Thus, it is the apparent trilogy of Romans, Galatians and He-brews, dealing specifically with Habakkuk 2:4, that causes us to lean strongly on the inference that Hebrews was authored by Paul. Heb 10:38)!Īs a former systems engineer and technologist in the information sciences, I tend to favor evidences that reveal an architec-ture and integrity of design, and it is this unique characteristic of the entire Bible that has been the foundation of our ministry. “By faith.” What is the epistle on “faith”? This Epistle to the Hebrews (Cf. How then “Shall Live”? Galatians shows how we are to live-called out of religious externalism (Cf. Who are “The Just”? The Book of Romans answers the question (Cf. It would seem that Paul penned a deliberate trilogy on this very verse: This verse became the primary banner that inflamed the Reformation. The key verse in Habakkuk is: The Just shall live by faith (Hab 2:4). Why is this so impressive of Paul’s style? Because the word “Grace” does not even appear in the other epistles! 4 And how does Hebrews end? Grace be with you all. So what is this signature or style item that is included in every letter? 3 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. He would include a sign at the end so they would know that the letter was really from him. Note how Paul is emphasizing that he has signed the letter with his own hand (most were probably drafted by an amanuensis or secretary). The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. 2 Thus at the end of that letter, Paul includes a sort of special mark, a token: If one recognizes that there were apparently forgeries of Thessalonian letters being circulated, then several passages become clearer. Paul? There are many stylistic reasons that point to its Pauline authorship. There are some spurious writings (that are not regarded as authentic) that were attributed to Barnabas, but their style is so different from the Epistle to the Hebrews that if one can conclude that the writings attributed to Barnabas were at all indicative of Barnabas’ style, he clearly didn’t write the Epistle to the Hebrews. So, if Apollos was the author, somehow he didn’t even convince his own hometown.īarnabas? Others ascribe the book to Barnabas, but here again there is no evidence to support this theory. Furthermore, Apollos was from Alexandria, and yet even in Alexandria in the earliest times the book was associated with Paul. Who wrote the book of Hebrews? Hebrews is an unsigned book and there are many theories, but the available evidence, we feel, seems to justify a Pauline ascription.Īpollos? Some suggest that Apollos wrote this epistle, although there is not much evidence to support the theory. He deviates from his logical arguments to include five major warnings-which offer some interesting insights. The contrasts were not between bad and good (both are from God) but between good and better. His method was to highlight the superiority of the Messiah to the three pillars of Judaism: angels, Moses, and the Levitical priesthood. The author of Hebrews had three main objectives: 1) Combat possible apostasy (Heb 2:1-4 10:19-25) 2) Encourage them to press on to spiritual maturity (Heb 5:11-14 10:32-39) and, 3) Comfort them in their persecutions (Heb 11:1-12:3). Jesus is the very fulfillment of the Old Testament. It focuses on the background that they came from, and tries to demonstrate how Jesus was a fulfillment of those things in fact, he superseded those things. How could believing priests and Pharisees remain “zealous of the Law”? This letter was clearly aimed at the people who were now Christians but had come out of Judaism. They had been drawn from a divinely appointed religion, with divinely appointed priests officiating in a divinely appointed Temple, accomplishing a divinely ordered service, all of which had been ennobled throughout their entire history. The extreme dilemma of the Jewish Christians-especially while the Temple was still standing-was their extreme predicament. 1 This letter is, in a real sense, the “Leviticus” of the New Testament, detailing how the Lord Jesus Christ is both the fulfillment and the successor to all that had gone on before. The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the two greatest theological treatises of the New Testament.
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