Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 2 * PART 3 * BOOK 51
Hebrews 10:1-22
I want everyone to know that as Iris or I open your letters we just thank you so much for all your prayers and help you give the ministry. Some of you ask questions, but many forget to write your return address on the envelope and we don’t have an address to send the reply, so please if you write for a question to be answered, put your address on the letter.
Recently, we had a listener contact us out in Indiana; and after the devastating experience of losing his beautiful 26-year-old wife, he really came on fire for the Lord and has put together a book of about 80 some questions with the answers out of our little books – and he’s done a fabulous job. I don’t know how many hours it must have taken him. But, we’ve put his web site address up here on the board, www.havefaith.org. So, if you’d like to check in on his web site you have now have the address. But we’re going to offer this nice book that he’s put together for the cost of printing and mailing. We’ll send them out for $11.00 a piece. And I think it’ll be $11.00 well spent. He’s got many of the most often asked questions – and with extensive answers. It isn’t answered with just a sentence. He answers it from all the Scriptures, so I think a lot of folks are going to enjoy this. Be aware of it, as it will be coming soon. Call and ask for the book of questions and answers.
Now let’s get back into Hebrews where we left off in the last lesson and that would be in chapter 10 and we’ll go on into verse 12.
Hebrews 10:12
“But this man, (the One to whom God gave the body up there in verse 5.) after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, (not just for once a year as Israel’s high priest.) sat down on the right hand of God;” Now we covered that quite extensively in previous programs. So I’m not going to take time for that today. Verse 13.
Hebrews 10:13
“From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.”
Once He ascended back to glory having finished the work of the Cross, “He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High until.” Now let’s go back to Psalms 110 verse 1 and pick up the Old Testament format of that very same act – that all of this was prophesied. None of this is strange to the Old Testament prophecies. Psalms 110 verse 1. And this, of course, was accomplished at His ascension then in Acts chapter 1, when the Eleven watched Him go. And as He entered into the Holy of Holies in Heaven, and He sat down at the right hand of the Father on High.
Psalms 110:1a
“The LORD (God the Father) said unto my Lord, (God the Son) Sit thou at my right hand, (what’s the next word?) until…” Now you want to highlight that or underline it because that’s the key word. He has not seated Himself for eternity. The work of the Cross is finished forever but His seating Himself at the right hand of the Father is not for eternity. It is only until the Father says:
Psalms 110:1b
“…I make thine enemies thy footstool.”
When will that happen? When He returns at His second advent. When Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation, it’s not going to be with love and mercy and grace and salvation. It’s going to be with wrath and judgment. It’s just simply a fact of Scripture, that God has now been pouring out His grace for 2,000 years – offering salvation to anyone from the top of the totem pole to the bottom, none excepted. Rich or poor. Black or white. Red or yellow. The whole human race has now had an opportunity to receive God’s tremendous salvation because of what He has done.
But, there’s coming a day, and we think we’re getting close, where this ‘until’ will finally come to pass. And that is when He will make His enemies His footstool, when He returns with wrath and judgment and cleanses the earth of all the wickedness – everything that smacks of this materialistic, wicked, sensual world will disappear as well as the people with it. Now, to give you a glimpse as to how even the Jews of Jesus’ day were looking forward to this. Come with me to Luke chapter 1, because here we have a beautiful description of what the believing Jews of Jesus’ day were looking for, but the Nation of Israel as a whole, rejected it.
But this is from the lips of a man filled by the Holy Spirit. Luke chapter 1 and he lays it out so clearly of what God was ready to bring into the Nation of Israel. They rejected it, but God is still going to do it. He’s still going to return at His second advent and all of these things spoken of here by Zacharias will become a literal fulfilled reality. All right, let’s jump in at verse 67 where Zacharias now (the father of John the Baptist, one of the priests working the Temple rites in Jerusalem) has just been filled with the Holy Spirit and he is prompted to speak this:
Luke 1:67-68a
“And his father (that is the father of John the Baptist) was filled with the Holy Ghost, and (he) prophesied, (or spoke forth) saying, 68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;…” Not the whole world yet, but Israel. I’ve said it more than once, people get a little bit upset when I point this out – that Christ came only to fulfill the covenants made with His covenant people, Israel. And so this makes it so plain and I’ve often had to quote Romans 15 verse 8 where Paul says, “I say now, that Jesus Christ was (past tense) a minister of the circumcision. (The Jew.) For the truth of God (not because Paul dreamed it up but because it was a fact of Scripture) that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to fulfill the promises made to the fathers.”
That was the purpose of His first advent. And this falls right in line with what Zacharias is speaking by the leading of the Holy Spirit. All right look what he says, verse 68.
Luke 1:68-71a
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed His people, (Israel) 69. And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us (who are the ‘us’) in the house of his servant David; 70. As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world (ages) began. (Speaking of the Old Testament writers.) 71. That we (Israel) should be saved from our (what?) enemies,…”
Now, when Psalms speaks of sitting at the Father’s right hand, until He puts His foot on his enemies, what does it speak of? He’s going to destroy them. They’re under his control and He’s fed up with them. And they’re going to disappear. Look what it says:
Luke 1:71
“That we should be saved from our enemies, from the hand of all that hate us;” My doesn’t the Middle East just ring in your ears? Yeah, it’s coming. Those that hate Israel, and are blowing them up every day. Oh, their enemy’s day is coming. The God of glory is yet one day going to bring peace to Jerusalem.
Luke 1:72
“To perform the mercy promised to our father, …”
What did the verse in Romans 15 that I quoted earlier say? You’d better go back and look at it. You probably can’t remember what I quoted anyway. So come back to Romans (keep your hand in Luke) because, see all these things fit. That’s the best word I can put on it, because it fits like fingers in a glove. Here in Romans chapter 15, this is from the Apostle of the Gentiles who is declaring the finished work of the Cross. But he’s letting it be known so clearly that Jesus had nothing to do with Gentiles in His earthly ministry (with one or two exceptions), and here’s the reason:
Romans 15:8
“Now I say that Jesus Christ was (past tense) a minister of the circumcision (the Nation of Israel) for the truth of God, (and here’s the purpose for His coming.) to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:” Now how much plainer can English make it? Now you do have to be a little bit of a student of Scripture – what were the promises? Oh my goodness, I could fill the rest of the program with them. But primarily it was that, after they’d become that chosen nation and after God had brought them into their promised deeded land, God in the Person of the Messiah, the Son, would be their King. And all those promises were wrapped up in those three formats. That here they are now, the covenant people, a nation in the Promised Land, waiting for the coming of their Messiah, Redeemer and King.
Now all you have to do is go back and just read some of the promises of the Kingdom as they’re laid out in the Old Testament prophets. When Isaiah speaks of the day when the lion will feed with the lamb. And when the wild animals will literally be the playmates of kids and children. And when there will be no suffering, there will be no death, there will be no sickness. It’s going to be Heaven on earth. All those were promises made to the fathers. And it’s coming. Israel didn’t believe it the first time around, but they will the next one. And they’ll recognize that Messiah and to the last Jew that remnant nation will be saved. See? And then all these things are going to become a reality. Read on.
Luke 1:72-73
“To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73. The oath which he sware to our father Abraham.” See how plain all this is. Zacharias is just simply taking us back to where I’ve just taken you. The Abrahamic Covenant and then all the promises that were associated when that covenant would finally be fulfilled. It hasn’t been yet, but it’s coming. My, you know, I tell my classes and my seminars everywhere I travel – if anybody ever questions you why you put so much faith in this Book, you answer it with two words. The Jew. He’s the proof of the pudding.
The Jew – my goodness, he should have disappeared hundreds of years ago. In fact, the latest book by Patrick Buchanan using demographics that are coming out from research outfits, by the year 2050, the Nation of Germany will disappear. There will no longer be German people; they’ll be assimilated. Not much longer than that America will disappear, as America. Great Britain will disappear as Great Britain. Because we’ll all be assimilated into these third world people that are multiplying ten children per woman where most of Western Nations are one child per woman.
That doesn’t take a mathematics major to figure that out. If only one child per woman is what keeps a nation going, you need two to play even, you need three to grow. And so, one means the demise of the people. All right, but the reason I’m pointing that out is this. Germany today is a nation of 75-80 million people. We’re a nation of 270 million and if we’re going to disappear as a people in 50 years, then how in the world is this little nation of never more than 15 million people (most of the time more like 10 or 11 million, scattered out into all the nations of the world for now 2500 years) still there? Just like this Book said they would be. What did God tell them?
Deuteronomy 30:1
“And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,“ Then down to verse 4.
Deuteronomy 30:4-5a
“If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5. And the LORD thy God, will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it;….”
Then you jump up into Ezekiel 36 and some of the other prophetic books and they all say the same thing. That after Israel has been scattered amongst the nations, God will one day bring them back to their homeland. And there they are. The world can scream and holler all they want that they don’t belong there. Well, the world doesn’t know this Book.
This Book says that’s where they belong. And it’s proof that this Word is true. That after almost 3000 years of being scattered amongst every nation – they should have lost their identity 2000 years ago. They should have lost it at least 1000 years ago, but they haven’t. And so there they are back in their homeland just like God said they would be. And don’t ever let anybody tell you that these people who call themselves Jews, really aren’t, because archaeology proves it over and over and over.
Here in the last few years they’ve dug up Jewish writings that were intrinsic to the Ashkenazi Jews, Jews in Eastern Europe and those writings had been there for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. All associated with the Jews of Eastern Europe. Well then only about a year or so ago, they found the same kind of a cache of great library works from the other segment of the Sephardim Jews that had been primarily in Spain and North Africa, all proving that these people, both groups, have been totally under the control of this Old Testament Bible for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. And there they are! Proof that this Book knows what it’s talking about.
All right, so now if you’ll come back with me to Luke chapter 1. So when Zacharias spoke, Israel wasn’t ready for it and they rejected it all. But now we’re approaching the day – Israel is back in the land and most of the Jews do not even realize that it’s time for their Messiah to come. Oh, they’ve got that inner heart-cry. They know they want Him to come but yet they won’t voice it verbally. But here it is:
Luke 1:73-74
“The oath which he swear to our father Abraham. 74. That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,” How is He going to bring the Jew out from under the hand of their enemies? He’s going to destroy them. When He’s going to put His foot on their neck, as it were, like a footstool. Oh, the day is coming. The Bible repeats that over and over, how that, after ‘He had sat down waiting until He would make His enemies His footstool.’ Verse 75:
Luke 1:75-76
“In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. (it’s going to be a Kingdom of righteousness. That’s why we call it the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.) 76. “And thou child, (speaking of John the Baptist) shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;” Which, of course, John the Baptist did in his ministry. “To give knowledge of salvation unto his people and by the remission of their sins through the tender mercy of our God whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us.”
Oh I could just keep going. But for sake of time let’s go back to Hebrews. But these are the promises that will be fulfilled when the ‘until’ of Psalms 110 verse 1 comes about. When He will have his enemies as His footstool. And we always put the expression, when He’s got His foot on their neck. And they are submissive to Him and He will destroy them all. Now come back to Hebrews chapter 10 and we come in at verse 14.
Hebrews 10:14a
“For by one offering…” Now I know this is repetition of Scripture to hammer it home to these Jews that were hanging on to this old economy (Law). But, like I’ve shown you today, Paul says the same things only in different language back in Romans and Galatians and so forth. That that system of Law which was good for its time is now worn out. It’s useless and it’s been set aside by this, which is so much better.
Hebrews 10:14a
“For by one offering (that death on the Cross) he has perfected…” Fine tuned it. You remember I’ve stressed it over and over wherever I go. Twice in all of Biblical history, which also includes human history – twice God did something so perfect by which there was not one thing that He could add to improve it. There was not one flaw that He had to patch when He finished it – it was so perfect that what did He do? He rested. The first one was when He finished Creation in Genesis chapter 1. And He saw the work of Creation, man is now on the scene, the animal kingdom, the bird kingdom, the fish, everything is in God’s Creation and it was perfect. There wasn’t anything He could change or correct, and so next verse says,“He rested.” That’s understandable isn’t it? How can you add anything if it’s perfect – and so then what had you might as well do? Sit down. Enjoy it. And that’s what God did.
Now the second time is when, in Hebrews it tells us, that after He had purged us from our sin (which of course is the work of the Cross, His death, burial, His shed Blood, His resurrection and He ascended back to glory), He did the same thing. It was such a perfect complete work of redemption that not one human soul could ever say, “Well, I missed itbecause it wasn’t good enough for me.” It’s perfect, and it’s complete. And again, what did He do when He completed the work of the Cross? He sat down. There wasn’t anything more He could do. And so this is what Hebrews is screaming at us. It was such a perfect work of redemption. Once for all. And so, by that one death on the Cross, He has perfected forever those that are sanctified (or set apart), purchased by His blood. All right, verse 15.
Hebrews 10:15-16a
“Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us; for after that he had said before, 16. This is the covenant…”
Now the reason the Holy Spirit is brought in here, the Holy Spirit prompted Jeremiah to write this covenant; and we’ll go back and look at it in just a second. But the Holy Spirit prompted Jeremiah to write, “This is the covenant that I will make with them (Israel. The Nation of Israel, His Covenant people.) after those days, saith the Lord. And I will put my laws into their hearts.” Not on tables of stone, but in the heart of every Jew. “And in their minds, I will write them and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” It’s going to be a done deal. Come back to Jeremiah 31.
Jeremiah 31:31 and whenever you hear or see the Bible speak of the New Covenant, this is what it is. Now you and I are not under the New Covenant because we’re not Israel, but we’re certainly enjoying all the ramifications of it. Everything that God did to fulfill the covenant made with Israel has been our benefit. It was just like the Law, when He gave the Law, who came under it? Israel. But, did the Law stop at the borders of Israel? No, it went to the whole human race and they have all become guilty.
Well, the same way with the work of this New Covenant. Yes, the ramifications of it are limited to Israel as they go into the Kingdom. But, you and I now as Gentiles for the last 1,900 and some years have enjoyed all the ramifications of it. Even though we are not part and parcel of Israel.
Jeremiah 31:31-32
“Behold the days come, saith the LORD (now remember this is written about 600 BC) that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and the House of Judah: 32. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt; (Which was the covenant of Law) which my covenant they brake. although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:” Yet they were constantly in rebellion, see? Now verse 33:
Jeremiah 31:33
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, (in other words, when this time finally comes) saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Israel isn’t there yet. But they’re getting there. They’ve come back from their dispersion. They’re back in the land. Oh not all of them of course, but I think enough so that these things can be fulfilled. But there they are, and against all odds. They should have disappeared hundreds of years ago. But you know why they haven’t? Because God says down there in verse 36 that if the sun and the moon and the stars would fall out of their orbit, then maybe Israel would cease being a nation. But until then, they’ll never stop being Israel.