Chopper
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- Aug 11, 2013
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Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Hebrews 4:14
I'm posting the words of Kenneth Wuest on his scholarly work on interpreting Hebrews 4:14. Some of his attention has been on the superiority of Messiah Jesus over the earthly high Priest Aaron. I want to pay particular attention to verse 14 and the words "passed through the heavens."
I had never considered what went on during Jesus flight from the grave to His Father's Throne in heaven until now. I just assumed that Jesus' flight was instantaneous to His Father. Hmm, O yea, Satan. Remember after Satan had tempted Jesus in the wilderness? Luke says....Luke 4:13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he [Satan] departed from him until an opportune time. (ESV)
My thinking is that Jesus' final departure from the earth to heaven was the very last time Satan and his demon force would have to stop Jesus from His journey to the heavenly Temple, as the Great High Priest, to sprinkle His own Blood on the Mercy Seat....The following is Dr. Wuest' words.
"But there is another way in which Messiah is seen to be better than Aaron. The events that took place when Messiah passed through the heavens, show that He is infinitely better than Aaron. Aaron could never have performed such a feat. The reference here is to our Lord’s Easter morning ascension from the resurrection tomb to heaven as High Priest having made atonement for sin at the Cross. In Israel, the atonement was not complete at the brazen altar. Not until the high priest had carried the atoning blood into the Holy of Holies, and had sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat, was the atonement complete. Likewise, our Lord’s atonement was not complete at the Cross. Not until He had entered heaven as the High Priest having made atonement for sin, was His atonement complete. He, glorified High Priest, in His body of flesh and bones but no blood, had to present Himself at the Mercy Seat in Glory in His bloodless body, the evidence that sin had been paid for. The writer says of Him, "By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12).
But that is not all that is involved in His superiority to Aaron. Not only was Aaron unable to offer a sacrifice that would pay for sin, but he could not have passed through the heavens to complete the atonement, had he been able to offer one. And there was more than the gravitational pull on Aaron that would have kept him from passing through the heavens. There was the power of Satan and his demons that would have opposed his progress through the atmosphere of this earth, which is the region where Satan has his kingdom of demons and from where he operates in his attempt to isolate and insulate the human race so far as God and heaven are concerned. This power opposed the progress of the Messiah as He left the resurrection tomb and went through the heavens to present Himself as the High Priest who had made atonement for sin at the Cross.
Our Lord met this opposition from Satan and his demons, the principalities and powers of Ephesians 6:12 and Colossians 2:15. He spoiled the principalities and the powers (the definite article is in the Greek). The word "spoiled" is the translation of apekduomai. The verb means "to wholly put off from one’s self," the prefixed preposition apo implying separation from that which is put off, the compound word meaning "wholly to strip off from one’s self, that is, for one’s own advantage; to despoil, disarm." What a picture of that Easter morning battle in the skies in which the demons of Satan were attempting to keep the Messiah from going from the Cross to the Mercy Seat in heaven to complete the atonement. As they tried to impede His progress, He stripped off and away from Himself the demons that sought to lay hands on Him and keep Him from going through their territory to heaven.
The word "triumphing" is the translation of thriambeuo which among the Romans was used of a triumphal procession where a conquering general home from the wars would lead a procession in which were his captives. Our Lord, when stripping off and away from Himself the attacking demons, led them captive in a triumphal procession. Paul speaks of this same thing in Ephesians 4:7-11. The victorious Messiah led the captive demons captive. Because He was able to go through the abode of the demons in His ascension, He was able to give the gifted men of verse eleven to the Church. Thus was Messiah better than Aaron. He is passed through the heavens, a thing Aaron could not do."
Wow, what Wuest has presented causes me to see if there are any Scriptures that confirm this assault of demon forces on the ascending Jesus to the Mercy Seat. Any ideas my friends?
I'm posting the words of Kenneth Wuest on his scholarly work on interpreting Hebrews 4:14. Some of his attention has been on the superiority of Messiah Jesus over the earthly high Priest Aaron. I want to pay particular attention to verse 14 and the words "passed through the heavens."
I had never considered what went on during Jesus flight from the grave to His Father's Throne in heaven until now. I just assumed that Jesus' flight was instantaneous to His Father. Hmm, O yea, Satan. Remember after Satan had tempted Jesus in the wilderness? Luke says....Luke 4:13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he [Satan] departed from him until an opportune time. (ESV)
My thinking is that Jesus' final departure from the earth to heaven was the very last time Satan and his demon force would have to stop Jesus from His journey to the heavenly Temple, as the Great High Priest, to sprinkle His own Blood on the Mercy Seat....The following is Dr. Wuest' words.
"But there is another way in which Messiah is seen to be better than Aaron. The events that took place when Messiah passed through the heavens, show that He is infinitely better than Aaron. Aaron could never have performed such a feat. The reference here is to our Lord’s Easter morning ascension from the resurrection tomb to heaven as High Priest having made atonement for sin at the Cross. In Israel, the atonement was not complete at the brazen altar. Not until the high priest had carried the atoning blood into the Holy of Holies, and had sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat, was the atonement complete. Likewise, our Lord’s atonement was not complete at the Cross. Not until He had entered heaven as the High Priest having made atonement for sin, was His atonement complete. He, glorified High Priest, in His body of flesh and bones but no blood, had to present Himself at the Mercy Seat in Glory in His bloodless body, the evidence that sin had been paid for. The writer says of Him, "By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12).
But that is not all that is involved in His superiority to Aaron. Not only was Aaron unable to offer a sacrifice that would pay for sin, but he could not have passed through the heavens to complete the atonement, had he been able to offer one. And there was more than the gravitational pull on Aaron that would have kept him from passing through the heavens. There was the power of Satan and his demons that would have opposed his progress through the atmosphere of this earth, which is the region where Satan has his kingdom of demons and from where he operates in his attempt to isolate and insulate the human race so far as God and heaven are concerned. This power opposed the progress of the Messiah as He left the resurrection tomb and went through the heavens to present Himself as the High Priest who had made atonement for sin at the Cross.
Our Lord met this opposition from Satan and his demons, the principalities and powers of Ephesians 6:12 and Colossians 2:15. He spoiled the principalities and the powers (the definite article is in the Greek). The word "spoiled" is the translation of apekduomai. The verb means "to wholly put off from one’s self," the prefixed preposition apo implying separation from that which is put off, the compound word meaning "wholly to strip off from one’s self, that is, for one’s own advantage; to despoil, disarm." What a picture of that Easter morning battle in the skies in which the demons of Satan were attempting to keep the Messiah from going from the Cross to the Mercy Seat in heaven to complete the atonement. As they tried to impede His progress, He stripped off and away from Himself the demons that sought to lay hands on Him and keep Him from going through their territory to heaven.
The word "triumphing" is the translation of thriambeuo which among the Romans was used of a triumphal procession where a conquering general home from the wars would lead a procession in which were his captives. Our Lord, when stripping off and away from Himself the attacking demons, led them captive in a triumphal procession. Paul speaks of this same thing in Ephesians 4:7-11. The victorious Messiah led the captive demons captive. Because He was able to go through the abode of the demons in His ascension, He was able to give the gifted men of verse eleven to the Church. Thus was Messiah better than Aaron. He is passed through the heavens, a thing Aaron could not do."
Wow, what Wuest has presented causes me to see if there are any Scriptures that confirm this assault of demon forces on the ascending Jesus to the Mercy Seat. Any ideas my friends?
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