The Epistle to the Hebrews


Introduction

This World and the World to Come

For He did not subject to angels the World to Come, concerning which we are speaking. (Hebrews 2:5) 

In traditional Jewish thought, there are only two dispensations of time that God has mapped out for humanity: This World and the World to Come. It is the World to Come to which the writer to the Hebrews community is speaking of. Actually, the epistle to the Hebrews has much to say about This World as well. His point is that what he is about to teach will have to do about the coming system of the World to Come as opposed to the current system of This World.

In traditional Jewish eschatology, the advent of the Messiah will initiate the World to Come. According to the prophets, the Messiah will come, gather Israel back to the Land and peace will sweep the entire world; the restoration of the Garden of Eden will have begun. In actuality, the World to Come refers to the promised new heaven and new earth but the reign of the Messiah previous to the World to Come is seen as a kind of prelude to the World to Come. All of the covenants God has made with Israel will be satisfied and all promises made to Israel will be fulfilled. 

What will the future reign of Messiah be like and what will the World to Come be like? How will we worship and approach God? Who will get to participate in the World to Come and how do we get there? How does the sacrifice of Messiah play a part in all of this? The writer to the Hebrews community seeks to answer all of these questions.

The Historical Context of the Epistle

The epistle to the Hebrews community, like the epistle to the Galatians, has historically been interpreted with a faulty hermeneutic. The fault comes from not properly understanding the context of the first century believing communities. It is widely and incorrectly assumed that the Apostles and associates of the Apostles taught against followers of Yeshua continuing to practice Judaism. Specifically, it's assumed that the writer to the Hebrews community was contrasting the new grace-based religion of Christianity as over against the old works-based religion of Judaism. This dispensational paradigm denies that Yeshua has always been the God's way of salvation. The Torah was not kept by the faithful of the Tanakh and of the Gospels to earn their salvation. Rather, the Torah was kept because God commanded it be kept and as His redeemed people they obeyed Him in love. The same remained true into the Apostolic period, throughout history and remains to this day.

That being said, why, then, was the epistle to the Hebrews community written? Who wrote the epistle and which community was the Hebrews community? It would appear that the epistle was written from Italy by someone who was an associate of Timothy, who himself was an associate of the Apostle Paul. It says at the end of the epistle:

Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you. Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. (Hebrews 13:23-24)

Though we can't be dogmatic, it would appear that this epistle was written between 64 and 67 AD. According to tradition, the Apostle Paul was beheaded, in Rome, by order of the emperor Nero in 64 AD. It's possible that Timothy was also imprisoned in Rome, at this time. Additionally, the epistle makes no mention of the Jewish revolt that began in 67 AD nor of the Temple's destruction, which happened in 70 AD. This, as mentioned, would place the writing of this epistle in the mid-60s of the first century AD.

The question of who authored the epistle has been debated for hundreds of years. The most popular opinion is that it was written by the Apostle Paul. There are some early traditions that say it was written by Paul's associate Barnabas. Again, we cannot be dogmatic about it but it's my contention that this epistle was written by an associate of Paul, possibly even with the assistance of the Apostle himself. It's very much a possibility that the epistle was written and structured by Luke, with the theology originating from Paul or a close associate of Paul.

It would appear that the epistle was written to a community that was labelled "the Hebrews." While the epistle itself does not contain this designation, some early manuscripts do contain the title "to the Hebrews." Who were the Hebrews? The Hebrews most likely refers the group of Believing Jews who maintained their distinct Jewish identity by speaking Hebrew and leading a traditional Jewish life. This is contrasted with Hellenistic Jews, that is, Jews who spoke Greek and were open to Greek ideas. We see this contrast in the book of Acts:

And in these days, the disciples multiplying, there came a murmuring of the Hellenists at the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration, (Acts 6:1)

The Hebrews community, the community to which this epistle was sent, could very well be the Jerusalem community of Believers. This would be the Jerusalem assembly of which James, the Master's brother, was leader of. The internal evidence within the epistle would indicate that the Believers no longer had access to the Temple. The Temple had been the place of assembly for the Believers of Jerusalem. According to the book of Acts, it was the disciples' custom to meet in the Temple daily and to participate in the Temple services:

Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, (Acts 2:46)

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. (Acts 3:1)

And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Yeshua as the Messiah. (Acts 5:42)

Apparently, at some point, the disciples were ex-communicated from the Temple assembly, just as the Master had prophesied: 

They will make you outcasts from the [assembly], but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. (John 16:2)

The writer to the Hebrews seeks to comfort and encourage the Believers. With the Temple and the Temple service being such an integral part of the Jerusalem Believers' lives, the disciples were in need of answers to their many questions. Without access to the Temple, the Believers could not participate in the sacrificial service clearly outlined in the Torah. The Believers were, for all practical purposes, in exile. How were the Believers to worship God? How were they to bring sacrifices? The writer to the Hebrews seeks to answer all of these questions and more.

The Perpetuity of the Aaronic Priesthood

You shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and bind caps on them, and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons. (Exodus 29:9)

The Torah says, here in Exodus, that the priesthood belongs to Aaron and his sons by a "perpetual statute." The phrase "perpetual statute" in Hebrew is "chukat olam." This phrase, chukat olam, describes something that can never be overturned or reversed. There will never be a time in This World that the priesthood does not belong to Aaron and His sons. This is confirmed further in Numbers:

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.'" (Numbers 25:10-12)

God additionally confirms that the priesthood belongs to Aaron and his sons forever by making a covenant with Phinehas (Aaron's grandson), promising his descendants the priesthood forever. It certainly appears that as long as we are in This World, the priesthood belongs to the house of Aaron. Amazingly, generally speaking, descendants of Aaron have maintained their lineage and there remain identifiable sons of Aaron to this day. If a Temple were to be rebuilt, there would certainly be sons of Aaron reporting for duty.

The Contradiction of a Second Priesthood

The Torah is clear: the priesthood belongs to the order of Aaron but the hundred and tenth Psalm presents a seeming contradiction:

The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4)

Here, the LORD is speaking to the Messiah and promises Him a priesthood not according to Aaron but according to Melchizedek. How can there be a Melchizedekian priesthood if God promised the priesthood to the house of Aaron? Furthermore, the writer to the Hebrews states:

For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. (Hebrews 7:12)

How is it that the priesthood could change? Even worse, how can the Torah change? Granted, from the traditional Christian perspective, the Torah changing is no big deal but from the Torah perspective, this is a serious and problematic claim. According to the Torah, no one is to add or take away from the Torah (Deuteronomy 4:2) and the Master Himself says in Matthew 5:18 that not one letter will pass from the Torah until heaven and earth pass away. Is it possible that God has reversed His covenant promise to Aaron and Phinehas that they will have the priesthood forever and has instead established the Messiah's Melchizedekian priesthood? As we study through chapters 7-10 of Hebrews, let's see if the writer to the Hebrews can resolve this seeming contradiction for us.
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