Hebrews 5:10, 11
Dull of Hearing
Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews 5:10)
Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. (Hebrews 5:11)
For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Matthew 13:15)
And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. (Isaiah 6:9)
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. (Isaiah 6:10)
Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: (Jeremiah 5:21)
Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 12:2)
Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? (Isaiah 42:23)
It is not strange for the Spirit of God to bring our frailties before us whether it is the frailty of man and his sin, or the frailty and sin of a nation. We see this in the history of the nation of Israel. The lack of understanding and hearing the words of God carried over into the professing church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was Israel that turned from God, it was not God who turned from Israel, however, because of God’s holiness and His righteousness there came a time in the depth of Israel’s sin that God had to give them up.
But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. (Psalm 81:11) So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels. (Psalm 81:12) Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! (Psalm 81:13)
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. (Hosea 4:6)
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.(Hosea 6:6) But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. (Hosea 6:7)
Consult the prophet Hosea in the matter. As Israel was deaf and blind so the Church has also become both deaf and blind. This began in the days of the apostles. In Matthew 13:15 it is the Lord speaking to the Jews, and He expresses that to the things of God, and to the word of God, and yes, to the Living Word of God they were dull of hearing. In the days of Isaiah, they would not listen to the prophet, and again, their ears were heavy, or dull of hearing. Just so we will understand God also takes us to Jeremiah where the Spirit of God says that they are a foolish people, and even though they had ears, they heard not. In examining these hearers, we find that there is a disruption of what they hear, and the fact that they will not believe what they hear.
The Spirit of Christ takes us to another prophet, Ezekiel. In Jeremiah He dealt with their understanding and their foolishness, and in Ezekiel the Spirit of God points us to a rebellious house. He considers the whole nation as one rebellious house. And even though they have eyes, they see not; even though they have ears, they hear not, why? because they are a rebellious house. In Isaiah, Chapter 42, we have a conclusion of this matter by the Spirit of God. He simply asks, Is there anyone among us, is there anyone who will hear, is there anyone who will give their ears, and will anyone harken? The Lord then settles the question for the time to come: the time has arrived.
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. (Matthew 13:13)
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: (Matthew 13:14)
For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Matthew 13:15)
And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: (Matthew 15:10) and the voice of the Spirit in Revelation 3:17-18, Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
The Foundation
This is how the Spirit of God felt with the Hebrew professing Church of the New Testament in Hebrews, Chapter 5, verse 11. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. We hope to deal in depth with the ‘oath of Melchisedec’ when we get to Chapter 7 of the book of Hebrews, however, in Chapter 5 the Spirit of God is laying a foundation for us to carry us into Chapter 7. After dismissing the priesthood of Aaron as an earthly priesthood (for Aaron could not be qualified to be a priest in heaven) he was simply a shadow of the divine Priesthood that was (and is) in the Person of Melchisedec, a high priest forever after the order or oath of Melchisedec. The Father of lights and perfection in whom there is no shadow of turning opens our vision and our hearing in verse 5 of Chapter 5.
Do not err, my beloved brethren. (James 1:16) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Romans 11:29)
In setting a foundation the Spirit of God takes us back to Psalm 2:7, I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. The Spirit of God is unfolding to us His mind, the mind of Christ. We need to listen intently so that we do not miss one detail of the Spirit’s voice. In Psalm 2, verse 7 the Spirit establishes the Sonship of Christ as a divine sonship separated from Adam’s race. Christ would be the perfect witness of the glory of God the Father. The number 2 brings in the number of witness; the number 7 brings in the number of perfection. As in the previous article our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was made perfect in the things that He suffered. Verse 5, of Hebrews 5 not only gives us the fullness of grace in the repeat of the number 5, but in that grace, we have God the Son manifested in the flesh. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. (Hebrews 5:5) In Psalm 2, verse 6 we have Christ as the Son ruling as King on mount Zion. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. The Spirit of God presents His kingship in Psalm 2 before His sonship. This does not deny either His sonship or that He will rule as King on mount Zion, this is the background. The Holy Spirit, however, wants us to consider His position as both King and Son before we move on to the next verse in Hebrews 5:6 which introduces the eternal priesthood of the eternal Son, a priest forever after the oath of Melchisedec. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews 5:6) Because we are dealing with people that are hard of hearing, we must spend time on this foundational work.
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:5)
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Romans 11:29)
The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. (Psalm 110:4)
We have a God that changes not. Whenever God establishes an oath that cannot be broken. He will not repent of that oath. He will maintain it in His righteousness. The oath of Melchisedec, where do we find that there was an oath? In Hebrews 7, verse 21: (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) This is a continuous oath that was established before the world was by the counsels of the Godhead. The Son was made a Priest to maintain the spiritual things of eternity and the creation that He was about to create. He stepped through the veil of eternity as Melchisedec and upheld God’s righteousness as He created all things and veiled them in time. This priesthood was sealed with an oath after the order of Melchisedec. This is why the Spirit of God establishes the Lord’s sonship, and priesthood in verses 5 and 6 of Hebrews, Chapter 5. It is to show the continual flow of the mind of God concerning His Son and His priesthood. They flow together because they are one, and this eternal priesthood was given by an oath documented in Psalm 110:4; it is a continuous priesthood forever in which the Father will not repent. Aaron could not fulfill a heavenly priesthood; he was only an example of what was above. While Aaron was on earth fulfilling his ordinances, Christ was in heaven fulfilling His priesthood, and by the ministration of His Spirit He was ministering both to Aaron and to the children of Israel. There was never a purpose in the mind of God for the Lord Jesus to be a recognized priest on earth until His millennial kingdom when He will sit on His throne as both King and Priest. Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.(Zechariah 6:13)
In the priesthood of Aaron, we see the failure of man, we see the frailties and the infirmities that are brought on by sin. We see in the course of the Levitical priesthood a failure in that it was given on earth, and given to man. Once the children of Israel went into the land there seems to be less and less given to us concerning the priesthood and how the office was fulfilled. The statement by Joshua, but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. it seems that the Spirit of God is addressing the failure of Israel in the days of Joshua. To continue with this thought, the next book after the book of Joshua is not titled the book of the Priesthood, but the book of Judges. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. (Numbers 16:47) And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed (Numbers 16:48). The priesthood under Aaron was not only to stand between Israel and God, but the priesthood itself was to give Israel the counsels of God, and the judgments of God, therefore, we see in the book of Judges a breakdown of the responsibility of the priesthood.
Idolatry moved in like a flood among the people of Israel, and with idolatry they lost their favor with God, and began to struggle with the nations around them; therefore, God, in His mercy, provided Israel in a divine way with appointed judges. And even this broke down for at the end of the book of Judges we read the very last words in the book of Judges. These last words reveal the complete story of not only man’s failure, but the failure of the nation of Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
The Levitical Priesthood:
A System of Failure and and Corruption under Man
The priesthood is brought before us in 1st Samuel where the Spirit of God shows us the complete failure of the priesthood in Eli, the blind priest, and his sons Hophni and Phinehas. God turned away from the priesthood in the destruction and death of Eli and his sons, and God wrote over Israel Ichabod, the glory has departed. When considering the failure that took place why would the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ want a system that maintained an earthly priesthood that was appointed of man, and not of God? Aaron’s priesthood was appointed by God, and it failed because men failed. How can man imagine that he has the character to establish an earthly priesthood made up of sinful men, and contrived in the dark rooms of error?
A Perfect Priesthood Divinely Given by God: Through God: In God
We have been given a heavenly Priest, and those who are born again are brought into His priesthood, and we are to offer up praise to Him which is the fruit of their lips.
b (Hebrews 13:15)
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (1 Peter 2:9)
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:6)
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:10)
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)
We are drawn into the presence of God through our great High Priest, the mediator of the new covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is fulfilling the oath of Melchisedec. In our position we are built as a spiritual house, in this spiritual house we have a position of holy priesthood so that each child of God can offer up spiritual sacrifices that is acceptable to God by Jesus Christ who is the High Priest after the oath of Melchisedec. By Him we can offer up the sacrifice of praise unto our God which is the fruit of our lips as we give thanks unto His holy and righteous name. Once again, in 1st Peter 2:9 the Spirit of God declares the generation of Matthew 1:1. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, why? because God possesses us by His Spirit by the mind of Christ who is our High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. It is He who has called us out of darkness, and has placed us in the light. We have been chosen of God, we are His most precious prize, and He has established us as sons, as Aaron had his sons, so Christ has His Sons in a royal priesthood. It is Christ who has made us kings and priests unto our God, and to His Father. This royal priesthood that we are partakers of is for us in all ages, for all saints, and for us in His future reign on earth. When Christ sits upon His throne in His millennial kingdom as both King and Priest, we will reign with Him on the earth. In the royal priesthood we have a connection with the King of kings, and Lord of lords. In Hebrews, Chapter 7, the Lord Jesus is both King of righteousness, and King of peace. We are connected to His royal position as King. We are descendants of this King in the fulfillment of the chosen generation. This brings our priesthood to a higher level than any earthly priesthood. We are priests to God only because of the supernatural connection we have with His Son Jesus Christ; of course, a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.
In clarifying the oath that was given to the Son before the foundation of the earth we have His high priestly prayer in the days of His flesh in John, Chapter 17. Among men there was no man who was seen in greater glory than Aaron for God arrayed him in garments of glory. When you study the garments that Aaron wore you can understand the glory he must have shown to the nation of Israel. Every thread, and every fiber, every stone, and every ounce of gold spoke of the glories of Christ which was displayed in God’s holy mountain.
The Priest in His Divine Role: Mediator: Sacrifice
In a high mountain apart Peter, James, and John were able to see the glory of the great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s compare the transfiguration on God’s holy mount with and the vision of John at Patmos. (Revelation 1) On the holy mount with the three apostles He was displaying His glory as the High Priest before the sacrifice of Himself on the day of atonement; when the high priest would enter once a year for the sins of the people, however, Christ entered in once for all that He might accomplish eternal redemption for those who believe in Him.
The Priest in His Divine Role: Intercessor: Judge
On the isle of Patmos, we see a different work of the Priest, His eyes are as burning fire, He has a golden girdle of righteousness, His feet are like burning brass, and out of His mouth was a two-edged sword. This is the ministration of the High Priest performing His labor amongst the candlesticks which is the Church. As Aaron was meant to not only intercede for Israel, but he was there to judge Israel. In Revelation, Chapter 1, it is the Lord of glory as High Priest judging His Church as we see in the 7 letters.
The Many Functions of the Divine High Priest
We cannot pick or choose the function of our great High Priest as we have seen in the book of Hebrews. The Almighty God continues to place names and functions upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Chapter 1 of Hebrews, He is the Son, in Chapter 2 He is the sacrifice, in Chapter 3 He is the house, in Chapter 4 He is the great High Priest and He sits upon the throne of grace. In Chapter 4 we can come boldly unto the throne of grace, this shows that each Christian can approach His throne because of their standing in His redemptive work on Calvary. In Chapter 5 the Almighty God begins to show us more of the priestly functions of our great High Priest through His prayers and sufferings for us.
The Heavenly High Priest: Total and Only Authority Over His Church
He is the great intercessor for us today. There is no authority on earth that can stand between a child of God and His great High Priest in heaven. He is separated from the earth for a purpose for He has called those who He has redeemed out of the world, therefore, we have complete access to the throne of grace, but because of the dullness of hearing many do not know the wonderful functions of our great High Priest after the order of Melchisedec.
We have many buildings, and many names all pertaining and paying tribute to man. It is man’s religious systems that creates a distance between the believer and his God. They have no authority to stand between a child of God and his Savior Jesus Christ. The conditions are so bad that many people go from one name to another looking for, but never finding peace with God. When mankind is ruling the roost, he is the one making all the decisions and not Christ. I consider the condition of the modern church similar to the lottery system: people looking for something that they will never receive. True faith is not hollow or empty, and true faith puts you into the presence of the Almighty God. Today we have the children piping in the market place, and they are piping many tunes of confusion. (Luke 7:32) They paint many pictures (using a paint by number system) of the Lord Jesus Christ, however, they stray away from, or leave out completely His divine authority over His church.
The High Priest: Eternal
In Melchisedec we have a divine oath, Christ is just as much a priest after the order of Melchisedec as He is the eternal Creator of all things. As His priesthood was foreordained before the foundation of the world, so His eternal sonship was always in the bosom of the Father. He is the eternal Prophet, the Spirit of Christ; He is the eternal King, King eternal. (1 Timothy 1:17) He is the eternal Priest, of course, by the oath of Melchisedec. In Hebrews 7:24 it is this Man who is the Son of God, who continues forever even before the world was; this is why we see that the oath of His priesthood is unchangeable.
His manifestation of His priesthood in Genesis, Chapter 14, was the revelation to Abraham of Melchisedec; and what He would accomplish in the promises to Abraham, and the sacrifice of Himself for the world. When the Son of God left heaven’s glory to be manifested upon the earth, and to walk the earth as a man, His sonship as God the Son did not change, and we have the declaration of God the Father twice to us in Scripture; once at His baptism, and once on the holy mount.
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17) While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (Matthew 17:5) This was not a declaration of who He had become (Jesus Christ). This was a declaration of who He was: the eternal Son.
Side Note: my beloved Son. An interesting sequence of numbers is in the phrase my beloved Son. It is referenced nine (9) times in the New Testament; however, one was in a parable, and the other by Paul to Timothy. Here is the interesting point SEVEN (7) times my beloved Son is recorded in the New Testament. Of course, it HAD to be SEVEN, because SEVEN represents or symbolizes God’s perfection, God in His COMPLETE PERFECTION. Of course, it HAD to be SEVEN when speaking of His beloved Son because the Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect work of God on the cross of Calvary, He is the perfect Christ as the Creator, He is the perfect Christ in our rest. Christ is the perfection of the divine accomplishment of the Godhead bodily; therefore, Christ is the perfection in the number seven.
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17)
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (Matthew 17:5)
And there came a voice from heaven, [saying], Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Mark 1:11)
And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. (Mark 9:7)
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. (Luke 3:22)
And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. (Luke 9:35)
For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (2nd Peter 1:17) ♦ End of Side Note: my beloved Son.
The Voices
In the days of the Lord Jesus there were many voices, there were the voices of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and voice of the elders and rulers of the Jews. Over and over again we listen to their voices in the gospels, we listen to the politics of their religion, and how they exalted themselves above God’s Christ. One thing that we noticed that when they stood before the Lord Jesus Christ there was no fear of God in them. They knew that He was speaking the truth, and yet, they rejected the truth in every way. They rejected His miracles, and accused Him of breaking the Sabbath; when He healed, and then when He forgave sin, they accused Him of blaspheme. When He declared His sonship, they stated they He was of Beelzebub. Every time He exposed them for what they were they became angry and in more than one occasion picked up stones to stone Him, but each time He passed through their midst unharmed. We live in such a material world; everything revolves around money and mammon. Even though it was 30 pieces of silver that was used to betray Him, the conspiracy went much deeper into the evil sinful hearts of the religious man.
The Lord simplified His life when He told the Jews, And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay [his] head. (Matthew 8:20) We forget that He was a stranger in His own creation. He had come from heaven; this was not His realm. Heaven is His throne; earth is His footstool. As long as He was on the earth He would not be at rest. And when I say rest, I mean the rest of God.
Our High Priest still walks among the candlesticks, if you read all seven letters you will see the progression of error that has come into the church, and taken control by man of the church. The first thing that we see in the seven letters: is the Lord Himself walking amongst the candlesticks, each address to each church is from Him. He speaks directly to them through His angel, He exposes the church as He exposed the Pharisees and the Jews when He was on earth. This is the proof that it is the Lord who is speaking from heaven to maintain, and uphold His church. In Hebrews, Chapter 12, verse 25, we have a direct statement that it is He who speaks from heaven. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. As He is speaking from heaven at this very present time, the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3, get little attention by the officials of the professing church, and when they do address this particular section in Scripture, they do not see the application of rebuke and chastening for the waywardness of the church. It is like the Jews in Malachi, it’s not us, but them, these verses are not meant for us, it is for them over there in that other building.
Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment? (Malachi 2:17)
Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. (Malachi 2:11)
I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, (Malachi 1:2)
Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. (Malachi 1:10)
The book of Malachi exposes their continual denial of their true spiritual condition before God. Some of their speech borders on rebuking God. It is through this connection of man’s refusal to see, to hear and to admit his rebellion and failure in his responsibility to God that we consider the seven letters to the churches when the first church cast off their first love. Christ is asked to leave, there is no more trust or devotion, or love within the main body of Ephesus; yes, there are overcomers, but they have separated themselves from the system of the rule of man under the control of the Nicolaitans in Ephesus. When we travel through all six churches, we, of course, come to the 7th church. All of the previous churches (except the first church Ephesus) were described according to their location, for example, the church in Sardis, the church in Smyrna, however, when we get to the 7th church it is described not as in a location, but as a possession, church of the Laodiceans. The number 7 is the number of fullness, the number of completion, in this case it is the completion of evil, or the completion of man’s takeover of the things of God. Compare what happened within the takeover of the church of Christ to the attempted rebellion and conspiracy of some of the sons of Levi (and others) against Moses and Aaron in the Old Testament.
And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: (Numbers 16:8)
Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? (Numbers 16:9)
And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? (Numbers 16:10)
The Laodicean church has the same mind set and heart as in those in the days of Aaron and Moses and of those in the book of Malachi; consequently, we see that they also have an attitude of haughtiness against the Lord for they stressed to the Creator of all things that they have need of nothing. And that includes salvation through Jesus Christ.
Back to the history of Israel, after the days of the Judges when every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Samuel was pressed by Israel in 1st Samuel to give them a king like the other nations. Samuel knew what that meant, and He was heavy hearted for his nation. The Lord told him not to take this rejection of the nation of Israel upon himself, for God said, They have not rejected thee, they have rejected me. This was the same attitude that we have today, they have need of nothing, and want a king or leader from among men, from this earth, and not from heaven in the Man Jesus Christ.
The Hidden Agenda of the Voices
In the day of the Lord’s manifestation, He spoke to them in a parable describing the rebellion of the house of Israel against their Creator. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. (Luke 19:14) We see the actual application revealed in John 1:11, He came unto his own, and his own received him not. The Jews in the age of His presence and walk among them understood His rule, and they refused it; just as they refused Jehovah in the day of Samuel. The same mind permeates the modern world church. The world will never accept Christ as their Ruler, the only time that He will sit upon His throne on the earth will be when He establishes it by force. The religious world cannot bear to have Him rule over them, it would be the end all their traditions, the end of all their man-made ordinances, the end of all their man-made organizations, the end of their rule, and the end of their holy empire within their so-called spiritual jurisdiction. Behind closed doors, in the darkness of evil rooms, since the church was founded by our Savior Jesus Christ, men have (by diabolical means and stealth) developed Satan’s religion to usurp the authority of Christ from His own church. This has been done intentionally by evil men. They cannot even say that they were ignorant of what they were (and are) doing. They would not listen to the convictions of the Holy Ghost.
When Paul was in Jerusalem, evil men came into the meetings, they were there to spy out the liberty that Paul and the others had in Christ. This was not an act of learning as much as it was a plan of divisiveness to overthrow the liberty that these early Christians enjoyed. Paul simply said, They added nothing to me.
In the last letter to the churches, it is the men of the world who have control over the things of God. Their thoughts and affections are for the earth, for they an earthly people. They have no need for the Man in heaven. They make sure to not acknowledge His divine authority and His divine power. They only want to have a man on the cross. They say to God in their hearts, Thus far and no further. This is not salvation, it is man deceiving man, and creating a system that will make man fodder for the man of sin; consequently, throngs will follow the man of sin right into the lake of fire.
Christ stated a very sobering truth, But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 10:33) There is no way to simplify a life lived for Jesus Christ; You become a stranger in a world that you were once a part of; you belong to a world in heaven that you must receive by faith. The world that you are asked to stay in is a present evil world, and you are well aware of the glory and righteousness that is in your world above. You are here to be rejected of men, to be cast off from religion, to be denied by those of your own house. How does this picture of a life lived for Christ compare with the live lived for Christ as described by the present church; and to be a light of truth in a dark world.
The High Priest: Judging the Churches
In each of the seven churches the Lord reveals Himself in different ways. At the very beginning of each church address you see so much spiritual light, and it builds a portrait of our High Priest as He introduces Himself to each church. Throughout all of the seven churches we should remember that He is introducing Himself in the power of His priesthood.
He is judging each church, and examining the church for the things that are not of His authority, but are of the authority of the present evil world. In each letter He is showing His divine authority; the majority do not respond to His authority; it is only a small remnant and those who overcome the world’s system of religion.
He condemns the church at Ephesus for leaving their first love, however, their church, assembly, temple, or home meeting, wherever they gathered was still full of worshipers, it was here at Ephesus that we are introduced to the deeds of the Nicolaitans (which the overcomers of Ephesus hated, and God hated). These deeds later became more than deeds: they become doctrines, and it was through these false leaders that the authority of Christ was usurped and He (as Savior, King and Priest) was cast out.
Now, in the circumstance of the church in the book of Hebrews, there were believers, and there also were many unbelievers. These unbelievers were still shackled to the law; therefore, it was easy for them to accept an earthly priesthood and to reject the divine priesthood of Christ. Remember, the Jews had synagogues all over Asia, Macedonia, and even in Rome. Whenever the apostle was rejected, it was usually instigated by the Jews who were still bound and held by the law and the writings of Moses. In Damascus it was the Jews who steered up the masses against Paul, in Ephesus it was the craftsmen of idols, and the priests of Diana, as well as the Jews who steered up the people against Paul. In Jerusalem, it was the Jew who steered up the Romans to put Paul into prison, and as we learned from Scripture Paul appealed to Caesar, and eventually Paul was sent to Rome to stand before Caesar, however, this was at much conflict with the Jews. The environment amongst the Hebrews led to them being dull of hearing. There were the many voices, with many agendas, all attempting to overthrow the priesthood of Christ. They wanted their law, and the writings of Moses, and Christ too: this could not be. They still honored the earthly priesthood (the Levitical priesthood corrupt as it was), and attempted to keep its system in place even while the Spirit of God was dismantling this earthly organization through the truth of His word (doctrine by doctrine, and piece by piece) as seen in the book of Hebrews Chapter 5.
The teaching of the priesthood of Melchisedec was necessary because of their attachment to the Levitical priesthood. It would take a long dissertation about the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ to end the deep attachment that they felt in their hearts and beings concerning the priesthood under the Levitical order. This mixing (by the Jews) of the Levitical system of the priesthood carried over and moved into the Gentile realm when the pagan priests began to lose their following. They in turn (by stealth) entered into the church and founded a priestly order to control and direct the church: as Moses told the rebels who conspired to take away the God-given positions of authority of grace and power to lead His people, seek ye the priesthood also? As centuries passed divine life within the church vanished as the Spirit of God withdrew Himself with His gifts and power. The more man had his order, the less order was found for God until wherever you looked, where ever you went it is man’s order and man’s organizations. And when it comes to truth, they are dull of hearing. They do not want their kingdom or kingdoms taken away from them. Does this sound familiar, We will not have this man to reign over us. Man has proven one thing, and it is that he continually rebels against the authority of God, both in the world, and in the Church. Are you dull of hearing? Can you hear the Spirit of Christ speaking to your heart and soul? It is only the word of God, and the Spirit of Christ that can minister to your heart and soul; man just gets in the way, and most of the time it’s on purpose. Man is a deliberate deceiver; organizations that deny Christ are not contrived out in the open.
Laodicea became Laodicea by stealth and diabolical deception. Laodicea became Laodicea because of ungodly men crept in unawares. (Jude) Laodicea became Laodicea because men turned their back on Christ and worshiped the works of their own hands. This situation isn’t going to change, it didn’t change in the days of Samuel, it didn’t change in the days of Josiah, it didn’t change in the days of Jeremiah or Ezekiel, it did not change in the day of the prophet, and it did not change in the day of Christ. The apostle Paul saw the corruption in the early church; he tried to expose it and to turn the tide, and he could only say, All they of Asia have forsaken me. If this is the history of man, should we expect it to change now?
There is an anchor for the soul, and we have a High Priest in heaven for us, no one can deny our position and our state before and in Jesus Christ. There is no power on earth that can deny us the presence of the Lord Jesus with us. It is only our own hearts that can grow cold, but we must stoke the fires of truth, and cling, and I say cling to the hem of His garment. Keep Him always before us, and always look to the Man in heaven for us, for He is the great High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. Amen
For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26)
© Copyright 2017, Michael Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJV)