He Lives On?

In our study for today we are going to ponder Hebrews 7, which continues to contrast the Melchizidekan priesthood with the Levitical priesthood.  Why does the author of Hebrews devote so much space to this?

Remember that the Hebrew audience was in peril of devolving back to strict Judaism, with a sprinkling of Jesus thrown in for good measure.  The author is making the important point that Jesus is not a condiment, but is the main course.  When Jesus came on the scene and did the work God the Father ordained Him to do, He changed everything, even down to the foundations of Judaism, even the priesthood.  He transformed worship and relationship,  from the Levitical priesthood which came through Aaron (Moses' bro) to a holy priesthood foreshadowed by Melchizedek and fulfilled by Himself (Jesus).

In a recent post, I put forth 3, well, really 4, schools of thought about Melchizedek.  I'd like to delve deeper into one of those today.  For reference, here is the post from a few days ago.  If you didn't get a chance to read it, I'd recommend you do so before proceeding: http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2017/01/mystery-man.html

The Bible does not tell us explicitly much detail about the Melchizedekan priesthood, other than that Jesus is our High Priest, and He is of that priestly order - - an order from which Melchizedek also was (or is) priest.  One of the (lesser well-known) schools of thought about Melchizedek is that he was/is an angelic being who took the form of a human to fulfill the role of King of Salem.  If that sounds far-fetched, hang with me.   I'm going to share here a synopsis of some serious study done by David W. Lowe1, in his ground-breaking (sorry for the obvious pun) book, Earthquake Resurrection.

Before I do that, though, go back and read the bulleted list of descriptors in the Mystery Man post (link above).

Although the Levitical priesthood was replaced by Jesus' superior priesthood, the Levitical priesthood served an important function in its day.  It is very crucial to remember that the Bible is a book of patterns and parallels, of foreshadowings, prophecies and fulfillments.  Specifically relevant to this discussion, the Temple and the Levitical priesthood were patterned after design and service in Heaven, because this is what God commanded Moses and David to do.  This was established in 1 Chronicles 24-27 and is verified in Hebrews 8:23 and 9:24-25.  Hebrews 9:23 likens the earthly representations to be how we might sketch the design of our home on a scratchpad.  Unless we were talented artists, the resulting sketch could be very similar, but still paling in comparison to the "real and actual".

Reading 1 Chronicles 24:4-5, we see that King David appointed 24 divisions of the Levitical priesthood, from both Eleazer's and Ithamar's (Aaron's sons) descendants.  Now, I invite you to go read Revelation 4 and refresh your memory as to the equally mysterious "24 elders" and "4 living creatures".  1 Peter 3:21-22 state that Jesus Christ is surrounded by different types of angelic beings as He now sits at the right hand of God.  From Revelation 4-5, a picture of the throne room of God shortly after Jesus ascended to Heaven, we see some of those angelic beings.  Because the Levitical priesthood had 24 orders of the priesthood, and was a pattern of what is in heaven, it follows that the 24 elders are a heavenly parallel of the priestly order of the 24 descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar. They serve the Melchizedekan priesthood of the high priest of heaven, Jesus Christ.2 

Is it possible/plausible that Melchizedek was a high priest before God, an angelic being of that same priestly order?  Could it be that he is in Heaven now, continuing his service to the Son of God, our great High Priest?

In the next post, we will continue to explore Hebrews by examining what this book says about the ceremony of transfer from the Levitical priesthood to the Melchizedekan.

Sources:

1     @davidwlowebooks . earthquakeresurrection.com . 

2      Lowe, D. W. (2005). Earthquake Resurrection: supernatural catalyst for the coming global catastrophe. ISBN: 1-4116-3970-7. Place of publication not identified: D.W. Lowe.

Dear ______

In the last post we explored the authorship of the book of Hebrews and delved into its overall shape/structure a bit.  Hebrews is unique in the New Testament, due to its oral character, its carefully crafted design, its use of high-brow Greek, its interwoven exposition (what the Scriptures say) with exhortation ("So, then this is what we should do in light of that.")  It is a beautiful sermon, written by a master preacher, with the intent that this sermon be sent as a letter to fledgling churches.

About those small congregations...who were they?  Who were the intended recipients of the Hebrews sermon/letter?

Cockerill points out that it is important to draw a conclusion about whether Hebrews was written to Christ-followers with Jewish ethnicity or to Christ-followers with Gentile heritage or to a mixed group of Christian believers.
Like the authorship of the book, it is impossible to determine this conclusively, even though it began to have the "address" To the Hebrews in the latter half of the second century.   The writer of Hebrews does not utilize any type of ethnic distinction to help us figure this out.  He disparages neither Jews nor Gentiles.  The author seems to be addressing one Church Universal - - the people of God throughout history up until and including our present day, one long, continuous, faith-based salvation.  It treats Christianity as a natural manifestation/metamorphosis of Judaism.

Within that, various Bible scholars have extrapolated various theories of the intended recipients of "Hebrews".  One of the more intriguing theories, according to Bruce, is that, because of the intense focus on the Levitical/Aaronic priesthood, the letter was intended for highly-educated Christians who were formerly Jewish priests and who would have a natural interest in the writer's arguments.  Others have taken this even further to assert that the intended audience was a group of converted priests called "Esseno-Christians", including members formerly of the Qumran sect.  (You may be familiar with the discovery in 1947 of a large number of ancient Biblical manuscripts in the caves of Qumran.)  Hebrews' author pointedly corrects some doctrinal errors commonly held by the Qumran sect, which lends credence to this position.  Bruce seems to lean toward this view.

Some additional conclusions can be drawn.
1.  In the very first verse, the author refers to "our ancestors", which could mean genetic ancestors or spiritual ancestors, or both.
2.  Many references in Hebrews presupposes the hearers' familiarity with the Aaronic/Levitical and Melchizedekian priesthoods, as well as the sacrificial system of the former (7:11-19; 10:18).
3.  The group of believers addressed were well-known by the author.  This group was also highly educated and well-versed in classical Greek, as this was the language of the sermon/letter.
4.  Finally, this group of believers had endured some form of persecution, although not martyrdom (12:4), obviously, and had begun to waver somewhat in the face of it.
The author does warn against true believers (whether Jew or Gentile) being swayed by two groups of people - -
***those who "serve in the Tent", that is, those who refuse to abandon the Aaronic priesthood for the all-sufficient Melchizedekian priesthood of Jesus Christ.   (A subset of this group is those who wanted to relegate Jesus Christ to the position of some type of "archangel", as opposed to his true status as the second person of the Trinity.)
***those non-Christians of "the world" who marginalize-persecute Christians for their faith and stance in the modern society of any era.

So, to whom was this sermon/letter written?  Inconclusive.

As a final note that hearkens back to the last post, I noticed in reading Bruce's commentary a school of thought existed that Aquila and Priscilla had authored Hebrews, with Priscilla being the dominant partner.  They instructed Apollos, were closely associated with Timothy, hosted a church in their home in Rome...This could explain the name of the author disappearing from church memory, given the patriarchal views of that day.  I found that fascinating!

Father, while all this is interesting, it matters more to me that you intended the book of Hebrews for me and for all who love Your name.  Thank you for how You guided the assimilation and accumulation of the Holy Scriptures, Your sacred Word, so that we might be instructed and shaped more and more into the image of Your blessed Son.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. Kindle edition. 

Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. Kindle edition.