He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty

For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?

And again, when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

But to which of the angels did he ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?

Now when God put everything under him, he left nothing outside his control. However, at the present time we do not yet see everything put under him. But we do see someone who was made a little lower than the angels. He is Jesus, who is crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might experience death for everyone.

Therefore, since the children have flesh and blood, he himself also shared the same things, so that by his death he might destroy the one who has the power of death (that is, the Devil)

For it is clear that he did not come to help angels. No, he came to help Abraham's descendants,

thereby becoming like his brothers in every way, so that he could be a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and could atone for the people's sins.

He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God's household,

Moses was faithful in all God's household as a servant who was to testify to what would be said later,

but the Messiah was faithful as the Son in charge of God's household, and we are his household if we hold on to our courage and the hope in which we rejoice.

So in my anger I swore a solemn oath that they would never enter my rest."

See to it, my brothers, that no evil, unbelieving heart is found in any of you, as shown by your turning away from the living God.

Instead, continue to encourage one another every day, as long as it is called "Today," so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin,

because we are the Messiah's partners only if we hold on to our original confidence to the end.

So we see that they were unable to enter because of their unbelief.

We who have believed are entering that rest, just as he has said, "So in my anger I swore a solemn oath that they would never enter my rest,"

because the one who enters God's rest has himself rested from his own actions, just as God did from his.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fail by following their example of disobedience.

So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

We have much to say about this, but it is difficult to explain because you have become too lazy to understand.

In fact, though by now you should be teachers, you still need someone to teach you the basic truths of God's word. You have become people who need milk instead of solid food.

who have tasted the goodness of God's word and the powers of the coming age,

For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them.

And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it.

so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us.

One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham,

They serve in a sanctuary that is a copy, a shadow of the heavenly one. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain."

which had the gold altar for incense and the Ark of the Covenant completely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar holding the manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the Tablets of the Covenant.

how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead actions so that we may serve the living God!

This is why the Messiah is the mediator of a new covenant; so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised them, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the offenses committed under the first covenant.

For the Messiah did not go into a sanctuary made by human hands that is merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, to appear now in God's presence on our behalf.

so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.

For this reason, the Scriptures say, when the Messiah was about to come into the world: "You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for me.

Then I said, "See, I have come to do your will, O God' In the volume of the scroll this is written about me."

Then he says, "See, I have come to do your will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

By God's will we have been sanctified once and for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, the Messiah.

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another even more as you see the day of the Lord coming nearer.

How much more severe a punishment do you think that person deserves who tramples on God's Son, treats as common the blood of the covenant by which it was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace?

So don't lose your confidence, since it holds a great reward for you.

For you need endurance, so that after you have done God's will you can receive what he has promised.

Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.

By faith we understand that time was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are invisible.

All these people died having faith. They did not receive the things that were promised, yet they saw them in the distant future and welcomed them, acknowledging that they were strangers and foreigners on earth.

For people who say such things make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons "and worshipped while leaning on the top of his staff."

By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child and were not afraid of the king's order.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter,

because he preferred being mistreated with God's people to enjoying the pleasures of sin for a short time.

By faith he left Egypt, without being afraid of the king's anger, and he persevered because he saw the one who is invisible.

By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it were dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do this, they were drowned.

And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

Women received their dead raised back to life. Other people were brutally tortured, but refused to be ransomed, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

since God had planned something better for us, so that they would not be perfected without us.

Therefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the sin that so easily entangles us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us,

Think about the one who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you may not become tired and give up.

You have forgotten the encouragement that is addressed to you as sons: "My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline or give up when you are corrected by him.

Now if you are without any discipline, in which all sons share, then you are illegitimate and not God's sons.

For a short time they disciplined us as they thought best, but God does it for our good, so that we may share in his holiness.

and straighten the paths of your life, so that your lameness may not become worse, but instead may be healed.

Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up and causes you trouble, or many of you will become defiled.

to a trumpet's blast, or to a voice that made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them.

Indeed, the sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better message than Abel's.

See to it that you do not ignore the one who is speaking. For if the hearers did not escape when they ignored the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we turn away from the one who is from heaven!

The expression "once more" signifies the removal of what can be shaken, that is, what he has made, so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Hence we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"

Remember your leaders, those who have spoken God's word to you. Think about the impact of their lives, and imitate their faith.

I especially ask you to do this so that I may be brought back to you sooner.

You should know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you.