Hebrews7-9 NWT(2013 Edition)

7 For this Mel·chiz′e·dek, king of Sa′lem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,+2 and Abraham gave* him a tenth of everything. First, his name is translated “King of Righteousness,” and then also king of Sa′lem, that is, “King of Peace.” 3 In being fatherless, motherless, without genealogy, having neither a beginning of days nor an end of life, but being made like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.*+

4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham, the family head,* gave a tenth out of the best spoils.+ 5 True, according to the Law, those of the sons of Le′vi+ who receive their priestly office have a commandment to collect tithes from the people,+ that is, from their brothers, even though these are descendants* of Abraham. 6 But this man who did not trace his genealogy from them took tithes from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.+ 7 Now it is undeniable that the lesser one is blessed by the greater. 8 And in the one case, it is men who are dying who receive tithes, but in the other case, it is someone of whom witness is given that he lives.+ 9 And it could be said that even Le′vi, who receives tithes, has paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still a future descendant* of his forefather when Mel·chiz′e·dek met him.+

11 If, then, perfection was attainable through the Levitical priesthood+(for it was a feature of the Law that was given to the people), what further need would there be for another priest to arise who is said to be in the manner of Mel·chiz′e·dek+ and not in the manner of Aaron? 12 For since the priesthood is being changed, it becomes necessary to change the Law as well.+ 13 For the man about whom these things are said came from another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.+ 14 For it is clear that our Lord has descended from Judah,+ yet Moses said nothing about priests coming from that tribe.

15 And this becomes even clearer when another priest+ arises who is like Mel·chiz′e·dek,+ 16 who has become such, not by the legal requirement that depends on fleshly descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.+ 17 For it is said in witness of him: “You are a priest forever in the manner of Mel·chiz′e·dek.”+

18 So, then, the former commandment is set aside because it is weak and ineffective.+ 19 For the Law made nothing perfect,+ but the introduction of a better hope+ did, through which we are drawing near to God.+20 Also, inasmuch as this was not done without an oath being sworn21 (for, indeed, there are men who have become priests without a sworn oath, but this one has become so through an oath sworn respecting him by the One who said: “Jehovah* has sworn, and he will not change his mind,*‘You are a priest forever’”),+ 22 Jesus has accordingly become the guarantee* of a better covenant.+ 23 Furthermore, many had to become priests in succession+ because death prevented them from continuing as such, 24 but because he continues alive forever,+ his priesthood has no successors. 25 So he is able also to save completely those who are approaching God through him, because he is always alive to plead for them.+

26 For it is fitting for us to have such a high priest who is loyal, innocent, undefiled,+ separated from the sinners, and exalted above the heavens.+27 Unlike those high priests, he does not need to offer up sacrifices daily,+first for his own sins and then for those of the people,+ because he did this once for all time when he offered himself up.+ 28 For the Law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses,+ but the word of the oath+ sworn after the Law appoints a son, who has been made perfect+ forever.

8 Now this is the main point of what we are saying: We have such a high priest as this,+ and he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,+ 2 a minister* of the holy place+ and of the true tent, which Jehovah* set up, and not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; 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,+ since there are already men who offer the gifts according to the Law. 5 These men are offering sacred service in a typical representation and a shadow+ of the heavenly things;+ just as Moses, when about to construct the tent, was given the divine command: For He says: “See that you make all things after their pattern that was shown to you in the mountain.”+ 6 But now Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry*because he is also the mediator+ of a correspondingly better covenant,+which has been legally established on better promises.+

7 If that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second.+ 8 For he does find fault with the people when he says: “‘Look! The days are coming,’ says Jehovah,* ‘when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant. 9 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,+ because they did not remain in my covenant, so I stopped caring for them,’ says Jehovah.*

10 “‘For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ says Jehovah.* ‘I will put my laws in their mind, and in their hearts I will write them.+ And I will become their God, and they will become my people.+

11 “‘And they will no longer teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother, saying: “Know Jehovah!”* For they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful toward their unrighteous deeds, and I will no longer call their sins to mind.’”+

13 In his saying “a new covenant,” he has made the former one obsolete.+ Now what is obsolete and growing old is near to vanishing away.+

 9 For its part, the former covenant used to have legal requirements for sacred service and its holy place+ on earth. 2 For a first tent compartment was constructed, in which were the lampstand+ and the table and the display of the loaves of presentation;*+ and it is called the Holy Place.+3 But behind the second curtain+ was the tent compartment called the Most Holy.+ 4 This had a golden censer+ and the ark of the covenant+completely overlaid with gold,+ in which were the golden jar containing the manna+ and Aaron’s rod that budded+ and the tablets+ of the covenant;5 and above it were the glorious cherubs overshadowing the propitiatory cover.*+ But now is not the time to speak of these things in detail.

6 After these things were constructed this way, the priests enter the first tent compartment regularly to perform the sacred services;+ 7 but the high priest enters alone into the second compartment once a year,+ not without blood,+ which he offers for himself+ and for the sins that the people+ committed in ignorance. 8 Thus the holy spirit makes it clear that the way into the holy place had not yet been revealed while the first tent was standing.+ 9 This tent is an illustration for the present time,+ and according to this arrangement, both gifts and sacrifices are offered.+However, these are not able to make the conscience of the man doing sacred service perfect.+ 10 They have to do only with foods and drinks and various ceremonial washings.*+ They were legal requirements concerning the body+ and were imposed until the appointed time to set things straight.

11 However, when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have already taken place, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 He entered into the holy place, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood,+ once for all time, and obtained an everlasting deliverance* for us.+ 13 For if the blood of goats and of bulls+ and the ashes of a heifer*sprinkled on those who have been defiled sanctifies for the cleansing of the flesh,+ 14 how much more will the blood of the Christ,+ who through an everlasting spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works+ so that we may render sacred service to the living God?+

15 That is why he is a mediator of a new covenant,+ in order that because a death has occurred for their release by ransom+ from the transgressions under the former covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance.+ 16 For where there is a covenant, the death of the human covenanter needs to be established,17 because a covenant is valid at death, since it is not in force as long as the human covenanter is living. 18 Consequently, neither was the former covenant put into effect* without blood. 19 For when Moses had spoken every commandment of the Law to all the people, he took the blood of the young bulls and of the goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book* and all the people, 20 saying: “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep.”+ 21 He likewise sprinkled the tent and all the vessels of the holy service* with the blood.+22 Yes, according to the Law nearly all things are cleansed with blood,+and unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place.+

23 Therefore, it was necessary for the typical representations+ of the things in the heavens to be cleansed by these means,+ but the heavenly things require far better sacrifices. 24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with hands,+ which is a copy of the reality,+ but into heaven itself,+ so that he now appears before* God on our behalf.+ 25 This was not done to offer himself often, as when the high priest enters into the holy place from year to year+ with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise, he would have to suffer often from the founding of the world. But now he has manifested himself once for all time at the conclusion of the systems of things* to do away with sin through the sacrifice of himself.+ 27 And just as it is reserved for men to die once for all time, but after this to receive a judgment, 28 so also the Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many;+ and the second time that he appears it will be apart from sin,* and he will be seen by those earnestly looking for him for their salvation.+

On Roman emperor Constantine.

PORTRAITS FROM THE PAST

 

A reproduction of the Watchtower Society's article

 

 

Constantine

 

Constantine was the first Roman emperor to profess Christianity. By doing so, he profoundly influenced world history. He embraced this previously persecuted religion and set it on a path that led to the formation of Christendom. Thus, so-called Christianity became “the strongest social and political agent” ever to influence the course of history, according to The Encyclopædia Britannica.

WHY should you care about an ancient Roman emperor? If you are interested in Christianity, you should know that Constantine’s political and religious maneuvers have affected the beliefs and practices of many churches right down to this day. Let us see how.

THE CHURCHES—LEGALIZED AND THEN USED

In 313 C.E., Constantine ruled over the Western Roman Empire, while Licinius and Maximinus ruled over the East. Constantine and Licinius granted freedom of worship to all, including Christians. Constantine protected Christianity, believing that the religion could unify his empire.*

Constantine was thus appalled to find that the churches were divided by disputes. Eager for consensus, he sought to establish, and then enforce, “correct” doctrine. To win his favor, bishops had to make religious compromises, and those who did received tax exemptions and generous patronage. “Getting the ‘right’ version of Christian doctrine,” said historian Charles Freeman, “gave access not only to heaven but to vast resources on earth.” The clergy thus became powerful figures in worldly affairs. “The Church had acquired a protector,” says historian A.H.M. Jones, “but it had also acquired a master.”

WHAT KIND OF CHRISTIANITY?

A result of Constantine’s alliance with the bishops was a religion with tenets that were part Christian, part pagan. It could hardly have been otherwise, since the emperor’s goal was religious pluralism, not the pursuit of religious truth. He was, after all, the ruler of a pagan empire. To please both religious camps, he adopted a stance of “conscious ambiguity in his acts and government in general,” wrote one historian.

While professing to champion Christianity, Constantine kept one foot in paganism. For example, he practiced astrology and divination—occult activities that the Bible condemns. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) On the Arch of Constantine in Rome, he is shown sacrificing to pagan deities. He continued to honor the sun-god by featuring the deity on coins and promoting the sun-god cult. Late in life, Constantine even permitted a small town in Umbria, Italy, to construct a temple to his family and himself and to appoint priests to serve there.

Constantine postponed his “Christian” baptism until a few days before his death in 337 C.E. Many scholars believe that he held back in order to retain the political support of both Christian and pagan elements within the empire. To be sure, his life record and the lateness of his baptism raise questions about the sincerity of his professed faith in Christ. However, one thing is certain: The church Constantine legitimized became a powerful political and religious entity, one that thus turned its back on Christ and embraced the world. Jesus said of his followers: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” (John 17:14) From this church—that was now worldly—sprang countless denominations.

What does all of this mean for us? It means that we should not take the teachings of any church for granted but that we should examine them in the light of the Bible.—1 John 4:1.

[Footnote]

The sincerity of Constantine’s Christian convictions has been much debated, in part because of “his apparent concessions to pagan cults, even late in his reign,” according to one reference.

[Box on page 12]

QUICK FACTS

▸ Constantine became emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 306 C.E. and was sole emperor of both the East and the West from 324 to 337.

▸ Constantine claimed that in either a dream or a vision he was assured that the God of the Christians would assist him in battle.

▸ Attributing a certain military victory to God, Constantine “immediately ordered” that a spear in the form of a cross be placed in the hand of his own statue “in the most frequented place in Rome.”—Paul Keresztes, historian.

▸ Constantine held the pagan title pontifex maximus, or chief priest, and thought himself overlord of all religions in his realm.

[Blurb on page 13]

“The Church had acquired a protector, but it had also acquired a master.”—A.H.M. Jones, historian

[Box on page 13]

The Arch of Constantine commemorates his victory in battle

• “A good emperor—even a good Christian—would inevitably find himself compelled to choose between losing heaven and losing power. Having just assumed the throne, Constantine was by no means finished either with power or with committing the sins necessary to retain it.”—Richard Rubenstein, professor of conflict resolution and public affairs.

• “That Constantine was a Christian at least at the end of his life cannot be doubted, provided that one does not judge the question by the quality of his Christianity.”—Paul Keresztes, professor of classics and history.

WWII:Did the ends Justify the means?Pros and cons.