Apr 14: China, People’s Republic, Liaoning Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region | Operation World
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Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Chronological New Testament Study Day 83
Hebrews 7; Hebrews 8;
Hebrews 9; Hebrews 10
1 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most
High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and
Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of
righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of
peace." 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy,
without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a
priest forever. 4 Just think how great he was: Even the
patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! 5 Now the
law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from
the people--that is, their brothers--even though their brothers are descended
from Abraham. 6This man, however, did not trace his descent from
Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the
promises. 7 And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by
the greater.8 In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who
die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. 9 One
might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through
Abraham,10 because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in
the body of his ancestor. 11 If perfection could have been
attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was
given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come--one
in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 12 For
when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the
law. 13 He of whom these things are said belonged to a
different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. 14 For
it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe
Moses said nothing about priests. 15 And what we have said is
even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one
who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but
on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it
is declared: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." 18 The
former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for
the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we
draw near to God. 20 And it was not without an oath! Others
became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest
with an oath when God said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change
his mind: 'You are a priest forever.' " 22 Because of
this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. 23 Now
there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from
continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he
has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save
completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to
intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest meets our need--one
who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the
heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to
offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins
of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered
himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are
weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been
made perfect forever.
1 The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a
high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in
heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle
set up by the Lord, not by man. 3 Every high priest is
appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this
one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he
would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed
by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and
shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to
build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the
pattern shown you on the mountain." 6 But the ministry
Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is
mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. 7 For
if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have
been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people
and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It
will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by
the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my
covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This
is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares
the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I
will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer
will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,'
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For
I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." 13 By
calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and
what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
1 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and
also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its
first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was
called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room
called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of
incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold
jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the
covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory,
overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail
now. 6 When everything had been arranged like this, the
priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But
only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and
never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people
had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by
this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long
as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is an
illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices
being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They
are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings--external
regulations applying until the time of the new order. 11 When
Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went
through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is
to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by
means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once
for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The
blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are
ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How
much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead
to death, so that we may serve the living God! 15 For this
reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may
receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to
set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. 16 In
the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17because
a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the
one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first
covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19 When Moses
had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the
blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and
sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said,
"This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to
keep." 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood
both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In
fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and
without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 23 It
was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with
these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary
that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear
for us in God's presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer
himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place
every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Then Christ
would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he
has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the
sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die once,
and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed
once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time,
not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are
coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same
sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near
to worship. 2 If it could, would they not have stopped being
offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no
longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices
are an annual reminder of sins, 4 because it is impossible for
the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore,
when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did
not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 with burnt
offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7 Then I
said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your
will, O God.' " 8 First he said, "Sacrifices and
offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you
pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). 9 Then
he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the
first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have
been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Day
after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and
again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But
when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of God. 13 Since that time he waits for his
enemies to be made his footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice
he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.15 The
Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 16 "This
is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will
put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." 17 Then
he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." 18 And
where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 19 Therefore,
brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of
Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the
curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great
priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a
sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to
cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure
water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for
he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may
spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not
give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us
encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 26 If
we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the
truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful
expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of
God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without
mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much
more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the
Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the
covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For
we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and
again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31 It is a
dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32 Remember
those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground
in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33 Sometimes you
were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side
by side with those who were so treated. 34 You sympathized
with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property,
because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So
do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You
need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive
what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my
righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased
with him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and
are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Revelation 10
Revelation 10 (New International Version, ©2010)
Revelation 10
The Angel and the Little Scroll
1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down."
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets."
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but 'in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.'[a]" 10 I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."
Revelation 10
The Angel and the Little Scroll
1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down."
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets."
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but 'in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.'[a]" 10 I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."
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