Exploring The One Hope In Hebrews Part 4

Hopeful that we don't get caught up with that. So good afternoon to everyone. Welcome to the All Things Fulfill broadcast and YouTube channel, Google Hangout. We have a chat room open for those of you who want to participate in sending us comments or questions during the lesson. And we try to answer those as we possibly, as best as we possibly can. Some of them we may have to get back with you on and when we do, we will just, you know, try to be as thorough as we possibly can in providing those for you. And so we have one other broadcast that we want to start up here and then we can just get rolling on the broadcast. I want to welcome those who've already stopped in. We hope that you will stay. If you haven't subscribed to our channel, go ahead and do that. Also, when you go to our website, if you haven't signed up for our list, look at the latest blog post and you should scroll down about midway the page. And when you do that, you will come across a signup form. Use that form because I am showing that people are getting through with that particular form. We still have to upload some information there, but we will be making that available to you in the very near future. All right, so at this point, we're going to go ahead and get started. So let's begin. And it looks like they got to have a title. So I won't be able to do that one today. I'll just kind of leave it alone. And then if we have to pull an audio, we'll pull an audio and put it there, but I'm not going to worry about going through those changes for now. So we're studying the book of Hebrews and we're just kind of looking at the many facets of the one hope that they had in the first century. We understand that this hope has been realized. A lot of people are not aware of that, but as you go across some of these passages, you will see time statements. And especially if you go back and look at yesterday's lesson, you will see some very, very important time or temporal indicators that demonstrate that these things were very soon to happen. And they did in fact happen in the first century. Even then, a lot of people have different concepts of what the hope was all about. They still have a lot of materialistic concepts about what that hope was about. And so what we're doing is just going through, looking at all the different times that the hope is referred to in the book of Hebrews and to just kind of paint a picture of that so you can see precisely what it is. How are you doing, Thomas? Good to see you. And again, welcome to those who have tuned in at this point, both on the audio broadcast as well as in the hangout on YouTube. So we left off at the end of chapter 10. I'll just go back and pick up a couple of verses, especially since we've said something about the time. So we'll pick up just a couple of verses there and then we will move forward. Now, in verse 35, Paul said, therefore, and I understand the book to be written by Paul. I know not everyone agrees with that, but that's my current understanding. Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward, for you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. So here again is the reiteration of the promise that was mentioned in the earlier part of the book. It's mentioned in several other passages of the New Testament, Romans, Galatians, et cetera. And so this promise that actually God made in Genesis chapter three and verse 15, it's the same promise of life that was given to Adam and Eve in the garden. And it's just been developed over the centuries through the family of Abraham and then to the nation of Israel. And it was being fulfilled in this end time scenario that we find right here in the book of Hebrews. And so he says in the next verse, for yet a little while. And if the translators had translated this properly, they would have indicated the double emphasis on the term little, which would have rendered it according to the Greek, it would have been rendered in a very, very little while. And so there would have been a double emphasis on the verse because it says, Hosan, Hosan, mikron. And therefore it is a very, very emphatic statement of emphasis saying that this was going to happen in a very, very little while. Now, people have tried to stretch that into thousands of years. Some of them still see it as future, even to this day. I do have a couple of videos and studies on 2 Peter chapter three and verse eight, where we delve into the very context from Psalms 90 to deal with that. And if you haven't watched that video or those videos, go back and watch them because it explains the thousand years very clearly, gives you the context out of which that concept came and what it applied to and how it's being used in 2 Peter three. And so if you have a paradigm of the end that extends beyond the first century generation, I would highly recommend that you go back and watch that and take heed to it. A lot of people have already written me and told me how much it has helped them to finally understand the thousand years and so that they're not confused anymore about it. And that's a lot. That's saying a lot when you talk about how many false teachings have been built upon this concept of a thousand years, whether it's the millennium in revelation or the objection that they are trying to make to the eminence of these things in 2 Peter chapter three. So we want to make sure that you fully understand it. So please take the time to go back and watch that. And so this very, very little while, and then he says, now the just shall live by faith. But if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Now in this text and that, of course, that's an aspect of the one hope. It is the saving of the soul. And you can see a parallel to that. I just got to be talking about Peter, but if you go over to 1 Peter chapter one and verse nine, 1 Peter one and verse nine, you will also see that concept in 1 Peter. And by the way, as we look at it, I'll just put it in the context of the little while, once again, to show you that what Peter was talking about is the same thing that the Hebrews writer was speaking of in terms of time. So when you look in 1 Peter chapter one, and we start at around verse six, it is clear that he's talking about the salvation, the inheritance, the incorruptible inheritance that was undefiled, that did not fade away, and that was reserved in heaven for you. Good to see you, Jerry. And Janice, a pleasure to have you here. That's exactly what the Hebrews text was saying. When he said in verse 34, that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven, therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. So that reward at the time was in heaven, and Peter likewise speaks of it in the same manner, because he says it was to an inheritance, verse four, incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation. So there's the salvation that he's already introduced in the text, and then he says, ready to be revealed in the last time. He uses the word hetormos. He said it was ready to be revealed in those last days. And in this, you greatly rejoice, though now, now look at his perspective. His perspective is not some time off in the future. He says, though now, for a little while. So that's a message to those who were then living, those who were the recipients, the direct initial recipients of his epistle, and therefore he says, though now, for a little while. If need be, you have been grieved with various trials. So their persecutions, under which they were enduring and going, was going to be for a little while. That's precisely what the book of Hebrews says. In this, you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while. If need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire. I mean, this is a direct commentary to Hebrews chapter 10, verses 34 and following. May be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation or the apocalypsis of Jesus Christ. How are you doing, Esther? Good to have you back today. I appreciate it very, very much. Whom having not seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Now watch the next verse. Receiving the end of your faith. The word end is from telos in the Greek. It means to perfect something. It means to consummate something. It means to bring it to its state of maturity. Something that was already in progress and that already begun. How are you doing, Chris? Good to have you here as well. And receiving therefore the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. So his message is the same as that, as we find in Hebrews. And both of them talk about the little while in which it was going to come to pass. And that should not be overlooked if you're gonna talk about the subject of the end time. And a lot of people do, and they even try to explain it away. If they read the text, then they immediately go into this thing about trying to explain it away. And that really is not proper exegesis or Bible interpretation. It's not a good hermeneutic, if you please, which is nothing but the term for interpretation. So back to Hebrews 10, verse 39. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Now, starting in chapter 11, we continue to focus on the one hope. We have some time statements that have to be incorporated. Here's another thing that I noticed a lot. Sometimes people who, for whatever reason, I'm not sure. And I don't know all the reasons. I know a part of it is because they're not trained in how to study the Bible properly. But they will read a verse that relates to the same context in one chapter. And then maybe if they go to another book, like we just did in 1 Peter, or to that subject in another context, and they will not see the correlation between the passage. What I'm saying here is that even though we may not have the very eminent time statement that we saw in chapter 10, because we're dealing with the same subject and context, we would have to apply that temporal statement to chapter 11 and to everywhere that we see the one hope, because it's all governed by that same time. And so now, the way the writer introduces Hebrews 10 is with a definition of faith. And he says, now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance or evidence of things not seen. Now the real meaning, or at least the contextual meaning of things not seen means these are things which have not yet been realized, not have been received, not yet have been received in reality or in fullness. Just like we read in 1 Peter, they were receiving the end of their faith. They had not yet received it. So the not seen is not so much what you're seeing with your eye, though there is an element of that. But it was the fact that it's not seen because you do not yet have it. And so the concept of Romans 8, 24 and 25 would enter in here. As the Bible says, we are saved in this hope. But why does a man hope for what he already sees, meaning what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we do with patience, eagerly wait for it. And hence the eagerly waiting in Hebrews 9 and also in chapter 10. And so faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So this is the hope that they were looking for, of things hoped for. And that governs chapter 11. Now, when we start to examine the chapter, I'm gonna just pick out a couple of things here. One is verse seven, so that we can see what hope Noah had in his day. Now, when you're studying the New Testament and even the Old Testament, there were temporal judgments that were administered through the wrath of God that the people were delivered from or that they were seeking to escape, that God was warning them against. And there was such a judgment in the time of Noah. But that was not the ultimate expectation that Noah had. He saw something much deeper than merely being delivered from the flood. The flood was a type of the true salvation that Noah was hoping for. And the reason for that goes back to Genesis chapter three and verse 15. They all had the promise of the coming of Christ, of the defeat of Satan, so that they could enter into the most holy place. So that is expressed in Hebrews 11 and verse seven in this manner, by faith, Noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen. See, there's that idea. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Well, this is what this text is saying. By faith, Noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became the heir of notice, the righteousness, which is according to faith. Now, that's a huge word within itself. You could do just a study on that word and see just how multifaceted it is in terms of the hope that the Bible speaks of. But he became the heir of the righteousness, which is by faith. So that's telling us that righteousness is the promise, that righteousness is the most holy place, that righteousness is the eternal salvation. It's the eternal redemption. All of the things that we have been talking about can be summed up in this one word, righteousness, because that's what they wanted. They wanted to be in a position where they could stand justified in the presence of God, where they could have not their own righteousness, which came from doing works, but the righteousness which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness that God appropriates to them through their faith in Christ. And so he says he became the heir of righteousness. When you consider Daniel chapter nine, where Daniel says that concerning those six blessings within the 70 weeks, one of which was to bring in everlasting righteousness, that's the very righteousness that Noah was seeking. And then when you read in 2 Peter chapter three, you find that that righteousness is found within the new heavens and the new earth. Now you hear a lot of people saying that, yes, we have the righteousness of God, but then on the other hand, they'll turn right around and deny that they're in the new heavens and the new earth. Well, guess what? The righteousness is within the new heavens and the new earth. That's what Peter said in 2 Peter three, when he says, we look for a new heavens and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells. And so that's the realm and the sphere, which is the most holy place, that's the new tabernacle of where this righteousness dwells. Now in verse eight, we then move to Abraham. So we've dealt with Noah with some antediluvian saints, saints before the flood, people of God before the flood. And now we're gonna look at people of God after the flood. This is God calling the entire seed who belong to Christ. Not simply those under the law, we're gonna see a division of those under the law, not simply those who were post-Diluvian, starting with Abraham, but you're also going to see those who were antediluvian, meaning before the flood. So what we've got is a world of people from Adam down through Noah, then Abraham, and then through Moses, that all three of those divisions are expressed in Hebrews chapter 11. And what God is showing is that his salvation, the breadth and the depth and the scope of his salvation includes them all. It's not just, even though he may tell the story through one of the groups, depending on what time of history we're in. For example, if we're in the antediluvian period, well, that story is being told through Adam for the most part and the patriarchs. That is correct. That's precisely correct, Chris. And what she says, for those of you who are listening, if the heavens and the earth is the temple, and we are now the temple, then we are the new heavens and the new earth. That's precisely what God said. I will walk in them and I will dwell in them. First Corinthians chapter three in verse 16, you, and that is a plural, you are the temple of the living God. Everything in the New Testament tells you that. Ephesians 2, 19 and following. First Peter 2, verses four through six. First Corinthians 3.11, 3.16, as we've said, and 6.19. So all of those passages tell you that. And by the way, as I was saying the other day, the entire book of Corinthians is about temple typology, if you study it properly, all the way to the resurrection. The concept of putting on clothing that you see in first Corinthians 15, and also in second Corinthians chapter five, if this earthly house of this tabernacle were destroyed, we have a building of God, where? Eternal in the heavens, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. See, everywhere we've looked at the hope before 70 AD, it was reserved in heaven. It was the great reward in heaven, that enduring possession in heaven. But what we see is a coming down of that, as I explained on yesterday. And so when you go back, and if you haven't done this, go back to Ezekiel chapter 16, and study how God entered into this relationship with Israel and then he clothed her with the tabernacle and married her. So there you have that marriage language, you have the tabernacle language, and that's what's involved in both first Corinthians and second Corinthians. And people go there and all they can see is a biological body. And that is as far away from the context of second Corinthians five and even first Corinthians, as the heaven is from the earth. I mean, it's just absolutely not the context at all. And the reason we can't get it is because we will not focus on temple typology, which starts in Genesis one. And when you read John one, we did that, you'll see it further. But all the way through the Bible, that's what's... And the reason is because the temple is how man gains access to the presence of God. And that's what the Bible is all about. Adam fell in sin and God went to work to bring him back into the right relationship with him. And so that's what that is speaking about. So exactly, if death cannot separate us, a bodily resurrection is not needed. And that is correct. Okay, so let's move on. So he says, by faith. So the reason I'm reading this is because we're making a transition here from the antediluvian people to the post diluvian, people after the flood. And so he says, by faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country. Okay, another question here. When we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, does that mean that we are in a holy place and Jesus is in front of us? When the faithful pray, the Bible teaches us, you know, it teaches us that God dwells in us, but it teaches us wherever two or three are assembled together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. And Jesus, as we quoted on yesterday from John 14, 23, he talked about, you know, if a man obeyed him and kept his word, let me get that text for you. Jesus answered and said, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him. It's just like Revelation three, what verse is that? Is it 16 or so that says, behold, I stand at the door and knock and if any man will open, I will come into him and sup with him. So we have tons of scriptures that talk about Christ dwelling with us and being with us. And our responsibility is to have faith, to be obedient and to serve and worship him all the days of our lives. And we can enjoy, you know, that presence of God with us. Okay, so I hope that answers your question, Esther. So they were in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. Now notice while they were in Canaan, 320, thank you. I get close sometimes, but I miss a few every now and then. All right, they were in the land of Canaan, dwelling in tents, not building a permanent home there. Why? Because the Bible says he waited for the city, which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. That's a house not made with hands. That is not made with men's hands is what that text means. This house is built by God. So it's a spiritual house. That's precisely what Peter calls it. He says, you are being built up a spiritual house. And so there was no physical temple being built. I remember having a debate with the guy and he brought up that there had to be another temple built before a third temple built before the Lord returned. And I started to present all of these texts on the temple that was already being built. And he cried foul. I said, no, there's no foul. There's your temple right there in the scriptures. And he had a moderator with him and the moderator agreed with me that it was fair game, that he couldn't deny what the scriptures were. And he didn't feel too good about it, but that's just the way it is. At any rate, so here's the hope, it's the city. We looked at it in verse seven, it was righteousness, but in verse 10, it is the city that has foundations. So this goes back to what Chris was saying a moment ago. If you have righteousness, you have the city. If you're in the righteousness of God, you're in the city of God, they're hand in hand. It's one hope, it's just a multifaceted hope. And so that's what they were waiting for. People who wanna talk about Abraham waiting for the land, oh no, Abraham dwelt in the land as a sojourner. That was not where he had his hope. Jesus said of him in John chapter eight, Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he was glad. And the day that he was talking about was the day of Christ when he would bring all of this to pass. So first Peter 2.5, you also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And I believe the import of that text is actually you are being built up at the time it was done because remember they were in the process of receiving this. So it was still undergoing construction at the time. But thank you, Chris, for posting that. Now, she is such a wonderful help. I certainly appreciate it. Now, so they were waiting for that city which had foundations whose builder and maker was God. So it was the city that they were looking for, but it was the city that God would build. And so it says by faith, Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed. She bore a child when she was past the age because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man and him as good as dead were born as many as the stars of the sky and multitude innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. Now watch in verse 13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them, where? Of far off. See, at the time of Abraham, those promises were of far off. But when we get to the time of Peter and the Hebrews, those promises were a short distance off, a very, very little while away because all that time had passed in between. And so these all died in faith. Why were they dying in faith? Let's go back to verse one. Because faith is the substance of things hoped for or the assurance of things not seen. They didn't see them in their day. They saw them far off, of far off in the time of the apostles that we are reading about in the first century. And so, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embrace them because see that was the substance that they embraced and confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the land. You should read the word earth in the text as the land, the land of Canaan, the land that everybody is clamoring over, not everybody, but you see all of these people clamoring over that the Zionists have even hoodwinked many Christians, so-called Christian Zionists, into believing that their hope is to get that piece of real estate over in the land of Palestine. And that is not what the hope for. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob, as they sojourned in the land, confess that they were pilgrims and strangers in that land. They didn't consider it their home. They knew better. They knew they had a home that was in the heavens. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. You talk about homeland security, here it is. This is true homeland security. You don't need a dome over you to protect you. We just had the reference to Romans chapter eight that neither death, nor life, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any created thing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, Romans eight and verse 38. So you don't have to have a dome to protect you because they can't destroy you anyway if you're in Christ. You have immortality. That's the promise in Christ. So that is true homeland security. And all of this other stuff that's going on is nothing but things that are deceiving in terms of people thinking they're secure. And I'm not against anybody preparing against disasters. We know that disasters happen, but a lot of this stuff that's going on is based upon all of this false information out there. And they're just selling you stuff. What's his name? I can't think of his name. Tammy Faye Baker, Jim Baker. Now I think he's kind of stopped preaching per se. I know he does interviews, but what he's doing is he's selling these disaster packs because they're expecting something to happen. Now I would be one of the first people to tell you you do everything you can to protect yourself against any natural disaster, against any catastrophe and any war effort that might occur. So by no means am I saying ignore that, but at the same time, a lot of this stuff is just based upon the hype that these guys have been preaching for years that the sky is falling and it hasn't fallen yet. It was supposed to fall back in 1988 and then again in the year 1989 and again in 1995, again in 2000 with Y2K. And it was supposed to fall last month, two months in September on the 23rd and it didn't fall. It's not going to fall, but they keep telling you that it's going to fall because they don't understand the one hope and that's why we're covering what the one hope is. And so they were looking for that homeland, but what was the homeland? Righteousness. Now let's say we go over and tell those people to put a righteousness dome over their land and use that for homeland security. You know what? They would have a lot more protection with righteousness. You know, righteousness would have prevented God from destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham said, if he could find 50 righteous people in the city, God would not destroy it. And then being a little bit concerned, he had to negotiate and he said, what about 45? And then 40 and then on down. And he got down to 10 righteous people. 10 righteous people would have saved a city, but they couldn't find 10. And as a result, they were destroyed. And then even one of those who left the city was destroyed for looking back, Lot's wife. So the most protective dome that you could ever put over you is the righteousness of God. And so he says in truly verse 15, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now, now look at that text. There's the word now again. Now they desired. So these patriarchs were yet desiring the better country. Now, how can that be? If Palestine, if the land of Canaan was that country and they had sojourned in that country for 240 years, why were they still looking for something? I mean, shouldn't they have just been thankless as God, you gave me what you promised. Now he did promise that to them and he did give it to them under Joshua. But I mean, shouldn't they have said, okay, we got the land we're living in it, et cetera. But that wasn't what they were looking for. The Bible says, but now see there, they were still hoping at the time the book of Hebrews was written while their descendants were already in the land. And so they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city. Now the implication is God is ashamed of those who were hoping for the land. I mean, you can't miss that, you can't escape that. God would be ashamed of them, that's what Jesus told them. Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this sinful and adulterous generation, he was talking about the first century generation who would see the sign of the resurrection three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, Matthew chapter 12, 38 through 45, and also Luke 16, I mean, Matthew 16, verses one through four Mark 8, 38, Matthew 10, 32, all of those passages apply. And he said, whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him will the son of man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his father with his holy angels. See that's tied to an end time text. If we full predators are so wrong, how come all these modern day prophets have been wrong on the second coming many times in our future? Absolutely. And as far as if you wanna keep score, I mean, we're winning this, we haven't lost yet in terms of keeping score because every time they predicted a future return since 70 AD, they failed. All right, so he's prepared a city for them. All right, so let me get back to... So that's Hebrews 11 and verse 16. Now let's go to verse 35, another interesting one. And by the way, we're heading into the division of the old covenant, the law in terms of Moses, because when you get to verse 23, after Joseph's death, then we go straight into the Exodus where he talks about Moses when he was born. And so now we're dealing with the time under the law. So we've looked at the hope given in the antediluvian stage with Noah, where the premise was righteousness. We looked at the hope in the time of the post diluvian stage prior to the law of Moses, where the hope was the heavenly city built by God. And then finally, we get to the time of Moses. Now watch what the hope becomes in the time of Moses under the law. Same hope, now it is resurrection. When you look in verse 34, the Bible says, concerning some of those who were under the law and what happened to them is they were being persecuted. They quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Now watch verse 35. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance. In other words, they refused to be raised from physical death. They absolutely refused it. Now, why did they refuse it? The text says that they might, this is the reason. This is a conjunction of purpose. And it therefore explains the reason why they refused to be raised back into the physical world. The reason given is so that they could obtain a better resurrection, a resurrection better than a body coming out of the ground. So now we're looking at the better resurrection. So let's sum up this chapter in the following verses. So still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sewn into, attempted, were slain with a sword. They wondered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth. Now watch these two last two verses. And all these having obtained a good testimony through faith did not receive the promise. So we've had basically four terms in Hebrews four to describe the one hope. We have the word righteousness, we have the word promise, we have the word city, and now we have better resurrection, all describing the same thing. So they all having obtained a good testimony through faith did not receive the promise. That is what was hoped for and not seen, not yet realized. So they hadn't realized it. It was coming very, very soon, but it was not yet realized when the text was written. So verse 40 says, God having provided something better for us. Who's the us in the text? Those would be the new covenant saints. Those who are called the living in the New Testament, who are participating in what the Bible calls the out resurrection or the ex on a station. They're not in Hades. And so he says, God having provided something better for us, that they apart from us should not be made perfect or that they should not be made perfect apart from us. There's the word perfect. We've looked at that several times. Remember, take you all the way back to chapter six in verse one, let us go on to perfection. So to go on to perfection, what's to go on to the better resurrection, what's to go on to the heavenly city, what's to go on to righteousness and what's to go on to a resurrection from the dead. And isn't it interesting when you study Hebrew six in verse one, since we are now at the text regarding the resurrection, isn't it interesting that in chapter six, he tells them to not lay again, the foundation of repentance from dead works and the resurrection from the dead. And then at the same time tells them to go on to perfection. See that's comparing that old covenant system with the salvation within the age to come, which was that perfection, which was that a better resurrection. And so the promise, the hope is resurrection, but now resurrection is called righteousness. It's called a heavenly city. It's called perfection. And here we have that promise. Now chapter 12 is equally a challenging chapter, or at least it's a very good chapter to discuss. And we're just about at the end of these studies. It is now about 149. And I probably better go ahead and start on chapter 12, because I know I won't finish 12 and 13. So let's go ahead and do that. But I wanted to allow just a couple of minutes for questions. If you wanted to ask some questions, I know I've been taking them all along. If you have any questions, go ahead and type them in and we will address them. Otherwise we're gonna move right on into chapter 12. And where I'd like to start is verse 10. So in verse 10, he says for they indeed, this is talking about the chastisement of those who are believers. And the saints were undergoing persecution, of course. We read about that in chapter 10 and other verses, severe persecution. And they were wondering, you know, it's like the question, God, why me? Why am I suffering if I'm supposed to be your child? You know, but we have the book of Job and many other references in the Old Testament that can answer that question for us. But he also answers it here as well. And he tells you in verse seven, if you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. What son is there whom a father does not chasten? I mean, every father who loves his son will chasten him. But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you're illegitimate and not sons. You know, I had the grandfather and father who did not spare the rod or the stick or the cord or whatever, and my mother didn't spare the switch. And I think when I look back on those really good lashings that I got, that they certainly kept me out of a lot of trouble and I'm really, really appreciative of them. I remember one quipping, I guess we'll call it, that I received as a kid that I didn't think I deserved. But I also remember those that I did deserve and never got. So I guess it all worked out fine. But, you know, I got into some trouble, but I didn't get into anything serious like many of my friends who did. And some of them have passed on now because their lives, you know, just went a whole different direction. So it's good to be chastised because the Bible says afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. And that's the end goal, that's what you want. And what can you compare with having that relationship with the father? So he says, for they indeed for a few days chasing us as seemed best to them, but he for our profit, why? That we may be partakers of his holiness. And that's 1 Peter 1, 15 and 16. Be holy, even as I am holy. So the purpose for that is for it to make us better, make us stronger, to build us better, build better character. You can say in some sense, but not exactly flawed, but I got some good ones, okay? I have a real, really good story to tell you. My dad told us not to play with matches. And one day I happened to be in the kitchen and we had this little match rack, little metal match rack nailed on the wall and full of those long stem kitchen matches. So I decided I was gonna get some and play with them. And I grabbed like a handful of them and put them in my back pocket and went up on the school campus and started playing with them, burning little twigs and everything. It was around a lot of dirt, so no harm to anything, but just fascinated with striking matches and burning things. And I forgot that I had them in my pocket. And something happened that night that I had to get one of those lashings. I had on a pair of jeans, didn't know that I had, I'd forgotten all about those matches in my pocket. So when the time came, he whacked me across the seat. And my back pocket lit up with fire. And I thought that he had put me on fire from just hitting me. And, but it was those matches in my back pocket. And I never played with matches again after that. But it was kind of funny. It wasn't funny when it was happening. I really thought I was gonna burn to death, but just a funny thing. So interesting that that occurred. But like I said, I turned out to be pretty good, I think. I'm still working on it, but I think I turned out to be pretty good. Okay, so he says that we might be partakers of his, yeah, it's funny now, it wasn't funny then. I think I was, couldn't have been more than eight, maybe eight years old or less, something like that. I wasn't very old, I was still in, I was probably in the second or third grade when that happened. All right, anyway. So when your parents tell you don't play with matches, hey, don't play with matches. If you happen to be a kid listening to this. All right, so the next text we're gonna look at is verse, and I don't wanna go too far in chapter 12 because we're gonna start something. So let's look at the last verse for today. And that's gonna be verse 14, all right? 13 and 14. He says, and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. And this is metaphoric language, but it's talking about being healed in the sense of sin. Just like Peter says, with his stripes, we are healed. And you see the book of Revelation, the fruit of the tree are for the healing of the nations. That's the idea. It's kind of the concept of, is there no balm in Gilead? And why is not the daughter of my people healed? So that's the concept. Yeah, he really put the fire under me, Jerry. And so he says, pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the Lord. So there was the other aspect of the hope, the privilege and the opportunity to see God. And everything that that entails in terms of having a relationship with him, as the Bible says in the Beatitudes, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Okay, well, I think I'm gonna stop there because that will give us an opportunity to fully cover what we wanna cover on tomorrow's lesson. And I will be back on tomorrow, Lord willing, at the same time. So look forward to being back. I hope you have been edified through the message today, that you've gotten some good tips that you will work on. And are there any final questions as we close out for today? Looks like we'll be ending just a couple of minutes early. And I don't see any questions. So hopefully everything was understood and appreciated as well. All right, ladies and gentlemen, that's it for today. I am William Bell with All Things Fulfilled. Be sure and subscribe to our channel if you're not a regular subscriber. In addition, and when you subscribe, you will always get a notification, or at least you should get a notification for each time that we have a new broadcast. We also encourage you to go to our website and get on the list, because I've got to upload some information there as well and keep you posted. And if you wanna study further, I've got some books. Thank you, Jerry, I'm the worst promoter. But I have written a book on the re-examination, which basically is a response to a guy, who was local here, that talked about, he actually took issue with Christ's return in 70 AD. So I titled that book, The Re-examination of the AD 70 Theory by William Jones. And it's a book that is basically unapologetic or defense of the view. And it goes through and refutes all the arguments that were made. And I actually took that book to him after I wrote it before I published it and said, look, I've responded to all of your complaints. Check them out. If you think that I've misrepresented you or that I've made some bad arguments, go ahead and address them and let's make sure we get this right. He refused to do it. He wouldn't even take a look at it. He actually got upset that I had responded to him because he had boasted that nobody could answer him pretty much in that book. So that book is called The Re-examination. You can go to my website at, just go to this page, allthingsfulfilled.com and SHOP, slash SHOP. And you can see these materials. I've written a book on the 23rd Psalm from the perspective of the temple of God. And a lot of people have really, really appreciated that book. It's kind of devotional, but at the same time, doctrinal as well. And it will give you a warm, fuzzy feeling about being in a relationship with God. And so many people have used it for comfort. They have told me that how much they've really appreciated having that book. I've also got a book called Living in Eternity that I wrote after a debate with a guy a few years ago. And that book has been well-received and I have one is on Will Planet Earth Be Destroyed? We also have some DVDs and audio tapes there as well. So check out the page. Anything that you do to help us, helps us to continue to put these broadcast on. You know, we have to pay to broadcast on the audio. We have to pay to get the equipment to broadcast with. And then the books that we do research with. So, you know, when you can help out, go ahead and do that if you feel moved to do it. It helps us. And I guarantee you, we're gonna use the money, right? This is not one of those kinds of ministries where you can go out and say a few things to people and they start throwing money all on the altar and everywhere and that doesn't happen here. So if you are inclined to do something to help toward that end, purchase a book or send some encouraging funds, I would appreciate it very much. With that, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. Let's see, Janice says she uses Amazon to fund me and tell them how to do that also. Wow, I don't know if I know how to do that. Now here's what you can do. Let me, I do have a PayPal. Now let me give you this. Let's see, it is. All right, now you can go directly to that PayPal and you can also send funds directly through Facebook now. So you can just go to Facebook and in your private messenger, there's a tab that you click. You can just look through it and click it and then you can send funds that way and they both go directly into the account. Some, we have a few people who are doing this already through that link that I just gave you and a few who have sent funds through that. But we don't just use those funds for our ministry. We also use them to help little children who are struggling in school and need certain things to just help them along the way. And I know what that's like because I've experienced that before. So my heart kind of turns back to these children to help them and give them a hand because if we can save one or two of them from some of the tragedies and disasters that are out there, we will have done a lot of good. But I think with the efforts that we're doing, we're gonna reach out and save a lot more of them and just give them some positive encouragement, mentoring and share with them some things that they can't share back with us. So that's what we're all about. And we're trying to build that and really make it a powerful ministry. We're actually having other people now who are contacting us from other places, asking how they can be a part of it or how we can help them to set up something similar to that. So it's having some positive effects. So we're trying to do some good things because we just believe that we're in a fulfilled perspective and we should be about the business of helping to make this world a better place. And that's what I'm all about. All right. Well, very good. Three light steps. Those are the kind of things that we're doing. With that, I'm gonna say have a great afternoon and enjoy yourselves. We look forward to being back on tomorrow and God bless and good afternoon.