HEBREWS Chapter 9 "New and Old Covenant Contrasted." This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org A Covenant is a will or last testimony and it is a contract made by an individual while still alive in his or her flesh body and in control of his mind. The purpose of the will is to state his wishes after an individual has died. Jesus Christ never said that He did away with the Old Covenant, but He came to fulfill parts of that Old Covenant. What was done away with are those parts of the Old Covenant that pertained only to the blood sacrifices and ordinances. Jesus quoted from Jeremiah 31:31-34, and thus made it part of the New Testament. The Old Testament received it's finishing touch as it was moved from that which was a shadow, to the New Covenant which was the real thing, the finished document. The Temple was a very beautiful place in it's design and all it's decorations, but each part of the Temple was symbolic, and only a shadow of that which was to come. Man always likes to worship and follow something that he can see, and God was merciful and gave them the Tabernacle, which represented symbolically something that man could not see. That physical temple that existed was only a blueprint or pattern for the spiritual Temple that Christ would bring forth. Hebrews 9:1 "Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary." That first Covenant had ceremonies which were different from the laws and statutes in part. These ordinances were followed and completed during each year for the sake of justifying a person from the sins of that individual. The blood ordinances were to give righteousness to the one performing those sacrifices, and give him justification in the eyes of God. The "worldly sanctuary" means that those sacrifices were done in a setting that would pass away. It was an act that was very temporary, and had to be preformed at least once a year, but the true Temple that this was only a shadow of is eternal. Some of those ceremonies under the Old Covenant included the slaughtering of an pure and clean animal, and sacrificing the blood and parts of that animal on an altar. This was a shadow of the Messiah, Jesus Christ that would be sacrificed on the altar, which in this case was the Roman cross. Jesus Christ fulfilled this act for our sins and shortcomings, and not His, because there was no sin in Him. Hebrews 9:2 "For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary." This first tabernacle was a tent made to a pattern that was given to Moses by God while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the ten commandments. Within that tabernacle, or tent were all the items that would become essential for the ceremony God required for the forgiveness of man's sins. The "candlestick" was the lampstand, and it's purpose is recorded in Exodus 25:31-37. It was to be made of pure gold, and a beaten works with seven cups. The "table" as recorded in Exodus 25:23-27 was to be overlaid with three layers of gold to represent three crowns. Those three crowns were the "crown of the Law", which represented the atoning blood between it and the cherubim, its executor." The "crown of the Priest", represents it's incense fired only by the fire from the altar of burnt offering. The "crown of the kingdom" represented the twelve tribes, symbolized by the twelve loaves of shewbread that was placed on the table. In other words, the law [atoning blood]; the priest [incense by the altar fire]; and the kingdom of the twelve tribes of Israel [ the shewbread on the table]. Hebrews 9:3 "And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;" Within the tabernacle, or tent that Moses had built under God's instruction was another little room on the west side of the tabernacle. Covering the door of this little room was a "second veil" which blocked the seeing into, or going into that little room. This little room was called the "Holiest of all", or the "Holy of Holies". This is the room that gave the high priest access directly to God, and this is the veil that Christ rent in two upon His death on the cross. Matthew 27:50 "Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost." Matthew 27:51 "And, behold, the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;" Hebrews 9:4 "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, and the tables of the covenant;" These objects were in the "Holy of Holies", and it was there where this "ark of the Covenant" rested. Inside the "ark of the Covenant" were three objects; the first was a golden pot that held the manna, reminding the Israelites of God's faithfulness in feeding them while wandering in the wilderness for forty years. This is recording in Exodus 16:32-34 Exodus 16:32 "And Moses said, "This is the thing which the Lord commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt." Exodus 16:33 "And Moses said unto said unto Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations." This is the pot that was placed inside the "ark of the Covenant" of God. Today there is all sorts of speculation of where this ark is. Why would you care to search for where it is, when God has left in His record the exact location in Revelation 11:19. At the time of this verse, we are living in the last generation, and John had been taken in the spirit to the day of the Lord, which will take place in our generation. Revelation 11:19 "And the Temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His Temple the Ark of His testament [covenant]": And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." The lightning's, and voices, and thundering's are the signs and events sounding the end events of this flesh age. The seven seals, vials, and trumpets, which ends with a earthquake that shakes the earth and does away with the Antichrist's temple that sits on the mount in Jerusalem. These great hail storm are written about in Ezekiel 38:22, when God destroys the enemies [Russia and her allies] of the House of Israel, and the House of Judah, and marks the end of this earth age of the flesh. Ezekiel 38:22 "And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, afire, and brimstone." The ark of the covenant was to important to God to leave in the hands of foolish men, and God took it. The "manna" was a shadow of God's feeding and taking care of those that are true believers. God will fed exactly what was in that ark of the covenant, which was the tablets that contained the ten commandments, and was symbolic of the entire Word of God. The "budding rod" was a symbol of the plant that would live generation after generation and would never die, it was the symbol of the priesthood. That priesthood that was after the order of Melchisedec, the King of the Just who is Christ. Symbolism can really get boring unless you keep in mind that what it is all leading to is Christ, who became the manna, He is our "bread of life" now. He is our priest that represents us before the throne of God, and the "mercy seat" of the Holy of Holies was the symbol of His mercy seat where He sits in Judgment, and forgives upon repentance. Hebrews 9:5 "And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly." Wisdom has increased in these end times, and we know exactly what these symbols, signs and events of prophecy speak of. It is no secret today like it was in Paul's day. We live in a time when all prophecies are coming to pass very fast, and being fulfilled. However in Paul's day, most of the things of prophesies that were directed to our generation would be completely incomprehensible. We know that one of these cherubims that covered the mercy seat was Lucifer [Satan], who was called the King of Tyre in Ezekiel 28. There is a time coming when this same cherubim [Satan] will return to earth in his role as the Antichrist, the "instead of Christ". Paul warned us that the True Christ would not return until after the this "instead of Christ", or "son of perdition" would come first, and claim to the the true Christ. II Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, " [That man of sin is Satan, who is the Antichrist.] II Thessalonians 2:4 "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." You will not see the return of the True Christ until after Satan will rule from Jerusalem, and the entire world has been deceived by him. That is the abomination that Christ spoke of in Matthew 24:15 when Jesus was quoting from Daniel 9:27 called "the abomination of desolation", or correctly translated, "The abomination by the desolator." Satan is the desolator. II Thessalonians 2:5 "Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? The other angel or cherubim mentioned here was most likely Michael the archangel that will cast out Satan upon the earth at the end of this earth age. This time shall happen in our generation. This is given in Revelation 12:7-9. We can speak of this today, because this is the generation that it will come to pass in, and we have the signs and events of prophecy taking place before our eyes. Hebrews 9:6 "Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God." When these ordained instructions of God were given to the priest, they carried those instructions out in their liturgical duties. The duties that the priests were bound to. Remember though, this was only a shadow of what would come later. The duties of those priest of the Old Testament was a forerunner of what Christ would be to us, and what Christians are suppose to do. Hebrews 9:7 "But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of the people:" All of the priests could enter through the first veil, into the tabernacle, but only the high priest alone could enter through the second veil, into the Holy of Holies. The high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies only once a year, however he had to make the blood sacrifice for himself first, because even he was with sin. Then after his sacrifice he could make sacrifice for the people sins. We will see later that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. That is the way it is before the Almighty Father. When that high priest first went into the Holy of holies, to place the blood on the altar for his sins, if that blood did not cover those sins he did not come back out. This event was the most sacred event of the year, and only happened once a year. This is the very veil of the Holy of Holies that Christ, when He died on the cross was rent from top to bottom. This wasn't just a veil like a woman would wear, it was thick and heavy. The reason that that veil was rent, was so that you and I and all that would believe on Jesus Christ would not have to have a man go into this small room, and petition to our Heavenly Father for the forgiveness of our sins. Now we can go directly to our Heavenly Father and ask forgiveness for our sins, and when we make that claim, our authority to stand before God can only be the name of His son, Jesus Christ. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins, and under the old covenant the blood was that of a pure animal, as designated by God. Under the New Covenant the blood that was shed had to be shed only once, and that was the blood shed on the cross on Calvary's hill. Remember that we are comparing the old temple and tabernacle with the new Temple, which is Christ and the many membered body of Christ. We are comparing how the Old Covenant, or Testament was a shadow, or type of the New Covenant that was established by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus became the bread of life in the New Covenant that was the manna of the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Covenant. Hebrews 9:8 "The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:" It just was not time for the appearance of the Holy Spirit until after that veil to the Holy of Holies had been torn down, and the sacrifice of Christ had been completed. What this is stating in an analogy is that when a bull had been slaughtered and the blood had been shed, that blood was for that time only and that blood was placed on the altar. It became a temporary fix for that year only. The spirit of that bull was not around the next year, nor was it available for any additions sacrifices. It was like putting a band-aid patch on life and was only temporary. I Peter 3:18 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" I Peter 3:19 "By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison," I Peter 3:20 "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by the water." During that time in the grave, Christ went all the way back to the time of Noah, and re-taught them and offered them salvation. As long as the old Temple stood, the Holy Spirit could not come forth. The spirit of the lambs, goats and bulls will not do for you what the Holy Spirit does. Hebrews 9:9 "Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;" There is no way that any high priest go before the altar of God and offer an offering of gifts or blood sacrifices to God, which would clear the conscience of any person. Only Christ could do that, and that is what He did during those three days in the grave. What Christ gave us was a once and for all times sacrifice, other wise all other sacrifices required an annual trip to the Temple. Hebrews 9:10 "Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washing, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation." All of those ceremony rituals that were required under the old ordinances were imposed on mankind until the time of Christ's shed blood on the Christ. The death and resurrection is the reformation that took place here. Men like to keep adding their traditions and ceremonies on to their liturgical [ministerial] duties, and pretty soon those preachers have you doing things that are not even written in God's Word. Friend, if you are still going through any of these old rituals, not including baptism, then you are locked into the traditions of men. Be aware of anyone that would put your conscience under any traditions or ceremony and rituals that are not according to the true Word of God. If you wonder about what is right or wrong, on this matter, then study the Colossians 2. Colossians 2:16 "Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: " Colossians 2:17 "Which are a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ." Colossians 2:18 "Let no man Beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind," Colossians 2:19 "And not holding the Head, from Which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God." Colossians 2:20 "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances," Colossians 2:21 "(Touch not; taste not; handle not;" Colossians 2:22 "Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?" So we are to be aware of any ordinances and customs that became obsolete with the blood of Christ, and this is not pertaining to the laws and commandments. Hebrews 9:11 "But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;" Everything that man's hands touches falls apart sooner or later. This new Tabernacle was free from man's hands. Man's hands could not touch the building of God, which is the body of Christ. In Revelation 21 we read that in the eternity there is no temple building because the Father and the Son Jesus Christ are the Temple there of. Revelation 21:22 "And I saw no Temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it." Hebrews 9:12 "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Jesus Christ did not need eternal redemption for Himself, for He is eternal, and without sin, but the eternal redemption that His shed blood paid the price for was for you and I and all those souls that would believe on Him, and repent to the Father in Jesus name. He entered it once for us, and that veil to the Holy of Holies was rent from top to bottom. This gave us the freedom that we have in Christ to commune with the Father at any time we choose. The only sacrifice that we can give to the Father is our love, and that is why He created us in the first place. Your love gives our Heavenly Father pleasure, that He uses our love to bless us with. Revelation 4:11 "Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." Hebrews 9:13 "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh;" Paul is saying that if this would do it then there would be no need of Christ's sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit would not have come. The Holy Spirit did not come from the spirit of a goat, or any animal. The Holy Spirit came as promised by Jesus Christ, and came only after the shedding of His blood. You don't need to shine up the brass of the temple ever, or partake in any of the ritual, for salvation comes only by the blood of Christ, and through the working of the Holy Spirit of God. Hebrews 9:14 "How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? The "eternal Spirit" is the Holy Spirit. The offering that was given on our behalf, which is the blood of Christ was without spot, and it was done in obedience to our Heavenly Father. You purge your conscience for all of your dead works and sins so you can serve the Living God. Get those old ceremonies out of your mind. Get your mind on that perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ. When you purge your conscience for any sin under the blood of Christ it means that it is completely out of the memory of God forever. You will never stand in any judgment for that sin because it is forgiven by God's love for you. When you think your to bad for repentance and God can't forgive you, that is blasphemy and saying that the blood of Christ was not sufficient to cover all sins. Hebrews 9:15 "And for this cause He is the Mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." It was for the cause of the sacrifice of Christ that Jesus Christ became our Mediator of the New Testament. Christ's death fulfilled the requirements of the Old Testament blood ordinances. If we, the elect and saved of God are to receive the promises of our eternal inheritance, then the One that named us in His Testament must die first. When Christ died on the cross then every part of that New Testament, which is the will of God, can be claimed exactly as the inheritance of a will can be claimed upon that person's death. Hebrews 9:16 "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator." In other words, if the one making the will does not die, there is no inheritance. However Christ did die, and we do inherit every last part of His Will. That will is every promise that is stated in His Word, which is His will. Many of the promises within that will have conditions, such as "if" you do some work or a particular thing then you can expect a certain blessing to come your way. Today many Christians like to over look the conditions, and chase out to declare a promise and expect God to fulfill that blessing or wealth just as a matter of their stating the promise. They like to rewrite the will that God has put together, and that isn't how it works. Today many also like to steal from God, and take what is not rightfully theirs. They take the blessings of wealth, and withhold God's portion, the tithe. They forget that the tithe is the Lord's, and it comes off the top, and not the bottom. They forget that the tithe goes to where they get their spiritual bread, for the tithe is all part of that will that our Lord has given to us. Hebrews 9:17 "For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth." Christ died on the cross, and He was perfect. Before He died on the cross that will was written, and in place. After He fulfilled His part of the will, He rose from the grave, and the beautiful part of that will is the fact that He is now our advocate in heaven before the throne of God. Friend, all the promises that are in that will, you can claim. He expects you to be of service for Him, and do His work of planting the seeds of His Word in the minds of those you meet, and for that service you will be well rewarded. We must use common sense, and do it God's way. Hebrews 9:18 "Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood." The blood that the high priest gave on the altar was that of animals, was not of one that could pay the full price. Hebrews 9:19 "For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people," Hebrews 9:20 "Saying, "This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you." There is a great difference between the two sacrifices of blood, that of animals and that of Jesus Christ. With the blood of animals there was no Holy Spirit that would come afterwards. However when the blood of Christ was shed, then the Holy Spirit that can touch you at any moment, came to be with us as our comforter. John 16:7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send Him unto you." John 16:8 "And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and righteousness, and of judgment:" John 16:9 "Of sin, because they believe not on Me;" John 16:10 "Of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more;" John 16:11 "Of Judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." Hebrews 9:21 "Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry." Everything that Moses used in the ministry of the first tabernacle was sprinkled with the blood of animals. It was sprinkled because of sin, because people in the flesh are sinners and do sin. Hebrews 9:22 "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." Paul is saying that all things by the law are purged with blood, and if there is no blood in that ministry, there can be no forgiveness for that sin. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin. This is hard for many to understand, and this is why Christianity seems like a bloody religion. Hebrews 9:23 "It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these." Because it was necessary for the shedding of animal blood it was the copy of things that God demanded. Though the animal blood was pure, the sacrifice that came from Heaven, that of Jesus Christ was much more noble that any animal sacrifice. The animal sacrifice was demanded on an annual basis, whereas again, the sacrifice of Christ was for one and all times. Hebrews 9:24 "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:" Christ sacrifice is not just slipping back into that Holy of Holies which was a copy or shadow of things to come, but He went into heaven itself. After Jesus paid that price for all of our sins, He went directly to the Father to sit on His right hand and be our advocate at the very judgment seat of God. You have clout in heaven when you believe on Jesus Christ, and your credentials before the Father is only in Jesus name. That is the only thing that God the Father recognizes for the forgiveness of any sin, yet that forgiveness covers every sin that you could commit, except the "unforgivable sin" which can only be committed by one of God's elect when called up to give witness before the Satan during his reign on earth in the role of the Antichrist, when that person refuses the Holy Spirit to speak through him or her. Though Jesus Christ is an advocate between you and the Father, He is also an advocate between you and your enemies. He is your legal council and the one that protects you, and puts guards between you and your enemy. He is the one that argues your case in this earth age when things go wrong for you. Friend, that is our freedom that we have in Christ, that when we repent to the Father in Jesus name, then sin is forgiven, and God doesn't want to hear about it. That is why we should never get on a guilt trip over any sin that has been repented and forgiven. When you come to the full realization that you have a full time advocate at the throne of God, against those that would do harm to you, then you can say with confidence that there are no giants in the land. God expects you to use common sense and do your part in the service of God. That is why God is not interested in these hot house lily servants, because He has warned us that there will be some heat that we will take when witnessing for Him. When you are in His service then you will realize this very quickly, and you will see the power that you have from the Spirit of God. Hebrews 9:25 "Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;" Offer the blood of other animals. Hebrews 9:26 "For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." We covered the purpose for the requirement of Christ blood to be shed back in Hebrews 2:14; lets go back and review it. "Forasmuch 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;" Each soul came to earth and partook in these flesh bodies, that is each of our souls was placed within our embryo that gave our human body our breath of life. God placed that soul there, and so Jesus Christ also did the same as each soul did. Each came into the world by the birthing process through the womb of a woman. Christ became flesh and blood. Keep in mind that this is the reason for Christ to be born of the Virgin Mary, and live in a flesh and blood body. We then see that the purpose for this was that through Christ death of His flesh and blood body, He will destroy Satan who has the power of death. That is one of Satan's names, the destroyer. The blood of Christ snuffs out sin, when it is repented, and it is as if that sin never existed. Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" People that like to hold on to their sins guilt after it has been repented become very discouraged over this verse. Judgment in God's eyes has both a positive and negative side; and for those that repent and do God's work, judgment means rewards. The rewards start in this age, and they include all the promises that God has given us in His Word. That is your judgment, collecting those blessings from God. Hebrews 9:28 "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin, unto salvation." Christ was offered as a sacrifice on that cross for everyone that will believe in Him, and repent to the Father in Jesus name. Once you have been saved and repented of your sins, then this is a promise that all Christians should hold dear. Jesus Christ will come a second time, only it will not be as in the first time. When you are truly looking for Christ's coming the second time, then you are in turn with what is going on, and repenting of sins committed is important to you. Then upon Christ's return we shall receive all the rewards that come with the inheritance of being a child of the Living God. Be intelligent and wise enough to know that God defeated "death", which is the devil, but death has not yet lost it's sting. As long as there are flesh bodies, Satan will still have his sting to the flesh mind. My friend, the sting is only to the death of the flesh, for the spiritual death is the second death and it is not a sting, but your soul turned to ashes in hell fire. Be aware of the religions of men in these times. The second death will even destroy the knowledge that you had ever existed, in the minds of your loved ones that are saved and have eternal life.
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