Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



Such were the arrangements for worship. The priests constantly enter the first tent, in the discharge of their ritual duties, but the second tent is entered only once a year by the high priest alone ??and it must not be without blood, which he presents on behalf of himself and the errors of the People. By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent read more.
(which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on defiled persons, give them a holiness that bears on bodily purity, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who in the spirit of the eternal offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve a living God? He mediates a new covenant for this reason, that those who have been called may obtain the eternal inheritance they have been promised, now that a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions involved in the first covenant. Thus, in the case of a will, the death of the testator must be announced. A will only holds in cases of death; it is never valid so long as the testator is alive. Hence even the first covenant of God's will was not inaugurated apart from blood; for after Moses had announced every command in the Law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, together with water, scarlet wool and hyssop, sprinkling the book and all the people, and saying, This is the blood of that covenant which is God's command for you. He even sprinkled with blood the tent and all the utensils of worship in the same way. In fact, one might almost say that by Law everything is cleansed with blood. No blood shed, no remission of sins! Now, while the copies of the heavenly things had to be cleansed with sacrifices like these, the heavenly things themselves required nobler sacrifices. For Christ has not entered a holy place which human hands have made (a mere type of the reality!); he has entered heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, like the high priest entering the holy place every year with blood that was not his own: ??26 for in that case he would have had to suffer repeatedly, ever since the world was founded. Nay, once for all, at the end of the world, he has appeared with his self-sacrifice to abolish sin. And just as it is appointed for men to die once and after that to be judged, so Christ, after being once sacrificed to bear the sins of many, will appear again, not to deal with sin but for the saving of those who look out for him.

but now that you know God ??or rather, are known by God ??how is it you are turning back again to the weakness and poverty of the Elemental spirits? Why do you want to be enslaved all over again by them? Verse ConceptsGod, All knowingElementsConfusionUseless ThingsUniquenessElements Of The UniverseGod Knowing His PeopleSubject To EvilWorry And StressIdentityWeaknessKnowing GodIdentity In Christ

they decline to eat what comes from the market till they have washed it; and they have a number of other traditions to keep about washing cups and jugs and basins [and beds].) Verse ConceptsMarketsBrassPurifying OneselfClean ObjectsHow People Eatmarketing

Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? Verse ConceptsLegalismSatan, As TempterTestingYokesTesting GodUnbearable ThingsPutting God FirstResisting TemptationTeststrying


As you died with Christ to the Elemental spirits of the world, why live as if you still belonged to the world? Why submit to rules and regulations like Verse ConceptsMortificationAbolish, Evil ThingsChristian Liberty Is Freedom FromFormalityDying With ChristDead To SinElements Of The UniverseHuman Law

since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder

since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder


The first covenant had indeed its regulations for worship, and a material sanctuary. Verse ConceptsSanctuaryHow To Worship GodLife In A Material WorldThe Tabernacle



since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder








since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder

Circumcision counts for nothing, uncircumcision counts for nothing; obedience to God's commands is everything. Verse ConceptsCircumcision, spiritualCommands, in NTReligionRitualSelf DeceptionNothingNecessity Of CircumcisionKeep The Commandments!Unimportant ThingsValueimportance



Now mere food will not bring us any nearer to God; if we abstain we do not lose anything, and if we eat we do not gain anything. Verse Conceptsdrawing near to GodRitualGood Or BadPeople Commended By GodLove And RelationshipsEating Meatlentconnectionimprovement

he then adds, Here I come to do thy will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. Verse ConceptsBeing FirstThe Lord's PrayerHumility Of ChristDoing God's Will

You have come to mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus who mediates the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood whose message is nobler than Abel's.


And this makes Jesus surety for a superior covenant. Verse ConceptsCovenant, the newGuaranteePast, Thecovenant

As it is, however, the divine service he has obtained is superior, owing to the fact that he mediates a superior covenant, enacted with superior promises. For if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second. Whereas God does find fault with the people of that covenant, when he says: The day is coming, saith the Lord, when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be on the lines of the covenant I made with their fathers, read more.
on the day I took them by the hand to lead out of Egypt's land; for they would not hold to my covenant, so I let them alone, saith the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel when that day comes, saith the Lord; I will set my laws within their mind, inscribing them upon their hearts; I will be a God to them, and they shall be a People to me; one citizen will no longer teach his fellow, one man will no longer teach his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all will know me, low and high together. I will be merciful to their iniquities, and remember their sins no more. By saying 'a new covenant,' he antiquates the first. And whatever is antiquated and aged is on the verge of vanishing.

By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. read more.
But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on defiled persons, give them a holiness that bears on bodily purity, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who in the spirit of the eternal offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve a living God? He mediates a new covenant for this reason, that those who have been called may obtain the eternal inheritance they have been promised, now that a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions involved in the first covenant.


By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. read more.
But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order),

For if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second. Whereas God does find fault with the people of that covenant, when he says: The day is coming, saith the Lord, when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be on the lines of the covenant I made with their fathers, on the day I took them by the hand to lead out of Egypt's land; for they would not hold to my covenant, so I let them alone, saith the Lord. read more.
This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel when that day comes, saith the Lord; I will set my laws within their mind, inscribing them upon their hearts; I will be a God to them, and they shall be a People to me; one citizen will no longer teach his fellow, one man will no longer teach his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all will know me, low and high together. I will be merciful to their iniquities, and remember their sins no more. By saying 'a new covenant,' he antiquates the first. And whatever is antiquated and aged is on the verge of vanishing.

The first covenant had indeed its regulations for worship, and a material sanctuary. A tent was set up, the outer tent, containing the lampstand, the table, and the loaves of the Presence; this is called the Holy place. But behind the second veil was the tent called the Holy of Holies, read more.
containing the golden altar of incense, and also the ark of the covenant covered all over with gold, which held the golden pot of manna, the rod of Aaron that once blossomed, and the tablets of the covenant; above this were the cherubims of the Glory, overshadowing the mercy seat ??matters which it is impossible for me to discuss at present in detail. Such were the arrangements for worship. The priests constantly enter the first tent, in the discharge of their ritual duties, but the second tent is entered only once a year by the high priest alone ??and it must not be without blood, which he presents on behalf of himself and the errors of the People. By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on defiled persons, give them a holiness that bears on bodily purity, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who in the spirit of the eternal offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve a living God? He mediates a new covenant for this reason, that those who have been called may obtain the eternal inheritance they have been promised, now that a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions involved in the first covenant.

For as the Law has a mere shadow of the bliss that is to be, instead of representing the reality of that bliss, it never can perfect those who draw near with the same annual sacrifices that are perpetually offered. Otherwise, they would surely have ceased to be offered; for the worshippers, once cleansed, would no longer be conscious of sins! As it is, they are an annual reminder of sins read more.
(for the blood of bulls and goats cannot possibly remove sins!). Hence, on entering the world he says, Thou hast no desire for sacrifice or offering; it is a body thou hast prepared for me ??6 in holocausts and sin-offerings thou takest no delight. So I said, 'Here I come ??in the roll of the book this is written of me ??I come to do thy will, O God.' He begins by saying, thou hast no desire for, thou takest no delight in, sacrifices and offerings and holocausts and sin-offerings (and these are what are offered in terms of the Law); he then adds, Here I come to do thy will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And it is by this will that we are consecrated, because Jesus Christ once for all has offered up his body. Again, while every priest stands daily at his service, offering the same sacrifices repeatedly, sacrifices which never can take sins away ??12 He offered a single sacrifice for sins and then seated himself for all time at the right hand of God,

Now where these are remitted, an offering for sin exists no longer. Brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy Presence in virtue of the blood of Jesus, by the fresh, living way which he has inaugurated for us through the veil (that is, through his flesh),

As you died with Christ to the Elemental spirits of the world, why live as if you still belonged to the world? Why submit to rules and regulations like "Hands off this!" "Taste not that!" "Touch not this!" ??22 referring to things that perish by being used? These rules are determined by human precepts and tenets; they get the name of 'wisdom' with their self-imposed devotions, with their fasting, with their rigorous discipline of the body, but they are of no value, they simply pamper the flesh!



in his own flesh he put an end to the feud of the Law with its code of commands, so as to make peace by the creation of a new Man in himself out of both parties, Verse ConceptsNew ThingsLaws, AbolishedLaw, And GospelRitual LawRitualSalvation, Nature OfLaw, TemporaryAbolish, Evil ThingsAnnulmentTwo GroupsNew LifeChurch Distinct From IsraelMaking Peace With God


The first covenant had indeed its regulations for worship, and a material sanctuary. Verse ConceptsSanctuaryHow To Worship GodLife In A Material WorldThe Tabernacle


By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order.

(which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), read more.
not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption.




since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder

Circumcision counts for nothing, uncircumcision counts for nothing; obedience to God's commands is everything. Verse ConceptsCircumcision, spiritualCommands, in NTReligionRitualSelf DeceptionNothingNecessity Of CircumcisionKeep The Commandments!Unimportant ThingsValueimportance



Now mere food will not bring us any nearer to God; if we abstain we do not lose anything, and if we eat we do not gain anything. Verse Conceptsdrawing near to GodRitualGood Or BadPeople Commended By GodLove And RelationshipsEating Meatlentconnectionimprovement

but now that you know God ??or rather, are known by God ??how is it you are turning back again to the weakness and poverty of the Elemental spirits? Why do you want to be enslaved all over again by them? Verse ConceptsGod, All knowingElementsConfusionUseless ThingsUniquenessElements Of The UniverseGod Knowing His PeopleSubject To EvilWorry And StressIdentityWeaknessKnowing GodIdentity In Christ

they decline to eat what comes from the market till they have washed it; and they have a number of other traditions to keep about washing cups and jugs and basins [and beds].) Verse ConceptsMarketsBrassPurifying OneselfClean ObjectsHow People Eatmarketing

Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? Verse ConceptsLegalismSatan, As TempterTestingYokesTesting GodUnbearable ThingsPutting God FirstResisting TemptationTeststrying


As you died with Christ to the Elemental spirits of the world, why live as if you still belonged to the world? Why submit to rules and regulations like Verse ConceptsMortificationAbolish, Evil ThingsChristian Liberty Is Freedom FromFormalityDying With ChristDead To SinElements Of The UniverseHuman Law

since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder


and who officiates in the sanctuary or true tabernacle set up by the Lord and not by man. Verse ConceptsSanctuaryThe Temple In HeavenThe Tabernacle

(men who serve a mere outline and shadow of the heavenly ??as Moses was instructed, when he was about to execute the building of the tabernacle: see, God said, that you make everything on the pattern shown you upon the mountain). Verse ConceptsArchitectureForeshadowingMoses, Life OfPriesthood, In NtShadowsDivine PlansAntitypesDesignPatternsThe Temple In HeavenHeavenly Visionreality


The first covenant had indeed its regulations for worship, and a material sanctuary. A tent was set up, the outer tent, containing the lampstand, the table, and the loaves of the Presence; this is called the Holy place. But behind the second veil was the tent called the Holy of Holies, read more.
containing the golden altar of incense, and also the ark of the covenant covered all over with gold, which held the golden pot of manna, the rod of Aaron that once blossomed, and the tablets of the covenant; above this were the cherubims of the Glory, overshadowing the mercy seat ??matters which it is impossible for me to discuss at present in detail. Such were the arrangements for worship. The priests constantly enter the first tent, in the discharge of their ritual duties, but the second tent is entered only once a year by the high priest alone ??and it must not be without blood, which he presents on behalf of himself and the errors of the People. By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption.

Now, while the copies of the heavenly things had to be cleansed with sacrifices like these, the heavenly things themselves required nobler sacrifices. For Christ has not entered a holy place which human hands have made (a mere type of the reality!); he has entered heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

(which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order.

Hence even the first covenant of God's will was not inaugurated apart from blood; for after Moses had announced every command in the Law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, together with water, scarlet wool and hyssop, sprinkling the book and all the people, and saying, This is the blood of that covenant which is God's command for you. read more.
He even sprinkled with blood the tent and all the utensils of worship in the same way. In fact, one might almost say that by Law everything is cleansed with blood. No blood shed, no remission of sins! Now, while the copies of the heavenly things had to be cleansed with sacrifices like these, the heavenly things themselves required nobler sacrifices.


For Christ has not entered a holy place which human hands have made (a mere type of the reality!); he has entered heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Verse ConceptsCopies Of AltarsAtonement, in NTSanctuaryJesus Christ, Love OfChrist, The High PriestAntitypesAdvocatesThe Presence Of ChristChrist And HeavenThe Temple In HeavenThe Presence Of Godreality

and who officiates in the sanctuary or true tabernacle set up by the Lord and not by man. Verse ConceptsSanctuaryThe Temple In HeavenThe Tabernacle

(men who serve a mere outline and shadow of the heavenly ??as Moses was instructed, when he was about to execute the building of the tabernacle: see, God said, that you make everything on the pattern shown you upon the mountain). Verse ConceptsArchitectureForeshadowingMoses, Life OfPriesthood, In NtShadowsDivine PlansAntitypesDesignPatternsThe Temple In HeavenHeavenly Visionreality

The first covenant had indeed its regulations for worship, and a material sanctuary. A tent was set up, the outer tent, containing the lampstand, the table, and the loaves of the Presence; this is called the Holy place. But behind the second veil was the tent called the Holy of Holies, read more.
containing the golden altar of incense, and also the ark of the covenant covered all over with gold, which held the golden pot of manna, the rod of Aaron that once blossomed, and the tablets of the covenant; above this were the cherubims of the Glory, overshadowing the mercy seat ??matters which it is impossible for me to discuss at present in detail. Such were the arrangements for worship. The priests constantly enter the first tent, in the discharge of their ritual duties, but the second tent is entered only once a year by the high priest alone ??and it must not be without blood, which he presents on behalf of himself and the errors of the People. By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption.


since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder

since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder



For the bodies of the animals whose blood is taken into the holy Place by the high priest as a sin-offering, are burned outside the camp; and so Jesus also suffered outside the gate, in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us go to him outside the camp, then, bearing his obloquy


Then I noticed a Lamb standing in the midst of the throne and the four living Creatures and the Presbyters; it seemed to have been slain, but it had seven horns and seven eyes (they are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth), Verse ConceptsAtonement, in NTHornsSpiritsSymbolsCherubim, At God's ThroneAnimal Sacrifices, As A Type Of ChristFour CreaturesSeven SpiritsSeven Body PartsHorns In AllegoryChrist Was KilledElders In HeavenGod Sending ProphetsHeavenLeadership Qualities


but the second tent is entered only once a year by the high priest alone ??and it must not be without blood, which he presents on behalf of himself and the errors of the People. By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, read more.
since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on defiled persons, give them a holiness that bears on bodily purity, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who in the spirit of the eternal offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve a living God? He mediates a new covenant for this reason, that those who have been called may obtain the eternal inheritance they have been promised, now that a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions involved in the first covenant.

Hence even the first covenant of God's will was not inaugurated apart from blood; for after Moses had announced every command in the Law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, together with water, scarlet wool and hyssop, sprinkling the book and all the people, and saying, This is the blood of that covenant which is God's command for you. read more.
He even sprinkled with blood the tent and all the utensils of worship in the same way. In fact, one might almost say that by Law everything is cleansed with blood. No blood shed, no remission of sins! Now, while the copies of the heavenly things had to be cleansed with sacrifices like these, the heavenly things themselves required nobler sacrifices. For Christ has not entered a holy place which human hands have made (a mere type of the reality!); he has entered heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, like the high priest entering the holy place every year with blood that was not his own: ??26 for in that case he would have had to suffer repeatedly, ever since the world was founded. Nay, once for all, at the end of the world, he has appeared with his self-sacrifice to abolish sin.

For as the Law has a mere shadow of the bliss that is to be, instead of representing the reality of that bliss, it never can perfect those who draw near with the same annual sacrifices that are perpetually offered. Otherwise, they would surely have ceased to be offered; for the worshippers, once cleansed, would no longer be conscious of sins! As it is, they are an annual reminder of sins read more.
(for the blood of bulls and goats cannot possibly remove sins!). Hence, on entering the world he says, Thou hast no desire for sacrifice or offering; it is a body thou hast prepared for me ??6 in holocausts and sin-offerings thou takest no delight. So I said, 'Here I come ??in the roll of the book this is written of me ??I come to do thy will, O God.' He begins by saying, thou hast no desire for, thou takest no delight in, sacrifices and offerings and holocausts and sin-offerings (and these are what are offered in terms of the Law); he then adds, Here I come to do thy will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And it is by this will that we are consecrated, because Jesus Christ once for all has offered up his body. Again, while every priest stands daily at his service, offering the same sacrifices repeatedly, sacrifices which never can take sins away ??12 He offered a single sacrifice for sins and then seated himself for all time at the right hand of God, to wait until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has made the sanctified perfect for all time. Besides, we have the testimony of the holy Spirit; for after saying, This is the covenant I will make with them when that day comes, saith the Lord, I will set my laws upon their hearts, inscribing them upon their minds, he adds, And their sins and breaches of the law I will remember no more. Now where these are remitted, an offering for sin exists no longer. Brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy Presence in virtue of the blood of Jesus, by the fresh, living way which he has inaugurated for us through the veil (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in absolute assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience, and our bodies washed in pure water;

but the second tent is entered only once a year by the high priest alone ??and it must not be without blood, which he presents on behalf of himself and the errors of the People. By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, read more.
since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on defiled persons, give them a holiness that bears on bodily purity, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who in the spirit of the eternal offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve a living God? He mediates a new covenant for this reason, that those who have been called may obtain the eternal inheritance they have been promised, now that a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions involved in the first covenant.


Hence even the first covenant of God's will was not inaugurated apart from blood; for after Moses had announced every command in the Law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, together with water, scarlet wool and hyssop, sprinkling the book and all the people, and saying, This is the blood of that covenant which is God's command for you. read more.
He even sprinkled with blood the tent and all the utensils of worship in the same way. In fact, one might almost say that by Law everything is cleansed with blood. No blood shed, no remission of sins! Now, while the copies of the heavenly things had to be cleansed with sacrifices like these, the heavenly things themselves required nobler sacrifices. For Christ has not entered a holy place which human hands have made (a mere type of the reality!); he has entered heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, like the high priest entering the holy place every year with blood that was not his own: ??26 for in that case he would have had to suffer repeatedly, ever since the world was founded. Nay, once for all, at the end of the world, he has appeared with his self-sacrifice to abolish sin. And just as it is appointed for men to die once and after that to be judged, so Christ, after being once sacrificed to bear the sins of many, will appear again, not to deal with sin but for the saving of those who look out for him.

For as the Law has a mere shadow of the bliss that is to be, instead of representing the reality of that bliss, it never can perfect those who draw near with the same annual sacrifices that are perpetually offered. Otherwise, they would surely have ceased to be offered; for the worshippers, once cleansed, would no longer be conscious of sins! As it is, they are an annual reminder of sins read more.
(for the blood of bulls and goats cannot possibly remove sins!). Hence, on entering the world he says, Thou hast no desire for sacrifice or offering; it is a body thou hast prepared for me ??6 in holocausts and sin-offerings thou takest no delight. So I said, 'Here I come ??in the roll of the book this is written of me ??I come to do thy will, O God.' He begins by saying, thou hast no desire for, thou takest no delight in, sacrifices and offerings and holocausts and sin-offerings (and these are what are offered in terms of the Law); he then adds, Here I come to do thy will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And it is by this will that we are consecrated, because Jesus Christ once for all has offered up his body.



and who officiates in the sanctuary or true tabernacle set up by the Lord and not by man. Verse ConceptsSanctuaryThe Temple In HeavenThe Tabernacle

(men who serve a mere outline and shadow of the heavenly ??as Moses was instructed, when he was about to execute the building of the tabernacle: see, God said, that you make everything on the pattern shown you upon the mountain). Verse ConceptsArchitectureForeshadowingMoses, Life OfPriesthood, In NtShadowsDivine PlansAntitypesDesignPatternsThe Temple In HeavenHeavenly Visionreality

The first covenant had indeed its regulations for worship, and a material sanctuary. A tent was set up, the outer tent, containing the lampstand, the table, and the loaves of the Presence; this is called the Holy place. But behind the second veil was the tent called the Holy of Holies, read more.
containing the golden altar of incense, and also the ark of the covenant covered all over with gold, which held the golden pot of manna, the rod of Aaron that once blossomed, and the tablets of the covenant; above this were the cherubims of the Glory, overshadowing the mercy seat ??matters which it is impossible for me to discuss at present in detail. Such were the arrangements for worship. The priests constantly enter the first tent, in the discharge of their ritual duties, but the second tent is entered only once a year by the high priest alone ??and it must not be without blood, which he presents on behalf of himself and the errors of the People. By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption.



since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder






for after Moses had announced every command in the Law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, together with water, scarlet wool and hyssop, sprinkling the book and all the people, Verse ConceptsCrimsonBranches, Types OfSprinklingWoolRed MaterialSacrificing Cattle Sheep And Goats

since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder

but now that you know God ??or rather, are known by God ??how is it you are turning back again to the weakness and poverty of the Elemental spirits? Why do you want to be enslaved all over again by them? Verse ConceptsGod, All knowingElementsConfusionUseless ThingsUniquenessElements Of The UniverseGod Knowing His PeopleSubject To EvilWorry And StressIdentityWeaknessKnowing GodIdentity In Christ

they decline to eat what comes from the market till they have washed it; and they have a number of other traditions to keep about washing cups and jugs and basins [and beds].) Verse ConceptsMarketsBrassPurifying OneselfClean ObjectsHow People Eatmarketing

Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? Verse ConceptsLegalismSatan, As TempterTestingYokesTesting GodUnbearable ThingsPutting God FirstResisting TemptationTeststrying


As you died with Christ to the Elemental spirits of the world, why live as if you still belonged to the world? Why submit to rules and regulations like Verse ConceptsMortificationAbolish, Evil ThingsChristian Liberty Is Freedom FromFormalityDying With ChristDead To SinElements Of The UniverseHuman Law

since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. Verse ConceptsRitualLimitations Of The Bodyorder