Letter to the Jewish People

      In centuries past, God spoke in many and varied ways to the Fathers all the way through the prophets. But now, in the present age, He has spoken to us through Yeshua, His Son - the promised Messiah, Son of David, Prince of Peace, the King of the Jews, the Passover Lamb - to whom He has given ownership of everything and through whom He created the universe. This Son is the radiance of the Shekhinah, the very expression of God’s essence, upholding all that exists by His powerful word; and after He had, through Himself, made purification for sins, He sat down at the right of God the Father in heaven.
         He became a human, thus made a little lower than the angels, but after His death and resurrection, He has become much better than angels, and the name God has given Him is superior to theirs. To which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Also, God never said of any angel, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”And again, when God brings His Firstborn into the world, He says, “Let all God’s angels worship Him.” When He speaks of angels, He says in Psalm 104:4, “...who makes his angels winds and his servants fiery flames.” But to the Son, He says, “Your throne, o God, will last forever and ever; you rule your Kingdom with a scepter of equity; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, o God, your God has anointed you with the oil of joy in preference to your companions.” He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth; heaven is the work of your hands. They will vanish, but you will remain; like clothing, they will all grow old; and you will fold them up like a coat. Yes, they will be changed like clothing, but you remain the same, your years will never end.” Moreover, to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are angels not all merely spirits who serve, sent out to help those whom God will deliver?

         If the word God spoke through angels became binding, so that every violation and act of disobedience received its just deserts in full measure, then how will we escape if we ignore such a great deliverance? This deliverance, which was first declared by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him; while God also bore witness to it with various signs, wonders, and miracles, and with gifts of the Holy Spirit which He distributed as He chose.
         It was not angels that God subjected the olam haba, the world to come - which is what I am talking about. And in Psalm 8:5-7, someone has given this solemn testimony: “What is mere man, that you concern himself with him? Or the son of man, that you watch over him with such care? You made him a little lower than the angels, you crowned him with glory and honour, you put everything in subjection under his feet.” In subjecting everything to Him, God left nothing unsubjected to Him. However, right now, we do not see everything subjected to Him yet. But we see Yeshua the Messiah - who indeed was made for a little while lower than the angels - now crowned with glory and honour because He suffered death  so that by God’s grace He might taste death for all humanity, as foretold in Isaiah 53. In bringing many sons to glory, it was only fitting that God, the Creator and Preserver of everything, should bring the Initiator of their deliverance to the goal through suffering. Both Yeshua, who sets people apart for God, and the ones being set apart have a common origin - this is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers when He says in Psalm 22:23, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” And then it goes on to say in Isaiah 8:18, “Here I am, along with the children God has given me.” Therefore, since the children share a common physical nature as human beings, He became like them and shared the same human nature; so that by His death He might render ineffective the Adversary’s power over death and thus set free those had been in bondage all their lives because of their fear of death.
         It is obvious that He does not take hold of angels to help them; on the contrary, He takes hold of the seed of Abraham, as stated in Psalm 41:8-9. This is why He had to become like his brothers in every respect - so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, making a kaparah for the sins of the people. Since He Himself suffered death when He was put to the test, He is able to help those who are being tested now.

         Those of us whom God has set apart, who share in the call from heaven, should thinking carefully about Yeshua, whom we acknowledge publically as God’s emissary to the Jewish people, and as High Priest. Yeshua was faithful to God, who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in God’s house. But Yeshua deserves more honour than Moses, just as the builder of the house deserves more honour than the house itself. Every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God.
         Also, Moses was faithful in God’s house, as a servant giving witness to things God would divulge later. But the Messiah, as Son, was faithful over God’s house. And we are that house of His, provided that we hold firmly to the courage and confidence inspired by what we hope for.
         Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear God’s voice, don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel on that day in the Wilderness when you put your God to the test. Yes, your fathers, put me to the test; they challenged me, and they saw my work for forty years! I was disgusted with that generation - I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, they have not understood how I do things;’ in my anger, I swore that they would not enter my rest.”
         Watch out so that there will not be in any one of you an evil hearts lacking trust, which could lead you to wander away from the living God! Instead keep exhorting each other, as long as it is called “Today” so that none of you will become hardened by the deceit of sin. Others with me who also acknowledge Yeshua as Messiah have become sharers in the Messiah, provided that we hold firmly to the conviction we began with, right through until the goal is reached.
         Where it says in Psalm 95:11, “Today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel,” who were the people who quarreled so bitterly? All those whom Moses brought out of Egypt. And with whom was God disgusted for forty years? Those who sinned - they fell down dead in the wilderness. And to whom was it that God swore that they would not enter His rest? All those who were disobedient. So we see that they were unable to enter because of their lack of trust.

         Let us be terrified of the possibility that, even though the promise of entering His rest remains, any one of you might be judged to have fallen short of it; the Good News has also been proclaimed to us, just as it was to them. But the message did not do them any good because they did not combine it with trust. It is we who have trusted who enter the rest.
         It is just as He said in Psalm 95:11, “And in my anger, I swore that they would not enter my rest.” He swore this even though His works have been in existence since the founding of the universe. Genesis 2:2 says, “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.” And the Psalm says, “They will not enter my rest.” Since it still remains for some to enter it, and those who have already received the Good News of Messiah earlier did not enter, He again fixes a certain day - “today,” saying through David in the text already given, “Today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts.” If Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another “day.”
         So there remains a Shabbat-keeping for God’s people. The one who has entered God’s rest has also rested from his own works, as God did from His. Therefore, let us do our best to enter that rest; so that no one will fall short because of that same kind of disobedience.
         See, the Word of God is alive! The Word of God became flesh in the form of Yeshua, the Messiah. The Word is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword - it cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and where joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart. Before God, nothing created is hidden; all things are exposed and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account of our lives.
         Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has passed through to the highest heaven, Yeshua, the Son of God, I urge you to acknowledge this as true. We do not have a High Priest unable to empathise with our weaknesses; since in every respect He was tempted just as we are, the only difference being that He did not sin. Therefore, let us confidently approach the throne from which God gives grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need, through the only way available who is Yeshua.

         Every high priest taken from among men is appointed to act on people’s behalf with regard to things concerning God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and with those who go astray, since he too is subject to weakness. Also, because of this weakness, he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as those of the people. And no one takes this honour upon himself, rather he is called by God, just as Aaron was.
         So neither did the Messiah glorify Himself to become High Priest; rather it was the One who said to him, “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.” Also, as he says in Psalm 110:4, “You are a priest forever, to be compared with Malki-Tsedek.” During Yeshua’s life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions, crying aloud and weeping, to the One who had the power to deliver Him from death; and He was heard because of His godliness. Even though He was the Son, He learned obedience through His sufferings. And after He had been brought to the goal, He became the source of eternal deliverance to all who obey Him, since He had been proclaimed by God as a high priest to be compared with Malki-Tsedek.
         I have much to say about this subject, but it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish in understanding. Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the very first principles of God’s Word! First of all, you need to be born again, to be born of the spirit by acknowledging Yeshua as Messiah, then you need to grow - first by needing milk, then solid food. Anyone who has to drink milk is still a baby, without experience in applying the Word about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature because those faculties have been trained by continuous exercise to distinguish good from evil.

         When God made His promise to Abraham, He swore an oath to do what He had promised; and since there was no one greater than Himself for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself and said, “I will certainly bless you, and I will certainly give you many descendants.” So, after waiting patiently, Abraham saw the promise fulfilled. Now people swear oaths by someone greater than themselves, and confirmation by an oath puts an end to all dispute. Therefore, when God wanted to demonstrate still more convincingly the unchangeable character of His intentions to those who were to receive what He had promised, He added an oath to the promise; so that through two unchangeable things, in neither of which God could lie, we, who have fled to take a firm hold on the hope set before us, would be strongly encouraged. I myself have this hope as a sure and safe anchor, a hope that goes right on through to what is inside the Holy of Holies in the Temple, where a forerunner has entered on our behalf - Yeshua - who has become High Priest forever, to be compared with Malki-Tsedek.

         This Malki-Tsedek, the king of Shalem, a priest of God the Most High, met Abraham on his way back from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him; also Abraham gave him a tenth of everything (as mentioned in Genesis 14:17-20).
         First of all, by translation of his name, he is “king of righteousness”; and then he is also king of Shalem, which means “king of peace.” There is no record of his father, mother, ancestry, birth, or death; like the Son of God, he continues as a priest for all time. Just think how great he was! Even Abraham Avinu gave him a tenth of the best spoils. Now the descendants of Levi who became priests have a commandment in the Torah to take a tenth of the income of the people, from their own brothers, even though they also are descended from Abraham. But Malki-Tsedek, even though he was not descended from Levi, took a tenth from Abraham. He also blessed Abraham, the man who received God’s promises; and it is beyond all dispute that the one who blesses has higher status than the one who receives the blessing.
         Moreover, in the case of the priests, the tenth is received by men who die; while in the case of Malki-Tsedek, it is received by someone who is testified to be still alive. One might go even further and say that Levi, who himself receives tenths, paid a tenth through Abraham because he was still in his ancestor Abraham’s body when Malki-Tsedek met him.
         If it had been possible to reach the goal of eternal life and salvation through the system of priests derived from Levi (since in connection with it, the people were given the Torah), what need would there have been for a different kind of priest, the one to be compared with Malki-Tsedek and not compared with Aaron? If the system of priests is transformed, then the entire Torah needs to be transformed. The one about whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar; everyone knows that our Lord Yeshua arose out of Judah, and Moses said nothing about Judah when he spoke about the priests.
         It becomes even more clear if a “different kind of priest” arises, one like Malki-Tsedek, one who became a priest not by virtue of a rule in the Torah concerning physical descent, but by virtue of the power of an indestructible life. It is stated in Psalm 110:4, “You are a priest FOREVER, to be compared with Malki-Tsedek.” So, the earlier rule is set aside because of its weakness and inefficacy (the Torah did not bring anyone to the goal of eternal life); therefore, a hope of something better is introduced, through which we are drawing nearer and nearer to God.
         What is more, God swore an oath. No oath was sworn in connection with those who become priests now; but Yeshua became a priest by the oath which God swore when He said to Him, “Adonai has sworn and will not change His mind - You are a priest forever.” This also shows how much better is the covenant of which Yeshua has become guarantor. The current priests are many in number because they are prevented from continuing in office due to death. But because Yeshua lives forever, His position as priest also continues and is not passed to anyone else; He is also totally able to deliver those who approach God through Him; since He is alive forever and thus forever able to intercede on their behalf. This is the kind of high priest that meets our need - holy, without evil or stain, set apart from sinners and raised higher than the heavens; one who does not have the daily necessity, like the other high priests, of offering sacrifices first for their own sins and only then for those of the people; because He offered one sacrifice, once and for all, by offering up Himself. The Torah appoints as high priests men who have weakness; but the text which speaks about the swearing of an oath, a text written later than the Torah, appoints a Son who has been brought to the goal forever.

         Here is the whole point of what I have been saying: we have just such a high priest as has been described. And He sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. There He serves in the Holy Place, in the true Tent of Meeting, the one built by Adonai Himself.
         Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; even the high priest must have something to offer. If Yeshua were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there would be already priests offering the sacrifices required by the Torah (assuming the Temple was still around). But what they are serving is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly original; when Moses was about to erect the Tent, God warned him, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.”
         But now the work Yeshua has been given to do is far superior to theirs, just as the covenant He mediates is better. This covenant has been given as Torah on the basis of better promises. If the first covenant had been given ground for faultfinding, there would have been no need for a second one. God does not find fault with the people when He said to Jeremiah, “The days are coming when I will establish over the house of Israel and over the house of Judah a new covenant. It will not be like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by their hand and led them forth out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, did not remain faithful to my covenant; so I, for my part, stopped concerning myself with them. This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put my Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. None of them will teach his fellow citizen saying, ‘Know the Lord!’ For all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest, because I will be merciful toward their wickedness and remember their sins no more.” By using the term “new,” He has made the first covenant “old;” and something being made old is on its way to vanishing altogether.

         The first covenant had both regulations for worship and a Holy Place here on earth. A tent was set up, the outer one, called the Holy Place; in it were the menorah, the table, and the Bread of the Presence. Behind the second curtain was a tent called the Holiest Place, which had the golden altar for burning incense and the Ark of the Covenant, entire covered with gold. In the Ark were the gold jar containing the manna. Aaron’s rod that sprouted and the stone Tablets of the Covenant; and above it were the angels representing the Shekhinah, casting their shadow on the lid of the Ark ... but this is not the time to discuss such things.
         With things so arranged, the priests go into the outer tent all the time to discharge their duties; but only the High Priest enters the inner one; and he goes in only once a year, and he must always bring blood, which he offers both for himself and for the sins committed in ignorance by the people. By this arrangement, the Holy Spirit showed that so long as the first Tent had standing, the way into the Holiest Place was still closed. This symbolises the present age and indicates that the conscience of the person performing the service cannot be brought to the goal by the gifts and sacrifices he offers. They involve only food and drink and various ceremonial washings - regulations concerning the outward life, imposed until the time for God to reshape the whole structure.
         But when the Messiah appeared as High Priest of the good things that are already happening, through the greater and more perfect Tent which is not created of this world, He entered the Holiest Place once and for all.
         And He entered not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of His own blood, thus setting people free forever. If sprinkling ceremonially unclean people with the blood of goats and bulls, and ashes of a heifer restores their outward purity, how much more the blood of the Messiah, who offered Himself to God as a sacrifice without blemish, will purify our conscience from works that lead to death, so that we can serve the living God!
         It is because of this death that He is mediator of a new covenant. Because of a death has occurred which sets people free from the transgressions committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. Where there is a will, there must be produced evidence of its maker’s death, since a will goes into effect only upon death; it never has force while its maker is still alive.
         This is why the first covenant too was inaugurated with blood. After Moses had proclaimed every command of the Torah to the people, he took the blood of the calves with some water and used scarlet wool and hyssop to sprinkle both the scroll itself and all the people; and he said, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has ordained for you.” Likewise, he sprinkled with the blood both the Tent and all the things used in its ceremonies. In fact, according to the Torah, almost everything is purified with blood; without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Since the Temple was destroyed, rabbis have attempted to recreate the sacrifices in the form of prayer. If mere praying forgave sins, God would not have spent time creating a complex sacrificial system. I believe that God Himself used the destruction of the Temple to prevent the sacrificial system from continuing.
         This is how the copies of the heavenly tings had to be purified, but the heavenly things themselves require better sacrifices than these. The Messiah has entered a Holiest Place which is not man-made and merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, in order to appear now on our behalf in the very presence of God.
         Further, He did not enter heaven to offer Himself over and over again, like the High Priest who enters the Holiest Place year after year with blood that is not his own; then he would have had to suffer death many times - from the founding of the universe on. But as it is, He has appeared once at the end of the ages in order to do away with sin through the sacrifice of Himself. Just as human beings have to die once, but after this comes judgment, so also Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many (as foretold in Isaiah 53), will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to deliver those who are eagerly waiting for Him.
         The Torah has in it a shadow of the good things to come, but not the actual manifestation of the originals. Therefore, it can never, by means of the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, bring to the goal those who approach the Holy Place to offer them. Otherwise, wouldn’t the offering of those sacrifices have ceased? If the people performing the service had been cleansed once and for all, they would no longer have sins on their conscience. It is actually the opposite - in these sacrifices is a reminder of sins, year after year. It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
         This is why, on coming into the world, He says in Psalm 40:7-9, “It has not been your will to have an animal sacrifice and a meal offering; rather, you have prepared for me a body. No, you have not been pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said, ‘Look! In the scroll of the book it is written about me. I have come to do your will!’” In saying first, “You neither willed nor were pleased with animal sacrifices, meal offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings,” things which are offered in accordance with the Torah; and then, “Look, I have come to do your will;” He takes away the first system in order to set up the second. It is in connection with this will that we have been separated for God and made holy, once and for all, through the offering of Yeshua the Messiah’s body.
         Every priest stands every day doing his service, offering over and over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this one, after He had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God, from then on to wait until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. By a single offering He has brought to the goal for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy.
         And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; after saying, “This is the covenant which I will make with them after those days, says Adonai. I will put my Torah on their hearts, and write it on their minds.” He then adds, “And their sins and their wickedness I will remember no more.” Where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sin is no longer needed.
         So, we have confidence to use the way into the Holiest Place opened by the blood of Yeshua. He inaugurated it for us as a new and living way through the Curtain, by means of His flesh. We also have a great Priest over God’s household. Therefore, let us approach the Holiest Place with a sincere heart, in the full assurance that comes from trusting - with our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience and our bodies washing with pure water. The One who made the promise is fully trustworthy. Let us keep paying attention to each other, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, not neglecting our own congregational meetings, as some have made a practice of doing.
         And let us do this all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, of raging fire that will consume the enemies.
         Someone who disregards the Torah of Moses is put to death without mercy on the word of two or three witnesses. Think how much worse will be the punishment deserved by someone who has trampled underfoot the Son of God; who has treated as something common the blood of the covenant which made him holy; and who has insulted the Spirit, giver of God’s grace!
         The One we know is the One who said, “Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay.” And then He said, “Adonai will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!
         But remember the earlier days, you endured centuries of pogroms and even the Holocaust. You were publically disgraced, persecuted, executed. Many, however, courageously faced death than forced conversions and assimilation. So don’t throw away that courage, which carries with it such a great reward. You need to hold out; so that, by having done what God wills, you may receive what He has promised. The prophet Habaukuk says, “There is so little time! The One coming will indeed come, He will not delay. But the person who is righteous will live his life by trusting, and if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” However, we are not the kind who shrink back and are destroyed; we keep trusting and thus preserve our lives!

         Trusting (or faith) is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see. It was for this that Scripture attested the merit of the people of old.
         By trusting, we understand that the universe was created through a spoken word of God, so that what is seen did not come into being out of existing phenomena.
         By trusting, Abel offered a greater sacrifice than Cain; because of this, he was attested as righteous, with God giving him this testimony on the ground of his gifts. Through having trusted, he still continues to speak, even though he is dead.
         By trusting, Enoch was taken away from this life without seeing death - “he was not to be found, because God took him away” - he has been attested as having been, prior to being taken away, well pleasing to God. And without trusting, it is impossible to be well pleasing to God, because whoever approaches Him must trust that He indeed exists and that He becomes a Rewarder to those who seek Him.
         By trusting, Noah, after receiving divine warning about things not yet seen, was filled with holy fear and built an ark to save his household. Through this trusting, he put the world under condemnation and received the righteousness that comes from trusting.
         By trusting, Abraham obeyed, after being called to go to a place which God would give him as a possession; he indeed went out without knowing where he was going. By trusting, he lived as a temporary resident in the Land of the promise, as if it were not his, staying in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were to receive what was promised along with him. He looking forward to the city with permanent foundations, of which the architect and builder is God. By trusting, Abraham received potency to father a child, even when he was past the age for it, as was Sarah herself; because he regarded the One who had made the promise as trustworthy. Therefore this one man, who was virtually dead, fathered descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and as countless as the grains of the sand on the seashore.
         All these people kept on trusting until they died, without receiving what had been promised. They had only seen it and welcomed it from a distance, while acknowledging that they were aliens and temporary residents on the earth. People who speak this way make it clear that they are looking for a fatherland. If they were to keep recalling the one they left, they would have an opportunity to return; but they aspire to a better fatherland, a heavenly one. This is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.
         By trusting, Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He indeed offered up his only son, he who had received the promises, to whom it had been said, “What is called your seed will in Isaac.” He had concluded that God could even raise people from the dead! And, figuratively speaking, he did so to receive him.
         By trusting, Isaac, in his blessings over Jacob and Esau, made reference to events yet to come.
         By trusting, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, leaning on his walking-stick as he bowed in prayer.
         By trusting, Joseph, near the end of his life, remembered about the Exodus of the people of Israel and gave instructions about what to do with his bones.
         By trusting, the parents of Moses hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s decree.
         By trusting, Moses, after he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose being mistreated along with God’s people rather than enjoying the passing pleasures of sin. He had come to regard abuse suffered on behalf of the Messiah as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, because he kept his eyes fixed on the reward. By trusting, he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered as one who sees the unseen. By trusting, he obeyed the requirements for the Passover, including the smearing of the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By trusting, they walked through the Red Sea as though dry land; when the Egyptians tried it, the sea swallowed them up.
         By trusting, the walls of Jericho fell - after the people had marched around them for seven days.
         By trusting, Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies and therefore did not die along with those who were disobedient.
         What more should I say? I could go on and on about Gideon, Barak, Sampson, Yiftach, David, Samuel, and the prophets; who, through trusting, conquered kingdoms, worked righteousness, received what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, had their weakness turned to strength, grew mighty in battle and routed foreign armies. Women even received back their dead resurrected.
         Other people were stretched on the rack and beaten to death, refusing to be ransomed, so that they would gain a better resurrection. Others underwent the trials of being mocked and whipped, then chained and imprisoned. They were stoned, sawed in two, murdered by the sword; they went about clothed in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, mistreated, wandering about in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground. The world was not even worthy of them!
         Many people prospered; many others did not. The common theme in all of them is they all had their merit attested because of their trusting. Nevertheless, they did not receive what had been promised, because God had planned something better that would involve us, so that only with us would they be brought to the goal.

         Since we are surrounded by a huge cloud of witnesses, let us put aside every hindrance - sin which easily hampers our forward movement - and keep running with endurance in the race set before us, looking away to the Initiator and Completer of that trusting, Yeshua - who, in exchange for obtaining the joy set before Him, endured execution as a criminal, scorning the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Think about Him who endured such hostility against Himself from sinners, so that you will not grow tired or become despondent. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in the contest against sin.
         You also have forgotten the counsel which speaks with you as sons: “My son, do not despise the discipline of the Lord or become despondent when He corrects you. The Lord disciplines those He loves and whips everyone He accepts as a son” (Proverbs 3:11-12). Regard your endurance as discipline; God is dealing with you as sons. What son goes undisciplined by the father? All legitimate sons undergo discipline; if you do not, you are a mamzer and not a son!
         Furthermore, we had physical fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them; how much more should we submit to our spiritual Father and live! They disciplined us only for a short time and only as best they could; but He disciplines in a way that provides genuine benefit to us and enables us to share in His holiness.
         All discipline, while it is happening, indeed seems painful, not enjoyable; but for those who have been trained by it, it later produces its peaceful fruit, which is righteousness. So strengthen your drooping arms, steady your tottering knees, and make a level path for your feet; so that what has been injured will not get wrenched out of joint but rather will be healed.
         Keep pursuing peace with everyone and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses out on God’s grace, that no root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and thus contaminates many, and that no one is sexually immoral, or godless like Esau, who in exchange for a single meal gave up his rights as the firstborn. You know that afterwards, when he wanted to obtain his father’s blessing, he was rejected; even though he sought it with weeping, his change of heart was to no avail.
         You hvae not come to a tangible mountain, to an ignited fire, to darkness, to a whirlwind, to the sound of a shofar, and to a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further message be given to them - they could not bear what was being commanded them. “If even an animal touches the mountain, it is to be stoned to death.” So terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am quaking with dread.”
         On the contrary, the Holy Spirit has shown you Mount Zion, the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; to myriads of angels in festive assembly; to a community of the firstborn whose names have been recorded in heaven; to a Judge who is God of everyone; to spirits of righteous people who have been brought to the goal; to the mediator of a new covenant, Yeshua; and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better things than that of Abel.
         See that you do not reject the One speaking! If those did not escape who rejected Him when He gave divine warning on earth, think how much less we will escape if we turn away from Him when He warns form heaven. Even then, His voice shook the earth; but now, He has made this promise in Haggai 2:6, 21, “One more time I will shake not only the earth, but heaven too!” And this phrase, “one more time,” makes clear that the things shaken are removed, since they are created things, so that the things not shaken may remain. Therefore, since we have received an unshakeable Kingdom, let us have grace, through which we may offer service that will please God, with reverence and fear. Indeed, our God is a consuming fire.

         Let brotherly friendship continue; do not forget to be friendly to outsiders; in so doing, some people, without knowing it, have entertained angels from heaven. Remember those who are in prison and being mistreated for the faith, as if you were in prison with them and undergoing their torture yourselves.
         Marriage is honourable in every respect; and sex within marriage is pure. God will indeed punish fornicators and adulterers.
         Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. God Himself said in Deuteronomy 31:6, “I will never fail you or abandon you.” Therefore, we say with confidence, “Adonai is my helper; I will not be afraid - what can a human being do to me?” Remember your leaders, those who spoke God’s message to you. Reflect on the results of their way of life, and imitate their trust - Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
         Do not be carried away by various strange teachings; what is good is for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by food. People who have made these the focus of their lives have not benefitted thereby.
         We have an altar from which those who serve in the Tent are not permitted to eat. The High Priest brings the blood of animals into the Holiest Place as a sin offering, but their bodies are burned outside the camp. So too Yeshua suffered death outside the gate, in order to make the people holy through His own blood.
         Therefore, let us go to Him who is outside the camp and share His disgrace.
         We have no permanent city here; we seek the One to come. Through Him, therefore, let us offer God a sacrifice of praise continuously. This is the natural product of lips that acknowledge His name.
         Do not forget about doing good and sharing with others, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
         Obey your leaders and submit to them, because they keep watch over your lives, as people who will have to render an account. So make it a task of joy for them, not one of groaning; that is of no advantage to you.
         I pray that you do all these things; God is weeping and yearning with all His heart to restore you to Himself.
         The God of peace brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Yeshua, by the blood of an eternal covenant. May God equip you with every good thing you need to do His will; and may He do in us whatever pleases Him, through Yeshua the Messiah. To Him be the glory forever and ever.
         I urge you to bear with my message of exhortation; I have written you only briefly.

         Greet all your leaders and all God’s people.

         B’shem Yeshua haMeshiach, grace be with you all!