Hebrews

[0:00] Well, if you will take your scripture sheet now and note that in the last couple of verses of chapter 8, which I think we've concluded, he is talking about that which decayeth and waxeth old at the bottom is ready to vanish away.

[0:16] And he is, of course, referring to the old covenant. And it is a covenant that served its purpose for the time and the people in which it was given.

[0:30] But that is past. And now there is time to look to something new. And that's what opens chapter 9. And bearing in mind, as we've mentioned in times past, there is no actual division between the chapters.

[0:46] That is very arbitrary. If you were reading the book of Hebrews 500 years ago, you would not find any chapters or any verses. These are all man-made.

[0:59] And some of them are not helpful when it comes to maintaining the continuity. So we're going to open with just tooling right on from chapter 8 about that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.

[1:14] Then chapter 9 opens with, Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary.

[1:28] What made it worldly? Well, the fact that it was on planet earth. Not talking about it being worldly from the standpoint of carnality or sin. It's talking about it being here on planet earth.

[1:39] As opposed to tabernacle erected in heaven. I've never been able to put an adequate handle on the need or the purpose for a tabernacle in heaven.

[1:52] But I do know that that is where the Lord Jesus Christ went after his crucifixion. And he presented his blood there. And we'll see that later upcoming.

[2:03] So this is the worldly sanctuary that he is talking about. And then in verse 2, he says, For there was a tabernacle made, the first, wherein was the candlestick and the table and the showbread.

[2:20] Now he's talking about the tabernacle God instructed Moses to build. It begins in Exodus chapter 25 and 15 chapters.

[2:33] Clear through chapter 40. 15 chapters are devoted to the dimensions, the construction, the materials, etc. of this tabernacle.

[2:45] So it is really very, very important what the Lord is doing here. For there was a tabernacle made, the first, wherein was the candlestick.

[2:57] That's probably not a good rendering. It wasn't a candlestick. It was a lampstand. It wasn't candles. It was a menorah.

[3:08] Yeah. The lampstand. And the table. And the showbread. Which, and then let's go up to the next page.

[3:20] Which is called the sanctuary. Now this is the sanctuary of the priest. Anyone who is a priest was allowed into the sanctuary of the priest.

[3:34] That was the larger area. If you think in terms of the sanctuary, big properly, about 30 feet long. About 10 feet wide, 30 feet long.

[3:47] 20 feet of the 30 feet were the sanctuary or the holy place. 10 feet of the 30 feet.

[3:59] And a space about 10 by 10, which would be roughly 100 square feet. That was the area of the most holy place. So we've got this.

[4:10] Think in terms, if you will. If you're looking down on this thing from a top view. Think of a rectangle that is 10 feet wide, 30 feet long. 20 of those 30 feet is for the holy place.

[4:25] 10 of those 30 feet is for the most holy place. That's where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. And what separated the 10 feet from the 20 feet was this huge, thick curtain.

[4:42] Sometimes called the veil. This is that which was rent or torn into from top to bottom at the time of the crucifixion.

[4:52] I think it's Matthew that points that out. That the veil in the temple was rent from the top to the bottom. And what that did, of course, is it completely exposed the most holy place.

[5:07] In a way that it was never intended to be exposed before. And that was very, very significant because it was in conjunction with the death of Christ that allowed for that veil to be rent from top to bottom because Christ himself had become the new and living way.

[5:29] And the new veil is his flesh, his body, which he gave for our sins. So we read that about the sanctuary in verse 3. And after the second veil, the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all or the most holy place, which had the golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna and Aaron's rod that budded.

[6:05] Those items comprised the totality of the contents of the Ark of the Covenant. That was all that was in it. And that Ark is more or less a box like a coffin.

[6:17] Yeah, exactly. It's about roughly the size of a coffin. Maybe roughly about the size of the top of these tables here together. And it had rings on the corner.

[6:32] Rings, large rings, probably about three, four inches in diameter, situated at each corner. And through those rings, long poles were placed.

[6:47] And that enabled the priests then to pick up the Ark. And each one would have a shoulder under a pole. And four men could carry that Ark of the Covenant.

[7:03] By the way, the poles were never to be removed from it. They were left in place all the time. And then continuing on, the tables of the Covenant and verse 5. And over it, the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat.

[7:19] The mercy seat was the lid. It was the covering on the coffin or on the Ark. And on top of the lid, there were these two cherubim with overarching wings looking over the Ark, spread out.

[7:41] We don't know exactly how big they were because there is no measurements given regarding the cherubim. But if you think in terms of the proportionate size of what it was situated on, you can pretty much visualize about what size they would have been.

[7:57] And let's turn the page here, if we may. Of which, shadowing the mercy seat. The mercy seat, by the way.

[8:08] The mercy seat is the precise location where the blood of the sacrifice was to be applied. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, by the high priest, after he had offered blood, sacrifice for himself, then he offered sacrifice on that mercy seat for the sins of the people.

[8:31] And the Lord said, There on the mercy seat is where I will dwell and be with my people. There in the inner sanctuary. Now, verse 6.

[8:43] Now, when these things were thus ordained, the priest went always into the first tabernacle.

[8:54] That's the larger area that would be 10 by 20. Accomplishing the service of God. But, into the second went the high priest alone.

[9:09] Once every year. No mere mortal ever saw the inside of the most holy place except the high priest. And he only saw it once a year.

[9:20] Tabernacle means tent. So, this was a tent structure. Yeah. Exactly. It was. And it was designed to be temporary. It was designed to be broken down and carried in pieces to the next location.

[9:33] There it would be reestablished and set up again. And the dimensions, of course, would always remain the same because the parts that put it together were always the same. The high priest alone.

[9:45] Once every year. The day of atonement. And the... I'm trying to think of the Hebrew name for the day of atonement now.

[9:58] Slip my mind. But it will come back when I'm thinking about something else. The high priest alone. Once every year. Not without blood. Which he offered for himself.

[10:09] And for the errors of the people. Since the ignorance of the people. The Holy Ghost. This signifying. That the way.

[10:21] Into the holiest of all. Was not yet made manifest. That is. Christ had not yet died. While as the first tabernacle.

[10:33] Was yet standing. Which was a figure. For the time. Then present. In which.

[10:44] Were offered. Both gifts. And sacrifices. That could. Not. Make. Him. That did the service.

[10:55] Perfect. Or. Provide finality. Or closure. We would say. As pertaining. To the conscience. Which stood.

[11:06] Only. In meats. And drinks. And divers. Washings. And. I don't think. I've got the next page here. I don't. I'm just going to have to go to my Bible.

[11:16] And you'll have to go to yours. For picking up on. For verse. Verse 11. Of chapter 9. And I'll just read here.

[11:27] And I'm reading from the. New American standards. And you can follow along. Whatever you have. And verse 10. And the New American says. Since they relate.

[11:37] Only to food. And drink. And various washings. Regulations. For the body. Imposed. Until a time. Of reformation. All of these things. Were intended.

[11:49] To be a harbinger. Of what was to come. All of these things. Were simply. Setting the stage. For the grand finale. And that of course. Would be in the person. And the death of Christ.

[12:00] Yeah. I was going to say. Along with your thought there. That outer. Area. That outer area. Was set up like a cross. Too. Was in shape of a cross. Yeah. As you look down.

[12:10] It was. It was. It was. It was. It was. It was. It was. It was. It was. It was set up as a cross. As you look down on it. It just looked like that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. You say this is for. For the death of Christ coming.

[12:24] But no one knew that. No. They certainly did not understand that. At the time. No. I don't think so. John. John. Back to verse 4. We talked about. These items in there.

[12:36] Aaron's father. Uh huh. And. We talked about the table. Of the covenant. Is that the tent commandment?

[12:48] I think so. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This is the law. Written with the finger of God. These were the same ones that. Moses broke. When he was angry. About the golden calf.

[12:58] And then. The Lord told him. Make some new ones. This was the one they carried with them. Right? Oh yeah. Yeah. That's what I thought. Yeah. And the ark. They carried this ark. All the way through the wilderness. You know.

[13:08] These guys carried this ark. All the other items of furniture as well. And in the ark. Was. Aaron's. Rod that budded. And. The pot of golden manna.

[13:19] The golden manna. And. The tablets of the law. That was the contents of the ark. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Verse 5.

[13:33] And above it. Were the cherubim. Of glory. Overshadowing the mercy seat. But of these things. We cannot now speak. In detail. Now. When these things.

[13:45] Have been thus prepared. The priests. Are continually. Entering the outer tabernacle. Performing the divine worship. That's the outer tabernacle.

[13:56] That's the 10 by 20. And. All of the priests. Different ones. Were allowed in there. Matter of fact. To just give you a brief aside. Remember. As the gospel of Luke opens.

[14:07] We have this man. Zacharias. Who is a priest. And he is described as being. In the direct lineage. Of Levi. And his wife.

[14:17] Elizabeth. She. Was of the tribe of Levi also. And. Zacharias. Was in. The temple. And. He.

[14:28] Was a priest. We are told. After the order. Of Abiah. And what that means is. There got to be. Through. Natural birth processes.

[14:39] There got to be. So many priests. They had more priests. Than they had. Functions for them. To fulfill. So during the reign. Of David. When he was king. He separated.

[14:51] The priesthood. Into. Twenty. Four. Units. And. Each one. Belonged. To one of those. Twenty. Four. Units. And we are told.

[15:02] That. Zacharias. Was of the order. Of. Abias. That was the one. That he belonged to. And in order. To determine. Who was going to serve.

[15:13] In the tabernacle. They would cast lots. And it was kind of like a lottery. And if. Your name was drawn. You were assigned.

[15:25] To a particular function. And the likelihood is. That would be the only time. In your entire life. When you would actually. Perform the service. In the tabernacle.

[15:35] Because there were so many priests. And the only way. It could be determined. Was by drawing lots. And we are told. That Zacharias. Was of the order. Of Abias. And his name.

[15:46] Was drawn. And he. Was selected. To burn. Incense. And it was. A tremendous. Privilege. It was something. That he would be. Talking about.

[15:57] He would be the envy. Of all the other priests. Just because. He was chosen. For that. And that's when. The angel. Gabriel. Appeared to him. And announced. The birth. Of John. The Baptist. And so on. That's in Luke.

[16:07] Chapter 1. But that's the side. So let's continue on. If we may. We're in. We're in verse. Verse 6.

[16:17] Now when these things. Have been thus prepared. The priests. Are continually. And the emphasis on. Is this is a never ending thing. They are continually. Entering the outer tabernacle. That's the larger.

[16:29] Performing. The divine worship. But. Into the second. Only the high priest. Sinners. Once a year. Not without taking blood. Which he offered for himself.

[16:40] And for the sins of the people. Committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit. Is signifying this. That the way. Into the holy place. Has not yet. Been disclosed.

[16:50] While the outer tabernacle. Is still standing. Which is a symbol. For the present time. Accordingly. Both gifts and sacrifices.

[17:01] Are offered. Which cannot. Make the worshiper. Perfect. In conscience. In other words. It always left.

[17:12] The issue. Unfinished. Undone. Had to be repeated again. There was. No closure. Provided. There was no closure. Intended.

[17:23] It was designed. To reflect. The temporal. Nature. Of this thing. That never. Really. Did. The job. And that's because.

[17:34] The one. Who really would. Do the job. Is coming. And that of course. Is our Lord Jesus. And he continues. By saying. Could not make the worshiper.

[17:44] Perfect. Or complete. Or provide closure. In conscience. Since they. Relate only. To food. And drink. And various washings. And that word. Sometimes is translated.

[17:55] Baptisms. Because. Baptisms. In the Jewish economy. Were always plural. There were repeated. Cleansings. And washings. Various washings.

[18:07] Regulations. For the body. Imposed. Until. A time. Of reformation. But. And here is a huge. Conjunction.

[18:18] Of contrast. But. When. Christ. Appeared. As. A high priest. Of the good things. To come. He. Entered.

[18:28] Through. The greater. And more. Perfect. Tabernacle. Not. Made. With hands. That is to say. Not. Of this creation. But what is this tabernacle?

[18:39] This is the one in heaven. This tabernacle. Was not made with human hands. The tabernacle on earth. That God instructed Moses. To have built.

[18:50] Was all put together with human hands. Was the priest. That built it. Erected it. Uh. Constructed all of the items. This one is different. And verse 12.

[19:01] And not through. The blood of goats. And calves. But through his own blood. He entered.

[19:12] The holy place. Once for all. Having obtained. Eternal redemption. Now. You see that eternal redemption. That of course.

[19:24] Is radically. Contrasted. With what we have. In verse. 11. Which could not. Make the worst.

[19:34] I'm sorry. Verse 9. Which could not. Provide the perfection. Or the closure. That this does. Through the person of Christ. In verse. Verse 12.

[19:46] Having obtained. Eternal redemption. For. If the blood. Of goats. And bulls. And the ashes. Of a heifer. Sprinkling those. Who have been defiled.

[19:57] Sanctifies. For the cleansing. Of the flesh. How much more. Will the blood. Of Christ. Who through. The eternal spirit. Offered himself.

[20:09] Without blemish. He is the lamb. Of God. Without spot. And without blemish. Offered himself. Without blemish. To God. Cleanse. Your conscience. From dead works.

[20:20] To serve. The living God. Christ. Provides. A kind. Of finality. And closure. To those. Who have placed. Their faith. In him. That the.

[20:32] Sacrifice. Of the priest. Could never provide. Got to do this again. Got to go through it. Next year. And all these animals. Thousands. And thousands. Of animals. Over a period. Of hundreds. Of years. Yeah.

[20:42] Yeah. And that. Please there. Prove yourself. Your conscience. From dead works. Get rid of the law. The law is dead now. Right. I mean. That's. You don't follow it anymore.

[20:52] Get that out of your conscience. Right. That's. That's the idea. The law. The law. Is going to be. Set aside. And let me inject this. Because this is a night of the.

[21:03] That many believers. Do not understand. And that is. The law of Moses. Paul makes it very clear. That we are not under law.

[21:18] We are under grace. When were we ever. Under the law of Moses. The answer is. Never. Never. Never were.

[21:29] The law of Moses. Was given exclusively. To the children of Israel. Israel. The Egyptians. Didn't have the law. It wasn't given to them. Wasn't given to the Babylonians. Wasn't given to.

[21:39] It was given exclusively. To Israel. For their obedience. In conjunction. With their being. The chosen people of God. And so on. So. We never were.

[21:50] Under the law. But I'll tell you. The law that we are under. Is the law. Is the law. That God has written. On every human heart. And that's in Romans chapter 2.

[22:01] When Paul says. For the Gentiles. Who have. Not. The law. Have. The law of God. The. The. The equal of the law of God.

[22:13] Written in the hearts. Of every individual. And. That. Law. That God has. Built into the human psyche. Is able.

[22:24] To distinguish. Between. Right. And wrong. And we know. Right. And wrong. We know it. Apart from the law of Moses. Everyone. Living any place. In the world. I don't care.

[22:34] How uneducated. Or how backward. They are. They have this law. In. Their heart. Any. Any place you go. On the globe. Where the law. And civilization.

[22:45] Has never penetrated. You will find. People there. That have a law. Under themselves. And included in that law. Is always. It's wrong to steal. It's wrong to take.

[22:57] Someone else's property. It's wrong to take. Someone else's life. It's wrong to injure someone. It's wrong to murder someone. Where do they get those ideas? They never had the law. They come internally.

[23:08] They are programmed in us. And it becomes the basis. For our accountability. Too. Joe. Okay. Then how does that tie in. With the scripture. That says. The Jews. At the second coming.

[23:19] Will have the law. Then. Written into their hearts. And impressed on their hearts. They won't have to be. Teaching it. To their sons and daughters. And practicing it. To keep it. Keep it in forefront.

[23:30] Right. It will be written on everybody's heart. How does that tie in. With what you just said. About us. The Gentiles. Having the law written. Well. The only thing that I can say. Is that. This.

[23:41] Is going to provide. A dimension. Of obedience. Of understanding. Of appreciation. And everything else. That. That none of us have now. It will be.

[23:52] A more full disclosure. Of the holiness of God. And of their ability. And willingness. To abide by it. That they do not now have. That they never have had.

[24:03] And that we don't have either. Because. Despite the fact. Despite the fact guys. That we have. The knowledge. Of right and wrong within us. We are still.

[24:14] Under. The curse. The fall. That. Impacted. Our nature. And has. Contributed. Mightily. To our.

[24:26] Self. Centeredness. You got to remember. That one of the. Principal. Consequences. Of the original fall. Was that.

[24:37] Adam and Eve. Took unto themselves. A new kind. Of self. Centeredness. That they did not have before. Before they disobeyed God.

[24:48] God was their center. He was their focus. When they disobeyed him. Their focus. And center shifted. From God. To themselves. And that's where it remains today.

[25:01] Each and every one of us. Has self. Centeredness. At our core. That's what produces. Conflict. Because.

[25:12] Your self. Centeredness. Eventually. Will clash. With my self. Centeredness. When we both want. The same toy. And it starts in the playpen. When we're about two years old.

[25:23] You know. That's part and parcel. Of human nature. So. Let's continue on here. We are in. We.

[25:33] Where are we? Verse 14. How much more. Will the blood of Christ. Who through the eternal spirit. Offered himself. Without blemish to God. Cleanse your conscience.

[25:44] From dead works. To serve the living God. Keep in mind now again. He's talking to a Jewish constituency. Don't try to Christianize. The book of Hebrews. It won't fit. And it's not supposed to fit.

[25:56] This is for the Jew. And for this reason. Verse 15. He. Christ. Is the mediator. Of a new covenant. In order that since.

[26:07] A death. Has taken place. That is the death of Christ. For the redemption. Of the transgressions. That were committed. Under the first covenant. Those who have been called.

[26:18] May receive the promise. Of the eternal inheritance. For. Where a covenant is. There must of necessity.

[26:29] Be the death. Of the one who made it. For a covenant. Is valid. Only when men. Are dead. For it is never. In force.

[26:40] While the one who made it. Lives. And that's the principle here. Of somebody drafting a will. And the will. May be up to date. And specify everything.

[26:51] That you want done. With the will. But the will. Will never be activated. Or put in force. Until you die. Because as long. As you are alive.

[27:02] If you are the testator. And you made the will. As long as you are alive. The provisions. Of the will. Are never. Played out.

[27:13] And the heirs. Do not receive anything. Until you die. So as long as you are alive. The will. Is not in force.

[27:24] But when you die. It is. So the covenant. Is valid. Only when men are dead. For it is never in force. While the one who made it. Lives. Therefore.

[27:36] Even. The first covenant. Was not. Inaugurated. Without blood. This is. This is the sealing. Of the covenant. The ratifying of the covenant.

[27:48] Finalizing of the covenant. Making it official. And. We don't do that today. With blood. Or anything like that. But I'll tell you what we do do. And we place a lot of emphasis on this. There is a dotted line.

[28:01] On which you are to sign. And when you sign. When you sign. You are. Assigning. Your person. To that document.

[28:13] You are making it official. We even use the phrase. Sign off on this. That means. You adopt it. You embrace it. You accept it. You take it. As.

[28:23] You're being a part of that thing. You agree to what is in that term. By putting your signature on the bottom. And as the old saying goes. You need to be careful what you sign. And you need to read.

[28:33] You need to read something before you sign it. Because. And who was it? Mark Twain said. The fine print. Is never good news. So you want to read the fine print.

[28:45] Know what you're signing here. Therefore. Verse 18. Even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses.

[28:57] To all the people according to the law. He took the blood of the calves. And of the goats. With water. And scarlet wool. And hyssop. And sprinkled.

[29:08] Both the book itself. That is. The tables of the law. And all the people. Saying. This. Is the blood of the covenant. Which God. Commanded.

[29:19] You. And bear in mind guys. This is an important point. And I don't think. A lot of people understand this. But. You need to understand that the law of Moses. Moses. The law that God gave.

[29:30] On Mount Sinai. Through Moses. Was not. Was not something that God. Imposed on them. God never said through Moses.

[29:41] Okay people. This is my law. And you better obey it. No no. Wasn't anything like that. Moses went into the mount. God gave him the law.

[29:53] All that it involved. And as much as said. Moses. Take this down. And tell the people. This is what I say. And this is what I require. And if.

[30:05] They. Will sign off on this. Then I will be their God. And they will be my people. And we'll have a peculiar covenant relationship. That I will not have with.

[30:15] Any other nation on earth. And that's exactly what Moses did. Moses went down. Gave the law to the people. And said. Folks. I've got a deal for you.

[30:27] See what you think of this. And he spelled out. All the demands of the law. And. God said. That if you will obey him. And his law. He will protect you.

[30:38] He will watch out for you. He will be your God. You will be his people. You will have a peculiar relationship. With all the people on the earth. You will be. His special people. What do you think?

[30:48] And. You got a deal or not? And the people responded. And they said. Moses. You go back up there. And you tell God. All that he.

[30:59] Has said. Will we do. You tell God. He's got a deal. And Moses says. Okay. Let's make this official. We're going to sign this covenant.

[31:11] It'll be signed. In blood. That gave a solemnity to it. A seriousness to it. Because something had to die. To provide that blood. And he took the blood.

[31:24] And he dipped a branch. A hyssop branch in it. And sprinkled. The law. Sprinkled the books. The tablets. And he sprinkled. I don't know how many of the people he sprinkled.

[31:35] He couldn't sprinkle all the people. I don't know how many. I don't know if they had representatives for the people or what. But he sprinkled the people. And what that did. Is it. It united. It united.

[31:46] It united. The people of Israel. With the law. With the covenant. And made them. Special people. Of the law. And they were the only ones.

[31:57] On the whole planet. That had that connection. And that's going to leave. Amos. Prophet. Later. I think it's in chapter 3. Something like that. Where. Where God says through Amos.

[32:09] You holding. Addressing the nation of Israel. Said. You only. Of all the nations of the earth. You only. Have I known. And that doesn't mean of course.

[32:21] That he didn't know about all the earth. Of course he did. He knew about all the nations. But he didn't know. Any of the other nations. The way he knew. Israel.

[32:31] Israel. And it is the same word. That is used. For a man. Knowing. His wife. And it has to do with. An intimacy.

[32:41] Doesn't mean he knows. Who she is. It means he knows her. In a way. That no one else does. So. It's a beautiful thing. That is established here. And it is exclusively.

[32:52] For. The nation. Of Israel. And it is going to put them. Under obligation. Of course. That no other nation had. But. It's also going to provide for them.

[33:03] Provisions. That no other nation will have. And the main reason. That all of this is being done. It is. Through. This nation. This special.

[33:14] Established nation. That eventually. God is going to use. To provide. Yeshua HaMashiach. He is going to come through.

[33:26] That nation. He will be. Of the seed. Of Judah. The fourth born son. Of Jacob. Don. I could just. This aside.

[33:36] In my own mind. It seemed like. The Hebrews. Could be the first book. Written. After Christ died. To convince the Jews. This way. Rather than the other book. Yeah. Well.

[33:46] You've got a very good point there. Because. And one of the problems. We have. Is in. Is in. Accurately. Dating. The Hebrews. Hebrews. And it's really impossible. To say exactly.

[33:57] What the date is. Because the scholars. Are all over the map. On this. But. But. The only thing. That I can say. For sure. And. And I am quite. I'm quite confident.

[34:09] Of this. That. Hebrews. Had to have been written. Before. 70 AD. Because. In 70 AD.

[34:20] Jerusalem. Was destroyed. The temple. Was destroyed. Israel. Was. Beaten down. And defeated. By the Romans. And it was a real. Bloodbath. And. It is. Inconceivable.

[34:31] That. Hebrews. Could have been written. After that. Because there surely. Would have been mentioned. References to it. So. We have to date. Hebrews. Fairly early. And it might be. Even earlier.

[34:41] Than we know. But. But we just cannot. Say for sure. Okay. Let's see if we can. Continue on here. Verse 18.

[34:52] Therefore. Even the first covenant. Was not inaugurated. Without blood. For every commandment. Had been spoken by Moses. To all the people. According to the law. Took the blood.

[35:03] Of the calves. And the goats. The water. And the scarlet wool. And the hyssop. Sprinkled both the book itself. And the people. Saying. This. This. Is the blood. Of the covenant.

[35:14] Which God. Commanded you. And in the same way. He sprinkled. Both the tabernacle. And all the vessels. Of the ministry. With the blood. And according to the law.

[35:26] One may almost say. All things. Are cleansed. With blood. And without shedding of blood. There is no. Forgiveness. Therefore. Therefore. It was necessary.

[35:37] For the copies. Of the things. In the heavens. To be cleansed. With these. But the heavenly things. Themselves. With better sacrifices.

[35:47] Than these. For Christ. Did not enter. A holy place. Made with hands. That is. The earthly tabernacle. That Moses built. Which is.

[35:58] A mere copy. Of the true one. Where is a true one? That was in heaven. And he instructed Moses. After giving Moses. The blueprint. He told him.

[36:09] See to it. That you make. This tabernacle. Exactly. After the pattern. Of the one. In heaven. But into heaven itself. Christ. Christ did not enter.

[36:21] A holy place. Made with hands. A mere copy. Of the true one. But into heaven itself. Now. To appear. In the presence. Of God. For us. And there. Of course. He is making intercession.

[36:32] For us. And that is. First John. Chapter 2. Nor was it. That he should. Offer himself. Often. As the high priest. Entered the holy place.

[36:43] Year by year. With blood. Not his own. Otherwise. He would have. Needed to suffer. Often. Since the foundation. Of the world. But now.

[36:54] There is that contrast. Again. But now. Once. At the consummation. Of the ages. He has been. Manifested. To put away sin. By the sacrifice.

[37:06] Of himself. And inasmuch. As it is appointed. For men. To die once. And after this. Comes judgment. So Christ. Also.

[37:17] Having been offered. Once. To bear. The sins of many. Shall appear. A second time. For salvation. Or for deliverance.

[37:27] For rescue. Without reference. To sin. To those. Who eagerly. Await him. So when he comes. The second time. He is not coming. As a sacrifice. That is done.

[37:38] That is over with. He is coming. As a. Ruling. Reigning. King. And he. Will. Take charge. And this will be. At. Closure.

[37:49] At the. Armageddon. So. The contrast. Between the old. And the new. Is very. Stark. And very real. Very dramatic. Too. Joe. There seems to be a pattern. In all this.

[38:01] That to live. You must die. Yeah. And if you think about it. Plants. Yeah. Die now. In the fall. Or winter. In order for them to live in the spring. They must die.

[38:12] That is right. Everything is a pattern for things. Absolutely. Die. Live. John 12. Except a grain of wheat. Fall into the ground.

[38:23] And die. It abides alone. But if it dies. It breaks forth much fruit. Great principle there. Other thoughts or comments? Anybody? Paul.

[38:34] And then. Dan. You just read it. But you know. But. I'm dying for the sins for all. So he was the propagation. I think even. You know. Just not to do. But I think a lot of Christians.

[38:46] You can get that confused. I mean. If it's a lack of forgiveness. But sometimes. People don't realize. You know. He's already died for that sin. You know. Does that make sense? But you know.

[38:58] Like a lot of people. I'm not following it. Repeat that. Because Christ died for all. Since the past. Present. And the future. And I think. Though a lot of people. You know. Because I do. So sort of. One of you are a Christian.

[39:08] I believe you are. I mean. If you have Christ in you. He's already died for your son. But I think. A lot of Christians. I don't know if I'm saying that right. But you know. They still try to work their way to heaven.

[39:20] You know. And you know. You've got to ask for. Oh yeah. Yeah. And I think. I don't know if I'm making sense. Well. There is a huge distinction to be made. Between our standing and our state.

[39:33] Our state. And our standing. Are two different things. That need to be rightly divided. And I'll just be as brief as I can with this. But it's really important.

[39:44] Your standing. Is your official status. Before God. It's perfect. It cannot be improved upon. It cannot be added to it.

[39:55] Because Christ is the one that accomplished it. And he has forgiven you all trespasses in him. That's your official standing. And that is not subject to change.

[40:06] Your state. Is the condition you are in spiritually. And it can be everywhere from godly. To behaving very unchristianly.

[40:18] And we know that we are capable of that. And these two are often confused by a lot of people. And they do not have assurance of their salvation. Because they know that as a Christian.

[40:30] Gee. If I were really a Christian. I wouldn't do that. Or I wouldn't think that. Maybe I'm not even saved. So if I'm not. I want to get saved again. Or saved for the first time.

[40:41] If I didn't really mean it. And they don't make a distinction. Between their standing and their state. And your standing. Is conditioned by Christ. It is perfect. Nothing can be added to it.

[40:52] Nothing can be taken from it. Your state fluctuates. Your state changes. As you grow. In grace and knowledge. Of the Lord Jesus. Yeah. Along with what you said.

[41:03] I see. The problem you have. You see people out there doing good work. But maybe they're doing us good work. Because they are a Christian. They know they're a Christian.

[41:13] And I should be doing these things. But other people need that. They're still working. Trying to work their salvation. When they're really not. But maybe there are some people. That are really trying to do that.

[41:23] How do you tell the difference? I mean. How do you know the matter of the heart? And you would be surprised. How many people have no peace. And no rest internally. Because they have perpetual questions.

[41:36] Have I been good enough? Have I done enough? Have I prayed enough? Have I read my Bible enough? Have I given enough? Have I gone to church enough? And they don't understand. When you are in Christ.

[41:48] You are complete in Him. Your walk. Is not complete. Because that's. What enables you to grow. And to mature. But you do not grow.

[42:00] In your position in Christ. You grow. In your being conformed. To the image of Christ. That's where you grow. And mature. And the difference is huge. I met the other wife.

[42:11] With a Jew. I've seen. A lot of people. Just not Jews. I mean. You know. I did it. I struggled with it. For a long time. Well most of us have. Yeah. Yeah. But I've just seen people. You know. So much guilt. With that sin.

[42:21] And I'm like. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I wasn't going to take it. For you to get it. But I was like. Man. You've been forgiven. Dude. Yep. Absolutely. And you know. One of the reasons. One of the reasons.

[42:32] That we really struggle. With this. Of questioning. Whether we have been forgiven. One of the reasons. That's difficult. For a lot of people. To get past. Is because.

[42:43] Even though. God. Forgives you. Fully. Freely. Forever. In Christ. He does not. Remove the consequences. That came.

[42:54] From what he forgave you for. And you live with those consequences. Day by day. Day. And doing so. Tends to make you. Connect that. With the original act.

[43:06] That produced the consequences. That makes you wonder. Whether you're really forgiven. So you've got to make a distinction. Between forgiveness. And the sins. That are.

[43:16] Cast behind his back. Sought for and not found. Carried. Buried in the depths. Of the deepest sea. And all the rest of those things. Got to make a distinction. Between that.

[43:27] And your walk with Christ. Which is radically different. Thank you.