people that message.

And that message Is what we're going to read about in Hebrews.

Yeah, but back up a little bit.

In.

Our summary of that, okay. Because what you said was right, but back up a little bit and just think of it this way. God revealed himself. God revealed himself when then how bunch of different ways Prophets dreams He revealed himself Through men to us.

So you have God's way of doing things. Before right great wonderful powerful beautiful take it to the bank. But he's making this first point whoever Paul whoever the writer of the Hebrews was Makes his first point.

When he starts the second verse he makes a contrast he says. But in These last days He has spoken to us. So what has God done in the former days in the last in the last days? Long ago. He Spoke to us.

He revealed himself. Was he done now? He has Spoken to us. He has revealed himself to us. So he revealed himself to us By his son. Now, here's where he starts making his points. The one was great.

Fantastic.

Prophets were hearing from God delivering a word to men. Wonderful. But What's fuller what's better is Christ. And Christ is Who has spoken to us in these last days? You don't have the prophets who were sinful men Hearing a message from the Lord and giving it to us.