Brother Mike Ministries

The many days of Judgment Day began on May 21, 2011!  
***
ETERNAL LIFE: No Longer Possible!! ***

Whoso keeps the commandment shall feel no evil: and a wise man's heart discerns [will know] both time and judgment - Ec. 8:5

Hebrews 2:1-4
By Brother Mike (1-8-16; 40 minutes)
   


1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip .
2
For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward ;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him ;
4
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will .


INTRODUCTION 

In Hebrews 2:1-4, the theme is that because Christ and the New Covenant are so much greater and better than the Old, we should give the more earnest heed to Christ and the New Covenant unless we should pass it by and neglect so great salvation with the result that we shall not escape our just reward, for if disobedience to the Old law brought in by angels received its just reward, how much more will disobedience to the New Covenant brought in by Christ who is so much greater than the angels receive its just reward. This is the New Covenant that was first spoken by the Christ, and was confirmed unto us by the men that heard Christ; God attesting to this New Covenant by miraculous things working through them according to His will.  


Verse 2:1

1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip .  

In this verse, the first word Therefore is actually the translation of two Greek words dia touto that literally mean, through this or because of this. So, our verse reads, 

1 Because of this we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip .   

But, because of what, should we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip? Why, this is referring back to Chapter 1 of Hebrews wherein the theme is that the Christ who brought in the New Covenant is so much better and greater than the angels who brought in the Old Covenant, and, therefore, the New Covenant is so much better than the Old Covenant. And, it is because of the New Covenant being so much better than the Old that these Hebrew Christians should pay much more careful attention to the things they have heard about Christ and the New Covenant instead of the Old. In fact, they should pay much greater attention to Christ and the things taught with respect to Him because He is so much greater than the Old. He is the creator of the earth and the universe, and He upholds all things by the Word of His power. He is God! And it was Him, not the angels, to which Yahweh said, sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool, which makes Him a king and ruler over His creation, which is far beyond anything that the angels who brought in the Old Covenant have ever been called, for, as we had learned, they are simply spirits who are servants of the elect. Therefore, we should take heed to the things that we have heard through Christ and His apostles, lest at some time we should let them slip and fall back into the Old way of doing things that has actually been fulfilled and abolished in Christ, and, by dong so, deny that our Savior and Lord has come to pay for all our sins, and to set us free from bondage to the childish things that we once walked in and gave approval of, such as the types and shadows of the sacrifice of animals and the entire Levitical Priesthood as we shall see.  

Now, as was said previously, it is because of the superiority of the New to the Old that we read, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, which are the things of the New Covenant and of Christ. More literally our verse reads,  

1 Beause of this, it is binding us more exceedingly to be heeding to the things heard, lest at any time we should pass by .   

The idea is that these Hebrew Christians need to start paying a lot more attention to the things that they heard through Christ when He was on earth, and then through those who heard Him, lest at any time they should just pass by these things, and choose to remain with the Old that they were accustomed to. 

Now, are not many of us the same way? We get so accustomed to the way things are that it becomes extremely difficult to change from the old way to the new way. We are so resistant to change. And, this is so true when it comes to changing our doctrines to more God glorifying doctrines as well. For instance, we have found during Judgment Day ever since May 21, 2011 that those who believe that Christ paid for sins at or before the foundation of the world, and who believe that Christ merely demonstrated what He had done before the foundation of the world when He was on the cross in 33 AD, that these dear people, unfortunately, are worshipping a false Christ; they are following another gospel, which is the going after strange flesh, and they are burning strange fire before the Lord (see The Final Test , Jude - Part 2 verses 7-9 , email messages by Charles Brown , and The Demonstration Gospel is a False Gospel ).  

But, even though these dear people are following a false gospel, and, therefore, an idol, there are many who are still not completely letting go of this doctrine because there are so many who seem to hold onto it, they think, and they don't want to be left out from the multitude of God's supposed people. So, although they can see that it is not completely faithful to the Word of God, they are having a difficult time separating themselves from that which is false similar to how these Hebrew Christians were finding it difficult to let go of their old beliefs and move onto the New. 

But what does Yahweh say? We read in 2Corinthians 7,    

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness ?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel ?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you ,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty .  

So, Yahweh doesn't just want us to recognize the falsehood of the doctrine that teaches that the cross on earth in 33 AD was merely a demonstration, but He wants us to come out from their midst as well. We should not be continuing to support or listen to ministries that teach false gospels, which is one and the same with supporting idols. What this means is this: I will no longer listen to Ebible Fellowship because they have chosen to stand in a false gospel, saying that the cross was merely a demonstration, and that Christ actually existed before He existed in 7 BC in order to pay for sins before the foundation of the world instead of on the cross in 33 AD. It also means that I will not listen to those teachers of Family Radio who also espouse the demonstration gospel. Furthermore, it means that I will no longer support them financially, for we ought not to support idols. And, the Christ that they follow is exactly that; He is an idol of their own imagination who rose from the dead in their minds at some imaginary resurrection at or before the foundation of the world, which we know is not true (see The Demonstration Gospel is a False Gospel ). Therefore, as we read in 2Corinthians 7,   

17 . . . come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you ,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty

What I am saying is this: you can't just continue to stand on the fence with respect to the demonstration gospel. You must choose one or the other, but if you do choose the demonstration gospel, you have chosen to worship an idol because that Christ is not the Christ of the Bible. The Christ of the Bible did not exist as flesh until He was born in 7 BC, and when He came to earth, He came to pay for sins on the cross in 33 AD; He did not come to merely demonstrate that He had paid for sins before the foundation of the world. But, what does the scripture say? It says,  

1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins [at the cross according to this context] according to the scriptures ;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures . . . 

According to the context of this verse, Christ clearly paid for sins on earth at the cross. And, isn't that why He came to earth in the first place. We read, 

Mt 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall [in the future on earth] save his people from their sins .   

This verse doesn't say that he already saved His people at or before the foundation of the world, and, now, He is coming to earth to merely demonstrate that. No, it says that He came to earth through Mary, and, now, He will [in the future] save His people from their sins. Without question, then, Christ came to this earth to pay for sins; He did not come to earth to demonstrate that He had already paid for sins. And, 

1 Beause of this, it is binding us more exceedingly to be heeding to the things heard, lest at any time we should pass by .    

Now, if you are still on the fence with this issue, you are encouraged to carefully study all of the following:  

Jude Part - 2 verses 7 , The Demonstration Gospel is a False Gospel , The Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World , Christ died for sin in 33 AD; not before the world , When Did Christ Die For Sin? , The phrase, from the foundation of the world . . . , Could you be going after strange flesh , The Final Test , Luke 11:50 exposes truth , Email Messages by Charles Brown that refute the false teaching that Christ atoned for sins at the foundation of the world, God Cannot Lie! , Without shedding of blood is no remission of sin .  


Verse 2:2
:    

2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward . . .   

Here, after telling us in verse 1 of chapter 2 that it is binding us more exceedingly to be heeding to the things heard by Christ and the New Covenant, we are first told, For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast. The word here translated steadfast means sure, trustworthy, firm, or solid, and the verb translated as was can be translated as became. Therefore our verse reads, 

2 For if the word spoken by angels [messengers] became steadfast, [sure, trustworthy, firm or solid] .  

In other words, if the word spoken by messengers [angels] became steadfast, sure, trustworthy, firm, or solid, then this is telling us that the word, which is the Old Covenant, became steadfast (confirmed) by showing itself to be true and sure, and we can translate the word steadfast as confirmed. Our verse now reads,  

2 For if the word spoken by angels [messengers] became confirmed . . .  

And, how did the word spoken by angels become confirmed? We read, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward. Actually, the phrase, and every transgression is better translated as even every transgression, so, now, we know how the word spoken by angels became confirmed; it was because even every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment. That is, our verse can now be translated,   

2 For if the word spoken by angels [messengers] became confirmed , even every transgression and disobedience received a just reward .  

A transgression, of course, is sin, and sin is a transgression of the law as we read in 1John 3,  

1Jo 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law .   

So, in that every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward means that every sin and disobedience to the law of the Old Covenant received a just recompense of reward; that is, it received what was its due punishment. Therefore, we are being told that if the word of the Old Covenant spoken by angels became confirmed, which it did - even every sin and disobedience to the law received a just reward - then How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation, which brings us to our next verse.   


Verse 2:3
:  

3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him . . .   

Let's first focus in on, How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation. The idea is that if the Old Covenant rewarded all disobedience with the just punishment, which it did, how much more will the New Covenant, which is so much greater and better than the Old. As our verse says, How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation. That is, how will we be able to escape our due punishment, which is death (Ro. 6:23), if we neglect believing in Christ and the New Covenant? Therefore, it is binding us more exceedingly to be heeding to the things heard, lest at any time we should pass by with the result that we be judged to death along with the rest of the world that rejects God made flesh and sacrificed for our sins, Jesus Christ, our Lord.    

Now, we read that the Word of the New Covenant first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him. This is simply revealing to us that the New Covenant was first brought in by the words of Christ Himself, and it was confirmed unto these Hebrew Christians by them that heard Jesus talk, which would have been the apostles as well as some others who listened to Jesus teach. For us, the New Covenant would be the whole of the New Testament that we ought to pay careful attention to, for therein are written the words of Jesus as well as the words of the apostles and some others who were eyewitnesses to everything the Lord said and did.   


Verse 2:4
:   

4 God also bearing [them] witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will .    

Here, we find that not only was the Word of the New Covenant confirmed to the Hebrew Christians and to us as well by those who heard Jesus speak, but it was confirmed by God Himself also bearing witness to them, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will. We read of some of these signs and wonders and miracles in the book of acts. For instance, on Pentecost in 33 AD the Holy Spirit was poured out and Christ's disciples began to speak in all the different languages of the people who had gathered for Pentecost. We read in Acts 2,  

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place .
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting .  
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them .
4
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance .  
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven .
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language .    
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans ?
8
And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born
9
Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia ,
10
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes ,   
11
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God .
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this ?   
13
Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine .     

Another miracle was when the apostle Peter was used to heal the lame beggar. We read in Acts 3, 

1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour .
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms .
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us .  
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them .
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk .    
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength .
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God .   
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God . . .     

Again, we read of a sign and wonder in Acts 4:    

29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word ,
30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus .   
31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness .
32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common .   

And, as one more example of miracles or signs and wonders, we read in Acts 5:   

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession ,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land ?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God .  
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things .
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him .   
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in .
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much .  
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out .
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband .   
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things .
12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch
13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them .
14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women .)  
15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them .
16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one .   

So, these verses show that the Lord worked signs and wonders through His apostles, and these signs and wonders were a confirmation to the truthfulness of Christ and the New Covenant. The idea is that, therefore, we ought to pay the most careful attention to Christ and the New Covenant, lest we happen to pass it by, and then, How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him . . .   

Now, notice in our verse that God bears witness in three categories: both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will. Actually, all three of these categories relate to similar things, but the Lord lists them in three different categories in order to emphasize that it was the purpose of Yahweh to confirm the New Covenant by these things (see Bible Meaning of Number 3 ).   

But, let's look at each category separately. First, God bears witness both with signs and wonders. Now, signs and wonders are what are normally associated in the Bible with the apostles. We read, 

2Co 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds .     

The word translated as sign in our verse, sEmeiois, means sign, mark, or token, and when that sign is a miracle, it can be translated as miracle, or wonder. So, we see how signs and wonders can refer to miracles, which brings us to our second category: divers miracles. Actually, the word miracles here is a translation from the Greek word dunamis, which is normally translated as power. Nevertheless, it can at times be translated as miracle as it is here, and even as wonder. So, once again, we see how signs and wonders can refer to miracles, and miracles can refer to signs and wonders. Finally, our third category is gifts of the Holy Spirit. Actually, the word gifts in the phrase gifts of the Spirit is the word partitions or distributions of the Holy Spirit. Some of these are listed in 1Corinthians 12 where we read,    

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit .
5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord .  
6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all .
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal .  
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit ;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues :
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will .  

Now, because the distributions of the Holy Spirit are each supernatural gifts, for they are each a miracle in their own right, we can immediately see how they relate to our first two categories of signs and wonders, one, and divers miracles, two. That is, even though God bears witness to the New Covenant in three categories: both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles [powers], and gifts [distributions] of the Holy Spirit, all three categories are really one and the same, and the Lord is simply listing three categories to emphasizes the purpose of God (see Meaning to Bible Number 3 ). Yes, it is the purpose of God that He bears witness to Christ and the New Covenant by miraculous things whether it is called a sign and a wonder, a miracle, or a partition of the Holy Spirit. All three things give reference to the miraculous power of God, but they also reveal that it is the purpose of God to testify to Christ and the New Covenant by these things.  

Finally, we are told that, God bearing witness to the New Covenant by these distributions of the Holy Spirit in signs and wonders wrought by the apostles, in diverse miracles, and by gifts of the Spirit are according to His own will. It is not according to our will that these things were manifest, but it was according to His will. He is in charge, and we are merely instruments for the Father's use. Indeed, may He have all the praise and the glory forevermore, amen.  


CONCLUSION   

We should carefully take heed to Christ and the New Covenant because it is so much greater and better than the Old Covenant. This is because the Old Covenant was brought in by angels, but the New Covenant was brought in by Christ Himself who is so much greater than the angels. Furthermore, we should be heeding the New Covenant unless we pass it by and miss so great salvation, but, instead, receive our just reward, which is death. We can trust the New Covenant because it was first spoken by Christ Himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who actually heard Him speak in person. God even bore witness to its validity by working miraculous things through those who heard Him. 


Now, to the true elect of Yahweh, may the LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace .

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