The Boiling Pot - Moriel Ministries

All That Can Be Shaken
Jacob Prasch
All That Can Be
by James Jacob Prasch
See to it that you do not refuse Him who
is speaking. For if those did not escape
when they refused him who warned them
on earth, much less will we escape who
turn away from Him who warns from
heaven. And His voice shook the earth
then, but now He has promised, saying,
“YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE
NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO
THE HEAVEN.” This expression, “Yet
once more,” denotes the removing of
those things which can be shaken, as
of created things, so that those things
which cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we receive a kingdom
which cannot be shaken, let us show
gratitude, by which we may offer to
God an acceptable service with reverence
and awe; for our God is a consuming
fire. (Heb. 12:25-29)
(In the original Greek text there is no
chapter division; that was added later on. So
we will continue reading as one complete
passage.)
Let love of the brethren continue.
Do not neglect to show hospitality to
strangers, for by this some have entertained
angels without knowing it.
Remember the prisoners, as though in
prison with them, and those who are illtreated,
since you yourselves also are
in the body. Marriage is to be held in
honor among all, and the marriage bed
is to be undefiled; for fornicators and
adulterers God will judge. Make sure
that your character is free from the love
of money, being content with what you
have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL
NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL
I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we
confidently say,
“THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I
WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT
WILL MAN DO TO ME?”
Remember those who led you, who
spoke the word of God to you; and considering
the result of their conduct, imitate
their faith. Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and forever. Do
not be carried away by varied and
strange teachings; for it is good for
the heart to be strengthened by grace,
not by foods, through which those
who were so occupied were not benefited.
We have an altar from which
those who serve the tabernacle have
no right to eat. For the bodies of those
animals whose blood is brought into
the holy place by the high priest as an
offering for sin, are burned outside
the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that
He might sanctify the people through
His own blood, suffered outside the
gate. So, let us go out to Him outside
the camp, bearing His reproach. For
here we do not have a lasting city, but
we are seeking the city which is to
come. Through Him then, let us continually
offer up a sacrifice of praise
to God, that is, the fruit of lips that
give thanks to His name. And do not
neglect doing good and sharing, for
with such sacrifices God is pleased.
(Heb. 13:1-16)
Eschatology from a New Testament
Perspective
Let us understand that Hebrews was
written to Messianic Jews of the 1 st century
some time before 70 AD before the Temple
was destroyed. Daniel 9 prophesied that
the Messiah was to come and die some
time before the Second Temple would be
destroyed. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus
echoes this, but both Daniel and Jesus begin
speaking of the Last Days by introducing
that the Temple would be destroyed in
70 AD.
Those events surrounding 70 AD are a
harbinger of what is to come; they are a
microcosm of what the Last Days will be
like. Hence, the events that the Church, at
this time in Israel, were being prepared for
when Hebrews was written is a picture of
what the Church is going to have to face on
a global level in the Last Days. “A” is to
“B” as “B” is to “C”, as we might put it. We
have to understand that the Jewish believers
were being prepared for something to happen
in 70 AD; those things are going to be recapitulated—they
are going to happen again
on a global scale. We have to understand the
Last Days as the New Testament defines it.
When we get to Hebrews 12 it gets very
eschatological; it speaks about what is going
to happen before Jesus comes. But first
let us understand the eschatology—the Last
Days, from the perspective of the New Testament.
Most Christians do not understand
eschatology from a New Testament perspective
because they have a Western or
Hellenistic mindset. The writers of the New
Testament, however, were Jews, and they
had a Judaic mindset. Let us understand
how Jewish believers of the 1st century who
wrote the New Testament under the direct
inspiration of the Holy Spirit would have
understood the Last Days. Unless we understand
it the way the Apostles understood it
we will not understand if for ourselves.
In These Last Days
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers
in the prophets in many portions
and in many ways, in these last days
has spoken to us in His Son, whom He
appointed heir of all things, through
whom also He made the world.
(Heb. 1:1-2)
In times past, He spoke to “the fathers,”
“the prophets,” and in “portions.” This
word “portions” in Judaism is known as
“Parshat HaShavua”—“the portion of the
week.” Every year in the synagogue the Old
Testament is read beginning from Genesis
1:1. It begins on the first shavas on Simchat
Torah and is read in an annual lection as the
portion of the week: the Torah, the Haftorah
and the Prophets. Hebrews was written to
Jews who would have known “the portions
of the week” which is still read by Jews today
in synagogues.
But then it says, “in these last days.”
Notice that Hebrews is saying we are already
in the Last Days. We are already in
the Last Days two thousand years ago! Je-
28 Moriel Quarterly • June 2012