Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews, Part 11: Perpetual Propitiation in Christ

The opening remarks to this program are found in the Christogenea forum under the topic Answering Anti-Christ Memes 
 

Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews, Part 11: Perpetual Propitiation in Christ

In the earlier chapters of this epistle to the Hebrews Paul sought to persuade his readers of the temporary nature of the Levitical priesthood as opposed to the eternal priesthood of Melchizedek which is inherited by Yahshua Christ, as David had announced in the Psalms. Then with Hebrews chapter 8 Paul began comparing the temporary expiations for sin which were under the law to the eternal propitiation for sin which is in Christ. In Hebrews chapter 9 Paul connected the propitiation for sin in Christ directly to the promise of a new covenant which is found in the prophet Jeremiah, and we have seen that the children of Israel have an eternal inheritance which is not dependent upon any works or sacrifices made by men, but which is solely dependent upon the promises which Yahweh had made to Abraham. The keeping of the promises to Abraham being the ultimate reason for the making of a new covenant, we also see that only the children of Israel, those who were under the old covenant, could possibly have any part with Christ under the new covenant. Doing all of this, Paul has cited a fair portion of the Old Testament scriptures in order to confirm his assertions, and we hope to have elucidated many of the scriptures which he had not cited but which further support those assertions.

Here in Hebrews chapter 11, Paul continues to contrast the propitiation for sin which was under the law to that which is in Christ, but we must be careful to distinguish the fact that Paul never sought to set aside the commandments of the law. Rather, in Hebrews chapter 9 Paul made a reference to “dead works”, which is a reference to the rituals, sacrifices and ceremonies of the law and not to the commandments themselves. In fact, since Paul of Tarsus had written in Romans 4:15 that “where no law is, there is no transgression”, and in Romans 5:13 that “sin is not imputed when there is no law”, if the commandments of the law are done away with then Paul would never have had any further need to discuss or to describe either sin or forgiveness. Yet where Paul said in his first epistle to Timothy that “Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after”, we see that Paul believed that men can still sin, so the commandments of the law must still be in effect, and Paul never attempted to set them aside.

With this understanding, and in the context of Paul’s words both here in chapter 10 and in the previous verses of chapter 9 of this epistle, we must recognize that where Paul speaks of the law he is speaking of the rituals, sacrifices and ceremonies of the law which were conducted in order to obtain propitiation for sin. Paul is not intending to describe the commandments of the law. If he were, he would never have made a reference to sin in verse 26 of this same chapter. There, according to the King James Version, he said that “if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth,” and if the commandments were not in effect, then there would be no commandments against which one may commit sin. So once again, we see that Paul never set aside the commandments of the law.

Therefore here in Hebrews chapter 10, speaking of the works of the law – which are the things conducted by the priests – he says:

1 For the law, having a shadow of the coming good and not itself the image of the matters, each year with the same sacrifices which they offer in perpetuity, is never able to perfect those coming forth.

The pronoun they in the phrase “they offer” is a reference to the high priests which Paul has been discussing and comparing to Christ throughout chapter 9. The context has not changed merely because the chapter numbers of our modern Bibles have changed.

The 3rd century papyrus P46 wants the words translated “not itself”, and has a conjunction instead, whereby the first clause of the verse would be read: “For the law, having a shadow of the coming good and the image of the matters...” We are nearly persuaded to change our translation to reflect that reading, because in Hebrews chapter 8 Paul had said that the priests making dedications at the altar were “a pattern and shadow of those in heavenly places”. However it may be argued that there Paul was speaking of the actions of the priests, while here he is speaking only of the law itself.

There is another difference among the manuscripts which is related to the same issue, where the Codices Sinaiticus (א), Alexandrinus (A), and Ephraemi Syri (C) have the plural verb are rather than the singular verb is in the final clause of the verse, reading “...which they [the priests] offer in perpetuity are never able to perfect those coming forth.” So those manuscripts seem to be reflecting the understanding that it is the sacrifices, or maybe the priests, which were never able to bring sinners to perfection, and not the law itself. In this regard our text follows the papyrus P46 and the Codices Claromontanus, Coislinianus (H 015), and the unnamed 6th century Codex 0285.

As Paul describes it in Hebrews chapter 9, we would rather believe that the first temple in conjunction with the things which the priests did there were a “parable for the present time”, and therefore, being a parable, were also “a shadow of the coming good”, whereby the law by itself is not the image of the matters. It is the service of the priests for their community which was the “image of the matters”, and under the new covenant that service is found only in Christ Himself. So this is one example where the context of Paul’s writing was the determining factor when deciding which of the manuscripts to follow for our translation. But even then, we being merely fallible men should nevertheless consider the other possibilities, and that is the reason for these many notes.

Paul continues to describe the shortcomings of temporal sacrifices:

2 Since would they not stop being offered because those serving, having been cleansed once for all, no longer are to have consciousness of errors?

The Codex Coislinianus (H 015) has the beginning of this verse to read “Since they would not stop being offered...”, where we would read the verse as a statement rather than as a question. The 3rd century papyrus P46 adds and adverb meaning then, having “Since then would they stop being offered…?”.

Here Paul offers a rhetorical question which further explains his statement that the sacrifices offered under the law were never able to perfect those for whom they were offered. If they were, then they may have stopped being offered, rather than needing to be offered continually. Having to do something perpetually with the hope of achieving perfection, proves that one can never achieve perfection through the action. Continuing, he answers his own question with a short disputation, and says:

3 Rather, in these are a recollection of errors each year.

So Paul asserts that compounding the failure of the old covenant sacrifices to bring men to perfection is the fact that the sacrifices themselves continually reminded men of their sins, rather than relieving men of their guilty consciences. Then he adds to his argument:

4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats [P46 and א have “goats and bulls”; the text follows A, C, D and the MT] to take away errors [or sins].

In their sin offerings the children of Israel were actually paying a sort of municipal fine, by forfeiting a portion of their property in their expiation for sin. Symbolically the sacrificed animal died in place of the sinner. But the fine does not remove the fact that an incident happened, but once it is paid it relieves the possibility of any further punishment by satisfying the authority in question for having committed an act in violation of the law. Thus it was under the old covenant, where the sin offering was an expiation, but it does not erase the fact that the sin had been committed. So Paul continues:

5 On which account coming into the Society He says: “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired but You have prepared a body for Me. 6 Burnt offering also for errors You have not been pleased with. 7 Then I said ‘Behold, I come (in a chapter of a book it is written concerning Me) that I will do, O Yahweh, Your will.’”

The English word chapter is derived from the Latin word capitulum, which is a diminutive of caput, or head. The Greek phrase ἐν κεφαλίδι is “in a chapter” here, and the root word κεφαλίς is a diminutive form of the Greek word κεφαλή, which is a head. So in this context, κεφαλίς, capitulum and chapter are all equivalent in meaning. While writers sometimes used the word κεφαλίς to refer to the scroll itself, here ἐν κεφαλίδι is followed by the word βιβλίον, which in turn is the diminutive of βίβλος, or book. The word βιβλίον could also refer to a paper, scroll or letter. The King James Version has volume instead, and Brenton’s Septuagint translation followed in that same manner.

Here in verses 5 through 7 Paul is making a direct quotation from Psalm 40, verses 6 to 8, from the Septuagint. Paul’s Greek varies only slightly from the Septuagint manuscripts employed by Brenton, and he translated the relevant passage to read: “6 Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me [some Septuagint manuscripts have ears rather than a body]: whole-burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin thou didst not require [Paul’s Greek has “thou has not been pleased with”]. 7 Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning me [Brenton often followed the King James Version], 8 I desired to do thy will, O my God [Paul’s version wants the verb for desire], and thy law in the midst of mine heart.” Paul cut off his quotation before the last phrase of verse 8, although later in this chapter he will expound on the same subject from Jeremiah chapter 31, where it appears in connection to the New Covenant.

Note that Paul informs his readers that these words were spoken of Yahweh Himself, or of Christ, “coming into the Society”, or world. David wrote the words, but they could not have been written for David’s “coming into the world”. Earlier in this epistle to the Hebrews, Paul made references to other Psalms as having introduced the first-born Son into the world (Hebrews 1:6). Neither is David prophesied of in any such manner in the earlier Scriptures. Therefore it becomes evident here that the organization of the kingdom during which time David had written these words was for the greater purpose of announcing the coming of the Messiah. The Scriptures being an announcement of that coming, Paul says “on which account coming into the Society [or world] He says...”, and both the pronoun and the verb must refer to Yahweh Himself, for whom David was writing prophetically. So to Paul of Tarsus, the entire Old Testament history of Israel served the purpose of introducing the Christ to the children of God. As he said in chapter 9 of this epistle, the old temple and its trappings were merely a “parable for the present time.”

We also must note that in Hebrews chapter 9 we have seen that the world which Christ came into was the world which was founded at Mount Sinai as the children of Israel were organized into a kingdom under Yahweh their God and His law, and that is the world of which Paul speaks. This is evident in Hebrews 9: where Paul had written in reference to the Levitical high priest that “it was necessary for Him to suffer often – from the foundation of the world [or Society]”.

As a digression, here is a little-known, or perhaps even unknown, aspect of the Psalms. In the Septuagint, this 40th Psalm begins with the words “For the end, a Psalm of David….” and perhaps fifty-four others of the Psalms in the Septuagint begin with those same words. The Masoretic Text frequently has confusing or obscure words in place of this phrase, but on a couple of occasions it does indicate that a psalm was written for a feast or for a fulfillment, or even for “death”, which is a sort of fulfillment. The Greek word for end at the beginnings of those fifty-five psalms is τέλος, which may also mean a fulfillment, a completion, or a consummation. A related word is τέλειος, basically describes something “having reached its end, [or which is] finished, complete … [or] ... perfect...”, according to Liddell & Scott. Writing in the fifth century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus in his Histories (9:110) had made the following statement concerning a certain Persian feast, where he was speaking of the queen of the Persians: “”She waited, therefore, till her husband gave the great royal banquet, a feast which takes place once every year, in celebration of the King’s birthday – ‘Tykta’ the feast is called in the Persian tongue, which in our language may be rendered ‘perfect’”, perfect being from the Greek word τέλειος. Our point here is that where in the Septuagint it is said that many of David’s Psalms were written “for the end”, if the Hebrew usage was anything like the Persian then here we learn that they may have been written for a banquet for a feast, as there were many such occasions on the Hebrew calendar. Then, prophetically speaking of the true end, which is also a feast, there is the prophesied Wedding Feast of the Lamb and the final perfection which all Christians await.

Here Paul explains his intentions for quoting this passage of the 40th Psalm:

8 Saying above “sacrifices and offerings” and “burnt offerings also for errors You have not desired nor have You been pleased with,” which are offered in accordance with the law; 9 then He said “Behold, I come that I will do [the MT inserts “O God”; the text follows P46, א, A, C, and D] Your will,” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.

True perfection is therefore doing the will of God, and cannot be obtained through the works of men where one falls short of the will of God. Therefore, as an example to men, Christ Himself had asserted, as it is recorded in John chapter 5, that “30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

In the earlier chapters of this epistle Paul had already cited several others of David’s Psalms as prophecies of Christ in order to establish both His advent as the anointed Son (Psalm 2), and His inheritance of the Melchizedek priesthood (Psalm 110). Now Paul is asserting that the 40th Psalm is also a prophecy which refers to Yahshua Christ, who has come to establish a new priesthood, which as we have already seen is actually an old and transcendent priesthood, in the place of the failed Levitical priesthood.

Referring to the first and second, Paul is once again referring back to the old and new covenants as he had described them in Hebrews chapter 8 where he said “7 For if that first was faultless, a place would not have been sought for a second.” He had continued to refer to them in this manner in the opening verses of Hebrews chapter 9. We had seen while discussing Hebrews chapter 8 that where Paul had quoted from Jeremiah chapter 31, there is an explicit promise of a new covenant for the people of Israel, where the words of the prophet in the Septuagint are in the future tense. Then, along with various other such promises of a future covenant in Scripture such as those found in Ezekiel, it is fully evident that Paul had every right to consider the Sinai Covenant to be both the first and the old covenant, as Christians should consider it in that same manner today, in spite of all of the protestations of the wicked Jews.

So now Paul speaks of the second, or new covenant, concerning the will of Yahweh God that was accomplished by Christ:

10 In which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body [D has “blood”] of Yahshua Christ once for all.

Sanctification is a separation of something so that it may be devoted to the purposes of God. If anyone is sanctified in the will of God, as it is said in the 40th Psalm that Christ came to do His will, then the only people who can possibly be sanctified in Christ are those same old covenant children of Israel who were promised such sanctification by the will of God expressed in the Old Testament. This sanctification is described in Jeremiah 31:33-34, directly in relation to the promise of the new covenant: “33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, 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. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Other aspects of this sanctification are promised in relation to a new and future covenant in Ezekiel chapter 37: “26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the nations shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” It does not say that any other nations will be sanctified. Rather, it only says that “the nations” shall know that Israel is sanctified. We would contend that those nations are the same nations prophesied to come of the children Israel, as Paul explains in Romans chapter 4 and elsewhere. But in any case, the sanctification of the body of Christ is the sanctification of the people of Israel in fulfillment of the promises of a new covenant. If Christians are to know the will of Yahweh as the Scripture says that they should, that will must be expressed in the Old Testament Scriptures. Attempting to put anyone but the children of Israel under the covenants of God is not in His will as it is expressed in Scripture, but rather, it is a violation of His will. So Christ Himself said that He came “but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel”.

So where Paul wrote that the body of Christ was offered “once for all”, by saying all he only means all of those of the children of Israel, who were once under the first covenant. This is evident where he quoted Jeremiah in Hebrews chapter 8 and said that “7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah”, and then it is evident again in Hebrews chapter 9 where he said of Christ that “15 ... 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.” If one’s ancestors did not transgress under the first covenant, then one is not of the house of Israel or the house of Judah in order to qualify for that redemption of the transgressions which is under the new covenant. All of the body of Christ was under the first covenant, and all of those who were once under the first covenant were called to be under the second, or new covenant. The language which Paul uses never separates either of the covenants from the genetic and legitimate children of Israel, but always explicitly connects both covenants to those children of Israel, throughout all of his epistles.

Paul continues to describe the shortcomings under the old covenant:

11 And each priest [A and C have “high priest”; the text follows P46, א, D and the MT] stands daily serving and offering the same sacrifices often, which at no time have been able to remove errors.

The sacrifices were only an expiation for sin, and even when Yahweh had mercy and propitiated the sins, the sins were not really removed, and the people never ceased from sin. Rather, they sinned more and more. So we read of Ephraim from Hosea chapter 13: “1 When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died. 2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.”

Likewise Judah, which did not even learn from history, continued to sin even after the chastisement by the Assyrians. So the Word of Yahweh says of Judah in Ezekiel chapter 16, written perhaps not quite a hundred years later: “29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith…. 51 Neither hath Samaria [meaning Ephraim] committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.”

While these judgments were uttered on a national level, the same chastisement is seen in the prophets on a more personal level, for instance in Amos chapter 4: “4 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: 5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. 6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.” This is evident once more in Hosea chapter 9: “1 Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor. 2 The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. 3 They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria. 4 They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him [as Paul has described here quoting from the 40th Psalm]: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.” So with these writings we see that the sacrifices were useless so long as the people continued to sin. Therefore all of Israel was ultimately estranged, they were all divorced from their God, and they were offered reconciliation only in Christ. So Paul continues:

12 But this [the MT has “His”, where we would write “He has sat” later in the verse; the text follows P13, P46, א, A, C, and D] one sacrifice having been offered in perpetuity for errors [or sins], has sat down at the right hand of Yahweh,

This is the fourth time and final in this epistle that Paul has cited the opening verse of the 110th Psalm in relation to Christ. It is also cited in this manner in three of the Gospels and in several of his other epistles.

Here Paul very clearly states that Yahshua Christ has offered Himself once as a single propitiation for all sins for ever, as the King James Version translates the phrase which we have rendered as in perpetuity here. The adjective διηνεκής means continuous, unbroken, or as an adverb continuously, from beginning to end, according to Liddell & Scott, for which reason we have it as perpetuity.

There is another passage in the King James Version which some commentators have used, or actually abused, in order to insist that Christ only forgave past sins. This is found at Romans 3:25, which is translated in that version to read: “25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past...” So this passage of Hebrews seems to be in conflict with that passage of Romans, but in reality it is only the King James translation which has caused the conflict.

In the Christogenea New Testament, the same passage is read thus, speaking of Christ: “25 whom Yahweh set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, for a display of His justice by means of the pretermission of forthcoming errors, 26 by the tolerance of Yahweh; for the display of His justice in the present time; for He is just and is accepting of him that is from the faith of Yahshua.” In part 4 of our commentary on the epistle to the Romans, we explained how the verb προγίγνομαι means forthcoming in this context, and not past, and here we feel that we are vindicated. Christ being the lamb slain from the foundation of the society, or world, Yahweh in His divine providence understood from the beginning that at a certain point in the future, He would have to offer Himself for all sin, as an example to the children of Israel and in order to keep both His Own law and the promises made unto the fathers. So Paul had written in Romans chapter 5, speaking of the transgression of Adam, “as that one transgression is for all men for a sentence of condemnation, in this manner then through one decision of judgment for all men is for a judgment of life.” In this manner, and according to the Word of Yahweh all of Israel shall indeed be saved, without exception and regardless of whether any particular person disagrees.

Sadly, there are not a few Identity Christians who actually continue to despise us for teaching this undeniable aspect of the Scripture, even though it also is found in both the Old and New Testaments.. As it says in Micah chapter 7: “18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.” Likewise it says in Jeremiah chapter 33: “7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. 8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.” In these cases, concerning sin, there is no exception to “all”.

It is easily determined that Paul is only repeating what he had learned from the Scriptures, for instance, from where we see the same promises in Isaiah chapter 45: “21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth [a metaphor for the children of Israel who were scattered to the ends of the earth]: for I am God, and there is none else. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 24 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. 25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.” If all of the seed of Israel shall be justified in Yahweh as we see in Isaiah, if all of the sins of Israel are cleansed in perpetuity, a statement from Paul which we see was also promised in Jeremiah and Micah, then all of Israel shall certainly be saved, and there are no stated exceptions.

But Paul continues by distinguishing the people of God, “those being sanctified”, from the enemies of God, those whom He will trod upon:

13 hereafter awaiting until His [P13 has “the”] enemies are placed as a footstool for His feet. 14 With one offering He has perfected for perpetuity those being sanctified [P46 has “recovered”].

Those who doubt that all Israel shall be saved, as the Scripture says rather explicitly, are actually challenging the sovereignty of Yahweh over His Creation. As it says in chapter 2 of the Wisdom of Solomon, “23 For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.” This is also evident in the Book of Genesis and elsewhere in Scripture. However man found death at the hands of the enemies of Yahweh, something which is not better explained until Revelation chapter 12, where it is made evident that a war between forces greater than Adam is being continued here in this present age. That Adam, having sinned, had become both a victim and a participant in that war is explained in the record of events found in Genesis chapter 3, and especially in Genesis 3:15, as well as in Revelation chapter 12.

In that chapter of the Revelation, we read that there was a war in “heaven”, that the angels who rebelled against God were cast out into the earth, and that their place was found no more in heaven. So we cannot imagine that any war is continuing in heaven. Rather, we see a woman with twelve stars flee into the desert, and the woman represents Israel, the bride of God, the twelve stars being the twelve tribes of Israel, as they were also depicted as stars in the promise to Abraham and the vision of Joseph, the song of Deborah, the prophecy of Daniel and elsewhere in Scripture. Then we read a little further on in Revelation chapter 12: “17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Since the enemies of Christ are not yet trodden down, this war is ongoing to this very day.

In that chapter of Revelation, we also learn that the dragon, the devil and his angels are directly connected to “that old serpent” back from the garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3. That old serpent had already represented an entire tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Revelation chapter 12, the serpent persecutes the woman and sends a flood from out of his mouth hoping to destroy her. In a related prophecy in Revelation chapter 20, the devil deceives all of the world’s other nations and brings them to battle against the children of Israel. Ostensibly, these must also be connected with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, since they do not come from God but from the mouth of the serpent, and since they shall all be destroyed in the end. Yahshua Christ had said that “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up”, and therefore they must be connected to the tares planted by the devil at the beginning of the world, which Christ explains in Matthew chapter 13.

These things are difficult to discuss at length in the short space which we have here, but we have already discussed them at length in certain portions of our Pragmatic Genesis presentation.

Seeing the larger picture, how can we not understand that those of the spirit who are enticed away by the enemies of God are not lost forever? Or else how can Christ destroy the works of the devil, as the apostle John professes in his first epistle, as we would more appropriately translate the passage, “8 He who is creating sin is from of the Devil, since the Devil sins from the beginning. For this the Son of Yahweh has been made manifest, in order that He would do away with the works of the Devil.” Today, while the whole world is under the power of the Wicked One, many of the children of Israel have been taken away in the flood of the serpent, but ultimately none of them can be taken from the hand of the Father. As Paul said elsewhere, we battle against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, which are the seats of world government and the institutions of man, and the devils inhabit them all.

So while there were two trees – two trees which were metaphors for people – in the garden in the beginning, there is only one such tree in the City of God at the end. That tree bears twelve types of fruit, as it is described in Revelation chapter 22, and they must also represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Concerning them alone Christ had said in John chapter 10 that “27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”

So all of Israel shall be saved, and the Israelite cannot even lose such salvation for himself, since in the prophets Yahweh has promised to sanctify all of Israel. But there are no promises of sanctification for anyone else. In Yahshua Christ, the sins of Israel are forgiven in perpetuity, because Yahweh will win the larger battle against His enemies, in which all Israelites are combatants of one sort or another, but in which all of the Adamic race has also fallen victim. So if Yahweh God is sovereign, then all Israel must be saved. The battle is not between Yahweh and Israel, but between Yahweh and His enemies, as Paul distinguishes them here. Those who deny this miss the bigger picture which is drawn in the Revelation and necessary to any understanding of Genesis or God’s calling of Abraham in the first place.

This raises another seeming conflict in Scripture upon which the denominational Christians stumble. At the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in the Gospels of both Matthew and Luke, Christ had told His followers, as it is recorded in Luke chapter 6, “27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” However later on, as it is recorded in Luke chapter 19, Christ says “27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.” So the anti-Christs accuse Christ of hypocrisy, because Christ admonished His followers to forgive their enemies, while He would not forgive His Own enemies.

However Christ is not a hypocrite at all. David also hated the enemies of God “with a perfect hatred”. Christ only admonished His followers to love their enemies, but not His enemies. The words of the Sermon on the Mount are for the people of God, not for the children of the devil. They are instructions admonishing the children of God on how to treat one another, which the enemies of God remove from their context in order to deceive. The apostle Peter called the enemies of Christ “natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed”, they were never candidates for conversion to Christ, and they are certainly not to be loved. Christians set aside their differences with one another for the greater good, but Christians should never accept the enemies of Christ. The apostle John wrote in his second epistle: “9 Each who going forth and not abiding in the teaching of Christ has not Yahweh. He abiding in the teaching, he also has the Father and the Son. 10 If one comes to you and does not bear this teaching, do not receive him into the house and do not speak to welcome him! 11 For he speaking to welcome him takes a share in his evil works.” Christians must never accept those who do not accept the teachings of Christ, which, in turn, are only for the children of Israel.

In the beginning, the man which God created, before that man sinned, had communion with God. This we see in Genesis 3:8 where it says “8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.” In the end, man will again have communion with God, as Yahweh says in Ezekiel chapter 37 that “27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” But now the body of Yahshua Christ is Yahweh’s true tabernacle, as Paul has also explained in Hebrews chapter 8. So in the end, there is described the City of God in Revelation chapter 21, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” That city has on its gates the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, and therefore it is only they who are admitted through those gates. Then we read “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, thereafter having said: 16 "This is the covenant which I will devise for them after those days, says Yahweh, giving my laws upon their hearts, I will also inscribe them upon their minds, 17 and their errors and lawlessness I will not at all remember hereafter.”

Paul may have simply continued to cite the 40th Psalm in relation to the law written on the hearts of the children of Israel, but ostensibly he chose not to so that he could elucidate the connection to that promise with the new covenant promised in Jeremiah chapter 31:31-32. So here, rather than citing just one more clause in the 40th Psalm, where he had stopped short in the middle of verse 8, he instead turns back to Jeremiah chapter 31 and repeats a part of those verses which he had already cited in Hebrews chapter 8.

The people of Israel have had the laws of God written on their hearts, even without having yet turned to Christ, for which Paul commended the Romans in chapter 2 of his epistle for them. This is why even when they succumb to sin, they nevertheless understand that they have done something wrong, and their consciences are burdened until they repent of their sin. This is true whether or not they choose to admit their sin, and instead of ceasing from it, they continue to live under the burden of a conscience laden with sin. So sinners may choose to live in denial, but they cannot change the truth. This explains why the atheist who denies God consistently chooses to spend so much of his time arguing about religion: because he cannot relieve his own conscience. This is also why the modern sodomite forces his deviancy upon the rest of society, because seeking approbation for his sin he hopes to relieve his own conscience, and when he is rejected cannot ever find such relief. This is also why the social justice warrior, who acting contrary to the will of God, needs to force society into agreement with his own rebellion or neither can he find peace with himself. These are the very people whom the apostle Peter had written about in his first epistle, where he said that “While they are astonished, they blaspheme at your not running together in the same excess profligacy.” As Peter then proceeds to say, they shall indeed face the judgment of God.

As the 40th Psalm tells us, the law was also written in David’s heart, however that came through a love of God and the study of Scripture. As David himself informs us in the 119th Psalm, he took the time to study the Word of God and adopt it as his own, praying for understanding and conforming his mind to the will of God, which is professed in verses throughout that Psalm and elsewhere in David’s writings. So David also professed in the 37th Psalm that “30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” So David was professed to be a man after God’s own heart, as Paul of Tarsus, speaking in Acts chapter 13, said concerning the children of Israel that Yahweh had “raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”

Ostensibly, David had the law inscribed on his heart by meditating on the Word of God, as he explained in that same 119th Psalm: “14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word…. 23 Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. 24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors…. 77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight. 78 Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts. 79 Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies. 80 Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.”

But the children of Israel seem to have had the laws of God written in their hearts through many centuries of cultural acclimation. This Paul reveals in his discourse in Romans chapter 2, but also to the Galatians in his epistle to them where he wrote very similarly to what he has told the Hebrews here and he said: “19 Then why the law? It had been imposed on account of the transgressions, until He would come: the offspring in which He had promised Himself, having been arranged by messengers in a mediator's hand. 20 And the mediator is not of one, but Yahweh is one. 21 Therefore is the law in opposition to the promises of Yahweh? Certainly not! If a law had been given having the ability to produce life, indeed justification would have been from of law. 22 But the writing has enclosed all under sin, in order that the promise, from the faith of Yahshua Christ, would be given to those who are believing [those of the seed of Abraham whether or not they kept the law, as Paul explained in Romans chapter 4, and as he reveals over the next few verses here]. 23 But before the faith was to come we had been guarded under law, being enclosed to the faith destined to be revealed. 24 So the law has been our tutor for Christ, in order that from faith we would be deemed righteous. 25 But the faith having come, no longer are we under a tutor; 26 for you are all sons of Yahweh through the faith in Christ Yahshua.” If the Galatians had the law as their schoolmaster, then they must have been descended from the dispersions of the Israelites, as history also attests, and therefore Paul also said to them later in that same epistle: “4 And when the fulfillment of the time had come, Yahweh had dispatched His Son, having been born of a woman, having been subject to law, 5 in order that he would redeem those subject to law, that we would recover the position of sons.”

18 Now where there is a discharge of these, no longer is there an offering for wrongdoing [or sin].

Thus Paul concludes this aspect of his argument that the Levitical priesthood is supplanted by the new priesthood and sacrifice of Christ, which removes any necessity for the old covenant rituals, sacrifices or ceremonies conducted by men. Therefore there is nothing that man can do to save himself, and the things which he had done in the past never really saved him anyway. Only God can preserve men, and the vehicle which He has chosen to do that is Yahshua Christ. In turn, Christ only came to save those whom that same Old Testament God had promised to sanctify, which are the Old Testament children of Israel, as Paul himself has explained.