Hebrews part fourteen

We are now at Hebrews chapter eleven, verse 4. Will the famous faith chapter convince us to have faith in Jesus our heavenly high priest? We shall see. The reader is now going to be told about various old testament characters who had faith. First up is Abel. According to the author, faith made Able give a better sacrifice than Cain did. What was different about Abel's sacrifice? It was a Blood sacrifice. The Hebrews author has already told us blood needs to be shed for god to keep his promises. Cain didn't get the blood sacrifice thing so he offered grain. God liked Abel's sacrifice better. As we all know, Cain killed Abel. Now Abel is dead. (Genesis 4)However, according to Hebrews, Abel still speaks by faith. I can't hear him. Can you?

The next faithful person mentioned is Enoch. Enoch didn't die. The old testament tells us god took him away. (Genesis 5) Enoch pleased god because he had faith. "Without faith it is impossible to please god....Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." You gotta believe, or you get nutthin'. And sometimes you get nothing even when you believe.

Next up: Noah. He built the ark by faith when he was warned about the future flood. By faith he saved his family and condemned the rest of the world. That way he became one of the heirs of righteousness. Great job Noah! It's so righteous to watch everyone die while you float away to safety.

Abraham is fourth on the faithful list. Abraham went to a far away land because a voice in his head told him that the land would eventually be his. He believed it. Abraham lived in the foreign land. So did his son Isaac and grandson Jacob. They were also supposed to be  heirs of the promise that had been given to Abraham. I don't remember if they  heard the voice in their heads too. Abraham's faith made him believe the voice in his head when it told him he would have descendants that were as numerous as stars or grains of sand. Even though his wife was barren and Abraham was no spring chicken, his faith in the voice enabled him to become a father. Is that how babies are made, through faith?

Each of the faithful people mentioned are said to have remained faithful till they died. (Let that be a lesson to you.) They never actually got what the voice in their heads promised them. They just "saw and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted they were aliens and strangers on earth." Except, the Old testament never says that those faithful people  saw and welcomed a promise from a distance. And the only time any of them said they were aliens and strangers was in Genesis 23:4, when Abraham told the Hittites that he was a stranger among them.

Even though those people never said those things, the Hebrews author says that people who do say those things are "looking for a country of their own." (Or one that they can take away from someone else?) Otherwise, they would have taken the opportunity to return to the country they had left. He must be talking just  about Abraham, because this doesn't apply to all the others. The author goes on to say "They (Who's they?) were looking for a better country-- a heavenly one." Of course they were. That's why they never actually mentioned it. Must have slipped their minds.Nevertheless, that''s why god has prepared a (heavenly) city for them. Lucky dogs.

Till next time.

Jude, part 3

Verse 7 of Jude says that Sodom and Gomorrah, with their sexual immorality and  perversion, are examples of "those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." This is another old Testament reference. Notice that lack of hospitality is not the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah in this passage.

Verse 8  says that "In the same way these dreamers (the condemned people this letter is about) pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. This could apply to Jews who have given up following the law of Moses. (See 2 Peter 2:10)

Verse 9 Talks about the archangel Michael disputing with the devil over the body of Moses. Even Michael, himself a celestial being,  did not have the nerve to slander another celestial being. (See 2 Peter 2:10-11) Instead, he said, "The lord rebuke you!" This story is supposed to have come from a document called the Testament of Moses or the Ascension of Moses. However, it bears a remarkable similarity to the first verses of Zechariah 3, where a high priest Joshua (same name as Jesus ) is standing before the angel of the lord (Michael?) and Satan. There Satan is rebuked with the words  "The lord rebuke you." Some Wikipedia writer suggests that the word 'Moses' has replaced the word 'Joshua' deliberately, to avoid confusion. You're darn right it would be confusing if Jude said that the devil and Michael argued over the body of Joshua (Jesus). Then this verse would clearly be associated with the high priest Joshua of Zechariah 3, and it might be doubted that the author was referring to the first century Jesus. I can see how that would be a problem for those promoting the first century Jesus guy.

Verse 10 says the godless men don't know what they are talking about, and what they do know does them no good.

Verse 11 says the godless men have taken the way of Cain (murder?), Balaam (greed), and Korah (rebelling against leadership). 2 Peter 2:15 also mentions Balaam.

Verses 12 -13 says the godless men are blemishes at (the jew's? or the christian's ?) love feast. (Echoed in 2 Peter 2:13) They are shepherds who feed only themselves, clouds without rain (see 2Peter 2:17), autumn trees without fruit and uprooted, wild waves, wandering stars with blackest darkness reserved for them (see 2 Peter 2:17 again. Notice how 2 Peter draws many phrases and themes from Jude.)

Verses 14-16 is said to quote directly from the the book of Enoch, "See the lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (That's four times ungodly.) My study bible says that "the book of Enoch was not canonical does not mean it contained no truth." Can't that be said of any book, fiction and non-fiction? It goes on to say "Nor does Jude's quotation of the book mean he considered it inspired." Then what does it mean?

The book of Enoch was not written by Enoch. The author of the book of Enoch did not even live at the same time Enoch was supposed to have lived. It is fiction.Enoch is most likely a fictional person. How can it be talking about a prophecy that never happened, from a person who may never have lived, and it still be true? My study bible says "Jude uses the quotation to refer to Christ's second coming and to his judgment of the wicked." So? How does that make it true? How is a fictional quote from a fictional man support for anything? It reminds me of "quotes" from famous people found all over the internet today. It seems clear to me that the author of Jude did not consider it fictional at all. He was ignorant of the history of the book of Enoch. We have an advantage over him.

More to come. Because of pressing family matters, The next post will probably be at the end of next week.