A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

The overarching principle of the Epistle to the Hebrews is that our position before God is based on our belief that the once-for-all-time sacrifice of our Great High Priest was sufficient for our salvation. Some have said that this letter can be seen as a commentary on Habakkuk 2:4 “The just shall live by faith.”

Having made reference to Jesus as a priest in the order of Melchizedek, (Hebr. 5:10 & 6:26) the author now explains how this connection came to be and why His priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant. Think of chapter 7 as a commentary on Genesis 14.

In our last installment we learned that because the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land by faith, God declared that they would never enter His rest. We begin this one by learning the spiritual meaning behind the weekly Sabbath.

How to live the Christian life.

In part one of our study of the Book of Haggai, we learned that before the Israelites could live an abundant life upon returning from Babylon, they had to first complete the Lord's Temple. As New Testament believers we're told that we're the Temple of God. Does the same principle hold true for us concerning our abundant life? Let's find out.

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' " Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"

Two years after Daniel's vision of the four beasts that we described in chapter 7, he had another vision, this one of a ram and a goat. As we'll see, it was intended to give both him and us more detail on the things to come, because the vision has a dual fulfillment.

From about 1,000 to 900 BC Israel had been the most feared and admired nation on Earth. Then, following Solomon's death and the civil war that ensued, the nation had fallen from its exalted position into a kingdom divided over idolatry. Israel's enemies saw their chance and took it.

"When men began to increase on earth and daughters were born to them, the divine beings saw how beautiful the daughters of men were and they took wives from among those that pleased them. It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim appeared on earth - when the divine beings cohabited with the daughters of men, who bore them offspring. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown." (Genesis 6:2-4, from a Jewish translation of the Torah.)

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. (Romans 11:28-29)