Who wrote Hebrews?

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Butch
    

 

I'm amazed that people just accept what others say without verification.                                                                        posted by Butch

 

I am amazed that not once have I heard you say anything about the Holy Spirit?Aside from your statement that reliable men among the earliest Christians attested to the authorship of Mathew ,Mark,Luke ,John,Paul and so on.....is that the only reason you believe the Bible is the Insplred Word of God......is that not accepting what others say?Is that good enough verification for you?
    Butch,I do not mean anything I am saying to offend you or be disrespectful but Our Lord has written His Word on our hearts and He has given us the indwelling of His Holy Spirit to try & test the spirits....the Word of God is not just words printed on a page,it is the Living Word ......God reveals Hiimself to us in His Word when we earnestly seek Him.That is the verification I accept not from any man but from my Heavenly Father
      Have you ever read the Books that were allegedly written by Peter,Mary Magdalene,Judas found in the dead sea scrolls ?Or how about the Latin Vulgate,Apochraphia,Watchtower of the JW's......how do we know they are NOT God's Word & written by who they claim?How do we know anything?By the Wisdom & Understanding of the Holy Spirit..............by walking in spirit & in truth

 

Philippians 2:12 – Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

 

   It is our responsibility to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We are the ones who are accountable for our spiritual state in the Lord. No one can walk the walk for us and there is no one on this earth who can force you and I to drink the living water that Jesus so freely gives ........Jesus is the Way ,the Truth & the Life..........with His Heart & Mind  we know the Word is Gods Timeless Truth


1 Thessalonians 2:13

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believer


Psalm 33:4

For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness


2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,


Mark 12:24

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?


2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Matthew 4:4

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Romans 15:4

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

With love in Christ,Kwik

[coheir]

In an earlier post it was said the book was written to the Jews. If that is the case then it would not apply to the church.

[other one]

In an earlier post it was said the book was written to the Jews. If that is the case then it would not apply to the church.

 

I'm not sure that would be a logical application......   He could have written the letter to them with general knowledge for everyone...     Did everything in the letters to the Corinthians only apply to that group of churches, or was it just where he happened to be writing to.

[Qnts2]

In an earlier post it was said the book was written to the Jews. If that is the case then it would not apply to the church.

 

2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

¹⁷ That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

 

To me, that means that even though the Mosaic law does not directly apply to non-Jews, it is profitable for doctrine, reproof, etc. Likewise, even though Paul wrote some of the Epistles to Gentiles, that does not mean that Jews can not benefit from them.

 

It was probably a mistatement, but the early church was entirely made up of Jews. So Jews and church are not mutually exclusive terms.

[coheir]

 

In an earlier post it was said the book was written to the Jews. If that is the case then it would not apply to the church.

 

2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

¹⁷ That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

 

To me, that means that even though the Mosaic law does not directly apply to non-Jews, it is profitable for doctrine, reproof, etc. Likewise, even though Paul wrote some of the Epistles to Gentiles, that does not mean that Jews can not benefit from them.

 

It was probably a mistatement, but the early church was entirely made up of Jews. So Jews and church are not mutually exclusive terms.

 

I think Jews that believe on Jesus Christ as the true savior who died for our sins and rose are not mutually exclusive from the church.

[coheir]

 

In an earlier post it was said the book was written to the Jews. If that is the case then it would not apply to the church.

 

I'm not sure that would be a logical application......   He could have written the letter to them with general knowledge for everyone...     Did everything in the letters to the Corinthians only apply to that group of churches, or was it just where he happened to be writing to.

 

Im not sure it is a logical application either. I guess I was stirring the pot with my statement because of my confusion in the book.

there are things in the book that some do not believe apply. It would not be right to post here as that would change the focus.

[Qnts2]

 

Im not sure it is a logical application either. I guess I was stirring the pot with my statement because of my confusion in the book.

 

 

there are things in the book that some do not believe apply. It would not be right to post here as that would change the focus.

 

 

I know that this not directly on topic, but....

 

I would say literally, there are things in the book which do not apply to most people who are Christians, but they do have a practical application. The Jewish believers that the book of Hebrews was written to, had kept the laws of Moses. Unlike some view it today, the laws of Moses were given by God to Israel, and if  a person at that time wanted to obey and please God, they would have kept the laws of Moses. Included in the law of Moses, was what is actually a law of mercy... the sacrifices. The sacrifices were added because of sin/transgression, so if a person sinned, the law provided a covering for sin. So, you have Jews who had brought sacrifices their entire lives up to that point, in obedience to God. Now, they are born again, and have a love for God beyond what they had experienced before. They sinned, and so they brought a sacrifice, as commanded by God like they had all of their lives, only now, they loved God and possibly were truly repentant for that sin. They did not fully understand the Jesus sacrifice was so effective, in not just covering sin, but taking it away.

 

Since the Temple does not stand today, and hasn't for almost 2000 years, no one has brought a sacrifice to the Temple who is alive today, in obedience to the law given by God, so literally, the book of Hebrews does not directly apply, but what is explained as to the sufficiency of Jesus death is an understanding we all need to have.

 

I believe the person had to be Jewish to have written Hebrews. And had to have an excellent understanding of Jesus death and what it meant.     

[Willa]

Butch, most people who have been filled with the Holy Spirit, and who have read the Bible for several years applying the new testament in particular to their lives, can readily ascertain the harmony of the Bible. If you buy a Bible with references you can easily see where the subject is taught in other areas of the Bible. It also discribes God's character the same way as other parts of the Bible.

I have a book of new testament writings that were not included that has all but the latest "discoveries" of gnostic writings. They are really extremely rediculous in some areas and almost plausible in others. It takes some understanding of gnosticism to pick up on their style and ideas.

One is eastern mysticism. It mixes their eastern myths with some truth, a satanic method of using half truths and misapplying scripture. Gnostics denied the existance of the material world. So they denied that Christ had come in human flesh. They also thought women were evil.

Another is ascribing things to Jesus that we know from the Gospels are a lie because of His true Character. He would never kill someone for taking something from Him, for instance as one gnostic gospel said. He was without sin or He could not have been acceptable to God as our sacrificial Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.

Most of the books and letters were ascribed to the authors by their own disciples. These were called church fathers because they became leaders in the churches after the deaths of the apostles. They were very familiar with the oral and written teaching of the apostle they had studìed under. HEBREWS WAS QUOTED FROM BY CLEMENT OF ROME. HE WAS A DISCIPLE OF PAUL'S WHO WAS MENTIONED IN HIS LETTER TO THE PHILLIPIANS, AND HE LIVED FROM 30 AD TO 100 AD. THIS SHOWS THAT VERY EARLY CHURCH FATHERS HAD RELIED ON IT AS HOLY SCRIPTURE.

Hebrews was written to discouraged Jewish Chrsitians who were abandoning Christ. It was written to show how Christ was superior to the old testament Mosaic tradition, to keep them from going back to the old testament system of sacrifices. So it probably was written before the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. The author was certainly Jewish to be so familiar with the Jewish system of temple worship and the knowledge of the Old Testament, but it may have been written as Paul or another apostle dictated. Paul was going blind and some apostles were illiterate, especially in Greek. It is even possible that the first page is missing that might have contained the greeting from the author and the commendation of the recipients. But more likely it was written as a book, like the Gospels, and not as a letter to a specific church. It starts like the Gospel of John. It most certainly is inspired by God Himself because it displays all the continuity of an inspired book of the Bible, without statements that are out of character for God or parts that are totally rediculous. It is an exhortation that exalts Christ, tells how He is better than the old testament system, and warns us of the dangers of falling away. It urges us to listen to the voice and call of the Holy Spirit saying it is not too late if you can still hear Him; It tells us that God may even discipline us when we start to stray if we are truely His. He reminds us of all the prophets who were executed for their faith; since he was in prison, he knew that he may be next to die and did not want his Jewish converts to fall away should this happen. He wrote from Italy 13:24 and mentions that Timothy had been set free from prison in13:23. He asked for prayer that he also may be released in 13:19.

The only reason it has been doubted is that it is not signed. It was probably understood by the church who he was and certainly was attested to by Timothy.

[Willa]

In an earlier post it was said the book was written to the Jews. If that is the case then it would not apply to the church.

It was in fact written to Jewish Christians, many of whom were in exile, driven from their homes during the Roman seiges on Jeruselem between 62 and 70 AD and before the total destruction of the temple. It does apply to all discouraged Christians. The letters of James and Peter were written to the same people and they also apply to us all.

[Willa]

Then you have a problem Butch, because nobody knows who the author of Hebrews is.  That is the point of this thread.  There is no absolute proof.  I know there are books attributed to the apostles that are gnostic.  I have a huge book with many of those writings in it.  I know they are not scripture, but this is the Biblical canon we are speaking of.  I have no doubt it is God's Word.  So what now?  You said, "if we're going to say the books are from God we should know that the ones who wrote them knew God."  Who wrote Hebrews?

I don't doubt that Hebrews is God's word either, but not just "because". There is a reason I believe that it is God's word even though the author is not given. The reason I believe it is God's word is because it is attested to by reliable men among the earliest Christians. The same men that tell me the Gospel of Mathew was written by the apostle Mathew, likewise with Mark and John. Also those writings of the apostle Paul. Anyone could have written something and put an apostle's name on it. Therefore the writing we have have to be validated and they were by these early Christians. However, I don't think we can simply say I believe Hebrews is God's word "because". I'm seeing posts in this thread that say it doesn't matter that we don't know who wrote it. If you don't know who wrote it then you can't know it was from God. However, we can know because it is attested to by those who ere there early one. However, without their attesting to it we would have no way of knowing one way or the other.

Very good, Butch. You have done your research.