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["Pomp and Circumstance"] Good evening, we're in the book of Hebrews chapter number two, and the Bible reads, Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the words spoken by angels will steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him, God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to His own will? For unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak, but one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the Son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels, thou crownest him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands, who has put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him, but now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man, for it became him for whom are all things, by whom are all things, and bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captains of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifyeth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church where I sing praise unto thee, and again I will put my trust in him, and again behold I and the children which God hath given me. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham, wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people, for in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the King James Bible, dear God. We thank you for every precious soul in the church. We thank you for our pastor, dear Lord. Please bless him tonight as he preaches your word unto us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, we're continuing this evening with the book of Hebrews, and we're in chapter 2. Let me just do a little bit of review from chapter 1, just to kind of get us caught up to what's going on here in chapter 2, because the verses or the passage here in chapter 2 is still the same thought of what we see in chapter 1. And he starts off in chapter 1 explaining why Jesus Christ is superior, and of course he begins to go into detail as far who he's superior to. And some of the people that he's mentioning here, or some of the individuals that he's talking about being superior to, are offices or celestial beings, prophets, that the children of Israel would obviously esteem as being very important historically for the children of Israel. You think of the prophets, anytime throughout the gospels where Jesus Christ was confronted, they would often talk about Moses and the prophets, insinuating that these two have a level of authority, credibility, that these people are important to the children of Israel, and they're highly esteemed to that nation. And so he begins to talk about the fact that even though the prophets are definitely honorable, and should be admired and adhered to, at the end of the day Jesus Christ is actually better than them. And even though they were men of reputation, and they were used greatly of God, they're essentially in the hall of faith as we see in Hebrews chapter 11, still Jesus Christ is greater and better than them. And one of the best examples of this is when you see at the mountain of transfiguration, Jesus Christ goes to the mount, and Moses and Elijah appear there. And of course we know that Moses represents the law, and Elijah would represent the prophets, right? So you have Moses and the prophets. And he's communing there with them, and of course Peter puts his foot in his mouth and says that he wants to build three tabernacles for all three. And once the vision concludes, you hear the voice from heaven, the Bible talks about the voice from heaven, which is God the Father, saying, this is my beloved son, hear ye him. So obviously we listen to the prophets, we listen to Moses, but who's superior than them both? Well, according to God, it's Jesus Christ. He's saying listen to him, hear him. Which is why chapter 1 tells us that at sundry times and diverse manners, God's spake and times pass unto the fathers by the prophets, but hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, emphasizing the importance of the words of Jesus. So it's important that we don't esteem what's commonly referred to as the Hebrew Roots movement, right? Who wants to emphasize just the Torah and just the five books of the Bible. No, we need the entire word of God. And more specifically, and really far more important than the first five books of the Bible, are the four gospels, right? Because it highlights the life of Jesus Christ. He is essentially the centerpiece of the Bible. Jesus Christ is the one whom everything centers around. He said it himself, that beginning of Moses and all the prophets, he spake unto them the things concerning himself, that all the prophets bear witness of him, that whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. I mean the entire word of God, though teaching various doctrines and practical things at the end of the day, centers around Jesus. He is the most important. And that's what's being emphasized here in chapter 1. And of course, we went through some of the passages there dealing with that specifically. Look at verse 14, he says, Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Another thing that we mentioned last week is that when you look at the term angel in chapter 1, mainstream Christians, for the most part, myself included, have agreed that this is referring to the celestial bodies, referring to what we would consider to be angels, angelic beings. However, I showed yet last week how this can also be referring to the prophets because it would fit the context. And I don't have time to go into how that would fit. Of course, you can listen to the sermon from last week. But you can go through the entire passage and see that contextually this would be referring to also prophets because of the fact that an angel is essentially a messenger of God, which is what a prophet is. And by the way, we're going to look at tonight, which is what a priest is as well. Because a priest, one of the responsibilities of the priest is to what? To teach the word of God. To bring a message to the people from God. So he's superior to the prophets, we can say definitely he's superior to the celestial bodies that we would consider to be angels. And it says in verse 14 that they are not, aren't they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? We gave the application if it's referring to angels, prophets, or in my opinion it's just referring to both. Now let's continue this thought here in chapter 2 because it says therefore, so that's why we have to go back to chapter 1. But he says, Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard less than any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received the just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Now let me stop there because if we carry on this interpretation that the angels here in chapter 1 and chapter 2 is possibly referring to prophets, it would fit the context. But it would also fit the context if it's referring to the celestial bodies. Why? Well because of the fact that if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and it says there in verse 2, every transgression and disobedience received the just recompense, you can point to for example the angels that came to Sodom in Genesis 19, right? And the disobedience to what they proclaimed received the just recompense. Remember Lot's wife, right? But this can also be applied to every single prophet of the Old Testament who preached the word of God, it was steadfast, and transgressing the message that they carried to the people from God received the just recompense of reward as well. And the main thought that he's getting across here is that if the people in the Old Testament were supposed to give earnest heed to what the prophets were saying, or the angels, how much more should we give earnest heed to what Jesus said? And more specifically to the apostles, to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the words that are spoken by the apostles and by the prophets. Why is that? Well because of the fact that the New Testament is giving clarity, it is the fulfillment of everything in the Old Testament. So it's important for us to realize that in order for us to have good understanding of the Old Testament, we need to know the New Testament. Anybody who just reads the Old Testament like the Hebrew Roots movement, they don't have complete understanding of the word of God because of the fact that the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed, the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed. So in order to peel back the meanings of the meats, drinks, divers, washings, and cardinal ordinances of the Old Testament, you have to know the gospels. You have to know who Jesus Christ is. And this is why when someone gets saved and they want to start reading the Bible, do we put them in the book of Leviticus? No. Some of you are like, well that wouldn't be a bad idea, you know? But let's just be practical here though. When it comes to Christian growth, the best place to put them is in the book of John. Why? Because it's the life and times of Jesus Christ. It is the most practical and very much easy to understand gospel out of the four. And so it's important for Christians right off the bat to just start learning the gospel, start learning about Jesus Christ. It's not saying that anything else is not authoritative. We're saying that it's actually more important for them to learn than the Old Testament. And in fact, if they learn the four gospels, they will have a more complete and thorough understanding. They'll have a good foundation when reading the Old Testament. We understand that the Old Testament essentially laid the foundation for what takes place in the New Testament. But in order for us to understand with perfection the Old Testament, we need the foundation which is Jesus Christ. And by the way, you could probably attest to this, that now when you read the Old Testament, if you're reading through your Bibles at the beginning of the year, you're going through Genesis, you're going through Exodus, you start seeing some things that are essentially kind of like, they have an underlying tone of something that you learned in the New Testament. And you're like, wow, now I better understand this passage of scripture in Genesis and in Exodus because of the New Testament, because of the doctrines that are being shown forth there. So what he's saying here in chapter 2, in the first three verses, is the fact that we need to give earnest heed to what Jesus said. We need to give earnest heed to what the apostles said. And in fact, look at verse 3, let's read it again. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. Now, two things that I want to mention here is that when it says, if we neglect so great salvation, salvation can be used in different ways, obviously in the Bible. And I believe in this particular context, salvation is referring to Jesus. And you say, well, can Jesus be called salvation? Absolutely. He is our salvation. It's like when he said, I think it was Martha who said, or it was Mary who said, he's going to rise again in the resurrection, and he was just like, I am the resurrection. So she thought of it as a resurrection being an event, but Jesus Christ was saying that it's a person, and he was that person, which is a resurrection. So when you neglect salvation in this particular chapter, it's referring to the fact that you're neglecting the words of Jesus Christ, which was spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. Now, who are the people that heard him? Well, on a practical level, referring to Peter, James, John, the apostles, the 12 disciples, people like that. Now let me read to you a couple of verses here. Hold your place there and go to 2 Peter 1. 2 Peter 1, I'm going to read to you from 1 Peter 1 in verse 9, it says, Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls, listen to this, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. So dispensationalists would like to take a verse like this and claim, oh, this is referring to a different salvation. You see, because dispensational salvation teaches that people were saved differently, and the Old Testament prophets inquired of a salvation that they didn't necessarily have, of the grace that should come unto you. But this is referring to Jesus. He was full of grace and truth. He is salvation. And this is referring to the fact that they inquired diligently regarding Jesus Christ, the Christ who should come in the future. Let me give you another example. Luke 2.30, referring to Simeon, when praying unto the Lord after he saw Jesus, says, For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Now it's referring to the fact that he has seen Jesus Christ as an infant. Which thou hast prepared before the face of all the people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people, Israel. Now going back, look at 2 Peter 1.16, going back to this thought of the fact that this message from Jesus was confirmed unto them by them that heard him. It says in verse 16, For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, the Bible says, when we were with him in the holy mount. Go to 1 John chapter 1, if you would, 1 John chapter 1. Now there is a major warning in the book of Hebrews, okay, to believers. And this is an important warning here, and as I study the book of Hebrews I can see why the Apostle Paul would give this warning. Because in chapter 5 he talks about the possibility of Christian's ears becoming dull of hearing. And when you read chapters 5, 6, and 7, it goes into great detail of the priesthood. And for the person who doesn't necessarily have an appetite for the deep things of God, for those details, they can get bored with that stuff. And so he's telling them, don't let your ears be dull of hearing. And of course he goes into the foundational principles, the foundational doctrines. I say that to say this, tonight I'm going to get a little deep in Hebrews chapter 2. And it's going to require for you, I know this is a Thursday night. And I know you're probably very tired and your circadian rhythm and all that stuff is, you know, you just got it tuned in the way you like it or whatever. But this is important because I'm going to teach you some stuff and it's going to require for you to pay attention here. Because we're going to go a little deep tonight in chapter 2, especially towards the latter end. Don't let your ears become dull of hearing is what I'm saying. But look at 1 John chapter 1 verse number 1. Now what is the point of bringing that up? The point of bringing that up is that in Hebrews chapter 2, when it talks about these angels, the word spoken by angels was steadfast. In its context, when you compare it to verse 3, when you compare it to verse number 4, it's pretty evident that the angels is referring to those apostles. Referring to those disciples. And the reason I make that an important point there is because when you read chapter 2, it almost seems to kind of like jump all over the place, right? It's talking about prophets and then it just goes into like, you know, he was made a little lower than the angels. And then it talks about angels again and then it kind of flip-flops. But really what I think is taking place here is that it's not necessarily flip-flopping, I think it's talking about the same person or the same group of people. Because if it's talking about the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and then it emphasizes in verse 3, the words which are spoken by the Lord and confirmed unto us by them that heard him, them in its context would be referring to the angels in verse number 2. Not only that, but look at verse number 4. God also bearing, who? Them witness, referring to those angels, both with signs and wonders, and with diverse miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will, for unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak. So it seems to be jumping from one person to another but I believe it's actually referring to the same people. Now the obvious group of people that we're talking about here are the disciples and the apostles because verse number 4 is clearly telling us that the disciples had supernatural abilities, right? We could read Mark chapter 16 where God enabled them to have certain abilities that other people did not have and they were able to show signs and wonders. And we know that according to Mark chapter 16, the reason that was was to confirm the word that was being preached. So if we have that word being confirmed, that matches up what we see in verse number 3 and verse number 4. And then it goes on to say, for unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak, but one in a certain place testifies saying, what is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels, thou crownest him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands. Now this is quoting Psalm chapter 8. Now go with me to Psalm chapter 8 for just a minute. We're just going to read this because obviously Psalm chapter 8 has a little more expansive version of this. Because what this is emphasizing here is the fact that when it says he was made a little lower than the angels, it's actually applicable to both man and Jesus Christ. Because it talks about the fact that what is man that thou art mindful of him, and listen to this, and the son of man that thou visitest him. Well son of man is a title that's often given to Jesus Christ. And so this is applicable to both, but look what it says in Psalm chapter 8 verse 3. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under his feet. Now what is he referring to specifically because is this talking about Jesus Christ having everything under his feet? Well it's actually referring to just mankind in general having dominion as we saw in the book of Genesis, right? Now how do we know that? Well because look at verse number 7. All sheep and oxen, yea, all the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea. So you can easily see how this is applicable to mankind, right? And how it's referring to the fact that God made mankind a little lower than the angels in a sense of position and power. We are not celestial beings so to speak. Angels, celestial beings are that which has, you know, they're celestial bodies, they're celestial beings, they're not human beings. But let's go back to Hebrews chapter 2 if you would. But this is also referring to Jesus Christ because again it says, Now what's interesting here is that it kind of flip-flops in a sense of, it talks about the fact that everything is subject unto him but not really everything as of yet. Because look what it says in verse number 8. He left nothing that is not put under him, but we now see not yet all things put under him. Is that a contradiction or what is that referring to? Well it's referring to the fact that ultimately from the heavenlies, from eternity, God has placed everything in subjection to Jesus Christ. But if we were to look at the world in which we live in right now, that hasn't been 100% fulfilled now has it? Because we're not in the millennial reign right now. We're not in the new heaven and the new earth. We're not in that thousand year reign where the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. And so it's given us this description. Now what is the main thing that's keeping him from having rules specifically over all? Well you still have time, people have to get saved, we're not at that point yet. But obviously it's predetermined in the mind of God that one day he will have dominion over everything. Now I'm going somewhere with this, don't let me lose you. Let me read to you from Ephesians chapter 1 and verse number 19, referring to that same concept and says, What is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him on his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come. And has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is the body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. Now this is important because of the fact, a side note to this, is the fact that even though everything is under his feet, the end of verse 8 tells us that not everything is under his feet, which is a great argument against preterism. Because preterists will teach that all these things have already taken place. Jesus Christ is already ruling and reigning, but yet you look at the world around you and it's just like, no he's not. No he isn't. And in fact there will come a day when that will take place, where it will culminate to Jesus Christ having authority over everything, where he is literally above all, and he is physically in charge of this world, but that has not yet taken place. And what an embarrassment for the preterist to think that that's as far as Jesus Christ can go is just only a spiritual dominion, not a physical dominion. Oh yeah, God created this world, he made it, but he's never going to physically inhabit the world and bring it into subjection and rule it with a rod of iron and subject the world under the laws of God. No, that's all spiritual. Well that's weak. Because at the end of the day, even though we operate in the spiritual world, we know that there is a physical type of ruling that's going to take place later on. That Jesus Christ will subject everything under him, the government shall be upon his shoulders. Passages like that don't help preterism. Because the government is not on his shoulders right now. He's not ruling the governments and in fact, according to the Bible, the governments are ruled by the principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. So how do you reconcile that if the government is supposed to be on his shoulders? I'll tell you how, it has not yet happened. And there will come a day where he is ruling all the governments of this world. And you know, how do they reconcile the fact that Jesus Christ says that he's going to rule them with a rod of iron? That's not happening right now. How do they reconcile that God will give the heathing to him for a possession? That has not yet happened. The heathen are not Jesus right now. They're not his. And in fact, the vast majority of the heathens are rejecting Jesus Christ. They're cussing out soul owners in Mexico and TJ at a plaza. That guy was not in subjection to Jesus Christ. He was not possessed by the Lord Jesus Christ. He's living in complete rebellion against him. He's mocking him and blaspheming his name. You know, complaining of why a billion Muslims are going to hell. And that's what he told me. He's like, Are you trying to tell me that a billion Muslims are going to hell? And I said, yes. Yes, they are. He's like, prove to me that hell is real. And what I was going to tell him was like, well, you'll know when you die. What I told him, I was like, what do you want me to do? You want me to just dig in the ground right now? He's like, you think that hell is in the center of the earth? I'm like, yeah, I mean, can you prove that it's not? You know, because one of the things that he kept bringing up was, you know, you believe that that's God's word. Prove to me that that's God's word. And I said, well, the proof is the fact that it's perfect. Because any time a man writes a book, it's going to have some sort of error. It's going to have discrepancies because man is fallible, right? So there's always going to be errors in books, contradictions. But the word of God, because it's authored by the living God, has no errors whatsoever. It's perfect, right? And he says it does have contradictions and it does have errors. So I took my Bible and I said, show me them. And he said, what is the verse in the Bible that says this? I said, where? He's like, it's in there. I'm like, well, you need to show me proof. Because I'm coming to you telling you that the Bible is perfect and you're trying to argue against that and saying that it's not. Well, now you got to prove to me that it's not perfect. That's the way you go in the argument. He's like, no, the burden of proof is on you. I'm like, no, I'm saved, you know what I mean? I already believe the Bible. But that goes to show me that the world is not yet in subjection unto the Lord Jesus Christ. This has not yet taken place, but it will one day. And he says in verse number nine, but we see Jesus, let's move on here, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. Now, if we're to take the interpretation that is possibly referring to both, you can see how it can fit the celestial bodies because he was made lower than those celestial angels in the sense that he was lower in might and in power and to a certain degree of position, right? But you can see how this can also be referring to the prophets or priesthood. Why? Well, because of the fact that he was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. So the purpose of him, because when it says lower than the angels, it could also be referring to his reputation. He wasn't held in high reputation and high esteem to the Israelites, to anybody else. The priesthood was, the prophets were, he was not. Crowned with glory and honor, he by the grace of God should taste death for just a select few people. No, it says for every man, okay? That's a good verse for the Calvinists, amen? He tasted death for every man. He is the savior of all men, but especially of those that believe. Let's continue reading here because I want to get through to some of these verses. For it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things and bringing many sons into glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Now what does that mean when it says to bring the captain of their salvation to make him perfect? To make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. It's not referring to moral perfection or moral rectitude because obviously Jesus Christ is sinless, okay? What it's referring to the fact is that when the word of God was made flesh, now at that point that ministry is complete. Because he is the son of God, he is the son of man, but it's not until he took on flesh, right, that that mission was complete. It's not until that he actually suffered death and paid for the sins of the world and tasted death for every man that it made the captain of their salvation perfect. Why? Because the death was the necessary aspect of the ministry. He was born to die, right? The very reason for Jesus Christ coming to this world was to be crucified, to fulfill prophecy, to pay for the sins of the whole world, etc. Now I'm going to skip some of these verses real quick and skip down to verse 14. It says, For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Now here's where we're going to go a little deep, okay? Because the question is, who is the them that he's referring to here? Now we could easily surmise and conjecture, well them is just referring to just people, right? Sinners or those of Israel, right? And it tells us there that he delivered them who through fear of death were subject to bondage. What bondage is he referring to? The bondage of dying. Because part of being a sinner, part of being a human being, part of the wages of sin is death. Meaning that you can't live forever physically because you are plagued by sin. You have a sin nature, you understand? And this is why the fear of death exists. And don't let anybody tell you in this world outside of Christianity that they're not afraid to die. Of course they're afraid. You know, if they tell you, I'm not afraid to die, they're putting up a front because every human being is afraid to die because every human being is afraid of the unknown. They don't know what's going to happen. And it tells us there, I want to reiterate, they delivered them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. And of course in the previous verses, we talked about the children, verse 14 talks about the children are partakers of the flesh and blood. But now, in its context, look at verse 16. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Now, at face value, you think to yourself, oh okay, this is just referring to the fact that he didn't become, he didn't take on him the nature of a celestial being the way we would know him. Michael the archangel, Gabriel the archangel. You know, he took upon him the seed of Abraham, referring to the fact that he became a human being. And this verse is a very good verse to essentially prove the humanity of Jesus Christ, right? But we got to read it in its context though. Because when he says for verily he took not on him the nature of angels, that's not separate from the thought in verse 15 to deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Because when it starts off in verse 16, for, it says because. For is another way of saying because. Because he took not on him the nature of angels. Well, here's the problem is that celestial beings can't die. Celestial beings have no fear of death because they don't die, they don't physically die, right? You say, well who is the nature of angels that he's referring to? Well, if we were to look at the description of who these angels are from chapter 1 and chapter 2, you can include prophets, you can include, you know, the priesthood. Because later on in this particular chapter, he begins to delve into the subject of the priesthood. And in fact, from chapters 3, 5, 6, 7, and partial parts of chapter 8, it's all about Jesus Christ being better than the priesthood. Now why does he take so much time to delve into why he's better than the priesthood? Well, because the priesthood is something that was highly esteemed in the nation of Israel. So he's talking about how he's better than the prophets. We'll see in chapter 3 that he says that he has more glory than Moses. And the high priest, who's what? Aaron, who's the brother of Moses. And ultimately, the book of Hebrews is emphasizing the superiority of Jesus Christ's priesthood of the new covenant. Okay? You say, well still explain what it means in verse 16. When he talks about the nature of angels, what I believe it's referring to here is that he didn't take on that sin nature. Okay? Because even though the Levitical priesthood, Aaron, his sons, and his lineage, even though there were legitimate priests who were carrying out the ordinances of the priesthood, they died. They had fear of death, they ended up dying, they could not continue in that priesthood. Why did they die? Because they were sinners like everyone else. You say, well that's a bit of a stretch. I'm following you pastor, but you know what, you're kind of losing me here. I don't know if I can see that into the text. Well I'm going to prove it to you. Look what it says. For verily it took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Now that's an important statement there. Now hold your place there and go to Hebrews chapter 6. Because we're going to look at the latter end of Hebrews 6 and a lot of Hebrews 7 to prove that what he's referring to here is the fact that his priesthood is superior to the old covenant priesthood. Why? Because he can never die. He's not afraid of death. Okay? Now look at chapter 6 and verse number 16. Now before we read, keep in mind what it said. He did not take on the nature of angels, which I believe to be that sin nature of those messengers, of that priesthood, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Now this is all in its context because we're in the same book here. Look at verse number 16. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them in the end of all strife, wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope that is set before us. Skip down to verse 20. Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made in high priests forever after the order of Melchizedek. So the latter end of chapter 6 is talking about the fact that God made an oath to Abraham. Okay? Now what was the oath that he made to him? What was the promise that he made to him? Well if you look up to verse number 13, it says, For when God made a 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. And then of course he goes on later on in the chapter. So we know, because we already know where this is going, that the promise that God made to Abraham was Jesus. That was the oath that he gave to him, right? Everyone agree with that? Okay, now let's go to chapter 7. Now chapter 7, we'll delve into this later on more deeply when we go into chapter 7 regarding Melchizedek. But in chapter 7, it's emphasizing the fact that this high priest of the new covenant doesn't come from the Levitical priesthood. Like Moses didn't speak anything about it, he comes from Judah. Okay? And it spends a lot of time talking about that. Now look down at verse number, let's see here. Give me a second. Talk amongst yourselves, no I'm just kidding. Okay, look at verse 22. By so much was Jesus made surety of a better testament, and they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. So it's saying, you know what, the priesthood of the Old Testament was constantly changing. People come into office, they die, and someone takes over, and it was just this revolving door of the priesthood, because they just had this one issue, it's called dying. Which, you know, we chuckle at that, but it's actually a pretty serious thing. Because the priesthood was a very important position, they would offer the sacrifices to offer forgiveness to the recipient, to the person who would come and offer that sacrifice, but the problem is that the high priest, no matter how well they presented that message, no matter how well they came on the behalf of God, they all died. This is what it's saying. They were not suffered to continue by reason of death. Verse 24. By this man, because he continueth forever, excuse me, continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood, wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that cometh to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, became means it's suitable for us, means we need this type of high priest, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, you know, because he didn't take the form of angels, the nature of angels, because he's separate from them, and made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's, for this he did once when he offered up himself. So it's pretty basic here, but it's saying, look, the reason his priesthood is superior is because he didn't have to go into offer for himself first, and then offer for the people, he is that superior sacrifice. He is the superior high priest, but he's also the superior sacrifice. Now keep in mind that at the latter end of chapter 6, we're talking about the oath that was made, right? That's made to Abraham, and that oath being Jesus Christ. Now look down at verse 28. For the law maketh men high priests, which have infirmity, but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated forevermore. So when the Bible talks about in Hebrew chapter 2, that he took not on him the nature of angels, but rather the seed of Abraham, he's referring to that oath, referring to Jesus Christ, referring to the fact that at the end of the day, you know, the nature of angels of these messengers, the high priests, they died, therefore Jesus Christ did not take, and in fact, not only did he not take their nature, he didn't even come from their tribe. He wasn't from the Levitical priesthood. In fact, he just did something completely different, and came from the tribe of Judah. And in fact, he doesn't, we don't need to swap him out for anybody else, because of the fact that the oath that God made to him, which is the seed of Abraham, him taking on that seed of Abraham, him fulfilling that oath that God gave to Abraham, makes the Son who is consecrated forevermore, meaning that this high priest is not afraid of dying, but is able to succor them that are tempted. He's superior. So go back to chapter 2. So what is chapter 2 trying to tell us here? Well, in its context, once again, look at verse 17, talking about the nature of angels, the seed of Abraham, it says in verse 17, Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. You see, he put upon himself the likeness of sinful flesh, but he was not sinful. And in fact, you know, Hebrews 4 tells us that we have not a high priest, which cannot be touched with our infirmities, but rather was tempted in all points like as we are, listen to this, yet without sin. I mean, that's a beautiful verse, but let's get into the doctrine of that verse, because we like to use that, you know, at the time of, you know, when we're struggling, we're going through a hard time, like he knows our infirmities, he knows what we're going through, and that's a great way to apply it, but really the main interpretation of Hebrews 4 is telling us that he's just a better high priest. He's better than Eliezer, he's better than Aaron and all his sons, and every other priest who came after him, every high priest that has ever existed, he's superior to them. And because he didn't take on him the nature of angels that sin nature, it behooved him, it says, to be made like unto his brethren. What does that mean? To suffer like his brethren. To be acquainted with grief and sorrow, as Isaiah 53 puts it. To experience and taste death for every man, you understand? Because he's not a sinner, he's a high priest, but not like those other high priests, because they couldn't deliver anybody. And it goes on to say in verse 18, for in that he himself had suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. Succor simply means help, rescue, save them. In Spanish, the word is pretty much very similar, it's socorro. If you ever see an English 90's movie translated into Spanish, you'll often have the person saying, I socorro, it just means like help. You guys know what I'm talking about? Who knows what I'm talking about? Just me, you Mexicans back there, better not, okay, Mexican here, Mexican, okay. All the Mexicans, okay. So what's the point that he's trying to make here? The point that he's trying to make is the fact that he's trying to show the Hebrews, who he's writing to, the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus. Because he didn't take on the nature of Aaron, he's not of the house of Aaron, he's not of his sons, he's not of the household of, he's of Judah, and he lives forevermore, and in fact he's able to deliver them through fear of death, or all their lifetime subject to bondage, bondage referring to death. In fact, he's of Judah and he's saving people from Levi, of the tribe of Levi, of the Levitical priesthood, he's saving them. That's how superior he is, okay. So what's the point of chapter 2, this particular part right here? Well, we'll see in chapter 3 that he's delving into the fact that as much as important as the Old Testament was, and as the ordinances of the Old Testament was, it can't hold the light, it can't hold the candle to the ministry of Jesus Christ, okay. And in fact, I don't have it in my notes here, maybe I do, No I don't, I forgot where I was going with that. But what I'm saying is the fact that his superiority not only extends over the prophets who proclaim the word of God, they extend over the celestial beings, but it also extends over the priesthood itself, okay. And that's why when you believe on Jesus Christ, you become a part of the royal priesthood. And in fact, anybody who becomes a part of the royal priesthood also never dies. So they also are extended that eternal life and therefore it's obviously better, okay. Now go back up here, look what it says in verse number 11, For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all one. For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the church while I sing praise unto thee. And again I will put my trust in him, and again behold I and the children which God hath given me. So obviously we understand that once we believe on Jesus Christ, we become children of God, we become the people of God, which shows us the fact that, you know, what John 1-12 tells us, But as many as receive them, to them give you power to become the sons of God. The Bible tells us, you know, what great love God hath toward us, that we should be called the sons of God. Referring to the fact that we're converted to becoming children of the Lord through Jesus Christ. And, but not just children of God, according to the Bible, brothers of Christ. Because the Bible says here that he's not ashamed to call us brothers, okay. Brethren. Showing us that in Christ we share that mutual, that's why we're called what? The sons of God. So even though he is the son of God, when we get saved we become sons of God, whereby he also refers to us as being brethren as well. And so that's pretty much it, and what I wanted to share this evening is basically proving the fact that throughout the book of Hebrews, and we're going to see it in chapter 3, and more extensively in chapter 5, 6, and 7, is the fact that he's leading up to, he's kind of building up these tiers of arguments of why he's better than everything in the Old Testament. Because he starts off with the prophets, he of course hits on the angels, as we see, as we saw tonight, he hits on the priesthood, and then he leads up to just being better than what? Than the Old Covenant. Because chapter 8 is where he talks about that he brings in a what? A better covenant. Now that's a huge slam on anyone who doesn't believe on Jesus Christ and wants to uphold the Old Testament as being more authoritative. Because he's not just saying like, oh it's on par with the Old Testament, no, Jesus Christ is just plain and sane, better. And to say that he's a better mediator is just another slam on Moses to those who don't like Jesus Christ because of the fact that he's saying he is, because Moses was the mediator of the Old Testament, well he's the mediator of the New. And it's better. And so from chapters 1 all the way to chapter 8, he's explaining his superiority over these positions. Chapter 9, he explains the superiority, chapter 9 and 10, explains the superiority over the sacrifices. Now that's not hard to understand either, right? Why? Well because of the fact that the sacrifices were offered daily. Jesus Christ offered himself once and for all, and it's over and done with. So obviously it's a superior sacrifice. You know if you can have a vehicle where you just put gas in once for the rest of your life, that is a superior vehicle. Right? You know if you can have, hey if you can have a religion where you just have to believe once, and you're saved eternally, you don't have to keep getting baptized, and keep repenting of your sins, and keep doing good works, you know, our religion is superior. That's why it's a better covenant. Now obviously their salvation was same as our salvation, it's always been the same from Old and New Testament, but the New Testament encapsulates all of that, and shows us why it's better, because it's done once and for all. There doesn't need to be this continuous ordinances and observance of those ordinances on a continual basis to maintain a right relationship with the Lord, we have it through Jesus Christ. It's like a buy one get one free type of a thing. You understand? Once you have it, you have it all. I mean, look, you don't even have to be a part of Israel to be a part of the priesthood. You don't have to be a part of the house of Aaron, or of the tribe of Levi to be a part of the priesthood. Now you just have to be a part of the spiritual house. Once you believe on Christ, you just have it. You don't have to go to a tabernacle to offer a sacrifice. Why? Because our high priest is already making intercessions for us, and in fact, he knows what we need before we ask him. So he's the superior prophet, he is the superior high priest, he is the superior sacrifice, he's the superior covenant. That's why it's better. And so now you see why, you know, this is directed towards the Hebrews. Now for us, it's just like easy money, I understand all of that, I'm a New Testament Christian, but you know what, for the believing Hebrews, you can see how they would struggle with a lot of this stuff. And in fact, there's Christians today that probably struggle with a lot of what we're going to cover in this entire series, because of false doctrine like dispensationalism that has crept in and so forth. But at the end of the day, he did say it was better. And so that's it, let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the depth of the Bible, Lord, and thank you for our high priest, who is superior to all the positions of the Old Testament, the Old Testament ordinances. And we're so thankful for them, Lord, because of what they represent. But we're thankful for the fact that Jesus Christ is the culmination of all of that. And although Aaron and Moses did a great job in the Old Testament and did great works for you, and we're a friend of the Lord, at the end of the day, we have access to a greater mediator, greater than Moses himself and a greater high priest, greater than even Aaron. And so, Lord, help us to be in appreciation over this New Testament that we're a part of. And, Lord, may it cause us to come before the throne of grace, to obtain mercy, to help in a time of need. We love you. We thank you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.