The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXXIV

Galatians 1:13a
"For ye have heard of my conversation (or manner of living) in time past in the Jews’ religion,…"

Most of you have been reading this blog long enough to know that Religion always requires what? Works. Always. Anytime you are dealing with a ‘religion’ it’s going to be demanding works. And that’s what Judaism was, it was a works religion. Dead works, because it couldn’t generate life. Alright, looking at the verse again.

Galatians 1:13
"For ye have heard of my conversation (manner of living) in time past in the Jews’ religion, (practicing those dead works as he calls it in Hebrews as he was a pharisee) and how that beyond measure, I persecuted the church (or the assembly of God) and wasted it:"

Stop and think. What was he doing to his fellow Hebrews? Killing them. Hauling them into prison and voting to put them to death. You know that has been a thing that has plagued the Jewish people from day one is that they are so prone to fight each other. They’ve done it throughout their national history. I read somewhere, I think it’s in Josephus, that when the Roman General Titus and his ramrods were knocking on the doors of the city of Jerusalem, and the Roman hoard was ready to come in and kill them, I think up over a million Hebrews, what were the Hebrews all doing inside the city? Civil war! They were fighting with each other. Over what? Religious differences. Look at Israel today. What is their primary problem? They’re fragmented. They’re a fragmented society. I was just reading an article in the Jerusalem Post the other day of a little community where it’s just nip and tuck between the secular and the religious. And they almost hate each other. And yet they’re all Hebrews. The spin off of them is Islam and they're no different as each tribe has its claric leader who is a priest and gives the tribal leader his instructions regarding their law. This has been the form of action from almost day one some 6000 to 8000 years ago.

Well, Paul was no different. He was a Jew’s Jew. A Pharisee of the Pharisees. Of the Tribe of Benjamin. And yet what was he willing to do? See his fellow Hebrews put to death. Why? Because he disagreed with them on their religion or faith system. They had embraced Jesus of Nazareth and so far as he was concerned they were now a plague to the Nation. Get rid of them! Isn’t it sad? So, you watch Israel. Just watch the Nation of Israel. Even today they are plagued with fragmentation. They’ve got the secular, they’ve got the orthodox and they’ve got three or four groups in between and they are at each other’s throats constantly. Alright, now verse 14.

Galatians 1:14a
"And profited (see? Not spiritually - materially) in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in my own nation, (Why?) being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers."

Paul was a religious zealot just like some of these Muslims that we’re dealing with. Religion will always do that to people. And so, he was a religious zealot and what was he zealous of? "The traditions of the fathers." Does that at all ring a bell? Well, it should. Now back to the Epistle of Hebrews. And so he says, move away from that. Get away from that foundation which required repentance from dead works. Which was not a faith toward God. Now that’s of course, fundamental. We all know that without faith it’s impossible to please God. Now for the next pair.

Hebrews 6:2a
"Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands,…"

Well, that was part and parcel of again the Jewish background. My goodness, they had practiced washings, washings, washings all the way up through their national history. When John the Baptist came on the scene demanding water baptism, that wasn’t anything frightening to the Hebrew. That wasn’t something they said, "Well, what’s this?" It was just another form of washing, washing, washing. So Paul says, move on. Don’t hang on to that. The laying on of hands, the same way. That was part and parcel of the external priesthood as was everything else. Now, the last two.


Hebrews 6:2b
"…and of resurrection of the dead and (the next part people don’t like to read) eternal judgment."

We know from research that the two main groups in the priesthood had a standing argument over what of all things whether there was such a thing as a resurrection of the dead. Jesus even mentions this as recorded in the gospels. Don’t hear that much anymore do you? The world doesn’t even think about the eternal judgment that’s coming. Eternal. How long is eternity? As long as God lives! That should make people think, shouldn’t it?

And where in eternity are you going to be? That’s up to the individual. Either in bliss and glory or eternal doom. Now, lest you think that some of this was unique only to the New Testament, let’s go all the way back to Job chapter 19, cause I just want you to see that Paul knew what he was talking about even though it was Spirit inspired, that the Hebrews knew of resurrection. Now of course, in modern Judaism, a lot of the Jews do not believe in a literal, viable life after death. I was just reading something by a Rabbi again the other night, that a lot of the Hebrews concepts of eternal life is that it will just keep going in our coming generations. In other words, your life continues with your children and your grandchildren. That’s one concept. But see, the Biblical concept was as you and I look at it - is that it is Eternal Life either separated from God or in His presence. And this we'll look at later. Alright, now, Job of course, a believer could write it like this. Remember Job is clear back before David. I think Job is kind of an enigma, nobody has ever yet written anything to satisfy me as to when Job lived and wrote. I’ve got my own pet ideas but I’m not that sure of it.

Job 19:25-26
"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he (the Redeemer) shall stand at the latter day (where?) upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, (in other words he goes through physical death) yet in my flesh (in a resurrected body) shall I see God."


Now there’s resurrection life way back in Job’s day. See? Alright, let’s come on up to Daniel chapter 12, and we’ll start right up there at verse 1. I’m just trying to show you that these Hebrews to whom Paul was writing had an understanding of all these things. It wasn’t Greek to them.