The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXXIV

I Peter 1:7-9
"That the trial of your (trusting becomes) faith, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Whom (speaking of Jesus Christ) having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; Receiving the end of (His faith) your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
Here again, even Peter is emphasizing the trusting in His faith aspect. Verse 10:

I Peter 1:10
"Of which salvation the prophets have (what?) inquired (what does that mean? They asked a lot of questions.) and (they) searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you."
It hadn’t come yet, but they understood that there was something coming and they searched and they tried their level best to put the whole thing together, but they could not. They were under the veil because God had it hidden from view though they each from the time of Jacob onward knew a portion, they had lost sight of the old path way that Enoch, Methusela, Noah, Shem and Eber for example knew, these all knew Him as the Most High God.

Many times, we’ve gone back to Rachel’s death at the birth of little Benjamin. And I think most of you are aware, as she was dying, what did she say the little fellow’s name would be? "Benoni." Which meant what? ‘The son of my suffering’ because she was dying. But Jacob overruled it and he said, "No. We’re not going to call him ‘Benoni,’ we’re going to call him Benjamin." Which means ‘the son of strength.’ Well now, what do you suppose the Rabbis did with that? Well, there’s something here. This didn’t just happen by accident. Surely there’s going to be two Messiahs. One who will suffer and they understood Isaiah 53 that said, ‘He would be led as a lamb to the slaughter.’ They could put that much together, they saw it as being two separate persons.

So evidently the Benoni was a ‘suffering’ Messiah. But then along comes Jacob and renames the little lad Benjamin, the ‘son of strength,’ and the Old Testament is full of the King and His Kingdom. So that Messiah must be the King. So they thought maybe there would be two. Well, that was logical up to a point. What they never put together? Is that the One and the same, but in two different times! Separated now at least by 2,000 years, but we hope it won’t be much more. But they could never comprehend that the Benoni was Christ’s first advent, the suffering Messiah and as Christ He is the 'son of strength'. Now, nearly 2,000 years later, we trust that soon, the Benjamin aspect is coming and what is He going to be? The King! People still don't see that He is both and how it all ties together in us as heirs of His salvation through Grace activity. See how beautiful it all is? But these Old Testament people never figured it out. They never figured it out, and most Hebrews and the church today still haven’t.

Those Rabbis just didn’t have an understanding. They saw the shadow, but like I showed in my analogy, you don’t build a piece of furniture with a shadow. You’ve got to have the tree. And all they could pick up was the shadow. They knew there was something they couldn’t put their finger on. All right, verse 11:

I Peter 1:11a
"Searching…"
Now if you understand Yeshivas in Israel’s educational system, all those young men do from morning till night is they just sit there and they do nothing but analyze the Old Testament; searching to see if they can come up with some little tidbit of revelation that nobody else has ever seen. Well, these old fellows were doing the same thing, searching the Old Testament. And remember they're without the aid of the Holy Spirit, even to this day. Why? Because they grieve the Spirit of God because of unbelief. And therefore God has given them a spirit of strong delusion to believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

I Peter 1:11-12
"Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, (the old path way and the Benoni) and the (what?) glory which should follow. (the Benjamin, the blood continues in the seed,[the power of an endless life, concealed, LXX, yamiyn, Strong's H3225] the King, the Kingdom.) Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us (Peter, speaking now after the fact) they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them who have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into."
Peter is so clear and adamant here that these Old Testament Rabbis saw the shadow, but they could not construct the whole picture because God was keeping it secret from them.

Now let’s take you back to a verse in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 29:29.

Deuteronomy 29:29a
"The secret things…"
What things? The Secret things. Now listen, a secret is a secret! And when it’s a secret, how many people know about it? Nobody but one.

Deuteronomy 29:29
"The secret things belong to the LORD our God: (and nobody else) but (flipside) those things which are revealed (that are no longer secret, see?) belong unto us (Moses is writing, the things that had been known but had been lost or hidden) and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."

Now I must deviate from my outline to interject this:

Revelation 10:7
"But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets."
What is the mystery here spoken of that is revealed by God? Let's track it down....Romans 11:25
"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." from here we'll go to.....
Romans 16:24-27
"The grace [this is the Grace of Christ as confirmed by John in chapter 1 verses 14 and 16-17 of his gospel, the very embodiment in His person of this Gospel of Grace and the New Covenant as found only in Him as He is the ontological essence of Grace, Truth, Light and Eternal Life] of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel [it could be said this Gospel as it is a singular propitiatory Gospel], and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever." The Amen. just as He has declared in........
Luke 24:44-48
"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things." from here we'll go to.....
Acts 3:20-23
"And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people."
Galatians 4:19
"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you."
Colossians 1:26-28
"Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."

Now and we thank you for this commercial interruption, we'll return to our original outline.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXXIII

II Corinthians 5:15
"And that he died (again for how many?) all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."
The point I want to make is that when He died, He didn’t die just for a fraction of the human race. He died for ALL. And that’s why, when the lost get to that Great White Throne, there is going to be NO real argument. Because they’re going to understand that the only reason they’re missing glory is their UNBELIEF. Lawlessness and wickedness. Because They refused to receive or to believe. They refused to take it by simply trusting. And like I said earlier, this plan of salvation is so complex that I can’t begin to fathom all of it. But on the other hand it is so simple that six and seven-year-old kids can enter in. They can believe it (Him, Christ who is its center) and they don’t have any problem because they don't have years of false teaching to over come.

Hebrews 9:28a
"So Christ was once (there it is again, once) offered to bear the sins of many."
As we studied, "many" is the whole human race. Christ as we see here is the center of all that is called "the or this Gospel" for God's Salvation is Christ alone and this is also seen in Paul's Epistles as the central message. Which is also the answer or the bases of the Lord's prayer found in John chapter 17.

Hebrews 9:28b
"…and unto them that look for him, he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
Now of course, what most theologians tell us is that, what Paul is referring to is, when Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation, those that have embraced Him throughout the Gospel of the Kingdom in that seven years of Tribulation and have survived – they’re going to see Him coming, and He will come "without sin unto salvation." I feel what Paul is addressing here is, that, at His first advent, He came for what purpose? To die for the sins of the world, then also to show us the old path way of Jeremiah 6:16 which had been lost or hidden in scripture. The key to entry into the kingdom life while still here on earth, the secret of death into Life. The reverse of what Adam had done, when he fell from Eternal Life into death through sin and placed all of mankind under the yoke of its bondage and the curse. The secret of eternal life which can be seen in the plant life, animal and yes even human life all around us, if we'll but look at it and think about what it says to us. And then II Corinthians 5 says so plainly that He was ‘made sin for us.’ Though He Who knew no sin.

He’s not going to come to pay any sin debt when He comes the next time. First He'll come in the clouds unseen to remove, with a shout or thundering that vibrates all things, those who are His promised heirs of this greater salvation. Which He now is working in the sons of obedience His Body, His Family or Church (assembly, the called out and set apart ones, the Christ-ones). When He comes the second time it will be in wrath and judgment (which begins in the house of the Hebrews, referred to as the house of God) for so they were in their beginning until sin dominated them – and then establishing His Heaven-on-earth Kingdom. And I think that’s what’s referred to here, that He’ll come the "second time without sin unto salvation." Now let’s move on into chapter 10, coming right back again to the Mosaic System.

Hebrews 10:1a
"For the law having a shadow of good things to come,..."
Remember I gave you an illustration of shadows (about a big beautiful tall tree. And it casts a shadow but you can’t get all that much from the shadow. It can give you an idea but that’s about all). Well that’s what the Levitical Law was. The Law really didn’t have anything of intrinsic value for us or anyone else except that it was a foreshadowing of that which was and is to come again. The person whom Saul of Tarsus meet on the road to Damascus, the great illumination around about him, the Law in the person of Christ in whom is found God's Grace and Truth into Eternal Life.

Hebrews 10:1a
"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of things,…"
You know I probably upset people once in a while and I don’t do it purposely. But you know when it comes to the Old Testament believers, some like to tell me that these believers understood or foresaw the resurrection. How could they? Adam knew these things as he passed them on to Seth and Seth passed them on to his sons as they all knew God. For it says that they walked with Yehovah and worshiped the Most High God. How about Abraham for one? Abram was sent to Shem and Eber and hidden by them for a number of years and they taught him the ways of the Most High God. Abraham sent his son Isaac to them for safe keeping and they likewise taught him the ways of the Most High God. Abraham believed God, what has to have taken place for any one to believe a person? They have to have a knowledge of that person in order to place your trust in him. And his believing was accounted to him for righteousness. Abraham and Isaac understood this that Christ would die? He saw Isaac and Isaac saw himself as the sacrificial person. How could he? The Cross was a Roman invention and didn’t come for hundreds and hundreds of years later. But what God revealed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they believed! And God accounted it to them for righteousness.

And so here again, the Law was just a shadow of good things to come. Oh, even the Rabbis and the Priests understood that there were things here that they weren’t comprehending. A verse just comes to mind that we need to look at. We’ve looked at it before, but it’s been a while. Come all the way to 1 Peter. And Peter again is addressing the Hebrews who had gone into dispersion. He’s writing to the ‘strangers scattered abroad,’ which are Hebrews. But as we come into chapter 1, and this is what we mean by ‘it was just a shadow.’ Oh, there were things back in that Old Testament that the religious leaders of Israel just knew there was something that they weren’t comprehending. For they diligently searched the scriptures and argued them back and forth to gain the understanding but for hundreds of years the secret alluded them just as it does to this very day. The church as we know it is trapped in the same trap because of unbelief and personal choice because of the religion's legalism which holds it as the mystery Babylon as shown elsewhere.
How? You may ask is this true, it is true because it has moved away from a Christ centered Gospel or the good news to one of their own creation just as Paul warned the Galatians and the Hebrews in this Epistle.

I Peter chapter 1? Let’s begin at verse 7 and lead up to the main verse.

1Peter 1:7-9
"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXXII

Revelation 20:14a
"And death and hell (the abiding place of all unbelievers since Cain) were cast into the lake of fire."
We admit many don’t like to read that. I know we don’t. It’s awful. But it’s the Word of God. This is the second death. Their first death was when they died physically or when we first receive the inspiration of revelation of the secret things hidden within scripture. When we learn the meaning of Jeremiah 31:33..."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." and the secret as found in 1 Corinthians 2 and 2 Corinthians 3, the required dependency on the working of the Holy Spirit within each of us. For when we've learned that we're not to walk or exhibit the self-confidency of spirit of flesh as Israel did, which as we've learned is nothing short of the spirit of the world. This is to remain in spiritual death and you can remember way back when I first started this blog. What is death? Well, it’s separation from God. Death is a separation. Physical death is the separation of the soul and spirit from the physical body. Spiritual death is the separation of the soul and spirit, the eternal make up of mankind, that is separated from God for all eternity. That’s the second death. A separation.

Revelation 20:15
"And whosoever (none excepted, good or bad) was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Listen, do you realize that Jesus spoke far more on the doom of the wicked, the lawless than He did of Heaven. Far more. How many times did He refer, for example, to, "and in that day they’ll come before me and they’ll say, but Lord, didn’t we cast out demons?" Didn’t we do this and didn’t we do that? And what will His answer be? "Depart from me ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you."

That’s just one example and He gives them over and over. This is serious business. Now on the one hand I can talk about the joy of you and I as believers, the hope of glory! I’m going to really hammer it home. Oh, the glory that we’re going to experience! But the other side of the coin, the devastation, the horror of lost mankind is lawlessness which equates to unbelieving. Let’s come back to Hebrews chapter 9, and verse 27 again.

Hebrews 9:27-28b
"And it is appointed unto men once to die (unless they become receptive which leads to being a believer and they live to see the departure. But otherwise – death hits every human being sooner or later.) but after this the judgment: (in the Great White Throne) So Christ was once (once, contrary to what so many people think, they want to keep Him on the cross, by their rites and ceremonies, feast days and holidays) offered to bear the sins of many;…"

Paul's Epistle to the Galatians in chapter 4 reveals that Christ came in the fulness of God's predetermined time period (until the time appointed of the father) as Psalm 2 reveals and agrees with. Jesus Himself said so much as this as recorded in Mark chapter 1 verse 15 (“And saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.' ”).

And who are the many? The whole human race. You remember way back, when we were in Romans, maybe Corinthians. I know I probably shook a few people up. When Christ died and finished the work of the Cross, how many sins of the world did He forgive? Everybody’s! Yes, I even made the analogy of Adolph Hitler – yes, his sins were paid for. The Atoning Blood had covered his sin. The people that were part of the Holocaust their sin was also forgiven them, but did they know it? NO! Why didn’t they get to cash in? Because they never believed it as far as was known.

And it’s the same way with wicked people today. Their sins are forgiven. That’s what makes it so horrible. They’ve already been pardoned. They’ve already been reconciled to God. God has done everything that He can do. And all they have to do is to cash in and receive it and BELIEVE IT. Now, I’m not talking about ‘easy-beliefism.’ I’m talking about genuine, saving trust. Trusting it. Receiving it. Believing it. And when we do then the Lord can say, "Oh, you’re already forgiven. I’ve already pardoned you. Yes, I’ve chosen you before the foundation of the world." That’s how all-inclusive the work of the Cross is.

Hebrews 9:28a
"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;…"
Come back with me to II Corinthians chapter 5, and let’s drop in at verse 14:

II Corinthians 5:14
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, (or conclude) that if one died for (how many?) all, (not just the few. He died for the whole human race) then were all dead."
Do you see that from God's perspective we're all dead in Christ, the moment we enter into redemption and this great salvation. Or had a necessity of salvation. Those who by way of personal revelation receive the Truth. Now the next verse,

2Corinthians 5:15
"And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXXI

Before we proceed I feel that I must say this. I have small books all ready written for the Hebrew study outline but with each new posting the Holy Spirit opens up more than we have already written. He does this as this is the way in which we're to learn the Truths of God and the mysteries or secret things. In the same way that the Prophets, Jesus, John and even Paul received revelation of the dynamics of God's Grace through the person of the ascended Lord Christ Jesus. We've said it before that if we have not the Holy Spirit our spiritual eyes and ears remain closed and unfruitful. Closed because of the sin nature which resides within our flesh and covers or shields us from the Truth, Light and knowledge of God as revealed through Christ. Our prayer is that of Paul's and that is that your eyes and ears be opened to receive the Truth of this Gospel of Grace as revealed through Christ Jesus our LORD.
Now back to our study and we're in Matthew chapter 15 and the Lord's here speaking:

Matthew 10:15
"Verily I say unto you, it shall be (what?) more tolerable (what does that mean? It’s not going to be as hard on some) for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, than for that city."
Those wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are going to have an easier time of it at the judgment day than for that city where He had performed miracles and had preached the Gospel of the Kingdom, where they rejected it and Him. He goes on to say in verse 16:

Matthew 10:16
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
That was the instructions to the Twelve. Now let’s go over to chapter 11 and He enlarges on it a little more. He names a couple of the cities that He’s speaking of Jewish cities, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum is also mentioned in verse 23. But, first look what He says starting in verse 20:

Matthew 11:20-22
"Then he began to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, (why?) because they repented not. (they refused to believe Him. Now look what He says in the next verse.) Woe unto thee Chorazin.! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! (now these were all Jewish cities.) for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, (which were basically Roman cities on the Mediterranean Sea coast and consequently were pagan and wicked – it would be more tolerable because) they would have repented long ago in sack cloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you."
What do we get out of this? That it’ll be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida. Now verse 23, Capernaum, once a beautiful city up there on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. The ruins are still beautiful.

Matthew 11:23
"And thou Capernaum which art exalted unto heaven, (because it was such a beautiful city) shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day."
What’s he saying? Jesus performed miracle after miracle in these cities. They should have believed in a minute Who He was. But what did they do? They did everything they could to trick Him. They accused Him of being demonic. They accused Him of everything blasphemous. And what’s the result? Their judgment is going to be worse than the vile, immoral people of Sodom.

That stands to reason. God’s going to judge according to His merit scale, not humanity’s. Let’s come back again to Revelation 20. The Great White Throne is going to be awful. I think preachers should be preaching how awful it’s going to be at least two times a month. But instead they soft-soap it. They water it all down and don’t let people know that this is in their future. They are part of the great cover up or conspiracy of Satan because he does not know the day or the hour of the departure of the mystical Body of Christ. He don't know who they are or where they are all he knows is the they are still here. Why? Because of their prayers, though he does not hear their voices but only knows the results of them.

Revelation 20:12b-13
"…and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."
Or we could say according to their faith because works is NOT what mere men interprets it. For they only look at the external and physical realm and don't discern the spiritual.

They are to be judged by the Righteous Judge, Christ the Son of God, Christ and He’s never going to be unfair. Now you have to remember, we’re dealing with hundreds No thousands of billions of people but we’re not in ‘time’ as we know it. We’re in eternity and I have to rack people’s thinking – you know in eternity that would probably take, well I’m going to stretch it a little – things that may take a million years in time on earth, will take a twinkling of an eye in eternity. So don’t ever think for a minute that God won’t have time to judge every individual. Oh, yes He will. That will not be a problem for Him, not a bit. They’re all going to be judged individually according to their works or faith. In many locations He is quoted as saying, "be it according to your faith" and in each case it was in relation to a request for mercy or a physical healing. Which ties this to our being healed by His strips as shown in Isaiah 53 and 1 Peter 2 where it means our being joined, or conjoined to Him. And these relate to the Passover, Marriage Feast of the Lamb which took place during the last days of natural Israel's history.

Now this may seem to be a stretch but hear what Paul says to the Galatians in his introduction in this Epistle. Listen to his choice of words and their arrangement because if anything he is out ragged with them and those who are attempting to lead them astray. By truing to a mixture of Grace and the Law, he knows first hand that this will not work and actually nullifies the Grace of God as seen or found in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 1:1-12
"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."

As we've said not far back that mans own self is the root of all evil and this is the judgment of God upon those who practice deception, and are obstacles and hindrances to His Gospel of Grace and the New Covenant as found in His Son Christ Jesus. And now we'll continue with our study in Revelation 20:

Revelation 20:14
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXX

Now picking back up where we left off in John 5 and verse 29:

John 5:29
"And shall come forth; (now here God separates them,) they who have done good (in other words, people of trust, that’s the only good that a man can do is have trust in what God has said and then to do as Christ Jesus has done) unto the resurrection of life; (Eternal life. Into God’s presence. But the other side of the coin are the lost) and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
The lost, ungodly and wicked (those who call themselves by the name given to those who became Christ-ones) have remained in unbelief. They’ve never exercised trusting faith. And so they are workers of iniquity, they do evil. They’re going to come forth in a resurrection to what? "Condemnation." Horrible thought. But they’re going to. They’re not going to escape it. I don’t care if Cain has been dead, what, almost 6,000 years in our reckoning? Cain’s going to come forth in resurrection, as a lost person as far as we know. And where’s he going to stand? Before the Righteous Judge. Now we have to go back to Revelation chapter 20, don’t we?

Paul speaks of the resurrection of the redeemed or the justified ones in I Thessalonians 4:13-18, and I Corinthians 15:51-58, when the dead in Christ shall rise with new resurrected bodies fit for glory. But the lost are going to be resurrected to stand before the judge and to hear their sentence here in Revelation chapter 20. And this is at the end of the 1,000 years of the Kingdom Age, and John says:

Revelation 20:11-12a
"And I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, (the dead of humanity, those who remained separated from God through personal choice and unbelief) small and great, (the great emperors, the great politicians, the corporate CEO’s, the great pastors, evangelists and yes Sunday school teachers all of them, small and great, and they’re going to be resurrected to) stand before God;"
Now what person of the Godhead will they stand before? The Son! Christ Jesus is going to be the Judge. The Righteous Judge. He will send no one to their doom that doesn’t deserve it. He will never make a mistake. For He personally knows those who heard and obeyed Him and did follow Him through the cross, death thereby, burial, resurrection and ascension that fateful first day. How by trusting God and His voice and thereby acquiring His faith. And so they stand before God the Son:

Revelation 20:12b
"…and the books (plural) were opened: and another book (singular) was opened, which is the book of life: (to show the list of names that are no longer in that singular book) and the dead (Not those who by personal choice have passed through the veil of His flesh and His blood, the lost or lawless) were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."
So the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books (plural) according to their works. Or according to their individual faith or lack of it. God’s record. They’re there from beginning to end of every life. Their the wicked and lawless ones.

Now you know, years and years back I use to have to contemplate something like that. My goodness, Heaven would be full of books. But if mankind can put the whole King James Bible in a chip as small as a pin head, then God won’t have any trouble keeping track of everybody’s works. It’s not going to take a lot of room doing it. His technology is far beyond human technology. So don’t ever doubt this. Yes, every lost person is going to come before Him, and the first thing they’re going to be shown is that the Book of Life does not have their name in it any longer. Now you can look at it two ways. Either they were never entered into the Book of Life, or, like some say, every person that’s born, their name goes in then when they leave life as an unbeliever, in lawlessness, it’s taken out. You take your pick.

They’re going to stand before the Judge and they’re going to have to see that their name is not in the Lamb’s Book of Life (how does one get into the book of Life? John 12:24 tells us) and then they will be judged out of those books which are a complete record of everything, from the day they were born until we die or fall to sleep. And according to those works (works are not of the physical kind but are simply of trust or unbelief as these are what is meant by,"to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" Philippians 2:12) they will then suffer their condemnation.

Now, it stands to reason there’s going to be a lot of good people there. Good people who have never done anything vile. They’ve never done anything, what we would call wicked or sinful, the lawless but they’ve never become partakers of Paul’s Gospel of Acts 20:24; I Corinthians 11:23-32, 15:1-4, Romans 10:9-10 and 13 and Galatians 2:20. They stayed in their unbelief. It’s going to be frightening. Because you know, I’ve said there’s only one sin that will condemn a person to a lost eternity and it’s lawlessness which is unbelief! Not their wickedness, not their sin. It’s lawlessness, unbelief. And so yes, there will be some who are going to be ‘good people.’ But they were still in lawlessness, unbelief – condemned.

Then you’ve got the murderers and the wicked, just the lowest of humanity. Yes, they’re going to suffer. In fact, let me go back and show from Scripture that there will be degrees of punishment. We’ve done this before but you know, a lot of time has gone by and we’ve got to repeat some of these things. Come back with me to Matthew chapter 10, and then in chapter 11. But let’s start in chapter 10 of Matthew. And again it’s the words of the Lord Himself.

Matthew 10:15
"Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXIX

Before we go any farther in our study I need to say this about the Apostle Paul, Paul had discovered the entry into the promise of “eternal life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:23, Acts 9), being spiritually regenerated unto eternal life (John 3:3-16), and made “alive to God in Christ Jesus” (John 17; Romans 6:10-11, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3-6). Such life in Christ was not just a spiritual deposit for futuristic benefits in heaven, but is the vital dynamic whereby “the life of Christ Jesus might be manifested in our mortal bodies” (II Corinthians 4:10-11), and we might live to the glory of God by allowing His all-glorious character as the word Father means (to infuse His nature into) to be expressed in our behavior. Paul now lived in the jurisdiction of God’s Grace with the divine dynamics to fulfill all of God’s demands, which are nothing more than consistent expression of His character. This is His restoring within His own His vary nature the image and likeness of Christ which man had in the beginning (Genesis 1:27, 2:6-7).

Hebrews 9:27
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die (physically. They’re going to go through death and after death, now what happens?) but after this the judgment:"
And a lot of good church people don’t understand this. Come back with me to John’s Gospel chapter 5, beginning with verse 28. If you have a red-letter edition, it’s in red. From the lips of the Lord Himself in His earthly ministry. I’m finding out very few church people realize this is in their Bible. But here the Lord says:

John 5:28
"Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, (He doesn’t give any hint when,) in the which all that are in the graves (everybody since Adam and Eve until the end of time. Everybody that has lived a physical life and died) shall hear his voice." But this needs to be said if you have not the Holy Spirit, ask of Him and He'll give you the Spirit of Truth to receive of Him through what follows:

Before we continue we must look at this also:

John 6:44-45
"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."
This tells us that we're to learn of the Father of spirit's in order to Live in the Kingdom of Eternal Life which is only received by our receiving His Grace activity and our receptivity of His Gospel of Grace. Other wise as we saw earlier we're an obstacle and a hindrance to His working in us and the world (for this is the meaning of Revelation chapters 17 and 18 and the spirit of self, or the world order called Babylon the great harlot).

Looking back to John 5: 28, Whose voice? God’s voice. When God speaks, they’ll come forth from their place – as lost people and the saved. Now it must be said that this may mean two different things. Because God can and does speak to both worlds, what I mean to the earthy and the spiritual. Allow me to digress for a moment and lets look at Israel in Leviticus chapter 11 and verse 45.

Leviticus 11:44-45
"For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."
This is placed within the framework of their dietary laws and the eating of the unclean things such as spiders, scorpions, rats, fish without scales and birds such as the owl, hawk, or any other carrion thing. But the key is for us to hear what they, Israel did not. They heard sanctify yourselves from, and it became a ministration of self efforts. It's the Lord who brings us out from among them, in this case Egypt. And most of us by now know and understand this to mean the world and all that opposes God. Now turn to the New Covenant area of 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and we'll pick it up in verse 14:

2Corinthians 6:14-7:1
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

Now we'll go to Revelation chapters 17 and 18, to learn of Belial, and in both we should look at the fullness of each chapter and that I'll allow you to do, but we'll look at just a few verses for now:

Revelation 17:3-6
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." and then to chapter 18 and we'll pick up the flow at verse 1:

Revelation 18:1-7
"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
This is but a glimpse of how the harlot of self, self-will, self-love, ego and pride which are but the bestial nature of fallen man has woven its way into the fabric of the end times church. As the ancient Hebrew (Strong's Greek G955 and Hebrew H1100) for Belial means ungodly, worthless and wickedness of men. These are the very ones who are obstacles and hindrances to God's message of Grace as seen in Christ Jesus and His active ministry to the world to-day. But for those who have heard and are hearing the voice of God and have chosen to come out from among them (the churches of Egypt or the spirit of Babylon) are become God's children again through the cross and the marriage feast of the Lamb, the secret of the Last Supper, Passover meal.
Now picking back up where we left off in John 5 and verse 29:

John 5:29
"And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXVIII

Hebrews 9:27
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the (what?) judgment."
Nobody’s going to escape judgment except who? The true believers. See, the believer doesn’t necessarily have to face death before the judgment because some of us, we trust a lot of us, are going to see the departure! We’re not going to die. Paul says it. Let’s look at that in I Corinthians chapter 15 verse 51. I don’t want anybody to take my word for anything. Now this is not a contradiction of Scripture because the Scripture is not speaking of believers. But rather it’s speaking of the lost of the ages, those who remain in lawlessness and as we just saw those who are the obstacles and hindrance to the Gospel of Christ. As they have not passed through the eye of the needle through, Death. For with God all things are possible. These are they who are true believers as nothing will be able to shake or move them from their witness of Christ in them. All those who remain obstacles they’re all going to die and they’re all going to come up before the Great White Throne, but for us who are believers there will be some that won’t have to die, and I think we’re close enough that that I’m looking forward to it. I really think that unless the Lord takes me out ahead of time, I’m going to be hearing that trumpet call! I really believe that. Here Paul is writing to believers, as I said.

I Corinthians 15:51a
"Behold I show you a mystery;…"
Now right there is the answer to most people’s problems. They keep mixing all this stuff up (blending the old and the new as a obstacle and a hindrance) together and they will not recognize that Paul had certain things revealed to him that were kept secret. And nobody had any idea of these things until it was revealed to this apostle and this was one of them. This is something that God had kept secret until He revealed it to the Apostle Paul (Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us this). You won’t find it anywhere else in Scripture. Nowhere. From Genesis until Acts chapter 9 and from the little epistles, even in Hebrews, which was written to the Hebrews, all the way through the book of Revelation, there is not one hint of a group of people who will escape physical death (be changed from a terrestrial to a celestial body in a moment or atomic second because that is what the word twinkling of a eye means) nor see the wrath to come. Why? Because they're long gone and are seated with Christ and hid in God in the heavenliest place (in a spiritual state). Paul alone refers to it. All right, read on.

I Corinthians 15:51
"Behold I show you a mystery; (or something that’s been kept secret) We shall not all sleep, (to die physically) but we shall all be changed." (to be transformed from a earthy to a heavenly body)
Well, that’s obvious isn’t it? If we’re not going to be changed through death and resurrection, then we’ll have to be changed by another miraculous act of God and that’s what He’s going to do at the departure. He’s suddenly going to change this physical body. How and why? The answer is simple we've all ready passed through a type of death and wrath's judgment in Christ, all which requires His faith operating in us. For He is faithful and He can not deny Himself. Now verse 52, how?

I Corinthians 15:52a
"In a moment., (in a nanosecond someone reminded me in Florida. That’s the smallest division of time, an atomic second, Peter also makes reference to it in 2Peter 3:10) in the twinkling (or the blink, the atomic second) of an eye, (we’ll be changed from this body to the new body one fit for the heavens. All right, and it’ll be at) the last trump:… (through the idea of quavering or reverberation)”
Now I get people who try to tell me, "Well this is the last trumpet in Revelation." And I come right back and I say, "Now look, just analyze Scripture. Those trumpets in Revelation are seven in number and they are given to what kind of creatures? Angels. This trumpet is singular. And Who’s holding it? “God Himself!”

What a difference. I’m not waiting for the seven trumpets, I’m going to be long gone out of here before they start, but I am waiting for the trumpet call. Oh, I pray every morning, Lord sound the trumpet because it’s not going to get any better. Now I know for people who have loved ones that are still lost, that’s hard to do, but nevertheless, we might as well recognize the fact, things are not going to get better. It’s going to get worse. I read a shocking thing the other day. And again, I almost hate to repeat it but it was from a reputable weekly news magazine that said since the tragedy of September 11th – 800,000 Americans have converted to Islam. Now that’s enough to shake us at our boots, isn’t it? Islam could be the black plague and rider of Revelation chapter 6 verse 5 because it has a scale or balance in his hands which in scripture indicates government and religion are weighed in the balance.

Eight hundred thousand just since September have converted TO, not away from, Islam. And it’s taking over the world. Well, that's why we pray for the last trump.

I Corinthians 15:52b
"…for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, (it’d be the dead in Christ) and we shall be changed."
We're not going to die and be raised from the dead. We’re going to be changed if this takes place in this lifetime. And the reason is that nobody can go on to Glory until this old flesh of "corruption puts on the incorruptible." The process of this is also a mystery which God held in Himself, because it is only learned by those who become one with Him through the required process, God's Will and Christ's purpose, which is death. Death of self-love, ego, self-will and death to the ways of the worlds spirit of lawlessness held by blindness.

I Corinthians 15:53
"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."
Now let’s come back to Hebrews chapter 9 – Paul’s reference of death and judgment is not a reference to the believer, but rather to the unbeliever, the lawless. And remember that’s the vast majority of people, even those claiming to be “Christians”. Here's what is glazed over by billions of Bible students, there were two whom God took out as recorded in scripture and they are Enoch and Elijah as they both walked with God and were no more. And since Christ's death who are those who walk with God none other than those who have heard and done as He has been doing.

Hebrews 9:27
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXVII

Hebrews 9:25a
"Nor yet that he should offer himself (what’s the next word?) often…."
What does that mean? "Often" Well, again, flash back to the Old Testament economy. That’s what He’s doing. How many days a week did the priests minister there in the Temple or in the Tabernacle before that? Every day. Non-stop. They had courses of the priesthood so that that could be going on constantly. The Day of Atonement – once a year. But how many years? For as many years as the Law was in vogue. What 1500? Every year. The same thing – over and over and over. Until He who is "the last of days" came. But this priest – He appeared in the Heavenliest and the Holiest place on our behalf – once! Do you See it? Many don't and that is why they remain in their sin.

Hebrews 9:25-26a
"Not yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood (animal’s blood and remember the animals are also under the penalty of the curse and therefore are powerless to remove from mans conscience his sin nature) of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world:…"
If that was the case – if His priesthood wasn’t different. But it is! It’s totally different. As the Son of man He took upon Himself our sin nature, then as the last of days He took all that was revealed through the Covenants, Law and the Prophets of Judaism and Israel's self imposed religion as revealed in them of Him and nailed all in all to the tree of His cross and there they were crucified and ended. This He made an open display of as He had triumphed over them in the finished work of His death on the tree as a curse for all humanity, past, present and future (Colossians 2:15 paraphrased).

Hebrews 9:26
“For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world (this is the same word of Genesis 1:2 only there its "earth", and it is void of harmonious arrangement and life, until the Light [the essence of Christ] as it equates to order and eternal Life):”
All right and so, "Once in the end of the harmonious arrangement." Now the word ‘world’ Strong's G2889, (but from the Thayer's Greek to clear the air) I think is a bad translation just here. As the Strong's applies to the second use in this verse. Because coming up out of the Old Testament economy you want to remember Christ’s first advent was the end of everything because it was all in proximity according to the Old Testament, as soon as Christ ascended the Tribulation was going to come in. The Tribulation was only going to be seven years and Christ would return and set up His earthly Kingdom. So all of this is in proximity within a matter of a few years, so this is what it is. Now this word world in this application means also: the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God; the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile and are obstacles to the cause of Christ.

To this then we can say with Paul:
2Corinthinas 5:19-21
"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin (as a Gentile not under the Law); that we might be made the righteousness of God in [en, denoting a fixed position of placement] Him."

Hebrews 9:26b
"…But now, once in the end of the world....(harmonious arrangement, order, government) "
I’ve got this underlined in every Bible I’ve ever had. The word ‘o-n-c-e.’ Highlight it, underline it. Once! The old hymn writer expressed it how? "Once for All." Once for all, oh happy condition. See? So they were then at the end of the prophetic age, He came once to put away sin. To bury it in the deepest sea.

Now I’ve been looking, as I thought that was a Scripture but I don’t think it is. If somebody can tell me where it is, please tell me. I’ve been looking and looking. But I’ve always had the idea that there was a verse in the Psalms that said – that our sins are buried in the deepest sea. And I can’t find it. So I need help. I don’t want to be like the guy I read about some time ago that supposedly had a verse of Scripture for an answer. And everybody thought, "That old man knows his Bible. He’s got a Scripture for every occasion." Well, after he’s dead and gone somebody started checking him out. Not a bit of it was Scripture! It was all just various clichés, see? So I don’t want to be caught doing that. You understand what I’m saying, our sins are far removed. Now its not in the Psalms but is in Micah chapter 7 verse 19, we'll go there shortly to look at it.

Now we could look back at verse 15, 17 as it follows here also, and sin is brought to nothing or naught, look for yourselves at Mark 7:9 and Galatians 3:15.

Hebrews 9:26c
"…he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."
And "he appeared to put away." Christ is the ontological of Christocentered Life in the dynamics of Grace. Thereby sin is Never to be remembered against us. So Never when you and I as believers come up before the Lord are we ever going to face God with our sins. It’s done. Oh, we’re going to have to face Him with what we’ve done as a servant, as a child of God. What have we done for reward? But never will God throw our sin in our face. That’s been done. That’s forgiven! It’s washed in the blood through the cross. It’s purged.

All right and so, "This he did once in the end of the age, to put away sin by the sacrifice (again, not of animals, but of what?) of himself." Himself. But listen, this is what we gain when our trust is counted as being, by faith. Now, there is not a religion on this planet that can even come close to anything like this. Not one. They don’t have this kind of a payment for sin. They don’t know what it is to be redeemed or to have a right to enter His Salvation wherein we become a "son of God or a God-child". They know nothing of it. And this is what has caused all of Judaism, Islam/Muslims, Buddhists, Hinduism, and all cults and most of "Christianity" to fail. Just as we saw in the one word 'world' above. They are the obstacles of Christ's present day ministration just as the book of Revelation reveals.

Micah 7:19b
"…and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."
They’ve been cast into the deepest sea. That’s a little different wording than I had thought. And then another one is "that they are as far removed as east is from the west." How far is that? When you start going east from say the middle of the good ole US of A where do you stop going east and start going west? Well you never do. You’re always going east. And so that’s how far our sins have been removed, as "far as east is from the west." Okay, so we got that covered.

Now let’s come back again to Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27.

Hebrews 9:27
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXVI

Hebrews 9:23
"It was therefore (see? Because without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin) necessary (it had to be) that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; (that is with blood, because of the language of the first curse found in Genesis 1-3 mans blood was required because God used an animals as a means to an intended end, that end is Christ) but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these."
Here it is again. See the comparison? Oh, the heavenliest. The sanctuary. And that Holy of Holiest, into which Christ went after the order of Melchizedek, had to be better than everything that was taking place down in Jerusalem, the Temple or the Tabernacle. And so, the heavenliest place had to be purified, purged washed with pure clear or clean; with ‘better’ blood sacrifice than that of animals. And so what was it? The blood of Christ! Remember to that the animal world was also under the curse which means its blood was not free from defilement.

I just thank the Lord that we get very little opposition, but when I taught back in Genesis that Eve was in Adam, that shook people up. And then I pointed out that she had to be in order to be part and parcel of ‘the fall.’ And that the Seed of the woman would one day come, in the person of Christ, of course, and be the Redeemer, the Savior of mankind. And I pointed out that the mother’s blood never courses through the baby in the womb. And oh, that shakes some people up. They just can’t comprehend something like that and I come back with this answer. If Mary’s blood would have coursed through the baby Jesus in the womb, would He have had sinless, perfect, Divine blood? No. He couldn’t have, because Mary was just as human as anybody else. Then we have to add that the seed of Christ is in every human being with Adam and Eve on as small as a grain of mustard seed, for this is the meaning of the parable.

But, Mary’s blood did not course through the infant Jesus in the womb. His blood originated as blood does in all mammals – livestock and everything – it begins with the what? The sire. The father. And so, since God was the Father, the Divine blood of Christ originated with God Himself. And oh, listen, without that, you’ve got a mighty weak theology. Because it had to be the sinless, Divine, perfect blood sacrifice to satisfy the heavenliest of Holiness in the power of the Eternal Life. It all makes sense, see?

God is even in charge of the physiology of the human being in order to fulfill His theological and ontological and Christcentered or Christological throughout the Old in shadowy form and More so in the New Covenants within which He now does what man could not do in his own strength under the Old. I always remember an old junior high school chemistry teacher and one of his premises was that the blood of the mother could never course through the infant, so then you would not have a Divine blood in the Savior. All right now verse 24,

Hebrews 9:24a
"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true;…"
He didn’t go into the Holy of Holiest in the Temple in Jerusalem. He didn’t go back behind the veil in the little tent in the wilderness. Oh, the Shekonah Glory stood above it, I know that. But, Christ didn’t go behind the veil and present His blood in an earthly Temple or an earthly Tabernacle, which were figures, or types, and but pictures of the true. But, verse 24 reading on:

Hebrews 9:24b
"…but (he went) into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;"
I don’t know why but that word ‘passed’ means to me just a great sweep. With just a great sweep of power and glory He passed into the heavens. Am I making my point?

But you see, it just tells me something. That when He ascended into the Heavens (and I think with His blood with Him and those of old who were waiting for Him in what is called Abraham's bosom), that He’s now going to present it not to the Temple there in Jerusalem but into that Holy of Holiest in the presence of God Himself. And He passed into the Heavens. Because all of the Old, Covenants, the Law and the Prophets are Christological His death put them all to death or an abrupt end. Just as when we enter conversion of our own free will choice there is an abrupt end of the sin nature and its hold on us. But we have to learn its power and meaning and our further need of God to be God in us. And this is the purpose of our being placed by God within a corral, just as Israel was under the Law. For what purpose to bring us to Christ, to learn of Him, to rightly hear His words of Life through the Holy Spirit's working in us just as He did in Jesus as the son of man. All right, coming back now then to Hebrews chapter 9:

Hebrews 9:24
"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; (or the picture of the true) but (He has passed) into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God (for what purpose?) for us."
He became our substitute. He took our place. First and foremost on the Cross. He died the death that you and I should have died. He was our substitute. Now He’s in the presence of God for the same reason. He’s our substitute. He’s there in our place. And all the glory of God is funneled down to us through Him. Oh, I think we’re getting through to people. If we have not the Spirit of Christ within us then we are none of His. What that tells me is that I as a New Covenant creature am in two places at the same time, a mystery of God and godliness found only in Christ Jesus. Which brings to bear Paul's statement of Galatians and Colossians, Galatians 2:20 and Colossians 3:4:

Galatians 2:19-21
"For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." and then Colossians 3:4:

Colossians 3:3-10
"For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."

You see, to enter into this kind of relationship doesn’t mean that I’ve got to walk around ‘holier than thou,’ wrapping my Pharisaical cloak around me. No. That’s not what we’re talking about. Nothing thrills me more than when someone says something like, "Bill, yesterday a fellow came to me and started asking questions, and I could share The Gospel with him." Well, that’s just being ordinary, isn’t it? You don’t have to be out there putting on some kind of a ‘holier than thou’ front. We’re just ordinary people. I’m just an ordinary retired man. I make no apology for it. But, I can revel in that Grace of God all day, all night for this very reason, because I and my substitute is right there in the presence of God pleading my case. We can have perfect peace and rest in God because He has perfect rest and peace within me.

The same way with those (men and women) who have had a horrible past. Forget that past and come into the present, that Christ Jesus is now representing us, not our past. Our present, washed and cleansed, as only the blood of Christ can do. All right, verse 25.

Hebrews 9:25
"Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXV

Hebrews 9:22
"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
That’s what The Epistle says. And that’s what I in agreement with Paul and the Father call ‘the absolute’ – the last half of this verse, and you’ve heard me teach and stress this. "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission." Now in the Old Testament economy, it had to be animals. But as we saw earlier in chapter 9, the blood of animals couldn’t take away sin nor clean and cleans mans conscientiousness. Therefore it was just a shadow, of the Better that was to come.

I read an interesting thing on the shadow. You know, we see this term all the time that this is a shadow of things that were coming. Well, I had a pretty good idea what it meant but I like this description even better. This old gentleman had a large and very tall pine tree in the back yard and his friend wanted to buy it, to cut it up for lumber. So they were out there looking at it and the sun was shining brightly. The guy asked $150-200 for that pine tree. The potential buyer said, "That’s more than I want to pay." "Well," the owner replied, "I’ll sell you the shadow for $50." See? Well what was the shadow? It was the likeness. It had the same dimensions with the sun shining in the right way. But hey, it wasn’t the tree.

Then we can take it a little bit further. Sometimes we use the word ‘image.’ The image of things. All right. You could have taken a camera up to that tree and taken a few pictures, then you would have been able to determine by the bark and the leaves and the shape what kind of a tree it was. Well, are you going to buy a picture for $200 bucks? No. Because that picture won’t build anything. But, you see, this is exactly what you have to understand. That when we speak of the Law simply being the shadow of things to come, it in itself had no substance. But, when the Truth came, then God expects the human race to latch and lock in to it. Now that can be seen in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 when it speaks of our being formed in the image and likeness of God. Then else where it reveals that God is called the Father of spirits, the very thing that man was first created to be, a receptive spiritual being in God's image and likeness.

All right, so "Without the shedding of blood." All the way from Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3 to Cain and Able in chapter 4 and on up through the Old Testament, until we get to the night of the first Passover – the lamb’s blood had to be applied to the doorpost or the death angel would strike. Remember too that the lamb that was eaten also shed the blood that was applied, just as the first animal which God slue and used to cover man not only with the blood but also with its skin. The life which was in that animal which the Hebrew children ate at that Passover was the symbol which Jesus used when He said, "You must eat of His flesh and drink of His Blood in order to have His Life in you" (John6:52-57 and paraphrased). And that then became the beginning of the whole system of Judaism or the Mosaic Covenant of Law. Sacrifice. Sacrifice. Sacrifice. Thousands of animals were killed every year and that blood was shed to placate a Holy God, but it couldn’t take away their sin. The veil (a smoke screen) remained in the Heavens that separated man from the presence of God. For God took no pleasure in the sacrifices Psalm 40:6-7, where we find that the word “law” and it means to teach or instruct.

And for that reason the Old Testament believer, even the best of them, David, Moses, they couldn’t go into God’s presence. Their sin was never atoned for. It was only covered with animal blood and so they, too, had to wait down in Paradise [in the center of the earth where Christ went (Matthew 12:40 and then Luke 16) until Christ had shed His perfect, sinless, atoning blood Ephesians 4:8-9, Psalm 68:18]. So whether you’re dealing with Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3 or whether you’re dealing with you and I today in 2002 – "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin." It’s an absolute. It is the enter into the beginning of our learning process designed and planed by God to bring us all through His, first redemption wherein His gives us the first blessing the Holy Spirit and then into the second blessing His Salvation. Its in two parts but cause there are two, no less and no more than two Covenants.

God will not even look at someone who tries to approach Him without the shed blood. Now what percentage of Christendom does that take in? A big bunch of them. Most of them don’t want to even think of the blood. I told you – I remember back in the 1960’s, one of my friends up in Wisconsin was all shook up (and I’m not even sure he was a believer) because his denomination had called in all their hymnals. Later, they issued new ones with all reference to ‘the blood’ taken out. A whole denomination. Well, you see, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. But I’ve got news for them. ‘Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.’ It’s impossible. Now we've finished a rewrite of a work by Andrew Murray, titled “The Holiest of All” which he wrote back in the 1890's from which I'll share somethings from time to time as the Holy Spirit leads. All right, let’s move on.

Hebrews 9:23
"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."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXIV

Romans 3:26
"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and be the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
This includes His death, burial and resurrection – but never forget the shed blood. So now its time to look at the word “believe” as here used: Strong's number G4102 and we'll use the Thayer's definition: the conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it, the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ, the conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God, the belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same, fidelity, faithfulness, the character of one who can be relied on. All this from a base of G3982 and again from the Thayer's: persuade; to believe, to listen to, obey, yield to, comply with, to trust, have confidence, be confident.

All right, let’s come over to another one in Ephesians chapter 2. I like to start at verse 11, because see here again, what a difference from Hebrews. Hebrews is talking to Jews who’d been under the Levitical Law for centuries. But the Gentiles are just now coming into the picture with Paul’s apostleship. And so he reminds us:

Ephesians 2:11a
"Wherefore remember, (call to mind) that ye (Gentiles) being in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called the Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision…(that is by the Jew)" Now verse 12,

Ephesians 2:12
"That at that time (while God was dealing with the Hebrews under the Law) ye (Gentiles) were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, without God in the world."
That was the lot of the Gentile world. They were hopelessly lost. Only the Hebrew was under that economy of Law. But the next word is what? "But" The flipside! We’re no longer in that darkened area. We are now on this side of the Cross so the flipside is:

Ephesians 2:13
"But now in Christ Jesus ye who were at one time far off are made nigh (that is to God,) by the blood of Christ."
By the blood! You can’t cancel that out. You can’t throw that aside and say that’s a slaughterhouse religion. Sorry. Call it what you will but God demands our trust in His faith and our having to pass through trails to develop faith in that shed blood – as we said in the last section, "It’s the blood that purges us from our sin and the conscientiousness of it." And if you’re going to cast that aside, you’re in trouble. That’s all there is to it. You’re in trouble. I have to come back to this – I know a gentleman who was trying to show his brother-in-law what the Scripture said in plain English and his brother-in-law looked at it and said, "But I don’t believe that." And Willard said, "Then you’re in trouble. You see that is to be in lawlessness.”

Well put, right? Then you’re in trouble. If you can’t believe what The Book says when it’s directed to us Gentiles then we’ve got a problem! All right, so the blood of Christ is what brought us nigh, near to God. But when we've passed through the crisis of the cross we're no longer a Satan-child but have become a God-child which means we now have access to God Himself. Because of the power of Holiness which raised Christ and us from among the dead, the spiritually dead. For this was the purpose of the lambs blood sprinkled on the doorposts and the eating of that lamb while the death angel passed over Egypt. And then, we can come back again to Hebrews and after Moses has now introduced this whole blood concept, not just with sprinkling the altar; not just with sprinkling the Ark of the Covenant – but He sprinkled everything, including the people – and the reason is in verse 22.

Hebrews 9:22
"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXIII

Hebrews 9:18
"Whereupon neither the first covenant (the first covenant and then the Law as a unite) was dedicated without blood."
And then in verse 19, we go all the way back to Exodus, and this is what had to happen.

Hebrews 9:19a
"For when Moses (at the very beginning of the system of Levitical Law. When he had brought the Commandments down from the mountain and now has the instructions for building the Tabernacle to establish the ritual and the sacrifices.) had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood…"
Now people don’t like this. Maybe that’s why I revel in teaching it. Do I like to rub people the wrong way? Paul did and why should we be any different than him? If it’ll wake them up and get them into The Book. And so, it was never without blood, pride must die in us or nothing of God can exist in us. see? He took –

Hebrews 9:19b-20
"…the blood of calves and goats, with water, and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book,(that is the Book of Law) and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God hath enjoined unto you."
Right from the very beginning of God’s dealing with the Nation of Israel as the Hebrew people in the matter of the Spirit, what is preeminent? The blood! And you go back to Exodus chapter 12, what was that one thing that spared the Nation of Israel on the night of the death angel? The blood. Where? On the door frame. And for those Hebrews who had put that lamb’s blood on the three spots of the door frame, which again of course, formed the sign of the cross, there was complete safety. Without the blood, they were doomed. So the whole concept from the very beginning of the experience of the Nation of Israel is, you cannot make the first step toward God without the shedding of blood.

Okay, drop in at chapter 9 in Hebrews and verse 21.

The blood is the basis for everything in God’s dealing with man’s sin. It’s the price of redemption. But what is the price of mans entering into God's Salvation? Death, death of all pride or self-will, self-love and the spirit of the world or the prince of the power of the air. Which holds man in bondage under its sway or influence. Now I think before I go any further here, I’ve been saying over and over since we started Hebrews that we don’t have the plan of salvation per se in Hebrews like you do in Romans 10:9-10, or Corinthians for example. And some of the other places in Paul’s Epistles, like I Corinthians 11:23-32; 15:1-4, and I Thessalonians 4:14. Paul does not make as big a deal of the blood back in those church epistles as he does in Hebrews but that doesn’t mean he ignores it. He does make a Big issue of God's entry into Salvation as seen in Galatians and the first few lines of its introduction. When we rightly understand the power of God in Christ and His expression and meaning in the words therein spoken through Christ in Paul.

Let’s just go back and review a little bit. Come back with me to Romans chapter 3, and these great salvation verses, the likes of which, like I said, you won’t find in Hebrews. Hebrews is a special diet – if you really want to go in and just feast on some extraordinary things, then you go to Hebrews. But, for the plan of salvation, for the daily life of a Christian and so forth, then of course, we stay with Paul’s church epistles.

Romans 3:23
"For all (the whole human race) have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
Because we’re sons of Adam and Adam became a son of Satan or a Satan-child the moment he ate the fruit he died to God and became alive to Satan. Paul became what we may call militant in his nature and demeanor after his encounter with the Law, Grace, Truth and the Love of God in the person of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. We can see this in what he said as recorded in Galatians 2 and verse 20, "it is NO longer I that live but it is rather the Spirit of Christ in me that now Lives His Life through me." paraphrased by me as this has also been my experience as well. Now verse 24, and here comes the promise!

Romans 3:24-25a
"Being justified freely by his grace through (what?) the redemption (paying the price) that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God(the Father of spirits) hath set forth to be a propitiation (that’s a big word meaning ‘the place of sacrifice as well as THE sacrifice.’ He’s it all.) through faith in his (what?) blood,…"
Here it comes, see? The blood is the price of redemption. And when we place our trust in His death, burial and resurrection as our own then it is a given that we are also placing our faith in that shed blood as payment for our sin debt. For trust to become faith acquires a crisis then faith is developed through that trial or suffering, other wise it remains trust. The crisis is the means of entering His Salvation and is faced at the Lord's Passover just as it was in Egypt with the passover and the blood on the door frame and now at the same cross in actuality. In death of sin and the influence of evil and the devil or Satan. Now verse 26.

Romans 3:26
"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXII

Hebrews 9:18a
"Whereupon, neither the first testament…"
Now again, let’s be careful. In my Bible, the word testament is in what? It’s in italics. And I’ve taught some of you, What does that mean? It’s added by the translator. So I like it better without it. Just leave it out. Verse 18 again.

Hebrews 9:18
"Whereupon neither the first was dedicated without blood."
Well, the first what? Covenant! Now what covenant is Paul referring to? Law! When Moses came down the mountain with the commandments written in stone, that was the Covenant of Law. And it was the first covenant. Or was it? Lets look and see Genesis chapter 15 verses 7-21 this is where we'll find the first covenant and keep in mind that each covenant of God for Israel is based upon the progressive revelation based on it. This is the first because it required God the Father (as furnace) and God the Son (as the lamp)passing through or between the pieces of the animals and birds blood. Now from here on each builds upon this one until Israel comes out of Egypt and He then gives them the Law as a corral to keep them in check and it become their tutor. But they loose focus or sight of the fact that He requires them to "Hear! Oh, Israel, the Lord your God is One" and because of covenant He's one with them. But they don't get it now do they or did they? NO! The first was dedicated with the blood of animals through which God the Father and God the Son passed and the blood of mans foreskin is cut off as a covenant remembrance, Genesis 17:14. See?

So, "Whereupon neither the first (that is the covenant before the Law) was dedicated without blood." It’s always involving blood. Now again, I’m sure every believer, sooner or later, is going to come to the point and ask this question, "Why does God put so much emphasis on blood when it comes to salvation?" Haven’t you? I have. And I think, I’ve got a little bit of the answer. Now you know, I’ve said so often that this salvation work of God is so profound, it is so complex, it is so deep that we can’t as mere men comprehend it all. And I don’t think anybody else can. We can just take a little bit of it that we can really understand, and we take it by trusting. But on the other hand as we’ve said so often, it’s so simple a child can receive it and then believe it and understand it. But to really get down and understand all of the ramifications of this, I just don’t think it’s humanly possible. But, let’s take a stab at it.

Come back with me to Genesis chapter 9. And of course, we know that God had already instituted the blood sacrifice when He dealt with Adam and Eve back in chapter 3. And we certainly dealt with it with Abel who offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain because it was an animal sacrifice involving the shed blood. He even used it after the flood of Noah because Noah had carried the extra clean animals with him through the death of the flood to be offered as sacrifices or worship before God. So now we come to chapter 9 and this will be the first time that we have anything definitive about the blood. All right, chapter 9, right after the flood, verse 4,

Genesis 9:4-6a
"But flesh (God says to Noah) with the life thereof, which is the blood, ye shall not eat. (and the whole idea was that in verse 5) And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed:…"
The secret to the whole thing, I think, is up there in verse 4. Why the blood? Because ‘life is in the blood.’ The blood is the source of all living. All right, then of course, you come on over to Exodus and the lamb that was supposed to be without spot, without blemish. And then you come all the way up through the Old Testament sacrifices. It was constantly the animal sacrifices and the shedding of its blood, the giving of its life in substitute for mans because mans has greater value than that of any animal before God. Why? You see Adam was first created a spirit being without form in Genesis chapter 1 then in chapter 2 we see where God creates an earthen body to house that spirit being that is One with his creator. When Adam was placed within that body God breathed the breath of life or birthed into it the fluid, which is red, His eternal Life which is what holds or gives the spirit within that body strength or at first God's nature (image and likeness, called Christ). And made man as a receptive being, that is why man could receive the nature of the evil one at his being separated from God in death due to sin, lawlessness. Man from that moment on became a son of Satan or a Satan-child because sin was then in mans flesh through which death came upon man and ultimately over took Adam after 900 plus years.

The Temple Mount and into the Dome of the Rock where this huge rock comes up (some of you have been there) out of the basement, so to speak – where supposedly Abraham offered Isaac. But, according to legend (and of course that’s all they go by), right about in that very spot is where the priests were sacrificing all of these animals. By the hundreds, day in and day out.

Well, that involved a lot of blood. And they had discerned that the blood would go down deep into the crevices and then find its way out to the Kedron Valley. Well it makes for a good story, what I wanted to make a point of was about this constant shedding of blood. You know, a lot of times the Jewish family had to offer up a lamb that was really a family pet. And that would just make it all the more devastating that that little pet lamb had to give its blood for the sins of its owners. It’s the same way with Christ. When Christ died and shed His blood it was to make such an impact upon the human race, whom He loved, that it would make them conscience of the horrible price of their sin.

Many never thought of that before. But isn’t that true? You see, as that Jewish family would bring that precious little lamb, and they would see that lamb give its life and its blood because of what? Their sin. And if it had its right effect, it would devastate them to think that their sin caused the death of that precious little animal. And I imagine, too, that’s why God chose sheep as the primary sacrificial animal. They’re not a rebellious type. They’re not the kind that’s going to fight and buck and everything else. But, they’re so docile and it’s so easy to be touched by simplicity.

Well, it’s the same way when Christ died. The Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world. He suffered, He died, and it was brought about by only one thing. And what was it? Man’s sin. That’s all. And so He went to that Cross in payment for man’s sin; and in God's eyes we were in Him otherwise He would have never had to do it. How? you ask, because He was in our skin or flesh as the son of man, He spilled our blood for us.

But, getting back to what we were talking about, the blood – life was in the blood. And even in biology, unless a seed falls into the ground – and Jesus used the analogy Himself in John chapter 12:24. Unless that seed falls into the ground and does what? Dies. It abides alone. But, if it die, then what? New life.

It’s the same way with the shed blood, see? When Christ shed His blood, it wasn’t just that alone, but it was the fact that His life was poured out and the shed blood epitomized that life (the power of an Endless Life) and it became death and then out of that death came what? New Life! The power of an Endless Life was released. And that’s where we are. We have access to eternal life because of that death of Christ. And not just as I’ve always stressed so often over the years, not just His death, burial and resurrection but we can never shun the efficacy of His shed blood. Because blood was the price of mans redemption as God had mandated from day one, that life is in the blood. And mans blood alone could be the price of redemption. Its when we accept and receive this all by way of inspiration and revelation within us that it becomes the working of the Spirit and sets us free. By our taking it in and trusting its Truth.

Alright, come back to Hebrews again, chapter 9, verse 18:

Hebrews 9:18
"Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCXI

Hebrews 9:15
"And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, (covenant) that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, (covenant) they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."
Well now, I think I've asked, "How long is eternity?" You remember, it’s as long as God lives! Eternity is as long as God will live. And that’s how long? Forever and ever. All right, so this whole transaction then of the Cross, the shed blood, has made possible an eternal inheritance. This is the promise given to Abraham when he was told to count the stars of heaven, if he could number them. The term heaven means the spiritual realm and that spiritual realm is called “the Israel of God” as it is made up of those who walk in the fashion of Abram's trust and Jesus Christ's faith. It is in Christ's faith that He carries us through the veil of His flesh, water and blood into the presence of God. The place of Adams first beginnings before he fell into darkness (lawlessness) and sin in death to God the Father of spirits.

Andrew Murray in his book titled "The Two Covenants and the Second Blessing" in chapter 4 speaks of our being as little children sitting in a classroom quietly and without fidgeting and in our case we're sitting under God listening with a receptive heart. For this is the meaning of Jeremiah chapter 31: 33-34 where he says "for, for they shall all know me." "The word for shows that this is the reason of all that precedes. Because the blood of this New Covenant was of such infinite and intrinsic worth, and its Mediator and High Priest in heaven of such Divine power, there is promised in it such a Divine blotting out of sin that God cannot remember it. It is this entire blotting out of sin that cleanses and sets us free from its power, so that God can write His law in our hearts, and show Himself in power as our God, and by His Spirit reveal to us His deep things---the deep mystery of Himself and His love. It is the atonement and redemption of Jesus Christ wrought without us and for us, that has removed every obstacle and made it meet for God, and made us meet, that the law in the heart, and the claim on our God, and the knowledge of Him, should now be our daily life and our eternal portion.

Here we now have the Divine summary of the New Covenant inheritance. The last-named blessing, the pardon of sin, is the first in order, the root of all. The second, having God as our God, and the third, the Divine teaching, are the fruit. The tree itself that grows on this root, and bears such fruit, is what is named first---the law in the heart.

The central demand of the Old Covenant, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, has now been met. With the law written in the heart, He can be our God, and we shall be His people. Perfect harmony with God's will, holiness in heart and life, is the only thing that can satisfy God's heart or ours. And it is this the New Covenant gives in Divine power, "I will give them an heart to know Me; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people; for they shall turn to me with their whole heart." It is on the state of the heart, it is on the new heart, as given by God, that the New Covenant life hinges.”

And what is it that hinders us from this Life experience? Nothing short of unbelief. And the fact that the churches of our time don't train or teach these things nor does it any longer hold them dear and close to heart.

Hebrews 9:16
"For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator."
Now you know, I had to look at a couple of commentators. And, as I’ve said for years back, I didn’t pay too much attention to commentators and sure enough, here again, one said one thing and the other one said another. So, which one am I supposed to believe? The one said that the word testament was totally out of order. It should be covenant all the way through, because testament was the Greek and the Roman concept. Whereas, covenant was the Hebrew concept. Well, that makes sense. But on the other hand, the other fellow came back and said testament is the right word because we are under a different set of circumstances than the covenants made back in the Old Testament. And remember they were but one built upon through each person that it was given until Israel came about through Jacob. So there again, see, you just almost have to flip it in the air and take your pick. Now what matters is how does God see it? He gave the words to the prophets of old so His word is what matters and not that of a natural man in his opinion. We need the help of our succor in order to gain the understanding. Think on this, it all depends as the benefit of our benefactor for it His working from the Heavenliest now restored within us. In the power of the Holy Spirit who is given us at our conversion to bring us to Good's intended Salvation in which He perfects the image and likeness of Christ again within or seeing that Christ is the Law He under takes to emboss Him on our hearts and minds.

Hebrews 9:17
For a testament (as we refer to it, as the last will and testament) is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."
Well, that’s understandable in our economy isn’t it? We know that if you have a last will and testament laying in your bank box or in your safe at home, it’s of no use. It doesn’t have any power until when? When you die. Then when you die, that becomes the law and by that they will establish the settling of your estate.

All right, so this is what I guess here in verse 17 is what it’s referring to, that Christ could not fulfill these promises made to us in the human race until He first died as the everlasting one or as the end of days as referred to in the Old Covenant. As He was the one upon whom He had sworn by or on Himself as the no greater one. As found in Hebrews 6:13 "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee." Which takes us back to Genesis 22:15-18 as we saw earlier. Now verse 18

Hebrews 9:18
"Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCX

Hebrews 9:14
"How much more (than the blood of animals mentioned in the previous verse) shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit (there’s your third Person of the Trinity, all involved together, see? ) offered himself without spot to God, (as a lamb, remember back there in Exodus 12 – without blemish) purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
Are you all aware of what the word purge means? Now again, I just had a firsthand understanding of it. The natural gas people are laying a pipeline on the other side of the hill in front our house. I noticed that they had all of that pipe welded, laying above ground. Now if you’re like me and you’re going to start thinking, how are they going to get that steel pipe down in that ditch without busting it all up?

So when I noticed that they were starting to lay it into the ditch. How are they going to lay all of those hundreds of feet of pipe that’s all welded together, how are they going to lay it down in that ditch without it breaking? That pipe was laying down in that ditch like a rope – it had that much flexibility. When they welded those things I noticed dirt was laying in it. Did they clean all that? No, they just don’t pay any attention to that. When they’re all through, they’ll purge it and clear it all out. Now I don’t know whether they use air or water pressure, but they’re going to make sure that that pipe is totally immaculate without a speck of steel or welding slag or dirt. They’re going to purge it. Well, that’s the same word. So what did God do with our sin? He purged it. He cleansed us of it. Every last bit! And then He forgot about it! He circumcised our heart or gave us a New pure heart undefiled and thereby we became Holy as He is Holy. Is that not what He had told Israel?

I know that when we’re human, we can’t forget. Much as we try, you can’t forget. But God does!" That’s one of His attributes. God can forget! And when He purges us from our sin, He doesn’t ever bring them up to His mind, He never will throw them up as in our face. It’s over so far as God is concerned." And that’s what I tell every one and try to get them to understand but because of the false teachings they have a hard time with all of this as being Truth. And we're all about the New and the necessary things of God.

We need to look at it the way God does. God has forgotten your past. He will never throw it up to you again. You’re purged of all that. And all you can do is take it by simply trusting and praising Him moment by moment. Oh, thank you Lord, We’ve been cleansed. Then as the angels of Revelation cry out Holy Holy Holy we're to do the same.

But what is the cleansing element? The blood, water and death! Now you don’t hear much about that anymore and it’s a sad, a sad commentary on Christendom. The blood, water and death are the cleansing agents. More particularly the water and the blood. And they alone can do it. So He offered himself without spot to God,

Hebrews 9:14b
"…purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
Here again, the dead works responses directly to the Nation of Israel, because see, they’re the ones that have been under a religion of dead works. All their Temple worship, all their sacrifices, couldn’t take away sin, nor was there any redemption within its frameworks. It was and is only dead works. Works based on purely human efforts or human sufficiency and strength. And so, now Paul is saying, "My, the blood of the Lamb! That which has purged us and has cleansed us from even the dead work of Judaism and has brought them and us to serve the living God." Here's what my dilemma is with the worlds churches, why don't they teach these things. Why don't they get into the things of the pure New Covenant? Why do they skirt the issues and continue to defile this Gospel? By blinding of the Old and the New, they are two separate Covenants, not a continuing of one as with Abraham, Isaac and the Jacob. To do this leaves people in darkness and confusion, broken hearted and discouraged all of which Paul hear in Hebrews and else where warns against. Because they don't believe them nor do they know them by way of personal revelation. When people hear and understand the Truth it becomes part and parcel of their lives in a living reality, as the necessary thing. But, They have no true fear of God. All right, now let’s move on to verse 15.

Hebrews 9:15a
"And for this cause (because God has with His own blood purged us of all our filth and our sin) he is the mediator of the new testament (New Covenant) that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament (New Covenant),…"
Now you’ll notice I’m using the word ‘covenant’ rather than the word ‘testament’ because in the Old Testament as we call it, you don’t see that word ‘testament;’ it’s ‘covenant.’ And the covenant back in the Old Testament was from first God to Abram then God to Isaac, then to Jacob/Israel but with Moses as the mediator. After the extraction from Egypt, Moses was the go-between between God and Israel. And there is a new covenant coming according to Jeremiah 31:31 and Ezekiel 37:26, directed only to the Nation of Israel. But, you see, we’ve come under all of the good things of what God has done to fulfill that covenant to the Hebrews and we’re getting what has been often called the overflow. And everything that Christ did there at the Passover and then the Cross was in order to establish this New Covenant with the Israel of God, we’re enjoying all the benefits as well. Why? Because we're counted in the same order or class as Abraham. Why? Because we take God at His Word and His Word is both Law and His will. Now remember unlike the first or now Old what is required to enter this New Covenant? What has to happen, a death.

All right, because He has purged us and He has purged those Hebrews of their sinfulness, lawlessness and through that He has caused them now to turn to the Living God instead of a dead religion. But the fulness of that day has not yet come, they still have Jacobs troubles ahead of them. Why? Because of their hardness of heart caused by their rejection of the offer of the kingdom which Jesus brought to them. When He proclaimed the kingdom of God or as we've said the kingdom of Eternal Life which is what it means. All right, verse 15 again:

Hebrews 9:15
"And for this cause 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."