Lesson 1: “The Letter to the Hebrews and To Us”
COLLEEN TINKER
Problems with the lesson:
- The author ignores the occasion for this epistle: the recipients of Hebrews “were being tempted to return to Judaism or to Judaize the gospel” (NASB Study Bible).
- It assumes (per EGW) that Paul is the author although it’s widely believed he is not.
- Lesson 1 introduces the confusion necessary for Adventism to use Hebrews to support the investigative judgment.
Resource: Former Adventist Podcast: New Covenant and Right Jesus: Hebrews 1
I hated Hebrews as an Adventist. It absolutely made no sense to me. I knew that Hebrews was full of proof texts to support our “sanctuary doctrine”, and because of Hebrews we knew that there was a literal, physical tabernacle with compartments in heaven. In fact, because of Hebrews we knew that Moses had received literal “blueprints” for making and arranging the tabernacle in the wilderness.
If I tried to read Hebrews (and frankly, I avoided the book as much as possible), I felt confused and irritated.
After learning the gospel and realizing that the new covenant really did render the old covenant obsolete, Hebrews looked utterly different. I remember the sense of awe I had when I first studied the book as a Christian.
The author (who, I discovered, almost certainly was NOT Paul, and people had known for nearly 600 years that it wasn’t Paul) was systematic in developing the ways Jesus was greater than every aspect of the Law! He was greater than the angels. His incarnation was necessary in order to be a human sacrifice for humans. His finished work ushered all believers into God’s rest TODAY. He is a priest of a different order than Levi; as a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, He is NOT in heaven wearing a linen ephod and breastplate, and He is NOT puttering among the candlesticks sprinkling His blood on confessed sins!
Moreover, Hebrews was NOT written to an unknown group of Christians who had to be exhorted to keep the faith (understood by Adventists and the author of this lesson to be Adventism). Rather, Hebrews was written to a group of first-century believing Jews who almost certainly lived before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. These new Jewish believers were being tempted to return to Judaism—or to Judaize their Christianity!
This epistle, written by an unknown author (sometimes speculated to be Barnabas or Apollos—but who is not actually known) was written to remind these Jews who were steeped in Jewish law and temple worship who Jesus actually is and what He actually accomplished!
This epistle, far from upholding the Ten Commandments and teaching that Jesus is in heaven “applying His blood” actually reminded the recipients why they had to LEAVE Judaism. They had to LEAVE the Law; they had to follow Jesus outside the city of Jewish glory and go into the wilderness of belief in an invisible God who nonetheless indwelt them (see Hebrews 13).
This epistle was written to explain how Jesus rendered the law obsolete, to explain what it means that He is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, and to explain that with a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change of the law!
No wonder Hebrews had irritated and confused me! Adventism uses this book to teach exactly the OPPOSITE of what the epistle teaches!
Adventism had LIED to us, and they had obscured what is perhaps the most astonishing New Testament book that destroys the false religion called Seventh-day Adventism!
True confession: when I read this first lesson in this quarter’s series of 13 lessons on Hebrews, I felt that same irritation and confusion that I used to feel when I read Hebrews. I had trouble concentrating; I had to re-read sentences and paragraphs to try to follow its train of thought.
I realized that I felt confusion now because the lesson does NOT make sense. It is blatantly teaching something contrary to the actual book of Hebrews. Far from upholding the heresy of the investigative judgment, this book destroys it and upholds Jesus as the Author and Perfecter of our faith—and our faith is not in an ongoing judgment or in some notion of a heavenly sanctuary that proves the Sabbath is eternal and makes Satan our final scapegoat-sin-bearer!
This quarter I am linking episodes of the Former Adventist Podcast to each week’s commentary. Last year Nikki Stevenson and I went through the book of Hebrews and explained what it really says and how it destroys Adventism’s false gospel. This week, at the top of this commentary, I have attached a link to our podcast on Hebrews 1. I encourage you to listen and to see how wonderful it is to know that Jesus is God’s final word—no more prophets have come with news about how to be saved. Ellen White cannot be a prophet of God simply on the basis of Hebrews 1:1-2!
I pray that as we work through this quarter’s Sabbath School confusion on the book of Hebrews, you will begin to see in the pages of Scripture who Jesus really is and how He has brought us something completely new: the new covenant in His blood! †
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